Delta Dreams

Major funding for this program was provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation uses its resources to build and sustain strong communities for all Arkansans by supporting and strengthening the organizations that serve them.

Delta Dreams is a story that is told primarily by a cross section of the men and women, young and old, who live in the community. They include planters and farmers, businessmen and teachers, high schools and college students, working people and small business owners, community leaders and people trying to escape poverty. The program presents a portrait of the town as it was in its glory day, a description of how and why it declined, the formation of a plan for recovery by the community in conjunction with Southern Bancorp and the Walton Foundation; the efforts of local people to start new businesses including building tourism around the town’s history and tradition of music; the troubled and present racial history of the community; and the efforts to overcome the devastating effects of poverty through education.

Viewer Comments

My family are residence of Helena-West Helena. I watched the program late one night and was able to have a better insight of the struggles of my mothers parents, and how we were able to stratch up from nothing to something. My wife and I go there often to visit our family and friends, now I will have a greater appreciation for the streets my grandfather walked up on everyday till his passing. I really truly enjoyed the program.
Comment made by Ulysses Davis on 20 Feb 2009