Summary Information
African Americans in the Milwaukee Police Department Oral History Project
2016-2017
UWM Manuscript Collection 375
14 digital files (20.6 GB)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
The African Americans in the Milwaukee Police Department Oral
History Project is comprised of twelve audio interviews with retired and current Milwaukee
Police Department officers of African descent, as well as two current African American
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Police Department officers. Narrators describe their
experiences as Black people living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in addition to
earlier places of residence. Will Tchakirides conducted the interviews between 2016 and 2017
at officers' homes, the UWM Cultures and Communities Program office, Wisconsin Black
Historical Society and Museum (WBHSM), and the University of Memphis. WBHSM Director
Clayborn Benson provided select assistance with interview recruitment and the coordination
process.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0375 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
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."
Scope and Content Note
Narrators discuss their experiences as Black people living and working in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, with special emphasis on their time as police officers in the city. The project's
temporal range extends from the 1950s to the 2010s. Wisconsin Black Historical Society and
Museum Director Clayborn Benson appears in the Kenneth Morrow interview.
Arrangement of the Materials
The files are organized alphabetically by subject.
Preferred Citation
Citation Guide for Primary Sources
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all
members of the public in accordance with state law.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin
Statutes 19.21-19.39).
Will Tchakirides donated the collection in 2021.
Will Tchakirides sent the abstract, biography, and scope and content note for the finding
aid in March 2021.
Shiraz Bhathena wrote the finding aid in 2021.
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