Beyond Brown v Board: Milwaukee Public School Desegregation Exhibit
The UWM Libraries Diversity Committee and the UWM Archives paired to create a Learning Commons exhibit that follows the story of Milwaukee’s desegregation efforts from the Brown v. Board ruling up to the early 1990s. In Milwaukee, where segregation was a matter of historical custom rather than the law, the struggle to equalize the education system is a challenge school administrators and community members still grapple with today. The goal of this exhibit was to not only celebrate the successes of Civil Rights era, but to follow that narrative through the end of the 20th century and highlight the complexities of education reform that are often left under-examined.
1954 (May 17th)-In the Brown v. Board of Education suit, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "separate but equal" educational facilities were "inherently unequal," and that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Initially, many people in Wisconsin saw segregation as a Southern problem, but in the 1960s Milwaukee was one of the most segregated cities in the country and its schools followed suit.
1964 (March)- Lloyd Barbee forms the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC). This coalition worked to eliminate segregation in the Milwaukee Public School system through the use of coordinated direct actions.
1964 (May 18th)- MUSIC organized the first "Freedom Day" walkout and school boycott in Milwaukee. Students and their families were encouraged to attend Freedom Schools for the day. These volunteer-run schools taught students about Black history, racial myths, social justice, and techniques for peaceful acts of resistance. Barbee estimated that 15,000 elementary, junior high, and high school students withdrew from school and that 11,000 attended one of 35 Freedom Schools.
1965 (17 June)- Lloyd Barbee files a federal lawsuit, Amos et al. v. Board of School Directors of the City of Milwaukee which charged the school board with intentionally maintaining racial segregation in its schools.
1965 (18-20 October)- Civil rights activists across various organizations coordinate the second round of public school boycotts. The first day an estimated 7,300 students participated in the boycott. Like Freedom Day, many students attended Freedom Schools, and demonstrations were held at the School Board President’s house and the Mayor’s apartment.
1967 (May)- Students at Lincoln Junior/High, Riverside High, North Division, Rufus King, Wells Street Junior High, and possibly West Division call for curricular reforms. The primary focus of their actions, such as textbook turn-ins, is to gain support for an American History curriculum that included Black history.
1967- North Division High School football coach Robert Harris publicly criticizes MPS authorities for the disparities in quality of educational facilities between black and white schools in the city. This lead to Harris’ dismissal as head football coach, although he was later reinstated. Around the same time, social studies teacher Jake Beason champions Black history in the classroom and also draws attention to inadequate conditions at North Division High School. Beason was also fired for his outspokenness and later reinstated.
1968 (January)- Hundreds of Rufus King students walk out to protest the lack of curricular focus on Black history and culture. Throughout the early 1970’s, clashes between MPS and parents continued, and many community members and educators organized around issues like improved facilities, increasing parental involvement in school decisions and introducing a more relevant curriculum.
1968 (February 4 )- North Division High School students, including (now) congresswoman Gwen Moore, meet to discuss conditions at North Division and asked for a February 5th meeting with School Board Director Richard Gousha. When Gousha does not show up for the meeting, around 1,000 students walked out of North Division. Following these disturbances, Gousha agrees to meet with a delegation of students and parents to work through curricular concerns.
1973- Amos et al. v. Board of School Directors of the City of Milwaukee goes to trial, and final arguments are filed in 1974.
1976 (January 19)- Federal District Judge John Reynolds rules Milwaukee Public Schools were illegally segregated in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the students, and orders the Milwaukee Board of School Directors to take immediate steps to desegregate the public schools.
1976 (April)- MPS Superintendent Lee McMurrin proposes a desegregation plan in which black schools would be closed and reopened as magnet schools. The mostly black students displaced by these closures would then “choose” to be bused to schools with primarily white enrollment. Working with the fundamentals of this plan, Judge Reynolds set plans to desegregate MPS over the course of three years, starting in fall of 1976. Over the next few years, community organizations worked to formulate alternatives to the McMurrin plan, and the School Board would eventually appeal Judge Reynolds’ ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
1976- MPS introduces the Chapter 220 program, a voluntary suburban transfer program which was intended as an early metropolitan desegregation tool. The program is barely utilized until the early 1980s.
1977 (June)-The Supreme Court called for a remand of the Amos case, which was renamed Armstrong vs. O'Connell, to the district appeals court which remanded the case back to Justice John Reynolds. The Metropolitan Integration Research Center is formed, and by the early 1980s the organization becomes an influential voice supporting broader MPS restructuring
1979 (February)- Judge Reynolds rules that MPS has administered policies which intentionally maintained segregation since 1950 and that the effects of this segregation were present system-wide.
1979 (March)- Following the February decision by Judge Reynolds, plaintiffs and defendants agree upon a settlement out of court which calls for a 5-year desegregation plan, allowing about 20 all-black schools to remain open, but no all-white schools.This settlement halts the third phase of the initial three-year desegregation plan adopted in 1976.
1979 (May)- With its black members dissenting, the Milwaukee Public School Board and the plaintiffs approve the 5-year plan. Judge Reynolds approves the plan shortly after, but integration still presents many challenges for Milwaukee. At the time of the first Amos et al. v. Board of School Directors of the City of Milwaukee ruling, two-thirds of MPS students were white, but, by the early 1980s, that number falls below 50% as more white families move to the suburbs.
1980- By this time, most MPS restructuring for the purpose of desegregation has concluded, and the McMurrin administration’s new RISE (Rising to Individual Scholastic Excellence) plan shifts focus to improving the educational performance of low-income students of color.
1981-1982- MPS sees a period of stability following the settlement, and economic prosperity brings increases in enrollment for the first time in more than a decade.
1982-1984- Intellectual and Civil Rights leader Howard Fuller and the North Division High School community members advocate for increased standards in MPS and criticize the McMurrin administration’s acceptance of black underperformance in the public school system. In 1983, the school board approves an increased GPA minimum standard of 2.0 on a 4.0 grade scale. Meanwhile, in light of a school board proposal to close schools due to low enrollment, there is outcry from parents and leaders across the black community. Many feel the closures will further the fracturing of black neighborhoods caused by initial desegregation efforts. Because black students are so scattered across the school district, many argue, the fiber of neighborhoods is weakening without any significant strides being made to improve the quality of treatment and education for their children. Research conducted by the Milwaukee Journal indicates that while Milwaukee parents were supportive of the idea of desegregation, they had grown pessimistic about the promise of an equal and quality MPS education.
1984 (June 28)-The Milwaukee Public School Board sues the state of Wisconsin and twenty-five suburban schools for intentionally confining black children to city schools. Howard Fuller criticizes the Chapter 220 plan and lawsuit for failing to address issues of underperforming schools and lack of investment in black youth. Serving on the Gubernatorial Cabinet, Fuller calls for a commission to study the effectiveness of MPS education--this challenges the claims made by the McMurrin administration that desegregation efforts had elevated the performance of black students.
1984-1985- White flight and a gradual increase in black enrollment results in black enrollment surpassing the 50% mark.
1984-1987- Integrationists become worried their vision will not be recognized. Black Nationalists and self-determinists continue to advocate for neighborhood schools and strong culturally grounded education, while the Integrationists’ base is energized by the idea of broader Metropolitan desegregation. Despite pressure from Governor Tommy Thompson to settle the suit against the metropolitan schools, little progress is made.
1987 (June-July)-Twenty-four suburban schools remain in the suit as out-of-court negotiations come to a head. By July, a settlement agreement is reached with a promise from the Governor’s office to allocate funds toward the metropolitan desegregation efforts and incentivize suburban school participation. As part of the settlement, MPS and the metropolitan districts would increase transfers of black students to 7,000 by 1993. However, the settlement did not lay out any enforcement measures for the proposal. Neither Integrationists nor Black Nationalists are pleased with the plan proposed in the settlement
These letters are examples of public opinions expressed to MPS School Board as Milwaukee grappled with the best way to desegregate its schools. Materials are from the Lorraine M. Radtke Papers. Radtke was elected to the Milwaukee School Board in 1955 and served as the president from 1963 to 1965; she retired in 1981. Identifying information of the letter writers has been redacted in order to protect 3rd party privacy.
Maps of Milwaukee Public Schools (1964) from the Lloyd Barbee Collection, Milwaukee Mss 16. Newspaper articles is from the Milwaukee Star (1967-77)
