First African-American lawmaker in Wisconsin honored in 100-year-old document

This month kicks off our commitment to Black History Month, so why not start with the state’s first African American legislator.

I went searching through history to find a document written 100 years ago this month about Lucian Palmer.

The Milwaukee lawmaker died in 1923, but a century later his life and legacy are not widely known.

In 1907, when the Wisconsin Assembly gaveled into session – history was made by Lucian Palmer as the state’s first Black legislator.

The story was big news in the Wisconsin Weekly Advocate, a Black newspaper, “Devoted to the interests of the Negro Race.”

“Race Recognition At Last” was the headline after Palmer’s election victory. “The colored man put up an active campaign…” said the paper.

More details here:

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