Image credit: Courtesy of Aaron Schillinger
Filmmaker Aaron Schillinger and author Desiree Cooper bring attention to the story of Detroiter Sarah Elizabeth Ray, a Black woman who filed a complaint after being forcibly removed from the Boblo Boat in the 1940s.
In their 2020 documentary titled “Sarah Elizabeth Ray: Detroit’s Other Rosa Parks,” Desiree Cooper and Aaron Schillinger tell the story of Sarah Elizabeth Ray, a Black woman in Detroit who, in the 1940s, was forcibly removed from the city’s beloved Boblo Boat. Ray filed a complaint with the Detroit NAACP, and eventually her case made it to the United States Supreme Court, who affirmed she had a right to ride the Boblo ferry. Ray’s actions paved the way for desegregation efforts in Detroit and the United States. Now, Schillinger and Cooper are hoping to preserve Ray’s legacy by designating her abandoned home as a historic site with The National Trust.