(bright upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome to Black Nouveau.

I'm Earl Arms, and this is our July edition.

The year is only half over, but Milwaukee has already reported more stolen cars this year than in all of 2020.

James Causey talks with the executive producer of a music video, trying to end the stolen car crisis.

Arnitta Holliman is Milwaukee's new director of the office of Violence Prevention.

We'll talk to her about her priorities and plans for decreasing violence in our city.

And we'll visit two very different gardens this month.

Liddie Collins invites you to walk the labyrinth at Alice's Gardens for soothing and calming experience.

And the, We Got This Garden at ninth and ring is in its ninth year of mentorship for young black boys.

Recently it announced its partnership with the Running Rebels Community Organization.

I talked to Andre Lee Ellis and Victor Barnett about the merger.

- This is what it looks like when you're trying to break down the stereotypes, trying to make sure that our young people have something to strive for.

And this is what it looks like when you invest in strategies upstream in making sure that we can break down the negative historical issues that we have been facing, particularly as people of color here in Milwaukee and across this country.

(audience cheering) - Praise God, that looks good.

Get your pictures.

- [Earl] This was the official announcement of the merger between the Running Rebels Community Organization and The We Got This garden.

Victor Barnett founded Running Rebels in 1980 when he was a 19 year old college student.

- Running Rebels has been an organization based upon relationships, how to get young people to choose, to do positive than join gangs and being to negativity.

And that relationship allowed me to connect to those young people and help them make better choices.

- Our goal is to prevent young people from entering into the juvenile justice system.

We intervene when young people do make mistakes and help them get back on track and make better decisions.

And our goal is to help young people transition, to become healthy, connected adults in the community.

- [Earl] Andre Lee Ellis created We Got This more recently in 2014.

- Well you know, We Got This is an organization that started in June, 2014, when a young man on my block on 9th Ring located in the 53206 zip code in Milwaukee, which was then, one of the worst areas, and zip codes to raise a black child in America.

Well, when they were gonna arrest the young man, I just stepped in and tried something different, offered him a job in the garden, the community garden we have on the corner to pay him $5 an hour.

$20, he worked hard.

The next week he returned with some friends.

And by the end of that first summer, we had 100 boys working and we paid them only through Facebook posts on Saturdays and the people coming in the pay them.

- [Earl] Not too long ago, I had the chance to talk with both of them about the merger.

- It needed to happen.

For nine seasons.

It was just me.

Basically board of directors, volunteers from within the community coming together to make this happen mainly on Saturdays and every other day.

Seeing the greater need that we could serve in a community collectively, the board of directors, Victor, Dawn and others decided that a merger would be good.

Took me a moment, until I found out that it was Victor Barnett and Running Rebels.

Victor and I are born the same month, day and year, that's is my twin to me.

We even working together, we found out we went to the same junior high school together.

So why not us come together?

Also Milwaukee at this time needs a moment where they see black men come together for the betterment of the community for real, especially as it represents talking about fatherhood and attacking all of those things in a community that seem to eliminate the black man often as not being visible.

So a lot of times you don't have to be the perfect dad.

We have to be the earth dads.

- Well, sometimes I think in life things are meant to be.

And I think this is one of those things that's meant to be.

Our city has moved from a beautiful city to having some challenges now.

And I think one of the things that's needed is a sign of unity, of people working together.

And for Andre and I to be willing to come together, take that first step to show, here's two brothers working together and willing to come together, I think it sends a message.

The timing is perfect for that message.

I'm excited about the other people that will see that that's the answer and solution to our problems.

So getting it started is exciting for us to be able to work together.

- [Earl] And work together, they do.

On Saturdays from June to August from 8:00 AM until noon, you can find Andre, his wife Angela, Victor, and his wife Dawn greeting the young men and preparing them for the morning session.

- Today is the 16th.

I get one more person.

- [Earl] How did COVID though come into place specifically?

- I think everybody was affected.

We had to reduce our numbers.

We had to adjust the way we did the work and our young people were in need.

There are young people that need to be around, need to socialize, need that guidance.

So when COVID came and kind of put a dent in that, I think now being able to open up slowly.

As he stated, we'll start back with programming, smaller numbers, but it is so important to our young people to start getting back together and being able to uplift each other.

And I think what we're doing here gives that platform for them to get started with that.

- I'm not sure how serious people took it at first.

Later on, it became serious when people start really losing people, but we had to become a service station.

We had to have food every day for people, which we got through the merger, we, Running Rebels in the gathering.

And so people could come to the fence literally and get a lunch every day.

We had Tuesday food drop off during COVID that we got through Running Rebels that they would bring, so we could give to the people.

We got information.

It gave us access to information on where to go get vaccinated, where to get more information as it related to COVID.

My contacts became their contacts.

And so during COVID, we utilize each other's knowledge and resources, and we still to this day practice safe distancing.

- [Earl] Safe distancing is not the only difference this year.

There are fewer boys in the program that's by design, but the pay has increased.

Instead of $20 for the four hours.

Each boy now gets $40 per day or $10 an hour.

- Well, we're excited about the young people getting their hand in the soil.

As Andre state, their hand in the soil, can't definitely have it on a trigger, which is so important.

There's scholarships available for young people in agriculture.

So to get them introduced to that is exciting for us.

So everything from better understanding their culture to character building, to just being around men, to be role models and examples for them is exciting.

- If we worked together collectively, combining the resources, hubbing up amongst each other, hubbing up amongst each other.

If we do that, we can cover more territory.

And the more people that find out about it, maybe the more people that will be about it.

(upbeat music) - I'm back.

It's your boy Trey D. I got another message for y'all, listen up.

It's time for y'all to slow down.

♪ No one's safe when you drive over the limit ♪ ♪ It don't belong to you so why you even in it ♪ ♪ Before you make that mistake, think twice ♪ ♪ Is it really worth ruining your life ♪ ♪ It is worth it ♪ ♪ No one's safe when you drive over the limit ♪ ♪ It don't belong to you so why you even in it ♪ ♪ Before you make that mistake think twice ♪ ♪ Is it really worth ruining your life ♪ ♪ Not a cloud was in the sky ♪ ♪ On a really beautiful summer day ♪ ♪ Parents taking pictures of kids why they all run and play ♪ ♪ Little did they know it was danger for about a block away ♪ ♪ Somebody is on the high speed chase and they try to escape ♪ ♪ Running every light even dropping up on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ Doing whatever they think they need to do ♪ ♪ To afford the loss ♪ ♪ Covered in the stolen car ♪ ♪ Absolutely no regard ♪ ♪ For the lives of innocent people ♪ ♪ Just chilling in the yards ♪ ♪ Took a turn hard ♪ ♪ Lost control of the car ♪ ♪ Jumped the curb hit the tree ♪ ♪ And split the car in two parts ♪ ♪ He died on impact ♪ ♪ Unfortunately he wasn't alone ♪ ♪ Underneath all the debris ♪ ♪ They found a seven year old, man ♪ ♪ No one's safe when you drive over the limit ♪ ♪ It don't belong to you so why you even in it ♪ ♪ Before you make that mistake think twice ♪ ♪ Is it really worth ruining your life ♪ ♪ No one's safe when you drive over the limit ♪ ♪ It don't belong to you so why you even in it ♪ ♪ Before you make that mistake think twice ♪ - That was a scene from the reckless driving music video, "Over the limit."

Its aim is to keep young people out of stolen cars.

As of June 23rd of this year, Milwaukee residents reported 4,571 cars stolen shattering last year's total of 4,512.

Joining me to talk about the stolen car crisis is Tracey Dent, founder and executive director of Peace for Change Alliance Inc. who created the music video.

Tracey, thanks for joining us.

- Thanks for having me.

- So what inspired the music video?

- Well, the music video was based off a true story.

What happened is that a seven year old named London back in October of 2020, was hit and killed on 76 and Calumet, by reckless drivers as they were speeding and racing.

So a family member, a family friend named Portia, she came to me, said, "Tracey, we have to do something.

Through music.

Let's do a song addressing this issue."

So, you know, like the juices started flowing and I said, Well, let's do it based off of this, of London and let's make it happen.

- So what has the feedback been so far from young people seeing the video?

- It's been powerful.

A lot of the youths seen it and said that, you know, they didn't realize the effect that is actually having on families.

And you know, some of them are speaking up and speaking out against the reckless driving.

- So Tracey what's fueling the reckless driving epidemic in the city?

- Well, I mean, they like to have fun.

And one of the things is that, you know, Hey, let's steal a car, let's race and have fun and you know, and that's what they do.

They don't think there's nothing really wrong with it.

So, and we're trying to encourage them to stop doing that.

And that's one of the tools doing the music video to let them know, to show them that their, you know, their actions has consequences.

And sadly it's the negative.

- So, you know, if you do the numbers, it amounts to 25 cars roughly stolen a day in this city.

- Yeah.

- You know, what penalties do we need to have that get kids to stop doing what they're doing?

Because a lot of this is young people.

- Well, I mean, honestly, the courts have to be tougher.

The court system have to, you know, really set the tone that we're tired and we're not gonna take this anymore.

But also we have to give them resources.

Whatever the youth need, we have to give that to them.

If it's mental health issues, we have to give them some therapy and stuff like that.

So it's, you know, it's playing tough love.

That's what it is.

It's tough love from the community to the youth.

- Why do you think courts have been so lenient when it's come to the stolen car crisis?

- Well, I mean, Milwaukee itself is it's a tough place to live.

You know, with the highest incarceration rates, the list of things go, it just, it just goes on and on and on.

And I think, you know, personally, I think that, the court system don't want to hinder the black community by arresting, you know, putting young adults in behind bars and increasing the statistics.

And they'd be in light on this.

And we just can't do that.

The people are dying out there, out here in these streets.

- Okay, you, you have a crystal ball.

What would you do to fix the crisis?

- If, crystal ball?

One of the things I would do is, you know, it's the education piece right there.

We have to put, driver's education back into the school system.

That would be one thing.

Two, it's all about education showing the youth, these are the consequences of your actions.

Show them the crime scenes, the accidents, the are people who lost their lives due to reckless driving.

We also have to let them know that, your actions, there's consequences to your actions.

So therefore you have to own up to what you have done.

And if it's penalties or if it's, you know, being arrested, then we have to do that, but also get the resources.

- Real quick.

How can people see the video?

- They can go on YouTube.

We have it under voices against violence coalition, is the YouTube page.

And just type in over, I mean, "Over the limit" is the name of the song.

- Okay.

- All right.

- Well thanks a lot, Tracey.

- All right.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Venice] Lavender took a huge hit this year because of that cold in April.

- [Liddie] So that's lavender.

This is Alice's Garden and Urban Farm located just south of North Avenue and Milwaukee on 21st street.

And it has a labyrinth.

Some of you may say has what?

- So labyrinth is a meditation path.

It's not a maze I say, but it's amazing.

It is an invitation to come in.

And the same way in is the very exact same way out.

Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is not meant to confuse you, but for you to just follow a path and reflect on your own path.

Whether you are reflecting on moments of joy or sorrow, it provides in our case, an urban retreat, literally a way to retreat in.

And we always invite people to, as they're coming into the labyrinth and following that path to think about where they are presently and what's going on on your life journey.

But as you follow the path out to think about where you wanna be, you know what you wanna do, who do you want to become as you journey through life?

- [Liddie] The history of this neighborhood and the people who once lived here, all the stories of both the brokenness and searching for a path to healing brought about this labyrinth.

And labyrinths can play a part in your mental health.

- You can come into this space and this labyrinth, and you might think, this is not gonna do a thing for me, right?

But people walk when someone says, "You know I'm really angry today."

And you come through the gate, how are you doing today?

I'm really angry.

You know what I'm gonna invite you to go walk the labyrinth?

Somehow you start walking the labyrinth and you look at the butterflies.

You look at the bees, you look at all of this other life around you, and you realize that you're just so much, you're part of a bigger picture.

And when you understand that you're part of a bigger picture, you're able to decompress a bit.

So those things that sometimes make us upset, make us really angry, they don't matter anymore.

You're like now what?

When I came into this labyrinth now, what was I upset about?

Right?

Or you remember what you were upset about, but now you've taken some time to literally walk it off and you can put it into a new light.

- [Liddie] There are a variety of different labyrinths in the Milwaukee area.

This one is a living herbal labyrinth.

- So almost everything you see here with few exceptions are herbs.

They are meant to also induce healing, to invite you to a path of healing by their aromas, by what they represent, by how they themselves heal.

So what you see abundant here, this one is hyssop.

And hyssop is found in almost every ancient scripture.

Almost every faith tradition has some reference to hyssop for healing, for cleansing, for burial.

So every herb that's in here has a specific purpose.

- [Liddie] So by touching herbs like lavender as you walk, offers another form of healing.

- Or picking a piece of sage or doing this with the hyssop and smelling it.

- [Liddie] The labyrinth is well used during the season.

There are guided walks.

Organizations use it such as hospitals when they have a difficult case or lose a patient.

- And we have rights of passage groups who use the labyrinth.

I personally use the labyrinth in our ministry, in this space.

If people, you know, I could be standing here in the garden and there might be an argument going on on the outside, I will literally go out there, invite the people in, and we will sit in this labyrinth.

I will explain the labyrinth, we'll walk the labyrinth.

And then we'll talk about, so what, what are y'all fussing about?

What's going on?

There's just something happened, that happens when you're following your, when you're intentional about your footsteps, right?

Something really sacred happens when you understand that your life is a journey and this labyrinth helps the community to remind them of that.

That it's not about rushing through life, but understanding each step and each phase of your own living.

- [Liddie] Venice Williams enjoys walking the paths by herself.

- I see the sunrise in the labyrinth.

So I try to come out here several times during the growing season, sit here and watch the sunrise.

There's just a calming peace.

Or there are people who come out here just to watch the sunset or to follow the moon.

So the labyrinth reminds us that we are connected to creation.

And when you remember that you're connected to creation in a larger way, all of your mental health changes.

Because there's so much more in the world to focus on.

- The new director of Milwaukee's office of Violence Prevention is no stranger to Black Nouveau.

Arnitta Holliman is a mental health clinician, who's joined us frequently to talk about ways to practice good mental health, and she joins us now.

Thanks so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- [Earl] First off.

How is the job going?

How's it treating you?

- It's great.

There's a learning curve, obviously, because before I was really focused on my lane as the recast manager.

And so now I've got a little catching up to do on some of the other parts of the work that OVP has done.

And so I'm enjoying learning, making new connections and connecting with some other partners in ways that I hadn't connected before.

- So as you do all that connecting, what are some of the priorities that you have for your position?

- That's a great question.

So the priorities really are the same.

I think it's important for continuity that I didn't come in and make any major changes.

And really the blueprint was set, before I even came into the office.

So really continuing to elevate the blueprint for peace, advocating for a meeting with community and system partners for full adoption throughout the city.

And moving forward in that process, which we were already doing.

- Do you have some goals then within that blueprint that you see yourself trying to achieve or doing?

- Yeah, absolutely goal two.

When we're thinking about healing and restorative practices, that's extremely important.

And so of course, as a licensed clinician, you know, I'm always thinking about our mental health and wellbeing, and I think it's important for us to center healing as a part of the violence prevention work.

- Which leads right into my next question.

What are some other ways that you see your work in mental health helping you in the office of Violence Prevention?

- So I think it's important for us to understand human behavior, right?

And so if we're thinking about how we're going to prevent violence, I think we need to have a clear understanding of what causes violence, some of the root causes of violence.

And that we know as public health officials, public health strategists, we understand social determinants of health.

But our mental health and wellbeing absolutely plays a role in some of the violence that we're seeing, much of, which is interpersonal.

And if we are going to have any sustainable change, we really have to focus on healing.

- How do you see yourself working with leaders throughout the city, whether they're elected or in the community, how do you see yourself working with them in order to have a successful tenure?

- We have to work together.

There's absolutely no way I or this office could do it alone.

So that means working with all of our partners, system partners, community partners, neighborhood organizations, activists, everyone within the community, because we all have a role because it's our city, right?

So we all have a role in preventing violence, but we are much stronger together when we partner and we work together.

I believe that when we work together, we bring all of our genius, all of our talents and all of our strategies to one place to really figure out what is it that we do next and do it in a concerted and collaborative way.

- What do you see as far as challenges that either you have already encountered or that you may encounter in this role?

- So the biggest challenge is coming into the role and we're already exceeding our numbers in terms of fatal and nonfatal shootings in the city.

And so last year was a tumultuous year and 2021 has proven so far to not fare any better.

And so that's a challenge in and of itself.

I don't think it's a challenge that is insurmountable.

I always believe that there is hope, otherwise I wouldn't do this work.

But it is a challenge in terms of how do we get back to that downward trend that we were seeing for four years prior to 2020?

- And how do we do that as we open things back up?

We've been sheltered for so long in it now, it seems like we're opening back up.

And with that, I think the numbers have increased.

So, how do you see yourself combating that?

- Yeah.

So again, it's working with our system partners.

And it's also having them, getting the message out to friends, neighbors, community members around it's important that as we get back out, but that we do it safely.

And so if we know someone, if you know someone who could potentially be in a difficult situation or a situation that could lead to an altercation, do you have the influence to kinda talk them down?

To help them go a different direction, change their mind.

And if not, then reaching out for the help.

That's gonna be extremely important.

And that we're all keeping our eyes and ears open for safety reasons, but also around what's working.

Sometimes we focus quite a bit on, what's not working, what's not happening well.

And we miss the beauty in our city.

We miss the beauty in the change makers and the peacemakers in our communities that are really doing great work.

- How do you see that work?

How do you see this work reflecting and having an effect on young people in the city?

- So the young people in the city are our young people.

And so it's important that, they're ours, right?

So it's important that we keep them involved.

And so that they have a voice in what's happening, both in terms of how to stay safe, but also in what they want to see out of our city.

I want to be clear that much of the violence that we see is not committed by young people.

And sometimes they unfortunately get the rap.

It's usually, you know, adults, maybe young adults, but adults nonetheless.

And so I think it's important that we focus on both ends.

We go upstream on the prevention in, but we also provide the intervention and postvention piece.

And remember that, we have an obligation to everyone in our city.

So not just young people, but adults as well, who need some guidance at times.

- So as we wrap things up, what does Milwaukee, what does Wisconsin need to know about you, Arnitta Holliman in this role?

- That I am born and bred Milwaukee.

I love this city.

It's my city.

And that I am committed to being here and being a part of the change that all of us want to see.

And that we are much stronger together.

- Amen, appreciate it.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- You're welcome.

Thank you.

- Before we close out this month, a reminder to check us out on our website, milwaukeepbs.org.

We have a link to the full over the limit video and other information you just might find helpful.

For Black Nouveau, I'm Earl Arms.

Thanks for joining us.

Have a good night.

(bright upbeat music)