Photo Credit: Tom Jenz
I met Michael Taylor in the parking lot of Milwaukee Marshall High School where Black leaders and volunteers were handing out food packages to needy residents under the banner of Essential Needs Assist, the organization founded by Taylor. He made his name as a basketball star at Milwaukee Marshall High School in the early 2000’s. He went on to be a star in college, then to a pro career including a year in the NBA and a player in the European leagues where he contributed to eight championship teams. Tall, lean and fit at 34, he still plays pro basketball overseas. In person, Michael Taylor exudes leadership skills through an infectious enthusiasm. We had our conversation next to an enormous Teamsters semi truck filled with bags of food.
Michael’s passion is his nonprofit Taylor-Made Foundation designed to inspire and mentor inner city youth. He told me, “I was once a misguided youth in Milwaukee, had a tough upbringing.” He was raised in the inner city by a single mother, and she moved her family to different neighborhoods on the north side. He was the oldest boy in the family and made sure he was a good role model for his younger siblings. He never took drugs or got into gang violence. Michael attended five different schools before graduating from Milwaukee Marshall in 2004 where he was the City Conference Player of the Year in basketball.
Importance of Good Role Models
“Once the pandemic kicked in last March,” he said, “I came up with Essential Needs Assist and enlisted the help of the local Teamsters, and we all went to work in May. We started in the local parks, training kids, giving them food and support. Then, that led to feeding families. Since June, I’ve done these Essential Needs Assist events in five different locations. We’ve probably fed over 2,000 families. With my Taylor-Made Foundation, I’m trying to introduce more good role models into the inner city. In my case, I’m an accomplished professional athlete who’s returned his community as an example of what success looks like. The mainstream media, social media, society in general, show us the highs, people who are successful, the glamor. We don’t get to see the lows, the sacrifices, the struggles to achieve. That is something that I want to represent, show the kids that success can happen from growing up in urban Milwaukee, but it takes dedication and a strong work ethic.”
You can reach out to Michael Taylor through this website, TaylorMadeFoundation414.org
Central City Stories is a collection of visual narratives from Milwaukee's central city by writer and fine arts photographer Tom Jenz. You can see more of his work at TomJenzAmerica.com.
