“Living for the City: The Black Middle Class in Milwaukee" oral history project challenges and complicates existing narratives about Black Milwaukee mired in narrow assertions of poverty, segregation, incarceration, and educational underachievement. These are not the only stories to tell about Black Milwaukee. Research confirms that Milwaukee’s Black residents have lived experiences marked by successes, demanding that we attend to those middleclass experiences left out of current academic and socio-political discourses. Studying those with class advantages brings insights into social inequality. We know what Black poverty looks like in Milwaukee, but what does Black success look like? Turning the lens to middle class opens other narratives and representations of African Americans in Milwaukee. 

“The Living for the City projects consists of over 70 interviews that are archived at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.”

 

Traveling Exhibit Dates:

February 12 -16, 2024 at the Milwaukee Public Library — Atkinson Branch

March 4 - 8, 2024 at the Milwaukee Public Library — Washington Park Branch

March 19 - 25, 2024 at America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Bronzeville

April 8 - 12, 2024 at UW-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library

April 23 - May 2, 2024 at Marquette University Library — Beaumier Suites

 

Community Forums:

February 13, 2024, Tuesday, at the Milwaukee Public Library — Atkinson Branch, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

March 5, 2024, Tuesday, at Milwaukee Public Library — Washington Park Branch, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

March 23, 2024, Saturday, at America’s Black Holocaust Museum, from noon to 2 p.m.

April 10, 2024, Wednesday at UW-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

April 24, 2024, Wednesday at Marquette University — Beaumier Suites, from noon to 1 p.m.