The Decline of Bronzeville: Urban Renewal and the Carving of Highways

History is merely the analysis of systems of the past, and in particular it looks at why these systems exist as they do today--whether they are countries, governments, cultures, human interactions or the like. This field of study can encompass as much as the vastness of the Roman Empire to the relatively inconsequential election of a Milwaukee mayor. These interactions are everywhere, though the particular system we're studying just happens to be a small community in Milwaukee. Small indeed, though what it lacked in surface area it made up for in a sense of brotherhood, togetherness and kinship. In its heyday it certainly involved the lives of real people--people that had real feelings and deserved equal rights that weren't provided by their government. This community is what they called home. And though it is a shame that this important hub to many was ruptured, the following will try to do it some justice by revealing the inequality and external forces that were applied to it in the mid-20th century. The intention is to bring to light real governmental scenarios that will in any age be considered awful and unfair. So in this by no means exhaustive history, the steps that ultimately contributed to the neighborhood's decline will be spotlit in succession.



With domestic issues at the top of the agenda, the US Congress passed the Housing Act in 1949, a piece of legislation that essentially condoned the tearing down of less affluent, urban neighborhoods for new development. State and local governments were alotted considerable discretion when it came to what neighborhoods to eradicate, and they were given tax dollars to erect commercial buildings that would generate more money. Businesses weren't the only focus however, as a blending of government and corporate interest was at work to try to disenfranchise certain members of the community.

'Redlining', which entailed real estate agents refusing to offer certain locations to African Americans, was prevalent and actually advocated by the Federal Housing Administration. New houses were built with a new loan policy in mind: loans were only to be given to a single owner of a home, rather than the existing methods which included those living in multi-family buildings. At that point many residents in urban found it dreadfully difficult to get by. After these new housing discrimination laws were codified in the books, they were wholly entrenched up until the ratification of the 1964 Civil Rights Act--which was in itself an extraordinary battle fought via protests and demonstrations all across the country.





Signed by President Johnson, the Act was a milstone in helping to end the environment of discrmination in public services, voting and employment.

The residents of Bronzeville would have collectively cheered at such a historic precedent, but it was no longer quite as easy to coalesce anymore. The once prosperous neighborhood, consisting of hotels, night clubs, drugstores, cafes restaraunts, was already slowly becoming demolished due to gentrification. And even still, eight years before the Civil Rights Act was signed, the final push that toppled the community over the side muscled in. I-94, the north-south highway prone to congestion, was to run straight through the heart of their little town.




This is Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. It may seem odd that his image sits above, but hopefully it will become clear as to how his policies affected Bronzeville.

During World War II, Eisenhower was "Supreme Commander" of US forces in Europe, and on one of his many tourings of battlefields he became inspired by the German autobahn. Since America had yet to sanction a federally-recognized interstate system, he began to keep the notion in the back of his head as something useful for the homefront.



He was elected in 1953, and within a year's time the plan for a highway system was discussed amongst his cabinet. In turn the overall result was the Federal Aid Highway Act, which he signed into law on June 26th, 1956. The intent was to connect the country through a complex stretch of interstate highways that would end up totalling some 40,000 miles of cement and asphalt. 25 million dollars were invested in the ten year project. Eisenhower, at the time of his signing, allegedly drew out a crude United States and then added three vertical and three horizontal lines--indicating his idea of what major points to build roads off of.



Again, local governments were given control over where the highways would be routed to, and in many cases they were directed through vibrant urban neighborhoods in such cases as Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston and Milwaukee to name a few. What ultimately occurred was the steady decline of the communities as they became isolated. What was equally as problematic was the fact that commuters simply zipped past the businesses of Bronzeville on their daily ride to work, with the once lucrative storefronts no longer accesible due to the I-94 guardrails.



To compound each of these problems, the city of Milwaukee was also developing its own plans to rid what it called "urban blight". Administered under the Mayoral guidance of one Frank Ziedler (a socialist party member), many homes were cleared away for revitalization. And finally, after 1956 the city finally prepared for the construction of the highway, which, cutting across Bronzeville, eliminated over 8,000 homes.



That number is almost difficult to comprehend. That entails over 8,000 people unfairly removed from their place of residence, and in some cases, even for no reason as the highway didn't come to touch an implied section.

The history is simply staggering, hard, and upsettingly disconcerting. How could such a tragedy befall a wonderful neighborhood?


--reported by Lawrence--