Author: Staff

The former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was blocked from inclusion on a list of leaders to be honored by the State of Wisconsin for Black History Month. White Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly rejected him over the objection of black legislators. A few days later on February 15, the City of Milwaukee’s Common Council added Kaepernick to its annual “28 Days of Black History” program. Council members jointly issued a public statement about the decision for the February 25 event at City Hall from Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II, Alderwoman...

The Milwaukee Independent has closely followed the Foxconn story since the news was announced 18 months ago on July 26, 2017. With our past experience of doing business in China with the Chinese, Wisconsin’s business dealings with the tech giant were entirely predictable for how bad things would turn out. At the moment, no one knows what is going on with the promised factory in Mount Pleasant. There is a sense of uncertainty enveloping the plans for its operations. Reports have steadily shown that Foxconn will not produce what they signed an agreement for in order to get an...

Riders of The Hop can now see the location of an approaching streetcar to better plan their travels, thanks to the release of real-time data on February 12. The GPS-based information feed provides up-to-date positions for where streetcars are on the 2.1-mile route and when they will arrive at each stop, improving the passenger experience. “With slower conditions on the road today, riders can start tracking the streetcars now to get a better sense of arrival times,” said Jeff Polenske, Milwaukee Commissioner of Public Works. Thanks to the launch of the TransLoc Rider app, riders can take advantage of...

The digital gap across America, and specifically in a socially and economically segregated city like Milwaukee, presents challenges to teens and families in poverty who are just trying to do basic things like apply for jobs, complete homework assignments, pay bills, make decisions on major purchases, or participate in civic activities. City on a Hill is working to bridge that digital divide by partnering with the local nonprofit Digital Bridge. In a pilot program, young people gained computer skills to express themselves artistically and developed the technical skills necessary in many careers. Parents of youth who participated were given...

The Library of Congress has acquired and made available online the Omar Ibn Said Collection, which includes the only known surviving slave narrative written in Arabic in the United States. Omar Ibn Said was leading a prosperous life in West Africa at the turn of the 19th century, devoting himself to scholarly pursuits and the study of Islam, when he was captured, carted across the globe, and sold as a slave in Charleston, South Carolina. An autobiography that Said penned during his time in America is the only Arabic slave narrative written in the United States known to exist...