Summary Information
Jay and Hinda Larkey Papers
1963-1968,
1987
UWM Manuscript Collection 299
- .2 cubic ft. (1 box)
- 17 digital files (905 MB)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Materials pertaining to Jay and Hinda Larkey's civil
rights activities in Milwaukee, mostly dating from the 1960s. The collection
provides a perspective from the Jewish community.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0299 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Dr. Jay Larkey (b. 1922) and his wife Hinda (1929-1998) were civil rights activists
in Milwaukee. They were active members of the Milwaukee United School Integration
Committee (MUSIC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Milwaukee
Citizens for Equal Opportunity (MCEO), and were friends with major leaders of
Milwaukee's civil rights movement, including Fr. James Groppi and Lloyd Barbee.
During the 1960s the family was under police surveillance.
Dr. Larkey's work with civil rights grew out of his experiences with prejudice as a
young Jewish man in Milwaukee, when he became very aware of restrictive housing
covenants and society's discrimination against Jews. The Larkey's activism in
Milwaukee began during the de facto bussing era, when Jay and Hinda decided to
follow a school bus to the site of an "integrated" school. There they observed the
enforced separation between black and white students, and white students watching
the black students march by "as if they were at a zoo." This experience infuriated
the Larkeys to such an extent that they became active.
Dr. Larkey ran a medical clinic in St. Boniface Church during the 1967 fair housing
marches. During his tenure as chair of his department at Mt. Sinai Hospital, he led
the way for the first black resident on staff. Despite pressure from his partners at
his private practice on 25th and Lincoln to stop his family's activism, Dr. Larkey
refused to do so. Dr. Larkey received a B'nai B'rith Human Rights award in 1972. In
1987, he attended an event to rename the 16th Street Viaduct to James E. Groppi
Bridge at which time he took photos included in the collection.
Hinda Larkey was a Freedom School teacher during the 1960s. She was also arrested
during school bussing protests. Along with her husband, in 1968 she hosted a
"Freedom In" event at their home on Kenwood Avenue which raised $900 for MCEO.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains newspaper clippings, photographs, and slides pertaining to
Jay and Hinda Larkey's activites during the civil rights movement in Milwaukee in
the 1960s. Included are clippings of Hinda Larkey's arrest when protesting school
segregation, a dismantled scrapbook which largely documents a 1968 "Freedom-In"
fundraising event held at the Larkey's home, and slides of a 1965 march in
Milwaukee.
Materials from 1987 consist of photographs of a commemorative march across the 16th
Street Viaduct.
Preferred Citation
Citation Guide for Primary Sources
Related Material in the UWM Libraries
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to
all members of the public in accordance with state law.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection
(Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).
Jay Larkey donated the collection to the Archives in October 2010 (accession
2010-025).
Cate Sering processed the collection in the Archives in February 2011 (Christel
Maass supervised).
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1968
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Electronic Folder
\Box 49\
Folder 13\
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Digital
17 digital files (905 MB)
: Digitized sample of folder
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Box
1
Folder
16
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Physical
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Scrapbook, 1968
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Slides, 1965
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