‘This location makes sense’
Black Lives Matter mural painted at epicenter of unrest
Milwaukee Police Commander David Feldmeier stood in uniform at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Locust Street on Friday and admired the work being done by artists.
Artists and volunteers painted “Black Lives Matter” diagonally across the intersection less than 100 feet from Police District 5 – where he is in charge.
“The fact that you have to make that statement says how much work we have to do in this country,” Feldmeier said, adding he is glad the community is coming together peacefully to paint the intersection. “The way that it draws everyone together in unity is something that, to me, is very promising.”
Several weeks ago, District 5 was the center of unrest in the city after protesters marched in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. Shops were vandalized, broken into, items stolen, and buildings were partially burned.
The painting of the mural is meant to symbolically mark the beginning of coming change in Milwaukee. The location was picked and scheduled purposefully on Juneteenth Day.
“Given the recent unrest and King Drive being the center of many of the protests, it’s just great to be out here in celebration of Juneteenth and also spreading a message that we truly believe in, that Black lives do matter,” Ald. Milele Coggs, who represents the area, said. “We thought this was a great intersection given the proximity to the police department, given the reality of how many of the marches started right here, that this was a great cross-section that gave it meaning.”
The mural was sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Walmart, Westcare Wisconsin, Historic King Drive Business Improvement District and Athena Communications.
“The city did not pay one dollar for this to be done,” Coggs said. “The city gave permission and is allowing us to cut off the streets, and it helped to promote it.”
After watching the artists work for several minutes, Feldmeier walked south on King Drive, past boarded-up windows and graffiti to talk to residents celebrating Juneteenth Day.
“That’s a small example of a larger amount of anger and frustration that has been brewing in this country for a long time,” Feldmeier said of the damage that was done. “We’re now all recognizing it. Not that we shouldn’t have recognized it before but sometimes it takes a little while.”
As a police officer and a Black man, Feldmeier said he understands the frustration and inequity people, particularly people of color, have felt in the United States.
“It’s going to have a different appeal to each person,” Feldmeier said of the painting.
“Each person is going to have to look at that and decide what is that going to represent for themselves,” Feldmeier said. “I would hope that it’s a representation or that some people take it as a sign of hope, as a sign of moving forward, as a sign of a starting point to hopefully start to generate some true equality, systematic equality, throughout our country.”
The unrest and civil disobedience has put law enforcement in the spotlight.
Feldmeier has been with the department for nearly 25 years and said law enforcement can do a better job of policing but needs help from elected officials.
“I’ll be the first to admit we have not done everything right and we do have things that we can improve upon,” Feldmeier said. “As far as policies and things of that nature, we are law en
forcement so many of the laws that are (passed) don’t come from us. We don’t create those laws, we enforce them.”
'This location makes sense'
The mural was designed by Vedale Hill, an adjunct professor for the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, who lives a few blocks away.
“There’s a lot of things that go on in the community, daily, that’s been happening for years,” Hill said, adding that residents have felt the inequalities and discomfort. “That’s not foreign to this community. But I do feel that this serves as quite literally and figuratively an intersection for the police department and the community they have taken an oath to serve. So, this location makes sense with or without any protests.”
This isn’t the first time that Hill has done a beautification project in the city but helping design and paint the street in an effort to bring change is something he will cherish.
“The statement is very blatantly clear and not offensive at all – Black lives matter,” Hill said. “If that’s offensive, that’s the problem.”
Growing up in Milwaukee, Hill said he and his brother lived in 50 different locations before they were 18. They moved from house to house, eviction to eviction, and struggled to make ends meet.
Art helped him survive.
“If I was hungry, we didn’t have food in the home,” Hill said. “I’d make a Tshirt, sell the T-shirt and I can go buy dinner for a week.”
Betty Pierce drove from her home on North 60th Street and West Keefe Avenue, unfolded a chair in the shade, and watched the mural being painted.
“I came down to see history,” Pierce said.
At age 71, Pierce said she has seen this type of unrest for decades but is glad people came together for the mural.
“It’s the young people, how they’re standing up,” Pierce said. “As long as they’re not rioting, I love it. They’re peaceful and keeping it going.”
Michael Guster, from left, Atalya Winston and her sister, Adila Winston, work on the mural.