African American Voices

“Music always makes sense. That’s why I keep coming back to it.”

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 …

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Buffalo Nichols| Milwaukee, WI

“Our lives changed because our understanding changed.”

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 …

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Keena Atkinson | Madison, WI

“It’s important for all of us to work towards acceptance.”

Dr. Bola: “My husband, Philips, got a job in the Paper Valley and we moved here 20 years ago. Photos by Megan Monday I’m a professor of multicultural education now, but at that time I was just finishing up my PhD from Penn State. Appleton appealed to me because I am a small-town person. I’m …

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Dr. Bola and Philips | Appleton, WI

Finding Peace and Strength in the Northwoods

James Edward Mills of The Joy Trip Project worked with the National Forest Foundation to create The Black Men Northwoods Retreat. Below are stories from four of the men that were part of the trip to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Photos takes by James Edward Mills I’m the world’s first African American diabetic to complete …

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Black Men Northwoods Retreat