Clayborn Benson says he needs more state funding for the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, GOP leaders stripped it from the budget

Clayborn Benson has used his retirement savings to personally fund efforts at the institution he founded, the Wisconsin Black Historical Society. He says he can no longer meet the demands of the historical society without financial help from the statehouse.

Among the hundreds of items stripped from Gov. Tony Evers budget proposal last week was funding for the historical society and museum located on Milwaukee’s north side.

Benson says he needs $1 million a year from the state, or he worries about the continued success of the historical society.

Evers proposed funding for the historical society as part of budget proposal, but Republican lawmakers removed the funding, along with the hundreds of other items.

The work the historical society does for the community, libraries, schools, among other institutions is likely invaluable, state Rep. Evan Goyke said.

Documenting Black history across the state, gathering African American artifacts, educating the public from the earliest populations of Black people in the state to the Great Migration and providing a community gathering space, are just some of the value of the historical society.

Goyke, along with Reps. Kalan Haywood and Darrin Madison, and Sen. LaTonya Johnson represent much of the area surrounding the historical society, located at 2620 W. Center St. The Democratic lawmakers had a public hearing at the historical society last weekend to present Evers’ budget proposal. All of them, except Madison, sit on at the Joint Finance Committee.

The meeting was largely attended by students, staff, and parents connected to charter schools, advocating for more school choice options for Milwaukee’s youth. Although many both agree and disagree with the presenters, the opportunity to speak with their representatives was all made possible by utilizing the physical space of the historical society.

Without the state funding, Benson fears the historical society will not be able to provide opportunities such as the public hearing.

“People are asking us to do more, utilize the facility more," Benson said. "It is difficult to satisfy their requests with limited staff."

Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee still could decide whether to reinstate partial funding for some items, including the historical society, regardless of having stripped much of Evers' budget. Republicans approved state funding for the historical society in the past, despite one Republican leader calling for an end to it. It remains unclear when or if they could restore the funds.

A staffer of a Republican committee member noted the historical society has been receiving roughly $85,000 annually from the state, significantly less than $1 million it says it needs to operate.

State funding for the historical society also has not increased significantly in years.

“That’s what we’ve been receiving. But we’ve grown, it’s just the expectation of the community, in terms of what they want from us, expect from us, far exceeded and changed over the course of the years,” Benson said.

Benson founded the historical society in 1987 and is no stranger to financial strain

Benson is a photojournalist by practice, having worked for WTMJ-TV for nearly 40 years. While working as a cameraman for TMJ4, he founded the historical society in 1987 and the next year moved into its current set of two buildings on Center Street. One of the buildings is over 130 years old and was donated to the historical society from the City of Milwaukee.

Benson said the buildings need some work.

“We just put on a new roof, but we’re still having leaks,” Benson said. “The brick wall is peeling. That’s a problem. We need a new floor in. We have foundation on the east side of wall where there is water coming in. … These buildings need constant maintenance.”

It wasn’t until about three years ago when the historical society began to feel a bit more comfortable financially. “We would be down to $100 at the end of the cycle,” Benson said. “We would be bled dry. We didn’t have money to pay utility bills, to pay staff, any of the things that’s necessary.”

The historical society receives funding from organizations and nonprofits, including the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Northwestern Mutual, in addition to public funds.

Benson says he needs more staff to serve to the public

Benson wants to use the state funds to hire more staff. He said the historical society needs an education specialist, archivist, grant writer, and facilities manager.

Benson said the historical society will receive multiple calls every day asking for a request.

“They’re not normally Black people, they’re white people making artifacts or giving things they have encountered with African Americans over the course of the years, to donate, to make historical,” Benson said, adding he doesn’t have adequate staffing to fulfill the requests.

The historical society has programming that requires staff, including movies, lectures, and discussions. Some of the programming is catered to youth, some is catered to pregnant women and new moms. The institution hosts birthday parties, weddings, and graduation events. All of this requires staffing and funding, Benson said.

Goyke says if investments are being made in Madison, Milwaukee museums so should the Black Historical Society

The Legislature in the last three years has secured funding for two new museums in Wisconsin's biggest two cities, and Goyke believes the Black historical society needs attention.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has a new museum set to open in 2026 in Madison. The state funded $70 million for the project, but not before requiring the museum to raise at least $30 million in private funds. The new Milwaukee Public Museum, also set to open in 2026 in downtown, was in part funded by the state to the tune of $40 million.

"At a time when we are making huge investments in a new museum in Madison, an investment I support," Goyke said.

"We're (also) investing 10s and 10s of millions of dollars in the museum of natural history that is going to be built downtown. And I think it's appropriate as we have a debate about a public investment in history and museums that we not forget the Black Historical Society and the work that they do and the contribution that they make, and the expanded contribution they could make if we invested in them more heavily."

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS. 

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Black Historical Society request $1 million from state