Growing Up Black in South Madison Joining the MMSD Curriculum: History in Your Own Backyard
MMSD Superintendent Joe Gothard, whose family is mentioned in the book, holds Growing Up In South Madison
By Jonathan Gramling
There are two sides to Madison history. One is as a bastion for liberal thought, one that was inclusive of everyone, welcoming immigrants, political refugees and others who were looking for an opportunity for a new life. Madison prided itself for its self-proclaimed inclusivity. And for many, that was true.
But there was another side of Madison, one filled with racism, rban removal, redlining and conspiracy to not allow African Americans to own commercial land on S. Park Street.
Dr. Richard Harris was a witness to a lot of the modern African American history of Madison and would get asked about it.
“I have a pretty large family here in Madison with cousins, nephews and nieces,” Harris said. “When we get together, it’s a pretty large group. Invariably, they will ask, ‘What was life like back in Madison when you grew up.’ I would explain. And some of the things they never, ever realized. And I thought, ‘Well, I guess I will put this in a book form.’ We wrote it. The book was checked and checked and checked. Apparently people called the Wisconsin Historical Society. They keep track of what people call about. When we wrote the book back in 2012, that book got a number of fact checks. ‘Did this really happen?’ To be honest with you, a lot of people said it didn’t happen. A lot of people would say, ‘Show me.’ Well I wrote it and showed them.”
A lot of people have connections to those days including Dr. Joe Gothard, superintendent of Madison’s public schools.
“My grandparents owned property in the Triangle area and were friends with the Harris family,” Gothard said. “My dad, William Gothard Jr. was a year older than Dr. Harris at Central High School and they were teammates. My grandparents and later my father lived in South Madison on Bram Street. I remember my mother sharing about how families were tightly connected, looking out for each other.”
Harris wrote Growing Up Black in Madison back in 2012 to create a written record of things that had transpired. One of the sections is about MWe had a group called Mothers Watch.
“Mothers Watch was Black women, mothers from not only South Madison, but all over, who fought against race discrimination in Madison,” Harris said. “They really were the watch dogs and fought against racism, opened up the doors. Lucille Miller who is Betty Banks’ aunt was one of those who formed the NAACP and Mothers Watch. They supported the appointment of James C. Wright to head the newly formed Equal Opportunities Commission, a civil rights arm of the city of Madison. They were the ones who really fought against race discrimination, especially for Blacks trying to get jobs as police officers, firefighters and school teachers and in private industry. They also fought two of the largest stores in Downtown Madison on the Square who would not let Black women try on clothes before they bought them like White women could. They had to buy them sight unseen.”
There are three other sections in the book.
“One is Called Black Trailblazers of Madison,” Harris said. “It highlights Black historical figures in Madison’s history who were the first to achieve milestones and opened the doors for other Black people. Number two is the Madison Urban Renewal Program and the MRA, the Madison Redevelopment Authority. I wrote about racism perpetrated against Blacks. The city of Madison embarked on an urban redevelopment program in an area known as the Triangle or Bush. What happened was they used the program or process, which we now call gentrification, to summarily kick out Black, Italian, and Jewish homeowners and businesses and replace them with high-rise programs for developers who could make money. That’s a sign of gentrification. Number three is Harris-Solberg versus the Madison Public Schools. Sandy Solberg and I led a group of people in South Madison in opposition to the Madison Board of Education attempting to close two South Madison schools, Franklin and Lincoln. We went to the Office of Civil Rights and asked them to conduct an investigation and they found in our favor that in fact the Madison Metropolitan School District was guilty of race discrimination.”
Harris, who was connected to that history in so many ways, brought a lot of credibility to the subject.
“Dr. Harris was always mentioned with reverence in my house when I was growing up,” Gothard said. “Growing Up Black in South Madison has provided me and so many others what may be absent narratives or the untold truth about the harsh realities of the city so many Black children and families call home. I'm proud to call Dr. Harris a friend and mentor.”
Above: Dr. Richard Harris holding photos of his parents
In 2019, Nate Hutchins, a teacher at Memorial High School, began using Growing Up Black in his social studies class and interest in the book grew.
“Dr. Harris had reached out to us and let us know about it,” said Martin Moe, the social studies teacher leader for grades 6-12. “He was interested in working with us to see if we could get it in the hands of our students. Then we went through a process of looking it over and think about where it might best fit. We’ll be able to connect the histories and stories that our students learn about in our courses with something that is actually recognizable to them. His book talks about neighborhoods and events and all of the things that are actually here in Madison that the students can connect with. The next step was figuring out where it would best fit. We’ve always had Modern U.S. History. It’s a third-year elective course that we typically recommend for schools. And so, a couple of years ago, we created an African American History version of that course. We thought that would be a perfect place to layer that history in our resources for teachers who are interested in using it. That’s why we were able to purchase it for each of our high schools. We targeted that course, but let them know it was also available if there were other teachers teaching an English course or another history course and they felt it was something they could use.”
Growing Up Black fills in a gap in terms of the students understanding of history. While they readily hear about the history of predominantly Euro-American Madison history, they can now learn about this history and apply it to their own lives.
“It's been attributed to many that the best predictor of the future is the past,” Gothard said. “Growing Up Black in South Madison provides a powerful window into the history of Madison and some of the earliest ways in which Black men, women and children were treated. Our MMSD Black students may see parallels to their lives today or how injustice is observed by all students in the Madison community. It is my belief that our students today can use Dr. Harris's story to build a strong community that benefits themselves and others.”
The cover of Growing Up Black in South Madison
“Madison is a great place to live,” Moe added. “You hear about how wonderful it is, which many of the stories are true. But at the same time, there are problems. And so it is important for kids to learn about the systemic racism that has existed here throughout our history and is still prevalent today. It still exists today. I think it is important for kids to know both sides of that and be aware that is something that is happening. They can think about their own lives, think about how things have or haven’t changed and then we are still recognizing some of these issues. Thinking about is this something that they are really hoping to push into and get involved. How can they actually in effect change that for our community?”
Harris has become a role model in many ways, but he has also become a sort of African griot, making sure the stories are passed down from generation to generation.
“These kids will say, ‘Dr. Harris, we’re reading your book at such and such school,’” Harris said. “’And you know, my uncle knows who you are. And he remembers walking down Bram Street and those streets that you are talking about with the Triangle. He never just explained it to us. But you did.’ And I think that is the importance of the book. Very few Black people today are aware of what really happened to Black people and the history. When kids like that come up to me out of the blue and say, ‘Yep, I’m reading your book and no one ever explained this to me. My uncle didn’t until you brought it up. My mom never did or my grandmother.’ I think it would have been a forgotten situation if we hadn’t written something about it.”
Growing Up Black has lessons for every student.
“I would hope it would help the students understand their own lives,” Harris said. “I am hoping that other racial groups like American Indians, Africans, Southeast Asian, Hispanic students and others will have the chance to see what life was like from their perspective. Now they will see that there is a way where they can express themselves just as I expressed myself in my book.”
It is said that when people don’t understand history, the history is bound to repeat itself. Perhaps Growing Up Black in South Madison will be a vaccination to prevent this history from being repeated.