Presented by award-winning historian and author John Gurda; introduction and Q&A facilitated by Clayborn Benson of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum. There have been Black Milwaukeeans for as long as there’s been a Milwaukee. African Americans were here when the future metropolis was just a fur-trading post, and they grew with the city during its rise as a hotbed of abolitionist activity, an industrial powerhouse, and a haven for immigrants. The group’s numbers soared during the Great Migration of the twentieth century, and Black Milwaukeeans are the city’s largest single cultural group today. Unfolding over nearly two centuries, their story is an inspiring chronicle of struggle, resilience, and pride.John Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972-all of its groups, all of its neighborhoods. He is the award-winning author of twenty-three books and the creator of the Emmy Award-winning documentary series The Making of Milwaukee. In a city too often identified by its European heritage, Gurda is a firm believer that history belongs to everyone.