Black Nouveau

(peaceful music) (upbeat music) Welcome to "Black Nouveau." This is our edition for October. I'm Joanne Williams. Bronzeville used to be the the economic and social center of Milwaukee's black community. This month, Milwaukee PBS will broadcast a documentary remembering those times. We'll talk with the producers of the video. Miles Davis, the black experience in business, and The Apollo are some of the films in the Black Lens strand of the Milwaukee Film Festival this month. We'll preview the offerings. Who gets to tell America's history? That's the question raised in the play, "The Niceties," currently at the Milwaukee Rep. We'll talk with the two actresses in the play. And speaking of history, the University of Wisconsin marching band has a new leader. Dr. Corey Pompey. (upbeat band music) -

Alexandria

As the old song goes, when you say Wisconsin, you've said it all. First day of class, wonderful sounds being made. Wonderful. - Dr. Corey Pompey is starting to understand the true meaning of the Badger tradition as he embarks on his first season of leading the University of Wisconsin marching band. -

Corey

Being in the profession, you know about the Wisconsin band. And so, I found that intriguing. And you combine the culture of the band program here, with the quality of the institution, it becomes a no-brainer. They are very hardworking. I wish that at some point, everyone could come see the band rehearse during the summer. The football team has two-a-days. The band has two-a-days. And sometimes, three-a-days. And we're up and down the field. On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin, probably hundreds of times. It really takes a huge amount of dedication to be able to do that. All in service of perfecting the marching style and making sure that we put the best musical product out on the field that we can. -

Alexandria

Pompey follows in the footsteps of the legendary Mike Leckrone. Who served 50 years as the man out front before retiring earlier this year. -

Corey

There's only one Mike Leckrone and I would be doing the band a disservice and myself a disservice if I tried to emulate him. So, the best thing that I can do is be myself. Now certainly there are things involved with the program that he has done and we certainly intend to keep those things as part of the program, but, I have to be myself. (whistle blows) One of the things that we will keep is the signature step of the band, which is known as stop at the top. That will remain the same. (speaker drowned out by marching band) This season, you can expect some, some new music. Our first show out the bat will have a medley of tunes by Beyonce, The Killers, The Jonas Brothers, and Adele. Our second show will be a funk show, so it's gonna be music from that particular time period, 70s. -

Alexandria

Pompey's stepping into the role also marks a historic day at the University of Wisconsin. Pompey is the first person of color to lead the band. -

Corey

It's an honor, first off, to be an African American leading this organization. However, that does not go through my mind when I'm doing my job. When I'm doing my job, I'm trying to get the students to march well, play well. I'm trying to get them to be the best that they can be. When I do my job, I hope to do it in a way that won't let people down. And so, if that makes the people in my community proud, I'm happy to do that. -

Alexandria

This isn't Pompey's first collegiate stop. Pompey has shared his musical talents with bands at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Penn State. He also taught music in Alabama public schools for seven years. I want to share music with people. And one of the ways that you can do that is through being an educator. Through music education. So, that's why I did it. And I really did enjoy my public school career and, in many ways, I could still be doing that now and be perfectly happy. That's just not where my life went. (whistle blows) (marching band playing) (crowd cheering) -

Alexandria

There's something special about game day performances. The energy, the school spirit, and of course, the music. -

Corey

The opportunity to perform for thousands and thousands of people, and at the same time, support your team. It's an adrenaline rush. I don't really know of any other way to describe it. I mean, these students, they'll come on to the field, they're will be 80,000 people there, and those 80,000 people will be listening to them. They will be performing for them. And so, for a student like that, it's special. It was special when I was in school. -

Alexandria

There may be a new man out front, but the tradition of finding community through music is one Pompey says is here to stay. I hope to create a sense of community. A sense of family within the band. Where we're all supportive of each other and that we can come together and have a good time with the purpose of entertaining the fans. So, that's what I hope to do. And while we're doing that, march well and play well, too. (crowd roars) -

MAN

I remember when I was a kid the community was the backbone of everything. -

Sheena

It wouldn't last. Progress in the form of urban renewal and the freeway crashed through the neighborhood, demolishing a way of life. (melancholy piano music) Well they did what they wanted to do, they destroyed the inner city. -

Sheena

But the story of Milwaukee's Bronzeville lives on in the memories of people who grew up here. Join me, Sheena Carey, and high school student Kemani Graham as we walk the streets of old Bronzeville and rediscover the neighborhood. That's a clip from "Remembering Bronzeville," a new documentary that Milwaukee PBS will air later this month. We are now joined by the film's writers and producers, Dr. Karen Slattery and Mark Doremus. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for having us! - Thank you. So Mark, what sparked your idea into doing this film? Well, everybody knows Sheri Williams Pannell. At the time she was associated with First Stage, she's a musician of course, and an actress, and many other things and she was taking a stab at being a playwright. And she was writing this play called, "Remembering Bronzeville," or, "Welcome to Bronzeville," hers is "Welcome to Bronzeville," ours is "Remembering Bronzeville." And so, she just invited me to come and watch some interviews that she was doing with people for background and I was just really fascinated. Two of the people were Harry Oden and Fred Reed of course who are great first introduction to Bronzeville, you couldn't ask for better people to tell a story, right? And so I really wanted to follow up. The play was staged at First Stage and it can, it's a play, so it can only tell part of the story, it has a narrative form. And I think our interest was in getting to some of the backstory. The backstory. So Karen, life was pretty rough after World War II, especially for African Americans of Bronzeville, can you just talk about that a little bit? Well, African Americans, as you know, moved here in larger numbers during World War II because the factories opened up to minorities. And they started coming, and they were directed to Bronzeville, and it was one of the oldest parts of the city. And the most rundown, but it was the only place they were really allowed to live. So, they, it was in bad shape, but they overlooked that, they saw hope, they saw opportunity, they saw jobs and through that they created a very vibrant community. Yeah, they were able to start their families as well. - They were, they were. -

James

So, some of the jobs that they had offered to them though, were some of the hardest and dirtiest jobs. Right. - What were those jobs like? Tanneries, they worked in tanneries. They worked in foundries. Labor, just basically labor. -

James

Okay, so Mark, anything surprise you about the film? Well, I think what I heard from the people we talked to was a sense of pride in a community that was while under a lot of challenges, was still, at least in their experience as children, a safe place, a place where there was positive role models available, a place where there was a black business strip that was vibrant. And probably other people (laughs) know that story, but I didn't, and I think a lot of people have not been exposed to it. And there was a whole world there that has disappeared completely and that's kind of what struck me about the story we found there. Did the freeway kill Bronzeville? -

Mark

Well not exactly, I don't think. It depends again on how you define Bronzeville. First of all, people who lived there didn't use that term. That's a later expression. I think of it as kind of like State to Keefe, third to, third now King Drive, to 12th. And that area really was, had already run its course before the freeway came. As the African American population expanded in the late 50s and 60s, they moved, obviously, north and west, and when the freeway came, it went through kind of the community, the neighborhood, the succeeded Bronzeville. And so it didn't exact, what destroyed Bronzeville, in my opinion, was urban renewal and public housing as an instrument for slump clearance was how it was thought of at the time. -

James

One thing, a term that I learned from watching the was block busting. Can either one of you talk about what that did? Well the, what would happen is realtors would sell African Americans home outside, sort of immediately adjacent to Bronzeville and as they moved in, the white people would panic and they would leave. And then realtors would sell the houses that inflated prices to additional African Americans that wanted to move in. I think the important thing to remember is it was really over-crowded, this area of Bronzeville, people really couldn't move elsewhere. And so, this was a way of moving the boundaries out. So we're seeing a renovation occur in Bronzeville. We're seeing barber shops, stores, grocery stores, and things like that. What else needs to happen there? Oh, an appreciation for the spirit that existed and a celebration of that. People taking the history seriously, moving back in, rebuilding it. -

Mark

The original plan back in 2005 for that Bronzeville redevelopment district on North Avenue was that it would be arts and entertainment. And that's a tough thing to get going, obviously. Now with America's Black Holocaust Museum being located in a very central location and perhaps other things coming along, now you have a reason for people to come. Fantastic. - Right, and once you have a reason for people to come. -

James

Gotcha, gotcha. Well thanks for joining us. Yeah, it's been a pleasure. - Great, thank you. (peaceful music) -

Kate

It's horrible. So much of history is horrible. Nasty, poor, brutish, and short. Tainted with racism, sexism, classism, cruelty, exploitation, religious persecution, casual disregard for our mutual humanity, but we can't spend all of our time focusing on that. There are other important things to say. -

Kimber

For millions of Americans, slavery is the most important part of American history. -

Kate

But, it isn't. It isn't! Democracy is the most important thing about American history. - Please. -

Everett

Who gets to tell American history is one of the themes of "The Niceties." It's a play by Eleanor Burgess, currently at The Milwaukee Rep. In it, a young African American student clashes with a professor over a paper that the student writes about the impact of slavery on the American Revolution. We were allowed to tape during the production's first week of rehearsals in early September. The cast hasn't yet mastered their lines, but they know their characters. -

Kimber

It's funny, when I read the play, the whole time I was like yes, yes. This is how I feel because I am a minority, I'm an African American woman, and I know that my beliefs are valid. They're just under represented. But that doesn't mean, just because it's not written in a history book, it doesn't take away from my experiences and the things that I know to be true. It's about race. - I can't carry it anymore! In America. - I will get exhausted, and go crazy, I will have no joy! - It's about white privilege, white liberalism, black anger, our history and how we tell it and how we've been telling it and how we need to look at it again. -

Kimber

When 20% of the population has literally nothing, the other 80% gets more. That's your land of opportunity. And that is why, that 80% was so unified and so happy with their modern democratic government and so able to have the most successful, prosperous, un-radical revolution of all time. Teach that. -

Everett

This past summer, the New York Times released it's 1619 Project. A collection of essays, podcasts, and visual material commemorating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Virginia. It too challenges what most of us think when know about American history. First I was resistant to the play, I though hey wait a minute, wait a minute. I'm a liberal, I'm enlightened. And then I started learning so much, so much. But particularly through 1619, that's fantastic reading and it's flawed, by the way. It is not gospel, it is not holy read. But it's a very provocative, not contribution, what is the word? Disruption, of my picture, of our picture and crucial, so important. I'm so grateful for that. And when I read the play and when I was discovering 1619 I was just, like, it's about time. We have to have these conversations. We're in a political climate right now where everyone's being highlighted and illuminated and everyone has something to contribute to this country. It's not one story. That's why we're called the melting pot. (laughs) -

Everett

Theater goers will have an opportunity to share their opinions as well. "The Niceties" will set the stage for The Rep's fifth annual Act 2 Community Engagement program. With the collaboration of the Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, there will be talk backs and small group discussions during the run of the show. How did you raise your son? Did you correct him all the time? Say that's not perfect, that's not nearly good enough? Or did you love to hear him express every little opinion? I wanna be treated however you treated him. I want the white boy treatment. -

Kate

I certainly told him when I thought he was being wrong headed and disrespectful. But the beautiful thing about this play is that both women are right. Both women are wrong. Both women can get angry and both women are going to want to laugh and feel uncomfortable and they're strong and they're weak and that's the beauty of the play, it goes through so many different facets. There is a playfulness to the play. And there's real humor, thank heavens. It's not heavy, it's not just being bludgeoned with ideas, it's two humans who are trying to get along, trying to figure things out with their agendas. Four or five asterisks, you say, manual labors, had it rough. (upbeat jazz music) -

Miles

Living is an adventure and a challenge. It wasn't about standing still or coming safe. But I've always been the way I am. Been like this all my life. (upbeat jazz music) That was a clip from "Miles

Davis

Birth of the Cool." One of the main attractions in the Milwaukee film festival this year. Here to tell us about it and some of the other films in the Black Lens strand is Geraud Blanks, co-programmer for Black Lens. Welcome. - Thank you for having me. Oh, we're always glad to have you. So what's in store for this year? So one of the films you were just talking about, "Miles Birth of the Cool" is a film by, directed by Stanley Nelson. Stanley Nelson is sort of a master filmmaker, documentarian, and we love having his films. This is probably his fifth or sixth film we've had at the festival. He actually has two films this year. So the "Miles Davis" documentary as well as "Boss," a film about the history and legacy of black business and black entrepreneurship in America, so. Those are two films we're really excited about. -

Joanne

Davis

I've seen "Boss," and it's good. Yes. - So people will, that's something to see. So how many films altogether do you have this year? Ten films. Now this year's gonna be interesting, right? Because we have this process called un-bucketing. And so, typically when you look at the program booklet, you would go to the section that says Black Lens and look at all the Black Lens films. This year our films are spread throughout the booklet, right? So we have a Black Lens section, and it'll tell you what pages to find our various films throughout the book. So you're gonna have to do a little searching this year. And the idea is to open you up to new films that you might not have otherwise seen, right? But we do have ten that are in the Black Lens program. Now, I have a note here that says you have a film called "Truth." -

Woman

Davis

The truth, once you set it in motion, it will eat through any lie. -

Man

Davis

Lanie? (intense music) Lanie, Lanie, Lanie, wake up! -

Woman

Davis

He is the devil. -

Man

Davis

Were you involved with Little? -

Woman

Davis

I don't want my business on the street. -

Brown Haired Woman

Davis

Look, she laid with a married man. I did too. -

Curly Haired Woman

Davis

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Kenneth, I don't want this to end like this. (intense music) -

Man

Davis

I had a wife. A church to lead. -

Joanne

Davis

But it's not a documentary, what is that? -

Geraud

Davis

So "Truth" is actually a really interesting film, I saw it out, was in Miami at the American Black Film Festival. It's directed by Charles Murray. And it's an interesting film. It's a film about a young woman who takes her life. And her family, her cousin, goes on a journey and an investigation into why, what happened. And he finds out some pretty tawdry details about her personal life. And so, I don't wanna give too much away, but "Truth" is really interesting. And part of the reason that I really wanted to get the film in the Black Lens program is because we always show great documentaries, right? We're sort of known for having really good documentaries, like "Boss," like the Miles Davis film. But this was a film that I thought, really, there's a different audience. And I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but I also thought, this will bring a different audience to the festival and we're always looking for new audiences and new ways to engage. So "Truth" I think people are really gonna enjoy. So you're also gonna have some films that deal with music, particularly some hip-hop stuff? Yeah, so we have a film called "The Remix" and it's about hip-hop fashion. What's really interesting about this film, is that a lot of people don't know a lot of the fashion that you've seen rappers and artists wear over the last 20, 30 years, that's fashion that was, that trend was started by really two important people. Dapper Dan and Misa Hylton. These were two of the early hip-hop designers that really were trendsetters and I think don't get enough credit, particularly Misa Hylton. She doesn't get enough credit for what she's done to fashion worldwide. So this is a really interesting film. We have the filmmaker, we have one of the subjects, April Walker will be here. April Walker founded her own clothing company called Walker Wear, so, this is gonna be a really fun experience I think. - I've heard of Walker Wear. Yeah? - Yeah. So she'll be here. - Oh great, what about Stanley Nelson, is he gonna be here? Not this time, we can't bring him every year. (laughs) He comes a lot, so he won't be this year. But he has two films, so he's glad about that. - So he is covered. Yeah. - Stanley Nelson is covered. Two great films I think people are gonna thoroughly enjoy them. "Boss" also has, we have a panel. So we'll have the film and we'll also have a panel and the panel will have local business leaders and entrepreneurs talking about some of the topics brought up in the film. -

Joanne

Davis

So it's the Milwaukee Film Festival, 2019. The 11th annual, right? Yes. - Last year was 10. And what are the dates of the festival? -

Geraud

Davis

So it starts Thursday, October 17th and ends Thursday October 31st. -

Joanne

Davis

Okay, looking forward to it. Thank you very much Geraud. The co-curator of the Black Lens strand of Milwaukee film. Thank you. Our next edition of "Black Nouveau" airs on November 7th,

at 7

30 p.m. right here on Channel 10. We'll talk with Dr. Bert Davis, the new president and CEO of America's Black Holocaust Museum. Remember to check us out online. You'll find a number of web exclusives and more information on the subjects we discussed in our show. And we wanna hear from you. Let us know what you liked. Let us know what you didn't. And give us suggestions for future topics. Our number is 414-797-3760. And that's our program for this month. For "Black Nouveau" I'm Joanne Williams. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)