Explore the experiences and contributions of Black Americans throughout different periods of U.S. history by visiting Milwaukee Public Museum's exhibits, engaging in learning opportunities with MPM’s Educators, and exploring additional online resources.
Bonus Onsite Learning
Saturday Storytime Series: Celebrating Black History
Families with young children (recommended for ages 3-6) are welcome to stop in our Early Learning classroom for hands-on activities and story times that celebrate Black history! Sessions are facilitated by MPM Educators. Story times will take place at selected times throughout the day.
Date and Time
February 15 and 22
March 1
10 a.m. - noon and 1-3 p.m.
Cost and Registration
Free with admission. Pre-registration not required. First-come, first-served as classroom capacity allows.
Saturday Exhibit Tour Series
Celebrating Milwaukee's Black History
Join us for a special collaboration with Museum docents, or “griots,” from America’s Black Holocaust Museum! These 50-minute tours will highlight African and African American history throughout MPM’s exhibit galleries.
Best suited for 15 years+, but open to the general public.
Dates and Times
February 15 and 22
March 1
11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
*Tours are 50 minutes long and span three floors. Please contact access@mpm.edu or 414-278-6943 for accommodations related to a disability.
Cost and Registration
Free with admission. Pre-registration not required, but capacity for each tour is 15 people. First-come, first-served.
CROSSING THE LINE: THE MILWAUKEE FAIR HOUSING MARCHES OF 1967-1968 Traveling Display
Come view a special traveling display from the Wisconsin Historical Society in MPM's Ground Floor Garden Galleries, and join our Educators in examining how historians use primary sources to learn about Milwaukee's Black history. The display is most suitable for middle and high school-aged students and the general public. FREE with admission.
Date and Time
February 19 - March 6
Educators will run workshop activities alongside the panels catered for school audiences February 19-20, 26-28, as well as March 3, 5, 6 (KTYT), from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS: RESERVE AN EDUCATOR
Teachers: Reserve a Museum Educator at MPM for your next field trip!
Rotating Topic for February and March (Grades 4-12): Celebrating Black History
Beginning in February at no additional cost to your visit, MPM Educators will debut a brand-new Reserve an Educator program! A reserved educator can meet your group in a specified exhibit with a variety of hands-on materials and resources related to a selectable topic. We'll engage with your students at a pace that works for you!
Use primary sources and explore local Black History from the Watson Family in the 1800s through contemporary recognition and depictions of this ongoing story.
Available on a limited first-come, first-served basis. Registration is now open.
Exhibits & Collections
The Watson Family
Sully and Susanna Watson took their family from the oppressive conditions of antebellum Virginia in 1834 and, after several years in Ohio, arrived in Milwaukee in 1850. Through skilled labor and business entrepreneurship, the couple played a vital role in establishing Milwaukee's Black middle class.
The Watson family photos and papers came into MPM's collections in 1992, and the Museum added the Watson Family Home into the Streets of Old Milwaukee in 2000.
Ezekiel Gillespie
In 1865, Ezekiel Gillespie, a Black voting rights leader in Milwaukee, attempted to register to vote under the provisions of the 1848 Wisconsin constitution. Local election inspectors denied him. With the help of attorney Byron Paine, Gillespie sues and takes his case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He wins unanimously under the provisions of the 1849 referendum.
This mini diorama of Ezekiel Gillespie in Streets of Old Milwaukee was actually installed in 1976 by a contracted sculptor named Edgar Jerome Jeter. He was a Milwaukee native and served in the Air Force from 1951 until 1953. After MPM, he worked as an installer at the Art Museum and created a public sculpture for Madison in 1987.
Mural of African History
Designed and created by eight students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, a mural at the entrance of MPM's Africa gallery depicts prominent people, places, events, and symbols in African history. It explores various themes, from the connection between nature and African cultures to the trajectory of Africans to the Americas pre-and-post-Atlantic Slave Trade, to Milwaukee's modern era. Each of the four panels of the mural encapsulates 100 years of history.
WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project Collection Items
This is the inspiring story of a work program that brought fame to Milwaukee while breaking gender and racial barriers during the Great Depression, told through MPM's collection of toys, textiles, books, and photographs.
The Milwaukee Handicraft Project (MHP), a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program operating from 1935 until 1942, employed more than 5,000 women and racial minorities. The Museum's large collection reflects the ingenuity and skillful craftsmanship of MHP products. The story behind their design and creation is an uplifting tale of empowerment during a difficult period for all Americans.
Additional Resources
Histories of Jim Crow and Apartheid
This panel discussion moderated by Dr. Robert Smith of America's Black Holocaust Museum explores policy and racial justice movements in the U.S. and South Africa and considers the differences and similarities between Jim Crow and Apartheid.