Dismas Becker (September 16, 1936 – September 19, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Democratic politician,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist, and former

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendicant ...

friar and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Life and career

Born Paul Vincent Becker in 1936 in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, after graduating from high school he entered the Order of

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

, where he received the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

of Dismas, named for the

Good Thief The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief, Wise Thief, Grateful Thief, or Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesu ...

depicted in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

at the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...

. He had his name changed legally in 1986. He graduated from St. Francis Seminary, becoming

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest in 1964, and later earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

. In 1969, Becker became involved with

the Rev. The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and chur ...

James Groppi James Edmund Groppi (November 16, 1930 – November 4, 1985) was an American Catholic former priest and noted civil rights activist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He became well known for leading numerous protests, many times being arrested during ...

, 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. Becker proceeded to lead a protest on the lawn of the capitol several days later, at which he was beaten by a police officer. 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'', the same year that he left his religious Order and the priesthood. He married E. Fay Anderson, an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

mother of four in 1975. He later went on to run for state office, becoming elected and serving in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from 1977 until 1989. He was the Majority Leader in the Assembly for the Democratic Party in the mid-1980s. Becker died of cancer on September 19, 2010.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Dismas 1936 births 2010 deaths Politicians from Milwaukee Discalced Carmelites St. Francis Seminary (Wisconsin) alumni Marquette University alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests American civil rights activists Roman Catholic activists Former members of Catholic religious institutes Laicized Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin Writers from Milwaukee Catholics from Wisconsin 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature