As a citizen of Milwaukee, a community leader, and happenings reporter, I’d like to express my concern for your level of disrespect, as it relates to my city. Milwaukee is a place where many people have never been. Statistically proven, we are the one of the worst places to live as a minority. Statistically proven, we have the absolute highest rates for black male incarceration. Historically proven, this is a place where whites did not want blacks to elevate.
In the 60’s, Wisconsin decided to tear down neighbors full of black owned businesses and built a highway in the very place they stood. This damaged Milwaukee, the black community, tremendously. Because of this, our wealth was taken away. We were back down to square one, without support of others.
Wisconsin’s strategic plan of welfare and replacing black fathers for a check became its own pandemic, if you will. Black families felt the struggle. Black mothers felt the need for money. It was so bad, parents use to tell young girls to get pregnant just to be able to produce another form of income.
While this cycle birthed a new realm of dysfunction, this became the norm. This pushed our black men to the streets and out of our lives. They continue to make lots of room for our brothers in prison, banking on them returning as soon as they get out.
This not only effects the man, it effects the families. It effects the stress for the mothers. They have to work like crazy to make ends meet. Because she’s forced to work so much, she only has a little time for her kids. Without a father, her sons and daughters grow up not knowing the true role of their nature. Boys don’t know how to be men and girls don’t understand their value.
We look at our city today and we are proud. Not because of the Bucks only, who play a great role in making our city a better place but we are proud because we are finally moving. We finally have reached a place where black owned business start up rates are at an all time high. Black people are becoming more proud, happy, and productive. We are beginning to learn to love on and support each other. We are learning to travel together, as a city.
We are learning to empower each other. We all have a role to play and a position to hold when it comes to making our city better and I personally feel your comments were out of line if a check was not attached to it. I truly feel offended at the audacity of you all, but I had to realize that you don’t know any better. The life you live is nothing like our but for people like me, we are doing a great work here. We are providing opportunities, we are supporting, we are highlighting our businesses. We’re working to make us better.
I encourage you all to take the time to visit us again and spend thousands of dollars with our black owned businesses. Instead of speaking down on us, help us! Show your love and support for struggling cities like Milwaukee. Yes, we are aware of how “terrible” our city can be. But we are focused on the things that are making us better.
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