Butch Lewis Video Collection

Collection

Identifier: AV-Lewis

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes African American, West Indian American, Puerto Rican, and white American voices from the North End, South End, and Downtown communities of Hartford in 1969, providing rich information about a moment immediately following three consecutive summers of riots in Hartford. Discussion topics include Hartford’s riot of 1969, housing, employment, education, police community relations, politics, and urban renewal projects.

Dates

1969

Conditions Governing Access

Videos and transcripts can be viewed on the Connecticut Digital Archive. Physical copies of films and transcripts are not available.

Conditions Governing Use

See Hartford History Center's Collection Use policy. Permission to publish from the collection must be obtained in writing from curator of the Hartford History Center, and a copy of the published work may be requested by the Hartford History Center. The Hartford History Center reserves the right to refuse permission to publish, etc. to those who have not complied with its policies. Use of the collections will normally not be permitted for the purpose of promotion of commercial products and services or political campaigns. Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library reserves the right to limit the number of photographic prints/captures and to restrict the use or reproduction of rare, fragile, or valuable objects.

Biographical / Historical

The videos in this collection are from the personal collection of Charles “Butch” Lewis (1944-2015), co-founder of the Hartford chapter of the Black Panther Party. Lewis believed it was imperative that his collection be made accessible to the public, and ensured that commitment through his donation of the videos to the Hartford Public Library.

The videos were produced by a team of Canadian filmmakers, including director Julian Biggs and cameraman, Baylis Glascock, a UCLA student originally from Missouri. They were commissioned by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to conduct a social documentary process called the Fogo method in Hartford in 1969. The method was developed as part of the Canadian National Film Board’s ‘Challenge for Change’ initiative, which began in 1966. Named after the first place in which it was conducted, Fogo Island in Newfoundland, the method entails that the filmmakers film and interview various individuals and groups of a place that is experiencing issues around communication. The footage is then shown to people who would not normally be in the same room together and their reactions would be filmed. They would then find a way to come together to have a conversation and ideally create an action plan to deal with issues that arose. This process was not completed in Hartford, as Biggs, the director of the project, fell victim to a terminal illness. Although the project was passed on to an advisor, Verna Fields, there was a change in administration, with Richard Nixon becoming president and Donald Rumsfeld becoming the head of OEO. Rumsfeld suspended all in-progress Fogo method projects.

Extent

24 Recordings

Language of Materials

English

Spanish; Castilian

Additional Description

Abstract

The videos in this collection are from the personal collection of Charles “Butch” Lewis (1944-2015), co-founder of the Hartford chapter of the Black Panther Party. The videos were produced by a team of Canadian filmmakers and include African American, West Indian American, Puerto Rican, and white American voices from the North End, South End, and Downtown communities of Hartford in 1969, providing rich information about a moment immediately following three consecutive summers of riots in Hartford.