| Now in his 80s, McClain has been fighting for equality and social justice since the '60s when he joined Rev. James Groppi in the famous open-housing marches in Milwaukee. From August 1967 to March 1968, Groppi led over 200 marches to protest segregation and the lack of an ordinance requiring open housing for minorities. At the time, Milwaukee was highly criticized for its sharply segregated housing conditions. McClain headed up the commandos, a group charged with protecting the protestors from an ugly and often violent crowd of onlookers. McClain and Lobes met during the height of the open-housing marches. Lobes, an activist herself who had marched with Martin Luther King Jr., took part in the marches as they descended onto Madison. "Welfare moms marched from Milwaukee to Madison and occupied the capitol," Lobes recalled. "The next day there was a march on the governor's mansion. That's where I met Joe." Lobes and McClain struck up a conversation and their relationship blossomed. McClain, a Milwaukee native, continued to visit Lobes in Madison until the two eventually married in 1977. While their interracial marriage -- she is White and he is Black -- may turn fewer heads today, it was looked down upon in the '70s. "We had crosses cut in the canopy of our convertible top and our tires were slashed," Lobes said. "Both of us knew what kind of world we lived in and we didn't and won't let it determine anything." McClain and Lobes were realists then and continue to be today. They refuse to sugarcoat issues with politically correct terms and rhetoric. They say although Madison glorifies its diversity and progressivism, there are many things that are just as bad or worse today than they were in the past. Racism and discrimination may not be so overt, but it's still there. Minorities continue to suffer high unemployment rates and communities are still segregated based on race and economics. McClain lamented the disproportionate numbers of minorities in the prison system. Still, the couple continues to believe in and work for change. "As people learn the language of equality, they learn to paper it over with words and not get into the real substance of trust and connections," Lobes said. "As this country gets more wrapped up in war and consumption, there are whole dynamics that are not being attended to. It matters that we do everything we can to change that." Lobes has long worked to help disadvantaged populations and affect policies that are key to the success of these populations. She's worked as a vocational rehabilitative counselor; helped kids get into college at Project Outward Bound; and helped ex-offenders get jobs. She is the former director of Dane County Human Services where she was a vital force in establishing the Joining Forces for Families program. She has taught at Edgewood College and the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology. She has also worked to initiate community dialogue events, including the award-winning approach Family and Community Town Suppers (FACTS). Lobes is currently an active member of the Center for Democracy in Action, a nonprofit dedicated to inclusive dialogue and grassroots action; the People's Legislature, a group promoting inclusive participation in policy; and Women in Focus, an organization geared towards supporting minority education. Women in Focus recently awarded the first-ever Miss Annie Mae McClain scholarship. The scholarship was funded by the proceeds from auctioning Miss Annie Mae's (McClain's mother) 77 hats. Lobes explains that the auction was as much about bringing people together, as it was about raising money. "We need to consciously create projects where people of different cultures and races come together and work together side-by-side," she said. While Lobes has held prominent and often vocal positions in the community, McClain has more quietly, but not less effectively, contributed to the community. He currently works at BigBrothers Big Sisters of Dane County where he helps recruit and develop minority mentors. He firmly believes that youth are the key to creating change for the future. "Everything I do is geared toward youth," McClain said. "We have to do everything we can to empower them. Without them, we have no future." It this philosophy which prompted McClain to take a second mortgage on his house in order to found the student music program Arts Are Prevention. Over 100 youth went through this program in the 10 years that McClain operated it. In 2001, McClain was awarded the J. Martin Wolman Outstanding Service to Youth award for the program that helped students find empowerment through music. "We provided a place for them to practice and perform music," McClain said. "These kids performed all over the country." The program not only honed musical skills, but helped kids find direction and stay out of trouble. "Only two of those kids [who went through the program] didn';t graduate from high school," McClain said. "Only one kid went to jail. The program was a success." While Lobes and McClain have seen their fair share of successes, they still point out the failures that have plagued our community. "In many ways, we are worse off now than we were before," McClain said. But when asked if he still has hope for the future, he answered quickly and matter-of-factly: "You've always got to hope." |
| Carol Lobes and Joe McClain Love and activism without boundaries by Laura Salinger |
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| There is a whole echelon of movers and shakers in the Madison community who continue to uphold the history of progressivism and activism that help define this great city. It';s hard to stack up against this noble crowd, but married couple Carol Lobes and Joe McClain have managed to do so and make quite a name for themselves in the process. There's no doubt that these two are vital community leaders, but don't tell McClain that. "I hate that word 'leader,'" he said with a guffaw during an interview with the Capital City Hues. "I'm just an older person who is trying to help out in the community." |