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Alice's Ordinary People: A Documentary (Adults)

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Join us for a screening of the documentary "Alice's Ordinary People" with an introduction and Q&A session by Director Craig Dudnick.

Alice Tregay refused to stand still for injustice. From her time fighting against overcrowding in Chicago’s schools, marching with Martin Luther King, and offering Political Education classes, her life story reads like a history of the Civil Rights Movement. This documentary film honors Alice and other activists of the Chicago Freedom Movement. Director Craig Dudnick will host a screening and offer insights into history.

Early on, Alice Tregay fought the “Willis Wagons.” The second class structures were built to relieve overcrowding in those Chicago schools which served the African American community. Their very existence perpetuated segregation. In 1966, Dr. King came to Chicago. Alice and her husband, James Tregay, marched with him, often at great personal risk. It was at this time that Dr. King joined the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and the Reverend James Bevel to form Operation Breadbasket. Breadbasket fought racism on many fronts, but its main task was jobs for African Americans, particularly from those businesses drawing profits from the African American community.

Under the leadership of Reverend Jackson, the months that Alice and her “ordinary people” spent picketing led to real change. But it was through her Political Education class, that Alice had her most significant impact. Over a four year period, thousands were trained to work in independent political campaigns. This new force was integral to the re-election of Ralph Metcalf to Congress (this time as an independent Democrat), to the election of Harold Washington, mayor, and to making Barack Obama, our first African American President.

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