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Flashback: MLK, Jr. visits MKE in 1965

Posted at 1:07 PM, Jan 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-18 14:09:57-05

In 1965, Milwaukee was dealing with many of the issues much of the nation was grappling with, such as segration and school busing.

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited the city on Nov. 23, 1965 to speak at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, his speech "called for an end to the de facto segregation of schools, a higher minimum wage, employment opportunities for African-Americans in public works projects and pointed out the inequalities within the justice system."

TMJ4 covered many of the news conferences and events surrounding King's visit, where he spoke about not watering down Congressional legislation dealing with public housing and the unity among all of the many civil rights organizations at the time.

An article in The Atlantic also documents how the FBI convinced Marquette University and other schools from bestowing King with honorary degrees because of alleged ties to Communists.

Thousands marched through the streets of Milwaukee in April 1968 after King was assasinated.