Unfortunately some of his sentiments are correct; however some of what he says is perception. Milwaukee is still a segregated community, I think more in mind than location. There are areas that look very diverse, but they are actually segregated into smaller groups within the area. I think things were getting better in Milwaukee, regarding race relations. That was before the time of the gangs, and the poor, disenfranchised population from Chicago inundated the north side of Milwaukee. That is where the largest concentration of black people live. The mayor, the police, the city and county governments let this go unchecked until it became epidemic. It spilled out into every area of the city; the far northern part of Milwaukee, once desirable and upscale was taken over by drug dealers, and the take over was unabated. At this point, merely by association of race with the criminal aspect taking over the city, we were portrayed in the media as violent. All predominately black neighborhoods were portrayed as bad and crime ridden. That was unfortunate, because often misinformation, exaggeration and what is perceived will damage more than your target, as it was with Milwaukee. It destroyed what we used to love, the high standards and quality of life in all of our neighborhoods. So with all that had been gained throughout the years was practically washed away. With that said, the only way to try and erase the negative onslaught and to bring people back into the city, was to gentrify certain areas and vilify other areas. There are definitely two tales to be told about living in Milwaukee or Northern Wisconsin... The picturesque view of the northern woods and quaint towns, are not really welcoming to African Americans. Even if we refuse to let that stop us from enjoying all that our state has to offer. We are all mindful that there are parts of that picturesque view that may be more than unwelcoming, but absolutely dangerous to Wisconsinites like us. I think the city of Milwaukee is at a precipice, it will have to take major steps to address, ignorance, poverty, crime, teen pregnancy and over all prejudice, or it will fail. If you're not in a hurry to move back, I think the next five years will tell the future of a once progressive city.
Flo | Milwaukee, WI | Report Abuse