Category Archives: Milwaukee Black Businesses

Roll Up!

Posted by Wonder Woman on

 

Roll ‘Em If You Got ‘Em

What happened to Milwaukee’s War on Blunt Wraps and ….

Some time ago Common Council President/Alderman Willie Hines banned the sale of drug paraphernalia by local gas stations, corner stores, and local businesses. Today you can find these products everywhere you turn so I wonder what happened to that ban and why now are blunt wraps and designer drugs in the convenience stores with little to no restrictions on them. Many places you go, you can find someone smoking their swisher sweet blunts right out in public with or sans weed. I thought we were working on stopping the promotion of drug use which included things that imply drug use?

Some of this goes to the fact that in America illegal drugs make up $100 BILLION of our economy. That means if we really made an effort to just say no and stop the sale and use of illegal drugs, our economy would cease to exist. I had heard Frederick Alexander Meade talk about this fact on Earl Ingram’s show. WOW $100 BILLION. This is too much for us common folk to wrap our heads around and certainly too much money to do anything about without getting killed. Most of us have seen the news and media surrounding Mexican borders and the innocent blood being shed for the safe passage of these drugs into our country. Who are we to stop such a powerful industry if our elected can’t? Look what happened to Hillary Clinton when she tried to warn us of the dangers, they put a hit out on her.  None the less we live directly in the results of this drug induced culture every single day. As tax payers we pay in one way or the other and AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and other such cults are big business pushers that may or may not help. Who cares, it won’t stop and addiction/recovery are also big business. Why do you think AA and NA have few rivals for all of these years even though there are proven drugs in other countries that are actually helping addicts get the monkey off their backs successfully? To most of us this side of the pond those medicines are not insured and expensive but available for a price.

Getting back to Milwaukee, some of this goes to the fact that police did not deal with the original ban and never really enforced it. It became an afterthought. But Lord forbid you smoke in a bar or restaurant, or talk on a cell while driving, or don’t buckle up and you will end up a feature story on some local news story hidden video series with a big fine, ticket and criminal record.

The rest of this is we simply stopped caring as a community. Honestly we got bigger fish to fry and this should have been a simple task. If you want to own and operate in Milwaukee, your business must not sell blunt wraps and drug paraphernalia. PERIOD! But now I see blunt wraps sold as far as Brookfield, so that tells me we have no chance of stopping it here in the city. Although I still contend it should not be that damn difficult. We have hotlines for everything else under the sun.

So why are we selling blunt wraps and all the fixings for drug use in the inner city?

We still patronize these places because they are convenient. We gave up supporting our own businesses because they were priced out or were bad businesses in terms of customer service or management. The new owners are not of our country or community and could care less about the after effects of their sales. They go off to Mequon or wherever and call it day. They offer a ton of stuff, real cheap prices, and can now take Qwest and WIC and all the government aid you can support any business on. Had some of our businesses lived to see Qwest and WIC programs they might have been able to contend, but now they are gone.

Is it time to revisit the ban and add these items to the list, or should it be okay to sell items we all know are commonly used for drug use and expect the community to rise above this? Our kids are going into these shops and they are not dumb, they know what the stuff is used for and admire it and wait for their turn to participate in this exchange. Should our current mayor take a walk into a corner store and see what all qualifies as a “tobacco product” in Milwaukee? Wouldn’t it be nice to see him in the inner city not for a photo op but for something that is not a direct result of violence or giving/receiving an award but walking around the “hood” to stop and take in the city from our vantage point? Former mayor, John Norquist used to ride the bus A LOT, this mayor, only when a camera is around.

Funny when other communities piped up about stores like Starship and its sales of drug paraphernalia no one disagreed and the stores complied. Seems like the inner city stores operate under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. I think it is far past time to take back our corners!!

 

Peace Family,

WW

Whatever Happened To Bronzeville?

Posted by Wonder Woman on

 

 

Whatever Happened To Bronzeville?

The mayor renigs on his promise to our community!

Some weeks ago Mayor Barrett announced that he was leading a team of business and community leaders to rethink Wisconsin Avenue, to aide businesses in that immediate area and help the area become more economically viable as well as appeasing to the eye. Well that is all swell, but seems the mayor forgot about a project he was going to revitalize in his campaigning for mayor, help prosper and redevelop. What happened to developing Bronzeville dear mayor?

THE BRONZEVILLE DISTRICT

“The Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District is a City of Milwaukee redevelopment initiative inspired by Milwaukee’s original Bronzeville District of the early to mid 1900’s.

The heart of the original Bronzeville neighborhood was along Walnut Street between King Drive and 12th Street. By the 1930s, the number of African American-owned businesses in this area exceeded all other areas of the city – with the highest concentration between 6th and 9th Streets.”

  More about Bronzeville history

  http://city.milwaukee.gov/Bronzeville/History.htm

Some years later Bronzeville is still sitting here with little development for the African American community, Black businesses, local tenants and those who had high hopes for a new era with lofty dreams of infusing past memories of a rich past with the new semantics of life in an urban setting.

It’s 2012 and Bronzeville is a shell of what it should be by now, what we were promised it would be restored to. It is not entirely the mayor’s fault. In order to build anything in our community and make it flourish, we must assist in the process. We have seen many businesses come and go and come and go and …a vicious cycle of bad business deals, lack of community support or involvement, horrible communication from the Mayor’s office and lack of support (when is the last time you saw him there shopping, patronizing, visiting?), and the appearance from the media stories that this is still a rough neighborhood and just plain ignorance. Ignoring the businesses we do have in Bronzeville, ignoring the Alderwoman fighting to promote and plan (Milele Coggs District #6), ignoring the area, ignoring the project, ignoring US!!

(A quick little history lesson: Mayor Hoan, for which the bridge is named, had a great part in the destruction of Bronzeville and “Little Africa” by adding the I-94 corridor. Yet we honor this man as a great mayor. Mayor Barrett has the opportunity to right this gross wrong and make a powerful stance against the segregation we seem to never be able to shake off.)

I am sure some will say look at all the new housing projects. Yep more condos and I don’t see too many of us affording them!! But they sure do look pretty. The low income developments will also be nice once completed, if they are well built. How long will they stay nice? Can we get good management teams to manage them well? Can we make people respect their new living space and not tear it down like so many housing projects before? Recently the news and neighbors have brought to light more and more horror stories about low-income residential developments and the lack of effort on the part of developers to use quality material, build properly within code, and the need for oversight. The developers get the government handout off the top in some cases and then use cheap parts and spotty workmanship for the infrastructure. I also hear and have witnessed complaints about new housing developments, mostly white owned with some minority contractors, but that’s for another day! And if I am wrong, please correct me!!

That still leaves those residents with few businesses to shop. They might be feeling insecure if they watch local TV which depicts the area as violent and hardly ever shows Bronzeville in a good light except for maybe MLK day or Juneteenth day. Some months ago someone was shot right in front of a store and that was plastered all over the local media. I have tried to find positive pieces about the district to counteract the bad, but it is hard to do unless you live there, which I do. You can see good versus evil daily, but with a MIA mayor, the evil seems to grab more of

a stake in the district despite the efforts of Coggs and a few other dedicated soldiers to save this piece of US!

We can see out and out blight on the main thoroughfare of North and MLK! An abandoned looking building housing an closed Walgreens, a Time Warner Cable Payment Center and a one-stop shop. Might as well add a Cricket, a smoke shop, and a fried chicken outlet! Currently Bronzeville is an empty vision for the entertainment piece it once was; the cornerstone of Bronzeville!! At a glance, it is still ghetto heaven and I do expect much more Mayor Barrett starting with you! You can fix Wisconsin Avenue once your promise and obligation to us has been fulfilled!!!

Education-wise we do have St. Marcus Lutheran School anchoring down the community with its higher standards of education, superior emphasis on religious and African American educational needs, and its own personal commitment to the community. Many of the staff are anchored in the area, buying homes, putting their social justice into action!

 But then we have a handful of closed schools (MPS mostly), as well as schools that look like jails. They need a cosmetic upgrade as well as a caring staff. This is where our governor fits in. We must not let him take away the residency requirement. If it’s good enough to work in, it’s good enough to live in! He also needs to commit to this project with state funding and seek federal assistance. He’s on the hook too! Creating a new and powerful tax base helps the entire state as well as Milwaukee!

Sadly the patron saint of the street, MLK’s statue is hiding along his namesake drive. Symbolic of the way the area is a hiding jewel ready to be made over and brought back to its historic glory days.

Family before we let this mayor and his administration off the hook to go and remake other parts of the city we need to get our elected back on board with Bronzeville. If black elected could bring a whole state to its collective knees, (Taylor, Coggs, Grigsby, etc…) they certainly can redirect some attention to Bronzeville too!

For more information on the area please visit

http://city.milwaukee.gov/Bronzeville

The most recent good news from Bronzeville was just released right before posting:

“Two more projects have been proposed for the Bronzeville African-American Cultural Arts and Entertainment District.”

“We have made steady progress in cultivating the Bronzeville area as a cultural and entertainment district that honors a rich history in our community. In the present, however, development in this area and on Historic Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. means more stable neighborhoods, increased economic viability and more jobs for residents,” Ald. Miele Coggs said.”

http://onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/bronzevilledevelomentplans.html

Here is a story about the efforts from Urban Milwaukee:

http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2010/07/21/bronzeville-takes-a-small-step-forward/

Please also take a moment to write the mayor and the governor too! Tell them in order for segregation and black unemployment and other cultural issues to begin repairing is by starting here in Bronzeville and moving on up! Invest in us and not in more lake front condos for a change!! Time to make the whole city look beautiful! Also please thank Alderwoman Coggs for staying steadfast on this project. She keeps it front and center, but she cannot do it alone and she needs more support for this project from the community!

Peace Family,

WW

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HOOD WINKED! In the hood, more and more people are starting to see 2+2 DO NOT = 4.

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HOOD WINKED!

In the hood, more and more people are starting to understand or realize 2+2 DO NOT = 4.

People are waking up to understand that supporting rich union white men means less and less WE get in government benefits and discretionary spending for those of us needing government assistance just to get by these days. Yes this means you, you waiting on Vliet to get your Quest and BadgerCare. I’m talking to those of you who are waiting to get scholarships and aid for school, daycare, and medicine. Those of us holding our breath to see what kinds of co-pays we will be assessed for BadgerCare after this mess is over with. Make sure you understand what is really at stake before you go out there and keep supporting that tired old mantra about Republicans and who is against us. It is going to cost us big time if we keep supporting those who do not support us! Who else do you think they will pick on if we don’t stand one good time and voice our objections to this new union master?

Surprisingly I hear this more and more and I think people are getting it!! We are either for rich white men getting more money and keeping their billions, or we are united in a joint effort and alliance to support this Republican governor for the good of our own cause….US!

Located in the heart of the Inner City of Milwaukee Wisconsin is the JUSTUS League Headquarters and right there is where I sit in my fortress of solitude and ponder over this mess of an urban dwelling that used to be so vibrant and full of life. I can only think what one thing remains constant.

The DEMOCRAT Party’s Choke hold On the Black Community!

Blacks move in and out, other races move out, jobs gone, drugs, crime, and disease back and festering to higher levels than ever before. The only thing that remains the same is our love for Democrats and everything they tell us to support. I have already embraced a different path and if not for those of us who call out this relationship gone bad, some people would just be happy with the same old, same old. I may not be any more right than the next person, but I see the devil in ALL his forms and this is not what the hell Democracy looks like when I walk down North Avenue.

Lena and Spencer talk, run, and they hide, but at the end of the day we all see the same thing. The hood is still the same as it ever was. They have made little if any impact, they throw us a bone every once in a while to make sure their Couriers, Journals, and Times keep their names visible but what do they really do for YOU?

They keep telling us “it’s the rich business wealthy, evil corporations” and those types raping our communities and taking our opportunities and jobs. Don’t you get tired of hearing the same ish over and over again? When will they own some of this problem and stop getting paid off the backs of blacks?

But WE need to call out the real demons if we’re ever going to get somewhere. I see the real criminals being OUR black representatives first and foremost! Another criminal of the black community is the talking head at the main “news” paper that seems to never do too much here in the city for our young black boys or writers, but sure knows how to stay paid. The other criminals are those black “blue blood” families and bougie negros who want to seem like us (when convenient), but are in bed with the devil himself. Those are the leaders of the attack and rape on black Milwaukee and black everybody! 

Ask yourself this question, they had it their way in this state for almost 2 decades and what did they accomplish? What good did you see from this state in its 2 decades of Democracy? Or will you let them off the hook by blaming GWB and other Republicans? The easy marks!

Let’s break it down shall we?

  • Increased costs for insurance for those of us driving. Thanks black representatives!
  • Payday loan scandals that directly hurt US because who else needs a loan. Thanks black representatives!
  • Lena, Spencer, Tamara are all union funded and branded. They also accept PayDay loan money and love a little something, something from the Arabs as well. Did you really think those corner stores and gas stations just opened up over night without some help? As much as Willie Hines worked to try and keep them at bay, his counterparts in the state worked equally as hard to make it easier for them to open up shop and avoid taxes OUR businesses must pay to do the same business.
  • Finger printing by police at random stops to place US in their databases to be called up when they need to pin something on US. Thanks black representatives!
  • Millions of dollars funneled to Cadillac pensions of white men running unions at the cost of our kids educations and futures.

So I say all this to start a discussion about what is OUR reality and what we expect and how do we use this next election to get what we need to not just maintain but to say ENOUGH!

They say people support them but if we look, there are more of us coming out to show some concern for our own way of life. What about you? Did you notice that Lena spent more time on getting Alberta Darling recalled than on your needs, finding jobs, and helping the truly poor? Does it concern you that she and our other black elected get big money to keep us “in line?” Are we sheep and they are our herders or are we going to back it up and flip the script to show them the muscle we have in this community.

Now I am not saying Republicans got it right all the time, but on this one issue, for this brief moment, we need to rise up and be counted. We need to say to hell with the Democrats this one time and start a new trend and take back both parties (possibly add a new party) and remind them who the hell is in charge and whose money counts in the end.

Family, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

April 5th I am asking for your voice and your vote. Do not sit by idly and let them get away with the biggest lynching of all time on OUR poor. Will you join me? Will you send them a mandate that unions have their fair share and it is time we gets ours too!

Peace Family,

WW

 

Analysis shows emails to Walker favored budget repair bill

 

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ca97c286-fe25-5074-8cb0-5f9a2c240df8.html

Gov. Scott Walker was right: The angry crowds in Madison didn’t tell the whole story of how Wisconsinites felt.

In the week after Walker announced his plan to dramatically curtail public employees’ collective bargaining rights in the state budget repair bill, a wide majority of the emails to him expressed support, an analysis of those emails indicates.

They ALL know the only force to be reckoned with, the true silent, majority is the working poor and poor. We get dumped on, just because, by both parties because we are somehow content with the scraps we are given. I am not content to let the rich get richer.

We May Have Hit Rock Bottom… Legacy Bank Is Closed

Posted by the editor on

From BizTimes.com – Regulators close Legacy Bank of Milwaukee 

Minority-owned Legacy Bank of Milwaukee was closed today by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.

To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Seaway Bank and Trust Company of Chicago to assume all of the deposits of Legacy Bank. The sole branch of Legacy Bank in downtown Milwaukee at 2102 W. Fond du Lac Ave. will reopen on Saturday as branch of Seaway Bank and Trust Company. Depositors of Legacy Bank will automatically become depositors of Seaway Bank and Trust Company.

Legacy Bank was founded in 1999 by three Milwaukee African-American women -Deloris Sims, Margaret Henningsen and Shirley Lanier. They raised $5 million startup capital to open the inner city bank.

July 1999 – The original founders raise the required capital of $5 million and meet all regulatory requirements to charter Legacy Bank. Above (L to R):

Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Legacy Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Seaway Bank and Trust Company that it has completed systems changes to allow other Seaway Bank and Trust Company branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Legacy Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As of Dec. 31, 2010, Legacy Bank had approximately $190.4 million in total assets and $183.3 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Seaway Bank and Trust Company agreed to purchase approximately $165.9 million of Legacy Bank’s assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC and Seaway Bank and Trust Company entered into a loss-share transaction on $120.0 million of Legacy Bank’s assets. Seaway Bank and Trust Company will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers who have questions about today’s transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-430-7974. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC’s Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/legacy-wi.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $43.5 million. Legacy Bank is the 25th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the third in Wisconsin. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Badger State Bank, Cassville, on Feb. 11.

We Are The Drum 2011 Wisconsin’s Largest Black History Celebration

Posted by Wonder Woman on

Africa to America We Are The Drum

Since 1990 CAPITA (City at Peace in the Arts) has presented We Are The Drum.

The show is set to resume for two weekends in February 2011.

February 18th, 19th, 20th & 25th, 26th, 27th.

There are also student and group shows that will be presented.

The show will be held at North Division

1011 West Center Street, Milwaukee, WI  53206

www.capitaproductions.org or call 414-429-6573

You can also find us in Facebook and of course you know the Drum will get all the details and special information for VIP’s first!!

Peace,

WW