The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) posted an article by James Causey who attended a Wisconsin Mass Incarceration of African American Males forum. According to Causey, one of the speakers at the forum, Reverend Willie Brisco, president of Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) – and retired assistant superintendent of the Milwaukee County House of Correction (correctional facility), stated, “[M]odern-day Milwaukee is set up like a slave plantation.” [1]
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) posted an article by James Causey who attended a Wisconsin Mass Incarceration of African American Males forum. According to Causey, one of the speakers at the forum, Reverend Willie Brisco, president of Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) – and retired assistant superintendent of the Milwaukee County House of Correction (correctional facility), stated, “[M]odern-day Milwaukee is set up like a slave plantation.” [1]
The primary basis for Brisco’s assertion is that Milwaukee is, in Causey’s words, hypersegregated. Hypersegregation extends the system of racial segregation in terms of grouping racial groups geographically [2] and is, according to Massey and Denton, a global construction that is comprised of five dimensions of segregation, which include: evenness, clustering, exposure, centralization and concentration. [3] When a city has all five dimensions, it is considered hypersegregated. The result of this hypersegregation is that those residents who are the least affluent receive the least exposure to the quality of life and resources available to the most affluent of residents. In terms of its minority population and its level of segregation, Milwaukee has all five dimensions.
In referencing hypersegregation and the lack of adequate resources, Causey added a few statistics that result from this phenomenon. He states that, “…when one in eight black men in the state have been incarcerated and half of all black men 30 and younger have been incarcerated, then we have a problem that needs to be discussed, and, yes, race is a part of that conversation. If white males, who are incarcerated at a rate of 1-81, were incarcerated at the same rate of black males, everyone would be asking how to fix the problem.” [1]
Because the article was short, and did not expound on the title, a lot of the readers were pretty annoyed. Nevertheless, it started an intriguing dialogue. One respondent stated:
There are basically only two ways to reduce the rate of black v. white incarceration rates:
a. More whites need to commit more crimes.
b. Ignore the crimes committed by African-Americans.
Even though Wisconsin has 72 counties, almost 50 percent of our state’s prisoners come from one county—Milwaukee. The city comprises about 11 percent of the state’s population, but, last year, 49 percent of the state’s homicides occurred in Milwaukee.
I guess we could close our eyes and ignore the homicides in Milwaukee, too, although that might rile the victims’ families or we could encourage whites to murder at higher rates to give the impression of equality of justice. [1]
Another added a reply:
c. Increase policing efforts in white neighborhoods. Stop white motorists more aggressively -- or even at the same rate as blacks. Be sure to frisk them when stopped.
d. Treat white drug offenders the same as blacks.
e. Increase funding for public defenders -- preferably good ones -- in underserved areas. [1]
In response to that, yet another respondent answered with:
In response to your suggestions:
c) Police patrol where the crime is. In the City of Milwaukee the overwhelming (and even that is putting it mildly) majority of crime occurs in neighborhoods occupied mostly by minorities. As a white living in the City I would absolutely love it if police patrol my neighborhood more aggressively. Unfortunately they spend most of their time responding to calls in the inner city.
As far "stop white motorists at the same rate as blacks". Such an ignorant statement. First off, again, look at who is committing the crime. They are the same people who usually commit traffic violations. Second, look at where the stops are and then look at the race. You aren't going to stop a whole lot of white people in the inner city. Third, drive around at night and honestly tell me you can tell the race of the driver and all of the passengers in a vehicle, especially in vehicles with tinted windows.
d) You can't just say "drug offenders" because there is so much more to consider. All drug offenses are not created equal. Drug offenses tend to taken more seriously when the offender is on probation/parole, for instance. Also, when someone is charged with another crime (robbery for instance) and drugs on found on him it's still technically a "drug charge". The statistic I am sure you are referencing is extremely misleading. [1]
Like I said, intriguing viewpoints. Personally, I thought that this article was responsible for initiating a really good exchange of thought and discussion. However, I have concerns about the statement made by Rev. Brisco and the direction of the article. Before I begin, I would like to make clear that this is not a condemnation of Rev. Brisco or the article, because I understand the point being made. However…
There are so many people who don’t have enough knowledge of historical events, Supreme Court case history, slavery and/or the Civil Rights movement, and more importantly, their relationships to today’s society. Because of this, just as many people miss the impact and relevance when the facts of the argument get lost in translation. I’m not going to breach the majority of those subjects, as they do not pertain to the topic of this article. I will, nonetheless, discuss slavery and life on plantations.
I’m going to have to disagree with Rev. Brisco. The urban setting of Milwaukee is not set up like a plantation. Aside from the most egregious and well-known facts about what was done to the blacks enslaved during that period, what must be emphasized here is that plantations were the centers of free labor and the slaves who worked them were nothing more than animate property. Plantation owners exploited the extremely profitable slave labor, and used slaves for just about every form of work, which ranged from domestic to the field. Like livestock, slaves were branded, and sold from plantation to plantation, separating parent from child. [4] It should be noted, though, that the black slaves were also skilled laborers and served in various worker capacities, including labor as carpenters, boatmen, cooks, seamstresses, blacksmiths, and varied leather, copper and iron work. They made boats and barrels, built barns and houses, made fine and/or functional furniture, and did repair work. [5] They excavated salt, coal and turpentine from the mines of the south. [6] They lived in one-bedroom, dirt floor shacks that characteristically measured between twelve by sixteen and twenty feet. [7]
This was plantation life. That’s not the case in the urban city of Milwaukee. There are not a lot of highly skilled and employable artisans among Milwaukee’s black residents. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for blacks in this city exceeds that of every other state in the United States, where the unemployment average is at 10%, while Milwaukee’s is at 22%. [8] For blacks, approximately one out of every two men in Milwaukee is unemployed, while only 18.1 percent of white men and 22.1 percent of Hispanic men are without employment, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. [9] And while it’s easy to blame the victim (the clichéd rhetoric of drugs, crime, and government dependency amongst Milwaukee’s black populace), it’s just as hard to argue the fact that the state of Wisconsin, which ranked 44th out of 50 states in job creation in 2009 and has fallen to 49th as of June of 2013. [10] [11] Milwaukee ranks 98th out 100 major cities in the nation in the same category. [12] Oh, did I forget to mention that the city of Milwaukee (and not the other 18 surrounding cities that compose the suburbs within Milwaukee County) is the fourth-most impoverished major city in America? [13]
And considering the billion-dollar industry that prisons have become, [14] coupled with the fact that Wisconsin incarcerates more black men than any other state in the nation – 32% more than the next highest state – it’s clear to see where the employable black men from Milwaukee really are. [15] For the sake of clarity, the demographic breakdown of Wisconsin’s population is as follows: 84.6% white, 6.2% black, 5.3% of Hispanic or Latino origin, 2.2% Asian persons, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, and 0.7% other. [16] Blacks make up the largest minority in the state, and while 76% of the total black population live in Milwaukee County, [17] 87% of those live in the city of Milwaukee. [16] When one population makes up 6.2% of the state population, but 45% of the state prison population [17] whose sleep space amounts to twelve by sixteen and twenty feet, well, that’s rather alarming. No, I don’t think the city of Milwaukee is set up like a plantation. The state of Wisconsin prison system is. And there is no emancipation in sight.
No, Milwaukee is set up more like a third world country. Third world countries – or for the purpose of political correctness, developing nations – are countries that are not industrialized, lack political and economic stability, have low levels of human health care, and are wrought with poverty. [19] These countries are disproportionately and exceedingly dependent economies, have high populations, are full of blight, are exploited and have increased crime rates. [20] Now that sounds like Milwaukee.
Black children in Wisconsin are six times more likely to live in poverty than white children, as the poverty rate for blacks (48%) is 38% higher than whites (10%) – which is the highest disparity ratio in the nation. Although the poverty rate for blacks in the United States is excessively high at 33%, the poverty rate in Wisconsin is 15% higher than the national average. [21] These juveniles, along with Hispanic juveniles, are also disproportionately over-represented when it comes to failing to achieve academic success. Not only are they inclined to high dropout rates before reaching the 10th grade, but they also make up a large percentage of Wisconsin’s population who are charged with crimes, convicted and incarcerated. [22]
As stated in one of my previous articles, Milwaukee’s poverty is painfully noticeable. Since the deindustrialization of the city in the late 1970’s, there has been a steady decline in the quality of life of the black population. A sharp line can be drawn on the map showing the growing separation of the racial demographics. There is a distinct difference between the "hood" and the suburbs. It’s reflected in the quality of stores in the city – especially the North side which has the highest number of Blacks – as opposed to the suburbs which has the greatest number of whites (the mostly residential North side has no departments stores outside of Wal-Mart and no malls or major distributors), its eating establishments (the city only has low budget, franchised, fast food restaurants), and its health clinics (dare I say hospital? No, I meant clinics). It has the worst, blighted infrastructure in the state. The streets are largely potholed and broken, many of the school buildings are vacant, and the shell of old factories – unused since the late seventies – are still standing, like old haunted houses dressed with cob webs, years of dust accumulation and broken windows. The North side is overrun with over priced, pest infested, dilapidated living quarters run by slumlords. And if all that wasn’t enough, Milwaukee has one of, if not the, worst public educational systems in the entire US. [23]
That sounds like a third world country, and no one can exaggerate by calling Milwaukee a developing city, because as more and more funding is being pulled from the city by the state for education, employment, and health care; with programming for drug addiction and non-violent offender reemergence into society all but eliminated; with the dissolution of residency laws; and as the tax base continues to evaporate, there seems to be no hope for major businesses to come in and develop the slums of the North side. And those who live outside the fishbowl, looking down their noses at the city, who have never had to be born and raised in such conditions – with so much stacked against them, are looking to the victims of such a mess and are demanding that they fix their own problem, because of course, to ask for help is to have and feel a sense of entitlement. But the last time I checked, no one is an island, and I don’t know too many people who can say that they have achieved and amassed all they had with no help and their only resource being themselves. But that is exactly what they’re asking these residents to do. There’s no hope for people who are expected to squeeze water from rocks. Those functional blacks that can find employment and quality of life in other states are moving out like the Great Migration back to the South. The rest, I'm sad to say, are left to rot in the third world.
References:
1. Causey, James (2013). Is Milwaukee set up like a plantation? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel June 25, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.jsonline.com/...
2. Hypersegregation. (n.d.). Definitions.net. Retrieved June 26, 2013, from http://www.definitions.net/....
3. Massey, Douglas S., and Denton, Nancy A. (1989). Hypersegregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: Black and Hispanic Segregation along Five Dimensions, Demography, Vol. 26, No. 3. (Aug., 1989), pp. 373-391. Retrieved from: http://www.scribd.com/...
4. Think Quest (2002). Ways of Manipulation and Punishment of Slaves. Plantation-Mania. Retrieved from: http://library.thinkquest.org/...
5. Littlefield, Daniel C. (2010). The Varieties of Slave Labor, Freedom’s Story, Teacher Serve. National Humanities Center. Retrieved from: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/...
6. Civil War Home (2002). Slavery In The Civil War Era. Civil War Potpourri. Retrieved from: www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm
7. Think Quest (2002). Customs and Traditions of Slaves. Plantation-Mania. Retrieved from: http://library.thinkquest.org/...
8. Reality Bytes (2012). The Prison Industrial Complex: Does It Create A New Form Of Slavery? How Much Labor Is Done By Prisoners In The System? Hub Pages. Retrieved from: http://reality-bytes.hubpages.com/...
9. Thompson, K. (2009). In Wisconsin, a sad state of unemployment, The Washington Post, December 24, 2009. Retrieved from: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/...
10. Schmid, J., and Gilbert, C., (2013). Wisconsin's job-creation ranking jumps to 33rd from 44th, still trails national rate, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 28, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.jsonline.com/...
11. National Memo, (2013). Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Falls To 49th In Economic Outlook, National Memo, June 10, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalmemo.com/...
12. The Business Journal Staff (2012). Wisconsin cities among worst in 12-month jobs data, The Business Journal, May 19, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.bizjournals.com/...=
13. Glauber, B., and Poston, B., (2010). Milwaukee now fourth poorest city in nation, The Journal Sentinel, September 28, 2010. Retrieved from: http://m.jsonline.com/...
14. Dauble, J. (2011). CNBC Presents, “Billions Behind Bars: Inside America’s Prison Industry,” Welcome to My World, October 2011. Retrieved from: http://irishgreeneyes-welcometomyworld.blogspot.com/...
15. WISDOM (2012). Wisconsin leads nation in black male incarceration rates, 11X15 For Safer, Healthier Communities, The 11X15 Campaign For Justice. Retrieved from: http://prayforjusticeinwi.org/
16. U.S. Census Bureau (2010). State and County QuickFacts. Retrieved from: http://quickfacts.census.gov/...
17. Coggs, Spencer & Wray, Noble (2008). Jim Doyle’s Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Wisconsin Justice System: Final Report. Retrieved from: http://oja.wi.gov/...
18. Slesinger, Doris P., Grigsby, E. Howard & Taeuber, Karl (2006). African Americans in Wisconsin A Statistical Overview Second Edition. Retrieved from: http://www.apl.wisc.edu/...
19. About.com (2010). Developed or Developing? Dividing The World Into The Haves and The Have-Nots, Geography, About.com, March 15, 2010. Retrieved from: http://geography.about.com/...
20. Chaliand, Gerard (n.d.). Third World: Definitions and Descriptions, Third World Traveler. Retrieved from: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/...
21. Center on Wisconsin Strategy (2008). The State of Working Wisconsin. Retrieved from: http://www.cows.org/...
22. Madison Preparatory Academy for Young Men (2010). Empowering Young Men for Life, Retrieved from: http://www.schoolinfosystem.org/...
23. Smith, W., (2012). Jon Hubbard: Really? Seriously? For Real? Daily Kos, December 13, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.dailykos.com/...