UW-Waukesha,
Room N127,
1500 N. University Drive,
Waukesha.
http://www.sewibookfest.com/find-us/maps-parking
Waukesha, Wis. – Oct. 5, 2017 – The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha will host the Wisconsin Historical Society’s traveling display “Crossing the Line: The Milwaukee Fair Housing Marches of 1967-1968” from Oct. 25 through Nov. 14. In addition, a panel discussion about the housing marches will be held Nov. 4 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. during the 2017 Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books.
The display commemorates the 50th anniversary of Milwaukee’s civil rights marches by examining the practices and prejudices that led to segregation in Milwaukee and chronicling the school desegregation and fair housing movements of the 1960s. It also asks the question, “What can you do to end segregation today?”
“The display is about an important part of our area history,” said Margaret Rozga, former UW-Waukesha faculty member, Festival of Books program committee member, and participant in the open housing marches. “It gives people an understanding of why the marches took place and where we are today.
What’s In the Display?
The eight panels of “Crossing the Line” tell the story or Milwaukee’s civil rights marches in simple language, with reproductions of 33 historic photographs and documents.
The Milwaukee County Historical Society, Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and March on Milwaukee 50th Anniversary Coordinating Committee helped develop content for “Crossing the Line.”
During the Festival of Books, Rozga will participate in a panel discussion about the housing marches along with Professor Patrick D. Jones, author of “The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee, and Playwright and Theater Director Sheri Williams Pannell. Gavin Luter, executive director of the Wisconsin College Compact, a sponsor of the panel, will introduce and moderate the panel discussion.
“The marches and the struggle for the right to live where you’d like to live go beyond the boundaries of Milwaukee,” said Tim Thering, UW-Waukesha history professor and member of the program committee that organized the panel. “It’s important that people who live in Waukesha County, many who had relatives living in Milwaukee at the time, learn about the history of Milwaukee’s open housing marches so the marches are not forgotten.”
Now in its eighth year, the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is an annual community celebration of literacy and the arts, where local and national authors and readers of all ages come together to enjoy presentations, performances, creativity and conversation. It will be held November 3-4 on the University of Waukesha campus at 1500 N. University Drive, in Waukesha. The UW-Waukesha Foundation organizes this community-wide event in cooperation with partners in the community.
Partners committed to date include: All Writers’ Workplace & Workshop, Books & Company, Century Fence Company, Comer Science & Education Foundation, Country Springs Hotel, Friends of Waukesha Public Library, Greater Waukesha Literacy, Holiday Inn-Delafield, Literacy For All, Olive Garden-Brookfield, Sweet Perfections Bake Shoppe, Taco Amigo, TGI Fridays-Brookfield, UW-Waukesha Lecture & Fine Arts Committee, UW-Waukesha Theatre Department, Waukesha Community Foundation/Mihi Cura Futuri Fund, Waukesha Reads!, We Energies, Westphal Mansion Inn Bed & Breakfast-Hartford, Wisconsin Compact, Wisconsin Public Radio, Waukesha State Bank, and z2.
A Writer’s Marketplace is also available for authors and organizations to promote their work for a small fee, and there are several opportunities for volunteers.
Visit sewibookfest.com or email sewibookfest@uwc.edu with questions, inquiries or information about volunteering.
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