I’m from Beloit. Even though I grew up in the city, I still grew up with a really strong influence from my mother to love and appreciate nature. We didn’t have a lot growing up; we were on the poor side. But my mother made the best of any situation for us. Photos by Kathy …
I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee. My dad drove a truck for a living. He was gone all week on the road and home on the weekends. My mom was a homemaker. She was at home with the four kids—me and my two sisters and brother. We grew up in a neighborhood …
Pardeep: When I first met Arno, a little over two months had passed since August 5, 2012, the day my father and five other Sikhs were executed in our peaceful Wisconsin temple by a self-avowed white supremacist. Photos by Megan Monday Pardeep: Two of the victims were brothers, both had families and young children. A woman …
I was born and raised here in Wisconsin, a Dodge County native—actually Beaver Dam. My parents had three girls: me, my sister, Nicolle, who’s nine years older than me, and my sister Natalie, who’s five years older than me. Photos by Kara Counard Content warning: This story contains references to substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. …
“I was going to do whatever it took to stay sober.” Read More »
My parents first came to Wisconsin as migrant workers back in the ‘40s. My father’s heritage is Hispanic and Comanche, and we think my mother was Apache and Hispanic. Their prior place of residence was San Antonio, Texas, which they tried to escape because they were so poor and food was so scarce. Photo taken …
https://vimeo.com/188689432 Nora is an amazing young person. When we talked to her, we found her optimism to be infectious. Nora gained a lot when she joined Youth in Government during her freshman year of high school, even though she had to step out of her comfort zone. Nora was elected the Governor of Youth in …
When You Follow your Passion, You Can Make a Difference Read More »
The city made the decision to knock down houses, then leave our community with vacant lots. Nobody’s built a house on it, nobody wants to develop it. We call it a snaggletooth community. We have people driving up just dumping tires and old furniture and TVs on our vacant lots. How are we supposed to …
I remember back in ’62 we had to leave our village because the Communists came. You hear they are coming and you have to leave. Photo courtesy of The Lands We Share project “My family lived far away from the city, in the highlands of Laos. We had to work very hard doing slash and …
My dad lost his arm on May 13th of 1941. He was the yard foreman for the Holberg Paper Mill. They wanted to give him a watchman’s job with pushing a broom afterward, and he didn’t go for that. He did not go for that. So, once he got a settlement, he paid cash for …
My dad made it clear that we could do what we wanted; we didn’t have to stay on the farm. He said he would support our decisions. Photos courtesy of The Lands We Share project “But, growing up, I just remember when you get those first few warm days of spring and there’s that smell. …
I grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somalis have a very close culture, we take care of each other. If someone doesn’t have a car, you take them to work. If someone is not making enough money, we help them with the rent by chipping in. If something tragic happens, like someone becomes sick or gets …
“I see myself as someone who knows both cultures—American and Somali.” Read More »
When she was younger, my grandma was on our tribal council. She’d always take us around with her, to Madeline Island, to Red Cliff, all over. She’s elderly now, and when I moved in with her she wasn’t doing very well. I got worried about her sugar addiction, and about all the medications that she …
