Cinema Segregation

Speaker Tells Crowd To Go On With Boycott

The Royal Gazette, June 18, 1959 pg 1

Another large crowd gathered on Church Street outside the Playhouse and Island Theatres last night as the Bermuda cinema boycott went through its third night.

An unidentified coloured man, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of almost 250 gathered on the old Hamilton Hotel steps, urged everyone to continue the boycott - "until November or December if necessary."

He claimed that coloured people pay £3,500 a week in cinema admissions. "Over a period of six months we could build a new theatre of our own with that money," he added amid cheers.

The man, who had earlier been picketing the Playhouse with a sign which read: "We Want Negro Usherettes at the Theatre" started to speak about 10.15p.m. He quickly attracted the attention of all the persons who had been standing at the Queen Street - Church Street junction.

"BY YOU, FOR YOU"

He started off by telling his audience: "This movement was spearheaded by you, for you.

"Tonight around the world millions of Negroes are wishing us the best of luck in our protest," he added amidst applause.

"No doubt some of you are wondering why the leaders of this movement have not come forward," he went on. "I can tell you there is a lot of brain behind this. I am just a small cog in this big wheel."

But he did not identify any of the "big wheels."

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Kill them all."

Another voice added, "Save one for me."

But the speaker pleaded, "No violence, please."

The speaker then turned to the Hon. J. E. Pearman's reported reference in Wednesday's issue of The Recorder to the boycott as "a storm in a teacup."

There was more laughter at this and he added, "If we all pull our weight it is easy." (Police Commissioner R. G. Henderson and the cinema manager, Mr. Ronnie Dwyer, watched from across the road.)

He claimed Mr. Pearman had no intention of desegregating the theatres. (Mr. Pearman had stated this had been decided upon last February) and asked if this had been done why nothing was said publicly about it.

"He will want the Negro to start sitting at the back and the whites in the front. Is that what you want?"

Cries of "No."

COMPLETELY BOYCOTTED

The late shows at the Playhouse and the Island last night were completely boycotted by Negroes.

But there was some coloured patronage at the early Island Theatre show.

Two coloured members of the integrated Bermuda Film Society attended the society's early evening show at the Little Theatre. They left afterwards apparently unnoticed by the crowds sitting on the northern side of Church Street.

Youths were carrying notices printed in green on red paper saying "Do Not Patronise These Theatres. Remember, when the cause has been won, you were not part of it."

Asked by a Royal Gazette reporter who had printed the notices, one of the picketers said, "If you want it for your paper, write it. You don't have to know who printed it."

Another notice read, "We all read about fighting for a free world but how can it be a free world if our colour makes a difference? Continue the boycott." At the Somerset cinema last night a crowd also gathered, but up to a late hour there had been no reports of any incidents. Police stood by at Hamilton and Somerset theatres.

A letter signed "The Progressive Group" which organised the boycott, appeared in yesterday's issue of The Recorder. In part it said, "We wish to thank everyone for their co-operation and to beg them to continue to keep up the good work.

"There are certain do nots that we would like to bring to the mind of our supporters: 1. don't use violence; 2. don't block traffic; 3. don't get excited; 4. don't give up."

The letter also claimed that on Tuesday the Island Theatre and the Colonial Opera House "were forced to close their doors because no one attended the show."

This was denied last night by Mr. Dwyer, who said normal performances had been run at all theatres since the beginning of the week.

When the later performances at the Island and the Playhouse ended last night about 11.45p.m., the crowd waiting outside had shrunk to less than a hundred.

As the handful of people came out of each cinema, the watchers on Church Street dispersed quietly. The show was over for the night … both inside and out.