Joseph Ellwanger
Joseph Ellwanger | |
---|---|
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Alma mater | Concordia Seminary |
Occupation | Pastor, Civil Rights Activist |
Awards include the Human Rights Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute | |
Joseph W. Ellwanger Jr. (born February 18, 1934) is a
Early life and education
Born in 1934, Ellwanger spent part of his childhood in Selma, Alabama, where his father was a pastor and president of Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. Ellwanger graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.[2]
Career
From 1958 to 1967, Ellwanger served as pastor of the
Ellwanger answered the call of King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to recruit students and clergy to join the movement in Selma to take part in the march for voting rights from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. 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. Ellwanger helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others plan the Birmingham demonstrations and helped organize the Saturday, March 6, 1965, march in Selma to support voting rights.[3]
Ellwanger was the only white minister in Birmingham who took such an active role in supporting equal rights for
King included Ellwanger in a group of 15 pastors who met with
In 1967, Ellwanger left for
In 2008, Ellwanger was named as the recipient of the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award. It is the highest honor bestowed on an individual by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.[10]
Ellwanger was a recipient of the 2016 Social Innovation Prize from Interfaith Older Adult Programs. The award included $10,000 to continue his work to end mass incarceration in Wisconsin.[11]
Books
Ellwanger has been a subject in a number of books, including King: A Biography by
- Ellwanger, Joseph (2014). Strength for the Struggle: Insights from the Civil Rights Movement and Urban Ministry. HenschelHAUS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-595-98296-4.
References
- ^ "Joseph Ellwanger: "Strength for the Struggle" - WBHM 90.3". June 13, 2014.
- ^ mulvennk (November 3, 2014). "Joseph Ellwanger "Strength for the Struggle"" – via YouTube.
- ^ "Ellwanger, Joseph". crdl.usg.edu.
- ^ Gray, Jeremy (November 14, 2008) "Birmingham institute to honor the Rev. Ellwanger for early civil rights support." Birmingham News
- ^ Heinen, Tom (January 17, 2004) "Bombing revealed the danger of silence." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- ^ Talks at Google (August 10, 2016). "Rev. Joseph Ellwanger: "Strength for the Struggle" - Talks At Google" – via YouTube.
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Cross Lutheran Church :: Pastor Emeritus Joseph Ellwanger". crosslutheranmilwaukee.org.
- ^ "Comrades: A Local History of the Black Panther Party" Judson L. Jeffries, Indiana University Press, December 25, 2007
- ^ Phil Brooks (March 5, 2013). "Origins: by Joe & Joyce" – via YouTube.
- ^ Garrison, Greg (November 1, 2008) "Rev. Joseph Ellwanger to receive Shuttlesworth leadership award." Birmingham News
- ^ "Interfaith Announces 2016 Winner of the $10,000 Social Innovation Prize in Wisconsin - Interfaith Older Adult Programs". October 17, 2016.