Hands That Picked Cotton: The Story Of Black Politics In Today's Rural South

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Program
Hands That Picked Cotton: The Story Of Black Politics In Today's Rural South
Producing Organization
WYES-TV (Television station : New Orleans, La.)
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-qj77s7k27r
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Description
Program Description
"In the early 1960's, one of the voting rights organizing slogans in Mississippi was 'Hands that once picked cotton can now pick elected officials.' Twenty years after the civil rights movement succeeded in regaining the right to vote for Southern blacks, this film documentary examines just what the legacy of that movement has been in the politics and the governing of the rural black-belt South. The focus is first on what happens when blacks run for office. Here blacks campaign for control of county government in a small Mississippi delta county. The focus then shifts to what happens when blacks do win office and do win political control. In a town in north Louisiana which has had a black mayor and a black majority on its town council for over a decade, the film explores the problems of governing a poor town with few resources, high expectations on the part of the black community and the differences in the perceptions of whites and blacks. 'Hands That Picked Cotton' presents a portrait of the South today and tries to answer the question of what difference the civil rights movement made in the day-to-day lives of people and in the political system that survived it. "This program was first broadcast in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana on WYES-TV and on the LPB network on September 12th, 1984. It is part of the national PBS schedule for February 8th, 1985."--1984 Peabody Awards entry form.The first portion of the program profiles Robert Clark, a black candidate running for congress in a small Mississippi delta county. This section includes footage from campaign rallies, interviews with Clark and other members of his campaign, and the results of the election. Clark lost the election because he was not able to get the black voter turnout he needed. The next segment of the program focuses on how black candidates can win elections and what happens when they do. This segment profiles Humphreys County and the efforts to elect black candidates to the Board of Supervisors, including interviews with the candidates and their opponents and covering all aspects of the campaign before, during, and after the election. The final portion of the program profiles on the town of Tallulah, Louisiana, which has had a black mayor and black majority on its town council for a decade, and it discusses the problems of leadership, the status quo, and governing a small town. The program covers a town controversy involving bars wanting to stay open on Christmas Day, which the town council has to vote on, and it examines the expectations and pressures placed on the black councilmen, especially when it comes to economic issues.
Broadcast Date
1984-09-12
Asset type
Program
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:44:35.973
Credits
Producing Organization: WYES-TV (Television station : New Orleans, La.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-c7d83f30d49 (Filename)
Format: DVCPRO
Generation: Original
Duration: 1:03:35
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Citations
Chicago: “ Hands That Picked Cotton: The Story Of Black Politics In Today's Rural South ,” 1984-09-12, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 26, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-qj77s7k27r.
MLA: “ Hands That Picked Cotton: The Story Of Black Politics In Today's Rural South .” 1984-09-12. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 26, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-qj77s7k27r>.
APA: Hands That Picked Cotton: The Story Of Black Politics In Today's Rural South . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-qj77s7k27r