MILWAUKEE — Lucille Berrien, a longtime Milwaukee civil rights activist and community leader whose impact stretched across generations, has died at 98 years old.
Known throughout Milwaukee for her decades of activism and service, Berrien was remembered by family not only as a historic figure in the city’s civil rights movement, but as a grandmother whose lessons on love, dignity and perseverance shaped the people closest to her.
Watch: How longtime Milwaukee civil rights activist Lucille Barrien's family is remembering both her historic civic rights legacy and her role as a loving grandmother.
“She was a fiery, fierce powerhouse,” Faithe Colas, Berrien’s first granddaughter, said.
Berrien’s life was marked by firsts and milestones.
Berrien was the first Black woman to run for mayor of Milwaukee in 1972 and worked alongside Father James Groppi during Milwaukee’s fair housing marches and civil rights movement. She was also a former member of the Black Panther Party and helped found the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Beyond politics and protest lines, Berrien spent decades serving low-income families and welfare recipients while fostering more than 90 children.
“To have my grandmother be part of the fair housing marches in Milwaukee, to be part of Milwaukee’s civil rights movement, empowering mothers on welfare — how could you not appreciate someone’s passion,” Colas said.
Family members said Berrien’s passion for helping others was rooted in her faith and belief in service. Colas described her grandmother as a woman who constantly reminded people to love one another, respect each other and continue working together even through disagreement.
“She was a woman of God,” Colas explained. “She believed in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She believed you have to love like Jesus, do like Jesus and treat people the way you want to be treated. She believed in dignity and respect.”
Born in 1928, Berrien eventually made her way to Milwaukee after the death of her husband, a Korean War veteran. Her family said the city became a place where she found purpose and an opportunity to make a difference.
“She enjoyed serving people, helping people,” Colas said.
While much of Milwaukee knew Berrien as an activist, her granddaughter said some of the most meaningful memories happened during ordinary moments together.
“My grandma was my first girlfriend. That best friend you did everything with. That was my grandma,” Colas said.
Colas recalled Saturday mornings spent riding around with her grandmother to rummage sales, thrift stores and clearance aisles — experiences that often turned into life lessons.
“My grandma always said people want to throw things away like they throw people away and you want to take the time to get to know people, places and things,” Colas said.
The lessons, Colas said, extended far beyond shopping trips. Berrien frequently reminded younger generations that opportunities available today came from sacrifices made by those before them.
“There was a time when you couldn’t do this,” Colas said, recalling her grandmother’s words. “Remember that.”
Berrien also believed deeply in intergenerational conversations and connecting with young people, according to her family. Colas added that her grandmother never saw herself as more important than anyone else and believed others could continue the work she started.
“She didn’t think she was that special to think that no one else could do what she was doing or more,” Colas said.
Colas said Berrien encouraged people to take advantage of their experiences and use them to empower both themselves and others.
“She always believed you should try,” Colas said. “You don’t know if it’s going to happen or not if you don’t try.”
Even while remembering her grandmother’s accomplishments, Colas noted that her family has found moments of humor and comfort in the traits they still see in one another.
“When any one of us displays behavior that reminds the others of grandma we say, ‘Okay Lucille,’” Colas said with a laugh.
She also described her grandmother as someone who naturally drew people in everywhere she went.
“My grandma is like a human duck,” Colas said. “When she would be walking down the street there was a line of children behind her. There goes Lucille with her ducklings. It’s quite a visual.”
In recent years, the city honored Berrien’s legacy publicly. A Milwaukee park was renamed Lucille Berrien Park in 2021, and a large mural honoring her was added there in 2023.
Still, Colas said her grandmother viewed the broader Milwaukee community as an extension of her family.
“Yes she had her biological family, but she also had the community as family and she took that very seriously,” Colas said.
As messages of support continue pouring in, Colas said her family remains grateful for the way Milwaukee embraced her grandmother throughout her life.
“I would get a pinch and a twist if I didn’t say how grateful I am to this community for loving on my grandma the way that they have and for receiving her the way that they have,” Colas said. “We appreciate the thoughts and the prayers and I know my grandma appreciates being a part of this community. It was family for her.”
Though Berrien’s family is mourning her loss, they say her message remains simple and urgent: Love one another, keep fighting for what is right and never stop trying to make things better for the next generation.
“Our grandma was not a give-inner,” Colas said. “You stay in the fight ‘til it’s over.”
Even in her final years, family members say Berrien continued encouraging people to listen to one another, work together and lead with compassion — a message they say will continue carrying her legacy forward across Milwaukee for generations to come.
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