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.

Rosie Simpson, one of the parent organizers of the Boycott, and Ralph Davis, a high school student participant interviewed in our 1963 footage, will speak alongside ’63 Boycott organizers and activists Timuel Black and Fannie Rushing about the ’63 Boycott and lessons for organizing today at the opening celebration of the Free Minds, Free People conference on July 11th. We will also screen a never-before-seen ten minute trailer of the documentary that incorporates recent interviews with our historical footage from 1963.

Join us!

July 11
7:30 pm
Hyde Park Union Church
5600 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637