Program Bureau Video Catalog

Cultural History

All Day & All Night, 1989. 29 minutes.
Through interviews with legendary Blues musicians, this program explores the historic role of Beale Street as a social and entertainment hub for rural African-Americans of the mid-south, as an environment in which young musicians apprenticed, and as a catalyst for taking the popularity of Blues musicians beyond the neighborhood. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
Black Diamonds, Blues City, 1997. 56 minutes.
For over half a century, organized baseball denied African Americans a chance to earn a living playing the game. In response, The Negro Leagues were created. These Negro League teams were very important community institutions, and nowhere were this more true than in the segregated South and in the city of Memphis. Black Diamonds, Blues City tells the story of The Negro Leagues and especially The Memphis Red Sox. Request this video online.
Blood Memory: the Legend of Beanie Short, 1992. 56 minutes.
Beanie Short deserted the Confederate Army during the Civil War and became an outlaw in the Turkey Neck Bend area of the upper Cumberland River. This program follows folklorist Lynwood Montrell as he rediscovers how the Short legend survives in the Turkey Neck Bend community today, and how oral traditions play a role in broader cultural transmission. Request this video online.
Dorothea Lange, A Visual Life, 1994. 48 minutes.
The focus of this program is Lange's photography of the American South and other subjects. The narration of Lange's insightful comments explores the role of her photos in social reform, and the nature and consequences of the medium for documenting the human condition. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
Gandy Dancers: Last of Southern Black Railroad Crews, 1994. 30 minutes.
This program documents the occupational folklore of the crews that repaired and straightened rail lines for southern railroads. Enlivened by demonstrations from retired crewmembers, this program explores the relationship among task related work chants, synchronized actions, and the psychology of difficult physical labor. Request this video online.
M & M Smith: For Posterity's Sake, 1995. 56 minutes.
Rich in photographs, film clips, and reminiscences, this program highlights the Smith brothers' experience in the mass migration of African-Americans from the South to Harlem. For nearly four decades, twins Morgan and Marvin Smith captured the vibrant life of Harlem in photographs and on film. Their work reveals them as both talented artists and socially conscious community members who worked deliberately to capture the beauty and complexities of their African American subjects. Winner Silver Apple, National Educational Media Festival, 1997. Request this video online.
Music Masters & Rhythm Kings, 1992. 70 minutes.
An old time string band from North Carolina, an Alabama Blues man, and a Miami Afro-Cuban ensemble go on tour together, each demonstrating the vitality, diversity and historical roots of these Southern music traditions. Request this video online.
Raise the Dead, 1998. 54 minutes.
Still from Raise the Dead

still from Raise the Dead
photo courtesy First Run/Icarus Films

This program explores the traveling tent ministry of H. Richard Hall, the "long-haired preacher" who has brought Holiness-Pentecostal revivals to Appalachia since his Depression-era childhood. Long after the preceding generation of evangelists had moved to television, Hall continued the itinerant tradition. Through hymns, revival clippings, and the stories of people whose lives Hall has touched, this portrait of the contemporary circuit reveals everything from spiritual fervor to juggling the itinerary, as well as the changing context of this religious expression. Best Independent Film, 1999 New England Film Festival; Official Selection, Cinema du Reel Festival. Request this video online.
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning: the Travels of Gatemouth Moore, 1992. 70 minutes.
Award-winning look at the career and times of Gatemouth Moore, the legendary Delta blues man who rejected his celebrity to become a preacher when he decided the Blues were beyond the pale of Christianity. Spanning seven decades, the program situates the career of this unique man within the sacred and secular traditions of Black life in the South. Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival; The Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival; Gold Plaque, Chicago International Film Festival. Request this video online.
Southern Stews: A Taste of the South, 2002. 57 minutes.
Chronicles the intimate role that food plays in not only helping Southerners retain their connections to the past, but also to each other. Stew making has become a ritual at family reunions, church homecomings and community events throughout the South. Among the stews addressed by the film are the Georgia and Virginia varieties of Brunswick Stew, Kentucky Burgoo, Carolina Hash and Virginia Sheep Stew. Request this video online.
Storyville: The Naked Dance, 1994. 56 minutes.
The first documentary about America's legendary legal red-light district, this program chronicles the sixteen square blocks of decadence that thrived in New Orleans from 1898 until World War I. Two thousand prostitutes worked within this seedy and raucous district to the soundtrack of a new American music called jazz. Storyville explores the connections between the birth of jazz and the decadent "sportin' life," highlighting the legendary Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton. The film features striking images that include prostitutes' portraits by famed photographer E.J. Bellocq, nickelodeon "peep shows," and other Victorian era erotica. Request this video online.
Tell About the South: Voices in Black & White
A series that explores the story of Southern literature in a historical and cultural context. Among those interviewed throughout the series are Eudora Welty, Shelby Foote, Willie Morris, John Hope Franklin, Reynolds Price, Alice Walker, Ernest Gaines, Rita Dove, Nicki Giovanni, Andrew Lytle, and many more.
Part I, 1993. 90 minutes.
This program includes the period between the World Wars, and explores the Fugitive Poets, Blues poetry, the Southern roots of the Harlem Renaissance, and the works of Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Thomas Wolfe, Jean Toomer, and many others. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
Part II, 1999. 90 minutes.
"Prophets & Poets," explores the period 1941-1962, and features discussions of Richard Wright, Lilly Smith, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, Robert Penn Warren, Flannery O'Conner, and others. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.

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Media

Dorothea Lange, A Visual Life, 1994. 48 minutes.
The focus of this program is Lange's photography of the American South and other subjects. The narration of Lange's insightful comments explores the role of her photos in social reform, and the nature and consequences of the medium for documenting the human condition. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
M & M Smith: For Posterity's Sake, 1995. 56 minutes.
Rich in photographs, film clips, and reminiscences, this program highlights the Smith brothers' experience in the mass migration of African Americans from the South to Harlem. For nearly four decades, twins Morgan and Marvin Smith captured the vibrant life of Harlem in photographs and on film. Their work reveals them as both talented artists and socially conscious community members who worked deliberately to capture the beauty and complexities of their African American subjects. Winner Silver Apple, National Educational Media Festival, 1997. Request this video online.
Stranger with a Camera, 2000. 60 minutes.
still from Stranger with a Camera

still from Stranger with a Camera
photo by Hans Luxemberger

This program frames a compelling look at the moral implications of media representation with the 1967 murder of a filmmaker by a local man on whose property filming took place. In examining a range of views regarding the tragic incident, the program raises questions about the role of filmmakers, the relationship of film subjects to the makers and the medium. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
To Render a Life, 1992. 90 minutes.
Simultaneously documenting the lives of a poor, rural family over a three-year period and exploring the ethics and legitimacy of the documentary process, the filmmaker uses the influential book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, to explore the condition of contemporary poverty and the participation of documentarians in the worlds they depict. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.

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Politics

Big Jim Folsom: The Two Faces of Populism, 1996. 85 minutes.
still from Big Jim Folsom: The Two Faces of Populism

still from Big Jim Folsom: The Two Faces of Populism
photo courtesy of Foundation for New Media, Inc.

This program follows the political career of Jim Folsom, populist governor of Alabama for two nonconsecutive terms in the forties and fifties. Folsom took politics to the rural poor, fought segregation, and supported public works projects, thoroughly embarrassing and enraging the power structure in the process. Request this video online.
Dawn's Early Light: Ralph McGill & the Segregated South, 1988. 90 minutes.
This program examines the career of the Atlanta newspaper publisher and columnist whose moderate racial dispositions publicly challenged the bigotry of regional politicians in the 1950s and 60s. Archival footage is juxtaposed with more contemporary scenes of integrated living. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
The Electric Valley, 1984. 90 minutes.
This feature length documentary explores the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority, controversial since its creation as a federal agency in 1933. The program addresses the changing leadership of the TVA, the changing focus of the agency, and the changing relationship among the TVA, politics and society, demonstrating over and again the connections among work, energy and land. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
Freedom on My Mind, 1994. 90 minutes.
This award-winning study examines the dramatic events in Mississippi surrounding the Freedom Summer. Archival footage and interviews with local sharecroppers and young organizers who participated culminate in the 1964 Democratic National Convention, and describe how these events helped shape a radical generation of black and white youth. 1994 Academy Award nominee for "Best Feature Documentary"; Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, 1994 Sundance Film Festival; 1994 Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award, National Education Film Festival; 1995 John O'Connor Award, American Historical Association; 1995 Erik Barnouw Award, Organization of American Historians; 1996 National Education Association Award for Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting; 1997 Cine Golden Eagle. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire, 1994. 180 minutes.
This two-part documentary follows the highly contentious political career of Alabama's George Wallace across several decades. The program provides a thorough and in depth examination of the successful political strategies he employed to successfully reinvent himself over a turbulent and divisive period in national politics. 2000 Special Jury Prize for Documentary Writing, Sundance Film Festival. Request this video online.
God's Will, 1997. 60 minutes.
Narrated by Ossie Davis this film explores the life, character and commitments of the backwoods Baptist preacher Will Campbell. A Yale-educated, white intellectual, Campbell is known for having sheltered nine black children from the Little Rock mob. He was also the only white person at the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ACLU. With commentaries by John Egerton, James Lawson, Stokely Carmichael, Waylon Jennings and Jimmy Carter, the program explores Campbell's views on Civil Rights and back-to-basics Christianity. Request this video online.
Hoxie: The First Stand, 2003. 56 minutes.
Before George Wallace defied the federal government by standing in the school house door (1963) and before National Guard troops were sent to Little Rock to force segregation (1957), the small Arkansas of Hoxie voluntarily integrated its school system. Told through the experiences of former Hoxie students, teachers and towns people, the documentary tells the story of one small town's unheralded impact on the Civil Rights movement. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
Long Shadows, 1987. 88 minutes.
This program explores the legacy of the Civil War upon the United States' society, economy and national psyche. Highlights include issues of imperialism, regional prejudices, economic reprisals, and the impact of Civil War strategies upon subsequent US warfare. Also addressed are Sherman's March, Reconstruction, and contemporary perceptions of the war's purpose. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
O Freedom after While, 1999. 57 minutes.
still from O Freedom after While

still from O Freedom after While
photo by Arthur Rothstein
courtesy of the Library of Congress

In 1939, 1,500 sharecroppers sought economic justice through a prolonged demonstration along the roadsides of the Missouri bootheel through the dead of winter. A short time later, many of these sharecroppers became triumphant homeowners. This film chronicles the circumstances of this remarkable episode fueled by class conflict, racism, and the vying of state and national interests, including the tumultuous roles of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, as well as the FSA. Using stirring newsreel footage and exceptional images produced by some of the finest WPA photographers, this program captures this classic, though obscure, example of grassroots organizing and the resulting social change. Certificate of Merit, 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival; 1999 Independent Film Maker Award, Nashville Independent Film Festival; Juried Award of Distinction, 1999 University Film and Video Association National Conference. Request this video online.
Terror & Triumph: The Jim Crow Years, 1941-1954, 1998. 57 minutes.
The last episode of a four part series, Terror & Triumph explores the grassroots role of black World War II veterans, including Medgar Evers and John Wesley, in the growing Civil Rights struggle for political and educational equity. Featuring Medger Evers' brother Charles, and Ku Klux Klan infiltrator Stetson Kennedy, the documentary chronicles violent reactions by whites, desegregation of the military by President Truman, NAACP legal challenges to segregation in public schools, and the Brown vs. Board of Education case. Request this video online.
You Got To Move, 1985. 84 minutes.
This program highlights the personal transformations resulting from civic engagement of five individuals battling for rights in different communities. Topics include citizenship, civil rights, strip mining, and the toxic waste pollution. The influence of the Highland Center on each of these activists is the overarching connection between them. Request this video online.

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Race and Labor

At the River I Stand, 1994. 60 minutes.
A compelling chronicle of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike, this program focuses on the details that took the strike from a struggle for labor rights to a battle for human rights, and the impact of the strike in the context of the larger Civil Rights movement. Best Documentary, 1994 Sinking Creek Film Celebration; 1994 Erik Barnouw Award, Organization of American Historians; 1994 NAACP Image Award nominee. Request this video online.
Black Diamonds, Blues City, 1997. 56 minutes.
For over half a century, organized baseball denied African Americans a chance to earn a living playing the game. In response, The Negro Leagues were created. These Negro League teams were very important community institutions, and nowhere were this more true than in the segregated South and in the city of Memphis. Black Diamonds, Blues City tells the story of The Negro Leagues and especially The Memphis Red Sox. Request this video online.
Freedom on My Mind, 1994. 90 minutes.
still from Freedom on My Mind

still from Freedom on My Mind
photo by George Ballis
courtesy of Tara Releasing

This award-winning study examines the dramatic events in Mississippi surrounding the Freedom Summer. Archival footage and interviews with local sharecroppers and young organizers who participated culminate in the 1964 Democratic National Convention, and describe how these events helped shape a radical generation of black and white youth. 1994 Academy Award nominee for "Best Feature Documentary"; Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, 1994 Sundance Film Festival; 1994 Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award, National Education Film Festival; 1995 John O'Connor Award, American Historical Association; 1995 Erik Barnouw Award, Organization of American Historians; 1996 National Education Association Award for Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting; 1997 Cine Golden Eagle. Request this video online. Lesson plans are available for this video.
George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire, 1994. 180 minutes.
This two-part documentary follows the highly contentious political career of Alabama's George Wallace across several decades. The program provides a thorough and in depth examination of the successful political strategies he employed to successfully reinvent himself over a turbulent and divisive period in national politics. 2000 Special Jury Prize for Documentary Writing, Sundance Film Festival. Request this video online.
God's Will, 1997. 60 minutes.
Narrated by Ossie Davis this film explores the life, character and commitments of the backwoods Baptist preacher Will Campbell. A Yale-educated, white intellectual, Campbell is known for having sheltered nine black children from the Little Rock mob. He was also the only white person at the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ACLU. With commentaries by John Egerton, James Lawson, Stokely Carmichael, Waylon Jennings and Jimmy Carter, the program explores Campbell's views on Civil Rights and back-to-basics Christianity. Request this video online.
O Freedom After While, 1999. 57 minutes.
In 1939 fifteen hundred sharecroppers sought economic justice through a prolonged demonstration along the roadsides of the Missouri bootheel through the dead of winter. A short time later, many of these sharecroppers became triumphant homeowners. This film chronicles the circumstances of this remarkable episode fueled by class conflict, racism, and the vying of state and national interests, including the tumultuous roles of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, as well as the FSA. Using stirring newsreel footage and exceptional images produced by some of the finest WPA photographers, this program captures this classic, though obscure, example of grassroots organizing and the resulting social change. Certificate of Merit, 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival; 1999 Independent Film Maker Award, Nashville Independent Film Festival; Juried Award of Distinction, 1999 University Film and Video Association National Conference. Request this video online.
Partners of the Heart, 2003. 60 minutes.
This program documents the amazing medical discoveries of and the unique relationship between Vivien Thomas, a high school educated black man, and Dr. Alfred Blalock, a highly educated white surgeon. Through their medical discoveries during the mid-century thousands of children born with a deadly heart defect — known as "blue babies" — were given a second chance at life. The film uses rare archival materials as well as recreated scenes to explore Vivien Thomas' journey from carpenter's apprentice in the Jim Crow South to Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University.Request this video online.
Terror & Triumph: The Jim Crow Years, 1941-1954, 1998. 57 minutes.
The last episode of a four part series, Terror & Triumph explores the grassroots role of black World War II veterans, including Medgar Evers and John Wesley, in the growing Civil Rights struggle for political and educational equity. Featuring Medger Evers' brother Charles, and Ku Klux Klan infiltrator Stetson Kennedy, the documentary chronicles violent reactions by whites, desegregation of the military by President Truman, NAACP legal challenges to segregation in public schools, and the Brown vs. Board of Education case. Request this video online.
The Uprising of '34, 1995. 90 minutes.
Comprehensive in scope and rich in perspective, this feature examines the enormous, violent textile workers' strike in the south in 1934. The story of the strike is drawn broadly in the context of regional labor differences, racial differences among textile workers, and the consequences of mill village life. 1996 Joady Award Winner, Film Arts Foundation; Gold Hugo Winner, 1995 Chicago International Film Festival. Request this video online.

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