A remarkable discovery!
Newly unearthed archived footage shows 11-year-old Prince supporting a local teachers’ strike, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Local Minneapolis radio and television station WCCO, was recently going through their archives when they found rare film footage from a Minneapolis Public School educators’ strike that took place in April 1970. The footage was meant to be extracted and restored to create context for a recent strike that happened in the same district. But what WCCO Production Manager Matt Liddy discovered was much, much more.
Liddy, a native of Minneapolis, initially set out to find recognizable landmarks from the area, instead he found a face in the crowd that he recognized instantly.
“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 recalled.
That’s right, the late iconic superstar was right there in living color, being interviewed by reporters about the teachers’ protest.
Just 11-years-old at the time, when asked if he supported what the teachers were doing, Prince said, “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.”
While the singer, born Prince Nelson, had attended Lincoln Junior High School, he wasn’t identified by name in the interview and WCCO reporters had to do their own digging. Eventually, they were able to consult with Prince historians, former neighbors, and a childhood friend, Terrance Jackson, who confirmed that it was indeed the legendary performer.
“That is Prince! Standing right there with the hat on, right? I am like blown away. I’m totally blown away,” Jackson exclaimed while watching the footage.
The late artist was very private and pictures and video of him as a child are extremely rare, making the footage a true gem to find. Check out the never-before-seen Prince footage below.
Photo Courtesy of WCCO-CBS Minnesota