MILWAUKEE — 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.
Watch: 1907 Blue Book at the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Milwaukee caterer won the Republican Party's nomination in the summer of 1906. The paper's Cream City notes describe Palmer as, 'one of our leading citizens.'
"No, not much is known of him," said Clayborn Benson, founder of the Wisconsin Black Historical Museum in Milwaukee.
Benson has spent decades sharing African American history at the museum.
1906 Milwaukee was very much a segregated city, but he's not surprised Palmer was active in politics.
"He's a progressive, much like many of the other African Americans, the organizations, clubs," said Benson. "All of them have their own voice and their own thinking pattern on how they should deal with the problems then."
Palmer only served one term or two years. But when he died in 1923, the Assembly supported a resolution 100 years ago this month, honoring, "his intrinsic abilities and high ideals for public service."
We asked the Wisconsin Historical Society to find the century-old resolution, and archivist Lee Grady tracked it down.
"This was new to me, and I thank you for pointing it out to us because I'd never seen it before," said Grady. "I had heard of Lucien Palmer a couple of times."
The resolution and the state's 1907 Blue Book - which includes a bio and photo - gives us some details about Palmer's life.
He was born in Alabama, educated in Nashville where he earned a college degree, before arriving in Milwaukee.
Grady believes the 1923 resolution written just days after Palmer's death reflects the favorable impression he left on colleagues.
"It feels like it feels like somebody, the primary author was somebody that knew him, and cared about him," said Grady. "I have seen others that are much, more brief for these kinds of honor."
But still, much is not known about Palmer.
"You have piqued my curiosity," said Benson at the Black Historical Museum. "I'm very interested in him."
Because learning more about Palmer's legacy could tell us so much more.
Palmer was a Republican, but that's not surprising during that time, according to Benson. Republicans were seen as Lincoln's party, the party of the future because of his effort to end slavery.
Lucian was a trustee with St Mark's A.M.E and a successful businessman, according to his biography in the state's Blue Book.
He was the manager of Lakeside Resort in Pewaukee and was steward for ten years at the Milwaukee Yacht Club.
Email TMJ4's Charles Benson if you have other stories or a connection to Palmer's career and life in Milwaukee: charles.benson@tmj4.com
