Joshua Glover Day

We would like to invite you to participate in a planned celebration to commemorate the rescue of Joshua Glover from a Milwaukee jail on March 18th, 1854.

For some background: Joshua Glover was a fugitive slave from St. Louis who was imprisoned in Milwaukee under the Fugitive Slave Act. Law enforcement was planning to return him to Missouri but Milwaukee community members gathered together and broke Joshua Glover out of prison, allowing him to escape to freedom in Canada.

Milwaukee has a proud history of solidarity and resistance against injustice. This singular symbol of community strength against oppressive laws is worth remembering and celebrating, especially as current legislatures and restrictive policies continue to threaten our livelihoods to this day.

March 18th is a date that deserves observance. Numerous historical markers and murals commemorate this date across our city, and this historical action even fueled the state Supreme Court to declare that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional, making Wisconsin the first state in the country to do so!