"... The time has arrived in America for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights."
With this climactic statement on behalf of the minority plank on civil rights at the 1948 Democratic convention, Hubert H. Humphrey, the 37-year-old mayor of Minneapolis, burst onto the national political scene, a scene from which he did not depart until his death in 1978.
Humphrey won five senatorial elections, bracketing four years as Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president and Democratic presidential candidate in 1968. He was in the midst of some of the most significant events of his time: the civil rights movement, the development of "The Great Society" programs and the Vietnam War.
In 2010, Minnesota documentary-maker Mick Caouette, after a decade of research, released a video biography titled "Hubert H. Humphrey: The Art of the Possible." The film, designed to be critical rather than sentimental, includes extraordinary footage of Dixiecrat senators, civil rights activists, Vietnam-era figures and the tumultuous events of 1968. It includes commentary from those who worked most closely with Humphrey.
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The documentary will be shown at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Arizona Senior Academy, 13715 E. Langtry Lane, at Academy Village. It will be introduced and commented upon by Tucsonan Norman Sherman.
Sherman spent almost 40 years in Washington, D.C., working for congressmen, senators, executive branch officials, nonprofit groups and think-tanks. He worked for Humphrey in the Senate and as his press secretary when Humphrey was vice president. Sherman also worked for Humphrey during his 1968 presidential campaign.
Later he edited Humphrey's autobiography, "The Education of a Public Man."
Before retiring to Tucson 11 years ago, Sherman held the Reilly Chair in Political Communications in the journalism and mass communication department at Louisiana State University.
Academy Village is an active-adult community located off Old Spanish Trail six miles southeast of Saguaro National Park East.
If you go
• What: "The Art of the Possible" Hubert Humphrey documentary video, with comments by Norman Sherman
• When: 2:30 p.m. Wednesday
• Where: Arizona Senior Academy Building at Academy Village, 13715 E. Langtry Lane
• Cost: Free; contributions accepted
• Reservations: Seating is limited so reservations are recommended; call 647-0980
To contribute a story, go online to azstarnet.com/east
