[The Roosevelt Experiment demo]
Silent footage of the demo reel for the Jeff Spitz documentary about Roosevelt College, now Roosevelt University.
Silent footage of the demo reel for the Jeff Spitz documentary about Roosevelt College, now Roosevelt University.
Why and how did an integrated college in a segregated city start in downtown Chicago just as World War II was ending? In 1984 an independent documentary filmmaker, Jeff Spitz, found old pictures and film footage about Roosevelt University including a magazine article that referred to the school as “The Roosevelt Experiment.”
Tapping the memories of former students who crossed the color line, particularly Blacks and Jews, the film blends archival images and interviews into an exploration of race, racial quotas and democratic ideals. Former students recall being questioned during an anti-communist investigation that targeted their school.
Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, a former student council president, shares poignant memories of getting into political
arguments in the cafeteria. He called it an “insane but interesting place.”
Shortly after the film’s release Spitz returned to City Hall to interview Mayor Washington about fairness, diversity and clashing visions of government. Mayor Washington’s additional commentary appears at the end of the video.
Quentin Young, a notable Chicago physician and activist, visits various Chicago sites important to his personal history of political activism, providing the context for each site as he does so. Throughout the course of the video, Young visits Valois Restaurant in Hyde Park, the site of the 1937 Memorial Day massacre, Bughouse Square, 1515 S Hamlin, the John Alexander Logan Monument, Federal Plaza, Cook County Hospital, Michael Reese Medical Center, and Daley Plaza.
A meeting of residents and tenants rights organization in Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods with representatives of the Chicago Housing Authority that erupts into chaos.
A meeting of residents and tenants rights organization in Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods with representatives of the Chicago Housing Authority.
Two videos about community activism in Chicago. The first discusses protests and other actions supported by the Organization of the Northeast (O.N.E.) for housing rights. The second discusses crime against senior citizens and the portrayal of crime in the media.