Alexander James walks briskly down North Avenue on an early Saturday afternoon. James has somewhere to be, today, but it’s easy to get the feeling there wouldn’t be much slowing him down, no matter what.
James, who grew up in the foster system, says he “bounced around, moved around a lot” as a kid. “Those are the cards I was dealt — my mother, she wasn’t able to take care of us,” he says.
This story is part of a series focusing on the 30th Street Industrial & Economic Corridor.
Lorenzo Williams walks across an empty lot that sits between a row of houses near 29th and Chambers as sunset casts shadows across the open space. Williams sports a heavy leather jacket that sags below his shoulders, despite the still-warm early-fall air.
Williams says he grew up in, “this neighborhood, right here.” It was nice, back then, but, after some time, the area took a turn for the worse. “Man, growin’ up, it was pretty decent. The neighborhood was nice but it changed, over the years,” he says.
This story is part of a series focusing on the 30th Street Industrial & Economic Corridor.
Wanda Matthews sits in a chair on the sidewalk near the corner of 30th and Chambers on Milwaukee’s north side.
Matthews grew up right in the neighborhood, near 30th and Concordia. She says life was good back in the day. There were some bad things but there was good, as well. “We had everything we wanted,” she says, referring to her and her siblings.
