Photo by Tom Jenz
Mayor Johnson speaks at Juneteenth 2023
Mayor Cavalier Johnson speaks at Milwaukee Juneteenth 2023
On a perfect summer day with good moods all around, Juneteenth 2023 brightened Milwaukee. Taking over a long stretch of Martin Luther King Drive, the event was vast. It stretched from Center Street to the south and then straight north to three blocks above Burleigh. The celebration unfolded through wall-to-wall vendor exhibits lining King Drive, which acted as a crowded corridor for thousands of pedestrians. There was dancing in the street, and laughing in the dialogues, and the atmosphere felt powerful and peaceful.
Then, the spell was a broken. A half hour after the Juneteenth celebration ended at 4 p.m., while people still walked along MLK, some teenage girls got into a fight. There were gunshots. Suddenly, there were victims. Teens. Four girls and two boys injured. A sad ending to a glad day.
But I prefer to concentrate on the positive side of the celebration because the annual Juneteenth block party on Martin Luther King Drive is designed to promote unity and peace for Black residents and anyone else with different skin colors and cultures.
I roamed the event and talked to many people. I was interested in getting an answer to this question:
“What is one thing Milwaukee can do to improve conditions in the Black community?”
Les Brockman
His group was honoring the 29th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War
A lot has to do with communication. People of color need to be more talkative to each other to help prevent the random violence, killings and shootings. Conversations should include young folks, middle-aged and older folks.
Frank Cumberbatch
Vice President for Engagement at Bader Philanthropies
Let’s make it two things. One, we in the Black community have to put a focus on young people. We need to find mentors and positive-minded people to guide them. Two, African American people have to come together as one, as being African. If we were to rally around one goal, we could transform Black Milwaukee and it could become the beacon for what urban America ought to be.
James Causey
Award-winning veteran journalist for the Milwaukee Journal
The one thing that needs to happen to improve the Black community is a larger investment in safe, affordable housing. Housing is the building block for communities, families and children, yet the city keeps allowing companies to build these expensive condo developments that most Blacks can’t afford. Home ownership for Blacks in Milwaukee has never been above 50 percent, and the Blacks who do own homes are not getting the equity of homes in the predominantly white communities. This needs to change.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson
Milwaukee’s Mayor for two and a half years
Five decades ago, Milwaukee had the highest standards of living for African Americans in the United States. No more. Today, we need to improve the economic conditions so that African Americans can improve their livelihoods. They need to be able to buy homes, have family-supporting careers, and stabilize their neighborhoods. We need to find that next economic boost.
Tory Lowe
Longtime activist and mediator of domestic violence issues and host of his talk show on 101.7FM Black Talk Radio
I’d like to see more Black businesses and stores in the central city. A lot of living wage business ideas. Without new businesses, it will just increase poverty in the Black community. It needs to be easier for potential Black entrepreneurs to get business loans. Seems like you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get the city to help get you a license. Some people who apply are denied licenses.
Milwaukee Police Captain Sheronda Grant
Head of Police District 5 which includes the Juneteenth area
I would focus on the community as a whole, not just the Black community. We in Milwaukee need to show more compassion and empathy. Too many times we are hard-hearted, and that causes problems. We have to see things from different perspectives, have conversations and listen, and then take collective action.
Tondalia Watnem
Special Assistant to the CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Urban League
Having a sense of camaraderie. We tend to get in our own little bubbles. We need to be a community, pushing each other forward, pushing each other up.
Anton Duncan
Works for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Positive mentorship and growth. As a mentor, if you are looking for a one-day self -atisfaction, get a steak. A week satisfaction, go on a cruise. A month satisfaction, get a new car. If you are looking for a lifetime friendship, become a mentor. Do it for somebody.
Dr. Sequanna Taylor
Milwaukee County Board Supervisor and Vice Chairman
Supporting the Black community in ways we have not seen in the past. Supporting each other. A second thing would be to help reduce the housing barrier, Black people having access to good housing.
Melanie Ricks
Milwaukee Bucks In-Game Host/Sideline Reporter and Radio personality
There are many things. Too often, Black voices are stifled and kept only in Black communities. We need diversity, not only in schools but in the business world. In athletics, Black children focus on just a few sports. It would be good to expand their participation in other sports.
Dr. Eve Hall
CEO and President of the Greater Milwaukee Urban League.
We need to close the education and economic gaps in our community. More home ownership opportunities and more quality education can help make a difference.
D.J. Deacon
Promoting Hood Claimers, an organization that provides purpose for the Black youth, along with pathways into business.
The first thing to improve our Black community is to reach out to the youth. Give our youth something to do other than just hang out. At Hood Claimers, we are trying to keep the Black community alive.
Sherwin Hughes
Well known radio talk show host on political and local matters.
Better parenting, better housing, but we also need to invest more in education. If African Americans have better educations, more opportunities will open up for them.
Donte Holmes
Senior Director for Programming at Safe & Sound. I found him at Rose Park for a team basketball event.
I think we start with the families including the parents and the youth. Focus on the entire family dynamic, what they need in their neighborhoods in order to improve their conditions.
David Bowen
Former state assemblyman representing the 10th Assembly district.
More collaboration. Very sincere commitment from local government and corporate leaders to make real change for investment and access to opportunity.
Vaun Mayes
Sherman Park resident and head of Community Task Force Milwaukee, a group of youth leaders, activists, and faith-based organizations dedicated to peace and progress.
Inclusion. Our elected people in positions of power and authority should learn how key, important, and necessary it is to include community stakeholders such as myself. They shouldn't be making these decisions and changes without our input and involvement, because they affect us all.
Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball
Elected Sheriff in the fall of 2022.
I think we need a more united front. If people in the Black community confront our problems and challenges together, we can make progress. We need togetherness.
Orsino Thurman
Juneteenth participant wearing a Fuck Racism T-shirt.
We gotta include unity in community. It falls to us, the Black people. There can be no changes on the outside until we change within. It starts with us first, people of my kind, people of my color. Too many people do not want to hear our stories and the turmoil we experience.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman
Appointed Police Chief in November 2021.
We need to build relationships. We need to know each other. Know our neighbors, our leaders, know who we are dealing with. Know people from all walks of life. As with this Juneteenth celebration today, we need to get out, meet and greet, and work together.
Coda
When a Milwaukee leader suggested I answer my own question, I said, “But I am white.”
“Does not matter,” said the leader
I gave my answer. “Do not judge. Just listen.”
Juneteenth is now a legal holiday, which honors the day in 1865 when Union Army soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced to the enslaved people that they were free. Milwaukee has hosted Juneteenth Day celebrations since 1971.
