By Lynn Burnett
Born in 1930, Father James Groppi was raised by working-class Italian immigrant parents on the south side of Milwaukee. As immigrants, his parents suffered from anti-Italian prejudices. Unlike some European immigrants who responded to anti-immigrant sentiments by embracing racism as a way to assimilate into American Whiteness, Groppi’s parents responded by expressing sympathy for the experiences of Black Americans.
Groppi credits his parents with raising him to sympathize with the struggles of other peoples… a concern that led him into the ministry. During his last three years as a seminary student in the 1950s, he ran a youth program in a segregated and impoverished Black neighborhood. Groppi’s direct witnessing of racial inequities – especially in a very personal way through caring for children impacted by those inequities – guided him beyond mere sympathy, and into a passionate, active concern for racial justice.
As the civil rights movement began to unfold, Groppi followed events closely. Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1959, he was originally assigned to a White working-class church. There, Father Groppi offered sermons on the need to stand up for racial justice, but was dismayed by his congregation’s disinterest in the subject… and by their unwillingness to wrestle with their own racial prejudices. In 1963, he was reassigned to lead a Black Catholic church. When the church members marched against the arch-segregationist George Wallace’s visit to Milwaukee, Groppi drove some of them to the rally… but just dropped them off, rather than participating himself. After the demonstration, his congregants challenged him: why didn’t he march alongside them? Father Groppi replied that if he got too active in the movement, his bishop might transfer him. When it became clear that building trust and confidence with the congregation meant being on the ground with them, Groppi took a deep look inward. He realized he had been operating from fear when he didn’t join them, and that his choice was between operating from fear, or out of love for his congregation. From then on he threw himself fully into the movement.
He began by strengthening ties between his church and the local NAACP. Soon, the NAACP Youth Council – which was engaged in intense school desegregation efforts – invited him to be their chaplain and advisor. In 1966, the Youth Council took on a segregated social club for the city elite. They argued that since the judges belonging to a segregated club could not be impartial, they needed to either resign from the club, or be removed from their judgeship. When protests outside of the elite club gained little attention, the Youth Council took their demonstrations directly to the homes of the judges. A week of protests drew thousands of angry Whites, who hurled hard objects at the protestors. When it became clear that the police would offer little protection, the Youth Council organized a security team called The Commandos. They were tasked with protecting the protestors… and James Groppi, who was a special target of the crowd’s ire. These young men – who wore black berets, black boots, and Commando insignia – would later be an important influence on Fred Hampton.
In 1967, Groppi led a campaign for fair housing in Milwaukee. He started by working with city council members, but when that went nowhere, he turned to protests. For 200 days, Groppi led daily marches that drew thousands of people. They also drew violent crowds who, in the words of Steven Avella, “hurled cherry bombs, bricks, bottles, feces and urine at the demonstrators. Groppi himself received death threats and saw himself hanged in effigy.” By this time, Martin Luther King had turned his attention towards fighting unequal housing and racialized poverty, and threw his support to Groppi. In the wake of King’s assassination on April 4, 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, which contained watered-down versions of the legislation James Groppi had fought for in Milwaukee.
In 1969, James Groppi helped organize a Mother’s Welfare March, during which 1,000 mother’s marched into Wisconsin’s State Assembly chamber, which they held for 11 hours. However, church superiors were unhappy with Groppi’s activism, and as he had initially feared, transferred him. Soon afterwards he became disillusioned with the church and eventually abandoned his priesthood, got married, and spent his remaining years continuing to organize while working as a bus driver.
Additional Resources
Books
Frank A. Aukofer: City with a Chance: A Case History of Civil Rights Revolution.
Shirley R. (Berry) Butler-Derge: Asante Sana, ‘Thank You’ Father James E. Groppi.
Paul H. Geenen: Civil Rights Activism in Milwaukee: South Side Struggles in the ’60s and ’70s.
Stuart Stotts: Father Groppi: Marching for Civil Rights. (For youth.)
Articles
New York Times obituary. (See also Father Groppi’s grave site.)
University of Wisconsin entry.
Jean M. White: James Groppi – From the Church To the ‘Real World’.
Wikipedia entry.
Video
Father Groppi:
- 1972 interview.
- Speaking briefly after King’s assassination.
- Speaking about the open housing campaign.
Film: The Fighting Priest.
Lucia Rogers reflecting on the famous image of her holding Father Groppi’s hand as a child.