A Q&A with Kitonga Tumaini Alexander, written by Sheila Drefahl.
Milwaukee Bronzeville is a vibrant neighborhood born from the Great Migration. It stands as a testament to the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of African Americans seeking better opportunities. This area blossomed into a thriving community, marked by sustainable businesses and cultural richness. However, like many African American neighborhoods across the nation, it faced devastating consequences during the 1950s due to federal Urban Renewal policies.
To preserve and amplify the legacy of this historic area, the Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories organization emerged. This interactive virtual platform is dedicated to enriching and expanding the understanding of Milwaukee Bronzeville's past, present, and future. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, they bring to life the individuals and stories that shaped this community. Recently, Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories received funding from the Wisconsin Humanities for their work in preserving cultural heritage.
Kitonga Tumaini Alexander is the project director leading the Bronzeville Histories project, a Milwaukee native and former Milwaukee school teacher. He has a PhD in history and is a researcher for Marquette University and an Adjunct Lecturer at UW-Milwaukee. My name is Sheila Drefahl, an intern with Wisconsin Humanities and graduate student in the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at UW-Madison. I asked Dr. Alexander some questions about the funding, foundation, and future of Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories.
We invite you to dive into the conversation below.
WH: Can you describe how Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories started working with nearby organizations to plan the project and events? What inspired you to begin doing this work?
Alexander: Milwaukee has a rich history. Multiple ethnic, religious, and social groups have contributed to the city’s strong infrastructure. As the city changes over time, some of the contributions made by groups get lost or forgotten within communities. On Milwaukee’s North Side, a community has an extravagant history that is missing from many accounts. This inspired Bronzeville Histories Institute (BHI) to create outlets for the unsung history of Milwaukee’s African American community to be documented and shared.
WH: How did the project evolve? What did you learn? How did working with the historical sites in the Bronzeville neighborhoods enrich your understanding of the needs in this community?
Alexander: What started as creating a road map for a walking tour of the Bronzeville community evolved into a virtual site documenting the businesses, organizations, prominent figures, and event sites throughout the area's history. The Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories website complimented the walking road map by virtually generating a roadmap of where these establishments existed. Working on this project, BHI uncovered that hundreds of facilities needed to be documented, deeming this effort an ongoing process. The project also exposed the community’s need for connections between its historical position and current state. The Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories website links the gap between generations of organizations in the community by bridging the past with the present on the site. BHI has committed to generating entries annually to meet the community's needs. BHI has made many entries already, and we look forward to doing even more!
WH: What did funding from Wisconsin Humanities allow you to do?
Alexander: BHI launched the Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories website to tell the rich story of Milwaukee’s African American community. While the site covers the past and present iterations of the vibrant community, BHI argues the most important element of the community is the future. The youth of today are the future of the community. From this concept emerged programming to directly engage the youth around the rich history of the African American community of Milwaukee. History camps were developed to do so. Combining art and history, sessions were developed to not only to educate, but also center the participants as contributors to the community through art and creativity. In each history camp, participants generate an item for the community. Funding from Wisconsin Humanities allowed BHI to garner the necessary supplies and take this program into Pilgrim Lutheran School, engaging students with history and art.
WH: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Alexander: BHI recognizes that there is continuous work to do in each category (historical recording and community programs). We have committed to developing the Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories website. BHI also aspires to work with educational and social organizations in the community to generate programs that engage youth in history camps. We are seeking a brick-and-mortar facility to house events and a “History Wagon,” a vehicle designed to facilitate pop-up history camps in Wisconsin. To engage the community even more, BHI has also created an app that can be downloaded for free on all Apple and Android devices. Individuals and organizations can search for Milwaukeebronzevillehistories.org in their respective app stores and download the free app, which can be used in educational and social settings to access historical findings, current community efforts, and contributions from the youth.
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