March on Milwaukee: Civil Rights in Wisconsin

media release: In honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day, join the Waunakee Public Library as we hear from former NAACP Youth Commandos Rev. Joseph Baring and Fred Reed about their experiences in the Civil Rights movement in Milwaukee, including Milwaukee's Open Housing Marches of 1967-8. Baring and Reed will also reflect on civil rights in Wisconsin in recent years.

Fred Reed was a member of the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council Commandos, leading the struggle for open housing legislation in 1967 to 1968, and served as a member of the March On Milwaukee 50th Anniversary Coordinating Committee. He was the recipient of the Milwaukee Times' 2017 Black Excellence Award and was honored by For My Brothers for his significant contributions to the Black community, and in 2017, he and his fellow NAACP Youth Council members received the Milwaukee ACLU's Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Rev. Joseph Baring is a retired African Methodist Episcopal pastor. He has also served on Youth Advisory Board for the state of Iowa, Blackhawk County Iowa Department of Corrections Advisory Board; the Minnesota Corrections Advisory Board; the Wisconsin Department of Parole/Probation Oral Review Board; and he presently serves on 4 Dane County advisory boards and the city of Madison Ethics Board.

Rev. Baring is also one of the original Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council Commandos, serving as their secretary. As a result of the 200 nights of marching, Rev. Baring, along with several other Youth Council and youth Council Commandos, was awarded the ACLU Lifetime Achievement Award for Civil Rights. Rev. Baring is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the Navy. Rev. Baring is married to Denise, they have 6 children between them. The have 16 great-grands and 9 great-great-grands.