Milwaukee’s Residential Segregation – It’s Not Simply Black and White

The Milwaukee metropolitan area is taking what seems to be its annual beating in the media because of its racially segregated housing patterns.  According to a new report from the Brookings Institution based on 2005-09 census data, the City of Milwaukee and the surrounding area including Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha Counties is virtually tied for first  (or last!) with Detroit and New York City for the highest degree of black-white residential segregation.  A second study conducted by John Logan of Brown University ranked Milwaukee second in residential segregation by race to only the New York City metropolitan area.  Newark, Detroit, and Chicago were next on Logan’s list.

To what extent are the troubling rankings and the patterns to which they point truly based on race?  American racism is hardly dead and buried, but in our society race often obscures the equally pernicious workings of socioeconomic class inequality. 

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Thank You

The Thanksgiving Holiday brings about the annual reminder to take a moment to reflect and to say thank you. So, be sure to thank those around you!

First, thank you to the MULS community because without all of you I would not be where I am today. To my professors, thank you for challenging me even though there are days when I would prefer you did not! You all have instilled in me a deep appreciation for the law and for Marquette. Sometimes it goes unsaid but thank you for all that you do.

Second, thank you to my classmates. Although some I do not know, I will leave law school in a short while having made friends that I consider family. So, whether we were friends in class, competitors in moot court, or friends for life, thank you!

Third, thank you to the Milwaukee community. You all have provided endless opportunities in legal work, volunteer work, and fun! Thank you to all of the firms, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others who employ MU law students. The experiences are priceless. I am happy to call Milwaukee home for many years to come!

Last, but definitely not least, thank you to my family. Without your patience, your support, and your love I would not be where I am today.

Thank you and Happy Holidays to everyone!

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“A Good Start” on Building Joe Zilber’s Neighborhood Improvement Legacy

“I think Joe’s looking down, saying, ‘Well, it’s a good start.’”

That’s how Susan Lloyd, the executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, described the progress being made in carrying out a $50 million commitment to revitalizing specific Milwaukee neighborhoods made by the late philanthropist, Joseph Zilber.

At an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Marquette Law School on Thursday, Lloyd described the work of the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, launched in 2008. The initiative is focused on two neighborhoods, Lindsay Heights on the north side and the Clarke Square on the south side.

Zilber, a real estate developer who died in March 2010, saw opportunity everywhere he went, Lloyd said, and was eager to see new vitality in places such as Lindsay Heights, where his childhood home was.

But achieving that, especially in trying economic times, is not a short-term matter.

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