WATCH THE TRAILER! Sarah E. Ray: Detroit's Other Rosa Parks
DETROIT, MI - Seventy-five years ago this month, a 24-year-old, African American secretary was denied a seat on the segregated Boblo boat,
SS Columbia
. Refusing to back down, Ray took her fight for integration all the way to the United States Supreme Court, represented by fabled NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall. Scholars argue that Ray's win in the high court paved the way for the seminal,1954
Brown v. Board of Education,
which found that separate was inherently unequal.
Until now, civil rights hero Ray has been largely forgotten. But filmmaker Aaron Schillinger
has partnered with Detroit writer and activist
Desiree Cooper
to recreate her fight for equality. Premiering this month, the four-minute, animated short film, "Sarah Elizabeth Ray: Detroit's Other Rosa Parks," will be free for use by educational, historical, community and civil rights organizations. The film uses breathtaking stop-motion animation with handcrafted puppets created by
Bec Sloan
to re-enact Ray's historic encounter, making it engaging for adults and children alike.
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