Children playing and full court
basketball playing, July 26,
2014 while ‘adults’ meet nearby
to rid park of rims.

When I first moved into this neighborhood on Wells St. about 11 years ago I was attracted by the park, Doyne Park. Since I was retiring soon I thought I would make good use of the nine hold par three golf course. However, after I moved in I heard that then County Executive Walker, now Governor Walker, was proposing in his budget to close down this par three golf course as a tax saving measure. When it was discovered that the savings was minimal from closing the course since fees took care of most of the operating course, the golf course was left open, although care went down.

I took my than young grandchildren over to the park to practice golf, to use the playground or shoot some baskets. I did notice the mixture of basketball players going from all white and Asian to a mix with African American males.

Around 2009, Doyne Park, except for the Golf course was closed about a year. I did not know why, but afterwards found out the park was closed in order to build a new and improved soccer field for the near exclusive use of Lutheran High School’s girl’s practice field. When the park was restored in 2010 there was a new play area and new basketball courts. The courts were nice and there was an increased basketball playing by youth and young adults of all races, especially African American males.

After the rims were restored there was a neighborhood meeting with local politicians, including County Executive and Alderman, about all the crime in the neighborhood. When checking the police reports in the area I actually found out there was more police incidents on Wells Street and park when the basketball courts were down than when they were up. During the course of neighborhood meetings it became clear that the County Supervisor and a few neighbors of the park had worked out a deal, they thought, to not put back the basketball court and thus cut back on the increasing use of park by African American males. After some discussion and division one rim was taken down to avoid full court basketball playing, which did attract young adults’ males of all ages. The County Supervisor retired but the new one keep the rim down for full court playing down. Finally in June 2013 the State of Wisconsin passed a law restricting the interference and power of County Supervisors on things like the County Park System.

In June 2013 all four rims and basketball and followed was a peaceful year of the park full of basketball players, golfers, girls soccer team players, playground users as well as walkers and bicyclist on the bike trail. There were no police incident reports of any crimes on Wells street or park for the year.

Than in June 2014 there was a reported incident of someone shooting a gun in the park and another one on July 4th resulting from an illegal picnic and large drinking party in the park. Although there was never any direct connection between the gun fire and basketball playing neighbors who wanted to end basketball playing when African American males started to use the park, quickly organized and with help of local politician, especially local alderman used fear tactics, some would call racist, to get one backboard and rim down on July 7th and now are working to get all the backboard and rims down.

Police cars and sheriff cars started to watch the basketball playing and words of fear scared off many from the park. Today, abut 4:30pm on a sunny day when I made my daily check, sometimes twice a day, at the park there was no one playing golf, no one playing basketball, no one at the playground and no one at the playground. I kicked out some young people driving a car on the bike trail, which is illegal, and talked a little with the part time attendant at the golf and concession station.

In my opinion racism is ruining Doyne Park and only can lead to more resentment, violence and crime. Doyne Park was a garbage dump turned into a park for all. Fear of African American males is turning into a wasteland. The three pictures below say it all.

All Four Rims are Resurrected at Doyne
Park: Park is full of golfers, basketball
and soccer players and people using,
playground, June, 2013

A rim and backboard are taken down July 7,
2014

Sunday Afternoon July 12th,
2014: Park is empty,
no basketball, golf, playground people,
soccer playing

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