UW-Madison’s path to equal opportunity has been shaped by resilience, from the early struggles of students in the 1940s to grassroots efforts to establish accessible resources for students. While significant strides have been made, the history of disability rights at UW-Madison portrays that the fight for inclusion and accessibility is not over.
Wisconsin
Students of Madison Lead the American Anti-Apartheid Movement: Madison Area Committee on Southern Africa
Though UW-Madison has had protests and civic engagement throughout its history, the era that gave UW-Madison its reputation as a “protest school” began in the 1960s. Anti-Apartheid activism influenced politics in Madison long before the American Anti-Apartheid Movement gained momentum in the 1980s, becoming one of the first communities in the United States to recognize apartheid as a critical issue that required American activism and solidarity.
Vel Phillips: Wisconsin Civil Rights Trailblazer and the March on Milwaukee
According to Vel Phillips, it is hard to describe the wonder of the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. to those who haven’t seen them because nothing compares.
How Black Milwaukeeans Won the Fight for Fair Housing
The proposed legislation, its author declared, was “doomed to a violent death the moment it was uttered… like so many other issues pertaining to racial discrimination that have been sent to the Mayor’s office.”
Why Civil Resistance Works: Award-Winning Author Dr. Maria J. Stephan Speaks at UW-Madison
At 7pm on November 15th, the UW Center for Interfaith Dialogue alongside the Interfaith Peace Working Group with help from the Nonviolence Project, hosted Dr. Maria J. Stephan for a talk on the efficacy of nonviolent campaigns.
A Militant Priest’s Nonviolence: Critical Reception of Father Groppi
As marches proliferated in the Jim Crow South during the 1960s, movements also gathered in the North, protesting segregated housing and unequal treatment of Black Americans. In Milwaukee, a priest named Father Groppi—after witnessing the maltreatment of Black Milwaukeeans throughout his youth and adulthood—decided to use his position in church leadership to aid the efforts of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to achieve fair housing.
State Street Starbucks: Employees Push for Action
The State & Lake Starbucks location has been a staple in Madison since the late 1990s, however this hub of student activity has become a beacon of unionization in the recent months as students have arrived back on campus.
Barrier Breakers – Mercile Lee
One of the most impactful methods of nonviolent activism at UW-Madison can be found in scholarships, the Chancellor Scholarship and Powers-Knapp Scholarship, now known as the Mercile Lee Scholars Program. This program, named after Mercile Lee, a lifelong advocate for Civil Rights and racial equality, aims “to attract, support and develop the abilities and potential of academically talented and outstanding individuals from underrepresented groups.”
Barrier Breakers – Remembering Ada Deer
Earlier this month, on August 15th, the esteemed Menominee leader Ada Deer passed away. Her impact on Native communities across the nation, as well as her influence at UW-Madison, was enormous and serves as inspiration to all who hear her story.
The Gay Purges – A Brief History of Exclusion and Resilience
The term Gay Purge is in reference to when UW-Madison “actively purged students identified as homosexuals” in 1962. However, the persecution of LGBTQ+ students at UW-Madison predated the 1960s.