By Kenyatta Yamel, Black Lives Matter
Program the Parks is a grassroots community organization that works with youth and families in the Sherman Park neighborhood. It has been working to provide positive activities for the residents of the neighborhood including a Haunted House party, a junior golf program, and a Community Empowerment and Solutions Center-ITAV. It also provides various services such as assistance for single parents, meals, tutoring, and haircuts. There is a lot more information on its Facebook page.
The organization is operating on a shoestring budget with volunteers and in-kind donations. Recently Program the Parks asked people to provide donations to assist with outings it was organizing. One of our Black Lives Matter members, Mary Devitt, told us about Program the Parks and said she was assisting with paint. First Church’s Black Lives Matter committee is working to create an event in which we can highlight the work that is taking place. This may be an educational program after a vigil.
This article is to introduce members of First Church to the exciting possibilities for enrichment right here in our community. Making Black Lives Matter is more than protesting the harm that police are doing to people of color. Making Black Lives Matter means asking whether we as Unitarians can play a positive role in nurturing communities of color to help lift themselves up. What kind of skills do we have and when are they needed? We will follow the guidance of the community leadership and provide more information.
We remember when Sherman Park was a stable working class community, and some of us still live there. We want to see those days return. To find out more about Black Lives Matter at First Church, look for us at the Social Justice Table on Sundays during coffee hour.
The First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee is a progressive church for spiritual community, social justice, and intellectual freedom, active in Milwaukee since 1842.
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Parents, feel free to let your children experience our Religious Education classes up to three times without commitment to see if it’s the right fit. Find more about our Religious Education program here.