DiverCity Stop Two: The Story of African-American History Posted on November 15, 2015June 27, 2024 by JAMS Living Learning Community Fall 2015 A former journalist and UW-Milwaukee grad, Clayborn Benson worked as a cameraman and producer for almost 40 years before he returned for his master’s degree in History. Today, he runs the Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum he founded, sharing his knowledge of African-American history with community members and students. Clayborn Benson next to various displays about African Americans in Wisconsin. Photo by JAMS LLC reporting team. Benson spoke to the students about black history, including African-Americans’ arrival to Wisconsin and the 13th amendment that freed them from slavery. He told them about the state’s rich tradition of helping runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad, explained how slavery once existed in Wisconsin, and described the modern fights for equality in education and employment. The students sat before large murals and photographs of African-American historical figures, people like civil rights activist Lloyd Barbee, whose federal lawsuit led to the integration of Milwaukee Public Schools. The museum, located at 2620 W. Center St., in Milwaukee, is currently showcasing an exhibit focused on black labor. “Despite the limitations often placed upon them, African-Americans were pioneers, leaders, and great contributors to the growth of this nation and to the settlement of Wisconsin,” a museum history says. Students sit in front of the murals and photographs. Photo by JAMS LLC reporting team. The group of journalism students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee joined students from other local universities to learn about the history of slavery as well as the prominence of the African-American population in Wisconsin. Benson, the museum’s founder, said that many African-Americans migrated to Wisconsin because they “wanted to give their kids education so they wouldn’t be downtrodden like they were.” The stop, on Sunday, Oct. 25, was the second site on a DiverCity Tour sponsored by the Jewish Community Center and Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center. DiveryCity took UWM students and other participants to the Jewish Community Center, then the Black Historical Society and lastly an Islamic Mosque in Brookfield. An exhibit on black labor in Wisconsin. Photo by JAMS LLC reporting team. Benson highlighted the stories of runaway slaves like Joshua Glover and Caroline Quarrls. They sought refuge in Wisconsin in their search for freedom. Quarrls famously hid in a barrel at age 16 while she was a fugitive in Milwaukee. Glover was thrown in jail while in Wisconsin. Stories like these enlightened the students about the struggles of enslaved and escaped African-Americans in this region’s history. The struggles of African-Americans in Milwaukee didn’t begin and end with slavery, either. Benson touched on how integration and equalization of the races is an ongoing process and that Milwaukee’s African-American population still seeks the same things: equal education, housing and employment. This story was reported and written by Hannah Cornish, Morgan Graham, Leah Grygleski, and Claire Larkin.