Artist statement

In my final project, I wanted to expose the environmental realities children face on the South Side of Milwaukee. Growing up in the inner city can be a difficult task, but one can always make the best of the situation they face. I myself didn't grow up in the inner city, but I did face certain harsh realities that most children never come into conflict with. I'm an African American and as a result, society views me as not fitting the "norm" or being of Caucasian descent. This has never bothered me, but I have always wondered what it would be like to still be a minority, just of a different race. The South side of Milwaukee is predominately Hispanic, so I wanted my project to focus on just that issue. This class is about multiculturalism, so I felt it necessary to focus on the Hispanic community and how they interact with one another. I think that the people of Milwaukee feel mistakenly unwelcome on the South side of Milwaukee. This is a tragedy because it could not be further from the truth. There are no social barriers that prevent someone who isn't Hispanic from crossing over the river and interacting with community, yet I believe many within our society believe that there is. In my project I wanted to expose the good and bad aspects the South side holds. I had no trouble collecting pictures and data that were reflective of the South Side, but I did run into a few problems along the way. My main problem was conducting an oral interview from just a local community member. This was due primarly to language barrier that can tend to accompany the South Side. Most of the people I tried to conduct a interview with were friendly, but unhelpful in regards to my project. I did however manage to talk with a local bar owner on National Ave. He went on to tell me that, "it is sad that we as a society are still racially divided, but the latino community is strong in it's unity." He then said, "Although we are segregated from other nieghborhoods, hispanics on the South Side can rely on one another in ways that other communities can not or simply do not." After speaking with this man, I knew that my project would focus on segregation but also the unity that accompanies it's destructive ways. It is a way of looking at the situation with the "glass half full" but sometimes thinking positive can go a long way. Hopefully in the future, these ideas of unity can spread across the entire city instead of just one sector of it.