At this film screening and discussion we also recognized Willie Baptist, Poverty Initiative Scholar-in-Residence and one of the people featured in the film, as a 2007 Alston-Bannerman Fellow for long-time activists of color.



“Living Broke in Boom Times” is the hidden story of poor people organizing in America.  The action filled documentary spans the 1990s and includes current commentary from activists who were involved in the organizing, and are now drawing lessons from that period. Skylight Pictures has been making award-winning social issue documentaries for over 25 years.

Praise for the film from Howard Zinn: “It is a wonderful documentary, heart-rending in its depiction of homelessness and desperation, yet inspiring in what it shows about the magnificence of people fighting back, organizing, refusing to accept their situation, trying to build a national movement…I think it can play an important role in arousing people to action.”