America's War on Poverty PBS sampler

If it was said common to own a nation of immigrants and a nation of migrants. Who've fled poverty. To come to the land of hope in the land of plenty. And then to denounce others because that hope those dreams that plenty had substantially been removed. We don't ask much. Why we haven't liked to extract a nice rich country. If we're willing to work 10 days. We have a right to expect. I. Have. A roof over their shoulder an opportunity and with your support. Let your yes you know and God's help we will.

I think we all expected that something would happen but not so not as dramatic and not as sweeping and not as determined for breakfast as part of the name Christian. The kind of poverty I mean is the kind of poverty where you have a very bad medical care very bad house a very bad education that kind of poverty. He does not need to exist in the United States any longer. It can be wiped out. We don't need to be looking to Washington to solve all of our problems. We need to work on this ourselves. To see young Americans to be depended upon the federal government is to destroy. While Americans debated the proper role of government. Lyndon Johnson pushed forward with 10 new federal programs. Among the most effective and most controversial was a program to give children of the poor and educational headstart. This means that if you find the building get

some children. You can keep and teach your own children and get paid. That was the answer to a prayer. It was the first time that we were able to see poor black parents doing things with their children building Santa is getting a new sense of excitement and possibility and having children and parents and the poor speak in their own voice and feel comfortable. We employed 2500 people as teachers teachers aides cooks drivers and so on. 2500 people in Mississippi with 10 percent of the growth rate of non agricultural jobs in that state all controlled outside of the power structure. The invasion and it was looked upon by Mississippians as an invasion was particularly offensive because in the minds of Mississippians there were a group of outsiders who were coming here to mess with the minds of their children.

But I question their right is whether or not they have people to train people who have a very pliable my children from 5 years old and I have to that effect the kind of people I want any man to look at my little book. I say no headstart this welfare rights community action. The stories of the war on poverty capture the drama. Of citizens defining the American dream. We did all of these things because we still fighting for freedom. Freedom to govern us and freedom to come up money to poverty. We can't do it by government programs. War on Poverty has failed. We've got to return to the nature of this nation which is freedom. That's what works. We didn't win the war on poverty because we never fought it through to its conclusion. We stopped. Before we won. America's war on poverty. History we still debate.

History that matters.