Milwaukee's Historic African American Community
Early in the Twentieth Century, Milwaukee's African American population numbered less than 1000. With immigration primarily from Mississippi and Arkansas following WW II, the population reached almost 22,000 by 1950 and over 62,000 by 1960. Most of the African American community lived in a small, segregated area in the north of Milwaukee then known as Bronzeville. This book of photographs and commentary in the "Images of America" series, "Milwaukee's Bronzeville: 1900 -- 1950" tells the story of the community.
The author, Paul Geenen, is a community activist and businessman who has had broad ties to Bronzeville over the years. Geneen compiled the photographs from archival sources and from families who had lived in Bronzeville. Reuben Harpole, a member of the Milwaukee Urban League and a professor at the University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee for many years wrote the introduction to the volume.
I grew up in Milwaukee and lived in the city from 1947 -- 1968. Thus, the community in this book is somewhat before my time. But I knew the African American portion of the city, located perhaps two miles east of the part of the city in which I lived. I rode through it often on the bus, walked through it on frequently as a grew older, and went to a record shop in the midst of the community to buy the rhythm and blues records to which I was devoted. Given the time, unfortunately, I had no close friends who lived in the area.
Geenen's book offers a compelling portrait of this too-little known center of African American life. He focuses on the close-knit character of the community. Many of his photographs follow the history of a small number of families, showing parents and children as they go to school, work on the job, and participate in community activities. Thus the book offers a sense of continuity in looking at Bronzeville.
Geenen's book is organized into eight short chapters which consider commercial development in Bronzeville, the many churches of the community, education, entertainment, sports, family, work life, and the leaders of the community. Of these subjects, religious life and education probably receive the most attention, as Geenen describes in detail education and religion at a Catholic institution known as St. Benedict the Moor. This school offered education to local children, and it was also the only African American boarding school in the United States. Many other churches and schools also receive attention in the book.
Geneen also describes the entertainment available in Bronzeville, which was patronized by both African Americans and whites alike. Clubs such as the Flame and the Moon Glow, established in the 1920s, were the most famous, but there were many others. The area was known for blues and jazz, and Geenen offers photos of singers, combos, sax players, pianists, and leggy dancers. He brings to life the joy of African American music. I would like to know whether any of the musicians he mentions were recorded. Besides the musical scene, Geenen describes the entertainment of "policy" or numbers which was everywhere in Bronzeville.
Some of the individual photos in this book I thought worked especially well as photos and as gateways into the community. Early in the book, I enjoyed the series of photos of the early days of the community, with its unpaved streets, streetcars, and small family stores. (pp.12-13) A wonderful picture of the beginnings of the Greater Galilee Church, which still thrives in the area, is shown in a humble home on 8th and Vliet Street. (p. 28) I liked the photos of saxophonists, musicians and high-stepping dancers. (pp.60-64) And there is a fine shot of a young Bronzeville swimmer high in the air off a diving board in a Bronzeville swim meet in 1944. (p77) A pillar of the community, Judge Randolph Parrish, known as the "mayor" of Bronzeville appears in a dignified portrait in his judicial robes. (p. 126)
The portrait that emerges from this book is of a community that endeavored to function as a cohesive whole with members who sought to improve themselves, educationally, financially, and spiritually, under harsh circumstances. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know better this community of my hometown. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in Milwaukee and to those interested in African American history.
