“They knew I was gonna wake up soon”
Keon Hamler, who overcame a challenging childhood, is still searching for his place in the world.
All posts tagged: W. Kilbourn Ave.
“I’m still gonna make it”
As a youngster, Jimmy Johnson made some bad decisions. Now, he’s forging forward, determined to make a better life for himself.
“I love my mom to death”
Terry Ellis walks down W. Kilbourn Ave. across from Norris Park in Milwaukee’s Marquette neighborhood on a still-chilly spring day, hood on, collar up. His breath cuts through the cold air as he struts, hands in his pockets, down the empty sidewalk. Ellis was born in Milwaukee and grew up on the north side near 25th and Capitol. “I had a good childhood,” he says but, then, qualifies. “I mean, pretty typical, you know, for any child — particularly an African-American child — in the inner city. Had good times, bad times.”
“I’ve always just been a bold person”
Sacia Lloyd describes herself as somewhat of a “rebel.” “I’m just the middle child – that’s the best way I can explain it. I’m a middle child and the black sheep of the family; I, kind of, went against the grain on everything,” she said.