America's War on Poverty (1995)

Miniseries

In the midst of unprecedented national prosperity in the 1960s, poverty was "rediscovered" by American policy makers, media and the public. This series examines how the poor fared during these years and the resultant evolution of foundation and public sector programs addressing the challenges of poverty.

Released Jan. 16, 1995 Episode 42 min None+

Genres: Documentary

Keywords: tmdb.poverty, tmdb.poor, mdblist.imdb-tv-mini-series, imdb.tv-mini-series

Production Companies: Blackside

Network: PBS

Country: United States
Languages: English

IMDb

7.4

/7/

Trakt

/1/

TMDb

Lynne Thigpen

S1E1 - In This Affluent Society

During the early 1960s, hundreds of Kentucky coal miners displaced by automation strike out at their former employers, bombing mines to shut down production. Millions of others displaced by machines across Appalachia and the rural South head north to begin a new life in Chicago. This episode reports on these stories of desperation and hope and explores the origins of America's war on poverty.

Jan. 16, 1995, midnight

S1E2 - Given a Chance

Early 1965 is a critical period for President Johnson's war on poverty. Community action programs attract strong opposition from local and state governments. The Head Start program is created to provide poor children with adequate nutrition, health care and the educational advantages that other American children enjoy. The program looks at Head Start in Mississippi, America's poorest state.

Jan. 16, 1995, midnight

S1E3 - City of Promise

Increasingly, the media and the public equate poverty with inner-city blacks. This program looks at the anger and despair of the poor and the powerless and examines attempts made in Newark, New Jersey, to reclaim the inner city through public/private partnerships.

Jan. 17, 1995, midnight

S1E4 - In Service to America

This episode tells the stories of Legal Services and VISTA, two programs that combined individual action with the idea of volunteerism. Lawyers team up with migrant farm workers in California to fight for better working conditions and benefits, and VISTA volunteers and coal miners unite against strip mining companies in the Appalachians.

Jan. 17, 1995, midnight

S1E5 - My Brother's Keeper

The Nixon Administration and the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO), in a surprising partnership, bring the nation to the brink of overhauling the federal Social Security system and replacing welfare with a guaranteed income for all citizens.

Jan. 18, 1995, midnight

PBS

42 min/ep

42 min

Jan. 16, 1995

Jan. 18, 1995, midnight

Ended