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Reggie Jackson and Fran Kaplan to receive 2018 Robert H. Friebert Social Justice Award | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Jewish Federation
June 4, 2018
Reggie Jackson and Dr. Fran Kaplan have been selected to receive the 2018 Robert H. Friebert Social Justice Award. The award was established in 2014 by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Previous honorees are attorney James H. Hall, Danae Davis, and Jose Olivieri.
Jackson and Kaplan were chosen to recognize their educational and community building work in pursuit of racial justice. In his nomination letter, Dr. Robert Smith wrote, “Not only are these two warriors for justice central to raising and shaping discourses about social justice and racial equality across Milwaukee communities, they both are important community stakeholders to many of the city’s educational institutions.”
Through the work of America’s Black Holocaust Museum and other endeavors, they have worked to raise consciousness about the legacy of slavery, race and racism in our city and country. An educator, Jackson joined the museum as griot (oral historian), had a long tenure as board chair, and continues to serve as Head Griot. In addition to her lifetime of social justice work, Kaplan has has worked full time with the community group that formed the Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation. She has been particularly involved in developing the Foundation’s online museum, its public education programs, and interracial dialogues.
Among their collaborative volunteer work on ABHM’s behalf, Reggie and Fran have created numerous in-depth, multiple-session programs exploring African American history as an integral part of U.S. history and culture. They designed and led their interactive series in ways that successfully attracted and engaged multigenerational, multiracial audiences using short presentations, documentary and narrative films, and interracial dialogues facilitated by community leaders they trained. Reggie and Fran were also instrumental in researching, contributing to, and presenting the award-winning 3rd edition of Dr. James Cameron’s memoir, “A Time of Terror: A Survivor’s Story.”
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Last year, the pair formed Nurturing Diversity Partners, a firm devoted to educating diverse audiences, including predominantly white suburban, exurban, small town and rural populations in Wisconsin and beyond.
“We are so pleased to honor Reggie and Fran for their individual and collective contributions to the movement for racial justice,” said JCRC Chair Ann Jacobs. “The committee was particularly moved by their partnership, which is in itself a powerful example, a model for building bridges for our common good.”
This year’s award will also include a special recognition of Debbie Carter Berkson, of blessed memory, who died this February. A social worker, she engaged in many volunteer activities, serving Congregation Emanu-El Bne Jeshurun, Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee, the Cathedral Center, the Grand Avenue Club, and more. She was a tireless advocate for the voiceless. In her nomination letter, she was described as “a woman of boundless compassion and kindness, with a tireless commitment to making the world a better place for everyone.”
The award will be given at the JCRC’s Annual Meeting<http://www.milwaukeejewish.org/departments/social-action/jcrc/> on Thursday, June 21.  Click here<https://www.milwaukeejewish.org/departments/social-action/jcrc/events/> for more information and to register for the event.
Robert H. Friebert (1938-2013) dedicated himself to the pursuit of social justice and the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repairing the world). A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Friebert was a founding partner of the law firm Friebert, Finerty and St. John S.C.
He argued four cases in the United States Supreme Court and served as the first public defender for the State of Wisconsin from 1966-1968. Friebert was also extremely active in local, state and national Democratic politics in his pursuit of social justice. In addition to his legal and political work, Friebert held significant leadership roles in numerous organizations, boards and commissions. For more on Friebert and the award, click here<http://www.milwaukeejewish.org/departments/social-action/friebert/>.
About the Jewish Community Relations Council
Founded in 1938, the Jewish Community Relations Council, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, advocates for the rights and values of Jews individually and collectively, here and abroad. The Council implements a coordinated program of education, action, and advocacy for the Jewish community. For more than one hundred years, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation has been dedicated to building a strong Jewish community. The agency distributed $18.5 million last year to Jewish and non-Jewish organizations locally and around the world.

author: Milwaukee Jewish Federation


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Southside Residents celebrate completion of inaugural Neighbors in Action Leadership Program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Layton Boulevard West Neighbors
June 4, 2018
(Photo courtesy of LBWN)
Smiles and applause abounded on Saturday, June 2nd, as Southside-based community development organization Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN) recognized fifteen residents of the Silver City, Burnham Park, Layton Park, and Pulaski Park neighborhoods for completing their inaugural seven week Neighbors in Action (NIA) leadership program.
NIA prepares neighbors to make a positive impact in their community. Each of the seven sessions was facilitated by an expert on a particular topic and designed to transfer knowledge and skills to neighbors. Topics included project planning and development, civic participation and affecting public policy, and public speaking and effective communications, among others.
NIA participants were joined by family and friends on Saturday at 3519 W National Ave (formerly Our Daily Salt building) to receive a certificate of completion and to be honored for their commitment to becoming leaders for positive change in their communities.
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LBWN Community Outreach Manager Jonatan Zuñiga thanked all of the facilitators and talked about the power that these neighbors have, saying, “When you multiply dissatisfaction times the vision for change times taking first steps, you will always overcome the resistance to change. And I have no doubt, because I have seen that in all of you, that this group can make some changes in this neighborhood and overcome the resistance to those changes.”
Micaela Flores of LISC Milwaukee congratulated the graduates and said of the program, “LISC is pleased to fund this unique program to help residents become stronger leaders, and to strengthen your community. LISC believes that when residents have power, their neighborhoods are healthier and more vibrant.”
One notable aspect of this program is that LBWN provided Spanish interpreting services at every session, helping overcome the language barrier that many residents often face.
The NIA resident group plans to continue to meet regularly to work on implementing the ideas that each participant has for their community.
The Neighbors in Action program was funded by the Zilber Family Foundation and LISC Milwaukee and supported by the Milwaukee Police Department – District 2.
(Photo courtesy of LBWN)

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Layton Boulevard West Neighbors


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 4, 2018

author: Adam Carr


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Community engagement session hosted by Heroin, Opioid and Cocaine Task Force | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Michael Murphy
June 5, 2018
The community will have an opportunity to weigh in on the heroin and opioid epidemic during a community engagement session on Saturday, June 9, hosted by the City-County Heroin, Opioid and Cocaine Task Force.
The Task Force will host this community engagement session on June 9 from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. at Klieger Auditorium in St. Joseph Hospital, 5000 W. Chambers. All youth (16+), adults, residents and medical professionals are welcome to attend the session and become a part of the conversation. It is encouraged that community members share how drugs have and continue to impact their neighborhood. This will allow community members to work with the task force to create new strategies to address substance abuse. The meeting will also include design thinking activities and small group discussions to enhance the task force’s work plan.
The City-County Heroin, Opioid and Cocaine Task Force is looking to address the community impact of various drugs. The task force understands that various drugs impact communities differently and is seeking to address the community impact of substance abuse.
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Alderman Michael J. Murphy, the primary sponsor of the Common Council legislation creating the task force, said Saturday’s session and two additional engagement sessions to be announced will help gather input before a final plan is adopted by the task force. “We are urging citizens to attend because this public input and information sharing is such a critical part of the task force’s work,” he said. “We need to hear from anyone who has ideas and input to share.”
Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, a member of the task force, said he believes community input at Saturday’s session (being held in the 7th Aldermanic District) will help the task force shape its final report.
“I am urging community members to help us fight back against this deadly scourge by attending the engagement session and lending their voices to the conversation,” Alderman Rainey said.
In late April, Task Force released its preliminary report that included initial recommendations to address the fatal and nonfatal overdose epidemic in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. These recommendations included the development of programs that are in collaboration with the criminal justice system that treat addiction as a disease, while actively working to reduce the availability of illicit substances, to ensure that there is adequate access to timely, affordable and quality services for those people with substance disorders and to enhance collaboration between community-based initiatives and government agencies.

author: Ald. Michael Murphy


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Data Day highlights organizations’ data-driven change efforts | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sophie Bolich
June 5, 2018
Melody McCurtis, a community organizer at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, assembles Legos, which were scattered on each table at Data Day. (Photo by Sophie Bolich)
Neighborhood leaders are working to improve their communities through shared gardens, youth centers and building renovations. However, these projects are impossible without funding, and data is crucial to demonstrate that they are worthwhile, according to Danell Cross, a panelist at the recent 2018 Data Day conference.
“I just applied for a grant and didn’t get it,” said Cross, executive director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Although she surveyed residents about dangerous neighborhood traffic, she didn’t include the results in the proposal. She wishes she had.
“They [funders] need measurements and metrics, so now I’m learning to include the data of where we start and where we want to go,” she said. “Then we can collect that data again to show how we’ve accomplished our goals.”
Data You Can Use, a Milwaukee-based professional data group focused on improving communities, sponsored the event, designed to connect people who have data with people who can use it.
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Data Day attracted data devotees from across the city to meet, learn and share information about criminal justice, public health and community development. The day featured keynote speaker Dr. Magda Peck, founding dean of the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and now a consultant, as well as breakout sessions.
Cross said that data bolstered her organization’s case for improved safety in high-traffic areas. She noted that in the past, the Milwaukee Police Department didn’t take the neighborhood’s requests seriously because community members couldn’t provide concrete evidence for the need.
“I feel like we still need to justify the fact that we are the experts in the room,” she said. “For us to be able to show the data that supports that, even to the police department, and for them to get on board with helping us control this issue with traffic, was really empowering.”
Panelists Ian Bautista and Danell Cross discuss the role of data in neighborhood revitalization. (Photo by Sophie Bolich)
Cross also explained how “bright spots” help facilitate informed and focused decisions for community improvement. While a lot of data work tends to highlight the negatives of a neighborhood, bright spots are data results that reveal the positive aspects.
“Our bright spot was when we found out people have high school diplomas,” said Cross. “That was a really big deal for us. If we would’ve been thinking that everyone needed a high school diploma, then we would’ve started GED classes, but we would’ve been really wrong. That’s one of the ways that data helped us to shape our revitalization plan.”
Amy Schlotthauer, who is part of a population health team at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, emphasized the importance of data for community engagement.
“One of the recurring themes is the importance of the community voice, listening to the community and working together to solve problems that would make Milwaukee a more attractive place to live,” she said.
She also talked about bright spots as a welcome exception to the way data is usually seen.
“Data is often used as a weapon and we always hear about the bad things,” said Schlotthauer. She added that discussions such as those at Data Day are “really hopeful and uplifting to illustrate that not all is lost.”
Panelist Britney Roberson, the Amani Byrne coordinator at the Dominican Center, said that data helped the neighborhood with the Light up Amani initiative, which placed security cameras in high-risk areas to monitor crime at night. Roberson found a correlation between areas of high crime and areas where car accidents occurred. Pinpointing those specific areas helped to determine where to place cameras.
Roberson also worked on the crime-fighting grant awarded to Washington Park in 2013, and now collects data on domestic violence, shootings and traffic accidents. This information helps identify the need for policy changes or crime-fighting initiatives such as Light up Amani to make the neighborhood safer.
She said her goal is to engage more people in gathering data so that the results are as accurate as possible.
Jonatan Zuniga, community outreach manager at Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, said circulating an annual year-end survey is helpful to gauge opinions about the community. He noted that people are more willing to invest money, time and skills into a neighborhood if they believe it will improve in the future.
“We can see where people have a negative perception of the area where they live,” he said. “Then we can talk to them and see what initiatives we need to do this year to help.”
One initiative that resulted from the survey was a program to provide home improvement grants for people who want to improve their properties but don’t have sufficient funds. Homeowners can also apply for $1,000 grants for exterior repairs that are visible from the sidewalk.
Zuniga added that he wants to make data accessible to everyone, a sentiment the other panelists shared.
Panelist Ian Bautista, executive director of the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, said that he hopes to bridge the gap between data collectors and citizens in the future.
“It would be cool to have a summary of key data points such as crime, public safety, housing and economic development data on our website so that people in the community can see it at any given time,” he said. “The philosophy that we operate under is that we’re basically trying to put ourselves out of business. The more neighborhoods can do for themselves, the less they need us.”
Added Cross, “What data has really done for us, for my community, is to help us understand that we are smarter than most and that we know what’s really happening in our neighborhood.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the keynote speaker at Data Day. It was Magda Peck, not Veronica Gunn. We regret the error.

author: Sophie Bolich


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On the Block: Patience is key | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jenny Whidden
June 5, 2018
Shaun Brown, born in Arkansas and raised in Milwaukee, is an independent living assistant for the elderly. She said she likes to help people, and she wants to channel that into buying property to house people leaving the prison system, among many goals. Brown said she knows that patience is key in all things.

author: Jenny Whidden


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Summer Job Fair in the street set for Saturday, June 9 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
June 5, 2018
A summer job fair is set for Saturday, June 9, at the intersection of N. 6th St. and W. Meinecke Ave. The fair will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and will feature numerous prospective employers and employment opportunities, according to Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs.
“Saturday’s Job Fair is an effort to bring information directly to the community. This is going to be a great employment resource event in a block party setting and I strongly encourage residents to come and explore the opportunities available,” Alderwoman Coggs said.
Employers at the event include Stainless Foundry, Labor Solutions, Northcott Neighborhood House, Next Door Foundation, MASH, Home Depot, White Glove Group, Maximus, America Works and more.
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What: Summer job fair in the street
When: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 9
Where: Intersection of N. 6th St. and W. Meinecke

author: Ald. Milele A. Coggs


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 5, 2018


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 5, 2018
summerjobfair


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Alverno College and Teach For America to Expand Partnership | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Kelly Fay
June 6, 2018
(Photo courtesy of Alverno College)
Beginning in June 2018, Alverno College will serve as the primary teacher certification provider for Teach For America–Milwaukee, expanding the existing partnership between the two organizations and strengthening the commitment of both to training and developing Milwaukee educators.
Partners since 2012, Alverno and TFA–Milwaukee will co-design a new teacher training program that certifies corps members as they enter an initial two-year commitment to serve in low-income Milwaukee schools. The partnership directly supports Alverno’s strategic plan, which calls for expanding the college’s widely admired history in teacher preparation and primary focus on preparing educators for urban and high-need schools.
“We look forward to our strengthened collaboration with Alverno College as together we build a program that will equip our teachers with the skills and knowledge to become transformative educators,” said Walter Bond, executive director of TFA–Milwaukee. “Through training from TFA–Milwaukee and classes at Alverno College, our corps members will grow as leaders who can positively influence their school buildings and the larger systems that affect education for the students of Milwaukee.”
Opportunity for Innovation
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Alverno and Teach For America–Milwaukee will design the teacher training program to integrate corps members’ own experiences with that of their students to make the learning relevant and applicable to their settings and the needs of students. After two years in the program, teachers will be eligible to earn licensure and a master’s degree in education.
Dr. Patricia Luebke, dean of the College of Professional Studies at Alverno, which includes the Education division, says the college is thrilled to be the official certifying partner of TFA–Milwaukee.
“Alverno is deeply committed to preparing teachers for urban and high-need schools and ensuring that they are well-equipped to meet the needs of diverse learners,” Luebke said. “Together, Alverno and Teach for America will work to support a diverse, robust teacher and leadership pipeline in Milwaukee. That’s a good thing for students, families and the entire region.”
Since 2009, TFA–Milwaukee has recruited more than over 530 outstanding leaders to work in Milwaukee’s education community and established itself as a reliable source of diverse teachers and leaders for the city. Of the existing 124 Teach For America–Milwaukee teachers, 40 percent identify as a person of color compared with the national average of 18 percent. As of 2016, 42 percent of Alverno’s student population self-identified as a person of color or as multiracial.
Since 2009, TFA–Milwaukee has successfully partnered with Marquette University and Cardinal Stritch University, institutions that have helped the program grow in scale and impact. “We’re incredibly thankful for their partnership over the past decade,” Bond said.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with urban and rural communities in more than 50 regions across the country to expand educational opportunity for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. Today Teach For America is a force of 56,000 alumni and corps members committed to profound systemic change. From classrooms to districts to state houses across America, they’re reimagining education to realize the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, to grow, to influence and to lead. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. For more information, visit teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Alverno College
Alverno College promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Undergraduate programs for women are offered in more than 60 areas of study, and graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology and business are open to women and men.
A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college has consulted with three U.S. presidential administrations on accountability and outcomes in higher education and for the past eight years has been ranked one of the top five schools in the Midwest doing “the best job of educating undergrads” by U.S. News & World Report.
Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.

author: Kelly Fay


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
June 6, 2018

author: Name *


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How to volunteer in June | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Martha Cannon, Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee
June 6, 2018
Volunteers help out at Victory Garden Initiative’s urban farm.
With school out, summer is an ideal time for youth to volunteer. Below are youth volunteer opportunities, both one-time and summer-long. Here are a few opportunities in June and beyond. For more opportunities, see the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee’s brochure.
Compost food waste, water crops, pull weeds, harvest produce, plant seeds and mulch at Victory Garden Initiative urban farm; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Families, groups and individuals welcome. Minimum age is 16.
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Contact Eric Anderson at eric@victorygardeninitiative.org or 414-727-2292
Milwaukee Center for Independence is looking for volunteers to serve meals to children in Milwaukee County Parks during lunch and dinner times weekdays; June 23 through late Aug. Minimum age is 14.
Contact Manadra Rainey at manadra.rainey@mcfi.net or 414-937-2258
Engage children ages infant to 12 years old in play, games and art projects and assist with lunch at St. Ann Center For Intergenerational Care – Bucyrus Campus; Mondays-Fridays with various shifts. Minimum age is 13.
Contact Monica Yarn at myarn@stanncenter.org or 414-210-2432
Assist with art & crafts, play bingo, sing songs, visit with and prepare lunch weekdays for seniors and people with disabilities at Catholic Charities Adult Day Center. Minimum age is 16.
Contact jbrandt@ccmke.org or 414-769-3400
Provide one on one word tutoring, lead reading groups and help with class projects morning or assist with recreation activities, arts and crafts and field trips afternoons at Milwaukee Academy of Science. Minimum age is 16.
Contact Monica R. Ducksworth at volunteercoordinator@MAScience.org or 414-933-0302
Sort fresh produce donated from grocery stores and farmers for Feeding American Eastern Wisconsin; mostly weekdays, 9 a.m.-noon or 1:00-4 p.m. Groups and individuals welcome. Click here to sign up. Minimum age is 14.
Contact Kim Cafcules at kcafcules@feedingamericawi.org or 414-831-6333.
Assist with activity stations and encourage children to sign up for the Milwaukee Public Library’s summer reading challenge Saturday, June 16 at Central Branch. Minimum age is 16.
Contact: Danielle Wrobleski at dmwrobl@milwaukee.gov or 414-286-3000.
*Minimum age listed is for unsupervised teens.


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Milwaukee museum pulls black people ‘out of the shadows of history’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sophie Bolich, Max Nawara, Aly Prouty
June 6, 2018
Editor’s note: This is one of an occasional series of articles about the people and places of 53206.
The museum sits behind a locked door in an inconspicuous red brick building on the corner of 27th and Center streets. To enter, visitors have to ring the doorbell. Clayborn Benson III, the founder of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, personally lets them into a spacious carpeted room with white walls, covered in posters backed with construction paper, mimicking those that could be found in a classroom. They display information about African-American history in southeast Wisconsin, including the Underground Railroad and slavery in the state.
A quick trip up a back staircase reveals file cabinets bursting with donated documents such as newspaper articles and obituaries, and boxes are scattered everywhere.
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Although organized with the help of college student volunteers, it’s clear the Benson’s museum has outgrown its space. Plenty of things have yet to be catalogued or displayed.
Accumulating so much material and growing the museum into a community institution didn’t happen overnight.
When Benson was an adult student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1987, he produced a documentary, “Black Communities,” for a film class. The three-part film follows a grandfather as he shares stories with a young girl about black history in the United States, Wisconsin and Milwaukee. The project reignited Benson’s love of history.
“I really love history,” Benson said. “History fits my spirit … I understood what I was supposed to do in this lifetime, and this was important to me.”
Benson’s calling is much more than a personal mission; many others have gotten behind it. When he hosts events at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, from 25 to 500 people show up.
“Black history is American history, and you have to preserve as much as you can, as accurately as you can,” said Joanne Williams, a member of Wisconsin Black Media Association and a former colleague of Benson’s at WTMJ-TV, where he worked as a photojournalist for 39 years.
“For many, many years, black history was ignored. There are just thousands and thousands of voices that you don’t even know lived and died and made an impact,” Williams said.
People who are ignored have something that Benson calls “Black Panther Syndrome.” “In their lifetimes they give so much to this community, and they’re hardly ever recognized. I get a great deal of joy in pulling them out of the shadows of history and pumping them up and allowing people to know who they are.”
Williams has served on panels and co-hosted events at the society, covered it as a reporter, donated materials and said she plans to donate much more. “One of these days I’m going to pull it all in some sort of form that he can then put in the museum and be available for people to see.”
“Like any other compilation of history I hope (visitors) learn who my family was and what my family contributed to Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin, and that their families are just as important and they made important contributions too,” Williams said.
Benson said that he finds those important stories every day.
“I find gold mines under pieces of paper, between books… I find valuable things daily. I mean really valuable. I’m not talking money … It’s little stories of people’s lives, understanding what they went through,” Benson said.
As the society’s founder, Benson sees himself as a teacher. “We examine history and how it relates to (people) and why it’s important for them to know history,” Benson said.
Benson often takes visitors to the museum on a personal tour  He’s been known to stop at a particular exhibit to tell stories for more than 30 minutes.
He not only teaches at the museum, but also at schools and in daily interactions. Part of teaching, he said, is encouraging other people to write down their own stories so they can be passed down for generations. He’s even taken the task on for himself. “I’m writing mine; … I can’t ask people to write when I don’t write.”
He’s now writing about the stories he covered as a photojournalist. Later, he plans to add recollections about the museum, places he’s lived and conflicts he’s dealt with. “I write it on my phone and then I transfer it to Microsoft Word,” Benson said.
Williams said that journalists and researchers often contact Benson when they’re looking for information.
“I think he’s done an impressive job as just a man who decided he was going to build a museum to make sure that the history of African-Americans in this part of the state was told.”

author: Sophie Bolich, Max Nawara, Aly Prouty


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New Milwaukee technology program focuses on coding skills, community impact | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Abby Ng
June 7, 2018
Participants at i.c. stars brainstorm goals for a website and app development project. (Photo by Abby Ng)
Ehi Aimiuwu-Jinadu had dropped out of college and given up her dream of working in computer science. Formerly homeless, she was staying in a studio apartment with her four children and braiding hair for a living. All of that changed in less than a year.
In 2013, Aimiuwu-Jinadu became a student at i.c. stars, a technology and leadership training program in Chicago for low-income adults. After completing the program, she started coding for a well-known software company. Now five years later, she has two technology businesses of her own. None of this would have been possible without i.c. stars, Aimiuwu-Jinadu said.
The nonprofit, which began 20 years ago in Chicago, has now come to Milwaukee. The new office opened in March, and the first group of participants started in April.
Sarah Dollhausen, general manager of i.c. stars Milwaukee, brought the program to Wisconsin because she saw a need to provide opportunities for young adults and to develop leaders in the community.
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“Looking at all of the negative statistics that we see in Milwaukee, I think i.c. stars’ business model is really an answer to how we solve poverty, how we solve unemployment,” she said.
The organization teaches coding, but it also focuses on creating well-rounded individuals ready to enter the workforce. The rigorous 16-week program offers technical training equivalent to an associate’s degree. There are three cycles per year with 20 participants each, who are paid a weekly stipend. The group specifically looks for individuals who have overcome serious adversity.
This reminder is written on one of the many white board walls in the i.c. stars office. (Photo by Abby Ng)
“It’s the concept of teaching people how to fish, and not just giving them a fish,” said William Deck, client success manager for i.c. stars Milwaukee. “We’re about changing people, and through changing those people, slowly but surely we can change communities for the better and level the playing field.”
In addition to coding, interns gain other practical skills such as how to manage their finances and their time, work in a team and dress appropriately for the corporate world.
But some of the most valuable skills they learn are not simply practical. They are life changing.
“If i.c. stars was just a tech training company, I would not have made it through,” Aimiuwu-Jinadu said. “There is a bit of magic there.”
Participants attend workshops that promote emotional intelligence, curiosity and resilience. They learn to do more than sit behind a screen, said Miguel Longoria, a Milwaukee student. They become leaders.
“I was an introvert. I kept to myself and stayed in the back. But here they put you on the spot because they know it will help you,” Longoria said.
Longoria, 21, had dropped out of Milwaukee Area Technical College and had been doing hard labor work when he decided to apply for i.c. stars. He saw the program as a way to pursue the passion for tech he has had since he was 12. Even though Longoria still has two months of the program to go, he said he has already come a long way.
“Now I have a schedule. Now I get up in the morning and I want to learn,” he said.
Friendship and mentorship also play key roles in participants’ success.
“You can relate to everybody here because everybody has the same drive. We all want the best for each other,” Longoria said. He added that the interns are very diverse, but they all share similar interests.
Deck said program leaders find joy in mentoring and seeing their students grow.
“As staff, we are blessed to see individuals come in as raw clay, and as we learn and facilitate this journey with them, their raw clay begins to be shaped and molded into something beautiful,” he said.
During the last 20 years, i.c. stars has demonstrated a positive impact on most of its participants. It has an initial placement rate of 90 percent, an industry retention rate of 81 percent and a college attendance rate of 55 percent. Interns enter the program with an average yearly income of $10,790; after the program that average is $44,010, according to the website.
The group’s entry to Milwaukee was made possible by a $1.6 million donation from the Dohmen company. Adding Milwaukee as a satellite city is part of i.c. stars’ national and global strategy. Another new site opened in Columbus, Ohio, and the program is looking to expand to more cities in the future.
The first cycle of interns will complete their training in July. Once they graduate, they will be ready to take on active roles in the community.
“The work that we’re doing is impacting not just the interns here, but the families and communities that they live in all around the city,” Deck said. “Once it clicks for them, they have the opportunity to take that knowledge in their hearts and minds and do good out in the world.”
Both Longoria and Aimiuwu-Jinadu said they want to give back.
Longoria grew up and lives on the South Side, and he hopes to help small businesses and startups there build websites and expand online.
Aimiuwu-Jinadu’s first business is called Geek Empowered and helps businesses develop their online presence for a low cost. Her most recent project is a podcast called Code Burnout, which creates a space for people to talk about mental health in the tech industry. Because she no longer has to worry about financial resources and survival, she can think about empowering others, she said.
New interns who hope to make change, such as Longoria and Aimiuwu-Jinadu, are still being recruited for the second cycle starting in the fall. Those interested can apply online.
Aimiuwu-Jinadu said i.c. stars is a unique chance she was lucky to have, and she encourages others to follow their own dreams.
“What do you want to do with your life? What do you really want to do in your career? This is your window of opportunity to do it.”

author: Abby Ng


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 6, 2018


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Mental health summit reaches out to African-American veterans | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
UW-Milwaukee
June 8, 2018
The sixth annual VA Mental Health Summit, set for Saturday, June 23, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will focus on African-American veterans.
“Part of our mandate is to make sure that all of the veterans in our community know all of the services that are available and what the VA has to offer,” said William Johnson, minority veterans program coordinator at Milwaukee’s Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  “Any veteran is welcome,” he added, “but we are trying to reach out particularly to historically underrepresented groups.”
The center is partnering with the Military and Veterans Resource Center at UWM to present the summit, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UWM Student Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
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MAVRC has been partnering with the VA on a number of projects over the past few years, said Jayne Holland, interim director. The VA’s mobile vet center visits the campus regularly, and many UWM graduates have gone on to jobs at the VA. “They’re just an outstanding community partner,” said Holland.
Guest speakers at the mental health summit include: Delphine Metcalf Foster, first woman and first African-American to serve as national commander for the Disabled American Veterans, and Reggie Jackson, head griot (docent) for America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
Breakout sessions will focus on eligibility for VA healthcare and benefits; racial trauma and inequality; chronic pain management; Afro-centered approaches to healing; disparities in African-American health care and gun violence as a public health issue.
The summit is part of efforts to reach out to specific groups of veterans to let them know what services are available to them, Johnson said. Previous summits have focused on Afghan-Iraqi war veterans, as well as veterans who are female, disabled and LGBT. Plans are to focus on Latino veterans next year, Johnson said.
This year’s program was developed with input from questionnaires sent to community and mental health organizations and focus groups, Johnson said. He estimates that there are approximately 11,500 African-American veterans in the five-county Milwaukee metropolitan area. However, because the VA does not track patients by race, it’s difficult to know whether all those who are eligible know what services are available to them.
Particularly in minority communities, there may be misinformation about available services or a mistrust of government medical facilities based on historical injustices, said Michelle Watts, veterans justice outreach coordinator at the VA. In addition, many African-American veterans have traditionally relied on family and church for mental health support, feeling there was a stigma attached to seeking counseling through organizations such as the VA.
The purpose of the summit is to let veterans know the VA can offer help not just with medical issues, but also with substance abuse, housing, post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression and other issues, she added.
“We are hoping with the summit that we can improve or increase their knowledge. We want to make sure they are aware of the benefits they’ve earned and the care they deserve,” said Watts.

author: UW-Milwaukee


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Vigil sparks conversation about relationship between shootings, domestic violence | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ryeshia Farmer
June 8, 2018
Attendees prepare for vigil walk. (Photo by Ryeshia Farmer)
Holding flameless tealight candles that tinted their faces orange, survivors in orange clothing recognized gun violence victims at a recent vigil, and acknowledged the relationship between gun violence and domestic violence.
In most recent cases of gun violence “the [perpetrators] have had some history of domestic violence,” stated Carmen Pitre, president and CEO of the Sojourner Family Peace Center.
According to Brooke Shawver-Levin, a gun violence survivor and a coordinator at Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, 54 percent of mass shootings are done by people who have committed or been convicted of acts of domestic violence. Shawver-Levin added that women are 16 times more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. than in any other developed country.
“If I have an abuser who really wants to hurt me, it is a million times easier to do that with a gun in their hands,” Pitre added.
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The vigil, held at Sojourner, was co-sponsored by the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), Moms Demand Action, and the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE). The event included a panel of presenters, song selections, a reading of recent gun victims’ names and a walk. It was one of three OVP events marking National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the Wear Orange campaign.
Names of gun violence victims are written on tags by vigil attendees. (Photo by Ryeshia Farmer)
“We talk about statistics a lot, but we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that those numbers are people who had lives, friends and families who miss them,” said Anneliese Dickman, WAVE’s director of communications.
Judy Durbak attended the vigil because she is upset about gun violence. “I started [volunteering] after Vegas, because I said, ‘We can do something!’ I got started, because I am angry.” Fifty-eight people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.
After performing Smokie Norful’s “I Need You Now,” one of the vocalists, Nahkeera Jackson, could be seen weeping in Sojourner’s hallway. Jackson’s colleague at the Northside YMCA, Rayven Peterson, said “It was very emotional [for Jackson] to hear all of those names of people who had been affected by gun violence since January.”
Pitre said, “We have a misconception about who is struggling with violence, based on what we see … We have to do a good job of showing what all of the examples of violence look like in our community.”
David Muhammad, violence prevention manager at OVP, commented that the Gun Violence Awareness Day events have led to an increase in public dialogue about what prevention looks like and how to measure it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, an average of more than 35,000 people in the U.S. are killed annually by a gun. “Once we eliminate violence in the [life] of that most marginalized person, we make things better for ourselves,” Pitre commented.
Sojourner, the Northside Y, and like organizations believe programming such as housing, referral services, after-school and extracurricular activities curb gun violence.
“Violence is a learned behavior. We want to prevent children from seeing and learning these behaviors,” Pitre stated.
According to Muhammad, “The larger policy issue around gun violence in the United States has been focused on mass shootings, school shootings, but we know that most violence is committed by way of handguns, sometimes self-inflicted or by people who know the target, so we want to encourage a culture of peace as a lifestyle.”
Dickman said that much of WAVE’s work is to “activate their subscribers” to lobby their legislators, because “we believe that stronger gun laws will help prevent gun homicides, but also gun suicides.”
Muhammad said the “Blueprint for Peace,” created by OVP, includes measures to prevent gun violence.
He added that OVP would like to see mental health counselors on school staffs to help students cope with violence.
The vast majority of U.S. residents want to see gun laws get stronger, Dickman said.
“This isn’t as controversial an issue as the gun lobby wants us to believe it is. So don’t be scared to bring it up in mixed company, because you’ll find that most people actually agree with you,” she added.
Peterson said that she knew two recent gun victims — Juan Bernal, 21, who was shot and killed in Kern Park on Memorial Day, and her nephew, Montell Gordon Jr., who was shot and killed on May 18. The Northside Y hosted a community event on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Gordon’s birthday.

author: Ryeshia Farmer


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 7, 2018


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A’s, B’s and O’s are missing – Red Cross campaign calls for new blood donors to fill the Missing Types | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
American Red Cross
June 11, 2018
As part of an international movement, the American Red Cross is launching the Missing Types campaign today to recruit new blood donors – and those who have not given recently – to ensure lifesaving blood is available for patients.
During the Missing Types campaign, the letters A, B and O – the main blood groups – will disappear from brands, social media pages, signs and websites to illustrate the critical role every blood donor plays. When the letters A, B and O vanish from everyday life, the gaps are striking. And when A, B and O blood types are missing from hospital shelves, patient care could be impacted.
“Unfortunately, blood shortages still happen and the number of new Red Cross blood donors is shrinking each year,” said Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Blood Services. “That’s why the Red Cross is asking those who have never donated blood and those who haven’t given in a while to make a lifesaving donation. You are the missing type patients need.”
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Don’t wait until the letters A, B and O go missing from hospital shelves. Join the #MissingType movement today – make an appointment to give blood by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/MissingTypes, using the Red Cross Blood Donor App or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
A recent survey, conducted on behalf of the Red Cross, revealed a troubling disconnect between the public’s perception of blood donations and the realities of patient transfusion needs.
Lily Dotson and her family know how serious blood shortages can be for patients. During Lily’s  2 1/2 years of treatment for high-risk leukemia, her family was told twice that the hospital didn’t have the blood or platelets she needed and that she would have to wait for transfusions. It was incredibly frustrating and eye-opening for Lily’s mom, Susie Dotson.
“People automatically think blood is there. They don’t realize we’re relying on their blood donation,” said Dotson. “Lily needed blood products just as much as the chemo or the treatment.”
Lily, now 11, has been cancer-free for four years and is preparing to enter middle school this year.
Each day, blood and platelets are needed for accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those like Lily who are receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease. The Red Cross must collect more than 13,000 blood donations every day for patients at approximately 2,600 hospitals across the country.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. But for the past four years, new Red Cross donors have declined by about 80,000 each year. This is not just a Red Cross trend, but a challenge blood collection organizations face across the country and around the world.
Donating blood is a simple process and only takes about an hour from start to finish.
The Red Cross appreciates the support of its 18 lead partners who have joined the #MissingType campaign, including: Adobe, Anheuser-Busch, AvalonBay Communities, Inc., Domino’s, Dropbox, Google, IBM, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Mastercard, Nationwide, Neiman Marcus, the New York Yankees, Oreo, PayPal, Salesforce, State Farm®, Sunoco and U.S. Bank.
Brown Deer
6/14/2018: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Brown Deer Public Library, 5600 W Bradley Rd
Franklin
7/6/2018: 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., Franklin Public Library, 9151 W Loomis Road
Milwaukee
6/14/2018: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Bounce Milwaukee, 2801 S. 5th Ct.
6/18/2018: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Milwaukee County Zoo, 10001 W. Bluemound Road
6/19/2018: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Milwaukee County Zoo, 10001 W. Bluemound Road
6/25/2018: 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., East Library – Milwaukee Public Library, 2320 N Cramer Street
6/26/2018: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Roman Parish, 1710 W. Bolivar Ave.
7/6/2018: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Parklawn YMCA, 4340 N 46th St
7/9/2018: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Hillside Resource Center, 1452 N 7th St
West Allis
6/22/2018: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., West Allis City Hall, 7525 W. Greenfield Ave.
All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
Donation appointments and completion of a RapidPass are encouraged to help speed up the donation process. RapidPass lets donors complete the pre-donation reading and answer the health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass from the convenience of a mobile device or computer, or through the Blood Donor App.

author: American Red Cross


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Jim Crow in Urban America | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dr. Robert Smith
June 11, 2018
Alumni mag photo
Dr. Robert S. Smith, Harry G. John Professor of History and the director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach at Marquette University, discusses how policing today is reminiscent of the Jim Crow Era.
When black and Latino people encounter the police, the ghosts of the Jim Crow Era loom large. Charting these continuities is valuable precisely because of the injustices and lives lost at the hands of law enforcement.
Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow,” has provided critics of mass incarceration the vernacular to describe the structures and its impact. Indeed, policing serves as the militarized tentacle of this “New Jim Crow,” which in turn funnels millions into jails and prisons where their rights and human dignity are stripped away.
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Collins v. Milwaukee, a class-action suit brought under the 4th & 14th Amendments in May 2017, highlights the gross racial disparities that extend from stop-and-frisk policing by the Milwaukee Police Department. The legal documents also expose how encounters with the police today mirror the daily experiences of black people who navigated the Jim Crow South.
Collins plaintiffs echo the sentiments of many urban residents when stating in their complaint, “Black and Latino people throughout Milwaukee — including children — fear that they may be stopped, frisked, or otherwise treated like criminal suspects when doing nothing more than walking to a friend’s house or home from school, driving to and from the homes of loved ones, running errands, or simply taking a leisurely walk or drive through the City.”
In line with Jim Crow laws and customs, racialized policing maintains a constant state of fear and intimidation, it reinforces residential boundaries, it reaffirms myths of black hyper-criminality and it serves as a reminder of the nation’s commitment to white racial supremacy.
Historian Leon Litwack writes in “Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow”:
The indiginities visited on black(s)…were meant to impress…the solidity of racial lines and the unchallengeable authority and superiority of the (white) race…But the specter and threat of physical violence — ‘the white death’ — loomed over nearly every encounter…almost always with the same intent — to remind black men and women of their “place,” to impose severe restraints on their ambitions, and to punish any perceived signs of ‘impudence,’ ‘impertinence’ or independence.
The most dreadful of these outcomes was a “visit” from a would-be lynch mob that would serve as police, judge, jury and executioner.
Digital technology has allowed anyone of us to serve as a documentarian of racialized policing, with social media welcoming millions more into the examination of the historical record in real time. And while body cameras have been championed as a useful reform strategy, whether police harassment and shootings will decline or even be punished remains arguable. Of the many police encounters captured on new technologies, the video of Sterling Brown’s experience shows MPD officers following the playbook of Jim Crow Era mobs.
While Sterling Brown may have stopped his car in a handicap zone, he simply needed to move his car. The “crime” Mr. Brown committed was failing to express racial deference to the small mob of white officers. The verbal exchange captured on the body camera highlights that Brown rightfully refused to relinquish his enviable masculinity and uncompromising dignity, and Brown even dared to adeptly articulate his rights of citizenship, literally in the face of the police.
After several minutes of harassment with several more officers arriving for a potential parking violation, Sterling Brown, an NBA player who at no point offered any signs of being a threat, was met with quick and vengeful aggression.
As historian Carole Anderson instructs, “The trigger for white rage, inevitably, is black advancement… it is blackness with ambition, with drive, with purpose, with aspirations, and with demands for full and equal citizenship. It is blackness that refuses to accept subjugation.”
Litwack offers more details of mob-like behavior reflected in Brown’s video when her writes, “Once having settled on lynch justice, mobs were not overly scrupulous about determining the guilt of the black victim.”
While we look upon the past with awe at its racial absurdities, we are met time and time again with contemporary versions of the same, sometimes with little revision. This time around, unlike before, legal redress is an option. This time around, much like before, it hasn’t seemed to matter that we have (moving) images of the assailants.

author: Dr. Robert Smith


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 11, 2018


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Rubber Rover touring Milwaukee to promote safer sex | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diverse & Resilient
June 11, 2018
Half of all sexually active people locally will get an STD before the age of 25, according to the Milwaukee Health Department. To bring attention to sexual health and help reduce the stigma associated with STDs, local nonprofit Diverse & Resilient is bringing the Rubber Rover, a condom themed vehicle aimed at increasing conversations about safer sex, to Milwaukee June 9-July 15.
The Rubber Rover is a mobile extension of Diverse & Resilient’s 414ALL campaign, which has been working to make condoms more available, accessible, and acceptable for teens and young adults since 2014.
Starting Saturday, June 9, the Rubber Rover made its Milwaukee debut at Pridefest. Festival-goers can expect to play STD trivia to win custom condom apparel, snap a picture at the photo booth and receive one of the 30,000 condoms Diverse & Resilient will provide Milwaukeeans from the Rubber Rover over the next three weeks. Participants can also learn about safer sex resources, including STD testing locations throughout Milwaukee.
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“STD testing and safer sex education isn’t just about the health of individuals, it’s about the health of our communities,” said Anthony Harris, 414ALL Program Coordinator, Diverse & Resilient. “The 414ALL campaign encourages everyone in our community to start a discussion about STDs to help reduce the stigma associated with condoms and STD testing – and we’re so excited to bring our resources to people in the Rubber Rover this summer.”
Designed by local nonprofit advertising agency Serve Marketing, the Rubber Rover generated buzz in Omaha last year, a city with some of the highest STD rates in the country. This year, Rubber Rover will be utilized to amplify Diverse & Resilient’s 414ALL campaign in Milwaukee and reach a population that ranks first in the country for gonorrhea rates.
In addition to Pridefest and the Pride Parade, the Rubber Rover will be at Juneteenth Day Festival on June 19 and other stops around the city until July 15. For more information about the Rubber Rover and educational resources surrounding safer sex, STD testing and more, visit www.414ALLmke.org and 414ALL on Facebook.

author: Diverse & Resilient


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Rubber Rover 01 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 11, 2018


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This is 53206 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
June 11, 2018
Few communities are known by their ZIP codes, but Milwaukee’s 53206 is an exception. The statistics are grim. For example, 62 percent of black men in 53206 are incarcerated, the highest percentage in the country, and 44.6 percent of individuals live below the poverty line. But there is much more to 53206 than these statistics.
Read our coverage of 53206.

author: Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service


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53206 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
June 10, 2018

author: Dwayne Burtin


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Alice’s Garden birthday party celebrates milestone for Milwaukee infants | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sophie Bolich
June 12, 2018
Addyson Terry, held by her mother, Kendra Terry, spent her first 10 months in the hospital recovering from a heart transplant and other complications. (Photo by Sophie Bolich)
A cold and rainy forecast wasn’t the ideal weather for a summery outdoor party, but the conditions didn’t stop community members from celebrating a milestone that many take for granted: baby’s first birthday.
“It’s the opportunity to showcase our babies, our little people,” said Kenmikiiya Terry, a public health social worker who helped organize Look Who’s Turning One, a party held at Alice’s Garden to celebrate all Milwaukee babies who reached their first birthdays in 2018.
Addyson Terry, Kenmikiiya’s Terry’s niece, was named guest of honor after spending her first 10 months of life in the hospital recovering from a heart transplant and other complications.
“It was a very rough pregnancy and they encouraged my sister to terminate the pregnancy,” said Addyson’s uncle, Najuan Brown. “She beat the odds. When I would see her sometimes, she would have her fists up. And I thought, this girl is a fighter.”
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Terry explained that although Addyson’s situation was extreme, Milwaukee’s high infant mortality rate is a crisis that affects many people, especially those in the inner city.
“The biggest concern right now is the lead crisis in the city of Milwaukee,” she said. “It’s not even just in the water and paint, but the road construction is causing lead to come back into the air and the environment.” Infants and children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning, and unborn babies are at risk for lead poisoning from their mothers.
Caddy Hart from Evolutionz Face and Body Art paints Kendia Terry’s face. (Photo by Sophie Bolich)
Health educator Marques Hogans said that infant mortality rate has a significant impact on inner-city neighborhoods. “Getting through a year of life is a milestone, especially for the black community,” he noted, adding that the quality of care is not comparable to that in suburban communities.
Hogans said his goal is to focus on culturally responsive training for physicians and funding for research to lower the infant mortality rate.
“The more support we have in the black community, the better chance that we have of our children succeeding,” he said.
In 2015, 73 percent of white women received care in their first trimester of pregnancy, with 58 percent of Hispanic women and 56 percent of black women receiving the same care, according to the Milwaukee Health Department’s most recent infant mortality report.
The report also shows that in 2015 the infant mortality rate for black women, 13 percent, was more than three times that of white women, at 4 percent.
“That’s throughout the nation,” said Terry. “There is a racial component in accessing quality care, especially in Milwaukee. It should all be uniform no matter what type of insurance you have, but it’s not.”
She also noted a need for mental health screenings and proper prenatal education, saying stress and socioeconomic status affect prenatal health as well as postnatal care, and ultimately infant mortality.
That’s why Terry said she’s excited to get families to events such as the one at Alice’s Garden, where they can get information that will help keep their babies strong, and continue to lead the healthiest life possible.
For example, it’s important for parents to understand that an unsafe sleep environment can lead to infant mortality. According to the Milwaukee Health Department’s 2013 Fetal Infant Mortality Review Report (the most recent available), about 15 percent of infant deaths were associated with unsafe sleep.
Starting in June, Terry will provide a series of workshops on prenatal and postnatal wellness for expecting parents.
Also targeting infant mortality in Milwaukee are projects such as the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families, a collaborative coordinated by United Way of Greater Milwaukee & County. Other programs such as Strong Baby, which connects parents with experts in prenatal and postnatal care, and the Best Babies Zone Initiative, a national program working to reduce racial disparities in infant mortality, also are working to address the problem.
“Just to enjoy and celebrate the life of the children is the biggest goal,” Terry said.


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Ko-Thi Dance Company leaves BAMKE, prepares for 50th anniversary season | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ko-Thi Dance Company
June 12, 2018
As of May 30th, 2018, Ko-Thi Dance Company (Ko-Thi) has separated from Black Arts Milwaukee (BAMKE). The company maintains its independence as a 501c3 arts organization and will continue to fundraise for its unique programming. As a founding member of Black Arts Think Tank (now BAMKE), Ko-Thi has great appreciation for the opportunity to be a part of an entity who supports Black arts in Milwaukee. We wish BAMKE much success in its future endeavors, as we are supportive of any initiative to bolster Black arts in Milwaukee. We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to Paul Matthews and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Cory Nettles, Jackie Herd Barber, and the rest of BAMKE Board for their tremendous support of our tenure with BAMKE.
In 2019, Ko-Thi will celebrate its 50th anniversary. This is no small feat, as historically, there are very few African dance companies throughout the world that can claim such longevity of consistent & high quality artistic product and programming.
Ko-Thi was founded in 1969 by Ferne Caulker-Bronson, Professor Emerita of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During her 45 years at UWM, Ms. Bronson created the first Bachelor of Fine Arts degree of Performance & Choreography of Africa & the Diaspora Dance, along with the Caulker Method, a teaching pedagogy that trains dancers in the African and Caribbean genres.
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For nearly 50 years, Ko-Thi has provided Milwaukee with stimulating artistic performances, training, and quality youth programming embodied in Ton Ko-Thi Children’s Performing Ensemble. Ko-Thi has also represented Milwaukee nationally and internationally, touring in major opera houses all over the United States, the Mitsui Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and the Ontario Festival in Ontario, Canada.
In preparation for its 50th year, Ko-Thi has established a new dynamic artistic team led by DeMar Walker and a revitalized Board of Directors, chaired by Cheryl Blue. We are in preparation for an exciting 50th Year Anniversary season (2019) which will include brand new dance performances, a historical exhibit, an alumni reunion, and much more yet to be announced. Stay tuned!

author: Ko-Thi Dance Company


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No menthol Sunday draws attention to tobacco industry targeting | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
vanessa smith
June 12, 2018
On a recent Sunday, members of the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN) FACT group, part of Wisconsin’s youth-led tobacco prevention movement, joined a national conversation about how menthol tobacco products impact the health of African-Americans.  “No Menthol Sunday,” an interfaith observance day, called upon faith leaders and others in the community to discuss the fact that each year 45,000 African Americans die from smoking-related diseases. Nearly nine in ten of these smokers use menthol cigarettes.
That day FACT youth and their adult advisors fanned out across the city, visiting seven churches to help spread the word about how tobacco companies successfully, to the detriment of our community’s health, targeted the African-American community with deadly menthol products.
“I was so happy to be a part of it. My FACT group and I spoke to the congregation and got the chance to work with a group of kids on an activity called “We are not a replacement,” said WAATPN FACT member Kayla McPike.
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FACT teens also reminded church goers that it is everyone’s responsibility to take a grassroots stance to protect their health and help our next generation become tobacco-free. To join the youth-led tobacco prevention movement or to learn more about or join FACT, visit Factmovement.org.

author: vanessa smith


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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June 12, 2018


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On the Block: A business and a home | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Abby Ng
June 12, 2018
Rodney Anderson has been running Tastee Twist, 2378 N. Teutonia Ave., for 39 years, just a couple blocks away from where he grew up. Throughout years of selling ice cream and cheese fries, he has watched property values and unemployment change. Now he said he worries about how gentrification may affect his business and community.


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Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center to hold job fair on June 20 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jarvis West
June 12, 2018
The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center (WESC) will hold a job fair on Wednesday, June 20 to hire 600 part-time positions for Milwaukee’s upcoming world-class arena. Taking place from 1-7 p.m., the job fair will be held at the Wisconsin Center District, 500 W. Wells St., Milwaukee.
The WESC will begin hiring in early July for positions in guest experience, retail, box office and security, all with hourly wages starting at $12.50.
Levy, the arena’s world-class food and beverage provider, will also be at the job fair interviewing candidates for an additional 600 part-time positions, making for a total of approximately 1,200 positions to be filled at the new arena. Levy will be hiring and managing positions, including concession workers, cooks and bartenders.
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“We are building the best sports and entertainment venue in the world, and we are committed to creating a preeminent guest experience,” said Kelly Kauffman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for the Milwaukee Bucks. “We are seeking candidates with strong work ethics and excellent customer service and problem-solving skills. These employees will play a critical role in ensuring our guests have an amazing experience and want to keep coming back.”
Candidates are encouraged to pre-register for the job fair at www.bucks.com/careers by June 13. They should bring a printed resume and expect to have a brief interview with a WESC representative. Candidates are asked not to bring along friends or family members to the job fair. To view Levy’s job openings at the arena, visit workatlevy.com.

author: Jarvis West


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Community to get first look at new America’s Black Holocaust Museum | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
June 13, 2018
Reggie Jackson, head griot and former board chair of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, stands outside the Griot, 401 W. North Ave, where the museum will re-open this fall after being closed for a decade. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Dr. James Cameron, the only known survivor of a lynching, spent his adult life using the story of his horrific experience at age 16 as a vehicle for educating people about America’s brutal racial history and ongoing racial injustice. Cameron, now deceased, also sought to inspire them to pursue a racially equitable society.
On June 18 and 19, the community will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Cameron’s founding of America’s Black Holocaust Museum and the completion of The Griot, the building that will house the newest incarnation of the museum and mixed-income rental apartments. The museum will open in fall.
The Monday, June 18 event, which is free and open to the public, will kick off at 10 a.m. with a reception, Tia Richardson mural dedication and building tours. A program featuring actor Danny Glover will follow. It will be the first in a series of opportunities to become a museum member.
Award-winning poets and activists Aja Monet and Sonja Sanchez will speak on Tuesday, June 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. This event includes food, beverages and music by the Eddie Butts Band. A $25 ticket, which can be purchased on Eventbrite, is required.
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Both celebrations will take place in the new museum space at 401 W. North Ave.
Cameron established the museum in the basement of his North Teutonia Avenue home and moved it to a storefront on Atkinson Avenue and then to the Clara Mohammed School building on Wright Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, according to his son, Virgil Cameron.
On June 19, 1988, James Cameron opened the museum in a much larger freestanding building, a former boxing gym, said the museum’s head griot Reggie Jackson. Cameron bought the building at 2233 N. 4th St., around the corner from the new museum, from the city for $1, his son said. June 19, or Juneteenth, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
“Griots are oral historians … the keepers of the history of their communities in West Africa” and prestigious advisors to their leaders, said Jackson, a museum volunteer since 2002. The position of griot is usually passed from generation to generation, with parents teaching children from a young age. Cameron wanted the museum’s docents to be called griots in honor of their African forbearers, Jackson said.
Cameron died in June 2006 and the museum closed two years later due to a lack of funds.
“It would have broken my father’s heart to see it closed … because he used his whole life to open the museum and (through it) address the problems of racism and violence in our society,” Virgil Cameron said.
Melissa Goins, founder and president of Maures Development Group, talks with an attendee at a celebration of the opening of the Historic Garfield Apartments, in October. (Photo by Alhaji Camera)
Jackson, one of a group of people who wanted to continue Dr. Cameron’s work, credits Fran Kaplan, an educator and his consulting firm partner, with initiating a virtual America’s Black Holocaust Museum on the internet in February 2012. That strategy reduced costs, preserved the information disseminated by the museum and ultimately attracted a large national and international following.
“It was a great avenue to make sure that the museum stayed relevant in people’s minds,” said Tyanna McLaurin, board chair of the Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation, the museum’s nonprofit umbrella organization.
Millions of people visit the virtual museum each year and they have been following the development of the new physical museum, McLaurin said.
The museum has also carried on its education work through its “Griots To Go” speakers’ bureau and public programming with Jackson as the primary speaker. He speaks throughout the state and, sometimes, the country.
Virgil Cameron, Jackson, Kaplan, Reuben Harpole and Brad Pruitt, the museum’s executive director, have worked with Ald. Milele Coggs and the city for almost a decade to reopen the museum in a physical space in the Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District, a city redevelopment initiative in the works since 2005.
The Griot’s opening is “a huge win for the community, for this city, this state and this nation.” And it’s a huge win for the museum to be coming back in its physical form in Bronzeville, “where it all began,” said Coggs.
Virgil Cameron said that it is time to address the country’s history of lynching. “We must talk about this because it happened and if we don’t address history it may have a chance to repeat itself.” The senior Cameron was adamant about reaching out to people and getting a dialog started, his son said.
“To see (the museum) raised back is like a phoenix rising,” Cameron said, “I know dad is smiling down on us now.”
The Legacy Foundation has raised $1 million or about one-third of the $3 million needed to set up and operate the museum, McLaurin said. The group has “a very ambitious goal of $7 million,” which would establish a $4 million endowment to ensure the museum’s future. The developers and architecture firm have made significant in-kind contributions, McLaurin noted.
In 2015, the city selected Maures Development Group, LLC, through a competitive process, to lead the redevelopment of the historic Garfield Avenue School building, 2215 N. 4th St., on the same block as the former museum. The school was built in 1887 and closed in 2006. Maures partnered with J. Jeffers & Co. and Engberg Anderson Architects on the $17 million project to create the Historic Garfield Apartments and The Griot, where the museum will occupy 6,000 square feet on the ground floor.
The 30-unit Historic Garfield Apartments opened to renters earning a maximum of 60 percent of the area’s median income on Nov. 1. The building is fully leased, said Melissa Goins, Maures’ founder and president.
The Griot will offer low-income and market-rate rentals, Goins said, “It’s all just people — people who make different amounts of money. I think it’s important to have a variety of income categories for a successful community, whether it’s within a property or within a neighborhood.”
The 41-unit Griot Apartments were first offered for rent on May 1 and 20 households moved in during the first month. Goins expects the building to be fully leased within two months.
Coggs credits many people, including Mayor Tom Barrett, for the successful completion of the project, the Bronzeville District’s largest and most complex. The city worked with the foundation board and the Cameron family for years to help them find a way to re-establish the museum in a physical form, according to Coggs.
Goins earned Cogg’s praise for her commitment to the project and the artistry she incorporated in the spirit of the original Bronzeville neighborhood. When Pruitt and his team joined the Legacy Foundation leaders, they brought new energy and a different way of thinking to people who had worked so hard for so long and faced so many difficulties, Coggs said.
She added that the project’s success is “a demonstration of how we can all work together and make some great things that we can all be proud of happen.”
Goins noted that June 18 marks Maures’ 12th anniversary. That milestone, together with the museum’s 30th anniversary and the completion of the campus buildings, call for celebration, she said. These events are intended to do that and to raise awareness — “to get on the bullhorn and say, ‘Wake up everybody!’”

author: Andrea Waxman


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 12, 2018

author: Adam Carr


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How to keep your child safe in the heat | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rebecca Michelsen, Kohl’s Building Blocks Program
June 13, 2018
It’s festival season! Time to enjoy the great outdoors and all the goodness our warm months give us. As temperatures heat up, it’s important to protect your little one from heat and the sun’s harmful rays. Below are some helpful tips to keep your child safe this summer.
And most importantly, follow your instincts. If you are too hot or uncomfortable in the heat, so is your child.
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“We Got This” work initiative starts 4th summer run Saturday | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
June 13, 2018
(Photo by Adam Carr)
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs is reminding the community that the “We Got This” work and mentoring initiative for boys ages 12 to 16 gets underway this Saturday, June 16 at 8 a.m. at N. 9th St. and W. Ring.
Alderwoman Coggs said she is confident that boys will again show up ready and eager to be a part of the project, and that generous donors will again step up and provide the cash that helps provide the positive reward for the work the boys complete.
“We Got This provides a small amount of money that each boy can earn for their work to clean up the neighborhood and to handle landscaping assignments,” Alderwoman Coggs said. “But the initiative is also a valuable mentoring and positive reinforcement vehicle for the boys, who need positive role models and experiences in their lives.”
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Motivated by concern for neighborhood boys surrounded by drugs, violence and a degree of hopelessness, community mentor and leader Andre Lee Ellis started “We Got This” during the summer of 2014.
The We Got This work initiative was started on Saturday mornings (from 8 a.m. until noon) in the Borchert Field neighborhood whereby boys and teens could receive $20 for landscaping and gardening work, as well as for tackling neighborhood cleaning and other small projects. Dozens of young men — ready and willing to work — started showing up, with numbers steadily increasing each week. Mr. Ellis put out a request on Facebook for help with donations, and people from across the community (and metro area) responded, including many who drove to the neighborhood to meet the participants and provide positive support.

author: Ald. Milele A. Coggs


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 13, 2018


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Community leaders call for MPD reforms following Sterling Brown arrest | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Abby Ng
June 14, 2018
Markasa Tucker (left), seen here speaking at a 2017 NNS panel with Vaun Mayes, hopes the Fire and Police Commission will not “water down” any recommendations from the Milwaukee Collaborative Reform Initiative community committee. (Photo by Elizabeth Baker)
Kareem McKinley, 20, is lucky that police did not shoot him. That, McKinley said, is what police told him after he was arrested May 20 in front of his grandmother’s house on the North Side.
McKinley was about to drop off his newborn daughter when police suddenly surrounded his car. He was going to park, but he said officers thought he was trying to flee. A police vehicle then rammed into the back of McKinley’s car with his daughter still in the back seat, he said.
When McKinley got out of his car with his hands up, he said officers began to pistol whip him and to dig their knees into his body, leaving him with back pain and a gash on his head.
“I was shocked because anyone who knows my son knows he’s quiet and shy,” said Darisha McKinley, Kareem McKinley’s mother. “I couldn’t wait to talk to him to find out what was really going on, but when I talked to him it hurt (me) even more.”
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Arrests like McKinley’s are not uncommon, as recent releases of body camera footage from the Sterling Brown incident show. In the videos, officers can be seen verbally and physically harassing Brown. His arrest has brought attention to police brutality and misconduct in Milwaukee, and community members are calling for change.
“Sterling Brown is a victim of what’s really going on in Milwaukee. He’s not exempt. He’s just another black man tormented by the police,” said Tory Lowe, a community advocate for better police relations.
Kareem McKinley (left) poses with his mother, Darisha McKinley. (Photo by Darisha McKinley)
Lowe accused MPD of doing “damage control” rather than focusing on solutions. Most recent video footage of Brown’s arrest shows officers expressing concern over the department’s image.
“Yeah, cuz he plays for the Bucks. If he makes a (expletive) complaint it’s gonna be a media firestorm. Any little (expletive) that goes wrong, it’s gonna be ‘oh MPD is all racist blah blah,'” one officer is heard to say on the video footage.
After the release of this tape, the Common Council demanded transparency, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore issued a statement challenging MPD to improve integrity, accountability and community-oriented policing.
“Enough is enough of this culture that tolerates violence by rogue officers and that continues to erode public confidence in our nation’s justice system,” Moore said in the statement. “On the heels of the $1.9 million Milwaukee Police Department ‘stop and frisk’ settlement, the shooting of Dontre Hamilton, and this most recent incident, it is long past time for MPD to make immediate reforms.”
Lowe said he is grateful that the Sterling Brown case is bringing publicity to the issue of police brutality, but he worries about those without the same resources as Brown.
“Sterling Brown got help and the mayor’s apology, but what about the hundreds of people in the city of Milwaukee that don’t have help?” Lowe said. He hopes this case and the response to it will “change some real policies for the people who are most affected,” he said.
Markasa Tucker, director of the African American Roundtable, is working for policy change as chairwoman of the Milwaukee Collaborative Reform Initiative community committee. The committee was formed after a Department of Justice Report was leaked last August, and it aims to provide recommendations to the Fire and Police Commission that reflect the community’s desires. She said she is hoping the committee will be able to include some community responses and suggestions in the 2019 city budget.
Tucker is calling for the Fire and Police Commission to revamp its standard operating procedures to reflect a sterner punishment for police misconduct and abuse of power. During a press conference shortly after the first release of the Sterling Brown tapes, Tucker asked for the firing of officers involved. Despite her request, an officer received a two-day suspension, and 10- and 15-day suspensions were given to two sergeants. Neither sergeant was demoted.
“If we’re talking about a new direction and changing what is happening … I feel like a precedent needs to be set,” Tucker said. “Just as people use black and brown folks to set an example, maybe these officers need to be made an example so other officers know this will not be tolerated.”
Tucker added that it will take more than policy change to improve MPD’s relationship with the community. MPD must get rid of its current police culture, she said.
“It’s about leadership. It’s about people who are willing to speak up and stand up when they see things out of order, even if it may cost them their job,” she said. MPD should replace those who insist on sticking with the old way of doing things and “get a fresh set of folks in who actually have a heart to serve — not just police people.”
Like Tucker, Kareem McKinley’s mother is asking for compassion from police. Although Darisha McKinley said she still fears for her son’s safety, she hopes police relations can improve.
“Behind the badge, they’re still human beings who have hearts and minds, and they need to understand that these people they’re arresting are still somebody’s child and father.”


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Milwaukeeans anticipate brighter financial future at ‘Make Your Money Talk’ graduation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Robyn Di Giacinto
June 15, 2018
(From left) Tabatha Moore, Crystal Moore, Lucille Davis and Journey Harris, representing four generations of one family, prepare for a brighter financial future. (Photo by Robyn Di Giacinto)
Children’s laughter echoed against the high ceilings and white cinderblock walls of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee’s Community Services Building, 650 W. Reservoir Ave. The room below was lined with three crowded long tables dotted with balloon bouquets and confetti shaped like stars and hundred-dollar bills.
It was all part of a recent ceremony honoring the 88 graduates of the “Make Your Money Talk” financial education series, with about 40  in attendance.
“My plan for my future is to secure a home for my family,” said Crystal Moore, a recent Chicago transplant who had taken the class with her mother and grandmother. “My grandma took care of me, so I’m going to take care of her … We came into the program to become homeowners!”
The free nine-hour “Make Your Money Talk” class series was begun by the address Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) in 2004 and has since minted more than 2,100 graduates. Although the class is offered in other Wisconsin communities, the Milwaukee program that runs in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee is the largest in the state.
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WWBIC President Wendy Baumann said that the classes involve working with participants to develop spending and savings plans to help achieve specific long-term financial goals. She added that graduates often stay in touch with WWBIC financial counselors for years.
Graduates Rosalind Tipton (left) and Larita Williams celebrate their success at the “Make Your Money Talk” graduation ceremony. (Photo by Robyn Di Giacinto)
A prime example is Sean Williams, who works in the Potawatomi casino floor bar and has lived in public housing since 1997.
Williams said he first took a “Make Your Money Talk” class in 2005. Over a decade later, he has just received preapproval for a housing loan and is hoping to move into his own home by September.
“I’m feeling good,” Williams said. “This program has helped me a lot.”
In addition to financial education classes and guidance, Milwaukee Housing Authority residents who participate in the program are eligible to open a “Match Savings Account” to help finance a home, education, business, debt payment or the purchase or repair of a vehicle.
These special bank accounts match savings at a 4:1 ratio up to $500, ultimately yielding up to $2,500. Marcus Alamina, a WWBIC financial capability coach, estimated that roughly 70 graduates had applied for an account by the time of the graduation ceremony.
Graduate Quinesha Cole, 26, received her culinary degree in 2006. Now, she’s planning to use her Match Savings Account funds to help start her own catering business.
“We’re excited that we’re one step closer to that goal,” added Tiffany Johnson, Quinesha’s mother and fellow graduate.
For many program alumni, the Match Savings Account has continued to “pay dividends,” so to speak.
Alumna Brittany Hughes, a 29-year-old who spoke at the graduation ceremony, took the class with her husband James last fall. She said that her ongoing relationship with the program’s financial coach has helped her to improve her credit score and secure a housing loan.
The Hughes’ used their Match Savings Account funds toward the down payment on their first home. They closed on it in April.
“I feel like sometimes we limit ourselves in the things we do and the goals we reach for, but all you have to do is keep trying,” Hughes said in a phone interview. She said she would strongly encourage other Milwaukeeans to enroll in the course.
The ceremony included opening remarks from WWBIC and Housing Authority officials, a keynote by Mayor Tom Barrett, presentation of graduation certificates and a gift card raffle and children’s coloring contest.
The “Make Your Money Talk” class runs several times per year, with the next session starting in late July. Call (414) 263-5450 to sign up for the next class.

author: Robyn Di Giacinto


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 14, 2018


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First year at new project-based high school brought excitement, challenges | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jenny Whidden
June 18, 2018
Pathways students laugh and talk as they finish up their projects on the last day of school. (Photo by Jenny Whidden)
Three years ago, Julia Burns and three other parents of Milwaukee-area students shared their vision for a new kind of education — one that defied traditional ideas about learning. From that vision, the four founded Pathways High, a free public charter high school, where staff and students recently completed their first year.
Pathways, located at 336 W. Walnut St., was chartered through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is rooted in project-based learning. Rather than taking tests and  completing homework, students fulfill academic standards through projects.
“I believe there is so much human potential that gets squandered in traditional education models,” Burns said.
Tony Shafer, the school’s English teacher and dean of students, said Pathways offers a balance between traditional and innovative teaching.
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“We know how to help the kids develop projects that are meaningful to them,” Shafer said. “We also know when we need to stand up and teach in a traditional classroom.” Instruction can look different every day depending on what the kids need, and that is a strength, he said.
Shafer, who has 25 years of teaching experience, said he was nearly ready to leave the field before Pathways opened because he was frustrated with traditional education.
“Pathways is not afraid to experiment, to try new things, to gloriously fail and to pick ourselves up again and keep going,” he added.
Students gather around a laptop in one of the school’s main classrooms to view a project. (Photo by Jenny Whidden)
Looking back on their first year, students and staff said there were many challenges, including behavioral issues.
“There were growing pains. It was definitely a wild year because there were so many things going on — schedule changes, teacher changes,” freshman Olivia Partenfelder said.
Despite the roadblocks, she said the growth and opportunities she’s experienced at Pathways have shown her that the school is worthwhile.
Through an entrepreneurship class, Partenfelder and a few other students created MKE Socks, a company that donates a pair of socks for each pair it sells.
“I’ve always struggled with regular learning because it’s just so forced upon you and so bland,” Partenfelder said. “Here, I’ve been able to choose what I want to do and just really learn how I want to learn.”
Freshman Saida Brema said she was attracted to Pathways because of such unique programs as staying a fifth year and taking college courses.
“I want to stay for the four or five years to see where this school will go because, with how much the school has been through this year, I think next year will be really good,” Brema said.
Burns, who lives in the Wauwatosa school district, said the school had about 80 students this year. She said Pathways is diverse by design as the founders are pursuing a 50/50 ratio between suburban and urban students. In the first year, the ratio was 65 percent urban and 35 percent suburban students, according to Burns. Shafer said this diversity is a big part of the school’s success.
“Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the country, and even well-intentioned kids may not get a chance to interact with kids outside of their neighborhood,” Shafer said. “Here, these kids become friends. Here, these kids become colleagues. Our culture advances what I think just about everyone hopes will happen in our city.”
Freshman Sam Heitz, who was impressed with the small school size and project-based learning, enrolled at Pathways the day he toured the school.
“I feel like the culture here is amazing. I had all white friends before I came here. Not that it has to be a racial thing, but it was for me,” Heitz said. “Now I have a very, very diverse group of friends and I really love it because it’s interesting to compare our cultures. There’s a whole chunk of the world that I was cut off from.”
Heitz said projects he worked on included building a 10-foot catapult for physics and a stand-up paddle board for geometry.
Because many of his close friends are leaving after this year, Heitz said he seriously considered transferring as well. However, he said, he is devoted to the school.
“I’m terrified because of the changes for next year, but it’s an excited terrified. I embrace change,” Heitz said.
Heitz and a couple of other students were involved in some of the new staff interviews, and he said students received Google form surveys before almost every change during the year.
“I really appreciate that the student body is given a voice in what the school’s future is,” Heitz said.
Burns said the founders are considering changes that will not be overwhelming for both students and staff. Starting a new educational culture from scratch is not as limitless as the founders first imagined, she said.
“You think about the people that you’re bringing into the school — both staff and students. They carry with them a culture and a history of what education looks like for them. So it’s still a change initiative even though we’re a brand new school,” Burns said.
Pathways is expanding its single administrative position to three. Rather than having one director, the school will now have a director, a principal and a dean of culture.
Of the new dean of culture position, Burns said success in academic standards relies on support for student experiences outside of school.
“Bringing cultures together, we want to be very intentional about how we have the students learn the skills of empathy and the means for communicating across different cultures,” Burns said.
With the first year under her belt, Burns said she feels even more optimistic moving forward.
“The thing that I am the most excited and enthusiastic about is the amazing students that we’ve had this year and that are coming back and the new students that we’re getting,” Burns said. “We’re seeing the enthusiasm in the kids. Their eyes light up when they can do work that they’re really passionate about. To me, that’s where things just take off.”
Pathways High will host an ice cream social for prospective students Monday, June 18,  between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.

author: Jenny Whidden


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 17, 2018


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DSC03355 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
June 17, 2018