Ordained in 1959, Father James Groppi (1930-1985) was assigned to a predominantly black Milwaukee church in 1963. He participated in the 1963 March on Washington, and worked for desegregation and voting rights in Mississippi and Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From 1967 to 1969, he brought this struggle home to Milwaukee with demonstrations for open housing and other efforts to combat de-facto segregation. For several nights in 1967 Fr. Groppi led marchers out of black neighborhods to rallies on Milwaukee's "all white" South Side. Arrested on many occasions for civil disobedience, he was instrumental in calling public attention to segregation in Milwaukee and in efforts to overturn it.
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| Father James Groppi and civil rights leaders during NAACP march, Milwaukee, 1968. |
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| Father James Groppi with his fist in the air at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The Assembly Chambers were occupied for 17 hours to protest the budget cuts to welfare recipients. Father Groppi was later sued for up to $15,000 for the damage done to the Assembly Chambers during the protest. He was also put in jail for contempt of the Assembly charge, and faced a State disorderly conduct charge |
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| Father Groppi is seated in the back of a police wagon with policeman after being arrested in front of his parish for the second night in a row. |
Wisconsin Historical SocietyCalls to mind the type of sacrifices it takes to repeal unjust laws and to change evil practices set in place by the culture. Just because
something is a cultural norm and legal, doesn't mean it aught to be.... and doesn't mean it can't be defeated on both fronts.
Imagine if a priest was this passionate about his pro-life work....