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Foundation’s Nohl Fund grants $338,000 toward area arts programs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
July 12, 2016
Twenty visual arts and arts education programs in the community were recently awarded $338,000 in funding from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund. Established by renowned local artist the late Mary L. Nohl, the fund has made grants of more than $7 million since 2001 in support of visual arts and arts education in the metropolitan area.
Supported projects include:
Bradley Family Foundation: $130,000 in support of the Mary L. Nohl Fund Individual Artists Fellowship Program, which recognizes visual artists who are making or will make significant contributions to their fields and who promote the arts in the greater Milwaukee area. The annual program provides fellowships of $20,000 each to established artists and $10,000 each to emerging artists. It also provides support through its Suitcase Export Fund to help local artists with costs associated with exhibiting their work outside of the four-county area.
Bradley Family Foundation: $20,000 to enable the Lynden Sculpture Garden to host a multi-layered art project led by Chicago-based artist Fo Wilson, who will create a structural and conceptual world of a fictional 19th-century enslaved woman of African descent, starting with the fabrication of a structure to house her cabinet of curiosities. The project also will include an installation, exhibition, educational programs, presentations by other local artists and performances.
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La Casa de Esperanza: $20,000 toward construction of a 14-foot by 26-foot mosaic mural that will surround the façade of the entrance to a new building for the La Casa Charter School. Milwaukee-based mosaic artist Ann Wydeven will lead more than 50 youth and community members in discussions and workshops from the planning through installation phases. The 20-month project will culminate with an unveiling ceremony in spring 2018.
Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail: $15,000 toward an initiative that will create a public permanent artwork commemorating the history of the Milwaukee Road, one of Milwaukee’s largest employers in the early 1900s. The art will activate the portion of the Hank Aaron State Trail in the Menomonee Valley where the Milwaukee Road Rail Shops’ chimneys stood.
Milwaukee Art Museum: $15,000 to help launch the museum’s Teen Leadership Program in 2016-17 with three primary goals: youth engagement, leadership development and career exploration for teens. The grant will support the first year of a teen advisory council and the 15th cycle of its summer teen program, ArtXpress. ArtXpress will culminate in the creation of a collaborative mural reflecting a socially relevant theme that will wrap a Milwaukee County bus for at least eight months and be viewed by an estimated 16,700 people daily.
Woodland Pattern Book Center: $15,000 to present an 18-month project in which six women artists and/or writers will be artists in residence at Woodland Pattern. In their art and/or literary practice, these women explore the meaning, value and stories of “women’s work,” a theme which will inform the exhibitions, readings, discussions and workshops of their visits. One of the artists is based in Milwaukee. The other five will travel from various parts of the country.
Milwaukee Jewish Federation: $12,000 to support the Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s first solo museum exhibit in Milwaukee of Beth Lipman, a Jewish artist based in Wisconsin who has exhibited internationally and received many awards and honors for her work. “Once & Again: Still Lifes,” organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, represents a mid-career retrospective for Lipman. It will include large-scale glass sculptures and photos. The museum also will present public educational programs featuring Lipman, and a series of presentations celebrating noted local artists representing varied artistic disciplines titled “Local Lives, National Voices.”
Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum: $12,000 to engage an artist-in-residence to lead the restoration of the mural on the west exterior wall of its building at 26th and Center streets. Lead artist George Gist will engage the community in the process and conduct visual art workshops at the agency for high school students during his residency. Gist will work with two graduate student artists from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts and youth from the mural workshops, as well as other local artists, on the painting component. The restoration will take an estimated three months to complete, after which a communitywide unveiling ceremony will take place.
American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation: $10,000 toward the Youth Social Justice Forum, a one-day conference at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for about 500 high school students from Milwaukee that includes numerous artmaking sessions related to advocacy and social justice, conducted by professional artists. Expanded versions of forum workshops will take place throughout the year with local visual artists as part of the Public Art Student Alliances at partnership schools, primarily from MPS.
RedLine Milwaukee: $10,000 for its 2016-17 programming, which includes a local artist-in-residency program, offering subsidized studio space to mentoring and emerging Milwaukee-based artists, and a visiting artist program, engaging international, national and local artists for on-site residencies. Both programs include a season of visual art exhibitions representing various mediums, to take place from July 2016 through June 2017. One of the exhibitions is being curated by Milwaukee native Terese Agnew, who is collaborating with more than 20 Wisconsin arts, writers and historians on an installation titled “Writing in Stone” that will open in January 2017.
Latino Arts: $10,000 to support the agency’s 2016-17 visual arts season, which will include gallery exhibitions featuring the work of Chilean installation artist Ximena Sosa, Ecuadorean painter and teacher Rafael Salas, and Guatemalan Mayan artists Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay and Paula Nicho Cumez. The grant also will support visual arts-related ALMA programming (Advancing Literacy and Math through the Arts) with Bruce-Guadalupe Community School students.
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network: $10,000 to host at least three MARNsalons as professional development opportunities for the local visual arts community. National and international curators, critics and other art professionals will visit Milwaukee for multi-day residencies to include roundtable discussions about relevant contemporary art issues, studio visits and portfolio critiques. MARN will stream the roundtable sessions, host online discussion forums and publish a compilation of writings by visiting artists/critics/curators.
Riverworks Development Corporation: $10,000 to engage residents, business owners and employees of neighborhood businesses in a public art project to create three murals on the recently extended Beerline Railway Trail during the summer and early fall, with completion and a launch celebration taking place before winter. The agency, in collaboration with its advisory work group, will select 10 local artists who have experience in street art, murals, creative signage and community engagement processes to lead this project.
TRUE Skool: $10,000 for its 2016 summer program, which includes projects such as the restoration and repainting of two existing public murals (on Bruce Street and Cesar Chavez Drive) and a leadership workshop series, “The Art of Coping,” a curriculum about the impact of trauma on young people’s mental and emotional health. Muralist and visual arts instructor James Tomasello will lead 25 youth as they engage in paid internships over seven weeks. The summer session will culminate in a presentation day to showcase participants’ individual art portfolios created during the program, as well as the community-based group projects they will have accomplished.
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts: $10,000 for the 2016-17 exhibition season, which includes 10 planned exhibitions: Dia de los Muertos, WPCA members show, CoPA photography show, Wisconsin Visual Artists, Midwest Artists Studios, Youth Arts Exhibit, and WPCA’s 30th anniversary exhibition in April and May 2017, among others. WPCA’s visual art education programs will expand to include a community outreach component at local schools. More than 200 artists will show their work in these exhibitions, and 25 teaching artists will play a role in the art education programming.
Benedict Center: $7,500 to support art-making sessions with local artists, Elizabeth Vogt and Muneer Bahaudeen, who will work with the agency’s female participants to create graphic and ceramic art that expresses their life histories and lessons. A final exhibition will take place at Washington Park Partners Center.
Milwaukee Environmental Consortium: $7,500 for Milwaukee Water Commons to offer art-integrated projects that reinforce the significance of water in the lives of individuals and communities at five diverse sites in Milwaukee. Working closely with a lead artist, each partner organization will select water-themed art projects specific to their site that may include murals, mosaics, sculpture and other mediums. The project will culminate with the “We are Water” celebration at Bradford Beach in late summer 2016.
COA Youth & Family Centers: $5,000 to engage a local artist-in-residence to lead teens ages 13-18 in the creation of a youth-designed mural at the Goldin Center in the Amani neighborhood. The mural will be completed during summer 2016 and will be unveiled at a fall COA community fun night.
HeartLove Place: $5,000 for a 10-week summer art program for teens ages 11-13 to expand their horizons about art resources accessible to Milwaukee residents and to teach a variety of art-making techniques. Milwaukee-based artist Christopher McIntyre will lead the program, which will include field trips to museums, galleries, art installations, murals around the city, as well as hands-on instruction in several art mediums. The program will culminate with a youth gallery night showcasing the work created.
SHARP Literacy: $4,000 to partner with Journey House on a mural project in summer 2016 under the direction of artist Sally Duback. The media will be glazed clay and recycled materials, so students will learn how to cut clay, glaze, grout and mount tiles, all while reinforcing aspects of their school curricula. In line with SHARP’s mission, the summer program will link to curricular areas including language development. Journey House will unveil the mural for participants and families in late August.

author: Greater Milwaukee Foundation


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Housing First gives new lease on life to 145 once-chronically homeless people | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
July 12, 2016
Robert Itzin, who was once chronically homeless, stands in the kitchen of his apartment, provided by Housing First. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
For years, Robert Itzin bounced from shelter to shelter as his addiction to drugs took hold and his life spun out of control.
But his life took an unexpected turn for the better recently when a couple of social service workers at a church soup kitchen told him of a local program to deal with homelessness.
To Itzin’s surprise, however, the initiative had nothing to do with curing his drug addiction or, for that matter, other typical interventions such as job training or spiritual guidance.
Instead, the program simply gave the chronically homeless man what he was desperately missing: a place to live.
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“This was after a few years of a living hell,” said Itzin, 53. “Within two months of starting the (application) process, I had my own place on the East Side. Housing is a human right and when you solve the housing problem first, other things can then follow.”
Itzin is one of 145 people who were once chronically homeless and now have a place to live, due to Housing First, a program launched in July 2015 by Milwaukee County. The program has been deemed a success thus far by county officials, who say it has decreased chronic homelessness in the metro area by 70 percent.
“We are well ahead of where we expected to be at this point,” said James Mathy, the housing administrator for Milwaukee County.
The last point-in-time count, a tally of local homelessness held each January, found the county had 58 chronically homeless individuals in 2016, down from 195 in 2014, the year before the program started, according to the county.
A chronically homeless person is someone who has been continuously homeless for at least one year or has had at least four episodes of homelessness during the past three years. Part of the reason for the Housing First program’s success is that it allows individuals to participate “on their own terms …they call their own shots,” Mathy said.
The “housing first” concept represents a shift in the way chronic homelessness is addressed. Traditionally, individuals would receive support services to help deal with the cause of their chronic homelessness — such as substance abuse, alcoholism or mental illness — before a home is made available to them.
Housing First reverses that order, Mathy said.
“It is offering a homeless individual housing immediately and … barrier free,” he said. “Instead of waiting for individuals to be engaged in … treatment, we don’t worry about those preconditions anymore. We put them directly in housing and, once they are in housing, we wrap those services around them after the fact.”
Itzin, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment, said having a safe, stable place to live has “intrinsically” built his self-esteem, a necessary element in his battle against substance abuse.
Itzin said he has also been empowered by not having to deal with the bureaucracy typically found at homeless shelters in the city.
“I was always struggling with that adult supervision. I am an adult… but, I was always being watched. It robs you of your self-confidence,” he said. “I’m not being watched here so my decisions are my own — the good, bad and the ugly.”
The success of the Housing First program is based on providing a safe, stable environment for formerly homeless individuals, said Philip Connelly, director of housing at the Guest House, an organization that serves the homeless in Milwaukee.
“The flexibility of this program will allow for (individuals) to be successful in ways that, in the past, they were not able to,” Connelly said. “Once people are in a safe environment, they are comfortable, allowing service providers to build programs around the person.”
In addition to the social impact the program has had, Housing First is saving taxpayer money, county officials said. The program costs about $25 a day per person, which includes an average of $17.25 in rent and $7.50 for case management services. This compared to the $110 per day that is typically spent on detainment, law enforcement and emergency room services for chronically homeless individuals, several studies have shown, according to county officials.
The Housing First initiative received $1.8 million in funding for its first year, from the city, the city housing authority and the county. The limited availability of federal rental subsidies, a key part of being able to provide free housing to chronically homeless individuals, is a major challenge in reaching the county’s goal of eliminating chronic homelessness by 2018, according to Mathy.
“To get to the last 30 percent, this is probably our biggest barrier,” he said. “We do think we can get there, but we do need to find more rental assistance resources to see if we can get to zero.”

source: news-milwaukeenns

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Brendan O’Brien


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 11, 2016

author: Adam Carr


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 12, 2016


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Jazz in the Hood moves to new Bronzeville location | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rebecca Carballo
July 12, 2016
More than 100 people attended the 4th annual Jazz in the Hood event in its new location in Bronzeville, on 4th Street between North Avenue and Garfield Avenue.
In previous years it was held at 15th and Center Street. Melissa Goins, who organized the event, said it was fitting that the new location for the music and art festival is in the Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District.
Goins is president of the Maures Development Group, which will receive federal tax credits to develop a four-story, 41-unit building expected to house the new America’s Black Holocaust Museum. The museum has been closed since 2008 and has been operating as an online virtual museum.
Jazz in the Hood attendees enjoyed food trucks, art projects and four bands: Evan Christian, Sista Strings, Foreign Goods and the Kevin Hayden Band.
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The event also raised awareness about the importance of bone marrow donations and provided an opportunity for people to sign up to be donors. Mickey Wilson, whose daughter Tia received a bone marrow transplant, implored the audience to sign up for the donor registry. “I ask you and I beg you to be a donor for blood and marrow. This is the living proof right here. Donors have saved my daughter’s life,” Wilson said.
Jazz in the Hood was part of the 2016 #BronzevilleSummer series. Upcoming events include the 19th Annual Garfield Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Arts Festival on July 16 and the 4th Annual Bronzeville Week from Aug. 6 to Aug. 13.
Goins thanked people for attending and then took a more somber tone when she referenced two black men killed by police in Louisiana and Minnesota last week, as well as the murder of five Dallas police officers at a demonstration protesting deaths of black people at the hands of police.
“I thank you for letting Jazz in the Hood be a display of beauty and love,” Goins said. “This has been a hard week for our country.”

author: Rebecca Carballo


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On the Block: Back to school | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rebecca Carballo
July 12, 2016
Amari Olds, 21, is working at Wal-Mart and KFC, but she aspires to be a journalist. Olds discovered her passion for writing her sophomore year at Messmer High School when she had the opportunity to take a broadcast media class and go on field trips to the Channel 4 news station and the Journal Sentinel. She also contributed to her school paper and newscast. She hopes to one day attend UWM to study journalism.


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South Side Candidate Forum focused on tobacco prevention and positive youth development/violence prevention | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Tina Rivera
July 12, 2016
WI Assembly Districts 8, 9 and 20 Candidate Forum Focused on Tobacco Prevention and Positive Youth Development/Violence prevention
The Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Prevention Network, along with the City of Milwaukee Tobacco Free Alliance and Community Advocates Public Policy Institute will host an Assembly candidate forum on Thursday, July 14th, 2016 from 5:30 -7:00 pm at the UMOS Administrative Building Boardroom- 2701 S. Chase Avenue, Milwaukee, WI. 53207. This event will be a joint forum with current representatives and candidates from Assembly Districts 8, 9 and 20. All candidates and incumbents from the districts have been invited, including: Jocasta Zamarripa (D) Incumbent; Laura Manriquez (D); Josh Zepnick (D) incumbent;  Marisabel Cabrera (D); Christine Sinicki (D) incumbent and Julie Meyer (D).
Questions will be focused on tobacco/other tobacco product prevention, and general positive youth development and violence prevention. Questions can be submitted via email to Deb Heffner at DHeffner@communityadvocates.net until July 12th, 2016.
This is a public event, open to constituents and community partners, however, registration is requested. Please register with Coordinator, Tina Rivera at 414-389-6501 by July 12th, 2016.
Tina Rivera
Hispanic/Latino Tobacco
Prevention Network
Program Manager
UMOS
Ph: 414- 389-6501
Tinelia.Rivera@umos.org
Deborah Heffner
City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance Coordinator
Community Advocates Public Policy Institute
Ph: 414-270-4655
DHeffner@communityadvocates.net
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author: Tina Rivera


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Milwaukee employs new methods to combat food deserts | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rebecca Carballo
July 13, 2016
University of Wisconsin-Extension’s community gardens can be found in many city neighborhoods. Pictured is the Journey House Community Garden in Clarke Square. (Photo by Rebecca Carballo)
Randy Simmons, a North Side resident, was making his monthly trip to the food pantry at the House of Peace at 1702 W. Walnut St. when he saw a large truck that read: “Pick ‘n Save Fresh Picks Mobile Market.” Intrigued, he walked in and found the walls lined with shelves of produce, vegetables and meat, with a checkout counter in the back.
The mobile market is part of the SEED initiative, which stands for Sowing, Empowering, and Eliminating Deserts of Food. The initiative, which pulls together the mobile market, community gardens and other elements, was adopted by Milwaukee County at the end of June
What appears to be a large truck is actually a traveling market that makes stops throughout Milwaukee County. (Photo by Rebecca Carballo)
Simmons said he would not use the mobile market in place of the food pantry. “The pantry is free. You can’t beat free,” Simmons said.
First-time shopper Cicelia Johnson also found the mobile market unexpectedly.
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“I live right across the street and I was just being nosy and asked about it,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the mobile market is convenient and the prices are much lower than in a store. She said she plans to do her regular grocery shopping there.
Products are 25 percent lower than grocery store prices, according to Sherrie Tussler, director of the Hunger Task Force. She said the goal of the initiative is to make fresh food more available for residents of Milwaukee County.
“Hunger is not only about affordability of food,” Tussler said. “Hunger is about access to food.”
The mobile market concentrates on neighborhoods that do not have a grocery store within walking distance. Among the city stops are the Clarke Square, Amani and McGovern Park neighborhoods.
“We need to bust the myth that people don’t want to eat healthy; they do,” Tussler said. “They just need access.”
To make the market as accessible as possible, there are personal shoppers available for those who cannot easily get in the truck.
Shoppers browse through the produce section at the Fresh Picks Mobile Market, which carries vegetables, meat and other refrigerated items. (Photo by Rebecca Carballo)
Another element of the SEED initiative focuses on food preservation. The Hunger Task Force uses the Milwaukee County House of Correction kitchen and inmates to process and preserve the harvest from The Hunger Task Force Farm.
The preserved food goes to food pantries and is used for the Hunger Task Force’s Stockbox program, which delivers food such as rice, cereal, juice, beef stew, pasta and vegetables to seniors free of charge.
The SEED Initiative also partners with University of Wisconsin-Extension’s community garden program, which includes city neighborhoods such as Clarke Square, Amani, Sherman Park, the Green Corridor and Bay View. Community members can rent a plot of land to grow whatever they like.
“We want neighborhoods to be involved,” said UW-Extension Food Systems Coordinator Ryan Schone. “When looking at sites we picked areas with a high level of community interest.” He added that it is ultimately up to the residents to care for the gardens.
He said residents choose to do community gardening because they may lack space in their yard or the soil might be contaminated with lead. Another big factor is the community-building aspect.
“People want to know their neighbors and who’s living across the street,” Schone said. “This provides an easy way to have organic conversation in a space that is safe and inviting.”
UW Extension’s goal is to create one million square feet of community gardens in the county. Schone expects it will reach the goal by the next growing season.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 13, 2016


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BET award inspires Club Kids 414 founder to continue search for permanent home | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 14, 2016
Marcus Duke, executive director of Club Kids 414, hopes that his appearance on national television will help him find a permanent home for his organization. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“It was pure awesomeness,” recalled Marcus Duke, executive director of Club Kids 414, describing the moment he received a national “BET Shine A Light Award” for his work with youth in Milwaukee.
Duke hopes the attention that went along with his appearance on national television during the BET Awards Show in Los Angeles will help him find a permanent home for Club Kids, which he’s been working on for years.
“I’ll keep on working to find a home for them until the day I die,” said Duke, a former drug dealer and gangbanger who experienced a life change in the ’90s.
Club Kids 414 is a nonprofit organization geared toward keeping youth out of gangs, off the streets and out of jail.
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NNS chronicled Duke’s efforts to find a permanent home for the organization in February, as he sought community support to help rehab a dilapidated building on North Avenue. That location didn’t pan out.
Marcus Duke was honored during the BET Awards Show in Los Angeles last month. (Photo provided by Marcus Duke)
For decades, Duke has been hosting events such as talent shows, gift giveaways and other celebrations at public spaces including McGovern Park, the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park branch and local churches. But, longevity and high turnouts at his events haven’t translated into the backing he needs to help him find a permanent home for Club Kids.
“I didn’t get any calls from city officials or anything like that congratulating me on the award,” said Duke, who remains under the radar in the world of higher-profile nonprofits, even after receiving the BET award from singing star Fantasia Barrino last month.
Perhaps it’s the lack of a bricks-and-mortar facility for his organization to call home that keeps the group in relative obscurity. Duke has contacted the mayor’s office, local aldermen and directors of business improvement districts asking whether there are properties in the area that the city would consider donating or selling at a discounted price to his organization. No dice, he said.
Attempts to obtain a response from the mayor’s office, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton’s office and North Avenue Market Place BID Executive Director Jacqueline Ward were unsuccessful.
“He’s a one-man army,” said Jimmy Green, a spoken word artist who met Duke when he was 9 years old.
Duke was hosting a talent show at McGovern Park on the city’s North Side when he offered Green his first opportunity to perform on stage. Now in his 20s, Green has coached spoken word poetry teams at several Milwaukee high schools and created his own group, “Unity Through Poetry,” at the Running Rebels Community Organization, located at 1300 W. Fond Du Lac Ave.
Green considers Duke a mentor for himself and for many of the kids in the neighborhood.
“At one time he was that kid on the street struggling, so he really understands the things they’re going through,” Green said.
Green said he hopes the city will support Duke in his efforts to find a home for Club Kids. The fact is, he noted, without more positive places to go and mentors like Duke to push teens in the right direction they will continue to be drawn to the streets.
“These kids out here are so talented, but if we could just get them to a positive place that helps them focus their energy creatively they will do good in life,” Green said.
One of those kids is Jonathon Dundy, 15, who’s been volunteering at Club Kids events for the past few years.
“He’s always trying to find something for us to do to keeps us off the streets,” Dundy said. Sometimes it’s picking up remnants of fireworks left over from Independence Day, as Dundy was doing on a recent afternoon, while at other times it’s handing out balloon animals at block parties, he said.
The next Club Kids 414 event is a “BET Awards Honoree Family Fun Fest Celebration,” to be held on July 30, from 12-6 p.m. on 24 Street and North Avenue. The block party will feature live music, free giveaways, food and other activities, according to Duke.
Duke vows to continue providing activities that keep families active and kids off the street. He’ll also continue to wonder how many more kids he could reach if he had a permanent building to provide activities year-round.
“That’s why I won’t give up. We need safe places for kids on every block just like we got a liquor store on almost every block,” Duke said. “So we don’t have to see so many of these kids end up in prison later,” he added.

author: Edgar Mendez


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 14, 2016


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Ald. Coggs invites residents to Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
July 15, 2016
Garfield Avenue Festival drew large crowds last year. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs invites residents to the 19th Annual Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival in the Bronzeville neighborhood this weekend.
The festival takes place TOMORROW (Saturday, July 16), from noon until 8:00 p.m., on W. Garfield Avenue from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive to N. 7th Street. The opening ceremony will commence at noon at the main stage, featuring appearances by local elected officials and members of the community.
With a full day of family-friendly entertainment planned, special performances will include the band “Untitled,” “Valerie B and the Boys” and “Jazzy Jewels.” Local musicians will entertain crowds from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. on the 6th Street stage, and more than 100 vendors will be set up along the festival corridor.
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The event is free and open to the public. Sponsors include Cricket Wireless, the Herzfeld Foundation, Northcott Neighborhood House, Gruber Law Offices and more.
What: When:
Where:
Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel & Arts Festival
Noon to 8:00 p.m. Saturday, July 16
W. Garfield Ave.
from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. to N. 7th St.

author: Ald. Milele A. Coggs


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 15, 2016


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Diverse group gathers in Alice’s Garden to address racial oppression | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
Members of the Ko-Thi Dance Company invite audience members to participate in their performance at Alice’s Garden. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Jazmen Powell and a friend were just passing Alice’s Garden on a recent warm evening when they were drawn in by the activity of a crowd of several hundred people. In addition to a food truck at the entrance, free food on tables scattered around the garden, and performers and speakers on stage, people of all ages and races sat on blankets, in portable chairs and at picnic tables.
The evening event was organized by local artists and activists to bring healing to the community after recent violence between the police and black men around the country. Leaders including Malkia Stampley, artistic director of Bronzeville Arts Ensemble; Venice Williams, executive director of Alice’s Garden and The Body & Soul Healing Arts Center; and Dimonte Henning, executive director of Lights! Camera! Soul! invited other performing artists and activists to address issues surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement at Alice’s Garden, 2136 N. 21st St. The public was also invited.
Venice Williams speaks at a recent Black Lives Matter gathering at Alice’s Garden (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
“This relates to us, to me personally,” said Powell, who is living in a homeless shelter, of the racial injustices being addressed from the stage.
Powell was raised in foster care and has been homeless off and on for several years. She noted that while black men are being killed and incarcerated, black women are being separated from their children by government authorities. She explained that she and her friend are both struggling to get their children back from Child Protective Services.
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“Nobody listens. Nobody hears us,” Powell said.
From the stage, Venice Williams verbally “poured libations,” a traditional African religious practice to invoke the ancestors’ blessings, on a long list of people.
“We pour libations for the children … for (all people) in this city who lost their lives because someone thought someone of their color should not be where they were,” Williams said. The audience responded, “Ashay” (Be with us).
Performers including members of the Ko-Thi Dance Company, spoken word poet Damion Thompson, actress Kelley Faulkner and actor Chike Johnson, among others, shared dances, poems and songs related to the race issues roiling the nation.
Nate Hamilton, a co-founder of The Coalition for Justice, spoke about his organization’s activities this week, which included a rally and protest marches downtown.
“Everything (The Coalition for Justice does) is about awareness. It’s about getting people to contribute to everyone being respected,” Hamilton said.
(Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Concerned that some people react negatively to the phrase, “black lives matter,” Hamilton explained, “It doesn’t mean that your life doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean that my life matters more. It just means that we want to be respected and we want the privileges of this land that all people have.”
Ferne Caulker, a renowned UWM professor of African dance and founder of the Ko-Thi Dance Company, performed a song that included a call to join together against oppression, Caulker urged the audience to get out and vote and called on fellow artists to “sharpen your skills … for we are at war.”
“As one of the elders in the arts community, I have to say that this is really a very emotional moment for me because I have such faith in the future just listening to these young people speak,” Caulker said.
Teen attendees Mariah Walls, Payton Stovall and “S” Wiley, who are working on a summer journalism project, said they came to connect with their community and gain experience speaking with people at public events.
Walls noted that she was most touched by a bi-racial presenter who spoke of her love for her black father.
“We always talk about getting involved (in community issues) but this was an opportunity to really do it,” she added.

author: Andrea Waxman


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Marquette computer scientists awarded $1M grant for low-income student training program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
Milwaukee Business Journal


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Milwaukee Police Place Restrictions On Protesters | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
WPR Wisconsin Public Radio


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Milwaukee’s health score 17 points lower than in 2012, report shows | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
jsonline.com


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MPD Chief Calls on President Obama to Continue Conversation on Race and Policing | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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MPS christens Marvin Pratt Elementary School on Friday | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2016
OnMilwaukee.com


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Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission releases 2016 Mid-Year Report | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
July 17, 2016
The number of Milwaukee homicide victims in the first half of 2016 is lower than last year, a trend that City officials are working to sustain. The new numbers are included in the 2016 Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission Mid-Year Report which was released Sunday.
53 people died by homicide in the first six months of the year, 21 fewer victims than in the same period in 2015. That is a decline of 28%. While non-fatal shootings were also down, the percentage decline was smaller, 10%.
“There is no higher priority for City government than reducing violence in Milwaukee. Yes, the numbers this year are better than last, but our City is still seeing more victims in 2016 that we saw during past ten years,” Mayor Tom Barrett said. “Our Police are constantly evaluating their efforts and redeploying their resources. And our Office of Violence Prevention in the Milwaukee Health Department has significantly increased its work to stop violence particularly among young people.”
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The number of juvenile homicide victims and suspects is slightly lower this year when compared to last.
“We are working to reduce violence using some of the same approaches we use when fighting a disease outbreak. We look at the facts and the numbers and combine that with analysis to guide our violence reduction work,” Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker said. “A key part of the effort is building partnerships with organizations and residents that are working in Milwaukee neighborhoods to promote safety.”
The Mid-Year Report includes several recommendations including the promotion of intervention and mediation services so that arguments and fights are less likely to end in violence. A significant percentage of Milwaukee homicides and non-fatal shootings stem from situations involving arguments and fights.
The Homicide Review Commission, which works with the City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention, is a component of Milwaukee’s overall violence prevention efforts. It draws on public health and criminal justice partners to better understand and inform the work to reduce violence in Milwaukee.
The report is available at Milwaukee.gov/health.

author: City of Milwaukee Health Department


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 17, 2016


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Harambee woman turns devastating loss of baby into fight against infant mortality | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
July 18, 2016
Tonda Thompson has been advocating for healthy births since losing her baby boy in 2013. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Tonda Thompson could have easily turned inward three years ago when she went through a mother’s worst nightmare as her newborn boy Terrell died in her arms, hours after he was born, leaving her devastated by her loss.
Instead, Thompson, 28, turned toward her community, becoming a strong advocate in the fight for healthy birth outcomes among minorities and in the search for solutions to combat infant mortality.
“We really don’t talk about infant mortality,” she said. “We are dealing with something that is really powerful within our community.”
Studies have shown that the infant mortality rate for African-American babies is at least three times higher than that for white babies in Milwaukee. Overall, about 60 percent of infant deaths in Milwaukee are caused by prematurity, which is preventable through better access to health care, reduced poverty and more father involvement, according to Milwaukee’s Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF). LIHF is a community-wide collaboration led by the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County.
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“African-American families are dealing with these socioeconomic issues and health disparities such as poverty and joblessness, and infant mortality, to me, is a symptom of all of these things,” Thompson said. “I just really wanted to do something to make sure that we are all aware of these issues.”
Thompson has helped create the 5k HaRUNbee Walk/Run, to be held Saturday, Aug. 6, in Harambee, where she was raised, and which has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the city.
The inaugural HaRUNbee 5K Walk/Run event, which is being organized through LIHF, is intended to create awareness and bring the community together to address the issue of infant mortality, Thompson said.
“Harambee means ‘pulling together’ in Swahili. My hope for Harambee is to unify people of all races, sexual orientations, all genders and all ages and to help us realize that our babies are dying and that we need to find solutions to try to stop that,” she said.
Thompson said that when she was pregnant she went to all her doctor appointments, was physically fit and did not drink or smoke.
Thompson, who has dealt with depression since her son’s death, also hopes to increase awareness about mental illness and mental health related to being a mother and infant mortality.
“Within the African-American community, mental health has a stigma …we really need to look deeper with things that are going on with us mentally and we have to make sure we are mentally well enough to move on,” she said.
In 2015, 84 infants died in Milwaukee. The overall infant mortality rate for Milwaukee has decreased to 9.9 for every 1,000 live births from 2013 to 2015, from a rate of 10.2 from 2012 to 2014.
“We are encouraged to see infant mortality rates once again trend downward,” said Mayor Tom Barrett in a statement announcing the decrease. “However, the racial disparity in birth outcomes remains unacceptable and the rate of improvement remains inadequate, particularly for African-American babies. We must continue to do more to bring down these rates.”


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Hear stories of teen refugees living in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 18, 2016
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


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How Juli Kaufmann Is Fixing Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 18, 2016
UrbanMilwaukee.com


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How Wisconsin Educators Are Preparing For A New Nationwide Schools Law | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 18, 2016
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Making the Brain Less Racist | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 18, 2016
The Atlantic


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Mother of Dontre Hamilton to appear at Democratic convention | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 18, 2016
jsonline.com


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City of Milwaukee Health Department issues excessive heat health watch | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
July 19, 2016
The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch beginning Thursday and ending Friday. In conjunction with this Watch, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) has issued an Excessive Heat Health Watch.
The forecast indicates a maximum heat index value of 100 to 110 Thursday and 95 to 103 Friday , creating potentially deadly conditions, especially for those most susceptible to heat-related illness such as the elderly, very young, and those with chronic underlying conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory, or mental health illness.
During extreme heat conditions, the MHD advises citizens take the following precautions:
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Stay Cool
Stay Hydrated
Stay Informed
includes the very young, the elderly, and those on certain medications (especially certain medications related to blood pressure, heart disease, and mental health).
The MHD will be enhancing surveillance for heat-related illness in the coming days, and working with Milwaukee Heat Task Force partners to address vulnerable population needs during this period. Additional heat safety tips and information are available at www.milwaukee.gov/hotweathersafety.


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Gospel concert benefits arts in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sharon Selz
July 19, 2016
Enjoy a night of music and community for a worthy cause at the Gospel Showcase, presented by Parklawn Assembly of God Church and St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care. Set for Friday, July 29, 7 p.m., at Parklawn, 3725 N. Sherman Boulevard, the event is a fundraiser for the building of a band shell in the heart of Milwaukee’s near north side.
The concert, featuring the world-renowned Chicago Mass Choir and local gospel artists, will jumpstart construction on the Indaba Band Shell to be built at St. Ann Center’s Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Avenue. The 500-seat venue will be the site for concerts, dance, dramatic performances and other multicultural arts events and community celebrations.
Headlining the fundraiser, the Chicago Mass Choir will perform selections from their new album, We Give You Praise, currently in the top 20 on the Billboard gospel charts. “Milwaukee is one of our favorite places to perform,” said Dr. Feranda Williamson, the choir’s president and CEO. “We’re excited and humbled to part of this amazing event.” Eighty members strong, the choir includes singers, ranging in age from 22 to 60-plus, from all walks of life, Williamson adds. “We have educators, police officers, lawyers, ministers…all active in church ministry.” The choir offers a mix of traditional and contemporary gospel music with spirit-lifting choreography and audience participation.
Radio personality La Rita Winston will emcee the Gospel Showcase. Known for her radio ministry, “Stand up 4 Love,” La Rita is a 2016 winner of the Milwaukee Gospel Legends Award. The exciting lineup of local praise and worship performers include Min. Diante Harris & Pure Worship, the Parklawn AOG Praise Team, the Majestic Community Choir, soloist Courtney Epps Howard, Christian comedian Lynell “Choc” Moore and the Signature Dance Company.
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“This special event will bring us closer to making the dream of the Indaba Band Shell a reality,” said Tony Phillips, director of the band shell project. Parklawn and St. Ann Center are partnering in fundraising efforts for the new venue. In traditional African culture, Indaba refers to a gathering to resolve issues affecting the village, where each individual has a voice and where there is a common story created for all to share after they leave. “The band shell will bring the power of the arts back to the community,” Phillips added. “A music-rich experience for children benefits them academically. Plus, the band shell will provide a very needed way to bring people together and realize we are one.”
Tickets for the Gospel Showcase are $20. No tickets will be sold at the door. Buy tickets online via eventbrite.com, or visit stanncenter.org/bandshell. Tickets are also available at the St. Ann Center Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Avenue, and at the Center’s Stein Campus at 2801 E. Morgan Avenue. For more information, contact Tony Phillips at 414-210-2490.

author: Sharon Selz


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GospelShowcase | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 18, 2016

author: Name *


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On the Block: From El Salvador to South Side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 19, 2016
Andy Barillas, 37, came to Clarke Square as an infant with his family in the 1980s, after they fled the civil war in El Salvador. His family was one of the first El Salvadorian families to settle in Milwaukee. Barillas is happy that the Clarke Square neighborhood is still one of the first stops in Milwaukee for immigrants arriving from Latin American countries.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 18, 2016


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Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin opens new Midtown Clinic in northwest Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
July 20, 2016
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s new Midtown Clinic (5433 W. Fond du Lac Avenue) offers care closer to home for families in Milwaukee. It opened July 18, 2016, with dental services to begin on-site on September 8, 2016.
Size: 20,000-square-foot clinic (largest Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin primary care clinic in Milwaukee)
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Services: Pediatric and adolescent primary care, behavioral medicine and dental care, provided by eight full-time and seven part-time doctors, dental providers, a staff of nurse practitioners, a psychologist and medical students.
Unique features:
Midtown Clinic Community Open House: Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a short program at 4 p.m. The event will feature free refreshments, kids’ activities and giveaways.
Children’s Commitment to Milwaukee
In addition to the new, 20,000-square-foot Midtown Clinic, Children’s operates primary care clinics located at the Northside YMCA and COA Goldin Center managed in partnership with Marquette University College of Nursing; a primary care clinic located at the Next Door Foundation site; urgent care services at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center on the south side; and a school nurse program at Milwaukee schools. More than 91 percent of patients seen at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee locations are insured by Medicaid. Across its statewide footprint, more than 54 percent of patients served by Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin are insured by Medicaid.

author: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 20, 2016


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How to protect your eyes from sun damage | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Wisconsin Academy of Ophthalmology
July 20, 2016
Clouds can block the sun, but not UV rays. Be sure to use sunglasses that have UV protection.
Summer revelers looking forward to fun in the sun should not overlook their eyes. Ultraviolet rays can be damaging to vision.
In support of UV Safety Month in July, the Wisconsin Academy of Ophthalmology explains how to keep eyes safe from sun damage. Excess sun exposure can put people at risk of serious short- and long-term eye problems. If eyes are exposed to strong sunlight for too long without protection, UV rays can  and cause temporary blindness in a matter of hours. Long-term sun exposure has also been linked to an increased risk of , cancer and  on or near the eye.
Here are five things you can do to cut your risk of eye damage from the sun:
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author: Wisconsin Academy of Ophthalmology


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 19, 2016


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Black residents share stories of police misconduct, demand accountability | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 21, 2016
Attendees share stories in discussion circles during a recent listening session on police-community relations. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Rosie Caradine-Lewis’ 16-year-old son had just gotten a brand new car — a gift from his parents for doing well in school. That day in the late 1980s, his father encouraged him to take it around the block near their home on North 12th Street and Capitol Drive. Seconds after leaving, the boy was pulled over.
“He didn’t ask him nothing,” said Caradine-Lewis, referring to the officer. “He got out of the car, came straight up to him, my son rolled the window down … he put his gun to his temple and said, ‘Nigger, if you say one word, I will blow your brains out.’ Yes, he said that. And my son said he just stood there shaking, but he didn’t say nothing.”
The family reported the incident at the District 5 police station, but Caradine-Lewis said her son was so scared he begged his parents not to file a complaint and rode the city bus to school instead of driving the car. “He left Milwaukee because of that,” she said.
Caradine-Lewis’ story was one of many shared by black residents during a recent listening session on police-community relations convened by the Milwaukee County Office on African American Affairs (OAAA).
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“I just think it’s needed right now,” said Nate Holton, deputy chief of staff for County Executive Chris Abele. “This is an outlet for folks; it’s also an opportunity to get some input to figure out what we can do to improve the situation.”
The event, which was held at the Washington Park Senior Center, was originally scheduled to update community members on the county’s progress in expanding workforce development efforts, but the focus was changed at the last minute after the shootings of two black men — Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minneapolis — by police the week before. Following those shootings, five Dallas police officers were killed by a gunman and three law enforcement officers are dead in Baton Rouge after a shootout with an African-American ex-Marine.
Seth Bratcher (right) looks on while other attendees speak. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
In 2014 Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed black man with a history of mental illness was shot 14 times by a Milwaukee police officer at Red Arrow Park downtown. The officer involved was not indicted, but was fired for not following procedure.
Holton said the feedback from the listening session would be used for planning. The discussion, which was facilitated by the Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, will be compiled into a report, without identifying individuals. The Zeidler model encourages people to speak from personal experience and to listen deeply to each other; the organization has also held listening circles between police and residents in Harambee, Metcalfe Park and Amani.
About 50 people attended the event, but Harambee resident Vanessa White said many of the accounts were eerily similar, even across generations.
According to Jamila Benson, her 19-year-old son, who attended Nicolet High School, often gets pulled over when he’s with friends on Milwaukee’s east side. She said he gets stopped by police almost every time he drives the family’s black Honda; when she gives him her Lexus, he doesn’t have trouble. Benson said after the officers find out he’s “not a bad kid” they let him go without issuing a ticket.
She tells him to have his wallet out, so he doesn’t have to reach for it if he gets stopped, and to always have a plan for where he’s going. “I’m worried every time he walks out the door,” Benson said. “He could get pulled over and misunderstood. And, that happens all the time.”
Sometimes, he opts to simply stay home.
“It’s just stereotyping,” said Seth Bratcher, who is black. “I mean, they (cops) kind of just group us all together and think we’re all the same. Well, then they tell us not to group them together and think they’re all the same.”
Bratcher has a clean record but still said it’s “very concerning” dealing with the police, as a black man. He said the incidents around the country frighten him. “It’s to the point where … if I see a police car following me … I’ll turn off the street because just a simple traffic stop could lead to my death.”
Lois Redic, a retired 25-year employee of the Milwaukee Public Library, agreed that African-American men are feared and don’t get treated fairly. She said police officers need to be more accountable after controversial shootings. Bratcher said diversity at all levels of the criminal justice system, from prosecutors to juries, could be a step in the right direction.
Between 2008 and 2012, more than 50 people sued the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Police Department alleging improper strip and cavity searches violated their civil rights. One officer pled no contest to eight charges and served a 26-month prison sentence; at least five other officers were forced to resign, but did not serve jail time. The alleged civil rights violations occurred in District 5. About half of the district is in the 53206 ZIP code, which is Milwaukee’s poorest and is almost exclusively African-American.
Bratcher also said police should live in the communities they are policing. “If they could really live in these communities and see, hey, there’s good people here — hardworking people — then maybe that might be a little different.”
In June, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said Milwaukee could no longer enforce a citywide police and firefighter residency rule that had been in place for more than 75 years.
‘The third way’
Holton, who is black and has a brother in law enforcement, acknowledged that everyone has racial bias and said problems with policing are symptoms of larger issues involving race and equality.
“If you’re talking about actually bending the curve on a large scale in Milwaukee County when it comes to our racial issues, we have to do something that’s different,” he said.
Chelsie Bohannon, who attends Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, 2375 N. 25th St., said people need to view children as everyone’s children because “what happens to one child impacts another child.”
“We’re talking — that’s good,” said Bohannon. “Now, it should make each person ask themselves: ‘What are you going to do to be a part of the change?’ Because each and every one of us play a part.”
Zeidler Center Executive Director Katherine Wilson said it’s important that police see residents as human, and vice versa. She said building trust is the key. “It’s so slow, and it’s so hard, and it takes so much time, but it’s the one thing that I’ve seen that works.”
Holton said he understands why elected officials haven’t concentrated on these issues, but it’s time for that to change. He added that the solution isn’t going to happen overnight, but OAAA is committed to a long-term strategy.
“We’re going to be accountable and we’re saying that we’re going to hold elected officials accountable,” said Vanessa White. “We have to begin to say to the systems that are broken, ‘We’re not going to participate.’”
She added, “We want to see some change, we want to see some work, we want to see some action.”

author: Jabril Faraj


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 21, 2016


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Courageous conversations on dismantling poverty to occur at summit on poverty | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 21, 2016
The Social Development Commission (SDC) will host the 2016 Summit on Poverty, Dismantling Poverty: A Courageous Conversations on Tuesday, August 2 from 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM at the Italian Conference Center, 631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee. The free event is designed to be a launch pad for creating common themes that will serve as the foundation for developing an anti-poverty agenda for implementation.
Poverty continues to escalate in Milwaukee County, in particular the city of Milwaukee, and it is imperative that this perpetual and growing issue be addressed.
The SDC Summit on Poverty was developed in conjunction with the NAACP and several community partners. It is designed to fully integrate community leaders, local and state government, service providers and practitioners, churches, community volunteers, youth and young adult advocates, and most importantly, the active participation of people impacted by poverty.
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Keynote speaker, Dr. Joyce DeGruy, is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. DeGruy is an ambassador for healing and a voice for those who have struggled in search of the past, and continue to struggle through the present. Dr. DeGruy will help shape and drive the discussions that are necessary to begin to help heal our community.
Attendees will have courageous conversations in four solution-based sessions that will focus on:
Cognitive DissonanceFor more information and to register, please visit cr-sdc-org.

author: Social Development Commission


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Elections Commission Navigates New Voter ID Requirements | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 21, 2016
WPR Wisconsin Public Radio


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MPS student wins gold medal at national NAACP competition | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
July 21, 2016
Kaprice Maxwell (center) won the gold medal at the “Olympics of the Mind” last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools)
Kaprice Maxwell, an incoming senior at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, won the Gold Medal in Contemporary Voice at the 38th Annual NAACP ACT-SO National Competition “The Olympics of the Mind” in Cincinnati, Ohio, last weekend.
Maxwell is one of five MHSA students who qualified for the national competition by winning gold medals at the local competition in April. The other students are Adjua Nsoroma, incoming senior (Painting), Biluge Ntabala, incoming senior (Oratory), Norskuski Rivers, class of 2016 (Poetry) and LaTora Smith, class of 2016 (Classical Voice).
Maxwell won with her performance of a transcription of Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin. She also was selected to perform as a soloist in the Prince tribute during the awards ceremony. Maxwell, Ntabala, Smith and Rivers also sang in the ACT-SO choir at the ceremony.
“I have been involved with the ACT-SO program for 25 years. It is replete with academic and artistic rigor and affords our students opportunities to exchange ideas with the best and brightest teens from around the nation,” said Raymond Roberts, MHSA Choral Director. “The long lasting impact on all of these students is the greatest reward for their participation. But, being awarded the gold medal is fantastic, too!”
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“We are so proud of Kaprice, Adjua, Biluge, Norskuski and LaTora and all of their hard work. They and Mr. Roberts deserve this prestigious honor,” said MHSA Principal Barry Applewhite. “We are pleased to have so many talented students and teachers at Milwaukee High School of the Arts.”
The MPS students competed with 750 other students, each representing their local branch of the NAACP. ACT-SO is an acronym for Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics, and it is the principal youth initiative of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). It is a yearlong enrichment program designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. There are 29 categories of competition in the sciences, humanities, performing and visual arts.
Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to redefining the MPS experience by expanding its fine arts programming, in an effort to improve outcomes for all students. The district continues to grow arts opportunities for students, including the addition of more than 100 art, music and physical education specialist teaching positions in recent years.
MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver and the entire MPS family congratulate Kaprice and her classmates on this national recognition!

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


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#MoveYourMoney: Over 8,000 Transfer Money to Black-Owned Atlanta Bank, More Following Suit | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 21, 2016
TheRoot.com


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On the Block: A father’s joy | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 21, 2016
Read more about Joseph Fornicola at milwaukeestories.org.


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Precious Lives: Planting A Legacy for 9-Year-Old Lost to Gun Violence | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 21, 2016
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Solidarity Rally promotes unity in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 21, 2016
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


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The Return of American Hunger | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 21, 2016
The Atlantic


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Quiet Schmiet: Milwaukee Public Library gets loud | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Library
July 22, 2016
Leave inside voices at the front door. Milwaukee Public Library is dispelling the notion that libraries are silent establishments that collect books with the launch of Library Loud Days, an event series offering Milwaukee residents free, fun and unquiet events. To kick things off, Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Avenue, will host a free concert on July 28 with New Age Narcissism, a musical collective from Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. Prior to the concert, Wisconsin Avenue will be blocked off between 8th and 9th streets for a street party with food trucks and music beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Following the concert, Central Library will bring its resources and experiences to the public through interactive workshops that revolve around the world of music. Attendees can participate alongside Milwaukee Public Library staff, members of New Age Narcissism and hip hop and R&B disc jockey Reggie Brown. Whether interested in the business of the music industry or joining a jam session, attendees of all ages can engage in collaborative activities and learn more about what Milwaukee Public Library locations offer their families. Community members are also invited to listen to and browse the Library’s vinyl collection of over 12,000 albums, make their own sound at an experimental music station and discuss the Milwaukee music scene.
“Being loud in the library is a new way of thinking,” said Library Director Paula Kiely. “We may have more than 2 million books on the shelves, but the library is much more than that. It’s a destination for our neighbors to make meaningful connections, learn new technologies, use their creativity and more. We want to bring the library to life and attract people that do not regularly visit the library.”
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Library Loud Days is part of an ongoing campaign to engage the Milwaukee community and make Milwaukee Public Library locations modern and culturally relevant destinations full of energy and excitement. The goal is to make noise in the community and showcase all of the resources the libraries have to offer and help local families learn, grow and succeed. In addition to launching Library Loud Days, Milwaukee Public Library has also extended hours at several branches to provide greater access to residents.
Further details about Library Loud Days and other Milwaukee Public Library initiatives and events can be found on Milwaukee Public Library’s Facebook page and website at www.mpl.org. For specific event and ticket information, visit a local Milwaukee Public Library branch or www.mpl.org/librarylouddays.

author: Milwaukee Public Library


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Near West Side Partners announces “Rev-Up MKE” finalists | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Near West Side Partners, Inc
July 23, 2016
Near West Side Partners, Inc. (NWSP) today announced eight finalists selected as part of the Rev-Up MKE small business competition. The program’s goal is to provide an opportunity for the winner – and as many finalists as possible – to expand or start a business in the Near West Side and receive the support it needs to make it a success. This announcement brings NWSP closer to providing new services to area residents and employees in the Near West Side.
“The Near West Side is home to some of the world’s greatest start-ups – companies that are now iconic brands like Harley-Davidson and MillerCoors,” said Keith Stanley, Executive Director of Near West Side Partners, Inc. “Based on the great ideas and high-quality applications we received in the first annual Rev-Up MKE competition, it is clear that entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive in the Near West Side.”
The panel of judges selected nearly twice as many finalists as had originally been expected based on the strength of the applications and the quality of the business ideas. Each finalist will receive significant business training and consulting support as they prepare for the live-pitch event in September where the winner will be selected.
“It is our hope that many of these businesses will find success in the Near West Side, bringing new jobs and new vibrancy to our commercial corridors,” said Stanley.
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THE FINALISTS
The selected finalists include:
Bucks Burgerdogs & BBQ | Valerie Kennedy
A food truck looking to bring food cooked over a wood-fired open flame grill to the Near West Side.
Funky Fresh Spring Rolls | Trueman McGee
A mobile food vendor/manufacturer offering unique spring rolls in non-traditional flavored rolls, made with fresh local ingredients.
Green Source Juice Bar and Café | Marshall Harley
A juice bar and café focused on supplying fresh and organic healthy food choices to the community.
MilWaz Collective | Leilani Lopez-Blasini, Milagros Cuevas, Ruben Lopez, Erika Martinez, and Rachaad Howard
A cooperative that will connect local artists and screen printers by providing a space to work and sell their products.
Pete’s Pops | Pete Cooney
A local, Milwaukee company, that offers fresh fruit and cream popsicles (otherwise known as paletas) in unique flavor combinations.
Sew Alive | Pamela Graham
A retail business that specializes in leather products, specifically for personal and home decor. Part of the business consists of offering workshops and teaching young people creative skills.
That Salsa Lady (TSL) | Angela Moragne
A family-owned, full-functioning incubator kitchen with a shared restaurant and retail space. TSL is dedicated to the elimination of food deserts. Through reconnecting people to healthy, affordable nutrition, salsa becomes the difference in how people relate to food.
WasteCap Resource Solutions / Milwaukee Community Service Corps. | Joe Liebau
Two local nonprofits combining to build custom furniture from salvaged materials in foreclosed homes throughout Milwaukee.

author: Near West Side Partners, Inc


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Latinos Showing Biggest Uptick as Pew Research Study Finds Digital Divide Narrowing | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 24, 2016
Latin Post


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The Long-Term Effects of Social-Justice Education on Black Students | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 24, 2016
The Atlantic


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Republican Platform Slams Brakes on Transit Funding | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 25, 2016
Bloomberg BNA


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Walnut Way mission moves forward under new director | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 25, 2016
LaShawndra Vernon, executive director of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., began leading the organization in June. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
LaShawndra Vernon, the new executive director of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., has hit the ground running. In June, Vernon replaced the retiring Sharon Adams, taking the reins of an organization she and her husband Larry Adams founded in 2000 — one with many moving parts.
“This is a well-oiled machine we have here,” said Vernon, referring to the array of programming offered by Walnut Way, including men’s wellness, job training, self-care, urban agriculture and other components. “Then there’s new pieces we have to work to build in and develop,” she added.
One of those new pieces is Phase II in the development of the Innovations and Wellness Commons, referred to as the Commons. Phase I of the development project was completed in late 2015 and featured the rehabilitation and transition of a historic building into a multi-use commercial building, located at 1615 W. North Ave. The building houses Outpost Natural Foods, the Milwaukee Center for Independence, which runs a commercial kitchen there, Fondy Food Market and the Juice Kitchen. All are organizations promoting healthier lifestyles and food in Lindsay Heights.
Phase II will include construction of a new building adjacent to the current building, which will house physical, educational and economic development programming, said Vernon. The building will feature a 2,000 square-foot rooftop terrace and space for community groups, according to Walnut Way officials.
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The cost for Phase II will be $4.2 million with $1.5 million already raised. The Zilber Family Foundation provided a $500,000 grant for the project, in addition to a $250,000 challenge grant, which Walnut Way is raising funds to match. Tenants lined up for the new building include Core El Centro, Engineering for Kids, Inc., and Milwaukee JobsWork. Ground is expected to be broken for the new building later this year, with a projected opening in spring 2017, according to Vernon.
Juli Kaufmann, president of Fix Development, which has been working with Walnut Way and other organizations to develop the Commons, said the idea was always to find tenants with common goals.
The Juice Kitchen opened as part of Phase I of the development of the Innovations and Wellness Commons, located at 1615 W. North Ave. (Photo by Wyatt Massey)
“This is a project that has multiple impacts, economic, social and environmental, which all contribute to improving the quality of life in Lindsay Heights,” Kaufmann said. “That coincides with our mission at Fix Development,” she added.
Despite the change in leadership at Walnut Way, things continue to run smoothly, added Kaufmann, a testament to Adams and Vernon, who she described as a capable and talented leader. Vernon previously worked to combat infant mortality as program director for the Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families.
“I have no doubt that the mission of Walnut Way will continue to shine through under Vernon,” Kaufman said.
Sharon Adams, who first announced plans to retire in December, described Vernon as a compassionate leader who has a deep commitment and roots in the community.
“She has the skills and passion to dig deeper into the services and mission we created at Walnut Way,” Adams said.
Walnut Way board treasurer Tracy Meeks, who served as chair of the search committee, said Vernon is a perfect fit for Walnut Way and had already been collaborating with the organization before she took on her new role.
“With her experience as a mediator and knowledge of our programs, we are confident that she will not only serve the organization well but expand our networks,” Meeks said.
The board decided that Adams would help ease the transition by mentoring Vernon, first formally and then informally, said Meeks. Vernon said the guidance she continues to receive from both Larry and Sharon Adams has helped immensely.
“They’re allowing me to lead but are still able to contribute and engage the issues,” Vernon said.
Vernon is setting the tone for her tenure at Walnut Way through 100 days of service, a plan to integrate herself into the organization by focusing on four specific components of her role at Walnut Way. The first 25 days were dedicated to understanding the internal operations of the organization, which entailed structure, roles and relationship building. Vernon is tracking highlights of her 100 days of service on the Walnut Way website and through social media using the tagline #100DaysofService.
Being at Walnut Way has broadened the scope of her work, Vernon said. At Walnut Way, she’s able to drill down to issues that contribute to infant mortality and other poor health outcomes through programs that help prevent what she calls toxic stress. She also plans to provide more support for conflict resolution programming in Lindsay Heights.
“We’ll be working with neighbors to develop stronger mediators and also to help get them more involved in resolving neighborhood disputes,” Vernon said.
Another challenge Vernon identified is getting residents to patronize small businesses in the area, including those at the Commons. Walnut Way supports small start-ups by offering lower rent and other assistance, but if the community doesn’t patronize the businesses they won’t be sustainable, she said.
“We can put a healthy food oasis in the middle of a desert but if people don’t visit those locations they won’t stay open,” Vernon said. “The support from the community will guide Phase II of the Commons,” she added.
Adams, who’s been able to step back and watch the organization grow, said she has no doubt the right person was chosen to lead it.
“She (Vernon) has what it takes to carry on our vision for Lindsay Heights, and that’s to continue creating an economically diverse and vibrant community where people want to live and work,” Adams said.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 24, 2016


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Candidate Forum for Wisconsin State Assembly Districts 11, 16 and 17 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
WTPPN
July 26, 2016

author: WTPPN


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 26, 2016

author: Adam Carr


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On the Block: A place to talk | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 26, 2016
Victor Smith has been Andre Lee Ellis’s friend for “a lot of years.” They have sung in the same church choir and worked together on theatrical projects. Smith says he’s been “right there” with Ellis and his We Got This project to improve the lives of young black men.
Smith, an investigator for the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services, plans to provide counseling and support at a new drop-in resource center at a house near Ellis’s home for people to talk about what’s on their minds. Smith has worked with at-risk youth and veterans for more than 20 years.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 25, 2016


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27295051234_ed47467079_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 25, 2016


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Westlawn residents move out, ahead of September demolitions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 26, 2016
Mateka Young carries a table out of her apartment at 6701 W. Silver Spring Drive. Young was among the first residents to move out of the western section of Westlawn. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Jackie Burrell is looking forward to living in a new apartment after the entire western section of Westlawn, the state’s largest public housing development, is torn down and rebuilt. Burrell said her unit, which was built in the 1950s, sometimes floods when it rains and mold is an ongoing problem.
Like the new housing in the eastern section, which was redeveloped and reopened as Westlawn Gardens in 2013, the new structures in the western section will offer many more housing options, including one- and two-bedroom apartments, townhomes, duplexes and single family homes, all with central air-conditioning, new refrigerators, stoves and microwaves, and carpeting or vinyl floors.
The new units “are gorgeous and nice for our community,” said Burrell, who has been president of the Westlawn Resident Council Board for almost six years.
Though Burrell is not required to relocate until August 2017, she is already looking for a single-family house that accepts rent assistance vouchers for herself and her three adopted children, ages 5, 6 and 12. She expects it will be five years before the new Westlawn housing will be complete. Because she was recently diagnosed with asthma, when she moves back Burrell hopes to live in one of the new “healthy homes” public housing units for people with respiratory illnesses. These units will be smoke free and built with nontoxic floors and upgraded ventilation systems.
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The first residents in the western section began moving out in the spring. Half of the residents living in the first block of housing to be cleared out had moved as of mid-July and the rest are preparing to do so by the end of August. Demolition of these 60 units, located in the northwest corner of the development, is expected to be completed in March. Construction of the first new buildings will then begin.
A total of 394 deteriorating public housing apartments will be demolished. According to the master plan, residents of the 58 units in the second block and the 68 units in the third block, along the east and southeast boundaries of the development, have until the end of August 2017 to relocate. However, some have already done so, according to Paul Williams, communications coordinator for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM). Demolition of blocks two and three are planned for September 2017 to March 2018.
In the first block of 60, nine households moved out prior to the grant award and 22 more have moved since then, according to Williams. Of those 22, seven households relocated to other public housing, two to project-based rent assistance units and 13 to private market housing using rent assistance vouchers. The HACM staff is working with the remaining households in the first block to finalize their relocation plans, Williams said. Relocation and demolition of the last 208 units, in block four, are scheduled to be completed by spring 2019.
In addition to replacing the 394 original Westlawn public housing apartments in the western section, HACM will construct 312 new affordable and market-rate rental units and homes for sale in the eastern and western sections.
Members of the HACM relocation team inform residents about their housing options and find potential apartments and houses for them to consider. Relocation options include available public housing units in another HACM development; public or privately owned “affordable” units subsidized with Section 8 rental assistance vouchers; and home purchase.
According to Williams, many residents would like to remain in the area and the nearby HACM-owned Berryland housing development is renting apartments to temporarily displaced Westlawn residents, he added.
Case managers can set up tour appointments and take residents to see homes, said Delicia Morris, a case manager who is also a resident. “Along with … connecting (residents to) resources like financial help, wellness, education, and … community resources like bikes, gardening and swimming pools, we also are assisting them with their actual move process,” Morris said.
Morris explained that case managers will work with their assigned residents for the five years of redevelopment. “We are their personal advocates every step of the way, from the beginning to the end.”
Choice Neighborhoods
Unlike the eastern section, which was rebuilt using tax credits, the redevelopment of Westlawn’s western section is being funded by a five-year $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) implementation grant awarded to the city and HACM by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under the grant’s rules, all residents who are displaced by the redevelopment are guaranteed that they can return.
Delicia Morris (left), vice president of the Westlawn Resident Council Board, and Jackie Burrell, the board’s president, chat during a reception at a recent Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee annual meeting at Westlawn Gardens.
Milwaukee, which previously submitted two unsuccessful applications, is one of only five cities to win the CNI grant, awarded in September.
Williams said he suspects that Milwaukee won the grant this time because of its successful redevelopment of the eastern section “plus the many other positive things that are happening in the area.” These include growing employment opportunities in the industrial area north of Westlawn.
The Choice Neighborhoods program addresses neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation, according to the HUD website. In addition to housing, HUD’s program focuses on people and neighborhoods, and the Milwaukee team has added education as a fourth core area.
HACM is inviting residents and others to join a CNI steering committee and working groups to coordinate and oversee progress in each of the four core areas. Officials hope these groups can start meeting in September.
The CNI program calls for local leaders, residents and stakeholders such as HACM, the city, Milwaukee Public Schools, nonprofits and private developers, to design and implement a transformation plan that addresses challenges in Westlawn and the surrounding area. The Milwaukee Choice Neighborhoods team is aiming to transform the Northwest Side between Sherman Boulevard and 76 Street and between Mill Road and Villard Avenue.


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28329226615_cb94a2c55b_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 25, 2016


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HACM – CNI Relocation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 25, 2016


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How to avoid door-to-door scams | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Schiller, Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin
July 27, 2016
Photo by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Though many door-to-door salespeople operate honestly and represent reputable businesses, there are others who are only looking to make a sale and move on as quickly as possible — often leaving customers wondering if they’ll receive the product or service they’ve paid for or if they have just been scammed.
The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin (BBB) offers the following tips to make sure you are dealing with a reputable solicitor:
Ask for identification. A reputable seller will provide you with all of the information you request, including a photo ID and a business card containing the business name, address, and phone number.
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Verify the individual and the business. If you’re interested in doing business with the solicitor, get everything in writing. Tell the solicitor you will look into it and get back to them if interested.
Read the contract. Make sure you understand and agree to all of the terms and conditions before signing a contract. Watch out for high-pressure sales tactics.
Inquire about licensing. The city of Milwaukee requires a salesperson to have a license. Ask the salesperson to show you his or her solicitor’s license.
Know your rights.  gives the customer three days to cancel purchases over $25 that are made in their home or at a location that is not the seller’s permanent place of business. Along with a receipt, salespeople should also include a completed cancellation form that customers can send to the business to cancel the agreement. By law, the business must give customers a refund within 10 days of receiving the cancellation notice.
Consumers who have issues with door-to-door salespeople can contact their local police department. File a complaint with BBB using our . Learn about scams in your area and report scams to our .


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SDC, HeartLove Place introduce free culinary arts, food service & job readiness training program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 27, 2016
A free career training program, the ProStart Culinary and Job Readiness Program, is a new combined program that will begin classes on Monday, August 8, through a joint partnership between the Social Development Commission (SDC) and HeartLove Place. The program will provide training in the fields of culinary arts and food service and encompass job readiness training. The culinary arts and food service portion of the program is modeled after the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ProStart curriculum. SDC’s Education and Career Services will provide Job Readiness training.
The 14-week program will hold classes Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM. The curriculum will incorporate hands-on culinary workshops, on the job training, and food service practicums including food safety procedures, career exploration in food service, proper cutting techniques and will also hear from industry guest speakers. Students will need to pass the ServSafe and ProStart examinations to be considered employable in the industry. Over a 10-week span of the course, students will obtain job readiness skills with a focus on topics such as resume writing, interviewing, dress, telephone etiquette and social media dos and don’ts.
Participants in the program will receive an assessment of their needs and, once needs are identified, can elect to work with HeartLove Place’s Family Resource center to address barriers to success. Barriers may include transportation issues, interest in obtaining a GED, assistance with math and/or reading and other challenges.
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Attendance at one of the information sessions is required to participate in the class. Online registration is available at cr-sdc.org/programs/education services. Information sessions will be held at the Social Development Commission, 1730 West North Avenue, Milwaukee on:


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White allies show solidarity with Black Lives Matter | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 27, 2016
“Black Lives Matter” was visible in illuminated letters from I-43 northbound. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
As sirens blare through the warm summer air on a recent Milwaukee night, a group of about 40 demonstrators gathered on the corner of North 7th and West Ring streets near a pedestrian overpass spanning the I-43 freeway.
One of those demonstrators was 9-year-old Nya Bryant, who accompanied her parents to the protest; it was her first. “You know, they see the images just like we do,” said Jerome Bryant, Nya’s father, of his four children.
Bryant, who is black, said he and Nya had “deep conversations” about the recent killings of black men by police, during which he took the opportunity to “explain the hurtful truth to her.”
The demonstration was a collaboration between Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Milwaukee and the Overpass Light Brigade (OLB) in solidarity with the family of Jay Anderson, a 25-year-old black man who was killed by police in June while sitting in his car at a Wauwatosa park. Other chapters of SURJ, a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice, held solidarity demonstrations across the country to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which has called for the end of police violence against black people.
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Claire Van Fossen holds a “Black Lives Matter” sign during the demonstration. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
The demonstrators, diverse in age and race, displayed the words “Black Lives Matter” for drivers traveling north on the expressway using OLB’s signature lighted letters. Lane Hall, a member of the Overpass Light Brigade, called the demonstration “a celebration, and a vigil, and a witness.” Attendees held the signs for about an hour, receiving supportive beeps from many passersby.
Claire Van Fossen, a white co-organizer of Milwaukee’s SURJ chapter, said the goal of the demonstration was to interrupt the daily routine of white people, “who can move so easily through our lives without having to be conscious of this kind of horror and terror that black people are enduring every day.” The Anderson family was expected to be present, but did not attend after seeing the video of Jay’s death for the first time, an experience Van Fossen, who has been in contact with the family, described as “horrible.”
Last week, the family, along with supporters, demanded that the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office release full video footage of the incident, the name of the officer who shot Anderson and other evidence relating to the case.
Turning a corner
In the wake of the recent police killings of two black men, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, public opinion, particularly among white people, has started to shift, according to Van Fossen. She said 40 new SURJ chapters have formed in the weeks since the incidents, which set off another set of protests nationwide. Van Fossen said “several hundred people” have joined the local group’s Facebook page during that time, as well.
“We’ve received dozens of emails from white folks saying, ‘I’ve stayed silent on this too long,’” she said.
Jahmes Finlayson was driving by as the group prepared to demonstrate and stopped to talk. Finlayson, a poet, musician and teacher, is involved in social justice work with a number of local organizations. He said it’s important for people to acknowledge the “institutional and systematized racism” at work in America.
“There are many people in this country that are still second-class citizens,” said Finlayson.
Finlayson, who is black, added that he experiences subtle and overt forms of racism “all the time.” However, he said it is hard for most people to admit that these issues still exist because it “pushes guilt buttons” and the country has been ignoring them for so long.
“It’s just like somebody who wants to go into treatment or therapy,” Finlayson said. “You’ve gotta start being honest.”
Kirsten Maier, 25, said an eye-opening experience for her was being able to point the finger back at herself. “I think one important thing that happened for me was … I, at some point, gained the ability to say out loud that I do act and think in ways that are racist,” she said. “And that’s not me, as a person; that’s the institutions that raised me.”
Maier, who has been involved with SURJ Milwaukee for about a year, said it’s important for white people to educate other white people “who haven’t given much thought to the ways that our institutions are racist.” She said white people can support people of color by showing up to protests and other demonstrations, and to talk about these issues with friends, family and coworkers.
“Everyone has value,” said Finlayson. “We’re all different, and we’re all the same. No matter how different we are, everybody wants to eat, everyone wants to have a safe place to live, everyone wants to educate their children and feed their families.”
He said the people who profit from conflict and discord, and who benefit from the status quo are “not going down without a fight.” Finlayson added that he doesn’t pay attention to sensationalism, misinformation and negativity and he continues to treat others with respect, even when he is disrespected.
“It stimulates me to want to do more positive, to want to spread more love and spread the concepts of the truth and reality of our unity,” he said. “Everybody’s in this together.”
“I think we have turned a corner,” Van Fossen said. “I think we’re at a seminal moment in our history, as a people, and I’m hopeful that things will improve” as more people are ready to take action.
“Black lives do matter,” said Bryant. “It’s not saying that nobody else doesn’t, but, you know, we count as well. That’s all we’re saying.”


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28538187526_0f44b11a8b_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 26, 2016


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Concerns Afoot Over Plans to Hire 150 New Milwaukee Police Officers | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 28, 2016
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Formerly homeless man finds healing at urban garden | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 28, 2016
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


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Judge upholds firing of officer in Dontre Hamilton shooting | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 28, 2016
jsonline.com


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NEWAUKEEAN OF THE WEEK: James B. Methu | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 28, 2016
UrbanMilwaukee.com


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PRECIOUS LIVES: YOU’RE A MAN FIGHT THROUGH IT | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 28, 2016
preciouslivesproject.org