Jewish Museum Milwaukee is currently hosting important and informative exhibitions that take multicultural perspectives on the civil rights struggle and the open housing protest marches in Milwaukee.
“Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights” is a traveling exhibition that is comprised of some artifacts, but mostly ample text panels and images describing how leaders of diverse backgrounds offered support for the African American community during the tumultuous years of the 1960s. Materials discuss events like the Freedom Seder held in 1969. This Passover ritual became a gathering of 800 people of different racial and religious backgrounds in a ceremony of unity.
The common experience of Jews and African Americans in facing housing discrimination is another topic. Housing discrimination was pervasive in America, even to the extent that a 1937 edition of Good Housekeeping highlighted with approval communities that had restrictions against the “wrong kind of people.”
While “Allied in the Fight” offers a broad historical view, the information that focuses on local events is especially compelling. In Milwaukee, the practice of housing discrimination has had lasting effects to this day. The struggle for change is explored in a complementary exhibition titled “Crossing the Line: The Milwaukee Fair Housing Marches of 1967-1968,” which details the fight for open housing and against discrimination in other public institutions.
The Open Housing marches took place over the course of 200 nights, including the march across the 16th street viaduct lead by Father James Groppi. The work of Alderperson Vel Phillips, who was both the first female and first African American on the Milwaukee Common Council, is also strongly highlighted.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Along with fair housing, the need for equality in education is also addressed. Although the Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling of Brown v. Board of Education made school segregation illegal, this was essentially ignored by the Milwaukee school officials for 25 years.
This is a significant exhibition that describes how discrimination still has a lasting impact. As the commemoration of these marches continues, it is important to understand the history that underlies the continuing divide in our city.
Through March 25 at Jewish Museum Milwaukee, 1360 N. Prospect Ave.
