Ken Burns’ latest documentary delves into the causes and experiences of the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history. “The Dust Bowl” chronicles, “the frenzied wheat boom of the “Great Plow-Up,” followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews with twenty-six survivors of those hard times, combined with dramatic photographs and seldom seen movie footage, bring to life stories of incredible human suffering and equally incredible human perseverance. It is also a morality tale about our relationship to the land that sustains us—a lesson we ignore at our peril.”
Watch The Dust Bowl Preview on PBS. See more from The Dust Bowl.
Join Kansas City Public Television, the University of Kansas Libraries and the Kansas City Public Library on Tuesday November 13th at 6pm, for a screening of excerpts from “The Dust Bowl”. Clips from the upcoming documentary will be introduced by the film’s writer and co-producer Dayton Duncan, who also worked with Burns on The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, The Civil War, Baseball and Jazz.
Following the screening, Duncan will join Rex Buchanan, interim director of the Kansas Geological Survey, and Sara Gregg, KU assistant professor of history, in panel discussion moderated by KCPT’s Randy Mason.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street | Kansas City, MO
6:00| Reception
Peruse a display of items from KU Libraries’ collections which document the dust bowl’s impacts on this region and hear local musician Larry Garrett perform songs from and inspired by the era.
6:30 | Film screening and panel discussion, Truman Forum Auditorium
RSVP on the Kansas City Public Library’s website.
In Lakin, Kansas, three children prepare to leave for school wearing goggles and homemade dust masks to protect them from the dust in 1935. Photo credit: Courtesy of Joyce Unruh; Green Family Collection
