The National Hunger March 1931: Unrest

This 1931 silent documentary, The National Hunger March 1931, filmed in black-and-white 16mm by Sam Brody, Robert Del Duca, William Kruck, Leo Seltzer, Kita, Alfredo Valenti, and others of the Workers Film and Photo League, captures the National Unemployment Council’s Hunger March from November to December. Marchers from across the U.S., representing 12 million jobless, converge on Washington, D.C., in a raw protest against Depression-era poverty. Restored by Leo Seltzer, this 11-minute reel shows banners, weary faces, and urban grit, a pre-war cry for justice preserved from radical cinema’s frontlines.