More than 200 people packed into Union Church in Hyde Park to see a ten minute work in progress of 63 Boycott at the Free Minds, Free People conference opening celebration on Thursday, July 11th. The work in progress includes our three minute demo, as well as interviews and footage shot this year and last in Chicago.
The event also showcased a performance of Shades of Mississippi by the Civil Right Opera Project and a panel with four activists from the 1963 boycott, some of whom even appear in our original 16mm footage. Rosie Simpson, a mother of 6 and key organizer of the 63 boycott, Timuel Black, and educator and organizer, Fannie Rushing, an organizer, and Ralph Davis, a student, all shared their experiences and memories from 1963.
For more perspective on the event, read this blog post.