Milwaukee, the "Selma of the North" during the 1960s
As the feature film Selma contends for the Best Picture Oscar at this month's Academy Awards ceremony, it is a good time to also remember Milwaukee's civil rights history. In the mid- to late 1960s, Milwaukee was a hotbed of the Civil Rights Movement, earning the nickname that gave rise to the book titled The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee, by Patrick D. Jones.
Learn more in journalist Frank A. Aukofer’s contemporary account City with a Chance: A Case History of Civil Rights Revolution.
In addition to reading these two books, you can experience the period through primary source documents, images, audio and video recordings included online at The March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Other related materials about this period in Milwaukee that are available for check out at your Milwaukee Public Library include:
- Black Nouveau. Freedom Walkers for Milwaukee [DVD] (MPTV, 2011) - Many interviews from this program are also available on MPTV's website as "Web Extras"
- 200 Nights and One Day, poems by Margaret Rozga (Benu Press, 2009)
And for children: Father Groppi: Marching for Civil Rights, by Stuart Stotts (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2013)