Black Nouveau

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Black Nouveau".

I'm Earl Arms, and this is our April show.

This month, Milwaukee Film will host its annual festival.

We'll give you a sneak peek at what's coming up in the Black Lens strand of the screenings.

"Movers & Shakers" is a new Milwaukee PBS project, highlighting influential leaders who helped shape the city.

Milwaukee PBS producer Scottie Lee Meyers introduces us to soccer legend Jimmy Banks.

Although he achieved national stardom, he's best remembered for growing the game right here in Milwaukee.

And speaking of sons of Milwaukee who have definitely made an impact on the world, we are pleased to welcome Mr. John Ridley, who joins us now to talk about No Studios' fourth annual Dance Fest, coming this August.

Mr. Ridley, thank you so much for being here with us on "Black Nouveau".

- It's my pleasure.

Thank you for having me.

- Absolutely.

So first off, talk about the performers this year.

Who should we be looking out for?

- Well, our lead performer, our headline group this year, we are very excited to welcome back the Alvin Ailey group to Milwaukee.

We actually had them for our first Dance Fest.

Amazing to believe that it's been four years now.

We're in our fourth year.

Ailey is just in the world of art in general, and obviously dance specifically, probably the most prominent, one of the most well-known names in dance.

And if you've ever seen them perform, you'll understand why.

It is the legacy of one of the great choreographers, one of the great artists, and really, an organization that is building towards the future, bringing in all kinds of folks, but particularly young dancers, as part of their group.

So, we're excited to have them headlining our fourth annual show.

Our first year we were at the amazing Sherman Phoenix, which is in the Sherman Park area, but last year and this year, we're at the Marcus Center, we're at the Peck Pavilion.

It's a beautiful outdoor space.

It's a great way to cap off the end of the summer.

A beautiful evening of dance.

We are likely to have about eight different groups.

We're putting together the lineup now.

But representing Milwaukee, Southeastern Wisconsin, the Midwest, which is what we encapsulated last year.

But this year, we may even be reaching a little bit further south, but we'll have details coming up on that in terms of all the groups.

But could not be more excited to have our fourth annual iteration of Dance Fest back in Milwaukee.

- What does it mean for you to continue this on for now, the fourth time here in Milwaukee, your hometown, and to put this show on for the folks you know best?

- Well, for me, it really means joy.

I think with everything that's going on in the world, the one thing that all of us can agree on, and perhaps need a little bit more of, is joy.

I love all of the arts.

Obviously, the arts have been very central to my life, to my career, to my family.

But dance, it's energetic, it's athletic, it's about cultures, it's about demographics, but it's also about certain universal themes.

And everybody loves to dance.

Some of us are not so good at it, but we love to participate in it.

And I think most people love to watch dance and watch these artists that are truly, in my opinion, just on a completely other level.

So for me to be able to produce this show, to put it on, to be able to work with folks in Milwaukee who are helping us put together this program, to be able to work with organizations like the Marcus Center, who are all about the communal experience and bringing people together, to be able to work with organizations like the Joyce Theater in New York City, who have been instrumental in helping us put together this program, put together this show, it's really, really wonderful.

It's exciting.

As much as I love creating, there's something really special about just producing and putting together a show, and as you say, doing it in Milwaukee, a city where I, and obviously, my whole family, are from, but where a good amount of my family, my parents, my younger sister, still live there, a place that I get back to all the time, it's really special to be able to do something, and in some ways, give back to a community that has given me so much.

And as I mentioned, just bring joy to people and have a beautiful evening and afternoon of music, of dance, and of the communal experience.

It puts a smile on my face.

- Absolutely.

So, we know what's going on, we know where it's happening, so talk more about the details of when it is, when we can see it, and anything else you wanna share.

- Dance Fest is going to be Saturday, August 2nd at the Peck Pavilion at the beautiful Marcus Theater Performing Arts Center.

There are ticketed seats, but we have a lot that's going on.

So we'll have an afternoon performance that's unticketed.

We'll have different dancers and different dance groups.

People can come by, spend the afternoon on the lawn.

Last year we had cocktails, we had some food vendors.

It's really meant to be a social experience throughout the day.

Then in the evening, it's a ticketed performance.

There are seats where people can come and sit, put on an amazingly choreographed show, it's absolutely beautiful.

We have any number of partners, like WISN in Milwaukee, where we'll be doing a lot of programming in the run up to the Dance Fest, so people have an opportunity to meet some of the artistic directors, some of the dancers, and really understand how these groups come together, what their ethos is, what their approach is to dance.

And then the groups themselves, we have all kinds.

Last year we had African dance groups, Irish dance groups, modern, ballet.

And that's one of the great things about our program, is in numbers of companies in one performance.

We are the largest dance festival in North America, in the US.

So to be able to put on a program like this, where there's truly something for everyone, it's really, really special.

It's an amazing afternoon.

We really encourage people to come out and join us.

Again, afternoon, free performances at Peck Pavilion, you can just come on down.

If you're a fan of just getting out and having a terrific evening, you're gonna enjoy Dance Fest.

- And nothing like summertime in Milwaukee, right?

You're doing it at the right time.

- Nothing.

Nothing like it.

(Earl laughs) But I do love coming home, and then putting on a show.

I mean, being able to produce your own show and just do it the way you wanna do it, and work with partners who are so excited about dance and performance, that is something that's really, really, really special, and that's part of the reason that I started No Studios in Wisconsin, is to bring that element of creativity, of independence, of supporting artists, but doing it in a space that has meant so much to me and is still so much part of my life.

Even at my advanced age, you know, Wisconsin is and always will be my home, and it's great to bring entertainment and experiences back there, and share it with folks who've meant so much to me in my life.

- John Ridley, thank you so much for joining us here on "Black Nouveau".

- Thank you for having me.

Any time.

Deeply appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - [Commentator] Here's Jimmy, moving around.

Here's the shot, and scores!

(crowd cheering) (gentle music) - [Scottie] As we sat down with people for interviews... - Are we rolling?

- [Scottie] Everyone said a version of the same thing when reflecting on Jimmy Banks.

- G was close to the chest.

I'll give it to you like that.

- [Scottie] He was quiet.

- He didn't talk that much, but he was just a magnificent human being.

- [Scottie] Kept things to himself.

- Jimmy was a very calm guy.

- [Scottie] A humble man who downplayed his achievements and redirected the spotlight.

- I didn't end up finding out that he went to the World Cup from him.

I found out from a family friend.

- [Scottie] And while soccer took him around the world, he came home to grow the sport in the city he loved.

- He had a heart for the city of Milwaukee and for the northwest side.

- [Scottie] By most accounts, the best soccer player to ever come from Milwaukee, Banks leaves behind a legacy of reaching out to young Black athletes.

- It was one of the best things that ever happened in my life.

- [Scottie] This is the story of Jimmy Banks.

(upbeat music) This is where it all started for Jimmy Banks, the Salvation Army on Milwaukee's Northside, where he was first introduced to soccer at age six.

- This is a very surreal feeling.

- [Scottie] For Jordan Banks, the youngest of Jimmy's three sons, this gym feels like hallowed ground.

- Being in a place where it all started for my dad.

- [Scottie] Banks grew up during the '70s in the nearby Westlawn Housing Project with his four siblings, one of whom provided a lasting nickname, Gigi, or G. - Especially in these communities, a lot of Black kids are expected to be football players or basketball players, but for some reason, he grew up really loving soccer.

- [Scottie] As a teenager, Banks played for the Milwaukee Bavarians Club before his talents flourished at Custer High School, and was named Wisconsin's first All-American soccer player.

After graduating high school in 1982, Banks would eventually end up at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to play for head coach, Bob Gansler.

Gansler is another soccer legend.

He coached at every level and has a reputation for spotting talent.

It was clear Banks had plenty of it.

- Jimmy had a soccer brain, right?

He just knew what needed to be done just about all the time.

Extremely humble.

If he'd give you a good pass and you'd screw it up, he would apologize to you.

He says, "I should have given it to you earlier."

- [Scottie] After college, Banks was selected to the US national team.

He also joined the Milwaukee Wave in the American Indoor Soccer League as the number one draft pick in 1987.

- [Commentator] Banks making the move as he got around Barry Wallace, and unloading the shot that beat Brown and just stuck.

- [Scottie] In 1989, Banks reunited with Gansler when he was named the new head coach of the US national team.

Together, they qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

It had been 40 years since the Americans last played in the tournament.

- That's as high as you go.

And so we felt proud of that.

It was a good young bunch.

I on purpose went young in saying, "I'm not picking a team for 1990, I'm picking a team for the '90s."

- [Scottie] Banks became one of the first African American players born in the US to represent the country in a World Cup.

The other was his good friend and teammate, Desmond Armstrong.

- I had asked him to be my best man in my wedding, and I wanted him to be right beside me.

- [Scottie] Armstrong and Banks met each other when they were 15 while playing in national tournaments, when the game was almost exclusively a suburban sport.

- I was the one Black guy on my team, and G was the only Black guy on his team, so we were fast friends.

- [Scottie] During the World Cup, Banks wrote a column for the Milwaukee Journal.

He confessed to being homesick and for discovering a newfound passion to bring soccer to Black neighborhoods back home.

- And I used to tease him all the time, like, "No, man, we can go all over the world, man, and what, you just wanna just stay in Milwaukee?"

I mean, nothing against Milwaukee, but I mean, we had the world at our fingertips, man.

I'm talking about we played in the World Cup.

We can go anywhere.

And that brother would not leave Milwaukee.

- [Scottie] When he returned home from the World Cup, he launched a soccer program that operated at Boys & Girls Clubs across the city.

- [Reporter] Last year, Jimmy took his dream of getting more Blacks and minorities involved in soccer and made it a reality.

He started the Jimmy Banks City Soccer League, which now has 10 teams and over 250 kids involved.

- We're trying to instill some values and some good habits and discipline in these kids, and trying to teach them to let sports and education work hand in hand, and that's the way it works in life.

- [Desmond] I just have to give it up for him.

He actually did go back to his community, he put the roots down there, and he just poured his life into, you know, producing programs for kids in Milwaukee.

- I'm dribbling, right?

Even if I wanna do this, right, I'm still dribbling, right?

I'm here.

The ball is here.

It's all about patience.

- [Scottie] In the mid 1990s, Banks left the Boys & Girls Club and co-founded the Milwaukee Simbas, a newly independent soccer club that eased financial barriers and became a melting pot of diverse players.

His teams competed for state championships and won out-of-state tournaments.

A handful of his players went on to play professionally.

One of those players was Demetrius White.

- Keep the ball on the ground.

- [Scottie] Who now leads the revamped Simbas organization.

- Are we ready?

Go.

- [Scottie] The Banks' protege became the pro.

- It's really been remarkable how, you know, we can still be able to, you know, honor him and continue his legacy as well, what we're doing over here with the Simbas.

- [Scottie] And while Banks coached the finer points of the game, he always preached about the bigger picture.

- You know, Jimmy quotes was always, first, it was us becoming young men, young, responsible men, and then second was soccer.

You know, he preached to us.

It's not about what you do in soccer, it's about what you do afterwards.

If you don't have a ball, you should be moving.

There we go.

- [Scottie] In 2009, Banks left the Simbas to become the head coach of the Division 3 men's soccer program at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where he spent 20 years leading the program and winning several Conference Coach of the Year awards.

Rob Harrington, MSOE's current head coach, was alongside him as an assistant for most of those years.

- The draw of playing for Jimmy Banks was a big deal to some kids.

And I think that's his biggest legacy that I got from him, was like, make sure that every kid is cared for and every kid is treated like they matter.

(gentle music) - [Scottie] On April 26th, 2019, at the age of 54, Jimmy Banks died of pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he hid until the very end from many friends, and even some family members.

- All right, hold on.

(chuckles) Yeah, it's hard to read.

- [Scottie] Harrington was with Banks at the hospital during his last moments, and shared this message on social media after Banks passed away.

- "Many people didn't know Jimmy was sick, battling stage four cancer for four months.

Most didn't know it was his second or third battle with the disease.

That was Jimmy's way.

He passed away this morning quietly and gracefully, befitting his life.

But for those of us who knew Jimmy, let's not be quiet.

Let's tell everyone who and what was lost today."

- You know, immensely sad, you know, receiving that news.

But he does leave a tremendous legacy with his family.

He's got three boys that carry his name.

- [Scottie] Those three boys, Demetrius, J.C., and Jordan, and other family members, including his nephew, Christopher, continued the legacy through the Jimmy Banks Academy.

- We actually started this nonprofit, where we want to be able to instill a lot of those values in a community so that we can continue the cycle of bringing these kids up, introducing soccer to them, being able to develop them into, of course, better people.

- [Scottie] There's also the Friends of Jimmy Banks Organization, which in 2002, successfully petitioned Milwaukee Public Schools to rename Custer Stadium to the Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium.

Local artist Tia Richardson has been commissioned to create a mural that will hang near the entrance and celebrate his life, a life we know he was proud of.

- I do remember seeing an interview, and he was saying that he wanted to make sure that he's able to inspire kids, that he's able to provide an opportunity for them to play soccer, and once he feel like he's done, that he's done his job.

- When I leave this world, I wanna be able to say that I've done something for someone.

And I think by helping these kids as far as teaching them good values, not only teaching, but motivating, and things like that, you know, I think if I can do that, you know, I've done my job.

(upbeat music) (gate beeps) - All right, let's go.

Let's go, let's go.

Okay.

You all right?

We're going right down here, come on.

(gentle music) Okay.

What does it say?

- [Mason] Dog.

- What about this one?

- House.

- [Parent] Good.

What about this one?

- Cup.

- Okay.

You've been practicing, I see.

(both chuckling) You think you can do something a little harder?

- Mm-hm.

- You good with that?

Okay.

What about this?

All right, come here.

What sound does this letter make?

- Pur.

- Exactly.

That's how we start, Mason, all right?

Okay, now I need you to follow me.

P-ur-ple.

P-ur-ple.

Come on, Mason, you gotta follow me.

- Pur-ple.

- Yeah, but you gotta put it together.

P- - Urple.

- Urple.

Say it again.

P-urple.

- Purple.

- Okay.

And what does this say?

- Dog.

- What about this?

- House.

- What is this?

- Dog.

- What is this?

- House.

- What is this?

- Cat.

Purple!

- Yes!

Yes!

(laughs) Yes!

All right, now say it with some confidence.

- Purple!

- There you go.

There you go.

Good job.

I'm proud of you.

- That's a scene from "Color Book", one of the selections in the Black Lens section of Milwaukee's annual Film Festival, which starts later this month.

Here to discuss the film and a few others is Ty Williams, programmer for the Black Lens strands.

Hey, thanks for joining us.

- Thank you for having me again.

It's a pleasure to be on.

- So let's talk about the "Color Book".

What is it about?

- Yeah, so "Color Book" is a directorial debut by David Fortune.

It is a black and white intimate film about a father and son who both lose their wife and mother respectively, and it is about the father trying to cope with this loss, as well as take care of his son, who has Down syndrome, and just sort of the trials and tribulations that come from being a single father, and, you know, how to navigate all of that.

- And this still in black and white the entire way through?

- Yeah, the entire way through, it's just in black and white, very grounded.

It makes it feel a lot more intimate when you watch it, as though you're watching this person's real life, even though it is a fictional film.

- I guess that one kind of gets to you.

It seems like it could make you cry.

- Oh, yeah, it made me cry personally at least two times, so I'd recommend it if you're a very sentimental person.

- Great, great.

And let's take a look at "Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story".

- So now listen, baby.

When you see Jackie walking down the street or I walk into a restaurant that you're in, I want you to laugh and talk and grin and point the finger at me, because if I ever walked out and they didn't point and whisper about me, I'd go back in and look in the mirror and stick out my tongue, 'cause I thought I was sick or something, I done lost my touch.

- [Family Member] I am so grateful that Aunt Jackie recorded this live album.

It makes me feel like that I'm in the room watching her, and she's speaking to me, and I'm just in awe.

- Yeah, so, "Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story" is about a burgeoning R&B and soul singer from the '60s up until the '70s who sort of had a very tough life.

She was a trans Black woman who was very, very good at her performance, and even paved the way for people like Little Richard and set the standard for him.

And she just had a lot of circumstances that lined up against her that didn't really make it so that she could rise as the star that she really was.

- So, it's interesting.

Did she ever live here in the States to try to make it, or was it always in Canada?

- She lived in the States for a bit.

I believe Canada is where she really, like, started to shine, hence her playing in Toronto a lot, and other different places in Canada.

But when she came back home, that's kind of when her stardom stopped, and dealing with her familial ties and, you know, the obligations of what you would like to do with your own life versus how you take care of your family as they get older in age.

- And I assume that she opened the doors for others.

- Oh, yeah, totally.

She definitely set the standard for just the act of being yourself unabashedly as a pop star, I would say, where she did not really change anything about herself to meet other people where they are.

She just said, "I'm Jackie Shane, this is my performance, and, you know, what you take away from it is what you're gonna take away from it, but I'm here to perform."

- And the final movie, "Move Your Body".

(tense music) - You've had these 14 and 15-year-old kids stealing their brothers' and sisters' Motown records, showing up and saying, "Hi, let me in."

- It was a targeting, an attack, of not just disco, but all Black musical forms.

They had funk records and soul records up in there too.

- [Officer] Wait.

- For those that see something in someone else that they wish they had, there are two choices, to either celebrate it or to destroy.

- So, "Move Your Body" is the story of house music and its origins in Chicago.

It follows the story of Vince Lawrence, who is one of the pioneers of house music, and kind of goes through his journey as a young kid who just was enamored by the process of making music and wanted to make and share music with other people.

And how in that process, sort of a, you know, the disco riots happened, which inadvertently was a rejection of house music, and also basically Black music, since house music is Black and queer music.

So, this rejection of a part that was so integrable to his being and him as a person just kind of, like, goes to show how house music is so beloved worldwide now that it really does have a power to change people's lives.

And I think Vince Lawrence does a very great job of explaining his story and showing how house music got to be where it is today, and why it was made the way it was made, and all the people who made it.

- Now, I did not know that there was such a rejection of that music, where people were actually destroying albums or records.

Can you talk about that?

- Yeah, so there was a disco riot in Chicago, where people were taking records, their brothers' records, sisters' records, anything that was disco, and sort of setting it ablaze and just destroying it, damaging it, kind of akin to a book burning, really.

And saying that, you know, "We reject disco because it is of the masses, it's telling you what to buy, it's telling you what to wear," when so many people didn't see it that way and just saw it as an expression of themselves as Black queer people.

- And when is the festival running?

- It's gonna be running from April 24th to May 9th.

- Awesome.

Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

(gentle music) - Before we close tonight, we note the passing of three Milwaukeeans who have each served the city for decades.

Ulysses Lee Junior Bridgeman, professional basketball player, businessman, and part owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Photographer Robert Bell spent five decades chronicling the life of Milwaukee's African-American community, especially through his work with the local Black newspapers.

He was an active member of NABJ's Milwaukee chapter.

Fred Reed was a member of the NAACP Council Commandos who fought for integrated housing in the 1960s.

We also note the passing of two time heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, who was the namesake of the George Foreman Grill and an Olympic gold medalist.

That's our program for this month.

Be sure to check us out on all our social media platforms.

For the "Black Nouveau" team, have a great evening.