Experts Dive into How Protest Action Brings Attention to Causes, Issues

MADISON (WKOW) -- The city of Madison and the University of Wisconsin have a long, rich history of protest action.

"When students learn about injustice and inequality, they begin to look for it in their own communities," said Kacie Luccini Butcher, UW's public history project director.

Luccini Butcher is heading up a multi-year effort at UW to look at the history of racism and exclusion on campus, which includes past protest actions by students.

"For us, it's important to show the history of protest at UW and show what students were fighting for, but also to look at their tactics and see how the administration responded and either met those demands, or did not meet those demands," she said.

The later part of the 1960s and early 1970s were marked by aggressive and often violent protesting in Madison.