Reporters at TV station WCCO in Minneapolis completed an investigation to identify footage of Prince as a child. The reporters made the discovery while looking at the old clips of a teachers’ strike in Minneapolis.
During his research, WCCO production manager Matt Liddy said he came across a 1970 clip of a reporter interviewing children as teachers picketed in the background next to a school. Liddy was especially intrigued by one young boy who was being interviewed.
“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 said, according to WCCO.
The journalists, however, needed to get a specialist to extract the audio from the film before they could hear the interview.
“I think they should get a better education too. I think they should get some more money cause they work, they be working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” the boy said after being asked if students supported the strike.
The young student, however, didn’t say his name.
“We did not get him saying ‘I’m Prince Nelson,’” Liddy said.
Another boy, who was interviewed before Prince, identified himself as Ronnie Kitchen. The WCCO team searched for Kitchen, hoping that he would be able to recognize Prince from the archive video.
But the team was unable to find Kitchen. They also tried to use a yearbook which showed Prince’s photo, but still failed to confirm if that was the same boy from the video. The journalists then visited Kristen Zschomler, a professional historian and archeologist who researches properties and landmarks in Minneapolis. Zschomler, who is also a big fan of Prince, said she has written extensively about the artist’s childhood. She also said it’s rare to see any videos of Prince as a child.
When the reporters showed her video of Prince’s interview during the strike, Zschomler gasped.
“I think that’s him, definitely. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I think that’s definitely Prince,” she said.
The researcher also identified the school in the background.
“This definitely looks like Lincoln Junior High School where he would have been attending school in April of 1970,” she said.
To confirm that was indeed the iconic artist in the video, however, Zschomler connected the reporters with Terrance Jackson, Prince’s childhood friend.
“Oh my God, that’s Kitchen,” Jackson said when he first saw Ronnie Kitchen in the clip.
Jackson then spotted Prince.
“That is Prince!” he said. “Standing right there with the hat on, right? That’s Skipper! Oh my God!”
Prince, who was 11 years old when he spoke up for teachers during the interview, served as an activist throughout his life. The legendary musician spoke up for the rights of musicians, defended Black lives and expressed his views on politics, Liberation News reports.
During the 2015 Grammys, Prince expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Albums still matter. Like books and Black lives,” he said.
The Minneapolis native donated money to the family of Trayvon Martin in 2014. He also dedicated his 2015 song “Baltimore” to victims of police brutality such as Freddie Gray and Michael Brown.
