After our liturgy today our pastor, a Capuchin priest, told us the story how the St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) of Detroit, some years ago, decided like the Milwaukee County St. Vincent de Paul, to put their thrift store in the suburbs rather than in the central city where the poor live. They build a new store with SVDP officers above it. The new store was a disaster and after suffering some shame, SVDP moved the thrift store into the central city but not the offices. The first floor space for the thrift store was leased out to a collection agency. How ironic and how sad that Milwaukee SVDP is not learning from this error and is building a 3.2 million dollar thrift store in the suburbs rather than in the central city, at a much less call, where the mission of the Society could be kept.

What makes North Central Milwaukee so undesirable that Churches have been closed and moved out, factories have been closed, white persons have fled, the public school system left in ruins and the city trying to tear down homes rather than repair and sell them?

Recently the news told us of new mission of the Society of Jesus, Jesuits, on the south side of Milwaukee, a new high school to help train young men and women for the work force and good jobs. This will be the fourth mission of the Jesuits to the Hispanic community on the South Side, St. Patrick’s parish, Casa Romero Center, Nativity Jesuit Middle School being already established. On the North Side of Milwaukee, in equally poor community the Jesuits have no projects, never had and probably never will.

What makes North Central Milwaukee repugnant to the Jesuits and others? Both the South Side and North Side are areas of poverty and both are segregated. (See ).

The major difference is, while the South side has a large Hispanic population, North Central Milwaukee is over 85% African-American. It is time we call it what it is, racism, particularly what is called Institutional Racism.

Institutional Racism, “the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin”, is harder to recognize and respond to than the overt racism like we saw recently with the outrage of the racism comments by the owner of the L.A. Clippers basketball team. There is no individual or group to point to as “racist.” Unlike racial bigotry institutional racism is subtle with institutional systemic policies placing economic and political structures that place non-white racial and ethnic groups at a disadvantage in relation to an institution’s white members.” In this case the “institutional racism” is directed toward North Central Milwaukee and is reinforced with stigmas like how violent the neighborhood is. Crime happens everywhere but on the North side where the causes of crime, poverty, unemployment, lack of medical help, poor education, create a rough environment for health and safety it is expected and used to further isolate the neighborhoods. Institutional racism builds on itself and an area like North Central Milwaukee is avoided by the very people that can best serve it, the St. Vincent de Paul Society or Jesuit education.

How do we eradicate “institutional racism”? In 1968 a student movement to eliminate at Marquette University we felt like we had some success when, after a major protest by student body, Marquette University, a Catholic Jesuit university, created what it called an Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) that was focused on reaching out make it possible for more African Americans, outside of the basketball players, attend the school. Now I understand from sources at Marquette institutional racism with blacks has crept back into the system. I recently met a large group of Palestinian students at Marquette University whose education was enhanced by the EOP program. That is good but the idea behind the original program was to enhance African American students from Milwaukee receive a university education.

We can talk about helping the poor and oppressed all over the world but it is mostly talk if we cannot relieve the poverty and repression of the people in North Central Milwaukee, who are black. Eliminating institutional racism, Jesuits and SVDP Society, starts at home right here in North Central Milwaukee.

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