In a quiet but pivotal step underscoring not just the role of a woman but – for the first time – a Latina in Milwaukee’s history, a group gathered March 23 to review renovation plans for a park to be named in Clementina Castro’s honor.
As Castro’s great grandchildren ran around the 4th and Mineral Neighborhood Play Area on Milwaukee’s south side, other family members joined neighbors and community leaders in seeing how the activist would be recognized. The playground, at 937 S. 4th St.. is two blocks away from the original location of La Causa, the organization which Castro helped found.
When Castro first opened the La Causa Daycare in 1972, she would walk with her first class of 17 children to the park. Soon it became a gathering place for the community, and many of the families around the park would visit it each day, according Castro’s son, Tomas.
“I grew up here, and all the people around here are her children,” Tomas Castro said, adding that it’s an honor “that they’ll all walk by here and see her name.”
His mother died in 2016 at the age of 83. In addition to providing a safe haven to those in need at La Causa, she led a march to Madison Wisconsin during Milwaukee’s Welfare Rights Movement.
County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez began his push to rename the park, which is in his supervisory district.
“We don’t have any kind of commemoration for Latino heroes in Milwaukee, and we have such a rich history of Latino folk stepping up to the plate and fighting for their community,” Martinez said. “I thought it was very appropriate that we do this, and we name it after a Latino hero … but also a woman who’s never represented in this kind of work.”
Common Council president, Ald. Jose Perez also was involved in the plans to rename the park, as the park is also in his aldermanic district. He credited Castro with opening doors for other Latino leaders across Milwaukee.
“The women who have shaped this community never get enough credit, and we’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen here,” Perez said. “I couldn’t think of a better way to honor Clementina.”
In the late 1960s, Castro was a key figure in Milwaukee’s Welfare Rights Movement, highlighting the challenges faced by low-income families. The campaign against proposed state benefit cuts was led by Black and Brown activists, many of them low-income women, along with nationally known leaders like Father James Groppi.
Betty Glosson, a community organizer who worked closely with Castro at the time, said her friend did not enjoy the spotlight. But Glosson is pleased her friend’s contributions are being honored.
When organizing the March to Madison to protest welfare cuts, Glosson said, Castro was the driving force in uniting the north and south sides of the city behind a common cause. The two women marched as their children ran around them. As the years went on, their friendship grew.
“Back then, any time something affected our kids, parents took action,” Glosson said. “Today she would encourage young parents to get involved. …The only way that you’re going to address an issue is to hit it head on, and that’s what we did. She was about that.”
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: asalcedo@usatodayco.com.
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