Documentary Screening and Discussion: Alice’s Ordinary People

Alice’s Ordinary People is a documentary about Alice Tregay, an unsung heroine of the Civil Rights Movement who practiced fearless activism for five decades. Her remarkable story of ordinary people effecting extraordinary change for human rights spans the historic period from the marches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the election of Barack Obama, and her great contribution in the field of politics is the thread which connects the two. The Essex Library will host a screening and discussion of the documentary Alice’s Ordinary People on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. The film’s creator and founder of Imagine Video Productions, Craig Dudnick, will speak about the circumstances in Chicago that drew Alice to the movement and how he came to make the film. A discussion with him will follow the screening of the film.

Alice Tregay’s life story reads like a history of the Civil Rights Movement. Early on she 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 event is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560.