The beauty of this summer was programming with audacity. Having the goal to get students out in the community and being able to see all parts of Milwaukee and what it had to offer really open the doors to have students take a "behind the scenes tour" of the Mitchell Domes, let their words speak truth with Dasha Kelly and community activist Adam Carr, celebrate Nelson Mandela with Alderman Davis, experience summer festivals, and create an awareness of positive attitudes via First Stage. I was especially proud of the opportunity for kids to participate in the honoring of a hometown hero, Harry Kemp, considered the "Gordan Parks" of Milwaukee's Black communtiy. Mr. Clayborn Benson, Executive Director for the Wisconsin Black Historical Society (WBHS) hosted the honorary street unveiling for Harry Kemp and allowed 25 young adults to not only participate in the ceremony, but intentional worked with his staff to have ONG come early to view artifacts housed at WBHS.

Not only was it important for the kids to have fun, but I wanted to intentionally create a consciousness for societal institutions that affect them as well as build self-monitoring skills.  This past summer, Ebony magazine published a four-part series about "Saving Our Black Sons" which depicted "whys" to the educational gap vs. incarceration rates, family support, the infectious rate of homicide in Chicago, and academic success of young black men. It was indeed an honor to support the choices of all the young people by reaching out to Serenity Funeral Home to talk about the permanence of death and the importance of making positive choices, because stats show that young men between the ages 15-24 die of homicide at a higher rate than five natural leading causes of death nationally. I think it was rewarding for the students to also see people under the age of 25 successfully living out their passions. I owe a lot to Wisconsin 30 artist, Christopher McIntyre, for being supportive of the students to experience black culture and the discourse community that was talking about what it means to be black in Milwaukee. Not only did he serve as a guide at the Milwaukee Art Museum for Wisconsin 30, but at the close of the summer we were able to collaborate again! Students toured Bronzeville, a historically popularized black community that once flourished in Milwaukee in early 1900s, to talk to local business owners like Lucky the Barber who explained how he learned to carry out his passion and thrive in the Milwaukee community.