Helping to fill information gaps in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park
While in the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s Engagement Journalism program, I got the chance to work with residents in Milwaukee’s predominantly Black Metcalfe Park neighborhood and the organizations and people that communicate most frequently with its residents.
During these past 18 months, I have practiced deep listening and slow and engaged journalism to build trust with my community. The goal: to create a product that is useful to the residents of Metcalfe Park.
To accomplish this, I joined a small group of journalists and community leaders to produce a print and SMS neighborhood newsletter titled “North 2 Center” (N2C). Named after the two major boulevards that encapsulate the Metcalfe Park neighborhood, this newsletter is aimed at addressing information gaps and a general appreciation for the Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
The project is led by former John S. Knight Fellow Jimmy Gutierrez and local non-profit Metcalfe Park Community Bridges (MPCB), who invited fellow journalist Allison Dikanovic and myself to help form a product that could be useful to this community.
From a historical standpoint, this neighborhood is impacted by the legacy of red-lining and an intrusive urban development project that razed over 8,000 homes in Milwaukee’s Black and brown center-city neighborhoods in the 1960s and 70s.
Displaced by this urban development, many Black families resettled in an industrial corridor that soon became known as Metcalfe Park. Unfortunately, by the 1980s, the formerly thriving industrial district took a turn for the worse — losing nearly 77 percent of manufacturing employment between 1963 and 1980, according to Neighborhoods in Milwaukee.
Today, there are just under 3,000 residents in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood, according to the City of Milwaukee. In 2020, the median household income was about $19,458. Metcalfe Park is also 90.8 percent Black.
To better understand how this history and context impact today’s Metcalfe Park residents, I began attending events and hosting informational interviews with residents. After interviewing members and leaders in the Metcalfe neighborhood about what issues were most salient to them. Issues like housing, transportation, and access to household goods were frequently named. In addition to working with the N2C team, I started attended events and practicing deep listening in the community through volunteering.
Today, I have participated in the production of all “North 2 Center” newsletters. In May, I produced an N2C newsletter aimed at food access information gaps. I also pitched and produced digital version of the newsletter which was sent to over 5,500 residents through Metcalfe Park Community Bridges SMS service.
During that process, I learned quite a bit about the needs of the community. For example, my original goal was to focus on food access, but through these conversations, I learned that my community was more concerned with how to access goods (i.e. cleaning supplies and home goods) that are not covered by food stamps and other aid. This information helped me pivot my direction towards a more general approach to improving information gaps in the community.
I was also lucky enough to serve as a key contributor in producing the November newsletter. I serve as a designer for the print and digital versions. I also serve as a reporter and a contributing organizer for the project.
Since its creation, the newsletter has covered topics like Illegal dumping, access to accurate COVID information, civic engagement, access to transportation and the beautification of the neighborhood.
The November edition also covered topics like how to get an absentee ballot, community holiday events and even a column from a local resident and educator in the neighborhood. What was most exciting about the November edition, was how many more community voices we were able to include. Although, the project is always informed by the community, having a chance for residents to use the newsletter as a place to sound off and be engaged is the goal.
This fall, I also conducted a survey at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges Turkey Box Giveaway. At the event, I met a number of residents who said they were familiar with the newsletter. By attending an in-person event, I got to spend some quality face time with residents and distribute the survey.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey:
🌟 Most people surveyed said the newsletter helped them feel connected to the community or that they learned something new and interesting.
🌟 Most respondents said they wanted more information on housing, second was food, then community events.
This survey was incredibly revealing for me and it helped affirm that this work can equip residents with useful information. I have learned a lot during this journey — from survey design to deep listening. I am thankful for the careful guidance and mentorship I received along the way as well. I want to share a few takeaways that I would like to bring with me into my next endeavors.
🌟 Slow journalism works.
Sometimes the field can convince us that we have to have metrics and data or even a product immediately. I think this project taught me that it is okay to just spend time with the community you are supposed to serve. Show up when you can. Volunteer when you can. Be present with the people you think you are going to be serving. Take your time. The journalism you produce will be better for it.
🌟Get to know people and their individual stories outside of the reporting process.
During this process, I got to conduct and sit in on a lot of informational interviews. This helped me understand the community better and allowed me to build trust with people. I learned how initiatives in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood have failed in the past. I also learned what made initiatives successful. I learned about some folks’ family lineage and how they got to Milwaukee in the first place. All of this was helpful to me as a reporter and the overall N2C project.
🌟 Lastly, find as many ways to incorporate residents into the production and final product.
I think sometimes journalists convince themselves that we are the best at doing what we do. That’s not true. Anyone can be a journalist. I am an outsider looking to connect with a community, I should never assume that I am better suited to produce something for that community. I think we all know that but it’s different to put that belief into practice. Let residents inform and help produce the work from the start to finish.
I feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to work on and help produce North 2 Center. This journey has taught me so much about community, mutual aid and listening. I am also thankful for the Engagement Journalism MA program for continuing to push me to think outside the box. I look forward finding new ways to making journalism a more community based practice.
