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Racist riots of 1919: Remembering the “Red Summer” that textbooks have conveniently forgotten

Racist riots of 1919: Remembering the “Red Summer” that textbooks have conveniently forgotten

Posted by | Jun 19, 2020 |

The racist riots of 1919 happened 101 years ago this summer. Confronting a national epidemic of white mob violence, 1919 was a time when Black people defended themselves, fought back, and demanded full citizenship in thousands of acts of courage and daring, small and large, individual and collective. Neither the defiance of Black communities in 1919 nor the racist violence to which it was a response was anomalous. 1919 is a moment that reaches back to the Stono Rebellion, Nat Turner, and Robert Smalls, and forward to the Ferguson and Baltimore uprisings, Bree Newsome’s dramatic removal of the Confederate...

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Milwaukee’s latest Civil Rights mural honors local leaders and community organizers

Milwaukee’s latest Civil Rights mural honors local leaders and community organizers

Posted by | Jun 17, 2020 |

Another social justice inspired mural was installed on June 13 in the alley of Locust and Holton Streets. Artists from around Milwaukee painted a collage of murals on the walls of a building in the Riverwest neighborhood. The beautification project featured local leaders involved with the Civil Rights Movement, including Vel Philips. A special remembrance to the life of Breonna Taylor was installed days earlier on another side of the structure. “These murals will be beacons for Black Lives and the continued fight for justice in Milwaukee for a long time,” said organizers on social media. The murals were...

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Proof is in the Pudding: The public should lower expectations about major changes in policing

Proof is in the Pudding: The public should lower expectations about major changes in policing

Posted by | Jun 8, 2020 |

“Yet when something happens in another state, it’s very, very easy to jump on the bandwagon and say Milwaukee can do better. Shame on them. That’s an easy narrative… Two thousand years ago, an angry mob came before people to say ‘Crucify that man.’ That man being Jesus Christ. What are angry mobs doing today? We say we’re civilized, but are we really? Just think about that… And that includes you, media. You can play a big role in changing the perceptions that are out there.” – Alfonso Morales, Milwaukee Police Chief “Our position is these officers were simply...

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An Economic Civil War: Age-old racial wounds are exposed in effort to relax COVID-19 protections

An Economic Civil War: Age-old racial wounds are exposed in effort to relax COVID-19 protections

Posted by | May 19, 2020 |

With unemployment approaching Great Depression levels, the nation is waving the white flag on controlling the coronavirus. It appears not to shock the senses at the White House or at many governors’ mansions around the country that the 76,000 deaths from COVID-19 in three months could fill the Superdome with coffins. Instead, these leaders are pushing to “open up America” as much as they can for commerce. Following the lead of the Trump administration, governors tell us we cannot let the cost of the lockdown become worse than the disease. But scientists are already raising their death estimates by...

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Reggie Jackson: Message Received, All Lives Don’t Matter!

Reggie Jackson: Message Received, All Lives Don’t Matter!

Posted by | May 7, 2020 |

The recent response to the alarming number of deaths in the black community in pockets around the country has been tepid, in my opinion. Many have written and responded that we need to do better, but what has really changed? Even as we are seeing in Milwaukee County an leveling out of COVID-19 deaths in recent weeks, blacks still account for an exorbitant number of cases and deaths as compared to their share of the population. As we look at where the largest clusters and concentrations of cases and deaths are, an alarming trend has shown its face. In...

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Law and Disorder: Non-Violent Civil Rights Campaigns “Then” vs. Armed Protestors “Now”

Law and Disorder: Non-Violent Civil Rights Campaigns “Then” vs. Armed Protestors “Now”

Posted by | May 4, 2020 |

“I think this is the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened. The nigras are just as free as we are, they have the same opportunity to work and build their part of the town up the same as we have. I just don’t understand it and don’t approve of it. I’m gonna stand up for my rights.” “Well I think if they remain peaceful it would be a lot better than perhaps the violence.” “I don’t think it’s the time right now, I think they have equal rights though.” “I don’t like it, I think it’s tryin to...

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Knezelism of the Week