1. Joseph Ellwanger was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama, and the only white religious leader included in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr.
11 Facts About Joseph Ellwanger
1. 2.
From 1958 to 1967, Joseph Ellwanger served as pastor of the African-American church, St Paul Lutheran, in Birmingham.
3.
Joseph Ellwanger took part in mass meetings, involving himself and members of his congregation in Civil Rights activities, and ultimately took a leadership role in community organizing.
4.
Joseph Ellwanger was the only white minister in Birmingham who took such an active role in supporting equal rights for African Americans.
5.
Joseph Ellwanger spoke at the funeral for one of the four girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in September, 1963, where Dr King delivered the eulogy.
6.
In 1967, Joseph Ellwanger left for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he served as pastor of Cross Lutheran Church until 2001.
7.
In 1969, Joseph Ellwanger worked with the Black Panther Party to expand the free breakfast program in Milwaukee; this program grew into what is the Hunger Task Force.
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Martin Luther 8.
In 1980, Joseph Ellwanger founded the prison ministry "Project RETURN," with the mission of aiding and rehabilitating citizens returning from incarceration.
9.
Joseph Ellwanger founded WISDOM's statewide Reform Our Communities Campaign to reform Wisconsin's criminal justice system.
10.
In 2008, Ellwanger was named as the recipient of the Fred L Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award.
11.
Joseph Ellwanger was a recipient of the 2016 Social Innovation Prize from Interfaith Older Adult Programs.