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Congresswoman Gwen Moore spoke at the event, sharing stories about Vel Phillips.
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Lyneria McGhee was an original member of the NAACP Youth Council that helped plan the fair housing marches in 1967-1968.
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An original marcher shares encouragement with the crowd that gathered at North Division High School at “Marching On: 50 Years Later,” last Saturday.
Lyneria McGhee held back tears as she explained the struggles her and others endured more than 50 years ago during marches to demand fair housing for African-American residents of Milwaukee at an event in Milwaukee last Saturday. Bricks, fists and racial epithets were thrown at her and thousands of other activists during 200 straight days of marching in support of an open housing law during 1967-1968.
Those activists and others who took part in the marches were honored at an event at North Division High School Saturday afternoon. Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Mayor Tom Barrett and Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton were present at the event, titled “Marching on: 50 Years in the Making,” to recognize the many achievements of the NAACP Youth Council and commandos during this time.
“I’m so glad we haven’t been written out of history,” said McGhee, an original member of the Youth Council.
Months ago, community activists encouraged Milwaukee based organizations and companies to plan an event or program to pay homage to the marches. These events began on Aug. 28, 2017. The NAACP Youth Council and commandos received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ACLU of Wisconsin during this time, as participants in the marches delivered speeches and presentations at countless schools and centers across the city.
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Former marchers spoke at the event Saturday, sharing what has changed since the demonstrations.
“Back then it was a problem of not being able to afford a home,” said Fred Reed, who was an original member of the NAACP Youth Council. “Now we have all kinds of problems.”
Rep. Moore spoke about one of the key players in the March, Vel Phillips, who recently passed away. Philips was originally supposed to be the keynote speaker at the event. She first introduced the fair housing bill in 1967.
“Her legacy is in the valley and in the struggle for us to have decent housing,” Moore said about Philips. “We didn’t lose her to death as long as we reignite the movement, because there is much work to do.”
The event also focused on reigniting youth activism in the city to accelerate change. Activists spoke about segregation in the city of Milwaukee today, saying progress still has to be made.
“Protesting is good, but we need to do more than protest. We need to vote. We need to run for office,” said Reed.
