I have customers who come into Speed Queen Bar-B-Q to this very day that come through our door and they’ll be like, ‘I remember when your mom was pregnant with you and she couldn’t even barely walk.’ I remember when I was little, putting on a chef’s coat and having a little pad and writing
“I’d like Speed Queen to continue for more generations.” Read More »
I grew up in Milwaukee, in the Sherman Park neighborhood. From as early as I can remember, my life has been about community involvement. I was an only child for the first eight years of my life, so a lot of my social experiences, my social needs were met in community. Photos taken by Nicole
“I was raised like the community is family.” Read More »
I would say my family, my mother, my grandmother, and uncles that came by, shaped who I was. Even though we didn’t have much when I was a kid, they made sure my brothers and I were good people. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd Share This Post So I give tribute to them first. But
“I turned my pain into passion and started mentoring.” Read More »
When I was about 12, I was laying on the back of the wagon in Marion, Alabama. My granddaddy had been plowing the field all day, and I was looking up at the clouds, thinking about what I’m going to do when I grow up. At that particular time, what I saw for myself was
A Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement Read More »
I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Where I lived, there weren’t very many white people around. It felt really segregated. But I went to public school in the neighboring city, in Shaker Heights. That suburb was the complete opposite, but I had a diverse group of friends. Photos by Stephanie Bartz “My parents
Bridging Racial Divides Read More »
“I like to say I am Mississippi-made, California-cultivated, and Midwest-matured. Photos by Lovell Richardson I’ve always had a big personality and been outspoken. Growing up my friends looked to me to be a leader. When I was in grade school, I knew I would be the voice for people who couldn’t speak for themselves. I
“My faith in God is what really strengthens me.” Read More »
I was born in Chicago Heights, a Chicago suburb. When I was six years old, my family and I moved to Middleton, Wisconsin because my dad had a new job. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd This was a huge culture shock and a tough experience for me. In Chicago Heights, I was around a lot
The neighborhood I grew up on had a lot of green spaces. We were in the middle of Milwaukee but all around me, people were growing things. Photo by Jade Iseri-Ramos My great-grandmother had a garden four houses away from ours. Every spring, she would take her hoses out of the basement and attach them
“We can’t do anything without clean water.” Read More »
I write songs. That’s what I do. And it’s a job, so I drive around the country and sell those songs door to door like a vacuum cleaner salesman. Photo by Adam Blackbourn I was born just outside of Houston, Texas, but I don’t have any memories of Texas. Before I was able to be
“Music always makes sense. That’s why I keep coming back to it.” Read More »
Every day, people are released from prison and return to communities across the state to rebuild their lives. Wisconsin has an incarceration rate of 676 per 100,000 people and, notably, imprisons Black men at a higher rate than any other state in America. The barriers people face when they are released can be overwhelming and are considered partially responsible
“My mom came home in 2001 and that’s when my healing started.” Read More »
In this series, we are featuring the Odyssey Project, a University of Wisconsin humanities class for adult students facing economic barriers to college. With its whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through access to education, this program has been transformational. Keena Atkinson is an alumna of Odyssey. They say whenever you
“Our lives changed because our understanding changed.” Read More »
In recent decades, many of Wisconsin’s independent and local newspapers have folded or been absorbed by large media conglomerates that hollow them out and reduce local content. Ron’s story is part of a series that illustrates why local journalism matters and why we need journalists to confront our urgent local issues. I was always a
“Local news is so important. It’s the glue that connects us.” Read More »
