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"The Selma of the North": Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee

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.

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Blurbs:

Think you know the full story of the civil rights era? Patrick Jones's masterful study of the movement in Milwaukee will make you think again. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, The Selma of the North provides a devastating rebuttal of many of the conventional narratives of the civil rights movement. Here a vibrant nonviolent movement in the de-industrializing Midwest grows into a Black Power movement led by urban youth and a white Catholic priest who use confrontational direct action to lay bare the fissures of racial inequality in the 'liberal' North.
--Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College, editor of Freedom North and Groundwork

A well-researched, well-written, and important history. Based on a rich array of sources, this book enhances our understanding of civil rights activism in the postwar urban North and establishes a useful foundation for the comparison of similar developments elsewhere in the country.
--Joe William Trotter, Jr., Carnegie Mellon University, author of Black Milwaukee

This book fills a serious gap in the literature of the civil rights revolution, joining studies on other cities in laying the groundwork on race and civil rights in the postwar urban North. Jones tells a good story, capturing events that might otherwise be lost to history.
--Arnold R. Hirsch, University of New Orleans, author of Making the Second Ghetto

The Selma of the North is an insightful and invigorating addition to the growing literature on black freedom struggles outside of the South. Jones's important and informative account writes Milwaukee back into the narrative of the civil rights-Black Power era and in the process expands our understanding of postwar America.
--Peniel E. Joseph, Brandeis University, author of Waiting Till the Midnight Hour

The Selma of the North is a riveting new story of the civil rights movement in America, a tale on par with Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery in its power and importance. Jones's magisterial research and magnetic prose illuminate the untold story of the battle for the urban north in the 1960s, a battle that shows how race has always been the Achilles heel of white progressives. This story transcends easy dichotomies of black and white, North and South, radical and reformist. How did a group called 'the Commandos' define nonviolence? How did a white Catholic priest become a 'Black Power' leader? If this is not a saga for the age of Obama, I don't know what is.
--Timothy B. Tyson, Duke University, author of Radio Free Dixie and Blood Done Sign My Name

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Remember Who We Are: A New Progressive Era?

This ad ran in the NYTimes:

(click image to enlarge)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Powerful New Ad Hits Palin on Aerial Hunting

This hard-hitting ad, created by Defenders of Wildlife, goes up in the crucial swing-state of Ohio.

Dag. That is a tough ad. Any thoughts? One person over at DailyKos suggested that the ad would be even more powerful if it featured a manly-man hunter, or a prominent hunter, saying that this type of hunting is lame and that most sportsmen oppose this kind of thing.

DOF is hoping to air the ad in other swing states, too. So, if you think this is effective, let them know and maybe even contribute to the organization.

As with all this good counter-politicking by Obama and his supporters, be sure to spread the word by forwarding this ad to as many folks as you know, particularly anyone you know who is on the fence or undecided.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The ad the Obama Campaign SHOULD Be Running...

Here is an ad created by "cartwrightdale" and posted over at DailyKos. It is a double-barreled blast right at the heart of the McCain campaign. Simple and to the most salient point. Obama's people should take note:

What do you think? If you could create an ad for Obama, what would it feature? What would be its rhetorical approach? Any suggestions?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Visit Ocean City, MD, Before the Oceans Evaporate!

I was born in Baltimore. Currently, one of my brothers and his family, along with my entire extended family, live there. In addition, my folks will be moving back to Baltimore from Cleveland in the next couple of years. So, I've got some Baltimore cred. As a kid, we used to go to Ocean City, Maryland, every summer to swim in the Atlantic, body surf, walk the boardwalk, fly kites, play miniature golf, and eat seafood. Recently, the mayor of Ocean City cut a really funny tourism ad for the city that is worth 1.5 minutes of your time to check out. Here it is:

And, just for the fun of it, here are some random family shots from our early days at Ocean City:

My cousin Christine, buried in the sand, circa 1970s: