Film Of 11-Year-Old Prince At 1970 Minneapolis Teachers Strike Discovered
Untouched footage of an 11-year-old Prince has been unearthed, and it’s incredible.
Deep in the WCCO archives, reels of the legendary musician as a child at a 1970 Minneapolis teacher’s strike has been discovered and the 13-minute video shows him being interviewed, claiming he’s in solidarity with the teachers.
WCCO Production Manager Matt Liddy says he learned that the video had been restored from film and decided to take a look at it.
“I grew up in Minneapolis, so all I cared about was looking at cool old buildings from the place I grew up,” said Liddy, according to the news station. “Did I recognize my old school? Did I recognize any landmarks?”
His curiosity turned into a discovery when he saw a reporter interviewing kids while teachers protesting in the background.
“I immediately just went out to the newsroom and started showing people and saying, ‘I’m not gonna tell you who I think this is, but who do you think this is?’ And every single person [said] ‘Prince,’” Liddy said.
As far as Prince’s opinion about the teacher’s strike, he believed they deserved better pay for all the hard work they do.
“I think they should get a better education too cause, um, and I think they should get some more money cause they work, they be working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” he says in the video.
As far as verification goes, Liddy says the station contacted a professional historian and archeologist who researches properties and landmarks in Minneapolis who is also a mega Prince fan.
“They called him Skipper,” historian Kristen Zschomler said as she showed the station a family photo of Prince as a toddler. “I’ve written a big document sort of outlining his historic journey from Minneapolis’ northside to Paisley Park and the world.”
Zschomler believed it was Prince in the footage after she saw that Lincoln Junior High School was in the background. She also showed the news station a photo of Prince as a sixth-grader. His hairstyle was spot on, comparatively.
“There’s so much in his mannerisms and his eyes and everything that it looks like him,” she said.
The final clincher was when WCCO reached out to childhood friend Terrance Jackson, who goes as far back as kindergarten.
“Oh my God, that’s Kitchen,” Jackson told the station after seeing a young Ronnie Kitchen. “That is Prince! Standing right there with the hat on, right? That’s Skipper! Oh my God!”
As Prince began to speak, Jackson became quiet, according to the station, only saying “wow” a few times softly. By the end of the video, he was wiping tears from his eyes and laughing again.
“I am like blown away. I’m totally blown away,” he said.
“He was already playing guitar and keys by then, phenomenally,” Jackson said. “Music became our sport. Because he was athletic, I was athletic, but we wanted to compete musically.”
Watch the news package about the amazing discovery here.
