Father James Groppi (1930-1985)
Italian American History and Heroes
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Father James Groppi was one of twelve children born to Italian immigrants in Milwaukee. Ordained in 1959, Groppi served St. Boniface Church, a predominately Black parish in inner city Milwaukee. He was instrumental in dramatizing segregation in housing and the public schools in that city. He participated in the 1963 March on Washington, the Selma-Montgomery March in 1965, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference voter registration project. In his capacity as NAACP advisor, Groppi organized an all Black male group called the "Milwaukee Commandos" that helped quell violence during local marches and mounted a lengthy demonstration for fair housing in the city. His human rights work received the continued support of Martin Luther King, Jr. Groppi married, left the priesthood, and became a bus driver. Read Jackie Di Salvo's essay in the anthology The Lost World of Italian American Radicalism |