This article was written by Axell Boomer and was awarded the Civil Resistance Prize by the History Department in 2024. It was originally written for the Nonviolence Project: As systemic inequalities—which arrived from the institution of American slavery—manifested themselves into the classroom, Black students were left with less federal support than White students in the American South. Black students in Mississippi, despite comprising fifty-seven percent of “school-aged children,” received “only thirteen percent of state funds.”
civil rights
Uncovering Apartheid: The Conclusion
This article is the third of a three-part series that dives deep into the nearly five decades of Apartheid in South Africa and the movements of non-violence that impacted it. If you have not already read the first two articles, I suggest exiting this article and doing so as it will provide additional context and clarity.
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.
Uncovering Apartheid: The Defiance
This article is the second of a three-part series that dives deep into the nearly five decades of Apartheid in South Africa and the movements of non-violence that impacted it. If you have not already read the first article, I suggest exiting this article and doing so, as it will provide additional context and clarity.
University Failure and Student Response – Linking Today to the 1960s
Earlier this month, a horrific, hate-filled video of a UW-Madison student spouting racist slurs, threats, and a desire to own enslaved people began circulating around the UW-Madison community. It didn’t take long for the video and responses to it to go viral online, resulting in a petition for the expulsion of the students involved with the video amassing tens of thousands of signatures.
CORE Set the Foundation
When taught about the civil rights movement the names of Martin Luther King, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, the NCAA, and various others are brought up, but many have never heard of the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE. It is important to understand the impact this group had on civil rights and the fight against discrimination in the United States.
Dr. Matthew Levin’s Cold War University and UW-Madison’s Legacy of Student Activism
Dr. Matthew Levin’s Cold War University offers a look at the circumstances that surrounded UW-Madison’s burst on to the national scene in the mid 20th century as one of the most politically active campuses in America. Through an interview with Dr. Levin himself and an analysis of his book, this article discusses how Wisconsin’s politically diverse climate, combined with the blending of in-state and out-of-state students informed what would become an epicenter of anti-war and Civil Rights protests.
How Martin Luther King Jr. found his Love-Force
This article explores King’s upbringing, influences, and his intellectual journey towards discovering the concept of Satyagraha.
Verses of Change – An Afro-Caribbean Poet’s Quest for Independence
Language is one of the most powerful tools for resistance. Some dismiss language alone as incapable of effecting change. However, history reveals that the ability to understand and communicate a language in a way that connects, empowers, and galvanizes the disenfranchised can itself be revolutionary
Sit-Ins to Stand Up
The 1960s in the U.S. are often characterized by the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and, of course, the Civil Rights Movement. The early ‘60s were a time when Jim Crow laws were still around and people all across the nation were protesting in various ways.