25. Freedom School, South Side
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Our documentary will feature modern day interviews with participants in the 1963 Chicago Public School Boycott. Help us find the people in these pictures. Please include any contact information you have for them in your tags. Thanks for your help! If you have any questions or comments, please contact us by email at 63boycott@kartemquin.com, or call 773-413-9263.
Our documentary will feature modern day interviews with participants in the 1963 Chicago Public School Boycott. Help us find the people in these pictures. Please include any contact information you have for them in your tags. Thanks for your help! If you have any questions or comments, please contact us by email at 63boycott@kartemquin.com, or call 773-413-9263.
i was a freedom school coordinator for the southside for my mother hattie williams we ran the kenwood oakland study center and i recruited ann cook and herb mack to be tutors at our study center in 1961-3.we were first located at ebenezer church on 45th and vincennes.this photo was taken at that location.other locations on that day were:u of chicago ida noyes hall,u of c student union,u of c blue gargoyle,apostolic faith church on 61st near the midway.on the west side was the u.i.c. campus student union somewhere on campus near 12th st.many of the locations were churches.professor wayne booth of the univ. of chicago and professor allen ivers of the university of illinois chicago were also behind the scenes advisors.the woman who began this movement was my mother hattie kay williams who is noticably absent in photos and history of this event.she began singlehandedly the willis must go movement,organized and fought the willis wagons protest as head of the southeast region of pta,s.when we got the attention of dr. martin luther king whom we spoke with regularly was when the boycott gained momentum.a park is now named for her at 41st and lake park in chicago where the original planning for this boycott was held.it did not happen overnight.in fact the first boycott was held in 1959 on the southside and involved five grammar schools under her aegis as a pta president and organizer.this was begun and directed by the southeast region of pta,s which consisted of 40 schools located from 29th to 10019 street mostly grammar schools that hattie kay williams was director of.when the media began covering the willis wagons protest is when all these others got involved.dick gregory was one of our key people as well as tim black.this was the backstory to this historic moment.