Appalachia: Rich Land, Poor People 1968

Directed by Jack Willis

National Educational Television" Wednesday, November 13, 1968 on NET's Brand New NET Journal Week on 1960 RCA TV. The land is rich with coal, yet its residents are denied adequate food, housing, or medical care. This, the Appalachian region, was the nation's first designated poverty area. This film focuses upon Eastern Kentucky where mechanization of the mines is replacing people and jobs. A lack of education and other working skills makes these residents prisoners of the land, as seen by a discerning interview with a local family.