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Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


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You are here: Home / News / Community / NNS Audio: Voices of Sherman Park: Three years later: Community members at the Sherman Phoenix remember unrest, recognize progress

NNS Audio: Voices of Sherman Park: Three years later: Community members at the Sherman Phoenix remember unrest, recognize progress

August 16, 2019 by Bridget Fogarty Leave a Comment

Many in the community express admiration for the rise of the Sherman Phoenix. (Photo by Sue Vliet) 


The Sherman Phoenix opened its doors in late 2018, “rising from the ashes” of the BMO Harris Bank that burned down during the vioent protests on August 13, 2016.  

Three years later, we asked customers to reflect on the unrest, the state of police-community relations and how community projects like the Sherman Phoenix contribute to the community’s healing process.  

Ben Watson

When Benjamin Watson’s family moved to Sherman Park 40 years ago, they were the first African American family to live on his block. He grew up using the neighborhood’s namesake park as his backyard, visiting every day to play basketball or just hang out.  



The neighborhood is still Watson’s home, and he is a community organizer involved in the Sherman Park Neighborhood Association and other groups. He remembers in vivid detail how the events unfolded in August of 2016. 


Watson believes some beauty came from the chaos, like the opening of Sherman Phoenix. Still, there is work to be done, particularly on police-community relations. 






Marcia Taylor

Marcia Taylor owns Lush, a gourmet popcorn business that found its home at the Sherman Phoenix. Originally from Detroit, she moved to Milwaukee 10 years ago. Taylor describes her reaction when she heard about the shooting of Sylville Smith and subsequent events. 




Taylor says the positivity that came from the tragic events in Sherman Park is an example for the rest of the nation. She wishes the media would show that side of Milwaukee and her neighborhood so others can understand there is more to the city than the crime that most news outlets display.






Sisters Jyniah and Jymiea

Sisters Jyniah and Jymiea Williams remember driving home from the State Fair in 2016 when they saw the buildings on fire in Sherman Park. They recently started work at Shindig Coffee.  

Jymiea, a criminology student at MATC, speaks about her experience as a police department ambassador, a youth program that bridges community members and police officers, and how her personal path has evolved. 






Betty Reid-Ward

Betty Reid-Ward has been working at the resale boutique Grateful Girls since May. In that time, she’s felt a real sense of camaraderie develop between businesses and customers in the Phoenix. She’s also found the community-minded spirit of the building reflected in the businesses contained within it, including her own place of employment.   



About Bridget Fogarty 

Bridget is a community engagement intern at NNS and a senior in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. You can email her or call the newsroom at (414) 604-6397. 

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How to reach us: Email is highly effective. We can be reached at info@milwaukeenns.org. Our newsroom phone number is (414) 604-6397.  

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Filed Under: Community, Sherman Park Tagged With: Sherman Park Three Years Later

About Bridget Fogarty

Facebook |  Twitter | More stories from Bridget

Bridget is an intern reporter on the Community Engagement team at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a senior double major in Journalism and Spanish at Marquette University. Her work for NNS includes writing feature news, resource guides and “How To” articles.

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