50-YEAR ACHE

25 things to do in Milwaukee to remember Martin Luther King Jr.

Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Here are 25 things you can do in Milwaukee to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrate his legacy.

1. Watch King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963. Available on YouTube.

2. Visit Martin Luther King Library, 310 W. Locust St., which features a collection of art related to King and a unique accordion book by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. which contains quotations from King and adinkra symbols associated with the Ashanti people.

3. Read King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written in April 1963, defending the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. Available as audio book CD at Milwaukee Public Library.

4. Visit the bronze statue of the civil rights leader standing on a stack of books, just south of the intersection of N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and W. Vine St.

5. Watch King’s last speech “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” delivered at the Mason Temple in Memphis the night before he was assassinated. King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. Available on YouTube.

6. Visit the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum, 2620 W. Center St. Website: wbhsm.org.

7. Read to a child.

8. Attend the Freedom Seder at All Saints Catholic Church, 4051 N. 25th St., Milwaukee. Freedom Seders bring together African-Americans and Jews to eat, discuss, and celebrate the shared values of justice and liberation both cultures find in the Exodus story. Date: 4 to 6 p.m., April 29. 

9. Watch the 2014 historical drama “Selma” about the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Available on DVD from the Milwaukee Public Library.

10. Visit the replica of the home of Civil War-era African-American Milwaukee residents Susanna and Sully Watson at the Streets of Old Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. 

11. Attend a performance of "Until the Flood" at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 108 E. Wells St., through April 22. Written and performed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith, the play explores the reactions of the St. Louis region to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. After each performance there will be a five-minute response by a community member, including state Sen. Lena Taylor and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

12. Read “Finding Freedom: The Untold Story of Joshua Glover, Runaway Slave,” by Ruby West Jackson and Walter T. McDonald. Glover was a freed slave who was arrested in Racine and brought to the courthouse in Milwaukee where abolitionists freed him.

13. Watch the 14-part documentary “Eyes on the Prize” about the civil rights movement in the United States. Originally aired on PBS, it’s available on DVD from the Milwaukee Public Library.

14. Volunteer at your local school. 

15. Watch the 2001 historical drama “Boycott,” about the 1955-’56 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, which started after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. Available on DVD from the Milwaukee Public Library.

16. Read “Hellhound on His Trail,” by Hampton Sides, about King’s assassination. 

17. Visit Jewish Museum Milwaukee, 1360 N. Prospect Ave., to see the exhibit “Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights.” Note: The exhibit closes March 25. 

18. Take a drive on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and visit businesses on the street such as Birdsong’s, Northern Chocolate Co. and Pete’s Fruit Market.

19. Visit Sherman Park, one of Milwaukee’s most diverse neighborhoods. Stop at nearby Sherman Perk Coffee Shop, 4924 W. Roosevelt Drive.

20. Attend a presentation by Matthew Desmond, author of "Evicted," an acclaimed book that explores life in Milwaukee among low-income renters. He'll be speaking May 16 at a benefit event for Jewish Family Services, part of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.

21. Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum to see artwork by African-American artists, including Kehinde Wiley, chosen by President Barack Obama to paint his official portrait. 

22. Attend a prayer service for reconciliation and the healing of racism at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 812 N. Jackson St., at 12:15 p.m., March 30.

23. Take a walk across the James E. Groppi Unity Bridge, formerly known as the 16th Street Viaduct. The bridge, which crosses the Menomonee River Valley, was the path of many of the open housing marches of 1967 and 1968.

24. Make a virtual visit to America's Black Holocaust Museum. While the brick-and-mortar museum is being rebuilt, you can view the collection online at http://abhmuseum.org.

25. Attend a program commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of King, 6 p.m. April 4 at Alverno College, 3400 S. 43rd St.

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