Directed by: Anne Lewis and Dee Davis
1986
Running Time: 29:00
Color
Carl D. Perkins was sworn into office as representative of Kentucky’s mountainous Seventh Congressional District in January 1949 and was serving his 17th term when he died suddenly on August 3, 1984. A brillant legislative strategist and home-style politician who never seemed to forget a constituent’s name, Perkins served as chairman of the powerful House Committee on Education and Labor where he sponsored bills that established and expanded Vocational Rehabilation and Education Programs, the National Defense Student Loan Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Chapter I), and the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which gave the federal government a mandate to protect coal miners and established the Black Lung Benefits Program. Most of A Tribute to Carl D. Perkins was videotaped in his hometown of Hindman, Kentucky as more than a hundred members of the United States Congress and over 3,000 Kentuckians paid their last respects.
Reviews
"Many people in eastern Kentucky can’t accept that he is no longer with us. Carl D. Perkins was truly a legend. This program shows an outpouring of respect for an approach to government that looks after the sick, the needy, and those folks who are down on their luck." - Mike Mullins, Director, Hindman Settlement School
Screenings & Festivals
Kentucky Educational Television
WSWP/Beckley, WV
Blue Ridge Public Television
WSJK/Knoxville
