COMMUNITY
JOURNAL www.communityjournal.net 25 Cents
VOL. XXXIX Number 38 April 22, 2015
The Milwaukee
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VIGIL HELD TO PROMOTE HEALING, PEACE IN MILWAUKEE
W I S C O N S I N ’ S L A R G E S T A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N N E W S PA P E R
Ald. Milele Coggs (seen at right holding placard that reads: “#Put The Guns Down”) spoke at a prayer vigil last Saturday at West North Avenue and North Buffum Street, imploring the gathering (seen below right) and the community to unite and stop the violence plaguing Milwaukee’s Black community. The vigil included residents of the Harambee neighborhood, pastors, and local business owners. Vigil organizers were trying to promote a message of peace and healing. (Photos by Yvonne Kemp)
A
“WE’RE STILL HERE!”
One Year Later...
Dontre Hamilton’s family reminds community, the city and officials:
B
IN MEMORY OF...
D
C
PULSE OF THE COMMUNITY
Nate Hamilton (second from right) addresses the media during a news conference to mark the one year anniversary of his brother, Dontre Hamilton’s death at Red Arrow Park. Standing with Nate are (left to right) LaToya Hamilton, Dontre’s and Nate’s mother, Maria Hamilton and Curtis Sails, co-founder of the Coalition for Justice. (Photo by Yvonne Kemp)
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Four memorials in the community were left at the spots where a number of community residents lost their lives to senseless gun violence: A) 37th and Lancaster where Kenny G. was killed. B) Memorial at 29th and Melvina where 18-year-old Michael Powell was shot inside a stranger’s home he mistook for his own. C) Memorial for Archie Brown, Jr., two-year-old Damani Terry and 15year-old Rasheed T. Chiles at 48th and Glendale. D) Memorial for 17year-old girl caught in the cross fire as two men shot and wounded each other during an argument between two women. The shooting took place at Hopkins and Fairmount where the memorial is located. (Photos by Y. Kemp)
“With all the violence that has taken place in our community in recent weeks, what do you think can be done to stop the violence that is plaguing the Central City?”
“They wanted us to go away.They Family of Hamilton prepare wanted us to stop. They wanted us to to mark one year be satisfied. But we are not, and we anniversary of his death won’t be until Black life is valued and announce plans for and respected in our city.” These were the words of Nate national march of mothers Hamilton, brother of Dontre Hamil- whose children have died ton. Nate Hamilton made his com- by police hands ments Tuesday, joined by other family members and the Coalition For Justice at a press conference at Red Arrow Park--”Ground Zero”--to mark the one year annivesary of Dontre’s death. It was at the park on April 30th, 2014, that Dontre was shot 14 times
The Champs in Tech Too!
(continued on page 8)
Young/Coggs Prep High School and Holy Redeemer Middle/Elementary School take home honors at national STEM competition
LATOYA SYKES: “We have to remember that we are a family and each of us has a responsibility for our collective success. We have to invest in the education of our youth and provide sustainable employment opportunities for our adults. There’s truly a need for all hands on deck.”
RUSSELL W. STAMPER, II: “We need more influential programs for youth; training and employment opportunities for adults and support and enhancement of neighborhood engagement. The entire community has to unite to work together to prevent violence. Most important, the men must talk to the youth and show them a positive path.”
ALHAJI CAMARA: “What can we do? Recognize the efforts that are being taken to mentor the youth, whose upbrining will determine the future of justices as well as injustices in the city, with the dream of those justices outweighing the latter. If one does not have the opportunity to mentor, they can listen, understand and symphathize with those directly affected (by violence).”
RHONDA HILL: “The answer to solving violence in the community will have to take multiple shapes. No one answer will rescue us from the current condition. Members of the communities across Milwaukee must unite, share resources, compassion and soul care. I think beginning in our souls, we can find the many answers it will take to address hoplessness fueling the crime.”
Pictured at top: Students from YCPHS with their instructor Nick Doherty. Pictured above: One of the winning robots performing at rally held for the competitors. (Photos by Yvonne Kemp) Riverside High School isn’t the only area school to produce award winning robot creators! The Young/Coggs Preparatory High School (YCPHS) and the Holy Redeemer Middle/Elementary School (HRMES) have also produced some high-tech winners of their own. This year, the YCPHS and HRMES started a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program that has already garnered much success. The wiz kids from YCPHS and HRMES successfully competed in the National C-STEM Competition, held April 10th to 11th at the COBO Center in Detroit recently, taking home first place trophies in several categories. The teams were given a welcome home reception by their respective schools located on the campus of Holy Redeemer Institutional COGIC, located on Mother Daniels Way just off of Hampton Avenue. (continued on page 8)
By Dr. Ramel Smith, “The Blaquesmith”
technology and trade skills. Sadly, for our African American males students, the three R’s they encounter are repeat, referral and resiliency. Black males are more likely than any group to repeat a grade, be improperly referred and placed in negatively stigmatizing special education classes. In the cases where there has been success, more often than not, we see a special child who is very resilient and determined to make it despite the numerous obstacles placed along their path to graduation. Family, we need a new system that recognizes the intelligence in all of our children and maximizes their potential in environments that are con-
ducive for academic and social growth. It is always hard to criticize the education system, as a whole, because there are so many great schools and educators who go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their students. We applaud all of those caring individuals --and systems-- with creative imaginations and concrete ideas that edify, encourage, and enrich the students they serve daily. I give tremendous credit to visionaries like Geoffrey Canada and Dr. Howard Fuller for attempting to give children another educational choice. I sing high praises to schools in the local area like St. Marcus, Milwau-
kee College Prep and Universal Academy for the College Bound for attempting to create hope in communities where hope has been almost extinguished. I give tremendous kudos to schools in MPS like Transition High School whose exceptional leadership and dynamic staff have opened the hearts and minds of students that had difficulty in more traditional schools. Still, with all of these positive situations, we still have abysmal results, in terms of educational outcomes, for a lot of our students. Our critique of the current state of our American educational system should be about a system that is failing all of our children.
We often talk about the achievement discrepancy between Black and White children, which is a real concern. But, the bigger concern is that our White students are performing below their potential and traditional American standards. Americans are 15th, 23rd, & 31st in the nation in reading, science and math, respectively. Is this the goal to catch and match mediocracy? Or is the goal to transform a system that helps the entire educational system and that will benefit and help all children. For decades, our children-- especially poor children of color-- have been given a Hobson’s Choice when
Photos and question by Yvonne Kemp
MEN MEN The School System- 3 R’s: EMPOWERING MEN MEN Repeat, Referral, Resiliency
The three R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) always confused me because there was only word that began with an “r” and school is so much more than just these basic concepts. I do not discount that these are core pillars for success in the world we live in today; however, these are not the only subject areas needed to help a child matriculate into adulthood. Our institutions of learning should teach core academic subjects along with skills in civic responsibility, arts, music, interpersonal skill development, money management and
Dr. Ramel Smith
it came to school selection. This term was coined after Thomas Hobson who owned a livery stable where he rented out his horses. The only catch was his customers did not get to choose their own horse, Mr. Hobson told them which one they could rent. The selection process
(continued on page 8)