Bronzeville Week is back. And it’s in-person as well as virtual.
The festival will run from Saturday, Aug. 7 through Saturday, Aug. 14. The events shine a spotlight on Black-owned businesses, Black artists and Black history and culture along King Drive and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Among this year’s highlights are the annual HaRUNbee 5K Walk/Run on Saturday. Events will be in-person and virtual.
Here is the full list of events.
The celebration started over 10 years ago when residents rallied to replace an empty storefront with a grocery store.
“We fought alongside each other for the grocery store that this neighborhood needed and deserved,” said Ald. Milele Coggs at a news conference Wednesday in front of Pete’s Fruit Market, the grocery store the community pushed for. “It’s kind of like starting with a vision, having an idea and having people support it enough to help make it happen and to continue to support it to see it grow.”
The week’s schedule feature art demonstrations, film screenings, brunches, a marketplace and much more. Space is limited for all in-person events, and organizers are encouraging everyone to wear masks.
Bronzeville Week is co-sponsored by the Milwaukee County Office of African American Affairs, the Historic King Drive BID, the City of Milwaukee, American Family Insurance and others.
Want to know a little more about the history of Bronzeville?
Here’s a trailer of “Remembering Bronzeville,” a 2019 documentary by Karen Slattery that was inspired heavily by the work of the local playwright, Sheri Williams Pannell, and her play, “Welcome to Bronzeville.”
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