Milwaukee Citizens for Equal Opportunity Records, 1960-1966

Scope and Content Note

The records on this microfilm include correspondence, minutes of meetings, newsletters, ephemera, and miscellaneous organizational materials pertaining to the activities of the MCEO. Among the correspondence are several letters exchanged with James Farmer of CORE, Mayor Henry Maier of Milwaukee, and several Wisconsin congressmen. Also present are some materials relating to other local civil rights organizations, including the Citizens Committee for Fair Housing Practices, the Milwaukee Area Joint Committee for Equal Opportunity in Housing, Milwaukee Urban League, Wisconsin Citizens for Fair Housing, Milwaukee Commission on Community Relations, and other groups. A few materials representing civil rights activities of out-of-state groups are also present, evidently used by MCEO for reference purposes. Most, but not all, of these relate to Illinois. Of particular interest are an action guide on “How to Prevent Panic Selling,” distributed by the New York City Commission on Human Rights (mimeographed, October 1963), and a detailed presentation of the campaign of the Greater Minneapolis Interfaith Fair Housing Program (mimeographed, circa 1960; title page missing), some of whose techniques appear to have been adapted by MCEO for use in Milwaukee. These two items appear at the very end of the film. All other materials have been placed in a single chronological sequence, followed by a number of undated items, and by the two mimeographed pamphlets just described.