Dismas Becker (September 16, 1936 – September 19, 2010) was an American Democratic politician, civil rights activist, and former Discalced Carmelite friar and Catholic priest from Wisconsin.
Dismas Becker | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly | |
| In office 1977 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Succeeded by | Gwen Moore |
| Constituency | 13th District (1983-1985) 7th District (1985-1989) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Vincent Becker September 16, 1936 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Died | September 19, 2010 (aged 74) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Marquette University |
Life and career
editBorn Paul Vincent Becker in 1936 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after graduating from high school he entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites, where he received the religious name of Dismas, named for the Good Thief depicted in the New Testament at the Crucifixion of Jesus. He had his name changed legally in 1986.[1] He graduated from St. Francis Seminary, becoming ordained a priest in 1964, and later earned a Master's degree in Sociology from Marquette University.[2]
In 1969, Becker became involved with the Rev. James Groppi, a fellow Catholic priest and activist leader in the city, in planning a demonstration at the State Capitol to demand action on welfare rights and school reform demands made by the state’s poorest communities. He arrived late to find that, led by Groppi, nearly a thousand activists from Milwaukee had occupied the State Assembly chamber and much of the rest of the Capitol. Groppi was arrested, leaving Becker the de facto leader of the protest.[2] Becker proceeded to lead a protest on the lawn of the capitol several days later, at which he was beaten by a police officer.[3]
In 1972, Becker helped to edit and publish a book giving voice to the poor women of the city: Welfare Mothers Speak Out: We Ain't Gonna Shuffle Anymore,[4] the same year that he left his religious Order and the priesthood. He married E. Fay Anderson, an African American mother of four in 1975. He later went on to run for state office, becoming elected and serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1977 until 1989. He was the Majority Leader in the Assembly for the Democratic Party in the mid-1980s.[5]
Becker died of cancer on September 19, 2010.
Notes
edit- ^ "Dismas Becker seeks name change". Milwaukee Journal. April 29, 1986. p. 9.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ a b Silvers, Amy Rabideau (September 20, 2010). "Obituary of Dismas Becker". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ "Dismas Becker's radical Christianity and transformational politics". The Cap Times. October 4, 2010.
- ^ Becker, Dismas, Rev.; Tarantino, Howard Thomas, editors (1972). Welfare Mothers Speak Out: We Ain't Gonna Shuffle Anymore. W. W. Norton.
{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Wisconsin Historical Society: Becker, Dismas". Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
