Lawrence “Larry” Victor Hill was born on February 18, 1921, in Oscalosa, Iowa to Charles and Laura Hill. He was highly active in sports, lettering in football, baseball, and basketball while in high school. He received a degree in Physical Education while attending college in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduation he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. Hill was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the Purple Heart for his service. Hill married Rushelle Meyers and after an honorable discharge from the military they moved to Milwaukee in 1946.

That same year Hill became one of the first African American restaurant owners when he opened Larry’s Chicken Shack in the heart of Bronzeville at 619 W. Walnut Street. Known for having a great barbell-shaped counter the shop would later be named Larry's Lunch-ette, eventually adding frozen custard to the menu. With a specialty in southern fried chicken, Larry’s Lunch-ette championed a moniker of “Where Chicken is King and Frozen Custard Queen.” In 1959, Hill opened “Larry’s Big Daddy Chicken Shack, located at 2245 N 12^th St. While maintaining his business ventures, Hill also worked at the Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee for over twenty years until he retired. As an avid reader with excellent oratory skills, Hill was known throughout the city for reciting eloquent poems. He was also an advocate for community service by mentoring youths and even running for political office in 1967. Until his death in 2002, Hill was committed to community service. The Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories team argues while local and federal policies severely disrupted the vitality of the Bronzeville community in the 1950s, the legacy of the historic neighborhood remained a beacon for future generations to draw upon as they shaped their paths in Milwaukee. In 1951, Larry Hill was an active member of the Business Advancement Association, also called the Walnut Business Group. This organization assisted in fostering vibrant and productive business interactions within the community. In 2021, seventy years later, Ray Hill, grandchild of Larry Hill, was selected as executive director of Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8, an organization fostering vibrancy within community business interactions. Larry Hill, along with many other members of historic Bronzeville, have directly influenced Milwaukeeans of today by offering their paths as guides to creating vibrant communities.

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Isaiah Pyant was born on January 15th of 1915 in Maysville, Georgia. In his youth, his parents John and Carrie Pyant, both natives of Georgia, moved the family to Milwaukee. By 1930 the family took residence at 421 W Vilet Street. Isaiah Pyant attended Lincoln High School, located on the corner of Cass and Knapp Street, as an advanced freshman. Well known individuals such as NBA player Fred Brown, politicians Elizabeth M. Coggs and Lee Holloway, media executive Oprah Winfrey, and award-winning jazz singer Al Jarreau would all later attend Lincoln Highschool in Milwaukee.  In 1937 Pyant married Mayme Moses, who also attended Lincoln Highschool. In 1940 the Pyant family lived on 328 W Vine Street. Later in that year, while working for Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Pyant moved to 1741 N 5th Street. During World War II, Allis-Chalmers saw an increase in industrial production to support war efforts. With industrial employment, Pyant was a member of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The CIO was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States from 1935 to 1955. While African Americans generally struggled with unions, the CIO did have an African American presence, with members such as Pyant representing the push for admittance into organized associations of workers in Milwaukee. Isaiah Pyant died on January 23rd of 1993 in Milwaukee, 8 days after his 78th birthday, leaving a legacy of hard work and commitment to improvement for everyone in the Bronzeville community.  Pyant would have also witnessed the slow rise and drastic fall of African Americans from industrial employment in Milwaukee due to deindustrialization, a shift away from industrial production, or manufacturing in an economy.  In 1967, Milwaukee had 118,600 manufacturing jobs. By 1977, that amount dropped to 91,400. In the following two decades manufacturing jobs were 63,900 and 46,467 respectively. In contrast to this decline, exurban manufacturing jobs increased. Exurban areas are regions beyond the suburbs of a city. In the case of Milwaukee, its exurbs would be places like Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha. The number of manufacturing jobs located in Milwaukee’s exurban areas tripled since the 1960s. From 1967 to 1977, exurban manufacturing jobs increased from 35,400 to 50,500. In 1987 exurban manufacturing increased to 57,000 positions, while reaching a peak in 1997 at 78,210 jobs. 

By 2002 Milwaukee lost 84,327 manufacturing jobs, while exurban areas gained 46,528 jobs. The widespread disinvestment in industrial capacity had a major impact on the workers in Milwaukee, particularly African Americans. To see the impact deindustrialization had on African Americans, follow the link to watch Punching In,  a documentary created by Particia Diggs, director of the Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories project and Milwaukee PBS, with a grant from the Anne E. Casey Foundation.

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The Bronzeville Collective, located at 339 W. North Ave, in the heart of the Bronzeville arts and culture district, is a collaboration of creative individuals uniting as a collective unit. What initially began in 2016 as a city of Milwaukee sponsored pop-up program, has developed into a home for the area's talent to thrive creatively and financially. This business features four anchor brands; FlyBlooms, Papyrus & Charms, Distinctive Designs by Tomira and BeElegant, and also houses over 25 additional local brands. See TMJ4’s Cassandra McShepard discuss the meaning of the “Bronzeville Babes” in a segment she calls 'Fierce findings' here. The Bronzeville Collective offers opportunities for others to build and grow their brands by providing a space with affordable monthly vendor fees with low commission rates, and long-term visibility in a retail space. Click the link to see a video of Bronzeville Collective co-founder Lilo Allen discussing the history of the collaboration and the businesses in the organization as she is featured on the first season of B.E.E. Narrative.

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An established singer, actor, intellectual, professional athlete, and activist, to say Robeson was talented would be an understatement. Mark Alan Rhodes, II argues that Paul Robeson was one of the greatest athletic activists in history. He was an all-American football player at Rutgers in 1917 and 1918. In 2015 Rutgers celebrated their 250th anniversary by honoring Robeson. Paul Robeson: Celebrating Rutgers’ 250th anniversary - YouTube. It could be argued that no one has ever performed a better Othello, and he was also an outstanding film actor. He dedicated a lot of time advocating for working people through renditions of Labor Songs and African American spirituals. A member of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “talented tenth”, a title given by Du Bois to the most highly educated or influential 10 percent of African Americans, Robeson was an advocate for many global causes in Asia, Africa, and America. Robeson’s affinity towards black upward mobility was a significant interest of his. He had a strong stance against colonialism in Africa. He believed strongly in the richness of black history and was proactive in anti-lynching efforts along with advocating for desegregation in the military. Robeson was the co-founder of the anti-colonial Council on African Affairs.

In 1923, he graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. The year prior to him graduating he played for the Milwaukee Badgers, one of the little-known former NFL teams. During this time, Robeson lived in Milwaukee. He played his games at Athletic Park, just north of Bronzeville and also had interactions with Marquette College, also in close proximity to the African American community.

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Opening in 1995, Gee’s Clippers is one of the largest black owned barbershops in the Midwest. Owner Gaulien “Gee” Smith moved the barbershop from a Sherman Blvd. and Fond du Lac Ave. location to the historic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville community in 2017. Renovating a former bank, Gee’s Clippers has a home team sports related theme with actual memorabilia and artifacts from arenas within the city. See the history behind the buildings structure in Bronzeville by clicking the link. The barbershop provides more than haircuts to the community. Gee’s Clippers website proudly states they are the first barbershop in the country to charter a Boy Scout troop. In honor of former Bucks player Junior Bridgeman, the group was named Gee’s Clippers Boy Scout Troop 2. The barbershop also has a support service designed to benefit the community called Gee’s MKE Wellness Clinic. The clinic provides employment and housing services, assists with food insecurities, aides in continued education and GED completion, along with providing a variety of health screenings for participants. People of all backgrounds can enjoy the experience of Gee’s Clippers in Bronzeville.

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Jarius Anthony Josey was born to parents Anthony and Patience Josey on January 6, 1876, in Augusta, Georgia. Josey enrolled in Atlanta University for college in the early 1900s. While a student, he co-edited the Atlanta Independent springing his roots with media. In 1905, after his graduation, he married Chestena M. Carmichael, and they moved to Madison, Wisconsin. There he enrolled in law school. Although William Noland is listed as the first African American to enroll in the University of Wisconsin’s law school in 1875, Josey’s enrollment in 1910 makes him one of the earliest African Americans to study law at the beforementioned university. Along with his wife Chestena, Josey helped found Mount Zion Baptist Church in 1915, where he later served as chairman of its board of trustees.  Yet, it is Josey’s contributions to the press that solidified his reputation in the state. With a listing of his family’s apartment on Henry Street in Madison as the office, Josey along with L.J. Quisely, Z. P. Smith, and George DeReef partnered to launch the Wisconsin Weekly Blade on June 8, 1916. Josey would     eventually become the sole editor. Josey merged his Wisconsin Weekly Blade with the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Enterprise in 1916 to form the Wisconsin Enterprise-Blade. In 1925 he moved operations to Milwaukee where he continued publishing, taking residence 471 N 7^th St. in the Bronzeville community.  Josey used his editorial platform to challenge racial stereotypes, segregation, and discrimination. He created articles to address issues directly impacting the African American communities of Madison and Milwaukee while also connecting those with activities in cities throughout the entire country. His thorough work and commitment to address complicated phenomena led Josey to be elected as senior vice-president of the National Negro Press in 1928. He would continue to lead the Wisconsin Enterprise-Blade for nearly three decades until it closed in 1944.  Although the Blade’s run had ended, Josey continued to serve his community in a multitude of ways. Known as “The First Mayor of Black Milwaukee,” he created a real estate agency that catered to potential homeowners of color. Josey served as advisor to multiple youth groups that would eventually anchor the Northside YMCA. He also lobbied to enable the hiring of the first African American teachers in Milwaukee, beginning in 1931. His influence and commitment to the community was such that in 1945 he was unofficially elected the “mayor of Bronzeville,” recognizing his leadership both in and beyond the neighborhood where Josey had taken residence.  Upon Josey’s death in 1957, he was given funerals in both Madison and Milwaukee as a testament of his contributions throughout Wisconsin. In 1998 the Milwaukee Press Club, the oldest press club in the United States, inducted Josey into its Hall of Fame, making Josey the first member of the black press to receive this honor. In 2004, Clayborn Benson, director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, proposed that one of the city’s first new subdivision developments be named in Josey’s honor. Milwaukee approved, and today the Josey Heights subdivision bears the name in recognition of the esteemed contributions of J. Anthony Josey.

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