The Milwaukee Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Baird Center during its annual Freedom Fund Dinner. The keynote speaker was New York Democrat Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
The Milwaukee Branch NAACP has functioned as one of the city’s leading civil rights organizations since it was founded in 1924 by prominent African Americans in the city, including Wilbur Halyard and his wife, Ardie. That same year, they also founded Columbia Savings and Loan, which still serves the community today.
The group’s goal was to fight segregation and discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation. It remains the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the nation.
“It’s been a real fight, and it’s been challenging, and as we see, some of the same issues are still around and alive today,” said local President Clarence Nicholas.
“The Halyards created this, obviously, because people of color, particularly African Americans, could not get loans,” said Ray Allen, former president and CEO of Columbia Savings and Loan.
The Halyards not only changed the narrative for African Americans in housing but also expanded the geographical landscape of where black residents could live in Milwaukee.