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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Since 1992, the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8 has overseen more than $400 million in new developments. Serving the community from the Ameritech King Commerce Center on 2745 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, the BID’s mission is to improve the district by fostering a culture that enjoys a trendy and authentic retail experience while attracting businesses who embrace the commitment to hard work and strong character the area was founded on. This is achieved through a collaborative effort of BID members, organization partners, and the residential community. Serving as the King Drive BID’s associate director from 2016 through 2018, Raynetta "Ray" Hill was named the new executive director of the organization in 2021, with goals of advancing ongoing efforts to attract more housing development and supporting the active street’s businesses. Hill brings a lot of experience to the BID. She previously served as director of funding and community engagement for CommonBond Communities. There, Hill helped support the rehab of properties in Milwaukee. Serving as a board member of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, Hill was contributory in the development of the Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories project. The BID supports Bronzeville Week, hosted by Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs. This is an 8-day celebration surrounding the culture, entertainment, and arts of the historic Bronzeville district. The BID promotes the Bronzeville ArtWalk, the finale of Bronzeville Week. Centered around various forms of art, this event provides outlets to view live displays, and patronize both artists, and the hosting businesses. They offer a self-guided tour utilizing traditional style trolley rides for easy navigation to locations within the Historic King Drive neighborhood.

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Milton C. Sernett argued that religious belonging was an elemental bond of group identity, with communities defining themselves around sets of religious beliefs, symbols, and rituals. African Americans have historically had a strong bond with religion. In Bronzeville, the presence of religious institutions was paramount. St. Mark A.M.E. is the oldest historically black congregation in Milwaukee. Founded in 1869, and initially being called First African Methodist Episcopal Church, it varied its physical locations over time to serve the needs of its congregation. From its first meeting being held in a rented room along what is now Wisconsin Avenue in 1869, St. Mark commissioned the first church constructed for an African American congregation in Wisconsin with its building on 4th and Kilbourn Avenue in 1887. As the Great Migration fostered an increase of African Americans moving to Milwaukee during and after World War II, the congregation of St. Mark would grow, fostering the move to a location on 11th Street near Reservoir Avenue in 1953. St. Mark’s combination of size, history, and influential congregation members made it a religious and social center for African Americans in Milwaukee. The vast size of the congregation of St. Mark included members of various skills and social statuses. Vel Phillips, Milwaukee’s first alderwoman and the first African American on its Common Council, was a member. Myra Evans, a graduate from Lincoln High School and one of the first African American crossing guards in Milwaukee, who assisted pupils coming and going from 9th and Walnut streets, was a member of St. Mark since her childhood, and served 10 years as president of its food pantry. Milwaukee’s first African American welfare case worker and a chairman of the Milwaukee Housing Authority, Cecil Fisher, was a pastor of St. Mark in the late 20s to the early 30s. Phillips, Evans, and Fisher, all residents of Bronzeville, show the vibrancy of the individuals who made up the congregation of St. Mark A.M.E. Under Mayor Daniel Hoan, the construction of the North-South Freeway I-43 required the elimination of many homes, businesses and gathering spaces in the Bronzeville area. Under the pretext of “urban renewal,” city officials cited the need to create a way for citizens in out-lying areas to be able to travel back and forth to downtown Milwaukee more easily; however, this occurred at the expense of entire communities which were displaced by the freeway’s construction. St. Mark would also suffer from this, as the construction of I-43 caused the demolition of the church’s 11th Street building. While the church would move from the Bronzeville area, it continued to maintain its strong connection to the expanded African American community with its prime location on 1616 W. Atkinson Ave.

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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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A community thrives when residents benefit from a variety of services, including those essential to health and well-being. Having access to them is also extremely important. Bronzeville was successful because it had a variety of services and business, including dental offices, such as that of Fred Bobo. Dr. Fred D Bobo was born in Okolona, Mississippi around 1899. While living in St Louis, Missouri Bobo was drafted into World War I at the age of nineteen. He served in the United States Army branch of the military before being discharged two months later. In 1921 Bobo married Cecilia Phillips, a Milwaukee native. After he graduated from the University of Illinois with honors, he earned his degree in dentistry from Marquette University Dental School in 1926. By 1929 he, established a dental office located on 612 W Walnut St. Around that time, Dr. Bobo also secured employment at the Milwaukee County Welfare Department in programs designed to aid families in need. When he retired in 1967, he was honored with the Governor’s Special Award and the Milwaukee Service Award for his 36 years of service to the people of the State of Wisconsin and Milwaukee County. 

Bobo had an active history as a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was initiated at Tau Chapter in 1918. He was a charter member of Alpha Phi Chapter at Marquette

University in 1923, the first chapter in Wisconsin. He was instrumental in the chartering of the Gamma Epsilon Chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1946, and a charter member of served several years as the first president of Milwaukee’s Delta Chi Lambda Chapter in 1949. Bobo was named Milwaukee's Alpha Man of the Year in 1968.

He was also active in community life. His family were members of St Benedict the Moor Catholic Church. During that time, he lived at 2112 N 9^th Street, maintaining his dentistry located at 2009 N 10^th St. Bobo would remain in Milwaukee until his death in January of 1976. His obituary attests to his many roles and positions in the community. Bobo was the vice-president of the Milwaukee County Museum Board of Trustees, and he was a member of the Governor’s Commission on Human Rights, the NAACP, Milwaukee Urban League, Boy Scouts, Cream City Medical Society, the American Legion, YMCA, Wisconsin and Milwaukee Dental Societies, and the philanthropic Catholic Order of Foresters. The remarkable career of Dr. Fred Bobo was a benefit to the Bronzeville community.

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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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In 2022, the Pepperpot restaurant opened its doors in the Bronzeville community. The restaurant serves authentic Jamaican food and drinks amongst additional items on their menu.  Originally located on 41st and Capitol, the Bronzeville location of 2215 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. is a much larger space, allowing in-person service from their dining room, bar, or lounge, along with the traditional carryout utilized in the prior location. Pepperpot has always maintained a sizeable clientele, and the larger building allows the business the space to accommodate the high-volume activity the restaurant is known for.  Inside of the restaurant patrons are greeted with authentic artwork that represents multiple generations. To see an explanation from owner and head chef Dwight Jackson about the artwork in the building click here. Pepperpot received support from Bader Philanthropies, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Commercial Corridor Team of the Milwaukee Department of City Development to ensure a successful transition into the Bronzeville community.

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Located in the core of historic Bronzeville at 1739 N Doctor M.L.K Dr. Milwaukee, WI 53212, proudly states being Wisconsin’s first and only Black and Brown owned plant shop. The organization strives to make the experience of discovering the perfect plant accessible to everyone. Nestled in a prime location to accomplish the goal of diversity, Maranta Plant Shop creates a welcoming environment for patrons to browse their shelves that feature a variety of plants. They also have a special plant treatment called “Maranta Plant Care,” which they guarantee is 100% organic. This solution is designed to protect your plants from disease, promote growth & vigor, and aid in hard water spots while giving a glossy finish to your plants. While the Covid-19 pandemic altered the impact of customer/store relations, the plant shop has remained resilient through the transition back to in-person transactions. As a service to other organizations, Maranta shares their physical space with a variety of vendors on Saturdays. See an embedded video of the owners explaining the journey of putting down roots in Milwaukee's Bronzeville neighborhood here.

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America's Black Holocaust Museum builds public awareness of the harmful legacies of slavery and Jim Crow in America while promoting racial repair, reconciliation, and healing. They envision a nation undivided by race where every person matters equally is achieved when society utilizes its past to shape a better future. Originally founded in 1988 by Dr. James Cameron, America's only known survivor of a lynching, ABHM provides guided tours by "griots" (docents) who give detailed accounts on exhibits and engage in and encourage dialogue with and amongst guests. The museum was reborn in 2022, with a remarkably renovated building structure at 401 W. North Avenue. Its galleries are located in the very same spot as the first building in Milwaukee's Bronzeville neighborhood, where visitors can witness a chronological journey through the Black Holocaust from 1619 to the present. Keeping in line with the spirit of the black press, the ABHM website links visitors with up-to-date news coverage of articles related to the African American experience in America. ABHM serves the community as a hub for social, academic, and commercial development.

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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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“In a way, her work as a reporter was just a reflection of Woods' greater role in the community, helping people network and be connected with each other,” said Milwaukee Courier publisher Faithe Colas. "She was, in my mind, the first African-American society woman….We hold her dear as the first lady of the black press.”

Mattiebelle Woods lived in Milwaukee for nearly her entire life since 1905, when, at the age of three, she moved with her family to Wisconsin. Her parents, Ira and Anniebelle Woods, relocated from Louisville, Kentucky, to Milwaukee, where members of Annabelle’s family trained horses for the Hansberg family. According to the African American National Biography, after Annabelle Woods secured employment at the Astor Hotel, she was able to introduce Mattiebelle to the "exclusive world of the wealthy German American community, allowing her to learn German." Mattiebelle established connections that she later used in her community activism.

Woods attended West Division High School, where she became immersed in Milwaukee’s Black community. After working at various jobs in the city, by the 1940s, her community involvement had led her to reporting for the Black press. In 1963, Woods joined the Milwaukee Courier, a newspaper focused on the African American community. Based at her location of 1933-A North 7th Street, Woods would go on to write for the Chicago Defender, the Milwaukee Defender, the Milwaukee Star, the Milwaukee Globe newspapers, and as a freelancer for the national magazines Ebony and Jet. Woods began a column called “Partyline” in the Milwaukee edition of the Chicago Defender, which she would write continuously for the next five decades. She highlighted the groups and social clubs in Bronzeville, as well as other locations.

Woods used her social connections to the benefit of the community. According to community leader Ruben Harpole, Woods used her resources to obtain the first funds for the Milwaukee Urban League. She founded and directed the Ms. Bronze Milwaukee pageant in 1955, and in 1970, she founded the Miss Black Teen Wisconsin contest, among many ways she sought to create new opportunities and promote self-confidence among young people. Dr. Clayborn Benson, director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, said in a tribute, "She made things happen in the African-American community." When civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Milwaukee, he stayed as a guest at Woods’ house.

Woods was a dedicated activist, and she remained active in politics. She managed the successful campaign of Leroy Simmons, who in 1945 was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly. Simmons was the first African American to reach that office since the 1907-1909 term when Lucian H. Palmer had been the first-ever African American member of the state assembly. Woods also aided the campaign of Representative Isaac Coggs, helping to launch the dynasty family whose members have held many offices in Milwaukee politics. Following the 1972 election of Monroe Swan, in a racially charged 6th District Democratic primary race for the Wisconsin State Senate, Woods was quoted as saying it “is just the beginning…we are getting more and more politically conscious and active” referring to the black community’s continued movement into state politics.

Woods was an active member of St. Mark AME Church, and she has been honored by the NAACP, Milwaukee Press Club, and the Urban League. Milwaukee mayor John Norquist proclaimed "Mattiebelle Woods Day" on her 98th birthday. Marking her 95th birthday, House Representative Tom Barrett read a tribute to Mattiebelle Woods published in the Congressional Record, as he did for her 100th and 102d birthdays. In 2004 after she had turned 102, Jet magazine devoted a multi-page feature article to her life and work. It described a legendary scene when she had been invited earlier that year by the executive producer of “Showtime at the Apollo” to appear on the televised show: “The former dance instructor brought down the house by doing the electric slide. At one point, she dropped low and touched the floor. That episode is still being aired.”

Before she passed in 2005, Woods was believed to be the oldest working reporter in the United States, and the oldest voting poll worker in Milwaukee at that time. Jerrel Jones, then the president and chief executive officer for Courier Communications, which publishes the Milwaukee Courier, verified that she wrote her last column the week of her death “In a way, her work as a reporter was just a reflection of Woods' greater role in the community, helping people network and be connected with each other,” said Milwaukee Courier publisher Faithe Colas. "She was, in my mind, the first African-American society woman…To think that you could be a society reporter and a black woman, that was absolutely amazing. We hold her dear as the first lady of the black press.”

Although the construction of the North-South Freeway I-43 and urban renewal policies severely disrupted the Bronzeville geographical neighborhood, the life of Mattiebelle Woods serves to drive the notion that the Bronzeville community was more than the land and buildings within its borders. The resiliency of the community members was seen even after the demolition of Bronzeville’s geographical base. Mattiebelle Woods loved her community, and the community loved her.

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As a collaborative effort between the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF), the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Royal Capital Group (RCG) ThriveOn Collaboration was established to aide in eliminating racial, health, economic and social disparities in Milwaukee by making generational investments in the well-being of its communities. They accomplish this by focusing on five priority areas: housing, early childhood education, health and wellness, social cohesion, and economic opportunity. ThriveOn aims to invest in the availability of safe, quality, and affordable housing for area residents, with a long-term goal of increasing the number of residents leasing and purchasing homes. The organization will make efforts to improve educational outcomes for youth in the city by investing in the quality, access, and sustainability of early childhood education. With a goal of reducing rates of chronic disease, ThriveOn will invest in access to health and wellness facilities, healthy food options and preventive health services in the area. ThriveOn aims to support the community in building positive social and business relationships, celebrating diversity and promoting a sense of belonging among neighbors. ThriveOn aims to increase the stability of the small business community support by enhancing equitable economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and the local workforce. See an explanation in the link (2207) On The Issues: Milwaukee’s ThriveOn Collaboration - YouTube Re-purposing the former Gimbels-Schuster’s building on 2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the space on the development’s first floor will be designed for community use, with over 70 residential units catered to a mix of incomes, early childhood education space and space for future partners. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Medical college of Wisconsin will both have offices in the building, serving overall to use this space to bring economic and social benefits to communities of color disproportionately affected by disparities.

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Established in 2020 and located in the expanded Bronzeville neighborhood, the Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA) is a nonprofit organization rooted in the art, culture, and history of the African Diaspora. The vision of the BCA is to “elevate the human capacity for creativity and knowledge, expand Bronzeville’s legacy as a vibrant artistic hub of the Midwest, and make art of the African diaspora a central focus in the cultural consciousness of present and future generations”. They accomplish this through four deliverables. The BCA delivers programming that centers on the art, culture, and history of the African diaspora. They provide an inviting and accessible space for learning and cultural exchange. They acquire the viewpoints of their audience and respond to those ideas. The BCA not only fosters the environment for art to thrive, but they also directly contribute to the cultural and economic growth of Bronzeville.

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Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips was born in Milwaukee on February 18, 1924. Her family moved to the Bronzeville neighborhood when she was a child, and in the 1940s her parents Thelma and Russell Rodgers moved their family to 1740 North 7th Street in the heart of Bronzeville.  She attended Garfield Avenue Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School, and North Division High School, the latter whose population at the time was mostly white. As a high school senior, Phillips was initially disqualified from the Elks Oratorical Contest due to the racial discrimination of a judge, who was one of her teachers at North Division. Several of her fellow students protested the unfair treatment and launched a petition to have the disqualification overturned. Phillips was asked to meet with the school principal, who decided to allow her to compete based upon the merits of the speech she had written, “The Negro and the Constitution.” Phillips won the Elks Oratorical Contest, earning a full scholarship in 1942 to attend the HBCU Howard University in Washington, D.C.  Returning to Wisconsin, she became the first African American woman to graduate from the law school of the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1951. Moving back to her hometown with her husband and fellow attorney W. Dale Phillips, they became the first husband and wife admitted to the federal bar in Milwaukee, opening a law firm in Bronzeville. Although these feats alone would make an outstanding career, Vel Phillips did not stop there. Having active engagement with redistricting efforts of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Phillips became Milwaukee’s first woman and first African American member of the city’s Common Council in 1956. In 1958 Phillips won a state committee woman post, becoming the first African American elected to the Democratic Party’s national committee, and then the first minority to lead a standing committee in 1960.  In 1962, she introduced the Phillips Housing Ordinance to the Common Council and advocated for the bill, which sought to outlaw housing discrimination. The bill was defeated 18-1 with only her vote in favor, but Phillips remained determined to forward her open housing proposals, reintroducing the fair housing bill three times between the years of 1963 and 1967, only to have it defeated each time. She participated in sit-ins and marches for civil rights laws on the state and local level, later being joined by Father James Groppi. After the 1968 federal law known as the Fair Housing Act was passed, Milwaukee finally saw Vel Phillips local housing law passed.  In 1971 she was appointed the first African American in the Wisconsin Judiciary and the first woman judge of Milwaukee County. In 1978 she became the nation’s first African American woman elected statewide to an executive office. After retirement, Phillips remained active in the community serving on boards, remaining an officer of the NAACP, continuing the push for activism in Milwaukee, while being a mentor for many individuals locally and nationally.  In 2002, Phillips was appointed "Distinguished Professor of Law" at the Marquette University School of Law. Four months after her passing, on August 7, 2018, North 4th Street from St. Paul Avenue to Capitol Drive was renamed Vel R. Phillips Avenue in her honor. This street runs through parts of the historic Bronzeville neighborhood, where Phillips once lived. Congresswoman Gwen Moore introduced a bill to name a Post Office building in her honor the same year. At the conclusion of Bronzeville Week 2019, a mural honoring Vel Phillips was installed on the exterior of the Bronzeville Collective building at 339 W. North Ave. Artist Jasmine Wyatt created the mural with the help of four volunteers in a project commissioned by Artists Working in Education. State lawmakers approved the commissioning of a statue of Phillips, which is expected to be in place on the Capitol grounds in Madison at the corner of West Main Street and South Carroll Street in late 2022 or early 2023.  

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Born in Wichita, Kansas on June 10^th of 1893, Hattie McDaniel would have an illustrious career in show business. She was skilled in dance, acting, comedy, and singing on film, radio, and live stages. In addition to performing songs, she also wrote them. In 1925 she sang on the Denver radio station KOA, a performance often credited as being one of the first African woman singers to have performed on the radio. McDaniel was frequently booked by the Theatrical Owners Booking Association (TOBA), an organization made up of African American theatre owners. While playing the character of “Queenie” on a TOBA sponsored road production of the play “Showboat,” the company fell victim to the stock market crash in October of 1929, causing them to go bankrupt while the tour was in Chicago. This left McDaniel, along with other performers on the tour, stranded in the city. While there, she received word of an opportunity for work in Wisconsin at Sam Pick’s Club Madrid, located on the outskirts of Milwaukee. McDaniel moved to the African American community in Milwaukee, residing on 1640 N. 7^th St.

Despite McDaniel’s immense talent as a vocalist and performing artist in musical theatre, barriers based on race resulted in her being initially hired as a washroom attendant. This would not last however, as she broke the color barrier and began to perform on stage. Her invigorating performances led to her gaining a large crowd of fans from “prestigious” communities in the Milwaukee area. In 1930, McDaniel took residence in the Sixth Ward of Milwaukee at 550 N. 17^th St. Successfully performing for the “well-to-do” clientele at Club Madrid sparked people to suggest that she go to Hollywood and play on the big screen.   With support from her social base in Milwaukee, McDaniel took the journey to Hollywood, leading to an extensive career in movies. Although receiving on-screen credit for 83 movies, she actually appeared in over 300 films. McDaniel won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone with the Wind in 1939, making her the first African American to win an Oscar. In 1947, she wrote an op-ed for the Hollywood Reporter, reflecting on her accomplished career. McDaniel shared the backstory prior to getting into movies, describing herself as “a tourist from Milwaukee” when she had initially arrived at the capital of the film industry, saying “Milwaukee was really my springboard to Hollywood.”

She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975. In 2006 she became the first Black Oscar winner honored with a U.S. postage stamp. In 2010, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Hattie McDaniel became an extremely decorated figure in the show business industry. Her time in living in Bronzeville played a pivotal role in her remarkable career.

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Cleveland Moland Colbert was born on October 6th of 1906. He was a musician, an upholsterer, a crane operator, and an aviator. Along with his wife Marie Colbert, stepfather James Cook, mother Minnie Cook, and sister Octavia Williams, he rented a home located at 813 West Galena St. While recruited to fly non-military missions for Spain, Colbert argued he was enrolled against his will to fight in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Against his protest, he was given a uniform and deprived of his civilian clothing. While he argued his original contract was for commercial flying, he was put into the training fields of the military. He left from the camp while the training unit was doing field maneuvers on February 17, walking for three days and nights until he arrived in Cuenca, Spain. Desertion is considered a serious act for which military consequences can be harsh. Punishments can vary from periods of incarceration to execution depending on the circumstances. While in Cuenca, Colbert was arrested and taken to the Valencia consulate under the escort of guards around March 2nd of the same year. When accused of being a deserter, Colbert’s argument in self-defense instead reflects a position comparable to a conscientious objector. Colbert returned to the United States on July 2nd of 1937 to 2016-91 North 8th Street in Milwaukee. While back in the city, he served as the president of the Afro American National Economical Society (AANES) beginning in 1940. The AANES was established to foster African-American-owned industrial plants while serving the civic, charitable, and social welfare needs of all citizens. Among the organization’s aims for the African American community was large-scale economic development through ownership of new enterprises and participation in the growth of industrialization at the time. It sought to gain the cooperation of the African American community “in starting and operating industrial plants in order to make the [community] economically strong enough to employ their own people.” Colbert was also active in local politics and claimed victory in Milwaukee County’s Sixth District assembly election in 1942. Colbert would have been the first African American to be elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, had a recount not unseated him. In 1951 Colbert authored the book The Afro - Americans’ Problems and Solution. Distributed by Dell and Dell Publishers of Milwaukee, Colbert focused his book on three parts: the nomenclature and culture of the African American community, the problems African Americans faced in the United States, and a solution to the state of African American issues. Mirroring his work with the AANES, Colbert’s analysis reflected his own life experiences as a crane operator for a steel foundry and those of his wife Celia, who had worked on a factory assembly line. His book offered a push for African American industrial ownership on a national level, with trade coming from other African American owned industries as a solution to improve the community’s overall well-being. Colbert died in Milwaukee on January 23rd of 1962. Although now out-of-print, the book remains a testament to the legacy Cleveland Colbert built through leadership, advocacy, and dedication to promoting economic self-determination of the African Americancommunity in Milwaukee. An original print of The Afro - Americans’ Problems and Solution is housed at the Special Collections Department of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and individuals may request a library appointment to examine the book.

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Malik el-Shabazz, commonly recognized as Malcolm X, was born on May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, with the given name of Malcolm Little. His father was a prominent member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and when Malcolm was a child, his family endured conflicts and harassment from white supremacist groups. In December 1926, Malcolm’s family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where his younger brother Reginald was born. The family lived on West Galena Street on Milwaukee’s North Side. The family lived in Milwaukee until 1929 and then relocated to Lansing, Michigan. Years later in Milwaukee, the area was cleared for freeway construction. Malcolm X would go on to be one of the most recognized individuals during the Civil Rights era. He is often described as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Malcolm X gained notoriety from his powerful speeches after joining the Nation of Islam, a religious group. It is argued that his brother Reginald, a Milwaukee native, had a strong influence on Malcolm X’s decision to join the NOI. Malcolm X would use his sharpened oratory skills to deliver messages of strength and unity to African Americans during the Civil Rights era, heavily influencing oppressed people nationally and globally. In 1964 he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity with a mission to internationalize the plight of African Americans. The organization had a Pan-African approach, connecting with people of the developing world, moving from civil rights to a human rights agenda. Although assassinated in 1965, Malcolm X’s life story and teachings have continued to influence activists, educators, and organizers. Harambee Community School, located on 110 W. Burleigh Street from the late 1960s to the mid-2000s, named its performance/reception area Malcolm X Hall and celebrated May 19th as Malcolm X Day. Robert Fulton Jr. High School in the was renamed Malcolm X Academy in 1993, when it was turned into an African American immersion school. Malcolm X’s legacy continues to influence communities in Milwaukee.

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Did you know Milwaukee had its own team in the National Football League (NFL)? Did you know this team had African American players in 1922? Fritz Pollard had a pioneering sports career. He was the first African American to play in the collegiate Rose Bowl Game. Shifting into the professional leagues, he became the first African American quarterback in the NFL. While in the NFL he would also become the first African American coach in the league's history. Pollard played for the Milwaukee Badgers, an NFL team in 1922 while living in the city. There is some speculation that he may have been a player /coach in Milwaukee, as he was the year prior in Akron.

Later in his career, Pollard continued to take on leadership roles both within the sport as well as in business and media.In the 1930s, Pollard founded his own professional football team, the Brown Bombers. Outside of football, he founded the F.D. Pollard and Co. investment firm in 1922 to serve the African American community, and in 1935 he founded the New York Independent News, the first black tabloid. Acknowledging Pollard's legacy in football, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2015. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, a group promoting minority hiring throughout the NFL, is named in recognition of Pollard’s resiliency in playing, coaching, and managing football.

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