Photo by Tom Jenz
Milwaukee Activist Tracey Dent
Fifty-six-year-old Tracey Dent’s childhood involved a serpentine journey. He was born in Milwaukee and was first raised on Meinecke and Weil in a mostly white neighborhood. Then came the family moves, a kind of gypsy caravan through the inner city. First to 39th and North, then to 39th and Galena, then to 25th and North, and then down south to New Orleans, then back to Milwaukee to 20th and Chambers, and finally to 16th and Burleigh, zip code 53206, populated with Black residents. Dent went to North Division High School where he graduated in 1986. “My mom was a single parent,” he said. “I was the youngest of three brothers and three sisters. We all chipped in and got jobs. That was our family norm.”
When did you get into activism and community service, and what motivated you?
I’ve always kind of been an activist throughout my lifetime. But in 2006, I expanded my activism when I was the external vice president of the 100 Black Men of Milwaukee. I arranged several events like Thanksgiving turkey giveaways and Christmas events for kids. In 2008, two partners and I formed Peace for Change Alliance. Ever since, we’ve been volunteering at grass roots events like Stop the Violence Rally and Walk for Wellness rallies. We also did college fairs, job fairs, and youth events. This motivated me to put on vigils for families whose members were killed by violence. I also aligned with city resources to help grieving families with funeral expenses. In the 2012 to 2013 period, I was averaging two to three vigils a week. That earned me a lot of respect from the Milwaukee Police Department. I’ve also done vigils for fallen police officers.
You tend to focus on positive goals and accomplishments. Let’s start with legislation you helped pass. Let me list them, and you can comment on your involvement. The month of May is Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month and also Violence Prevention Month.
A young woman died in a motorcycle crash near Atkinson Park, and I put on her vigil. Her mother and I worked with Alderwoman Millelee Coggs to draw attention to motorcycle safety, and we got Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month passed in 2018. Violence Prevention Month got passed in 2017 after a young man was killed in gang crossfire on 28th and Wright. I did the vigil. His family and I worked with Alderman Ashanti Hamilton to get Violence Prevention Month passed. This prompted me to produce a music video, “Stop the Violence,” with the help of 13 artists.
Thanks in part to you, the last Week of July is 1st Responders Appreciation Week. 1st Responders are police, firefighters and paramedics.
At that time, two police officers and a firefighter had been killed. I worked with some alderpeople and got 1st Responders Appreciation Week passed, and we also did a walk to honor the 1st Responders.
You helped create August as Education Awareness Month.
I work with the Milwaukee Public School System on different things. I was the chair of the district advisory council, parents who meet once a month to talk about issues with MPS. With the help of Alderman Russell Stamper, the Education Awareness Month got passed.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. How did that come about?
Sexual Assault Awareness Month was on a county level. County Supervisor Sequanna Taylor helped me get that legislation through. I know so many women who have been sexually assaulted in relationships. Sojourner Truth House is an advocate for women who have been domestically abused. We did a walk around the Sojourner building, and then we presented the music video on sexual assault that I produced. It’s called, “Break the Cycle.”
You also helped create October as Bullying and Awareness Month at the State and County level.
Yes. That came about because my daughter was being bullied. She felt like she wanted to kill herself. As a parent, I found that very hard to deal with. I did a music video about stop bullying, which you can find on the MPS website. It’s called, “No Amount of Tears.” I also went to a memorial where a 7th grader committed suicide. He had been a protector of kids who were bullied, then he got bullied. Later, a Marquette High School kid was bullied because he was of mixed race. He killed himself with a gun. The common council unanimously supported my effort and created Bullying and Awareness Month for October. State Representative David Crowley later got it passed at the state level.
You are Chair of the City of Milwaukee Bullying Task Force.
The Bullying Task Force is a method for the city and the Milwaukee Public Schools to work together.
Keep in mind that the city has no authority over the public schools. The elected school board oversees MPS.
That is why we made the effort for MPS and the city to align on the issue of bullying. When there is a bullying incident, the city department of Safety & Wellness can step in and help. We also look at MPS policies and procedures and how they deal with bullying. But here is the problem. MPS does not want us in their business. We had a representative from MPS on the Bullying Task Force, and he stopped coming to our meetings and stopped answering his phone calls. When bullying incidents happen in the schools, the administration seems to be overwhelmed with other issues, and they don’t do the paperwork. What goes on in some of these MPS schools is like a circus. A teacher cannot teach when a class is often disruptive.
You have been a supporter of the police even after the George Floyd protests. In fact, you engineered October 15 as Milwaukee Police Department Appreciation Day. Why have you supported the police when some Black activists stay quiet?
When violence happens, what is the first thing you do? Call the police. It isn’t right if one officer makes a mistake, that it means all officers are bad. We need to weed out the bad officers. It’s like saying all Black people are “this,” and all white people are “that.” I want to bridge the gap, bring the community and the police together. Police officers put their lives on the line every single day, and they are under-appreciated.
Reckless driving has been a huge issue, particularly in the inner city. A few years ago, you started a reckless driving campaign and produced a dramatic music video. How did all that come about?
A mother and her little girl were getting out of her car, and a reckless driver sped past and slammed into her car. Mother and daughter were taken to a hospital, and the daughter died. I produced a video that kind of recreated that incident to draw attention to the dangers of reckless driving: “Over The Limit, Don’t be a Clown, Slow Down.” I also did a music video on stopping gun violence, “Put ‘Em Down.” I like producing these music videos because creative people work together and make a difference together.
You sit on the executive board of the City of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers. What do you do as a Crime Stopper?
Crime Stoppers are comprised of different people from different walks of life. We all work together. Milwaukee residents are encouraged to call the Crime Stoppers with tips on crimes. Let’s say we get a tip on a felony offender, and the police arrest the offender. We board members decide how much money should be given to the tipster. The amount of money depends on the severity of the crime. We want to encourage people to come forward.
You implemented the Restorative Justice Program in the District Attorney's Office. Tell me about that program.
This involves first time offenders arrested for low level felonies or misdemeanors. If the offender completes community service, then the arrest will be wiped off their record. The court won’t get involved.
Let’s say I do a nonviolent robbery of a store, stealing money. I get arrested, and then I agree to pay back the store as restitution. Would that qualify as restorative justice?
Yes, but as long as your public defender offers the D.A. your plea, and then you do the payback. The D.A.’s office has some people trained on this restorative justice program.
You are the Founder of International Stop the Violence Prayer Walk. Tell me about that.
There is violence all over the world. We need prayer. Prayer works. I connect with different pastors throughout the world, India, Pakistan, South America, Asia. The first time we did our prayer walk in Milwaukee, we had 57 countries doing the prayer walk. In their time zones at, for example, 1 p.m., the prayer walkers stop and pray for peace and all their victims of violence. That is what we did in Milwaukee, pray for victims of violence in our city and everywhere else.
You are also Founder of the Sleepover for Education. I believe that involves donating school supplies.
This will be our 11th year doing the Sleepover for Education. The purpose is to collect school supplies in a different kind of way. We ensure that the students who need them the most get the school supplies. We partnered with the city who put the word out. People come and donate school supplies. We then donate the supplies to a school that has the most need.
You once told me, “We need to focus on the right things to do. Not all Black people are criminals. Not all white people are racists. Not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants. We need to stop putting labels on one another and get to know each other individually, try to accept our cultural differences.”
I will add this—try to understand each other’s culture. At the end of the day, we are all the same. You don’t have to like me but try to understand me. Back in the day, neighborhoods were kind of like family. Everybody knew each other. Neighbors watched out for one another. Sometimes, I think in today’s communities, we are too scared to say hello. We have to stop being afraid of our youth.
The last week of April is Youth Victory over Violence Week - we will do our part at the Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy in the inner city on April 29th.
You are active in your Masonic Lodge. What has that meant to you?
The Masons helped me become a better person and helped to humble me. To be a Mason, you have to recognize a higher power. I’ve gone through the interpersonal journey to become a better me. The Masons are big on community service. I am the secretary for my local lodge, and I come up with the events. For example, we gave out gun locks in neighborhoods, and volunteers from other lodges helped pass out gun locks. We’ve done CPR classes with the fire department, and we’ve also done a job fair.
Tracey, where are we headed in Milwaukee? Where is the inner city headed?
When you see on the news that shootings are down or killings are down from the year before, we don’t feel the effect of that news. When you live in the inner city, you hear gunshots almost every night. Most of us don’t watch the news because when we turn on the news, we find somebody got shot or killed. Milwaukee has a lot of violence, and it’s usually Black on Black violence. But at least, we are seeing more people make an effort. There are more young leaders now. More city agencies are involved in the community. And the residents are appreciating the police more. I don’t hear anything negative about the police department anymore. Let’s start celebrating the things that are positive in Milwaukee. We always brag about our Downtown, but let’s not forget the inner city.
