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Delta Jews

Directed by Mike DeWitt

USA | 64 minutes | 1998

The Mississippi Delta is known more for catfish than for gefilte fish, for its levees more than its Levys, and for its blues more than its Jews. For more than a century, however, the largely rural region has been home to a thriving Jewish community, rooted generations-deep in rich southern soil. Jews became an integral part of Delta life, forging a hybrid identity that was deeply Jewish and distinctly southern. Those that remain trace the history of their community that was dominated by fundamental Protestantism and divided by racial inequities. The film includes a surprising account of a Jewish reaction to the Mississippi summer. Narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy).
Director Mike DeWitt
Countries of Production USA
Year of Presentation 1998
Language(s)
Premiere Status
Runtime 64 minutes
Principal Cast Alfred Uhry, Jerry Himelstein, Bettye Sue Kline, Paul Kossmen
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