The Racists Made A Critical Mistake

I've been building up a science fiction club in Milwaukee over the last year and a half, and doing so has taken me on some interesting turns lately. I've been making up fliers and distributing them around key areas throughout town, mostly libraries and coffee shops. This has taken me to little nooks of the city which even a lifetime Milwaukee resident like me hasn't seen before. One of them was particularly telling. It taught me a lesson about how the red-lining racists of Milwaukee made a critical mistake - one which left black people a valuable lifeline out of degradation and poverty.

The other day, I explored an alternative route home, looking to avoid the usual traffic jams while simultaneously distributing fliers for the Milwaukee Science Fiction League. I went up Teutonia Ave. and turned west down Villard, meaning to drop off a flier at the Villard Square Public Library. It was a slightly more northerly route than I usually take home, but wasn't too much of a detour. Before I got there, I found an amazing sight. Nestled snugly between 33rd and 38th Streets, was an interesting set of structures with classical brickwork and and inviting-looking facades. There was a bistro-style theater with a sign in front which said "Agape" - clearly transformed into a church since its cinema days - for sale by the city after foreclosure. There was a very ornate brick structure which was very clearly once some sort of bank or city hall. Another looked like it had once been a firehouse, with a bricked-up area where the fire truck garage had once been. There were other buildings that were clearly once centers of business, banking, commerce and industry.  These charming, little buildings were falling apart, but there could be no doubt about it - I was looking at what was once a thriving downtown area!

The downtown of what, I wondered?

Then I found and entered the library, tucked neatly into the southeast corner of 35th and Villard. The parking area was scooped out from the first floor of the building's south side, making it seem almost like a tunnel. The smell of marijuana in the area was quite strong. One of the library doors had been smashed and was covered with a piece of plywood. But inside? Inside was a wonderful, clean, and air-conditioned space occupied with a few kids who were reading themselves towards a better future. The security guard there was nice and friendly, and probably wondered what the hell a bald-ass white boy like me was even doing there. I handed off my flier for the Milwaukee Science Fiction League, and was told by the lady behind the desk that this sounded like a wonderful idea.

That library was a bright, little spot of hope inside an otherwise bad neighborhood.

On my way out, I spotted yet another wonderful, old building with a bulbous tower-spire which was clearly Russo-German in style, a remnant of the "Volga Deutch" of Milwaukee.

'What was this place?' I wondered.

I looked it up after I got home. Turns out, the neighborhood of Old North Milwaukee was once its own, bustling, little metropolis. It began as the town of Schwartzburg (which is eerily prophetic, as that's the German word for "black town" - which is exactly what it became). It grew to become a prominent village, and even a city. It took on the name of "Northern Junction," and later became "North Milwaukee." After it was annexed by Milwaukee in 1929, it was re-designated "Old North Milwaukee." The Milwaukee Road ran right through it. A streetcar line connected it to central Milwaukee. It was an area rich with promise and prosperity. The dilapidated theater I'd found had been built by Fred Maertz, a prominent politician and businessman in the Milwaukee area.

All that glory is gone, now.

On my way back, I drove past 46th and Hampton, not at all far from this historic neighborhood. It was there that my parents owned a home until 1974, and where I spent the first four years of my young life. Later that same decade, the entire section of the city went from predominantly German to predominantly black. It seemingly happened overnight. Between 1974 and 1984, the demographics completely transformed. There is no one "Teutonic" left along Teutonia Avenue anymore.

I don't really blame my parents for being part of the mass exodus of white people out to the suburbs. The same script played itself out in cities all over the Midwestern U.S., and most of those in the "white flight" were not out to screw black people over. They were simply homeowners who saw the property values of their homes plummeting as blacks moved in next door, and did the only reasonable thing they could to protect their family's nest egg. But that sudden decrease in home values was initially brought about by the racism of the first homeowners that left. It was later exacerbated by the racism of the bankers, who reasoned that blacks living next door was somehow a detriment. Bullshit, of course. Having a black neighbor should have made homes increase in value due to neighborhood diversity. But the banks didn't see it that way, so the whites were driven out into the suburbs, racist and non-racist alike, leaving black people the abandoned remains. Due to global economic forces beyond the bankers' control (but which they likely saw coming) the jobs left the area as well. The effect, as we all know, was devastating.

But the racists miscalculated! Milwaukee had then, and still has now, a robust system of libraries scattered throughout exactly the area they red-lined! I witnessed this first-hand. Those libraries are gold-mines, able to lift people out of poverty and into a world of knowledge and education that can propel them into better jobs and better lives. And they also left behind a robust system of parks and greenspace - bulwarks against declining property values and crime. Yes, Milwaukee has its problems, but the racists accidentally left behind a large number of safety valves which people all over the city can take advantage of to build themselves a better future. Those safety valves are the last vestige of a time when Milwaukee was run by German Socialists. 

That's right, this upward mobility for black people was brought to you courtesy of Emil Seidel, Daniel Hoan, and Charles B. Whitnall.

Not even Reagan could destroy it all.

Back in April, when I introduced Emily St. John Mandell at the Literary Luncheon in the Pabst Mansion, I had the great pleasure of sitting with Chevy Johnson, Milwaukee's first elected black mayor. He addressed the audience, pointing out how important the library system was to his upbringing, and how crucial it was that we support it with our donations and tax dollars. He is a living testament to the importance of the libraries as a means whereby children can escape the monster of poverty.

He is proof it works!

The libraries are much more than books. They are much more than a free alternative to the DVD rental store or Redbox. They are living, breathing repositories of the means and knowledge to learn how to code computers, how to write a resume, how to fix a car, how to do... well, anything! For FREE!

So please, oppose any politician who would dare take funds away from our libraries, or worse "privatize" them. Donate liberally as part of your charitable giving when you need your tax write-off (or even if you don't need one). Every dollar you spend on a library means thousands of dollars in positive benefit exactly where it's needed the most!

We need to make that critical mistake by the racist bankers count!

Then, we will see Old North Milwaukee return to being the glorious Schwartzburg it was always meant to be.

Eric

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