Life of Bertie Bowman: Documentary

In 1944, Bertie Bowman- a poor impressionable kid, heard South Carolina Senator Burnet Maybank declare: "If y'all ever get up to Washington, D.C., drop by and see me!" Though Maybank was addressing a crowd of white constituents, Bertie took those words to heart - for they offered him an invitation to a new life, a chance to escape the drudgery of the family farm, the Jim Crow South and his well-meaning, yet stern father. Carrying only a flour sack and his meager savings pinned inside his shirt, Bertie set out for Washington - "up the road", to make his mark.