Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2016-09-30

Duration: 00:06:41

Subjects: Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859 | Government | Political participation | Poverty | White, Malinda Brumfield | State legislators

Contributors:

• Whinham, Charlie Host
• Spires, Kelly Producer
• Crews, Keith Editor
• White, Malinda Interviewee
• Surprenant, Chris Interviewee

This segment from the September 30, 2016, episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” features the third part of producer Kelly Spires’ report on the status of the American Dream in Louisiana based on the writings of 19th century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. She focuses on income inequality and the state’s high poverty rate. Spires interviews State Representative Malinda White of Bogalusa, a small business owner, who discusses the gulf of understanding between lawmakers and people living in poverty and the importance of community organizations in bringing people together. She also interviews Dr. Chris Surprenant, the director of the Alexis de Tocqueville Project at the University of New Orleans, who discusses de Tocqueville’s view on the relationship between American values and their system of government, the importance of civic involvement and political participation, and what we can learn from de Tocqueville’s writings.