Historian Barry Bradford Shares the Real History Behind the Movies

Historian Barry Bradford explores the real history behind the movies in his “History vs. The Movies” series at North Shore Senior Center

Historian Barry Bradford has been a favorite instructor at North Shore Senior Center for many years, teaching classes on history, movies, and intriguing people. Barry shares these story behind his upcoming classes:

“I love speaking at North Shore Senior Center! I get to combine two of my great passions – a love of history and the love of American popular culture. And I get to speak to smart, appreciative and friendly people. Who has a better job than me?

“In February I’ll be premiering a new series called “History vs. the Movies.” I have been a movie fanatic since I was a boy. And I’ve always loved movies about history. But as I became a professional historian, I realized that Hollywood has often altered, changed, or completely distorted real-life events in order to make a great movie. Much of what you saw in the movie “Lincoln” was factually accurate. And much of what you saw in the movie “Mississippi Burning” was completely ridiculous. It was a great movie. It just mostly wasn’t true. And I have a good way of knowing.

“In 1964, three young men – James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andy Goodman were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi for trying to help African-Americans get the right to vote. The KKK was incensed by two Jewish New Yorkers working with an African-American to help change the social order. The Klan kidnapped, tortured and killed these three good men. It took the FBI’s less than three months to infiltrate the terrorist organization, find the bodies and get confessions. But the state of Mississippi absolutely refused to prosecute the terrorist/murderers.

“In 2002, I was still a high school teacher. My passion for justice led to me to put together a team of students to try and do the impossible: get the Mississippi Burning case reopened. I contacted Jerry Mitchell, one of America’s greatest investigative reporters and worked with him. In between teaching classes I was often on the phone with contemporaries of Martin Luther King or Medgar Evers, former FBI agents, congressmen and senators. We met and befriended the families of each of the three victims. I spoke at a Congressional breakfast, appeared on the Today Show, was featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune, developed potential new witnesses and finding ways to lobby the federal government and the state of Mississippi to reopen a 40-year-old murder case.

“One of the turning points was when I secured the first on the record interview with the KKK leader who had ordered the murders. When I turned copies of the recording over to law enforcement personnel and Jerry Mitchell, national pressure began to grow to have the case reopened. And I was at the forefront of that movement. In fact, lawyers from the Mississippi Attorney General’s office put me on the potential witness list after the arrest of the Klan leader!

“I’m certainly not responsible for the reopening of the case. There were lots of people working on it but my role was unique and exciting. I can’t wait to tell you all the inside stories about it during the first session History versus. the Movies! In the following sessions will look at the true story behind ‘All the Presidents Men’ & ‘The Bridge over the River Kwai.’ Can’t wait to share the great stories with you all!”

Join Barry Bradford at North Shore Senior Center for his upcoming classes to learn more about this and other fascinating stories:

• Mississippi Burning on Thursday, February 11
• Watergate on Thursdays, February 18-25
• Bridge on the River Kwai on Thursday, March 3

For more information or to register contact Lifelong Learning at 847.784.6030 or LifelongLearning@nssc.org or browse our courses online.