With the recent rages of young African American teens and adults after the 4th of July fireworks celebration and in and outside of State Fair Thursday night, I am reminded of an essay I wrote a few years ago: The Sweet Waters of Discrimination. The name ‘Sweet Waters’ came from an urban farm a friend of mind had helped create to grow fresh, safe produce and fish. This urban farm represents the light side of Milwaukee. Discrimination represents the dark side.

Discrimination does not always mean racial discrimination. Discrimination is defined in the wiki encyclopedia as the “prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group.” It can be the refusal of allowing a mental health clinic in a particular neighborhood, not allowing full court basketball playing at a local country park (see Resurrect The Rims, an failed attempt to keep full court basketball at a local park, when rims were taken down without consulting young adults using them.)

We cannot justify the recent violent outrages of African American youth and young adults as we cannot justify other forms of violence. However, we can try to understand the root causes. To deny that the high unemployment rate for the young African American male adult community; the increased poverty of families in the largely African American north side of Milwaukee; Milwaukee being the most segregated in the 2000 and 2010 census; the withdrawal of funding from the Milwaukee Public School system, play a role as a cause of this behavior is to deny reality.

Politicians and police are quick to call the offenders “thugs” and to point out ‘black on black’ violence or to point out the criminal records of African American homicide victims. But what are the causes of this violence?

When my Catholic Church in a largely African American neighborhood was closed my interest peaked of why Churches have increased in this area but Catholic Churches in this segregated neighborhood have decreased to one. Sadly so far my research points to ‘discrimination’.

Some African American as well as most white groups, liberal or conservative, pro peace or war deny that we lived in a city of high discrimination. But those discriminated against, be it racial, illnesses, poverty or message know in their hearts that Milwaukee is the Sweet Waters of Discrimination.

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