Paul Good

Interview with journalist Paul Good who wrote The American Serfs: A Report on Poverty in the Rural South.

Good says a vast number of the poor in the South are living in conditions comparable to conditions of medieval serfs - both Whites and Blacks. The book covers five states, including white poverty in eastern Kentucky. Many, he says, are simply overwhelmed by the power structure abetted by federal agencies. Good laws, he says, are passed but not being enforced. Good calls for pressure on elected officials and says the nation needs a vast rehab program.

The book ends on a pessimistic note. Racial bias and materialism have blinded those in power to allow for a change in the South. He believes there has been a calculated campaign to force Blacks out of the South.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

WNYC archives id: 150924
Municipal archives id: T5961