Photo Credit: Taleavia Cole
The Cole family teamed up with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and one member of Youth Empowered in the Struggle to hand out and deliver Thanksgiving meals to families.
Thanksgiving was one of Alvin Cole’s favorite holidays. The Cole family would sit around the table and say what they were thankful for. Alvin would get so full that he’d fall fast asleep on the couch. “It’s heartbreaking because this will be the first holiday without Alvin,” Tracy Cole, Alvin’s mother, says.
17-year-old Alvin Cole lost his life on Feb. 2 after former Officer Joseph Mensah fatally shot him. Since then, the Cole family has worked tirelessly to get justice for Alvin, as well as other victims of police brutality. Now that Thanksgiving is coming up, the family decided that they wanted to give back to the community by delivering turkeys and other foods normally eaten on Thanksgiving. “We decided on helping out unfortunate people with Thanksgiving turkeys and baskets, because I feel, if he (Alvin) was here, he would do the same thing,” Tracy says.
Former NBA all-star Isaiah Thomas teamed up with the Floyds, Taylors and Blakes, families of victims of police brutality, to donate money for the Thanksgiving meals. The families had similar ideas to give back to their respective cities for Thanksgiving. When they reached out to the Coles, Taleavia Cole, Alvin’s sister, knew it was something her family would want to do.
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“It’s us, this is our family’s values, we give,” Taleavia says. “If we can help in some way, that's what we’re going to do.”
After a long track record of working with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Taleavia knew she could reach out to them for help.
Omar Flores, co-founder of the Milwaukee Alliance, said they’ve worked with the Cole family many times in the past. “Our work with the Cole family has gone back since the case started, so it’s just important for us to stand in solidarity with the family and get the word out about what happened to the three men that were killed by Joseph Mensah,” Flores says.
Photo Credit: Taleavia Cole
Paul and Renae Harris, uncle and aunt of Alvin Cole, Tracy Cole, mother of Alvin, and Tristiana Walls, Alvin’s sister worked together to provide free meals for those in need.
Delivering to Families in Need
They weren’t sure if Nov. 22 would go as planned as some original sponsors backed out of the event. Up until 14 hours before their original plan, they thought it may have to be cancelled. However, the Blake family made sure to get food to the Coles. The last-minute change didn’t stop the Milwaukee Alliance from helping out. “People are going to be getting left behind if we don't take action, and so it's just honestly something that doesn't even feel like a choice to me,” Flores says of his activism. “It just feels like breathing and I don't really see another option.”
Flores posted a survey on Facebook, asking for those in need to provide their names and addresses. In just one night, he received over 30 responses. “It's clearly because of the pandemic and our government's failure to protect people that are unable to find work,” Flores explains. “It's not people's fault that the economy is crashing and that people are forced to work to live and that there's really no safety nets here in the U.S.”
The Cole family, members of the Milwaukee Alliance and one member of the Youth Empowered in the Struggle showed up at the Cole family’s home on Nov. 22 to deliver food, as well as hand some out to those who could come in person. Flores made some deliveries with his brother, and the reactions of the families when he arrived moved him. “I would say the one (reaction) that stuck out to me the most was just these two kids that answered the door because their mom had to be at work,” Flores says. “And the kid just came out in his robe, and he's all smiles. They kind of take the box, but the box was just a little too heavy for them. So we kind of helped them bring it over into the kitchen.”
Delivery drivers traveled all over Milwaukee to deliver food, even going outside of the city to Wauwatosa and Fond du Lac. “We don't want to limit ourselves either, you know? So we just said, whoever is in need, sign up. I don’t care if you’re in Wauwatosa. You’re in need? Sign up,” Taleavia says.
Continuing to Spread the Message
While delivering items to families, the Coles continued to get across their hopes for changes. They left letters inside the Thanksgiving boxes that explained their story and their list of demands, such as removing Chief Barry Weber and Attorney Chris Smith, charging Joseph Mensah, and more.
One of the most important demands is the need for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), a demand that they share with the Milwaukee Alliance. “(CPAC) is essentially just, community controls the police, we get to decide who gets hired, fired and the funding for the police, not people that are appointed by the mayor, people that we would elect in each police district,” Flores explains.
Taleavia and the rest of her family are staying wary of COVID-19, but this, to them, was something they had to do. “We are in a crisis right now and the last thing I want is for my family to get sick or anything. So we’ve definitely been slowing down and coming out when we feel it's necessary, you know? And we thought Thanksgiving was necessary,” she says.
