Cicero March is a 1966 short documentary film made by the Chicago-based production company, The Film Group. The film details a civil rights march held on September 4, 1966, in Cicero, Illinois.
| Cicero March | |
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 Still from Cicero March featuring Robert Lucas (center). | |
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| Country | United States |
The film documents Robert Lucas and fellow members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) as they lead activists through Cicero to protest the city of Chicago's restrictions in housing laws. White residents of Cicero respond with vitriolic jeers as the police struggle to prevent a riot.[1]
Cicero March was filmed after Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel, and other Southern Christian Leadership Conference members had come to Chicago to participate in the Chicago Freedom Movement and organize a movement calling for fair housing in Chicago. Chicago city officials, including Mayor Richard J. Daley, negotiated a Fair Housing agreement with Dr. King, Bevel, and others in August, and King and Bevel agreed to end demonstrations.[2] Nevertheless, Robert Lucas and other members of CORE felt that the march was strategically necessary and proceeded with it anyway.[3]
Cicero March is one of a seven part module or educational film series ("The Urban Crisis and the New Militants") produced by The Film Group that, "teach by raising questions rather than by attempting to answer them." The modules tell their story through editing rather than voice-over narration and show "real events, with real people acting spontaneously," as the Film Group explained to NewenhouseNovo, a now defunct educational film distributor.[4]
The 16mm film prints and elements for Cicero March reside at Chicago Film Archives within the Film Group Collection. In 2013 Cicero March was added to the National Film Registry.[5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "CICERO MARCH IS SELECTED FOR NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY – Chicago Film Archives". 18 December 2013.
- ^ "Martin Luther King Jr. In Chicago". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "CICERO MARCH IS SELECTED FOR NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY – Chicago Film Archives". 18 December 2013.
- ^ "CICERO MARCH...an educational film – Chicago Film Archives". 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Cinema with the Right Stuff Marks 2013 National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
External links
edit- Cicero March essay by Nancy Watrous on the National Film Registry website. [1]
- Cicero March at IMDb
- Streaming Version of Cicero March
