America's War On Poverty: In Service To America

At times, the federal war on poverty (mid-1960s to mid-1970s) resembled a real war. To Great Society liberals it was a chance to force the nation to live up to its ideals and make the law work for, rather than against, poor people. To conservatives it was at best an unwarranted government intrusion into the free enterprise system; at worst it was outright socialism. Names were called, fists flew, and sometimes guns were brandished. The debate simmers to this day. As one still committed antipoverty worker says, it's part of a larger ongoing struggle for the soul of our society. In Service to America, the fourth program in the America's War on Poverty series, recalls the days when VISTA workers fanned out through destitute coal towns of Appalachia. At first, volunteers confined themselves to tasks like fixing up the local schoolhouse, but when they turned to empowering the rural poor, they incurred the wrath of strip-mine operators and their political allies. The tape's second half details the efforts of a cadre of lawyers who helped to organize California farm workers unions during the grape and lettuce boycotts of the late 1960s. Agribusiness and Governor Ronald Reagan fought back, and the crisis reverberated all the way back to the White House. Different perspectives on the poverty problem are represented from antipoverty architect Sargent Shriver and Nixon aide John Ehrlichmann, to volunteers and workers on the firing line. Although the program can stand on its own merits, it would probably be more meaningful when viewed as part of the series. The other titles are: In This Affluent Society, Given a Chance, City of Promise, and My Brother's Keeper. This is a good addition to social history collections. (S. Rees)