For all the Prince enthusiasts out there, finding out that the legendary musician voiced support for striking Minneapolis public school teachers at just 11 years old is quite the treasure. It’s akin to discovering a new gem from his vault of unreleased songs, adding depth to our understanding of the influences that shaped his life.
As someone writing a book on Minneapolis’ music scene and its public school system, stumbling upon this video is downright thrilling. This clip isn’t just a young Prince, known then as “Skipper,” making an appearance—it’s a window into the 1970s Black North Minneapolis. This community, which saw significant uprisings in the mid-’60s, often gets overlooked in favor of larger cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.
Seeing a young Prince, already with that recognizable smirk, really highlights his place among the Black folks in the Upper Midwest who crafted culture amid predominantly white, chilly urban environments. What really got me thinking was what drove him to support his teachers at that age. Let’s face it, most kids at 11 are usually wrapped up in their own world.
While it’s tempting to draw some connection between this early activism and the themes in his music later on, there’s just not enough evidence from that little clip or elsewhere to make that leap. However, knowing how Minneapolis schools prioritized music might shed some light on why he took a stand.
Prince was part of one of the most progressive public school music programs in the U.S., one that nurtured talents like producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, funk maestro Morris Day, and indie rockers Hüsker Dü. This robust program, crafted by Thaddeus Paul Giddings, ensured every student learned music from kindergarten through 12th grade. By the time Prince was in school, while financial support for such programs was dwindling, music still played a pivotal role in education there.
Music was his favorite subject, and he got to delve into it every school day from early on. This could easily have given a reserved kid the push to speak up for his teachers on camera.
Lastly, this piece of footage is precious because it shows a rare unguarded moment in Prince’s life—a life he spent shrouding in mystery. Throughout his career, Prince was a master of keeping people guessing about his true self, often blurring lines between myth and reality. He even changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in the ’90s to further mystify his persona.
Even after his untimely death, fans are still intrigued by who he truly was. That’s what makes this glimpse of him as a young boy so special—a raw, genuine moment in the life of a man who left much to the imagination.