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In the 1960s, Milwaukee was divided.
The black community lived in the north
the white in the south.
The 16th Street Viaduct
was the bridge that connected the two communities
but more than just a river separated them.
Things were getting tense.
The inner core was falling apart
and families were left with few options.
The black community was hurting.
Something had to give.
Two people bravely stepped up to lead the way.
Vel Phillips and Father James Groppi
were an unlikely pair of heroes.
Vel's story is a tale of firsts.
She became the first African American woman
to become a Milwaukee alderwoman
and to introduce a fair housing law.
Listen, I just didn't see why I should not be able to live
anywhere in the city that I could afford to live.
James Groppi put himself through seminary school
driving buses.
While few others bothered to listen to the troubles
of the inner core, this bus driver lent an ear.
The words of the people went straight to his heart.
When someone black came to me and said
"Look, Father, they won't rent to me beyond 27th Street,"
at that time, what did you want me to do
as a white priest in an inner city parish?
No, that was my fight.
He was not that man who kindled the fire.
He was the one who kept the lid on it.
That's the reason Milwaukee didn't burn.
Father Groppi joined the struggle
for Civil Rights in Milwaukee.
Their weapons weren't bullets or bombs.
They fought by marching, a lot of marching.
The two started with big steps.
Vel proposed a new city-wide fair housing law.
But it was rejected on a 20 to 1 vote.
Father Groppi became the NAACP Youth Council Advisor.
The group picketed white-only establishments
held prayer vigils
and sang Christmas carols
to those who didn't think they'd make good neighbors.
In the summer of '67, cities all over the country
including Milwaukee, had violent riots.
The streets seemed too dangerous for anyone, anywhere.
On August 28, 1967
Father Groppi led the first small group of marchers
through thousands of hostile people.
Groppi announced:
We'll never stop until we get complete human dignity.
We're going to get fair housing legislation
in the City of Milwaukee.
We're going to walk until our feet our tired.
Then we are going to walk on our ankles, and on our knees.
[applause]
For 200 days, they marched through angry crowds
tear gas, and violent outbreaks.
The marchers' dedication to their cause
was stronger than all of these.
Martin Luther King, Jr., sent a telegram to Father Groppi.
"You are demonstrating that it is possible
to be militant and powerful
without destroying life or property.
Please know that you have my support and prayers."
In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination
brought together blacks and whites.
It was time.
In Washington, DC, President Lyndon Johnson
signed a national Fair Housing Law
so that people could live where they want to live.
After that, the City of Milwaukee
passed Vel Phillips' Fair Housing Law, too.
Phillips: It took a long time simply because it was new
it was controversial, it was political
and it was... just difficult, but we did it.
If we just go with the Declaration of Independence
and the United States Constitution
we've got everything to work with.
After years of struggle by the people of Milwaukee
the city was finally starting to come together.