When Voices Rise - Hamilton, Bermuda
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 32° 17.648 W 064° 47.185
20S E 331792 N 3574439
The sculpture "When Voices Rise" commemorates the 1959 theater boycott in Bermuda that resulted in the end of segregation in Bermuda. It is located on Church Street on the the southwest side of the Hamilton City Hall grounds.
Waymark Code: WMMPZV
Location: Bermuda
Date Posted: 10/22/2014
Views: 5
On June 15, 1959 a boycott began when flyers were circulated urging black Bermudians to boycott movie theaters to protest their segregated seating policies. The movement gained momentum. On July 2, 1959 the theater owners announced an end to the racially segregated seating policies.
A 7' high bronze sculpture depicts a stylized, semi-abstract, group of five people holding up flyers. There are five heads, four arms, five flyers and five feet. All the bodies merge into one flat curved rectangular area. The sculpture stands on a three step square concrete base.
A plaque on a wall behind the sculpture gives the details of the event and the sculpture. It is inscribed:
{Coat of Arms of Bermuda}
"When Voices Rise"
In 1959, a series of peaceful demonstrations concluded which
marked the end of a racially segregated Bermuda and galvanized
the move towards Universal Adult Suffrage. It was on this site that a
small, determined yet anonymous group, known as The progressive
Group, met and inspired public objection to segregated seating policies
in the island's theatres.
In 2009, local artist Chesley Trott was commissioned by the
Corporation of Hamilton to create "When Voices Rize", to honour those
men and women who altered the course of Bermuda history.
This statue was unveiled on July 2nd 2009, the 50th anniversary
of this watershed event.
A plaque at the base of the sculpture is inscribed:
"When Voices Rise"
Chesley Trott
b. Bermuda 1930
Collection of the City of Hamilton