UW-Milwaukee

Desi Wisconsin

Whether it was segregation in the 1950s or the cultural and political tumult of the 1960s and 1970s, South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin confronted a world fundamentally alien to that they had left behind. Neither black nor white, these individuals managed to raise families and often succeeded in their careers. From a few dozen students, professionals, and businessmen and their families who settled in Wisconsin, the presence of South Asian immigrants grew exponentially as they became tightly integrated into the fabric of their communities. The journey to develop a distinct identity as South Asian Americans in Wisconsin over the course of decades is highlighted in this collection of oral histories from some of the first South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin.

Digital Sanborn Maps of Milwaukee 1894 and 1900

Two fire insurance atlases featuring detailed color maps of Milwaukee. Produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the 1894 atlas includes four volumes consisting of 450 map sheets and the 1910 atlas includes eight volumes consisting of 830 map sheets.

Eldon Murray Papers

Eldon Murray was a prominent activist in the Milwaukee LGBT community. In addition to his work with the Gay Peoples Union (GPU) and the Milwaukee AIDS Project, Murray was the founder of SAGE/Milwaukee, the first organization in Wisconsin dedicated to serving the needs of older gay, lesbian, and bisexual people through community building and counseling services. The digital collection includes selections from the Eldon Murray Papers, including an extensive series of newspaper clippings from the 1940s to the 1970s, photographs, fiction and nonfiction writings, activist organization records, and a handful of publications.

History of UW-Milwaukee

The History of UW-Milwaukee Collection includes resources that document the history and evolution of this campus. The collection includes published material as well as archival materials and may eventually include additional books, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, maps and other resources deemed important to the study of our state’s university system and its campuses.

House of History: Black LGBTQ+ Milwaukee History

The House of History is devoted to collecting and sharing Black LGBTQ+ history in Milwaukee. Inspired by the experience of Janice Toy (one of the interviewees featured in this collection), Dr. Brice Smith worked with Janice to gather oral history interviews to create an historical record of her community. The oral history narrators documented here include twenty three Black LGBTQ+ Milwaukeeans known for their historical significance and/or unique perspective on culturally relevant experiences. The interviews were conducted in 2022 and 2023, with support from Diverse & Resilient (a non-profit public health organization that is led by, and has primarily served Black LGBTQ+ Milwaukeeans for nearly thirty years), the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This collection includes the full oral histories. Please visit The House of History site for even more history: https://www.houseofhistorymke.org/

Invictus

The Invictus, launched in 1977, was published by the UWM Black Student Union (BSU), giving voice to the University’s African American student body with news features, profiles, and poetry. The paper had two significant idle periods – one in the early 1980s and another between 1988 and 1993 – but was relaunched after both by the BSU.

Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details

The Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details digital collections includes two of the twelve volumes from an original 1890-1913 publication. The volumes include volume IX, Dados, with a note on the process of fresco paintings in Jeypore and volume X, Parapets.

March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project

Primary sources from the UW-Milwaukee Libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society that provide a window onto Milwaukee’s civil rights history in the 1960s. The efforts of civil rights activists and their opponents are documented in photographs, unedited news film footage, text documents and oral history interviews.

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