Let the conversation begin: We interviewed nine black males about what it is like to live in Racine, a city named the fourth worst place for black people to live. We anticipate that this project will continue over the course of several months as we gather more voices to be part of this ongoing series […]
Category: Black Men Speak
Posted inBlack Men Speak, Culture
Black Men Speak: Racism, education, and attitude
What should change in Racine? What should white people know about being black? And why are these conversations so difficult to have? Nine males from Racine, Wisconsin — the town named the fourth worst place for black people to live — answer these questions and more in our tenth video in the series. We’d love to […]
Posted inBlack Men Speak, Culture
Carl Fields
“Racism was powerful for me because I didn’t know what it was…” Carl Fields, 38, moved to Racine from Chicago when he was eight years old. He went from being in an all-black school to a mostly white school. This presented its share of trouble because he always felt like was treated as “an other.” […]
Posted inBlack Men Speak, Culture
Ahmad Kweku Qawi
“No matter what, we’re human…” Ahmad Kweku Qawi, the chief operating officer for the YMCA of Racine, has not experienced racism in his life. But he is Muslim and has had more conflict over his faith than race. There he mentors black boys. And just because he’s black, he doesn’t pretend to understand their experiences. […]
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Mike Jackson
“If you are at peace with yourself, the last thing you want to do is have hate coming out of your mouth.” — Mike Jackson Growing up in Racine, Mike Jackson has always been aware of the presence of racism but it’s not something that he lets dominate his life. How did he come to […]
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Logan Tyler Jr.
“Just because you are from the hood doesn’t mean you are a bad guy.” Logan Tyler Jr., 35, grew up on the south side of Racine where gunshots and screeching tires were the norm in the 1990s. He sees his life as beautiful now, but it wasn’t always that way. He was in prison three times, […]
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John Tate II
John Tate II is a social worker and common council member. He also graduated from Prairie School, a private school in Racine, Wisconsin. Tate talks about how being one of the few black people in the school impacted him, but he also talks about how he copes with racism. Check out more Black Men Speak […]
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Kevin Brown
Kevin Brown – a poet, rapper, and DJ – points to the number of black men incarcerated in jails, the number of police continuously patrolling black neighborhoods and the number of liquor stores in those neighborhoods as examples of systemic racism. But he also talks about being hesitant to put his race on an application […]
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Corey Prince
“Just get a job,” the prison guards told Corey Prince. And he had a plan to get one. He has a diverse background that includes going to private schools, college, and prison. When he got out, he worked hard to find a job. But found it difficult to land one. At one point, he worked […]
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Chester Todd Jr.
Chester Todd Jr. moved to Racine from Mayfield, Kentucky in 1951 when he was nine-years-old. This was the first time he had mixed with white people and at the time, racism was “very blatant” back then. Todd had a number of experiences with racism over his lifetime, including being made to shower two and three […]
Posted inBlack Men Speak, Culture
Alex Hart-Upendo
Alex Hart-Upendo, 11, is a fifth-grader and already owns his own company called Build-A-Bow. But he’s also already experienced racism several times, something he feels “is just not right.” Check out more Black Men Speak videos: Corey Prince Kevin Brown Chester Todd Jr. John Tate II Mike Jackson Logan Tyler Ahmad Kweku Qawi Carl Fields […]