Fifty years ago, a group of Bermudians frustrated with segregation decided to do something about it.

Their efforts forever changed the face of the Island — and this week their bravery and dedication will be celebrated.

A special screening of When Voices Rise — a film detailing the theatre boycott of 1959 — will take place at the Liberty Theatre tomorrow at 7.30 p.m.

And on Thursday a new monument of the same name will be unveiled at a celebration to mark the end of the boycott on July 1, 1959.

Organiser Glenn Fubler said City Hall car park was chosen as the venue for the 6.30 p.m. event because it was exactly where people gathered for the demonstrations that rocked the Island half a century ago and led to desegregation.

"I think the key point is to recognise that we as a community — black, white, young, old, so-called rich, poor — are standing on the shoulders of those who made the theatre boycott a success," the Imagine Bermuda founder told The Royal Gazette.

"And on that evening, we will be able to actually walk on the footprints because that was the literal area where people gathered. We'll be able to walk on the footprints of those giants from the past."

The "When Voices Rise" monument is an 8ft bronze sculpture by Chesley Trott, which Mr. Fubler described as "an abstract depiction of the protest".

He said it would be unveiled as part of a two-hour event in the car park's new Wesley Square, featuring speeches from members of the Progressive Group, the secret organisation which organised the boycott.

Mr. Fubler said: "Our thrust is to not only look and give thanks for the past but to also encourage our fellow Bermuda residents to recognise that we have a responsibly to go forward from today and meet those challenges that we have today.

"And one of those challenges is community: how we can thrive as a community that comes together."

Thursday night will feature music from Gene Steede, backed by a band with Ron Lightborne, Stan Gilbert and Ronnie Lopes, Gita Blakeney, Ambassadors of Harmony from Wesley Methodist Church, Taylor Rankin, Shine Hayward and Robert Simons.

Chewstick performers will provide music and poetry and a new all-girl singing group, The Secret, will take to the stage, along with Gina Spence-Farmer's entertainment group and members of United Dance Productions.

Fourteen restaurants around the Island are offering a 50 percent discount off certain menu items to mark the anniversary. They include: Bermuda Bistro, Chopsticks, Docksiders, Fresco's, Green Lantern, Jamaican Grill in Hamilton, Kentucky Fried Chicken, La Trattoria, Marketplace in Hamilton, Mr. Chicken in Hamilton, Rosa's Cantina, Silk, Swizzle Inn and The Swizzle.

Tomorrow night's screening of Errol Williams' When Voices Rise documentary is being staged by the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Liberty Theatre box office.

The 1959 theatre boycott was initially dubbed a 'storm in a teacup' by a white MP when it began on June 16, 1959.

But two weeks later, after peaceful rallies outside Bermuda's theatres at which protesters got their message out by distributing leaflets and used talented orators on soapboxes, the Island's officially sanctioned segregation policy had been broken.

The boycott led to desegregation in theatres, followed by the lifting of the colour bar in hotels, restaurants and schools. Later, Roosevelt Brown's Universal Adult Suffrage movement brought the vote to all Bermuda's citizens.

Bermuda Post Office is selling commemorative items to mark the 50th anniversary and the Committee for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) has a limited number of Eva Hodgson's A Storm in a Teacup book available.

l Do you remember the theatre boycott? Were you involved? We want you to share your memories with us by emailing news@royalgazette.bm or calling 278-0133 or 278-0137.