| Vol. 13 No. 10 MAY 14, 2018 |
| UNIQUE HITS |
| 205,663 |
Editor's Corner
Reflections
by Jonathan Gramling
Reflections
by Jonathan Gramling
CLASSIFIED ADS * MMSD Multiple Positions *Madison-area Urban Ministry-Dev. Director (Deadline 05/23) *United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Dane County-Service Coordinator (Posted 05/02) *Disability Rights Wisconsin-Finance Manager (Posted 05/07; open until filled) *Planned Parenthood WI-Govt Relations Specialist (Posted 05/07) *Lussier Community Education Center-Radio Station Manager; Custodian (First Consideration 06/01) *Catholic Charities-Empl. Opportunities |
Our Stories
EDITORIAL STAFF Jonathan Gramling Publisher & Editor Staff Reporter Hedi Rudd Contributing Writers Lisa Peyton-Caire, Sujhey Beisser, Wayne Strong, Fabu, Kwame Salter, Heidi Pascual, Nia Trammell, Nichelle Nichols, Jamala Rogers, Kipp Thomas, and Donna Parker Webmaster Heidi M. Pascual |
Subscription Information: ($45 a year) The Capital City Hues PO Box 259712 Madison, WI 53725 (608) 241-2000 Advertising: gramling@capitalcityhues.com |
| Running for Community |
| United Way’s Academic Success Community Solutions Team Pushing Quality & Quantity By Jonathan Gramling |
| Richard Davis Lane to be Built in Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood A Bridge between People By Jonathan Gramling |
| Aaron Perry, Venus Washington and Haywood Simmons on Exercise Village Exercise Maestros (Part 2 of 2) By Jonathan Gramling |
| 2018 Isthmus Jazz Festival Featuring Artists of Color By Howard Landsman |
| BACKPAGE |
| The Links’ 32nd Annual African-American Student Recognition Celebration Empowering Students Through Education |
| CENTERSPREAD |
5th Annual Hmong GALA at Badger Rock Center Culture & Excellence CLICK HERE |
| The Naked Truth by Jamala Rogers |
| Asian Wisconzine by Heidi M. Pascual |
| Glenda Noel-Ney Heads for Jazz at Lincoln Center Developing Community (Part 2 of 2) By Jonathan Gramling |
*Working Together for Energy Efficiency
From Madison Gas & Electric
*Fighting Stigma through Art
From Upstage Stigma
*Rebecca Comfort Joins the WI Historical Society
From WI Historical Society
From Madison Gas & Electric
*Fighting Stigma through Art
From Upstage Stigma
*Rebecca Comfort Joins the WI Historical Society
From WI Historical Society
Equality Park?
Last Monday, May 7, the University of Wisconsin was kicking off Bucky on Parade with 65 sculptures of Bucky — from the
same mold, but all with individualized decorations — being unveiled throughout the Madison area. One was unveiled in
South Madison at the corner of Hughes Place and S. Park Street. It is called “All Hands on Bucky” and students from the
Milwaukee Sign Language School had provided the handprints for the statue and were present for the unveiling.
As the statue was unveiled, a Brother started shouting out of the sunroof of his car that was parked nearby. He was angry
and kept shouting as he drove away with his head sticking out of the sunroof as he adroitly drove away. In essence, the
man asked why there was a statue of Bucky Badger on S. Park Street — this Bucky has a predominantly white face — but
there was no statue of a Black man. He kept repeating it as he was parked there and as he drove away.
It was ironic — and perhaps symbolic — that his plea fell on deaf ears for most of those present were from the
Milwaukee Sign Language School. But I and a staffer from UW-Madison heard him.
And he had a valid point.
Ever since the late 1950s, some 60 years or more, the heart of South Madison along the Park Street corridor has been
the physical and emotional home of Madison’s African American community. But outside of the people walking in the
Villager Mall or perusing other establishments on S. Park Street or people sitting in their yards on Fisher Street, one
would not know from the signage, the architecture or even the art that South Madison was home to the African American
— and more recently Latino and Hmong communities — community.
I did a posting about this on Facebook soon after the incident and asked people what they thought and who should be
memorialized in a statue or a mural. One name — but hardly the only —that came up was Reverend James C. Wright,
the driving force behind Madison’s 1950s-1960s civil rights movement and the first executive director of Madison’s Equal
Opportunity Commission, which is now part of Madison’s Department of Civil Rights.
I want the Brother to know that I did hear him and then one night around 2 a.m., I woke up with an idea swimming around
my head, one that made for a restless sleep until duty called me some five hours later.
I raised my kids in South Madison, first on Beld Street and then later on Ridgewood Way. And I lived in South Madison
purposely because it was the most diverse area in the city. And through the years, I have witnessed the flux and flow of
the community. And it is more diverse than ever.
For the longest time, the lot where Bernie Weddig’s service station stood — I used to take my car there to be serviced —
has remained vacant. The lot is on the corner of Badger Road and S. Park Street. It is cater-cornered from the site of the
future Madison College South campus. And S. Park Street is one of the major gateways to the city of Madison with
thousands of cars passing on it going to the University of Wisconsin and the Isthmus area every day. It is a street the
people going to UW-Madison football and basketball games travel on.-- READ MORE
Last Monday, May 7, the University of Wisconsin was kicking off Bucky on Parade with 65 sculptures of Bucky — from the
same mold, but all with individualized decorations — being unveiled throughout the Madison area. One was unveiled in
South Madison at the corner of Hughes Place and S. Park Street. It is called “All Hands on Bucky” and students from the
Milwaukee Sign Language School had provided the handprints for the statue and were present for the unveiling.
As the statue was unveiled, a Brother started shouting out of the sunroof of his car that was parked nearby. He was angry
and kept shouting as he drove away with his head sticking out of the sunroof as he adroitly drove away. In essence, the
man asked why there was a statue of Bucky Badger on S. Park Street — this Bucky has a predominantly white face — but
there was no statue of a Black man. He kept repeating it as he was parked there and as he drove away.
It was ironic — and perhaps symbolic — that his plea fell on deaf ears for most of those present were from the
Milwaukee Sign Language School. But I and a staffer from UW-Madison heard him.
And he had a valid point.
Ever since the late 1950s, some 60 years or more, the heart of South Madison along the Park Street corridor has been
the physical and emotional home of Madison’s African American community. But outside of the people walking in the
Villager Mall or perusing other establishments on S. Park Street or people sitting in their yards on Fisher Street, one
would not know from the signage, the architecture or even the art that South Madison was home to the African American
— and more recently Latino and Hmong communities — community.
I did a posting about this on Facebook soon after the incident and asked people what they thought and who should be
memorialized in a statue or a mural. One name — but hardly the only —that came up was Reverend James C. Wright,
the driving force behind Madison’s 1950s-1960s civil rights movement and the first executive director of Madison’s Equal
Opportunity Commission, which is now part of Madison’s Department of Civil Rights.
I want the Brother to know that I did hear him and then one night around 2 a.m., I woke up with an idea swimming around
my head, one that made for a restless sleep until duty called me some five hours later.
I raised my kids in South Madison, first on Beld Street and then later on Ridgewood Way. And I lived in South Madison
purposely because it was the most diverse area in the city. And through the years, I have witnessed the flux and flow of
the community. And it is more diverse than ever.
For the longest time, the lot where Bernie Weddig’s service station stood — I used to take my car there to be serviced —
has remained vacant. The lot is on the corner of Badger Road and S. Park Street. It is cater-cornered from the site of the
future Madison College South campus. And S. Park Street is one of the major gateways to the city of Madison with
thousands of cars passing on it going to the University of Wisconsin and the Isthmus area every day. It is a street the
people going to UW-Madison football and basketball games travel on.-- READ MORE