Found at the Wisconsin State HIstorical Society

     Father Groppi was, as were many civil rights activists of the time, pacifistic. This meant that he subscribed to the non-violent methods made famous by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a friend of his. After he had participated in protests in the south, he turned his attention to Milwaukee. This led him to lead a very close to home campaign against these problems in his own city. 

     While many consider America’s racism unique to the South, Father Groppi knew that wasn’t true. The same injustices that existed in the South existed in the North, but they were hidden under a false pretense that the North had less segregation. In fact, in Milwaukee during the 1960s, more discrimination was supported than in the South for education, jobs, housing, and voting. Even today, Milwaukee is extremely racially segregated. In some surveys, it’s the most segregated city in the country.

     “When driving a crosstown route, he [Groppi] … picked up mostly African Americans as he drove through the north side toward downtown. By the time he got to Wisconsin Avenue, they had all gotten off the bus. Then as he drove south, he started to pick up all white people. On the return trip, the white people had all gotten off the bus by the time he got downtown, and he would again drive north picking up all black people.” - Margaret Rozga