Year In Review 2024: Navigating Milwaukee’s social injustice, family struggles, and historical lessons

2024 marked yet another year of profound social change and uncertainty for residents across Milwaukee. While the pandemic had faded into the background of public consciousness, the emotional and financial impact of COVID-19 continued to ripple through the local communities in Wisconsin and beyond.

2024 saw ongoing threats to democratic institutions in the United States, with election-year politics hitting new depths of public division. Those toxic tensions could be seen during the Republican National Convention, which the city of Milwaukee hosted to its economic detriment. That was contrasted by a series of optimistic and uplifting rallies hosted by Democrats to engage a coalition of voters to help save America’s Constitutional democracy.

2024 completed the ninth full year of news features published by Milwaukee Independent. The editorial features covered stories from local neighborhoods that follow current events, and the extended journey of foundational immigrant communities, offering insight into their lives, struggles, and contributions to the city’s cultural fabric. With this focus, Milwaukee Independent produced two significant editorial series in 2024, continuing its tradition of connecting local issues to overseas events with on-the-ground reporting.

In a year filled with increasing and overwhelming natural disasters, Milwaukee Independent staff returned to their hometown in Japan on the anniversary of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown. The series documented the continued trauma and hardships after a decade, and their lessons for Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Independent also published a 72-part series about Milwaukee’s Korean diaspora, linking local people and their stories back to regions across South Korea. The landmark editorial work explored the search for identity in Milwaukee through historical sites and cultural traditions from the Korean Peninsula. It covered diverse experiences, from Korean War veterans in Milwaukee to adopted South Korean children, and the stories of South Korean immigrants raising families in the city highlighting the deep connections between Milwaukee’s Korean community and its homeland.

Instability in the Middle East continued over 2024 and held a particularly harsh grip on Milwaukee, with both humanitarian and political situations. While Milwaukee Independent has deployed war correspondents in the past to overseas conflicts, the Gaza situation came with a guaranteed probability of fatality due to Israeli forces specifically targeting journalists. Through partnerships with international organizations, the award-winning daily news magazine was still able to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s ongoing humanitarian crises and their impact on the lives and communities in Milwaukee.

The Year In Review (YIR) series has evolved from a simple annual feature that highlighted top stories of the past 12 months. It has become a more summarized presentation of important themes packaged together for readers. This collection of editorial content presents the work of Milwaukee Independent over 2024, in a way that helps educate and inform the public who may have missed the stories originally, or want to see how the dots were connected on related subjects over the past year.

This 2024 compilation continues to reflect the transformational mission of Milwaukee Independent, in a format that explores deeply personal issues and documents those inspirational stories that serve as an example for the community.

Luke Waldo: Why the root causes of child neglect have overloaded families in Milwaukee and across the state

Luke Waldo: How the weight of poverty and systemic failures are overloading families

Luke Waldo: A Journey through India and its lessons of social connectedness for Milwaukee

Luke Waldo: Why mandated reporting is not supporting children and families in Wisconsin

Luke Waldo: The promise of a guaranteed income for the economic stability of Milwaukee families

Luke Waldo: Why reimagining the workforce across Wisconsin will better support overloaded families

Reggie Jackson: The little-known history of Black History Month

Reggie Jackson: Why the denial of Black oppression is growing as another false American narrative

Reggie Jackson: History teaches us that ignoring the elephant in the room will not make it go away

Freedom Day: Milwaukee Celebrates Juneteenth 2024 with the Jubilee Parade amid scorching heat

Milwaukee prepares for 53rd annual Juneteenth Day with special MCTS Bus unveiling and flag raising

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield shares message of hope on 12th anniversary of Sikh temple shooting