The Milwaukee Bronzeville Poet Series

This Milwaukee neighborhood -- bounded by Brown Street on the north, Juneau Avenue on the south, Third Street on the east and 12th Street on the west — was once a thriving African-American community. It was systematically destroyed in the 1960s, largely through eminent domain for freeway construction. Eminent domain was expanded to include the transfer of seized land to private developers. The results of a political apparatus that allowed the I-43/I-94 freeway to plow through the heart of the Bronzeville neighborhood and wipe out the richest source of black cultural identity Milwaukee has ever known. A neighborhood where a southern migrating African-American population settled and grew economically, socially and politically. The better cultural qualities of this neighborhood came about through a unique set of circumstances that evolved naturally over time. Re-imagining the history of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood is significant because it serves as a basis for understanding cultural identity. To be more specific, it brings about a greater concern for understanding the enduring qualities of the people as well as the environmental, social, and cultural benefit for the city of Milwaukee itself.

 

 

Milwaukee's Bronzeville A Case Study: http://thirdcoastdaily.com/2013/08/18/bronzeville-the-old-heart-of-milwaukees-african-america-could-beat-again/