Western, central and northern Minnesota under windy, dry weather conditions 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

 from UCLA finds that K-12 schools in Wisconsin suspend black high school students at a higher rate than 

 and has the second-highest disparity in suspension rates between white and black students. Milwaukee, the state's biggest city, suspends black high school students at a rate nearly double the national average.



While many Rust Belt cities — Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, etc. — have similar histories of African-American struggles, Milwaukee has some of the same problems but not the same profile, mainly because it isn't well known for its large black population at all. But blacks make up 40 percent of the city and, for many who grew up there (like me), none of this data is surprising. Milwaukee is a vibrant city known for its breweries and ethnic festivals and can be a great place to live — unless you're black. Statistically, it is one of the worst places in the country for African-Americans to reside. Here's a breakdown of how — and why — being black in Brew City carries a heavy burden.


Suspensions are just the beginning. The state also has

 between black and white students in the country, and ranks last in reading comprehension tests among black fourth-graders. Milwaukee has the most black students in the state and is 

 to Wisconsin's achievement gap. Its public school system has been plagued by federal and state funding cuts and a 20-year-old school choice program that diverts public tax dollars to private schools through vouchers. With 4-out-of-5 black children in Wisconsin 

, an inadequate education can set up the most vulnerable students for failure.



Over the past decade, many states have transitioned to policies that favor rehabilitation over incarceration. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has actually invested 

 in public and private prisons over the last 20 years. The state budget now allots 

 than it does for higher education. Wisconsin also 

 in the country, and in Milwaukee County, 

 of all black men in their 30s and 40s have served time. In the 

 alone, 62 percent of all men have spent time in an adult correctional facility by age 34.
A 

 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee links the state's massive black prison population to sentencing and policing policies that disproportionately affect African-Americans.


, and the city is the most segregated in America. An 

 among locals is that the city's 16th Street viaduct bridge is the longest structure in the world, linking "Africa to Europe." Basically, black people lived on the city's north side, and whites lived on the south side. The same holds true today, although Hispanics are now the majority in the south, and Asian-Americans make up the city's west side. Whites have mostly moved to the suburbs.
There's a unique history behind Milwaukee's segregation. In the late 19th century, Milwaukee was "

" in the country, made up mostly of German, Polish and Irish migrants who came in search of jobs in the city's bustling manufacturing industry. Unlike the rest of the Midwest, Milwaukee was slow to attract African-Americans from the South during the Great Migration. Instead, most settled in Chicago, located just 90 miles south.
As 

 explains, by the time blacks arrived in large numbers beginning in the 1960s, the economy had reached a stalemate, no longer the thriving industrial capital it once was, creating tension between the black and immigrant communities.


 to tackle Milwaukee's racial disparities. But with few resources, and an educational and criminal justice system that is often stacked against them, many Milwaukeeans — myself included — 

Crime, Law and Justice

Kenya Downs

Author

It might surprise you that Wisconsin schools hand out suspensions to black students at the highest rate in the country. If so, you've probably never lived in Milwaukee.

Why is Milwaukee so bad for black people?

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox