{"id":15549,"date":"2016-08-17T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/racism-poverty-education-a-closer-look-at-the-tensions-in-milwaukee-80447\/"},"modified":"2016-08-17T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T22:44:00","slug":"racism-poverty-education-a-closer-look-at-the-tensions-in-milwaukee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/racism-poverty-education-a-closer-look-at-the-tensions-in-milwaukee\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism, poverty, education \u2013 a closer look at the tensions in Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Milwaukee, Wis., Aug 17, 2016 \/ 04:44 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- After riots last weekend in Milwaukee brought long-standing social tensions to the surface, Catholic leaders are calling for prayer first and foremost, but also action to promote justice.<\/p>\n

A prayer service scheduled for Thursday at All Saints Catholic Church in Milwaukee\u2019s center city hopes to \u201cenvelop the city in prayer,\u201d Fr. Tim Kitzke, the vicar for urban ministry for the archdiocese, told CNA. Fr. Kitzke ministers to four parishes in the city.<\/p>\n

It will be \u201cjust a time for us to open up the doors and have people come and pray,\u201d he said, and \u201cit\u2019s the only thing in the long run that\u2019s going to set our feet in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Sylville K. Smith, a 23 year-old black man, was shot and killed by police last Saturday while fleeing a traffic stop in Milwaukee, riots in the city ensued. City police reported more than 40 arrests made Saturday night through Tuesday morning, with several businesses set on fire and 11 police officers injured. Multiple journalists were reportedly attacked or threatened by protesters.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Jerome Listecki responded that the outrage over the killing was \u201cunderstandable\u201d but the violence committed against police officers and businesses was \u201cnever justified.\u201d He exhorted everyone to \u201cawaken our confidence, together, in Jesus Christ and the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic leaders in the city say that the riots are manifestations of long-standing social tensions that have not been resolved.<\/p>\n

A city health assessment states that the Milwaukee metropolitan area is \u201cthe most racially segregated\u201d in the U.S. and the fifth poorest city in the country. Poverty is concentrated especially among the city\u2019s African-American population, where 40 percent are at or below the poverty line.<\/p>\n

The problems of racism, poverty, and inequality \u201care as old as the city\u201d Fr. Kitzke told CNA.<\/p>\n

Fifty years ago, African-Americans marched for fair housing. Two priests, Fr. Matthew Gottschalk and Fr. James Groppi, were among those Catholics accompanying the civil rights marchers. Since then, problems like \u201credlining\u201d \u2013 where lenders discriminate against residents of certain ethnic neighborhoods by deeming them high-risk and refusing them loans \u2013 have persisted, while poverty has grown worse.<\/p>\n

Gun violence is also a huge problem in the city, with gun homicides rising by 40 percent in 2015, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.<\/p>\n

All the problems, taken together, show a still-segregated city with poverty, poor education, violence, and lack of affordable housing all disproportionately affecting its African-African community.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Listecki appointed Fr. Kitzke last year to head urban ministry, a move that has been hailed as a significant and important step for the archdiocese to address problems. Meetings were immediately convened to start resolving the problems amidst a \u201crecord number of murders\u201d and \u201clevels of homelessness,\u201d Fr. Kitzke said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really wanted the Church to kind of be at the forefront,\u201d he explained, \u201cshining the light on some of the social issues that are especially endemic to us in the urban areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The employment rate in Milwaukee\u2019s African-American community used to be the highest among U.S. cities in the 1970s, but its unemployment rate is now over 50 percent, noted Rev. Steve Jerbi, senior pastor at All Peoples Church in the city. \u201cIt\u2019s a radical shift of the Milwaukee reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Many of the manufacturing jobs that once existed left the downtown; many remaining jobs are in the suburbs, which are largely inaccessible from the downtown via public transit. There is reportedly a lack of affordable housing in the suburbs for low-income families.<\/p>\n

Also, there have been \u201csystematic cuts in education funding\u201d and \u201csystematic cuts in social services,\u201d Fr. Michael McNulty said of Milwaukee\u2019s poorer neighborhoods. A poor education system has resulted in only about 6 in 10 students graduating high school in four years.<\/p>\n

African-American communities that are \u201ceconomically depressed\u201d and \u201ceducationally deprived,\u201d have an experience of \u201cindifference on the part of government\u201d and \u201coppression on the part of the police,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There is \u201cessentially no hope,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Existing tensions between the police and these communities haven\u2019t helped the situation. \u201cWe\u2019ve had members who were harassed by police officers,\u201d Rev. Jerbi told CNA. \u201cWe\u2019ve had folks in our congregation area who have been assaulted by local police officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity leaders and elected officials have been asking for the Department of Justice to do a \u2018pattern of practice\u2019 investigation since at least 2012.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus, frustration boiled over in the \u201cperfect storm\u201d of last weekend\u2019s riots, Fr. Kitzke said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese issues have been simmering for a while,\u201d he said, \u201cand I think that the eruption this past weekend of the rioting was the result of not just one occasion of something that happened but a combination of factors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re making rather unfortunate decisions about reacting to anger,\u201d he continued, \u201cwith violence instead of proper ways of dealing with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the closing of Catholic parishes in the city center hasn\u2019t helped the outreach to troubled communities, religious groups have been fighting indifference to bring these issues to the forefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some wonderful parishes in the central city of Milwaukee, and we\u2019re working hard now to shore them up so they can serve the neighborhoods,\u201d Fr. Kitzke said.<\/p>\n

The Catholic response to the city\u2019s ills has been \u201cgetting better,\u201d he said, but added that \u201cthe problems are so overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Musgrave, who directs the social justice ministries for three parishes on the east side of the city, said that some parishes in the city have been \u201cresponding really well\u201d to nearby neighborhoods, but many parishes outside the city are either unaware of the magnitude of the problems or are not helping to resolve them.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t have \u201cthat same ease of relationship\u201d to the neighborhoods with problems, he said, and are not necessarily \u201cmaking the effort to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

One parish in the western suburbs, for instance, is bringing young parishioners into the city to serve and be exposed to the struggles there, Musgrave said, but most parishes are \u201cnot making the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

The split among Catholics isn\u2019t new, he said. While priests took part in the civil rights marches 50 years ago, other Catholics actively opposed the marchers. Even recently, minorities on the west side of the city were \u201cfacing issues of overt racism in the Churches\u201d where white parishioners refused to serve minorities or have black parishioners sing in the choir, he said.<\/p>\n

However, Musgrave praised the \u201cinitial steps\u201d the archdiocese made to address Milwaukee\u2019s problems in appointing Fr. Kitzke to head the urban ministry, and noted that a \u201cwide swath of people\u201d gathered last year \u201cto talk about what\u2019s going on in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

A group of Catholics also began meeting to take a course on the history of racism, both nationally and in Milwaukee, Musgrave said. Several members of Catholic groups \u201ccontinued to meet\u201d after the course and discuss topics like racism, white privilege, and reconciliation, he added.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, for the problems to be resolved, everyone \u2013 including those from more affluent neighborhoods \u2013 must take responsibility for each other, Fr. McNulty insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless there is a concerted commitment on the part of everybody in Southeast Wisconsin, nothing is going to change,\u201d he said. \u201cOur faith says we are our neighbor\u2019s keeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholics must place their hope in God, Fr. Kitzke said, because \u201cthere\u2019s a certain hopelessness that I find to be probably even more oppressive than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just fear of what\u2019s going to happen next,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we have to be stationed in our faith and move forward with that sense of faith that God will be with us and help us, especially if we\u2019re working for the good of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Milwaukee, Wis., Aug 17, 2016 \/ 04:44 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- After riots last weekend in Milwaukee brought long-standing social tensions to the surface, Catholic leaders are calling for prayer first and foremost, but also action to promote justice.<\/p>\n

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