The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee

by Patrick D. Jones

Between 1958 and 1970, a distinctive movement for racial justice emerged from unique circumstances in Milwaukee. A series of local leaders inspired growing numbers of people to participate in campaigns against employment and housing discrimination, segregated public schools, the membership of public officials in discriminatory organizations, welfare cuts, and police brutality.

The Milwaukee movement culminated in the dramatic—and sometimes violent—1967 open housing campaign. A white Catholic priest, James Groppi, led the NAACP Youth Council and Commandos in a militant struggle that lasted for 200 consecutive nights and provoked the ire of thousands of white residents. After working-class mobs attacked demonstrators, some called Milwaukee “the Selma of the North.” Others believed the housing campaign represented the last stand for a nonviolent, interracial, church-based movement.

Patrick Jones tells a powerful and dramatic story that is important for its insights into civil rights history: the debate over nonviolence and armed self-defense, the meaning of Black Power, the relationship between local and national movements, and the dynamic between southern and northern activism. Jones offers a valuable contribution to movement history in the urban North that also adds a vital piece to the national story.

(20090512)

Genres: History, Race, Nonfiction, African American, Research, Social Justice

360 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2009

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very important book on a largely forgotten, but very important battleground of the Civil Rights Movement. Part of the importance is that this joins books by Thomas Sugrue and Arnold Hirsch on the short list of excellent studies of the Movement in the North. As Jones demonstrates, Milwaukee was typical of the north in the issues that sparked the black community (and white supporters) to action: police brutality, housing discrimination, school segregation, the membership of prominent white politicians in racially exclusive organizations. At the same time, The Selma of the North makes it clear that Milwaukee was in some crucial ways very atypically, particularly after the emergence of Father James Groppi as a central figure in the mid-1960s. Working in concert with the NAACP Youth Council (which separated from the parent organization fairly early on) and the "Commandos," Groppi helped shape a movement that was church-based, interracial, "not-violent" (as opposed to non-violent), and very militant. Together, these elements made Milwaukee a fascinating variation on both the Civil Rights and Black Power stories, one that rejects the all-too-frequent attitude the CR and BP were antagonistic and mutually exclusive. In addition, Jones properly emphasizes the reality of "massive resistance"--the intense and extreme white opposition to addressing racial problems in a meaningful way. In Milwaukee, the obvious manifestation was the thousands of working class whites who met the marchers crossing the 16th Street Bridge. But it's equally important to pay close attention to the maneuvers of liberal Democratic mayor Henry Maier whose rhetoric masked the fact that he did absolutely nothing to address issues in meaningful ways. Ultimately, the story Jones tells is a tragedy in that almost none of the issues the Milwaukee movement confronted have changed. The schools are still segregated; housing's still segregated; the economy's a disaster; and incarceration is a controlling reality in everyday life.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early in this books, Professor Jones notes that the civil rights movement in northern cities was lost amid the struggles in the Southern US. This book successfully documents that struggle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In his well-researched project, Jones focuses on the duality of the Catholic Church in the struggle. Many priests, notably Father Groppi and young parishoners came out militantly for racial equality, with Father Groppi bringing to Milwaukee ideas and tactics he'd learned on trips to the South. But, for many Catholic churches whose members were working-class first or second generation Americans, demands for equality increased fears over competition for jobs and falling property values as neighborhoods integrated. The unfortunate conclusion for me is that so much of what happened 50 years ago is still being fought today.

[Deb Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highlights the Civil Rights movement in Milwaukee including the Black Power movement. Sheds much light on the current state of race relations in the city.

[Minista Brenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting tale of my hometown city, which I love, but is broken and torn for those who are Black and living on or grew up on Milwaukee, WI, USA's north side.

The same problems that existed yesterday - redlining - are still alive and well in Milwaukee today, and this book proves it in great detail.

We will be nothing until we end racism, redlining, and segregation as a people in America; however, you cannot change others' hearts or make them see you as humans deserving of civil and human rights.

That is the sad part, and this book shows why many called Milwaukee the "Selma of the North" during the Civil Rights Movement in America, during the late 1950s and 1960s.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the mid-1960’s, as Milwaukee’s racist bureaucracy makes life increasingly intolerable for inner city Black residents, a group of its young folks (led by white Catholic priest Fr. James Groppi) starts to fight back. Though this thorough retelling of Milwaukee’s civil rights history can at times read like a textbook, the bravery of these everyday Milwaukeeans, whose actions changed both the city and themselves, is fascinating and inspiring, and Jones relates their instances of resistance in all their imperfect complexity.

[Lynne]

I still want very much to read this book, but the print is so small and the lines of print are extremely squished together on every page....I'll put it in my "to read" category for now until I can schedule cataract surgery!!!

[Kenneth Bernoska · Rating 4 out of 5]

A flawed but very helpful survey of the civil rights era in my home city Milwaukee.

[Drew D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about the history of Milwaukee, as well as the role it played in the civil rights movement. I read this book for a african american history class, and I was even lucky enough to look at archive materials of letters sent to Father Groppi and the Youth Council, and it added an extra layer to how brave many of these activists were fighting in the face of intense backlash. Highly recommend reading this as you are unlikely to find any of this information elsewhere.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really wonderful, richly written history of the civil rights struggle in Milwaukee. Although much of the book describes the role Father James Groppi played in organizing African-American youth in various campaigns, the book never seems like a story about “great men.” Jones does a great job setting the stage, to show the local and contingent conditions that allowed someone like Groppi to emerge. He also shows how local conditions affected the degree of impact the insurgents' activities could have.

[Fallicy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has given me a better understanding of the civil rights struggle in Milwaukee and how those efforts in the past have contributed to the current state of discrimination and segregation that still exists in the city of Milwaukee. Growing up in Milwaukee makes this book especially interesting and inspires me to stay along my path of community and youth development knowing how hard people before us worked for civla rights. Milwaukee remains the most segregated city in the country.

[Douglas Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, thoughtful, and thorough presentation of the civil rights movement in Milwaukee from the time of the Eagles Club protest marches through the years after Father Groppi's influence faded and the Commandos were reborn as a government-backed institution.