From McComb to Milwaukee: Black migration source of strength and pride | Opinion
Black History Month often focuses on big historical events. Often lost in those sweeping tales is individual stories like that of our family that moved from the south to the north, and later back, whose roots in Milwaukee shaped their lives and continue to be a source of strength and pride today.
The 1950s and early 1960s were decades of change and migration. Hundreds of Black families left the south (Mississippi and Louisiana) and migrated north through Kentucky and Tennessee. Many stopped in Illinois (Chicago) and Wisconsin (Milwaukee) to find jobs to support their families.
These migrations and movement reminded me of the migration from the south to the north during and after slavery we have all heard about, and in a sense the migration of the Israelites from Egypt to Caanan we hear about in the Bible. During slavery Black slaves escaped to the north to freedom before and after the emancipation proclamation with the help of warriors like Sojourner Truth and Harriett Tubman! The migration trail from the south to the north began in 1910 and peaked in 1970 according to the records found in the National archives, African American Heritage Migrations, 1910-1970.
Our family part of great migration from south to Milwaukee for jobs
My husband’s, Michael Gutter, family was part of this migration to find jobs and educational opportunities. Michael’s dad, Mack Gutter, temporarily left his beloved birthplace (McComb, Mississippi), wife (Earline) and children in Mississippi and New Orleans and moved north to Milwaukee for jobs and opportunities for his family. Mack returned south and moved the family north to Milwaukee.
Upon securing employment, Mack went back south and brought his family of six to Milwaukee. My husband, Michael Gutter, spent his youth in Milwaukee but was born in New Orleans. He went to Lincoln High School where he was a basketball all-state and all-American standout.
At the University of Wisconsin Whitewater (UWW) he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 as well as the Wisconsin State Coaches Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. Michael successfully graduated with a Masters in Guidance and Counseling, pledged Omega PSI PHI Fraternity, and worked at Racine County Human Services. He later relocated to Louisville where we met and married in 2005. In Kentucky, he worked for the Kentucky Cabinet for Family and Human Services and retired in 2019. His other siblings went on to successful careers in industries in Milwaukee.
One of Michael’s sources of pride about Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s strong emphasis on education. According to US News, Wisconsin ranks No. 10 in higher education, # 8 in best states overall and no. 6 in education. The impact of the migration continues to this day in Milwaukee with Blacks making up a majority of the city’s population (Black (38.1%) followed by white (33.0%) and Hispanic (20.2%) according to a 2022 Census Bureau estimate.)
The Gutter family story of migration from the south to the north is similar to many other Black families migrating up north to Chicago, Milwaukee and throughout the north. The Gutter family and others in Milwaukee are proud of their southern heritage and return often to visit families and friends there. McComb, Mississippi day is often celebrated in Milwaukee I am told. It is a time of celebration when families and friends come together to celebrate their southern and northern heritages.
Janice Baldon-Gutter is a human resources and disability DEI advocate in Louisville where she lives with her husband, Michael.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gutter family's migration one of thousands from south to the north
