Author: Kenneth Cole

On the surface, it may look like the surf lessons and frolicking have become a staple of the annual Surf @Water events, but that perception simply reflects the fact that more people having fun on Lake Michigan. When reviewing Surfrider Foundation-Milwaukee’s intention behind these lessons, and the experience had by those catching their first wave, people realize that this day means much more. For the organizers, Surf @Water illustrates the credo that “you protect what you love.” This approach to environmental activism and awareness stems from the recognition that in order to fight for something, in this case the...

On June 30, the Shorewood Solidarity Network led “March for Humanity, Compassion & Action” as part of the nationwide “Families Belong Together” rallies, joining 600 other planned events that saw hundreds of thousands of people protest the ‘Zero Tolerance’ immigration policy of the Trump administration. Several hundred participants, mostly families, marched in the blistering heat from the Shorewood Village hall to Lake Michigan’s Atwater Beach. At the gathering, children were separated from their parents in a symbolic gesture that reflected the more than two thousand children who have been taken from their parents at the United States border with...

In America we do not fiddle while our nation burns. We scroll. We check our feeds, share our posts and count the “Likes” as our democracy dies in real time. One of the event organizers for Beyond Resistance: Stories of Resilience and Inspiration has been Dr. Kenneth Cole, a Licensed Psychologist with two decades of experience helping members of the community advocate for themselves. As part of the Shorewood Solidarity Network, a community organization working to positively influence the Village of Shorewood and surrounding communities to end discrimination, Dr. Cole reflected on the impact of social media in Milwaukee,...

I have never kiIIed a Black man, but far too many times I have been asked about crime in Milwaukee’s “inner city.” I was blessed to be raised in a two parent home, yet my insight on the “broken” Black family has been sought on countless occasions by numerous individuals. And while I never played a moment in the NFL, former coworkers have asked me why Colin Kaepernick would take a knee “against police,” but not speak out against the violence committed by African American men. Whether naive, misinformed, intentional, or misguided, myself and millions of other people of...