Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2016-09-16

Duration: 00:07:03

Subjects: Floods, 2016 | Natural Disasters | Disaster response and recovery | Mulhearn, Patrick | Celtic Media Centre | Film Industry | Flood damage | Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859 | American Dream

Contributors:

• Whinham, Charlie Host
• Spires, Kelly Producer
• Woods, Virnado Editor
• Mulhearn, Patrick Interviewee
• Williams, Brandi Interviewee
• Surprenant, Chris Interviewee

This segment from the September 16, 2016, episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” features the first 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 the flood response and recovery in Baton Rouge following the historic August flooding. Spires interviews Patrick Mulhearn, the executive director of the Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge, who discusses the slow-down in the film industry in Louisiana in the past year, the use of Celtic’s empty studio space as an emergency shelter for 4,000 flood evacuees, and the organic nature of the flood response. She also interviews Brandi Williams, a teacher at Central Middle School in Ascension Parish, at her flood-damaged home in Baton Rouge. She discusses the help she received in gutting her home from her fellow teachers and her view of the American Dream in light of losing most of her possessions. Lastly, Spires interviews Dr. Chris Suprenant, the director of the Alexis de Tocqueville Project at the University of New Orleans, who discusses the writer’s view of the importance of civic groups in American society. Host: Charlie Whinham