“The Negro Farmer: Extension Work for Better Farming and Better Living” (1938) was made by the United States Dept. of Agriculture with assistance from the Tuskegee Institute. It features music, entitled “Negro Melodies”, from the Tuskegee Institute Choir directed by African American composer William L. Dawson. The film has been assessed as a condescending, paternalistic portrait of Black rural life that was intended to slow or stop the mass migration by Blacks to the North. The film features Redoshi (c. 1848 – 1937) (renamed Sally Smith by her enslaver, Washington Smith), a West African woman taken to Dallas County, Alabama in 1860. Redoshi was considered one of the two last surviving victims of the transAtlantic slave trade.

0:00 Main titles. Nine million Blacks in the Southern states, mostly farmers, struggle with poor, one-crop farming practices.1:24 Over 30 years of agricultural extension work, founded by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, now a nationwide service, employed over 400 agents by 1937 to improve farming and living conditions in Southern Black communities.1:55 Sally Smith, over 110 and born in Africa, witnessed her generation’s improved conditions through this self-help campaign.2:14 Extension work targets fundamental improvements for poorer farmers 3:34 The program’s watchword is “live at home,” prioritizing good home gardens for physical well-being, providing food for families, and generating surplus cash.4:39 Fundamental lessons like seed corn selection, leading to successful corn, soybean, and tobacco cultivation.5:45 Farmers involve children in tobacco proceed.6:46 Soil conservation.7:28 Farm poultry is crucial for “live at home”.8:21 Turkeys are a profitable cash crop.8:41 4-H clubs drive livestock improvement, teaching boys dairy cow judging and purebred Jersey raising. Veterinarians and agents cooperate to train farmers in combating hog cholera.9:46 Girls’ 4-H clubs conduct dairy demonstrations, emphasizing clean milk production and overall sanitation.10:08 Healthy herds combat pellagra, providing fresh dairy. Surplus dairy, poultry, and garden produce safeguard family health and generate income; some farmers pursue large-scale dairying.10:58 Black extension workers launch a “better sires campaign,” breeding native cows with purebred bulls.11:33 Pork curing demonstrations.12:10 Sorghum mills support “live at home,” providing a cheap sweet staple that reduces food costs and offers surplus for sale.12:52 Home canning.13:24 Smokehouses store canned goods in non-freezing regions. Canning demonstrations.14:05 Simple homemade canning outfits foster neighborhood canning bees and cooperative enterprises.14:59 Housing improvements address disease from unscreened cabins. Screening against malaria mosquitoes and typhoid flies.15:19 Inexpensive farmstead toilets protect against fly-borne diseases. Fostering pride in attractive, unpretentious farm homes.16:48 Outdoor bathrooms with pump-and-drain systems.17:15 A 4-H state champion in dressmaking .17:36 Successful cooperative curb markets, a commercial development from ‘live at home,’ are proving profitable.17:54 A cooperatively operated cotton gin, run by Black farmers under county agent supervision, demonstrates efficient work.18:15 Community fairs allow agents to discuss farm problems and 4-H girls to sell goods.18:52 Farm product exhibits stimulate interest and friendly competition.19:14 Extension service sponsors 4-H summer camps with short courses in agriculture and homemaking, offering study, association, stock judging, and first aid. 20:10 A ‘movable school,’ a joint effort by extension service and Tuskegee Institute, teaches farming, homemaking, and hygiene, with nurses providing preventive treatments.20:44 The film concludes with Dr. Booker T. Washington’s quote, advocating agriculture as the fundamental pursuit for Black Americans, urging them to ‘begin at the bottom’ and dignify labor with ‘brains and skill’ for lasting progress.

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