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Problem and commitment (video in two parts, with transcript): interview with Hartford government and business leaders about community issues

Biggs, Julian (Creator)

1969

Bankers

A group of white men in suits sit at a round table and talk about what they see as the problems and possible solutions for the city of Hartford. Participants include: George Kinsella (city councilman), Howard Klebanoff (city and state representative), James English (president of Connecticut Bank & Trust), Norris O’Neal (city and state representative), George Ritter (attorney and state representative), and Nicholas Carbone (city councilman). Julian Biggs, the director of the film project, also sits at the table with the and prompts the men with questions. They begin with discussing what keeps a person in the City of Hartford. Kinsella says that it is a belief in the community and what it can do for him and his family. English asks where else is the person going to live, given that the city is a source of livelihood for most. The men also talk about whether or not the problems in the city of Hartford are manageable, saying that many people do not think they are and that is why there is an exodus underway from the city to the surrounding suburbs. O’Neal suggests that the city should not just be managed in the sense of keeping it the way it is or going back to the way it was in 1946, but that it should be managed in a completely different way and the attitudes of the managers and the people of the city need to change in a revolutionary way. In addressing the needs of children in the education system, for example, O’Neal and others agree that it would take a tremendous amount of funds coming from the state and federal government since the city does not have sufficient resources. It would also require that the city and suburbs see themselves as a greater mutually supportive community (a regional approach), which would mean helping people understand each other and that this is important now. Ritter agrees that there has to be something done at the state level but the legislature is being asked to cut back 50 million more dollars out of a budget that is already skimpy. Carbone suggests that the city council needs to ask the city to set priorities, which may favor a recreational program for teenagers and 24-hour community school model over what he calls “sacred cows.” Ritter says that there may be a more effective way to use present resources but that there is still a need for additional funds, especially when considering the overwhelming need in the area of housing. Klebanoff is concerned that there really isn’t a commitment by the greater regional and state communities as a whole to solving the problems and that ultimately two societies exist that are not in dialogue with each other and it will take some intense coordination to make progress.

Ownership Statement: Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library

color

video/mov

Source Note: Butch Lewis Collection

Hartford (Conn.)

This is one of a number of 1969 documentary-style films in the collection of Hartford Black Panther Party co-founder, Butch Lewis. The films were directed and filmed by Canadian filmmaker Julian Biggs and assistant Baylis Glascock. . They document various Hartford black and Puerto Rican community leaders and communities as well as white governmental and business leaders discussing issues facing poor communities in the City of Hartford. Issues include urban renewal, housing, employment, education, and governmental representation.

Glascock, Baylis (Creator)

City council members

Lawyers

Legisters

Municipal government

50002:5544

local: hpl_hhc_bl_problem-commitment

http://hdl.handle.net/11134/50002:5544

MovingImage

video recordings