Author: Lee Matz

Historic ribbon cutting at LULAC convention ushers in new chapter for local Hispanic population

Even though the Latino community is the fastest growing ethnic population in Wisconsin, the group has at times been considered northern cousins far removed from issues affecting border states. But the long overdue national affirmation was made official when the National President of LULAC, Domingo Garcia, cut the symbolic red ribbon to open the 90th Annual National Convention and Exposition for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on July 11 in Milwaukee. The convention organized a variety of free workshops for young Latino adults and professionals, and was highly anticipated for hosting a Presidential Town Hall with...

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Milwaukee’s Lakefront hosts annual celebration of Art

The Milwaukee Art Museum presented the 57th Annual Lakefront Festival of Art (LFoA) from June 21 to 23 along Lake Michigan, featuring almost 200 local and national artists. Organized by Friends of Art, the Lakefront Festival of Art is the longest-running volunteer supported program of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and a fundraising event for art exhibitions and the acquisition of works for the Museum’s Collection. Among the booths of featured artists and creative professionals in 2019 were jewelers, painters, sculptors, photographers and printmakers. Items available for purchase included pottery, drawings, digital art and works made from wood, glass and...

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Save Me: New film shines light on growing suicide crisis within Milwaukee’s Hmong community

The Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts hosted a special red-carpet event on June 15 that premiered the screening of “Save Me,” a locally produced film created to bring attention to the need of mental health resources for Milwaukee’s Hmong community. The Hmong American Friendship Association and Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV, along with a number of local organizations, collaborated to translate the stage play into a film. “Save Me” features a young Hmong girl who loses her mother and falls into depression, until she meets a mysterious person who teaches her to...

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Milwaukee’s 48th Annual Juneteenth Day Festival celebrates emancipation, community, and ancestors

A crowd of thousands attended Milwaukee’s 2019 Juneteenth Day Festival in spite of gloomy weather and bouts of rain, sharing a passionate enthusiasm and deep pride for the African American community on the day recognized as the end of slavery. June 19 is still not recognized as a federal holiday, even though it has been celebrated for 154 years. The Civil War has no day of commemoration, like when the original 13 colonies declared independence. Yet by many criteria, Juneteenth represents a far greater struggle for freedom than July 4. The tradition is the oldest known celebration commemorating the...

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Napalm Girl: Vietnam veterans embrace Kim Phúc and her message of love during Milwaukee visit

One of the most unforgettable images from the Vietnam War was of a little girl running naked, after surviving an accidental napalm attack on the village of Trảng Bàng. The composition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph “The Terror of War,” taken by Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut, captured the shattered innocence and tragedy of the American conflict there. No longer that 9-year-old little girl, Phan Thị Kim Phúc commemorated the 47th anniversary of that bombing during a visit in Wisconsin on June 8, with a powerful message of hope. Known as the “Napalm Girl,” Kim Phúc still carries the physical...

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