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Sundown Towns and La Crosse

Have you wondered about La Crosse’s 2016 sundown town designation? This blog guides you through the primary sources that provide evidence for local anti-Black discrimination, and the original research that led to the proclamation that La Crosse is a sundo…
(written by Jenny DeRocher, Archives staff) CONTENT WARNING: This blog post contains primary source images that use anti-Black language.  In 2016, Mayor Tim Kabat si… http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/blog/sundown-towns-and-la-crosse/

1947 Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against Hotel Stoddard

In 1946, Black delegates traveled to La Crosse from all over the Midwest to attend a labor union conference. They stayed at the Stoddard Hotel, where they experienced racial discrimination. In a 1947 court case, one of these Black delegates, James Tate, w…
(written by Jenny DeRocher, Archives staff) In 1946, the United Automobile, Aircraft, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America Local Union 395 (UAW-CIO Union #395) held th… http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/blog/1947-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-against-hotel-stoddard/

A Tribute to Dr. Bruce Mouser

When Dr. Bruce Mouser retired from teaching at UWL in 1996, he got serious about doing more extensive research on the African American community history in La Crosse.
(written by Anita Taylor Doering, Archives Staff) Although Dr. Bruce Mouser was an active UWL faculty member when I arrived in La Crosse in the role of archivist in 1989, I rea… http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/blog/a-tribute-to-dr.-bruce-mouser/

John W. Birney and his family: early African American residents of La Crosse

Some of the earliest La Crosse settlers were African Americans, moving to northern states, attracted to the same opportunities as others coming into the area.
(written by Jenny DeRocher, Archives staff) Many of the first European-descendant settlers who are credited with establishing La Crosse were fur-traders, loggers, and merchants.… http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/blog/john-w.-birney-and-his-family-early-african-american-residents-of-la-crosse/

Local Resident Makes Olympic History

Did you know that the first African-American to win a medal at the modern Olympic games was from La Crosse?
(written by Megan of the Archives staff) Did you know that the first African-American to win a medal at the modern Olympic games was from La Crosse? George Coleman Poage (18… http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/blog/local-resident-makes-olympic-history/

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