It's Broke. Can We Fix It?

This summer we've seen a growing amount of racially focused flash mob-like activity in Milwaukee. Scenes of aggressive and angry black youths beating up fair-goers and looting stores and causing chaos and violence. The most recent mob-like violence has come to Tosa recently in the Lincoln School payground incident in which a boy was beaten up by two brothers while six other youths stood by and watched.

Violence has been more harshly dissected because it seemingly is focused on suburban whites who had traveled into the metro area to attend the fair. This all adds to the already toxic racial and cultural mix we have in Metro Milwaukee. The Tosa incident was actually a young black boy being beaten by two other black boys. Local media and small minded people will just see it as “race wars” and “thugs from Milwaukee” coming to terrorize. It’s simply bigger than that.

Wauwatosa has a unique place in this conversation. It's the closest urban village to the metropolis and the one that most represents the diversity of Milwaukee. Young African-American kids attend Tosa's schools; black families, by the proximity of the Tosa-Milwaukee border, live in and around the city. Mayfair Mall does attract a surge of black teens. The air is ripe for more events like this summer. We can only hope that our civic leaders have taken steps to stay on top of any potential issues.

But it goes deeper still than that. What causes these events to happen? What causes young black teens to reach a boiling point where this level of violence is the only solution? We don't know those exact answers. They can be debated daily. Lack of parental structure, insufficient law enforcement presence, lack of activities for teens, the economy. Many of these root problems run very deep and are hard for us as individuals to identify and solve. When our young people see violence as the way to handle situations, then we as parents and civic members need to attack that problem with equal force.

What we must do as a community – that starts right here in Tosa – is use these events to open up our understanding. First and foremost, we have to realize that issues of race and bigotry still exist. It’s a fact, and pretending it isn't alive and well is simply not productive. Second, we must understand those on both sides of these feelings. Suburban whites must try to understand why urban black youth feel isolated and angry and why they can often get stuck in a cycle that spurs violence and crime. Urban blacks must understand why whites feel threatened and afraid and have reservations about mixing with blacks. That's the first step.

From there, it’s up to those who call themselves leaders to keep dialogue open, to shape a community where openness and acceptance are valued. We need to use this as a teaching lesson for our children. Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn't allow you to solve your problems. Milwaukee has become such a divided city in the areas of economic, cultural and racial origins that almost every time you get a diverse group together it is likely to be toxic.

The next easy option is “getting out of Dodge.” It’s an easy solution for whites to chalk it up as “thugs from the city” and flee the community many of them have lived in most of their lives. It’s a quick fix but it doesn’t solve the problem.

We as parents and citizens of this community can choose to surrender or to fight it. Educate our kids to avoid violent outburst, monitor their activities – if they are on websites that popularize violence, we should know this.

We all need to be more responsible citizens and block watchers. When we see problem starting we need to intervene – as one Chris Johnson did in this case. We need to partner with law enforcement to have a stronger presence in our schools to thwart these hot spots before they boil over.

This all involves greater effort and commitment, and many think it’s easier (and it is) to just move. But Wauwastosa is the last vestige of what an urban community can and should be. It’s the last stand for cultural diversity in this area. It must be defended and preserved. It’s the model of what can happen when people truly have pride in their community.

Wauwatosa can be a leader in helping the metro community as a whole deal with issues of race and culture. I don't have all the answers at all, in fact I have only a few. I'm hoping to hear what others have to say. Does this metro area ever have a chance to repair its racial wounds and end the racially based mob violence we've seen this summer? I hope we can. Our future as a community is depending on it.