The island will mark the 66th anniversary of the Theatre Boycott in a series of events tomorrow.

The 1959 boycott — in which Black residents refused to attend cinemas, restaurants and hotels in protest at racial segregation in those establishments — was a watershed moment in the breakdown of racial barriers that blocked the island’s majority-Black population from basic rights.

Yesterday, activist Glenn Fubler applauded the “brave” actions of “ordinary people” — eventually known as the Progressive Group — who risked their livelihoods in order to bring about change in the first two weeks of July 1959.

Mr Fubler said: “We are here formally launching the celebration of the 66th anniversary of the success of the boycott.

“The mindful actions of ordinary people opened movie theatres, restaurants and hotels in the first instance. That same momentum eventually ended formal segregation and apartheid, and was key in establishing the right to vote.” He added that “of course, we still have work to do”.

Mr Fubler said: “The effective strategy developed by the Progressive Group set the stage. Those that rallied around Church, Wesley and Queen streets sustained the flame of that peaceful protest, effectively opening Bermuda.”

He added that earlier demonstrations by unionised workers a decade before the boycott had “provided a foundation for progress in later decades”.

“The success of the boycott demonstrated the potential of collaboration occurring across generations.

“Other groups helped to ‘till the soil’, which allowed us — as the collective Bermuda — to grow towards our better selves.

“Thus, the theme, ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds’ offers us encouragement to reflect in appreciation for those on whose shoulders we stand. As we respond by reaching out to others in our families, neighbourhoods, island and world, we enhance both ourselves and our community.”

Mr Fubler was joined on Queen Street by John Barritt, a lawyer and former United Bermuda Party government minister and Charles Gosling, the Mayor of Hamilton.

Mr Barritt applauded Mr Fubler for “bringing history to life”, describing the boycott as “the beginning of the end of formal segregation”.

“The significance of that is not to be overlooked today”, he said.

“Yes, I know sometimes the arc spans slowly and takes time, but as Martin Luther King said, it always bends towards justice.”

Mr Gosling said that the boycott was “a huge, huge day” for those who took great risks to bring about change.

He said: “I agree with Glenn — we still have ways to go — but this is a day that should be commemorated by all Bermudians.“

Also attending was Izola Harvey, a member of the group that initiated the boycott, with her husband, Gerald.

Mrs Harvey, 99, explained the risks that members took to make a stand against injustice.

She said: “I hesitated about joining the Progressive Group because I thought there would be repercussions if we were discovered.

“But my husband and I had one child at the time, and I was about to have our second. And we thought we could not possibly pass Bermuda on to our kids in the shape it was in.”

Mrs Harvey told how she spent a night placing anti-segregation posters on walls and windows in the West End “from Dockyard to Somerset Bridge”. She was heavily pregnant at the time and played her part in the covert operation against the advice of her doctor.

She said: “The next morning all the people came out. They discovered these posters on walls and everywhere, with signs on them saying ‘Boycott the theatres — but please — no violence’.

“I’m glad I joined and I think Bermuda has benefited from what we did.”

Events to mark the anniversary will be held tomorrow, with an interactive gathering at City Hall between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. The Reverend Kingsley Tweed will share some “nutshells” of recollections of his role as the “voice” of the Boycott Rally.

The anniversary will also be celebrated during Harbour Nights on Front Street, including music and a boycott skit.