Myra Alexander: Never Too Old to Be Free

Witty, outspoken Myra Alexander was 54 years old when she met Chicago radio host Studs Terkel on a train to the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Studs included Myra in a book of interviews he published called Division Street: America.

Her family had warned her about the trip: “Oh grandmother, you’re too old for that!” But Myra, a janitor in Chicago public schools, refused to soft-pedal the injustices that Black people like her endured. She insisted, “You’re never too old to be free." 

Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mary Schmich asks: What happened to Myra as she went on in her life? What about her kids and grandkids? How can their lives help us understand our lives?

Executive Producers: Melissa Harris and Mary Schmich

Writer/Host: Mary Schmich

Producer: Bill Healy

Editors: Cate Cahan and Mark Jacob

Sound Designer/Audio Engineer: Libby Lussenhop

Associate Producer/Dialogue Editor: Chijioke Williams

Music Director/Composer: Chris Walz

For more information, visit divisionstreetrevisited.com.