Irene Goggans (née Bishop) was born to John and Mary Bishop on 23 February 1926 in
Dyersburg, Tennessee. After her father was refused a job at the Army Ammunition
Plant in Milan, Tennessee, the family moved to Milwaukee in 1942. They joined other
family that had moved there earlier and lived in the Bronzeville neighborhood. She
graduated from Lincoln High School in 1943 and later earned a clerical degree from
Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1946. She married Pat Goggans (1917-1983), a
navy veteran who worked for the U.S. Post Office, in 1947. They had one son,
Kenneth.
Throughout her career, Irene worked in different capacities at various jobs,
including with the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Selective
Service System, the Milwaukee Election Commission, and as a teaching assistant with
Milwaukee Public Schools. She retired in 1988. Goggans was also involved with
numerous clubs and organizations, particularly the YMCA, including the Y’s Menettes
and Ebony Fashion Fair, as well as St. Matthew Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
and other church groups, such as Church Women United and Ida Mae Black Missionary
Society.
Upon arriving in Milwaukee in the 1940s and noting how African-American news was
often given meager coverage or none at all, Goggans began saving newspaper clippings
of significant events that documented African-American life in Milwaukee. As it
grew, this collection gave her a deep knowledge of the history of the local
community. She was consulted by the Milwaukee Times
and others for her expertise. Goggans also received several awards for her work,
including the Milwaukee County Historical Society’s Witness to History Award, Social
Justice Icon by the Milwaukee Times, and was
presented an honorary doctorate by UW-Milwaukee in 2015. She died on 23 June
2017.
