Oral+History

1.  Can you describe what was going on in your life and what was your status in life during the March on Milwaukee? “March On Milwaukee” was the title of my play about the marches and the title of the events we organized in 2007 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the open housing marches. The marches themselves, and there were 200 consecutive nights of marching, could more accurately be called the campaign for an open housing law in Milwaukee, and I think this is what you’re referring to.   During the spring of 1967 I was a senior in college. This is when the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council began picketing at the homes of aldermen who had African American constituents but were voting against the open housing legislation. In the fall, when we began the 200 nights of marching first across the 16th Street viaduct and then all over the city, I had started teaching at North Division High School. By the way, if you would like a chronology of the events in the campaign for an open housing law in Milwaukee, go to marchonmilwaukee.org  2.  What sparked the riot and what role did you play in the March on Milwaukee. Well, the term “riot” needs clarification, especially if you use it in the plural. (For more on this, see my November 2008 letter to the editor about this, also copied on [|www.marchonmilwaukee.org]  ) If you are referring to the disturbance on Third Street in July 1967, I’m not sure what sparked it. Some people say it started with a fight after a dance at St. Francis parish on North 4th Street. When the NAACP Youth Council marched across the 16th Street Viaduct on August 28 and 29, 1967, crowds of hostile whites resisting open housing engaged in violent and unruly behavior that was a riot, though that is not usually what people think of when they hear the term “riot.”  3.  Being married to Father Groppi did you ever feel in danger for your life during The March on Milwaukee? Father Groppi and I did not marry until 1976. I don’t remember thinking I’d die during the marches, though I do remember being very frightened at time. 4.  Were you ever nervous for Father Groppi’s life during the march? Yes. 5.  Were you getting media attention? If so was it positive media coverage or negative media coverage? Stories about the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council and Father Groppi were front page stories in the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel for most of fall 1967. There was both positive and negative coverage. It is interesting to read the newspapers from these days, and if you continue this research you might like to look at them. You can see them at the UW Milwaukee library.  6.  Was there ever a hostile mood during the March on your side of it? On the marches I participated in, there was sometimes a sense of frustration that we had to work so hard to get this law passed. There was mostly a mood among the marchers of caring for one another. 7. Why do you feel that it was important to participate in the March? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">African Americans were being denied their rights as citizens. 8.  What was the immediate impact of the March what were the long term affects of the March? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">On April 30, 1968, the Milwaukee Common Council passed a strong open housing law, so that was our victory, but, of course, much work still needs to be done.