Bronzeville Memories

BRONZEVILLE

Memories

BY RICHARD G. CARTER

BRONZEVILLE COLLECTIVE

Nobody called it Bronzeville when I was born in a big house on West Vine Street. The mostly Black Milwaukee neighborhood received its informal name years later when high-profile attorney, Clarence R. Parrish—head of the local NAACP—was dubbed “Mayor of Bronzeville.” In 1967, Parrish and my late mother, Juanita Carter, narrowly escaped when the NAACP office on West Center Street was firebombed.

In its late 1940s through mid-‘60s heyday, Bronzeville was home to a number of fine restaurants, barbershops and popular taverns including the 700, 711, Rose Room, Savoy Lounge, Bates Old Rail, Altruistic Lounge, Louisiana Tap, Ranchos and 502 Club, among many others.

To help keep the peace amidst the frivolity—and righteously strike fear in the hearts of adults and aggressive kids alike—the area was patrolled by uniformed Black cops including Calvin C. Moody, the city’s first Black detective and, after retiring, the first Black Milwaukee County Supervisor.

Among my happiest memories was the storied Regal Theater at Seventh and Walnut; famous Black vocal groups such as the Moonglows and Spaniels sang a cappella on the sidewalk; and Friday “Canteen Nights” for R&B-crazy Black teenagers in the Northside YMCA at Sixth and North Avenue.

Happily, I was raised in stable homes with both a mother and father, unlike some of my friends. Fatherless homes persist; statistics show that these days, this is the case with many Black children in the area, as urban blight continues. When I visit my Milwaukee hometown from New York, it is distressing to see the decline in the Bronzeville neighborhoods of my youth. Empty lots have replaced churches, schools are boarded-up, dilapidated houses line many streets, grocery stores and even taverns have disappeared, while shootings, car-jackings and street crime have become endemic.

Yet, I can see positive signs beginning to emerge, with Black elected officials in many key posts. These dedicated men and women are leading the way in reviving Bronzeville.

New small businesses, pharmacies and retail outlets are beginning to show up in key locations, while many stately homes remain standing. The Black Holocaust Museum will draw visitors from across the U.S. And the corner of North King Drive and West North Avenue has happily been named for my decades-long friend, activist Reuben K. Harpole. So, ever the eternal optimist, I hold out great hope for Bronzeville. Without it, I would be nowhere.

DOCTOR M.L.K. JR DR

Photos by Michael Burmesch.

Richard G. Carter was a local radio commentator, a Milwaukee Sentinel reporter and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal and New York Daily News. He grew up in Bronzeville.