Top Ten Videos on Poverty in the U.S.

by Leigh Graham

Published December 30, 2008 @ 11:40AM PT

This collection of award-winning documentaries, news stories, and advocacy campaign videos illustrate the range of faces and issues of domestic poverty.  Portrayals include Latina immigrants in Los Angeles organizing for worker protections; two New Orleanians recovering from the impact of Hurricane Katrina; gentrification conflict in Columbus, Ohio; and educational intervention in the lives at at-risk boys in Baltimore.

1) “Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America,” Catholic Charities U.S.A.: A very straightforward, six minute overview of the causes, consequences, and faces of poverty from one of the largest social service organizations in the U.S. The goal of the Campaign is to cut domestic poverty in half by 2020; suggestions for activism are included.

2) The Boys of Baraka, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, 2005: “African-American boys have a very high chance of being incarcerated or killed before they reach adulthood. In Baltimore, one of the country's most poverty-stricken cities for inner-city residents, the Baraka School project was founded to break the cycle of violence through an innovative education program that literally removed young boys from low-performing public schools and unstable home environments.” Winner of multiple awards.

3) Flag Wars, Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras, 2003: “Flag Wars is a stark look inside the conflicts that surface when black working-class families are faced with an influx of white gay homebuyers to their Columbus, Ohio neighborhood.” “From porch conversations and family dinners to public hearings and street protests, Flag Wars provides a rare and extraordinarily intimate account of the social and human consequences of capitalism and the pursuit of the "American Dream" told through the lives of residents in a community confronted by gentrification.” Gentrification and displacement are major problems affecting low-income Americans.

4) “The Other America,” CBS News, October 1, 2008: A 2 minute, informative news clip highlighting an emblematic, city-run “tent city” in Reno, NV, where the newly homeless are living alongside the chronically homeless after falling into economic hardship.

5) Trouble the Water, Tia Deal and Carl Lessin, 2008: This “film tells the story of an aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband, trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning. It’s a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes that takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. … Intertwining Kim and Scott’s insider’s view of Katrina and powerful video with a mix of verite and in-your-face filmmaking, [Tia] Deal and [Carl] Lessin follow their story through the storm and its aftermath, and into a new life. Along the way, they discover Kim’s musical talent as rap artist Black Kold Madina when she finds the only existing copy of her recorded music survived the storm with a relative in Memphis. Kim’s performance in that moment reveals not only devastating skills as a musician, but compacts her life story into explosive poetry that paints a devastating picture of poverty.”

6) ACORN 2008 Democracy Campaign and ACORN and the Fight Against Voter Suppression: An overview of ACORN’s long-time work organizing low-income Americans, and, in partnership with Balcony Films, a pointed rebuttal of the specious attacks of voter fraud by the GOP during the 2008 Presidential campaign.

7) The Greening of Newark, Center for American Progress (CAP), September 25, 2008: “An Inside Look at How Newark is Transforming Its Economy.” 21% of all families in Newark live in poverty. 43% of all single mothers with children live in poverty in Newark, a city torn apart in 1967 by rebellions over poverty, racism, police brutality, and oppression. CAP also offers this in-depth video discussion on green collar jobs with activist Van Jones.

8) Made in L.A., Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, 2007: “Made in L.A. follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from trendy clothing retailer Forever 21. In intimate observational style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.” Winner of multiple awards.

9) Take It From Me, Emily Abt, 2001 and Love and Diane, Jennifer Dworkin, 2003: Take It From Me reveals “the experiences of several women and their families” after welfare reform in 1996. “…the new welfare system, with its recent controversial reforms, may make it easier to ignore rather than confront the complexities of poverty amidst plentitude. Quietly powerful, the film offers a vivid portrait of resilience amidst the daunting reality of being poor. In doing so, it deeply recognizes the humanity of those most vulnerable of Americans.”

“Love and Diane tells the epic story of a family over three generations. For Love, the world changed forever when she and her siblings were torn from their mother, Diane. Separated from her family and thrust into a terrifying world of institutions and foster homes…Now Love must face the same ordeal her mother had faced years before. She is charged with neglect and must prove to a world of social workers, therapists and prosecutors that she is a fit mother…While the film takes us deep into the life of a single family, it also offers a provocative look at the Byzantine "system" that aims to help but as often frustrates the family's attempts to improve their situation. The film…aims instead to immerse the viewer in the experiences and thoughts of a family trying to survive and retain autonomy in the face of terrible challenges.”

10) “Woman Convulses and Dies, Ignored, in Waiting Room of Hospital”, July 2, 2008: Associated Press coverage, via Brave New Films, of an indigent woman needing psychiatric care who died after waiting almost 24 hours in the emergency room of a New York City public hospital. Additional coverage is here.