To commemorate the life and career of Gov. William Winter, Mississippi Public Broadcasting will re-air the following programs on MPB Television: The Toughest Job: William Winter’s Mississippi at 7 p.m. Dec. 23 and Conversations: Gov. William and EliseWinter at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 25 and at 11 a.m. Dec. 27. Winter, Mississippi’s 58th governor, died Friday, Dec.18, at the age of 97.
The Toughest Job: William Winter’s Mississippi chronicles the life and career of Gov. Winter and his fight to pass the 1982 Education Reform bill. The film also emphasizes Winter’s role as a leader in economic development and racial reconciliation. The documentary features materials from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and interviews with Gov. Winter, Elise Winter, Vernon Jordan, Dick Molpus, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Ray Mabus, Reuben V. Anderson, Charles Overby, President Bill Clinton and others.
Produced by The Southern Documentary Project, the documentary first aired in 2014 on MPB Television. “It’s been a remarkable challenge attempting to condense a whole life’s worth of passion, bitter defeats and momentous victories into an hour-long documentary, but I feel very satisfied with what we’ve created,” said filmmaker Matthew Graves in 2014. “To me, it’s a thrilling story of perseverance and leadership and is truly a testament to what is possible in this state.”
“In an age of shrill, often gridlocked politics, we need more leaders with Gov. Winter’s courage, character, resolve and constructive leadership,” said David Crews, the film’s executive producer and former gubernatorial advisor. “This film portrays a rich, tumultuous period of history while documenting the accomplishments of a rare leader willing to tackle tough, vexing and important issues.
Conversations: Gov. William and Elise Winter, also originally aired in 2014, and was produced by MPB Television. Winter is often viewed as Mississippi's greatest statesman. In this edition of Conversations, he and his wife, Elise, reminisced about their many years in the political arena, their lives together and their service to others.