Messmer production chronicles civil rights marches
Students get history lesson from those who were there
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Former Milwaukee Common Council member Vel Phillips speaks to the cast of "March on Milwaukee: Memoir of Open Housing Protests," at Messmer High School on Oct. 31. Phillips was a central figure in the protests that are the subject of the play. (Catholic Herald photo by Jim Bovin)
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Drama students at Messmer High School in Milwaukee learned more than their lines when they became cast members of a play that chronicles the 1967 marches, protests and race riots that took place in Milwaukee 40 years ago.
During rehearsals, Director Maripat Wilkinson capitalized on the fact that both the playwright, Margaret Rozga and one of the central characters of the play, Vel Phillips, were able to speak with the actors about their personal experiences. She believed that in addition to having a better understanding of the people they were about to portray, the students would also benefit from learning about a piece of history that took place right in their own community.
In addition to garnering insight into the emotions and realities of living through the civil rights struggles, the students were inspired to know that they too can make a difference in the world with hard work and perseverance.
Read more in this week's Catholic Herald feature article.
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