‘Milwaukee is the most segregated, racist place I’ve ever experienced in my life’

[MayorBeluga]

The cynic in me reads this and thinks that he was just virtue signaling to his audience. Even taking the government school out of the discussion, how many times do we hear from people in Madison that their city is the greatest in the world while Milwaukee is a hellhole? He was basically telling his audience "I'm not one of [I]those[/I people from Milwaukee.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it though.

[MUFAN2010]

Great points, but where money is being spent by the government does not make anyone or any city racist. Where the city and county spends their money is decided upon by the city and county officials, people who represent their areas/districts. When the city decides to put money into the lakefront, who is making that decision? Racist people or the elected officials representing their districts/neighborhoods? Saying that it is racist to put money into those things would suggest that the city & county officials are racist. That is untrue.

Is Milwaukee segregated? Yes, no question. Is Milwaukee racist? I don't believe it is.

What about the surrounding 5 counties?

[IWB]

The comment was made about Milwaukee, not the surrounding 5 counties.

[79warrior]

Great points, but where money is being spent by the government does not make anyone or any city racist. Where the city and county spends their money is decided upon by the city and county officials, people who represent their areas/districts. When the city decides to put money into the lakefront, who is making that decision? Racist people or the elected officials representing their districts/neighborhoods? Saying that it is racist to put money into those things would suggest that the city & county officials are racist. That is untrue.

Is Milwaukee segregated? Yes, no question. Is Milwaukee racist? I don't believe it is.

Your last comment is exactly the problem. Maybe we just are not honest enough to admit it. ( I am responding to your point, not how you feel personally)

[DavidBoone2inchesTaller]

Segregation is definitely an issue in Milwaukee, but that dates back to the early days of the City with Germans, Polish, Italians, and Irish carving out there own neighborhoods in the city and then later moving out to the suburbs where those suburbs formed an iron ring around the City of Milwaukee. I don't believe housing segregation in Milwaukee happened because of implicit racism (i.e. not wanting to live next to a particular ethnic group). I think it is more a product of older European ethnic groups settling in Milwaukee first. Then, as time went by people of those European ethnic groups bettered themselves in Milwaukee...Poles moved from the south and from Cudahy to places like Franklin and Muskego; Germans moved from the Valley and north side to the north shore, Fox Point, Mequon, Grafton, etc. Then, blacks and latinos looking for housing and opportunities followed by moving into those original ethnic neighborhoods because it is older housing stock and more affordable.

So I don't believe that the housing segregation we see in Milwaukee today is a direct product of racism. I believe it is a direct product of the lack of economic opportunity (jobs), which could involve racism. There is also a lack of investment in these older neighborhoods because of the risks involved on the private side with few incentitves. That's a financial decision made by home owners, landlords, and businesses.

The City of Milwaukee needs to get directly involved in the regentrification of these older neighborhoods by offering financial incentives to home owners, landlords, new businesses, business expansion, and developers. Without major financial incentives to help spur economic development in these neighborhoods, private investment will always flow toward the growing areas and "greenfields" of metro Milwaukee where there is less financial risk. Hence, public incentives simply put these older neighborhoods on an even playing field with the growing areas of metro Milwaukee by reducing the risk of private financial investment. Right now, I don't see the City of Milwaukee doing much to attract private investment in these neighborhoods. The mayor and the City's lack of focus in these areas is puzzling and, therefore, causes conjecture and suspicions of other issues at play.