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Once again Milwaukee has been ranked one of the worst cities in the nation for black people. The news site 24/Wall St. ranks Milwaukee number two in the Worst Cities for Black Americans stating the typical black household in Milwaukee earns just $27,834 a year — 42.5% of the $65,568 white median household income. While the white poverty rate in Milwaukee of 7.6% is one of the lowest in the country, the black poverty rate of 36.4% is among the highest.
The report lists factors behind these disparities including segregation, while an expounded article in USA Today lays out day-to-day implications of segregation and its impact on the labor market. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/16/racial-disparity-cities-worst-metro- areas-black-americans/38460961/
As the City of Milwaukee is profoundly affected by segregation and structural barriers surrounding race, this report speaks to the need to establish an Office of African American Affairs (OAAA) as soon as possible. I successfully sponsored legislation two years ago to create the OAAA. I am very thankful Mayor Barrett included $800,000 in the proposed 2019 city budget which was passed by my colleagues on the Common Council last week.
With the location established at 4830 W. Fond du Lac Ave. the OAAA will be a one-stop shop promoting equal opportunities for African American residents in areas including business ownership, job creation, job training, home ownership, health care and education. While building renovations could begin early next year, I cannot emphasize enough the urgent need to develop this center and to maintain if not expand its momentum to be a positive force for better and richer lives.
My Take
Re “Office of African American Affairs”
by George F. Sanders
Serious attention ought to have levied at the idea of a Milwaukee “Office of African American Affairs,” unless it would be paid for and financed only by African Americans, not local taxpayers!
Here are five reasons why:
(1) Poverty is real. While middle class Blacks have improved, Black poverty remains part of Milwaukee’s DNA. Blacks beg at Brady Street’s Walgreens, while City Hall and some of the elected appear impervious to this fact is that that Hyper Segregation has not gone anywhere!!
(2) Black elected officials, now middle classers, still appear quite naive amidst the myriad of federal and state programs available to alleviate poverty, generate housing and help the poor. The new “Office of African American Affairs” is going to assure that City Hall does??!! Better drink more coffee especially if Commissioner Rocky Marcoux will continue running the show!!
(3) One such Black official, in a recent news report claimed he was “tired,” apparently of the frequent problems in his district. Research reveals that he knows little about federal aid for his poverty-struck district.
(4) All elected officials ought be also be required to go through training and updating in order to identify local problems and the corrective means. If not being committed to that, then he or she ought resign and admit being not ready for the job.
(5) Those elected ought understand that corrupt City Hall influence learned quickly not only how to blame victims, but how to create them — such as the strategy to decimate public schools, snatch its $1.2 billion dollar budget, there by driving out superintendants, thus creating kids who steal cars that kill people and the cops that chase them.
Milwaukee City Hall and the Milwaukee Housing Authority were both responsible for either sloppy decision-making and/or the intention of stealing $83 million of Westlawn’s redevelopment funds, then mysteriously recovered it! How could that be??
Blacks did not do it! Neither did whites, nor Hispanics…and if they did and later recovered the funds they would owe interest when paying it back! So ought Milwaukee City Hall because they STOLE it!
Another layer of administrative flotsam, i.e. an “Office of African American Affairs that taxpayers would pay for is dumb, and reveals how some elected not only have no idea about what HUD does, nor any other federal agency including services available from SEWRPC, a valuable 5 county agency that’s known for its outstanding work throughout the world.
It is unfortunate that, again, much is left to what some describe as the decision-making influence of Milwaukee’s Commissioner, Rocky Marcoux, often to the detriment of honest elected officials who ought be adequately informed about anything that affects their abilities to effectively represent constituencies.
Office of African American Affairs? Why not Polish Affairs, or Hispanic Affairs….? Muslim??