Louisiana Diary, Part II

Please note: copyright to Louisiana Diary is held by WNET. All rights reserved. WNET is the premier public media provider of the New York metropolitan area and parent of public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21. Louisiana Diary was originally produced by KQED for National Educational Television (NET) - the predecessor of WNET - and first aired in 1964.

Written and directed by Richard O. Moore (who described the experience in a 2012 interview), Part II of this KQED Film Unit documentary follows the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) from July to August 1963, as they undertake an African American voter registration drive in the town of Plaquemine, Louisiana (Iberville Parish). Includes scenes of: civil rights meetings in Baptist Churches; a mass march and vigil; police tear gassing crowds and making arrests; interviews with Ronnie Moore (Field Secretary for CORE in Louisiana); a speech by James L. Farmer, Jr. (National Secretary of CORE) and views of a Plaquemine contingent getting on a bus, heading for the August 28th 1963 civil rights march on Washington, DC. Narrated by Moore, the film adds a postscript that on October 17th 1963, Reverend Joseph Carter became the first African American who successfully registered to vote in the West Feliciana Parish of Louisiana. This film was edited by Irving Saraf and Philip Greene, shot by Philip Greene, Irving Saraf and Robert Charlton, with sound by Stanley Kronquest. Opening graphic designed by Carrie Hawks.

Note: this 16mm film print was re-transferred in 4K (4096 x 2970) using a Lasergraphics ScanStation film scanner, in July 2023. Film shrinkage was measured in July 2023 at 0.6%. This program originally aired as one continuous documentary on TV but we're streaming it in 2-parts online, in order to preserve the picture quality.