The ground beneath our feet

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Date
1999/2001
Main contributor
Gilliam, George H. (producer, host)
Summary
A documentary film series and website about Virginia's history since the Civil War. 

Episode 1– New Deal Virginia explores two significant changes in Virginia history: the creation of Shenandoah National Park and the electrification of rural Virginia. Both stories trace the effects of the federal government on the lives of everyday rural Virginians in the 1930s. Letters, maps, newspaper stories and teaching resources accompany this exploration and film (30 minutes).

Episode 3 – Massive Resistance became Virginia's policy to prevent school desegregation in the wake of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954. Many of Virginia's white leaders resisted integration with all of their considerable political and legal means. The story of massive resistance and of black Virginians' protests against segregation began in the early 1950s and continues today. This two-part film (one hour) traces the history of massive resistance in Virginia and considers some of its legacies. "Massive Resistance" was an Emmy Nominee in 2000 of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and will be shown nationally on PBS in February 2002 for Black History Month.

Episode 4 – Virginia Fights World War II explores the transformative changes that Virginia experienced in World War II. Virginia mobilized hundreds of thousands of citizens during World War II and became the home base for a host of navy, army munitions, and defense industries. Virginia's soldiers fought in the Pacific and landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day. This two-part film (one hour) follows the stories of everyday Virginians, those who fought at D-Day and those who patrolled Virginia beaches, worked in the munition plants, flew missions in Europe, and fell in love during the war. This site contains the image archive for the film--over 1,600 images of Virginia or Virginians in World War II.
Contributors
Gilliam, George H. (producer, host); Sydnor, Charles W. (Producer); Mills, Mason W. (Cinematographer); Adams, Lauralee (Editor)
Publishers
Central Virginia Educational Telecommunications Corporation (New Deal Virginia) (production company); United Newsreel Corporation (Virginia Fights World War II); Central Virginia's Public TV (production company); Commonwealth Public Broadcasting (Va.) (production company); Community Idea Stations (production company); WCVE-TV (Television station : Richmond, Va.) (production company); WHTJ (Television station : Charlottesville, Va.) (production company)
Genre
Documentary films
Subjects
New Deal, 1933-1939; Rural electrification -- Virginia; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History; Segregation -- Virginia; School integration -- Virginia; Virginia -- History; World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- Virginia; Armed Forces -- Mobilization; Industrial mobilization -- Virginia
Collection
Robertson Media Center Streaming Content
Unit
Robertson Media Center
Language
English
Terms of Use
Reformatted and streamed for public use with the permission of sole rights holder George H. Gilliam, Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia.
Physical Description
1 online resource (3 video files, 145 min.) : sound, color, black and white
Related Item
The ground beneath our feet website
Other Identifier
Local Identifier: u2885876

Access Restrictions

This item is accessible by: the public.