The African Americans in the Milwaukee Police Department Oral History Project sheds light
on the unique experiences of Black police officers living and working in one of the most
racially segregated and punitive cities in the U.S. Retired and current police officers
recount experiences that span the entirety of their lives-from early childhood to the
contemporary Black Lives Matter moment. Narrators reflect on themes of family, migration,
education, religion, employment, sexism, and racism, in addition to specific aspects of law
enforcement as an occupation. This includes recruitment, co-worker relations, police
brutality, institutional discrimination, community relations, accountability, oversight,
Black police association organizing, affirmative action, hiring, assignments, promotions,
litigation, political protest, campus policing, and institutional hierarchies of power
within Milwaukee's police bureaucracy. This collection helped inform Will Tchakirides' 2020
Ph.D. dissertation, "'Accountable to No One': Confronting Police Power in Black
Milwaukee."
