Community left with questions in wake of Zimmerman verdict

RACINE — The impact of the not-guilty verdict returned by a jury Saturday in a Florida courtroom has been felt in communities throughout the country.
On Thursday, area residents, activists and spiritual leaders gathered at the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., to share their questions and concerns about the issues raised by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
“I think everyone in here feels something in their heart about what happened to Trayvon Martin, peace be on his soul,” Bray Center Executive Director Jameel Ghuari said.
“But more importantly, Trayvon Martin belongs to us. He’s a part of us and he’s a part of all the young men and ladies I see here.” Ghuari organized the event to open a peaceful dialogue about the verdict that many in the community have an opinion on and which he said has real implications for young black men locally. “Now the Pandora’s box has been opened,” Ghuari said. “Because it’s not just about this verdict, it’s about what that verdict says — you can get away with it. And that’s the scary part.”
More than 40 people of various races and ages joined Ghuari and were encouraged to voice their opinions but also to offer up any solutions to issues raised by the case they may have had.

Kelly Gallaher, 50, of Mount Pleasant, an organizer for Community for Change, was among those in the audience and spoke out against the prevalence of firearms in the country as well as state-level use-of-force laws. “I just want to mention to everyone that while racism has been with us for as long as we can remember and we should not stop trying to fight it, the Stand Your Ground law in Florida, as well as the Castle Doctrine law which we have in Wisconsin are fairly new laws,” Gallaher said. “And they’re state laws ... because these are state laws we can undo these laws. And so what that means we have to do is vote.”
And while some targeted specific policies, others came with questions on how they can get involved and best express their feelings about the verdict. “The day I heard the verdict I was angry, I felt a lot of emotions,” said student Pauletta Harris, 23, of Racine. “I didn’t know what to do or where to turn or who to talk to, but the thing that was going through my mind was what do the young people my age have to say about this? Where do we start?” Those in attendance were asked to leave their name and contact information at the Bray Center. They were also provided news clippings of USA Today articles and encouraged to stay informed. Many speakers took the microphone to condemn systemic racism and the stereotypes placed on black people in the community. Pastor Melvin Hargrove of Zoe Outreach Ministries delivered perhaps one of the night’s most impassioned speeches, recognizing endemic problems in the community but adding, “we’ve got some stuff we have to fix ourselves,” and calling on other local pastors to address the topic with their congregations.

Concept for intersection mural heads to council

Students hope to paint pavement on May 25

RACINE — Last month a group of Walden High School students approached the city’s Public Works and Services committee with an off-the-wall idea. Looking to brighten the sometimes troubled neighborhood around their school, they asked for permission to paint a mural on the pavement where 10th and Center streets intersect. The committee recommended approval of their request on one condition — that the students bring their final concept for the mural back to the committee for review.

On Tuesday, the students once again came prepared for their presentation, and, despite some minor haggling over paint types, managed to win over the committee once again. As committee members looked at the flower-like design, a copy of which was attached to their committee packets, junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty and sophomore Mariah Breckenridge, members of the school’s Green School club, explained how and why the concept was chosen.

Breckenridge said members of the club settled on a theme for the mural after meeting with the Executive Director of the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., Jameel Ghuari. “One of the key things he said was that the intersection of 10th and Center is basically like the center of Racine,” she said. “That is kind of where we got our theme for the drawing.”

Club members later described the theme to the other students during a “town meeting” at school, Breckenridge told the committee, and asked for submissions. The club chose senior Sarah Horn’s design from about a dozen others. “As you can see in the middle there’s kind of like a globe, which is kind of like the center of the universe,” Breckenridge explained.

Keithrafferty said the mural should be about 27 feet in diameter. “We would be finding the exact center of the intersection,” she said. “It would not take up the entire intersection.” Under a plan worked out with Yehlen and the committee last month, the school will be responsible for maintaining the mural on the annual basis and must sign a hold harmless agreement with the city. The city council will vote on the plan Tuesday. The students hope to paint the mural on May 25, or June 1 if rains.

Intersection to close for mural painting

RACINE — If you ever wanted to see a piece of public art take shape right before your very eyes, today is your lucky day. After winning final permission this week from the Racine City Council, students from Walden High School will be painting a large pavement mural at the intersection of 10th and Center streets. Junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty, one of the organizers, said Friday that she isn’t sure how long it will take her and her fellow students to complete the mural, but they expect to start painting around 10 a.m. The intersection will be barricaded while the painting is going on. The blocks on either side of the intersection will be closed to through traffic, but people who live on the streets should have some access, Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen said. “We are calling this a giant block party,” he said.

The students have already worked with their classmates and people in the neighborhood to find painters to assist them with the project, but Keithrafferty said anyone is welcome to hang out and watch the process. “We will have music,” she said. “It will be a fun get-together.”

Looking to brighten the sometimes troubled neighborhood around their school, Keithrafferty and fellow members of Walden’s Green School group approached the city last month about painting the off-the-wall mural, which is expected to be about 27 feet in diameter. After some minor haggling over paint types, the students came back and won final approval of the mural design, which features a multi-colored flower centered around a globe. The design, created by Walden High School senior Sarah Horn, is meant to convey that the intersection is the center of Racine. Under an agreement with the city, the school will be responsible for maintaining the painting on the annual basis.

Students planning mural for Center St. pavement

RACINE — A group of Walden High School students are busy making plans to paint a mural at the intersection of 10th and Center streets. The mural they want to paint isn’t slated for a wall or the side of a building, but the actual roadway. Calling it an “intersection repair” project, the students say the mural is aimed at brightening the troubled area, which sits next to their school. While the idea might seem a bit off the wall, the students won preliminary approval for the project from the City Council this week.

The students don’t have a design for the mural yet, but plan to hold a school contest to find one. They hope to paint the mural on May 25, or, if it rains, on June 1. The council vote came about a week after junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty and sophomores Kristi Parsons and Mariah Breckenridge gave a persuasive presentation to the council’s Public Works and Service’s Committee. City staff and committee members had a lot of question for the girls, who were there to represent Walden’s Green School club, but the students came prepared with answers. Holding a poster board with their ideas and photos of pavement murals in other cities, like Portland and Seattle, they explained the club’s reason for wanting to paint the mural on the pavement. “We feel this mural will make people feel safer and make cars slow down when they come past,” Keithrafferty said.

Noting that there had been a shooting in the intersection last year, Breckenridge said the club hoped to get people from the neighborhood and the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., involved.Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen explained that the major concerns for his department would be to make sure that the mural would not be a distraction for drivers. He also said the city would be looking to make sure the paint used for the project wouldn’t make the pavement slick. “This is somewhat out of the ordinary, definitely for Racine,” Yehlen said. “This is not something the Public Works Department would take upon itself. We like bare concrete and bare asphalt, so we are aesthetically challenged, at least I am.” The students explained that club would be careful to choose a design that was abstract and not overly detailed. She added that they would use aggregate paints specifically designed for pavement and would not interfere with traffic or crosswalk markings. Although they had a few questions for the girls, the committee members thought the idea was great.

The project has been approved with the understanding that the students will bring the final design and layout of the mural to the city for review. The school will also be responsible for maintaining the mural on the annual basis and must sign a hold harmless agreement with the city. “I think there are problems in our city and other cities with paint,” Alderman Jim Morgenroth said. “This is a very constructive thing, very creative, and I would like to commend these young people. This is a cool thing.”

Youth league combines hoops and life skills lessons

The idea is to lure them and then educate them. Reminiscent of those who have their minds focused on Green Bay Packers games during church sermons, kids attending the Middle School Basketball League at the George Bray Center are captivated with playing hoops as they listen to rotating speakers. But before they get the chance in a new league that had adopted the slogan “Stop Bullying and Start Ballin,” impressionable kids with so many choices to make are asked to tune into a message for 30 minutes.

Depending on the night in this eight-week basketball program, which concludes Thursday night, these kids will be spoken to by various mentors on life skills that include managing money, applying themselves in school, associating with positive friends, staying away from drugs and making something out of their lives. Want to play basketball afterward in the fifth-sixth or seventh-eighth grade divisions? Then listen up for 30 minutes. If you don’t attend these sessions, you don’t play.

Some kids watch the speakers with a focus that suggest a connection is truly being made. Others, such as one 12-year-old boy who was interviewed for this story, candidly admits that he regularly tunes out of the message and tunes into playing basketball. But at least a meaningful attempt is being made. That was the idea when Racine’s Jameel Ghuari, a longtime coach and mentor, conceived this league with three other concerned individuals — Jacob Johnson, Chris Walker, Milton Taylor and Mike Townsend.

“It’s been so good that the kids have been highly attentive,” Ghuari said. “I’d say 90 percent of the kids are paying full attention. You always have some kids who don’t pay full attention and what we always do after every presentation is have a Q&A. And a lot of times, I’ll ask them questions.” One young man who has tuned in is 13-year-old Demonta Hudson, who is in sixth grade at Starbuck Middle School. “I listen to what they say,” Hudson said. “I think everybody who is in middle school should play here because it keeps them off the streets and keeps them doing good in school and stuff. They talk to you about all the good things you should do before the games.”

Take it from someone who has been swayed by that temptation. “It’s kind of bad,” Hudson said. “I used to hang out with people who did the wrong things, but now I don’t.” Zyiere Carey, a 12-year-old sixth grader at McKinley Middle School, was slower to tune in. But he’s starting to find value in what is being said. “Most of the community wants to play basketball,” Carey said. “They come to play basketball and what they say (before the games) helps keep them off the streets.”

Who are the people on the other end of this weekly dialogue? People like Yusuf Buckley, a 1986 Case High School graduate who once served time in prison for selling drugs. Buckley’s message is simple. You have choices. Don’t make the same choice he once made. “I’ve shared with them that I’ve been in prison,” Buckley said, “I’ve shared with them that I’ve come up through the streets, I sold drugs, I abused drugs, so I identify with some of the pressures they’re going through now. “Today’s lesson was listening to your body to help you make choices. When you make wrong choices, like stealing money or taking drugs, your body gives off negative signals. Like you start sweating, you start breathing faster and your heart rate increases. “But when someone drops their wallet and you say, ‘Hey sir, you dropped your wallet,’ and give it back to him, your body will release those natural endorphins and give you a tingly feeling.”

Johnson, who played for the Case boys basketball team that went to the state tournament in 1994, is a coach in this league. He also has been instrumental in trying to lure kids to the right side of the fence by speaking from experience. “We had friends who were doing the wrong things,” Johnson said. “I grew up with Carlos Butler and Caron Butler and people like that and we all had those temptations. “Most of us came out OK, but there’s a lot of struggle that could have been avoided just by a little information by a few people.” For Ghuari, this is only the beginning of a master plan. His ultimate goal is to evolve into what will be billed the Triple Threat Sports Academy with the hope of reaching far more kids. “Our goal is to end up with two to three hundred kids who we work with annually,” Ghuari said. The 40-year-old Walker, who attended Case in the late 1980s before earning a GED, feels a strong foundation is in place. “Basketball is the reward, but they have to listen to the message about life first,” Walker said. “Once you get their attention, then they’ll sit down and listen.”