In partnership with Mikva Challenge and Kartemquin Films, YURI contributed original curriculum to pair with the documentary short, '63 Boycott. The film is about a time in 1963 when 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. This series of lessons are written to be used along with the documentary to engage students in a variety of deeper learning around issues of educational equity, activism, documenting the past and understanding untold histories.
Check out the curriculum here!
About the Documentary
In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. Many marched through the city calling for the resignation of School Superintendent Benjamin Willis, who placed trailers, dubbed ‘Willis Wagons,’ on playgrounds and parking lots of overcrowded Black schools rather than let them enroll in nearby white schools. Blending unseen 16mm footage of the march shot by Kartemquin founder Gordon Quinn with the participants’ reflections today, ’63 Boycott connects the forgotten story of one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, school closings, and youth activism.’63 Boycott has screened at dozens of festivals and museums across the world, won five awards, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2019.