A capacity crowd of University of Wisconsin students received nationally renowned civil rights activists at the Humanities Building Monday night, where panelists discussed racial relations in 1960s Alabama and present issues in Milwaukee.
Despite the serious subject matter, the mood remained light for more than 200 students who attended the panel discussion led by Joanne Bland, Gordon Sellers, Vel Phillips and Joe McClain. All four panelists are civil rights activists known throughout the country who came to Madison to discuss civil rights issues in Milwaukee, as well as share personal recollections of events in Selma, Alabama in 1965.
Panelists said Selma was host to police brutality and violence on March 7, 1965, a day that later became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
On that day, civil rights protestors had planned to march from Selma to Montgomery in protest of the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson. When they reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, state troopers met the protestors with nightsticks, tear gas and cattle prods, panelists said.
Despite massive injury and death, protesters rallied soon after and finished the march with the help of Martin Luther King, Jr.
This incident ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act, speakers said.
Joanne Bland said she was 11 years old when she and her family marched in Selma.
“We were not singing, and there was no one on the streets,” Bland explained, describing the mood before the protestors reached the bridge.
She also explained the pandemonium after the attack.
“I remember blood being everywhere on the bridge,” she said. “All night long they followed us home and shot out our windows.”
Joe McClain, former leader of the Commandos, a civil rights organization in Milwaukee, was also in Selma in 1965. He described his experiences as a protester.
“You have to tell yourself ‘ain’t nothing gonna slow me down’ and you just go through with it,” McClain explained. “It’s very scary, seeing people standing on the corner shouting at you and throwing things at you.”
Gordon Sellers, another panelist, kept the mood light and the audience lively by leading sing-a-longs throughout the discussion.
Sellers said he believes one of the ways to stamp out racism is to focus more on religion and use it as a common ground.
“There are a lot of tools to prepare yourself [for life]; one of those tools is the Bible,” Sellers said.
Vel Phillips, a well-known civil rights activist, also joined the panel discussion. Besides being the first black woman to get her law degree from the University of Wisconsin and the leader of the Milwaukee NAACP, she is included in the list of the five most significant political figures in Wisconsin history because of her civil rights activism.
Phillips described race relations in 1960s Milwaukee, saying that many conditions in Milwaukee related to those in Selma.
Students left the auditorium cheering for the speakers, giving them a standing ovation.
“I thought they were great,” said Caroline Flock, a UW sophomore. “They were very impressive.”
“It was really interesting to be able to put a face on a historical event like this,” said Andy DeClercq, a UW senior majoring in history.
