March on Milwaukee-Home

Forty years ago,
many Milwaukee
residents marched
for the right to
live where they
wanted.

Led by Vel Phillips
and Father James
Groppi, these activists, including the NAACP Youth Council and the Commandos, fought for social justice and racial equality.

Forty years later their struggle continues.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society website: "African Americans faced a housing crunch in 1960s Milwaukee, often faced with hostility when they moved beyond the confines of existing black neighborhoods. Professor Margaret Rozga, in 'March on Milwaukee: Fr. Groppi and the Open Housing Movement,' looks at the tireless efforts of a white Catholic priest to get a fair housing ordinance in the city of Milwaukee."

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For more excellent reading, the Summer 2007 issue of Wisconsin Magazine of History features an article on the open housing marches by Peggy Rozga! Click on the link above to order your copy of the magazine.

HOT OFF THE PRESS
Two new publications on Milwaukee civil rights:

MORE PRESS...
Friday, July 27, 2007 MARCH ON MILWAUKEE
FEATURED IN THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL!

Read the story "Marching to Pass the Torch" by Dani McClain in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! The story describes the Social Development Commission's Summer Youth Literacy and Leadership Institute, which is focusing on the history of Milwaukee civil rights. Kudos to Adrian Thomas, Scott Walter and all of the youth participants!

SEE BELOW FOR EXCITING NEWS ABOUT TWO 2009 BOOK PUBLICATIONS ON MILWAUKEE CIVIL RIGHTS!
MARCH ON MILWAUKEE WEEKEND
SEPTEMBER 27-30th, 2007
For information about our events click on the following links:

PLAY, EXHIBITION, CONFERENCE, BRIDGE EVENT

FOR PRESS ON THE 2007 MARCH ON MILWAUKEE WEEKEND:
See March On Milwaukee on the front page of the October 1, 2007 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the cover story of the September 27, 2007 edition of the Shepherd Express. Also check out Eugene Kane's September 27, 2007column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. And more in Madison's Capitol Times.

Margaret Rozga has just published a collection of poems that chronicle the fight for open housing titled 200 Nights and One Day. According to Rozga, “The Milwaukee teenagers – members of the NAACP Youth Council – who were in the forefront of the movement for fair housing legislation in the U.S. deserve an honored place in our collective sense of who we are and who we can be. I wrote this book because this story of youthful courage and vision is one of Milwaukee’s most inspiring and memorable.” The book's introduction is written by Dick Gregory. Click here to go to the publisher's website where you can order your own copy.

Also just published, Patrick Jones's new book The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009). Click here to go to the publisher's website for more information.
If you'd like to listen to a recent radio interview with Jones about his book on WUWM's Lake Effect program, click here.

Purpose and Goals:

The March On Milwaukee project hopes that by commemorating the open housing movement we will not only acknowledge and honor past efforts, but re-ignite discussions and refocus attention to problems of social inequity that lay unresolved.

Many relegate the northern civil rights movement to “afterthought status.” One of our missions is to place the northern struggle for racial equality, specifically the Milwaukee Open Housing Marches, front and center – reminding all that racism had no geographic boundaries and segregation existed and still exists above the Mason-Dixon line as well as below. Such an inclusive sense of the civil rights movement may help encourage active civic participation. We believe this message is especially crucial for public school teachers and students, as education remains the chief vehicle of positive change. We will achieve these goals through a variety of public events: a performancean exhibition, a conference, a public gathering, an oral history project and community education programs.

March on Milwaukee Graphic by Jamila Benson