Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Community Voices / OPINION: Women are missing from Milwaukee’s street names. Here’s how to fix that.

OPINION: Women are missing from Milwaukee’s street names. Here’s how to fix that.

April 13, 2022 by Ayodeji Obayomi 5 Comments

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

(Photo by Wes Tank)

Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.

This story has been updated to include a source for street name history.

(Photo provided by Ayodeji Obayomi)

Drive around Milwaukee and you are more likely to travel on streets named after men rather than women. The tiny proportion memorializing women are likely to be names related to men in power who influenced street naming.

For example, in 1926, Arthur Wenz, a land developer in Bay View, named Carol Street after his daughter Carol. In 1927, Sidney Gettelman, a developer in the Grantosa Heights Subdivision, named Carmen Avenue for his wife, Carmen Gettelman. In 1969, Michele Miller and Beatrice Prause, who were the granddaughter and wife of Alderman Clarence Miller, were commemorated with Michele Street and Beatrice Street, respectively. And the list continues.

But how were these commemorations possible?

Before Milwaukee’s incorporation in 1846, there were three villages – Juneautown, founded by Solomon Juneau in 1818, as well as Kilbourntown and Walker’s Point, both founded in 1834 by Solomon Juneau and George Walker, respectively. Despite their proximity, Kilbourn attempted to isolate Juneautown by independently laying and naming Kilbourntown’s streets. This caused a rivalry between Kilbourn and Juneau, and on May 3, 1845, it escalated into an episode known as the Bridge War.

After incorporation of the three villages, Milwaukee inherited a haphazard street naming structure. Moving forward, Milwaukee’s early real estate developers assigned names to the streets, which heavily favored male names. In 1929, however, the city officially adopted a more coherent naming approach. Although this naming system was to be implemented by the city engineer’s office, real estate developers still influenced the naming, which exacerbated the gender issue.

In 1990, Milwaukee developed a democratic commemorative process. Among other requirements, the system required a petitioner for a street rename to obtain signatures of the property owners along the street, and at least 50% must agree to the name change. This made it almost impracticable to commemorate women, or anyone else for that matter.

In 2005, the honorary street naming system was adopted. Honorary names are usually in blue plates under the green official names. These names do not change the official naming and are not included in the address book of Milwaukee, making the commemoration less weighty. That said, this commemoration does not require the 50% signature requirement, which improves the possibility of commemorating women.

In 2021, an ordinance nullified the signature condition for official street renaming, replacing it with a four-fifths vote of Milwaukee’s Common Council members (12 out of 15 votes, currently). Although this rule is commendable, it by no means solves our gender problem.

I believe democracy, equity and diversity should guide Milwaukee’s street commemoration framework. Women should have a much more significant presence in our street names. We could start moving toward equity by redefining “heroism” to recognize the values and cultural contributions of women. Heroism should only not be associated with men’s narratives but should be socio-culturally inclusive.

Further, we need to increase public awareness about inequitable commemorative practices regarding Milwaukee’s streets. Perhaps local feminist organizations could exercise their rights to bring gender parity to street commemoration. This recommendation was supported by Alderwoman Milele Coggs in an interview for my master’s thesis. In 1994, while a student at Riverside University High School, Coggs played a leading role in renaming East Reservoir Avenue to Glover Street — Joshua Glover was a man who escaped slavery whose story includes a dramatic chapter in Milwaukee. Recalling that experience, Coggs mused: “We could change [a street name]? That’s what we can actually do? . . .  We started the process, but most people never do that. The more women know, the better.”

Milwaukee could also consider the co-naming principle for street names. For instance, a street could be named for two historically significant people by combining their names, which has precedent in Milwaukee. For example, in 1954, LYNne and MARy Zimmermann were memorialized on Lynmar Court and Lynmar Terrace. If adopted, co-naming would improve the chances of women’s street commemoration, even if she shared a street’s name with a man.

If Milwaukee decides to reconsider its street names, the intersection of race and gender also needs to be considered. Women of color should be significantly represented in the redistribution.

Indeed, street commemoration is an intersection of the politics of space and a place of politics that excludes women. If we value gender equity, democracy and diversity, it is important that we consider women’s values and identity in our street names.

Ayodeji Obayomi is a PhD student in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s urban studies program. He is interested in the historical geography of memory and how it perpetuates inequity in Milwaukee.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Community Voices, News

About Ayodeji Obayomi

Comments

  1. Nessie says

    April 14, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    Not just streets, parks too. Lucille Berrien just got a park named in her honor.

    Reply
  2. Kris Gerke Komes says

    April 15, 2022 at 1:42 pm

    North Fourth Street between St. Paul Avenue and Capitol Drive has been renamed Vel R. Phillips Avenue.

    Reply
  3. Carl Baehr says

    April 25, 2022 at 5:53 pm

    The book “Milwaukee Streets: The Stories Behind their Names” was the source for the street names mentioned in this article. It should have been credited.

    Reply
    • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service says

      April 27, 2022 at 7:26 am

      Thank you for pointing this out and that sourcing was in the original draft by the author, which was omitted mistakenly. The source has been added.

      Reply
  4. Betty Glosson says

    October 12, 2022 at 7:49 am

    Great topic,what do we do about it?
    Why don’t we establish a committee and brainstorm.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

UPDATE: Housing leaders say rental assistance funds are still available for Milwaukee County residents

5 things to know and do the weekend of Jan. 27

These students don’t have to miss school to see the doctor. They can just go down the hall.

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in