OPINION: Women are missing from Milwaukee’s street names. Here’s how to fix that. | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ayodeji Obayomi
April 13, 2022
(Photo by Wes Tank)
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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.
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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  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.