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Vel Phillips and Father James Groppi fight for Fair Housing.

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Vel Phillips and James Groppi: The Fight for Fair Housing | Wisconsin Biographies

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This video highlights Mike and Fred Tribble and the struggle for Anishinaabe to retain treaty reserved harvesting rights throughout the ceded territory.

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Leader of the 1966 march from Wautoma to Madison to protest migrant farm workers working conditions.

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Lead by Jesus Salas, the Obreros Unidos (United Workers) wanted better working conditions for migrant farm workers, including fair wages, health insurance, and public bathrooms.

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WI migrant worker protest march (August 17th, 1966)

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In 1956, Vel Phillips became the first African American woman to be elected to the Milwaukee Common Council. She also worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She helped lead over 200 protest marches for fair housing.

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African American History Maker: Vel Phillips

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Hear from Walter Bresette as he explains the U.S. treaties with the Chippewa tribe in Wisconsin.

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Walter Bresette: Treaty Rights and Sovereignty | Wisconsin Biographies

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(1930-1985)

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The Fighting Priest: Father James Groppi

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(1925-2002)

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Explore this timeline to understand Milwaukee's unfair housing laws.

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The Journal Sentinel is producing a series of special reports examining the many issues facing Milwaukee and the surrounding area today.

"A Time to Heal" looks at the impact of joblessness, poverty and crime -- and the trauma that is passed from one generation to the next.

"What Happened to Us?" traces what happened to the members of columnist James E. Causey's third-grade class from 1978, exploring issues such as housing, employment and crime.

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How far has Milwaukee come since the 1967 Civil Rights marches?

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The Journal Sentinel is producing a series of special reports examining the many issues facing Milwaukee and the surrounding area today. "A Time to Heal" looks at the impact of joblessness, poverty and crime -- and the trauma that is passed from one generation to the next. "What Happened to Us?"

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This woman and her child in Milwaukee around 1954 were part of the Civil Rights movement. They didn't want African American children to attend schools that were separate from the schools attended by white children.

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Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist who fought for farm workers rights.

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Labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta has been a champion of farm workers' rights in several states, including Wisconsin.She said this is the year women will have the greatest impact."More than ever, we need more women in leadership, and I always like to quote Coretta Scott King, who said that we will never have peace in the world until women take power," Huerta said.Data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows state farms have depended on migrant workers since the early 1900s.Wisconsin is home to more than 5,000 immigrant workers.For more than 40 years, Huerta has been fighting for change as a co-founder of the United Farm Workers."People don't remember this, but actually even Social Security, when it was first enacted, that was really pushed by then-Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins," she said.The pandemic has been a whirlwind for many migrant workers.Huerta said there are specific things leading women like Vice President Kamala Harris need to focus on."Some of the priorities that we have are of course again going back to making sure that we have a kind of reduce the poverty of the children in our society, making sure that we keep the reproductive rights for women," she said.Huerta said the most important one is education."We have to start teaching our children that about slavery, about racism," she said. "We know that we have to include. The real history of the United States of America, how this country was formed, and the fact that it was a brown country to begin with the Native Americans and African Americans were slaves, literally."Still, Huerta said she was hopeful for the future."It's just stressful, but at the same time it's hopeful," she said. "We know that we can't give up because it was given up that the changes won't happen."

Labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta has been a champion of farm workers' rights in several states, including Wisconsin.

She said this is the year women will have the greatest impact.

"More than ever, we need more women in leadership, and I always like to quote Coretta Scott King, who said that we will never have peace in the world until women take power," Huerta said.

Data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows state farms have depended on migrant workers since the early 1900s.

Wisconsin is home to more than 5,000 immigrant workers.

For more than 40 years, Huerta has been fighting for change as a co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

"People don't remember this, but actually even Social Security, when it was first enacted, that was really pushed by then-Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins," she said.

The pandemic has been a whirlwind for many migrant workers.

Huerta said there are specific things leading women like Vice President Kamala Harris need to focus on.

"Some of the priorities that we have are of course again going back to making sure that we have a kind of reduce the poverty of the children in our society, making sure that we keep the reproductive rights for women," she said.

Huerta said the most important one is education.

"We have to start teaching our children that about slavery, about racism," she said. "We know that we have to include. The real history of the United States of America, how this country was formed, and the fact that it was a brown country to begin with the Native Americans and African Americans were slaves, literally."

Still, Huerta said she was hopeful for the future.

"It's just stressful, but at the same time it's hopeful," she said. "We know that we can't give up because it was given up that the changes won't happen."

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Activist works to advance civil rights for Wisconsin's migrant farm workers

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Labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta has been a champion of farm workers' rights in several states, including Wisconsin.She said this is the year women will have the greatest impact."More than ever, we need more women in leadership, and I always like to quote Coretta Scott King, who said

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Read about Wisconsin's desegregation.

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Father Groppi with Vel Phillips and NAACP Youth Council, 1967

Father Groppi seen with Milwaukee Alderperson Vel Phillips as well as members of his NAACP Youth Council during a protest in Milwaukee, 1967. View the original source document: WHI 48149

Many African Americans moved to Milwaukee during and after World War II. By the 1960s, they comprised 15 percent of the city's population. Frustration over poverty, lack of jobs and segregation led to violence and riots. On July 30, 1967 riots broke out in Milwaukee after police tried to stop fights downtown. Mayor Henry Maier declared a state of emergency and asked the governor to call out the National Guard. Eight days later, four people were dead and more than 1,500 had been arrested.

Desegregating Milwaukee Schools

Despite the 1954 decision in Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, segregation remained widespread in Milwaukee. On August 28, 1963, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Milwaukee organized the first civil rights demonstration in the city to protest segregation.

Black alderperson Vel Phillips introduced open housing legislation in March 1962. The council repeatedly voted it down, but Phillips continued submitting it. In August 1967, the NAACP Youth Council marched to Kosciuszko Park - located in a White neighborhood - to protest the Council's refusal to pass an open housing ordinance. The march drew the wrath of thousands of White residents, who shouted obscenities and threw rocks at the marchers. They were particularly incensed at the march's leader, Father James Groppi. Groppi was a white Catholic priest, and an important figure in the Civil Rights movement in Milwaukee.

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Father Groppi joins hands and sings, 1968

Father Groppi joins hands and sings with other young civil rights activists, in Milwaukee, 1968. View the original source document: WHI 5295

Daily demonstrations continued throughout the winter of 1967 - 1968. The Federal Open Housing law passed in April of 1968. It prevented racial discrimination in 80 percent of the nation. On April 30th, The Milwaukee Common Council approved an even more stringent desegregation law. Milwaukee's law exempted only owner-occupied buildings with no more than two units.

Segregation in Madison

Segregation and discrimination were as common in Madison as Milwaukee. African Americans faced discrimination in employment and housing. Unlike Milwaukee, Madison did not have the industrial manufacturing sector to hire unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Like Milwaukee, poor housing and residential segregation led African Americans to campaign for open housing laws in Madison.

Learn More
Explore the Turning Points in Wisconsin History Collection
Sources[The History of Wisconsin vol 5 and 6 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin); Kasparek, Jon, Bobbie Malone and Erica Schock. Wisconsin History Highlights: Delving into the Past (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2004); Ranney, Joseph A. " Looking Further Than the Skin: A History of Wisconsin Civil Rights Law" Wisconsin's Legal History, part XIII (Madison: State Bar of Wisconsin), viewed June 5, 2012.

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Desegregation and Civil Rights in Wisconsin | Wisconsin Historical Society

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Enlarge Father Groppi seen with Milwaukee Alderperson Vel Phillips as well as members of his NAACP Youth Council during a protest in Milwaukee, 1967. View the original source document: WHI 48149 Many African Americans moved to Milwaukee during and after World War II. By the 1960s, they comprised 15 percent of the city's population.