Black History Month Milwaukee
Milwaukee historical black figures and events in honor of Black History Month
YWCA of Southeastern Wisconsin
Their mission statement; dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA in Milwaukee opened in 1893. It’s the largest women’s organization in the nation. This facility is dedicated to helping families gain economic stability. The YWCA offers adult education, personal financial management , racial justice training, and job preparation and image guidance.
Their mission statement; dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA in Milwaukee opened in 1893. It’s the largest women’s organization in the nation. This facility is dedicated to helping families gain economic stability. The YWCA offers adult education, personal financial management , racial justice training, and job preparation and image guidance.
The Black Holocaust Museum
James Cameron opened the doors to the Black Holocaust Museum in 1988. He survived a lynching attempt and imprisonment during his childhood. At 16 years old he decided to change his life. He spent most of his life studying slavery and the lives of African-Americans before him. Cameron wrote articles and collected materials relating to African-American history. After visiting the Holocaust Museum of Israel, Cameron was inspired to compile all of his articles and materials to form the Black Holocaust Museum. The museum served to honor those affected by slavery in the United States. Cameron died in 2006. In 2008, The Black Holocaust Museum closed due to financial problems and has yet to reopen as of today.
Mabel Raimey
Mabel Raimey was an important figure for law and the black community. She graduated from high school at the age of fourteen then attended University of Wisconsin Madison for English. After graduating, Raimey began teaching at an Milwaukee elementary. She was fired on her third day after the school officials discovered her race but that didn’t stop her. She attended Law School at Marquette University making her the first African-American woman to attend there. Raimey became the first female African-American lawyer in 1927 and the first African American woman to be admitted into the Wisconsin bar. She's the founder of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in Milwaukee and one of the founders of the Milwaukee YWCA branch for African-Americans. As a lawyer, Raimey had both black and white clientele. She was one of the three African-American lawyers in Milwaukee during the 1930s.
Halyard Park
Ardie Halyard was born in 1896 in Covington, GA. She graduated from Atlanta University then moved to Milwaukee in 1923 with her husband Wilbur Halyard. The couple witnessed how hard it was for African-Americans to purchase homes and businesses because white banks declined their service. In 1923, the couple opened Columbia Savings and Loans with just $10. Columbia Savings and Loans and was the first African-American bank and made it possible for African-Americans to purchase homes and businesses without facing racial discrimination. For twenty years she had worked for Goodwill Industries and dedicated her nights to Columbia. Halyard helped revive the NAACP in Milwaukee and other cities in Wisconsin. She established the NAACP Youth Council which had a big impact on the Milwaukee’s Fair Housing Movement. In 1951, Halyard became the first woman president of the Milwaukee NAACP chapter in Milwaukee.
Ardie Halyard was born in 1896 in Covington, GA. She graduated from Atlanta University then moved to Milwaukee in 1923 with her husband Wilbur Halyard. The couple witnessed how hard it was for African-Americans to purchase homes and businesses because white banks declined their service. In 1923, the couple opened Columbia Savings and Loans with just $10. Columbia Savings and Loans and was the first African-American bank and made it possible for African-Americans to purchase homes and businesses without facing racial discrimination. For twenty years she had worked for Goodwill Industries and dedicated her nights to Columbia. Halyard helped revive the NAACP in Milwaukee and other cities in Wisconsin. She established the NAACP Youth Council which had a big impact on the Milwaukee’s Fair Housing Movement. In 1951, Halyard became the first woman president of the Milwaukee NAACP chapter in Milwaukee.
Ezekiel Gillespie
Ezekiel Gillespie was born into slavery in 1818 in Georgia. In 1854,Gillespie was able to buy his freedom for several hundred dollars and relocate to Milwaukee, WI. His goal in Milwaukee was to improve the conditions of African-Americans. He helped create a secure passage for the underground railroad for runaway slaves. In 1849, Wisconsin passed a law guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote, but they were denied at the polls. Gillespie sued the state in 1866 fighting for his right to vote in Wisconsin. His lawsuit had reached Wisconsin’s Supreme Court and was ruled in his favor. Gillespie is also known for being a founding member of Saint Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1869.
Ezekiel Gillespie was born into slavery in 1818 in Georgia. In 1854,Gillespie was able to buy his freedom for several hundred dollars and relocate to Milwaukee, WI. His goal in Milwaukee was to improve the conditions of African-Americans. He helped create a secure passage for the underground railroad for runaway slaves. In 1849, Wisconsin passed a law guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote, but they were denied at the polls. Gillespie sued the state in 1866 fighting for his right to vote in Wisconsin. His lawsuit had reached Wisconsin’s Supreme Court and was ruled in his favor. Gillespie is also known for being a founding member of Saint Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1869.
Vel Phillips
Velvalea “Vel” Rodgers was born February 18th, 1924 on Milwaukee’s south side. Rodgers was an important figure in the Milwaukee’s civil rights era. After receiving her bachelors from Howard University in 1946, she went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. Rodgers graduated in 1951 along with her husband Dale Phillips. She became the first black woman to graduate from UW-Madison’s Law school. Rodgers and Phillips became the first couple to be admitted into the Wisconsin bar. In 1952, she was the first woman and African-American to be a part of Milwaukee’s common council. During the 1960s Civil Rights era she participated in nonviolent protests advocating for education, housing, and employment discrimination. She was arrested during the rally following the firebombing of the NAACP office during the “Long Hot summer” of 1967. In 1971, she became Wisconsin’s first African-American judge, but lost her chance at reelection due to her involvement in the civil rights protest. Rodgers later became a lecturer for UW-Milwaukee. In 1978, she made history as the first African-American and woman to be Secretary of State in Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Bears
The Milwaukee Bears was a Negro National League baseball team that lasted less than one season in 1923. They struggled to draw a crowd to their home games at Borchert Field. At the time the main focus was on the Milwaukee Brewers which was a minor-league club at the time. Little is to be found about the Milwaukee Bears, they received little to no coverage from newspapers. The Team was managed by John Preston “Pete” Hill who was also a star outfielder. Negro National League baseball was undervalued despite similar skills to white baseball. Pete Hill was a potential hall of famer who had over 4,000 hits in his career. The Bears came to an end July 1923 due to scheduling conflicts with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Milwaukee Brewers wear Milwaukee Bears throwback jerseys once a year so that they are not forgotten in local sports history.
The Milwaukee Bears was a Negro National League baseball team that lasted less than one season in 1923. They struggled to draw a crowd to their home games at Borchert Field. At the time the main focus was on the Milwaukee Brewers which was a minor-league club at the time. Little is to be found about the Milwaukee Bears, they received little to no coverage from newspapers. The Team was managed by John Preston “Pete” Hill who was also a star outfielder. Negro National League baseball was undervalued despite similar skills to white baseball. Pete Hill was a potential hall of famer who had over 4,000 hits in his career. The Bears came to an end July 1923 due to scheduling conflicts with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Milwaukee Brewers wear Milwaukee Bears throwback jerseys once a year so that they are not forgotten in local sports history.
Barbee Montessori School
Lloyd Barbee was an important figure during the Milwaukee civil rights era. In 1962, he started his own law firm. It fought against cases involving racial tension among blacks. Despite the decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas which declared segregation in the schools to be unconstitutional, segregated schools still remained throughout the country as well as Milwaukee. In 1965, Barbee filed a lawsuit against Milwaukee Public Schools to fight segregation in the school system. He said the school board had placed unfair restrictions that kept the black population less than ten percent of the school's population. It wasn't until 1976 when the federal court ruled the school board was being unconstitutionally segregated, and lifted the restrictions keeping blacks from from attending Milwaukee Public Schools.
The Casablanca Hotel (present day)
It was built in 1905 and isn't officially labeled as a historical landmark. This seven bedroom and three-story home was first inhabited by harness maker Adam Dietz and his family. During the heyday of jazz in the 1930s, black performers were turned away from mainstream hotels. To counter Jim Crow laws, houses like this offered hotel like services to performers who had toured in Milwaukee. Throughout the years, Hotel Casablanca has had famous guests such as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday. Located in the Harambee neighborhood, it no longer serves as a hotel.
Bronzeville District of Milwaukee
Bronzeville was" the black utopia" between the 1900s and 1960s. Between the years 1916 and 1918 about 400,000 African American men migrated north to fulfill work. They wanted to be apart of the growing manufacturing industries and escape southern Jim Crow laws. In Milwaukee, they found themselves located in the vicinity of Brown, Juneau, 3rd, and 12th which was previously a Jewish neighborhood. Churches were the most important part of the community because they offered poor migrants clothing, food, and shelter. Black people were turned away from white establishments but as time progressed they opened up their own businesses: barber shops, schools, salons, bars, etc. This was an area thriving with African American culture until the 1960s. The I-94/I-43 freeway had undergone construction which took away a large portion of walnut street. Today the community is making efforts to rebuild with The Bronzeville Redevelopment project to restore a once prosperous neighborhood.
The mural of Joshua Glover (designed by Ammar Nsoroma).
Joshua was enslaved in St. Louis, MS until the mid 1850s when he escaped north and found refuge in Racine, WI. He then lived a free life until the Fugitive Slave Act called for all runaway slaves to be captured returned to their masters. Benammi Garland, Joshua's slave master, managed to find him with the help of other slave catchers and take him to jail in Milwaukee. While prisoner, a group of abolitionists led by Sherman Booth rescued Joshua from captivity and set him on his way to freedom. Afraid, he spent about 40 days traveling to Canada onboard a steamer. When he reached Canada he was a free man, he found a job and later started a family.
Fon Du Lac Avenue is one of the Underground Railroad routes.
Located underneath I-43 and Fon Du Lac Ave.
Fon Du Lac Avenue is one of the Underground Railroad routes.
Located underneath I-43 and Fon Du Lac Ave.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bronze sculpture created by Erik Blome displays the civil rights leader preaching on a pedestal of books. Located in front of King Heights Apartment
Black Historical Society and Museum
Clayborn Benson opened the doors to the Black Historical Society and Museum in 1987 on the corner of 27th and Center. Its purpose is to document and preserve Wisconsin's African descendants. On the western exterior of the building there's a beautiful mural created by George Gist. In the inside there's a line of cultural artwork and artifacts. There is even a stage for hosting family community events. The Black Historical Society and Museum strives to create a bright future from a dark past. It is open to all who wish to expand their knowledge on Wisconsin's black history.