HYDE PARK — Hyde Parkers are remembering longtime political activist Sue Purrington, who died in November, on Saturday at Promontory Point.
Purrington was an inveterate political activist and had ended a career in politics that spanned more than 50 years only shortly before she died Nov 28 at age 78 after a brief illness.
The hours of the remembrance have been extended to 3-6 p.m. so volunteers from the Hyde Park Garden Fair, which Purrington also frequently participated in, can attend.
Purrington joined the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when he came to Chicago to march in Gage Park, manned phone banks during the freedom riders’ campaigns and worked on the campaigns of former Mayor Harold Washington and U.S. Sen. Carol Mosely Braun.
She was also the former head of the Independent Voters of Illinois and was the executive director of the Chicago chapter of the National Organization of Women.
Purrington ended her career working for Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th).
The gathering will be at the Promontory Point field house, 5491 S. Shore Drive.
