UMOS Mural Unveiled In The Southside Of Milwaukee

Deal, a community artist and students from ArtWorks for Milwaukee unveiled historic UMOS mural in the Southside of the city.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

May 20, 2017

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Saturday, Raoul G. Deal, a community artist and students from ArtWorks for Milwaukee unveiled their historic United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS) mural at the Butters-Fetting Co. building wall facing W. Historic Mitchell St. and S. 1st Street. The mural took about 1 year and 6 months to finish, according to Deal.

The theme of the mural included the Wautoma marches for migrant rights, the UMOS social service agency advocacy for social justice, higher education, civil rights and struggle including protests to change the discriminatory hiring practices by the local breweries and the foundry jobs that attracted the Latino work force to the city.

Seven members of the Latino community were included in the mural, Jesús Salas, the first former executive director of UMOS and one of the key leaders of the educational and Latino civil rights movement in the 1960's and 1970's; Ernesto Chacon, the executive director for Latin American Union for Civil Rights; Roberto Hernández, an instrumental leader in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chapman Hall takerover on August 27, 1970 that led to breaking down the barrier of a discriminatory policy that kept Hispanics from enrolling at the university; Graciela de la Cruz, a UWM student in 1970 who later became a teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools; Dante Navarro, the first Latino candidate to run for public office in Milwaukee, created the first LULAC council in Milwaukee and was a Spanish language radio host as well and Marla O. Anderson, an instrumental leader of the UWM takeover as well. Anderson's decision to join Salas and Chacon in 1970 led to the active participation of hundreds of families to back, join and march in support of the UWM takeover to gain access to higher education for Latinos and their children. Anderson later graduated from the School of Education at UWM with a Bachelor of Science degree in May 1978.

Salas, Hernández and De la Cruz were students at UWM of only 14 Latinos attending compared to 25,000 Whites students enrolled in 1970. Navarro, Anderson and Salas were among those that included Gregorio "Goyo" Rivera and José Luis Huerta-Sánchez who were arrested at the UWM chancellor's office at Chapman Hall on August 27, 1970 for refusing to leave his office. Also Lupe Martinez, the current UMOS President and CEO who has 47 years of service at the non-profit agency was featured in the mural too.

The UMOS mural depicts just a small piece of the Latino community historical activism roots that influenced change to better the quality of life for Hispanics in the city of Milwaukee and state for decades to follow. 

Jesús Salas explained the meaning of the mural. Salas is a former executive director of UMOS and one of the key leaders of the 1960's and 1970's educational and civil rights movement in Milwaukee, WI. http://youtu.be/TR7FaBV6dwQ

Remarks by Raoul G. Deal at the UMOS mural unveiling presentation https://youtu.be/WFtzPgec0hQ

Mariachi Juvenil presentation at the UMOS mural unveiling in Milwaukee https://youtu.be/f54-iZfhT0M

For full article about the UMOS mural at following link: http://bit.ly/2lHZi9s