MILWAUKEE — The road for Black Wisconsinites hasn’t always been easy.

While many Black trailblazers have made their mark on the Badger State, it’s often been despite clear racial barriers.

Still, during this Black History Month, we are “Celebrating The Journey.”

And as February comes to a close, we brought together leaders from across the state to discuss the past, present, and future for Black Wisconsinites. 

How did we get here?

Throughout the Badger State’s history, many leaders worked hard to pave the way for Black Wisconsinites.

Among them was Ambrose Nutt, who founded the Milwaukee Urban League back in 1919. 

Starting in the midst of the Great Migration — when many African-Americans moved from the South up to cities like Milwaukee — the Urban League helped make sure these new residents could succeed, as Spectrum News 1’s Michelle London reports.

“When African-American individuals were coming here for better opportunities, we were the ones that would help them find decent housing,” said Dr. Eve Hall, the current president and CEO of the Urban League. “We would connect them to education. We would connect them to health access.”

Another key business leader was Wesley Scott, who led the Urban League through the 1960s and ’70s. Scott helped build relationships with Milwaukee business leaders, pushing industrial projects and making sure African-Americans were hired in key roles.

The Urban League’s mission continues to this day: “We are about economic vibrancy and empowerment of African-Americans,” Hall said. “So that has not changed.”

Just a few feet away from the Urban League headquarters sits America’s Black Holocaust Museum, another historic staple.

The museum was founded in 1988 by “freedom fighter” Dr. James Cameron, explained Reggie Jackson, the current ABHM curator.

Cameron was a civil rights activist and historian who put his life on the line for justice, Jackson said. After surviving a lynching at 16 years old, Cameron went on to open three chapters of the NAACP in Indiana — the most Klan-heavy state in the U.S.

“You can imagine he got a lot of death threats,” Jackson said. 

Eventually, Cameron decided to move to Canada, but got sidetracked by a visit in Milwaukee. “He fell in love with the city in 1952, and decided to make it his home for the rest of his life,” Jackson said.

Of course, one of the most well-known Wisconsin trailblazers was Vel R. Phillips — a civil rights leader, legal pioneer, and philanthropist. 

In 1956, Phillips became the first African-American and the first woman elected to Milwaukee’s Common Council. She intentionally left her picture off her campaign materials so no one would know she was a woman, Jackson said.

But her groundbreaking career didn’t stop there: Phillips would go on to secure Milwaukee’s first fair housing ordinance and become the first African-American judge in Wisconsin. She’s still the only Black American to ever win a statewide election in Wisconsin, after she was elected Secretary of State in 1978.

Remembering this history is important to moving forward — which is why places like the Black Holocaust Museum want to examine the tragic legacies of slavery, all while promoting racial repair, reconciliation, and healing.

How do we understand our current moment?

Dasha Kelly Hamilton didn’t always think she would be a poet. She grew up writing short stories and fiction, and only later in life grew to have a new relationship with poetry through spoken word events.

“I found how much community and connection and exploration came in that work,” Kelly Hamilton told our reporter Taurean Small.

Now, that love for poetry has carried Kelly Hamilton’s voice to new heights. She’s the current poet laureate for the state of Wisconsin — the first Black woman to hold that role. And in her past 20 years of working across different communities, she said she’s become “part of the Wisconsin fabric.”

For Kelly Hamilton, creativity and art are key to accessing important conversations.

“Art keeps us all alive, actually,” Kelly Hamilton said.

During the pandemic, she pointed out, many people were turning to creative outlets like baking, crafting, and watching online performances. 

In her view, art — and poetry in particular — allows us to go beyond the facts and statistics. Like the verse Kelly Hamilton shared with us, which brings up images of protest and hope, art can give personality and weight to help us understand a story.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. And there’s a lot of the mindset that needs to be unraveled,” Kelly Hamilton said. “You’re not going to unravel a mindset simply by information. There have to be real conversations, on a human level, about why this matters.”

Where are we going?

In a panel led by Spectrum News 1’s Sachelle Saunders, Black leaders from across the state agreed: Wisconsin has some work to do. 

Many of the challenges facing Black Wisconsinites today are the product of a long history, State Rep. Kalan Haywood II pointed out.

“When we talk about Black and brown issues, or racial inequality issues, these aren’t new issues,” Haywood said. “These things did not just happen last night or over the last couple years — they’ve been decades in the making.”

Robin Tinnon, the executive director of We All Rise Green Bay, said many Black residents in her community don’t feel like they have access to resources. 

She pointed to the issue of Black home ownership, where Wisconsin ranks among the worst in the country. Tinnon believes there’s a need to direct more resources specifically to marginalized groups — including Black, indigenous, and and Latinx residents — and to be more intentional about supporting a diverse community.

“Black people want to thrive and survive like every other community,” Tinnon said.

Kenosha activist Porche Bennett-Bey added that Black Wisconsinites need more representation, especially in the legislature. Engaging with voting and getting more seats at the table will help give the community a voice, she said.

And Judge Lakeisha Haase — the first Black judge in Winnebago County — added that representation in the judicial branch is also key. 

Wisconsin’s criminal justice system has created huge racial disparities and had a particularly negative impact on the African-American community in the state, Haase said. Getting more diversity on the judicial bench is an important step to changing that pattern.

“Each judge brings with them their history,” she said. “When we have judges of color who come from a different background that can relate, that is going to be so crucial in effecting that change we want to see.”

Haywood said that drive to be at the table pushed him to sign on as part of the statewide “Speaker’s Task Force on Racial Disparities.” His hope is to keep pushing for meaningful reforms so that everyone has access to education and economic prosperity, and feels safe living in the Badger State.

“At the end of the day, we have to make Wisconsin a state where all Black and Brown people are able to be proud to call Wisconsin a home,” Haywood said.

For Tinnon, it’s important to acknowledge the root causes of Black people’s oppression — and then be able to heal from them. 

She hopes the future will hold spaces where the Black community can gather to build power and just be “unapologetically free.”

“When we’re able to spread our magic and be close to one another, we are changing and breaking generational curses,” Tinnon said. “We are reminding ourselves each and every day of our strengths.”