Author: NNS

By Mark Doremus • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service The 75-acre site where Wisconsin’s largest public housing development once stood is roaring back to life. About 1,000 mixed-income housing units are emerging at the new Westlawn Gardens on Milwaukee’s northwest side. The first phase, which finished in 2012 with 250 affordable rental units, stretches from North 60th Street to North 64th Street between West Silver Spring Drive and West Custer Avenue. “It’s like building a small Wisconsin town from below the ground up,” said Paul Williams, Choice Neighborhood Initiative coordinator for the city Housing Authority. “It’s not just buildings. The...

By Edgar Mendez • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service As the baby-boom generation retires and new opportunities open, Hispanics in Milwaukee should be among the biggest beneficiaries of the demand to fill high-paying jobs. After all, they have accounted for all of the Milwaukee metro area’s population growth since 2000, an increase of nearly 75,000 that offsets the loss of 68,000 white residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. But that’s not happening, according to a new study by the nonpartisan, independent Wisconsin Policy Forum. “We’re seeing their numbers growing in almost every occupation, but they’re still underrepresented in high-paying...

By Caroline White • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Anna Mae Robertson once spent her time evading Nazi U-boats in war-torn Europe. Now, perched on her living room recliner with photos of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren covering the walls, some may find it difficult to believe. A longtime Milwaukee resident, Robertson was a member of the only Women’s Army Corps all-African American battalion that served overseas in World War II. The Women’s Army Corps 6888th Central Directory Postal Battalion, or the “Six Triple Eight” as it is otherwise known, was sent to Europe in 1945 to sort a backlog...

By Katie Avila Loughmiller • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service We are used to being left out. The lack of Latinx representation is evident from the entertainment industry, to roles in leadership, and even here in Milwaukee where you will be hard pressed to find us being represented in the arts community. Through hard work, however, we are seeing the tide change in all these areas. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not only worked and fought her way into a Congress seat but also rightly earned a spot on the cover of Time magazine. Yalitza Aparicio was nominated for best actress at the...

By Ana Martinez-Ortiz • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service In a year when issues such as immigration and a proposed wall at the Mexican border have become major political issues, the nation’s oldest and largest Hispanic organization will hold its convention in Milwaukee in July. Hot-button issues will definitely be on the agenda at the convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, and several Democratic presidential candidates have been invited to speak. Here is a primer on the organization and the convention: What is LULAC? The League of United Latin American Citizens began 90 years ago....

By Xiao Liu • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service About 25 years ago, on a Saturday night in the basement of a home in Milwaukee, a group of Chinese-American parents gathered to begin teaching Mandarin to their young children. The parents felt forgetting their native tongue was shameful, and they were afraid their children would lose their connections to a country 7,000 miles away. Led by their passion for Chinese cultural identity, this volunteer teaching group eventually formed the Milwaukee Chinese Community Center, a community-based nonprofit organization. The center serves as a platform to showcase Chinese culture while embracing Milwaukee’s...