Living for the City: The Black Middle Class in Milwaukee oral history project challenges and complicates existing narratives about Black Milwaukee mired in narrow assertions of poverty, segregation, incarceration, and educational underachievement. These are not the only stories to tell about Black Milwaukee. Research confirms that Milwaukee’s Black residents have lived experiences marked by successes, demanding that we attend to those middleclass experiences left out of current academic and socio-political discourses. Studying those with class advantages brings insights into social inequality. We know what Black poverty looks like in Milwaukee, but what does Black success look like? Turning the lens to middle class opens other narratives and representations of African Americans in Milwaukee.

The project is a joint effort between Marquette University’s Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The research team includes two faculty advisors, two CURTO researchers (a historian and journalist), UWM Libraries staff, and a host of undergraduate research fellows and other student workers.

We have conducted about 100 interviews and look to conduct more. Interviewees include now-Alderwoman Sharlen Moore, veteran journalist Joanne Williams, and LGBTQ+ advocate Elle Halo.

This project has received grant funding, including a Wisconsin Humanities Major Grant, UWM Advancing Research and Creativity Grant, and the 2023 Fromkin Research Grant.

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If you are interested in inquiring about the project or being interviewed please email the project manager Drake Bentley at drake.bentley@marquette.edu.