Commentary

COMMENTARTY: Poverty

MILWAUKEE COURIER — When talking about how we move Milwaukee forward, poverty must be a primary topic of discussion.

Published

7 years ago

January 28, 2019

By Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, Common Council President, City of Milwaukee

When talking about how we move Milwaukee forward, poverty must be a primary topic of discussion. As we see downtown continue to develop and grow, it is easy to let that put a mask over the parts of our city that are still reeling from deindustrialization and the 2008 financial crisis. I do not mean to say that we should dwell on this negative aspect of Milwaukee, nor should we preach a message of poverty to the choir of people that live it out each day. However, I do believe we need to take a minute to think about the poverty in our City and look at the ways we can see a solution. As MSN reported this past July, Milwaukee is one of the municipalities most impacted by extreme poverty. This can no longer be accepted as our reality.

The first thing to reflect on is that the challenges that keep people in poverty are interconnected. A quality education can help lift a child from poverty, but is probably not the catch-all solution if that child does not have quality health care, a stable home, and general safety when they leave the school grounds.

An individual getting a job can help with financial stability, but if their housing costs more than one-third of their monthly salary, we know that they will be burdened by those payments. We have to look at poverty not as an issue that can be solved by fixing one challenge, but by elevating people in multiple ways at once. It is a daunting task, but is the only way we can really see change in peoples’ lives.

The second thing to remember is that poverty and unemployment are two different things. We are constantly inundated with the idea that we can solve poverty by bringing in new jobs and getting people employed. Employment provides a level of financial stability that can have a profound impact on one’s life, but not all jobs are created equal. Milwaukee is filled with people that society would label “the working poor”. People that have jobs, work tirelessly to be the best employee they can be and still struggle to make ends meet. Job creation cannot be the solution if people still have to work multiple jobs or work weeks longer than 40 hours to put food on the table. It is imperative that we don’t just focus on connecting our residents to any job, but one that is family sustaining and affords an enjoyable life. Doing so is not impossible.

People are often surprised when I say this, but we actually have a perceived labor shortage in Milwaukee. There are numerous family-sustaining job opportunities in our city, just waiting for applicants. Organizations like Employ Milwaukee, Milwaukee JobsWork, Wisconsin God Squad, WRTP Big-Step and more are doing work to connect people to these jobs, but we still see these opportunities left open. Creating a stronger employment pipeline is important to solving poverty, but, like I said, a job isn’t enough.

Family-sustaining employment can be a part of the solution to poverty, but our history shows that is not enough to maintain a high quality of life. We know that Milwaukee was hit hard by job loss during deindustrialization, but the real tragedy is that black and brown communities were excluded from accumulating wealth that they could use to recover and reposition themselves for future success. A wage only provides stability until that job isn’t there. We need to provide opportunities for low-income residents to move into entrepreneurial spaces and build their own wealth instead of always contributing to the wealth of individuals outside of our community. There is an old adage that money only stays in the black community for six hours. That is not the case when people from the community own the businesses in their neighborhoods.

To do this, we need to look at the other issues that can be hindrances to our residents’ ability to achieve their goals. Resident ability to obtain wealth is directly tied to the myriad of factors that are woven together to form the poverty cycle. Education is key to being successful in the new economy; can we provide access to low-income residents? People need to be healthy to be successful; can we provide health care to people who have historically been unable to afford it?

The third thing to know is that we absolutely can do something about poverty in Milwaukee. For a long time, the narrative has been that our hands are tied because we are not getting enough shared revenue from the State or we are not getting the Federal grants we need to make something happen. We are at a moment in our history where the Governor of Wisconsin is preparing to roll out a plan for a $15 minimum wage. Elevating the wages of employees across the City will lead to some much-needed financial security that can contribute to the transformation of a person and family’s life. As a Council, we are prepared to support this effort by Governor Evers and look forward to seeing the other ways he will help us in our battles against poverty.

As residents of this City, we can be difference makers in ending critical poverty through our day to day actions. We can support our local businesses so that our dollars are being spent on people from the community who have a stake in where we live. We can help spread the word to people who need a new opportunity about the job fairs, training programs and open positions that exist. We can encourage new entrepreneurs both young and old to follow that passion and utilize the resources available to them to be successful. Ending critical poverty is something that requires all of us to come together. That work is happening now, and there will always be more seats at the table.

This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Courier.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

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June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Stop the Hate Symposium Brings Oakland Together Through Dialogue, Partnership, and Community Healing

More than a meeting and panel discussion, the annual symposium serves as a powerful example of what can happen when neighbors, community leaders, and organizations choose conversation over division, and unity over silence.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Speakers and guests at the annual ‘Stop the Hate Symposium posed with Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council ambassadors. Photo by Marcus Calloway.

By Dr. Maritony Jones, Special to The Post

With the purpose of creating safer, stronger, and more inclusive communities, and in partnership with the Oakland Private Industry Council and other community organizations, the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council (OCIC) hosted the ‘Stop the Hate Symposium’ on June 13 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

The free event featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions, cultural programming, creating a space where people from many backgrounds sat together with a shared purpose.

The turnout itself reflected the urgency and importance of the topic. The room was packed with community members eager not only to listen, but also to participate. Throughout the event, speakers shared data, personal experiences, research, and practical solutions designed to address hate, violence, social inequity, and community safety.

The keynote panel featured respected leaders and advocates, including Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG); Ryan Takemiya from RAMA; Caheri Gutierrez from the Unity Council; honorary guest speaker Oakland City Councilmember at-Large Rowena Brown and City Councilmember Charlene Wang; representatives for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, with Gia Vang of NBC serving as moderator.

The symposium also offered multiple breakout sessions that addressed issues affecting communities across Oakland and Alameda County:

Session 1, 2, 3: Building Safer and More Inclusive Communities, led by Pastor Raymond Lankfort, CEO of Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC), Jessica Kang, research manager for Stop AAPI Hate, Kara Guerra of The Unity Council, and Gabriela delaRiva of the Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation
Session 4: Talk Story: Collective Healing and Relationship Repair, presented by Ryan Takemiya, executive director of RAMA
Session 5: Sexual Violence Prevention, presented by Tunisia Owens, interim deputy director of Realized Potential
Session 6: Violent Attacks on Teens, presented by MaryAnn Alvarado, program manager of Youth Alive

Every session contributed to an important truth: meaningful change begins within communities, through honest dialogue and a willingness to work together.

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the day was the need to create more conversations and stronger partnerships—not just during times of crisis, but consistently and intentionally. Relationships among organizations, neighborhoods, and community leaders often operate behind the scenes but are not always highlighted or celebrated.

Bobbitt spoke powerfully about this issue, noting that partnerships and relationships often go unrecognized despite being essential to community progress. He pointed to examples such as the partnership between OPIC and OCHIC, emphasizing that these collaborations deserve more visibility, investment, and expansion.

Perhaps his most memorable message resonated deeply throughout the room. Bobbitt explained that when a grandparent is attacked or harmed, the impact extends beyond race or ethnicity because today’s families and communities are increasingly multicultural and interconnected.

“We are not going to see our grandparents as just Latino, Asian, Caucasian, or African American,” he shared in essence. “We are going to see them simply as our grandparents.”

Those words reflected the heart of the symposium. Hate may target one group, but pain and loss are felt by everyone. Likewise, healing and progress are shared responsibilities.

For more information about the Stop The Hate Program visit the website: https://www.oaklandchinatownchamber.org/stop-the-hate (or) https://oaklandpic.or

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Activism

Six Months in, Probate Reform Coalition Marks Progress in Protecting Elders From Financial Abuse

Despite the cited obstacles, NPRC has made some promising inroads towards their mission. NPRC has identified that nationwide the Attorneys General must be engaged and encouraged to implement oversight, protection and enforcement of the law; members find support from each other as they advocate for redress via “letters of compassion” sent to judges, nursing facilities and law enforcement agencies and members are instructed on their rights, how to take constructive action to protect those rights through access to resources that allow them to intelligently represent themselves in court.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

NPRC member Stewart E. Handte, a former Mineral County, Nevada, Sheriff and 27-year veteran of police work, currently wears an ankle monitor after he was arrested on kidnapping charges for helping his friend, Roger Hilligus, remove Hilligus’ mother, Susan Hilligus, from a nursing facility after finding her bruised and neglected. NPRC has submitted a “Letter of Compassion” for both Handte and Hilligus requesting that charges be dropped. Courtesy photo.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Probate Reform Coalition, a loose-knit national coalition of advocates, victims, and families dedicated to protecting elder rights, especially within the probate court system, was formed by the Post Newspaper Group (PNG) after more than a decade of reporting on the mistreatment of elders and the plunder of their estates.

In response, PNG Publisher Paul Cobb set in motion a series of monthly town halls to address the problem and propose workable solutions, designating it a “year of action.”

At six months, the coalition has attracted families, advocates, and experts across the nation whose strategies have proven effective in their respective states, and who are moving forward collectively with the mission of engaging judicial, legislative, and enforcement agencies to ensure elders are not exploited or abused.

“The issue of elder abuse is multi-layered”, says NPRC planning committee member Venus Gist. “Elders are our most vulnerable population, next to children, and they are easily exploited by strangers, their own family members, and the judicial system designed to protect them.”

Since January, NPRC has, via monthly virtual meetings held on the first Thursday of each month, clearly defined the issues and formulated workable solutions that can be implemented nationwide.

“There are amazing laws on the books that protect elders and their assets,” said NPRC member Zakiya Jendayi. “The problem is they are ignored, and that lack of oversight has led to systemic abuse in the Probate Court system, not just in Alameda County, but nationwide.

“The scary part is the collusion and wall of silence NPRC has encountered when reaching out to the Judicial Council, legislators, and the State Bar for assistance. It’s so obvious that one hand is washing the other, that they’re protecting each other, that it’s difficult to initiate any type of meaningful reform much less dialogue.”

Stacy Drake, a Texas member, says, “I’ve been looking for help for over 10 years with my situation, and I finally found it within the NPRC coalition. God answered my prayers.”

Broadening its reach within Alameda County, NPRC has invited Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to assist with outreach, education, and resolution.

“We hope to host an elder abuse/elder protection symposium annually, if not twice a year, to let our elders know that Alameda County and the City of Oakland are a safe place, a place where in their golden years they have no worries regarding exploitation and abuse,” said Cobb. “Society is defined by how the care for its children and elders.”