“Harambee” is the Swahili word for “pulling together”. It has also become, since the mid-1970s, the most widely used name for a neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side. Draped across a steep ridge overlooking Downtown, the Harambee area is a community of historic homes, strong churches, and more than 20,000 people. The Harambee community is just north of downtown Milwaukee and is bounded by Keefe Avenue to the north, Holton Street to the east, North Avenue to the south and I-43 to the west. Harambee includes the highest residential elevation in the city, a tall ridge running along 1st Street, that in the early 20th century was built upon by the city’s wealthy families.
Residents are questioning whether the Riverworks-led Harambee NID, which has consistently eroded accountability measures since its inception in 2017, truly has their best interests at heart. Continue reading Riverworks-led Harambee NID flouts own accountability requirements at annual meeting
The yearly festival, which celebrates the freeing of the last slaves, attracts thousands with quality local music, food and business. Continue reading Juneteenth Day celebration unites Black Milwaukee
Harambee residents expressed distrust of a city process to solicit feedback about a potential expansion of the downtown streetcar and development of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive after city employees did not answer questions about the project’s timeline, and who is being engaged. Continue reading No guarantee of streetcar expansion fuels resident suspicions
Ackkaamayah Yahoudah, who was raised in the inner city by a single mother, has set out to correct the record. Continue reading People on the Street | Ackkaamayah Yahoudah (Part 1)
Rufus Sampson grew up with a trial-and-error mindset, to which he still ascribes today. Watch: Part 1 of Rufus’ story. See more videos from Milwaukee Stories, Inc. Did you find value in this story? If so, please sign up to receive periodic updates. We need your help! Milwaukee Stories is a nonprofit organization that brings … Continue reading People on the Street | Rufus Glen Sampson (Part 2)
Growing up on Chicago’s west side, Patricia Williams lived in almost-constant fear. When she became a mother, she decided it was time for a change. Continue reading “I kept getting stronger”
Rufus Sampson talks about the importance of mindset, taking care of the future and being willing to sacrifice. Continue reading People on the Street | Rufus Glen Sampson (Part 1)
Violet Young walks briskly down North Richards Street dressed almost entirely in purple, a plastic bag in each hand. Exuberant and cheerful, even the below-freezing temperatures can’t dampen her spirits.
“You should see what it looks like in summer,” she says, gesturing to a nearby corner park with fruit trees and a small shelter. “It’s beautiful.”
Continue reading ““If you don’t have family you don’t have anything””
Amy Tim stands in front of a stoop in Harambee with a couple of her kids nearby. Tim, who grew up on Milwaukee’s northwest side, has been in-between two worlds for as long as she can remember. “I struggled … growin’ up because my mother was African-American and I’m bi-racial,” she says. “Bein’ a bi-racial … Continue reading “I always felt like an outsider”
Michael Stephens sits in a wheelchair near the corner of Achilles and Auer streets in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood. These days, Stephens doesn’t have either of his legs, but that doesn’t seem to trouble him, too much.
“[I] live day by day,” he says. “Whatever happens, good or bad, [I’ll] deal with it, like I’ve always done.”
