Ben Hubing

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courtesy Ben Hubing

A close-up of Ben Hubing.

Ben Hubing

Shorewood-based historian Ben Hubing, author of George Wallace in Wisconsin: The Divisive Campaigns That Shaped A Civil Rights Legacy, will sit down with Madison journalist Doug Moe to discuss the influence the late Alabama governor’s multiple presidential campaigns between 1964 and 1976 had on Wisconsin’s debate over constitutional principles and values. Wallace opposed racial integration, adhered to a tough-on-crime mindset and sparked a clash of ideals around the country. “[His] candidacy and the divisions it fostered in Wisconsin have cautionary parallels to the perilous moment we find ourselves in today,” Hubing writes. Seats are limited and tickets are required, and the event also will be livestreamed via Crowdcast. Note: This event has moved to March 30, from its original date in January.

media release: Live @ MTM: Ben Hubing in Conversation with Doug Moe

About the book: George Wallace in Wisconsin: The Divisive Campaigns That Shaped A Civil Rights Legacy

Alabama governor George Wallace ran for president four times between 1964 and 1976. In the Badger State, his campaigns fueled a debate over constitutional principles and values. Wallace weaponized states’ rights, arguing that the federal government should stay out of school segregation, promote law and order, restrict forced busing and reduce burdensome taxation. White working-class Wisconsinites armed themselves with Wallace’s rhetoric, pushing back on changes that threatened the status quo. Civil rights activists and the Black community in Wisconsin armed themselves with a different constitutional principle, equal protection, to push for strong federal protection of their civil rights. This clash of ideals nearly became literal as protests and counterprotests erupted until gradually diminishing as Wallace’s political fortunes waned. Historian Ben Hubing reveals the tensions that embroiled Wisconsinites as Wallace took his struggle north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Historian Ben Hubing, a high school educator and educational consultant, has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the James Madison Foundation Fellowship and the Herb Kohl Teaching Fellowship. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's in teaching from Cardinal Stritch University. He also earned a master's in history at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, with a focus on intersections of civil rights, politics and constitutional history. Hubing lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin, with his wife, Nickie, and their three children.