Join us for a screening of the film '63 Boycott, from the award-winning documentary house Kartemquin Films. This 30-minute film combines previously unseen archival 16mm footage of the 1963 Chicago Schools Boycott with participants' reflections today.
The boycott was one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s, connecting contemporary issues around race, education, school closings, and youth activism. The film visually communicates the legacies of 1919 and also underscores an alternative to violence: a boycott and a highly organized march.
The film will be followed by a conversation with filmmakers and a union organizer and CPS parent who was a key player in the 1963 Boycott, and who appears in the film.
Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots
Visit this page for a complete list of Chicago 1919 public programs.
This event is part of the Newberry's year-long initiative, Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots. It has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and by generous support from Edith Rasmussen Ahern and Patrick Ahern. Our Youth Engagement Sponsor is Allstate.
Collaborative partners in Chicago 1919 include the Black Chicago History Forum, Black Metropolis Research Consortium, Blackstone Bicycle Works, Chicago Architectural Club, Chicago Collection Consortium, Chicago History Museum, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Urban League, City Bureau, Kartemquim Films, Middle Passage Production, and Young Chicago Authors.
Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots received the 2020 Outstanding Public History Project Award from the National Council on Public History.
Speakers
Rachel Dickson, independent documentary filmmaker
Tracye Matthews, documentary filmmaker and Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University of Chicago
Gordon Quinn, founder and Artistic Director, Kartemquin Films
Rosie Simpson, union organizer
Moderated by Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Assistant Professor of History at University of Illinois at Chicago and author of A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago since the 1960s
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Past Public Programs
Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.