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Brown v. Board of Education. U. S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "separate but equal" educational facilities were "inherently unequal," and that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
August 14 - Martin Luther King, Jr. made his first visit to Milwaukee.
Vel Phillips is the first woman and first African American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council.
Vel Phillips is re-elected to the Milwaukee Common Council.
February 1 - The sit-in protest movement began at the F. W. Woolworth segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This direct-action protest movement spread across the South. This form of protest represented a new stage of black activism that revolutionized the civil rights movement.
March - Alderwoman Vel Phillips introduced open housing legislation to the Milwaukee Common Council. The legislation is defeated with only her vote in favor.
Father James Groppi is assigned to St. Boniface Parish in Milwaukee's "inner core."
August - Members of the Committee for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) conducted a sit-in at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to demand the dismissal of the Social Development Commission's Fred Lins, who had made disparaging comments about African Americans. A sit-in was also conducted at the mayor's office. Demonstrations lasted three weeks.
March - Wisconsin State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) local chapter formed the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC). MUSIC's primary purpose was to fight de facto segregation through student boycotts of Milwaukee's public schools.
May 18 - First school boycott was held. Freedom Schools were established throughout the city and over 14,000 children participated in the city-wide boycott.
July 2 - President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
March 4 - The Wisconsin Legislature, led by Lloyd Barbee, proposed a bill that would become the State Fair Housing Act later in the year.
Lloyd Barbee filed a federal lawsuit suit to desegregate the Milwaukee Public Schools.
July - Father Groppi became the NAACP Youth Council advisor.
November 23 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed over 1,000 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faculty, staff, and students in the Union Ballroom.
March 7 - "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama, as civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by Alabama State Troopers. The march was broadcast nationally as America watched. Many were horrified by the treatment of the marchers. Later in the month the Selma-Montgomery march was successfully completed.
August 6 - President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Milwaukee began the Kilbourntown 3 redevelopment project, tearing down properties on the near north side, increasing the housing crunch for African American families.
February/March - Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council picketed the Eagles Club on Wisconsin Avenue to protest the club's "whites only" membership policy.
August 9 - Milwaukee office of the NAACP is bombed.
October - The NAACP Youth Council Commando unit is formed to provide security for marchers and their leader, Father Groppi.
Fall - St. Boniface elementary school students attended the trial of Milwaukee property owner Joseph Brown for building code violations on his inner-city properties.
November - Ronald Britton, a Vietnam veteran, his wife, and infant daughter tried to rent a flat near 29th and Burleigh. The owner refused to rent to them. When they asked her if it was because they were African American, she said, "I can't rent to you. What would my neighbors think?" The Britton's brought their complaint to Father Groppi and the NAACP Youth Council. After trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the owner, the Youth Council members went to the house and sang Christmas carols to her.
Spring - The Youth Council picketed at the homes of aldermen with African American constituencies but who were voting against the fair housing bill. These aldermen included Martin Schreiber, Sr., president of the Common Council, and Eugene Woehrer. The Youth Council also picketed at the law office of Alderman James Maslowski.
June 14 - Milwaukee aldermen once again voted against Phillips' fair housing ordinance.
July 30 - A civil disturbance began in Milwaukee. One policeman and three civilians were killed. Mayor Maier declared a state of emergency, announcing a 24-hour curfew and requesting mobilization of the National Guard.
July 31 - Father Groppi and seven members of the Youth Council were arrested for refusing police orders to get off the streets.
August 1 - "Common View" released a statement criticizing city administration and outlining problems in education, housing, employment, and police relations.
August 2 - Clifford McKissick, an 18-year-old black youth, was killed by police. Father Groppi declared McKissick's death a murder.
August 5 - Mayor Maier announced his "39 Point Program," also known as Model Cities, to combat the city's racial problems.
August 24 - Youth Council members Prentice McKinney and Dwight Benning announced that the Youth Council will march across the 16th Street Viaduct from Milwaukee's north side to Kosciuszko Park on the south side.
August 28 - First open housing march in Milwaukee was conducted. About 200 Youth Council members and supporters marched to Kosciuszko Park through hostile crowds of 8,000 people, per police estimates.
August 29 - Father Groppi held a press conference and announced that the marches would continue. They would ultimately last 200 days. On the second night's march, police estimated that 13,000 counterdemonstrators gathered along the route. Two hundred and fifty Youth Council members and supporters marched to the park. Police stayed between the marchers and the hostile crowds and finally used tear gas to disperse the unruly white counterdemonstrators. The march ended at 8:30 p.m. at the north end of the viaduct. Youth Council members returned to their headquarters, the Freedom House at 1316 North 15th Street in the Kilbourntown 3 redevelopment area. At 9:30 p.m., police fired tear gas into the house in response to a report that there was a sniper inside.
August 30 - Mayor Maier issued a proclamation prohibiting marches between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. for the next 30 days. In an effort to comply with the proclamation, the Youth Council canceled the evening's scheduled march, but staged a rally at the burned out Freedom House. Three hundred people participated. The police declared the assembly unlawful and arrested 58 individuals.
August 31 - The Youth Council held a rally at St. Boniface Church at 2609 North 11th Street. Despite the mayor's proclamation, the group decided to march. At least 140 adults and an unspecified number of juveniles were subsequently arrested and taken into custody.
September 1 - The Youth Council held an outdoor rally on the St. Boniface playground. Once again, the group decided to march despite the mayor's proclamation. Police arrested marchers as they stepped off the playground and gassed those who stayed behind.
September 2 - The march of 1,000 demonstrators stretched three city blocks. National press coverage referred to Milwaukee as the "Selma of the North."
September 4 - Father Groppi and the Youth Council received telegrams of support from national civil rights leaders, including Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
September 10 - After the National NAACP office and various church groups issued calls for volunteers to come to Milwaukee to support the Youth Council, 5,000 people marched in Milwaukee in support of the fair housing ordinance.
September 11 - Resistance to open housing was still strong, as 200 opponents of open housing attended a "White Power" rally in Humboldt Park. That evening a group of more than 1,000 hostile counterdemonstrators clashed with 650 open housing proponents south of the 16th Street Viaduct. Police arrested 32 people and 3 were hurt, starting off a week of demonstrations and counterdemonstrations.
September 21- Father Groppi and Youth Council Commandoes testified before the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders in Washington, D.C.
September 26 - Vel Phillips re-introduced the fair housing ordinance, and it is referred to the Judiciary Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council.
September 27 - The court denies a motion made by Father Groppi's lawyers for a change of venue in his trial for resisting arrest in the August 31st.
September 29 - Nine-day prayer vigil in support of open housing legislation began at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
October 31 - The Judiciary Committee refused to recommend any fair housing legislation to the Milwaukee Common Council.
September and November - Vel Phillips' open housing legislation voted down by the Milwaukee Common Council.
July 12-30 - Civil unrest in cities across the United States including Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
February - Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota gave a speech to Congress in support of an open housing amendment and specifically mentions Father Groppi and the Milwaukee marches.
April 8 - The biggest civil rights demonstration to date in Milwaukee: 15,000 marchers walked through Milwaukee's downtown in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.
April 30 - The City of Milwaukee Common Council passed Vel Phillips' newest version of her open housing law.
July 16 - The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed an all-inclusive countywide open housing law covering the City of Milwaukee and 18 suburbs.
April 4 - Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
April 11 - President Johnson signed federal open housing legislation.
January 19 - Federal Judge John Reynolds announced his ruling on Lloyd Barbee's lawsuit and orders the desegregation of Milwaukee Public Schools.