A MUSiPOLiTiX JUNETEETH:

On June 15th, 2021, we will be talking with, or more accurately listening to, Joe McClain.  You're probably not familiar with his name.  Here's a very very abbreviated version of why he should be in history books.

Joe McClain was born in Mississippi in the 1920s and grew up picking cotton and attending a 2 room schoolhouse.  He lived a colorful life on both sides of the law, including a career as a professional boxer, eventually landing in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

It was there, during the 1960s, he joined a black paramilitary organization known as the Black Commandos (similar to the Black Panthers) and, under the guidance of Father James Groppi, ultimately became the leader.  It was that leadership that brought him to the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King co-oped him as his organizer for the midwest.

After the original civil rights movement, Joe went on to work for the state of Wisconsin, creating the state's first affirmative action program.  In the 1990s, he created a community organization called "Arts Are Prevention" teaching kids music, drama, dance, etc.  In the 2000s, Joe was instrumental in bringing the "First Tee" program to Wisconsin, teaching young and particularly non white kids to play golf.

Joe has 95 years of stories to tell, 60 of them about civil rights and mentoring youth, all of them interesting.  Our goal is to document as many of them as possible on #MUSiPOLiTiX while he is here to tell them.  Special guest cohost Fred Wells