Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, May 28, dozens of community members gathered at Lucille Berrien Park for the official unveiling of a new mural to commemorate Lucille. The mural came about through a collaborative effort between the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, True Skool Inc., and the Milwaukee Parks Foundation.

Milwaukee has a rich history of oppressed nationality figures who have carried the struggle for liberation, but they are rarely highlighted in the history books. Lucille Berrien, who recently turned 95, is one of those figures. Her legacy is filled with remarkable accomplishments, such as founding the original iteration of the Milwaukee Alliance 50 years ago, being a member of the Black Panther Party, being a Communist Party member, being the first Black woman to run for mayor, and leading struggles for welfare rights and fair housing in the city.

When the MAARPR asked community members what they would like to see in the mural, there was an overwhelming support for imagery also showing Berrien’s love for her children. Besides being a revolutionary, Berrien also helped foster over 200 children while living in the neighborhood where the park is located. Berrien’s commitment to the struggle for the liberation of oppressed people is complemented by her unwavering commitment to serving others. This is the legacy the mural captures.

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Milwaukee, WI – On October 23, nearly 100 community members, activists and local politicians gathered at Berrien Park for the public unveiling of the Milwaukee County Parks sign with the new name. The campaign was initiated when the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression learned about the origins of the name for Lindbergh Park and Charles Lindbergh’s proximity to the Nazis.

After months of canvassing efforts led by the Alliance that saw members going door-to-door in the predominantly Black community surrounding the park, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in late June voted unanimously in favor of the proposition to rename the park after Lucille Berrien. Saturday’s celebration culminated the Milwaukee Alliance’s campaign to rename the park, which began in March of this year. The celebration included various speakers who commemorated Berrien’s legacy as a freedom fighter in Milwaukee.

Omar Flores, co-chair of the Milwaukee Alliance, emphasized the importance of bottom-up organizing for this campaign, and remarked how the Alliance is presently “fighting many of the same fights that were being fought in 1973, when Lucille helped found the Milwaukee Alliance.”

For many decades, Berrien actively organized in Milwaukee around campaigns for fair housing, welfare rights, women’s rights, justice for victims of police crimes, better public education, anti-war efforts and much more. Flores and other speakers linked Berrien’s history of community organizing to the importance of proper community funding.

Jacob Flom, vice president of AFSCME Local 526, represented the Milwaukee Area Labor Council and stated, “We need the funds used by the Sheriff’s Department overtime budget to be used for funding good union jobs in the community.”

Brian Verdin, member of the Milwaukee Alliance who has known Berrien for over 50 years and also an original Alliance member, recalled how “growing up in the community, everybody’s mom and dad had a job. When the corporations move jobs away, we need the city and county to step up and create good jobs and stop privatizing them.”

The October 23 celebration of Berrien Park served as a reminder of Berrien’s legacy and of the importance of the alliance between oppressed nationalities and organized labor. Berrien Park is located in the 53206 zip code, which boasts some of the highest incarceration rates of Black males in the nation and highest unemployment rates in the city. This alliance will be crucial for carrying forward Lucille Berrien’s legacy and leading the struggles against racist inequality and capitalism in Milwaukee.

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Milwaukee, WI – Members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) have been canvassing over the past month in the Arlington Heights neighborhood in an effort to change the name of Lindbergh Park to Lucille Berrien Park. From the start, the campaign has shown large support from the community. The residents of this neighborhood have displayed attachment to the park as many families have spent their entire lives in the area.

Many people are shocked when they learn about Lindbergh’s fascist past and are eager to sign petitions demanding the park be renamed. The name change will be paid for using the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s bloated overtime budget.

On April 17, MAARPR was joined by a few members of the Coggs-Jones family, members of whom have been and are on the Milwaukee County Board, including the representative seat for the district that Arlington Heights is in. The family aided the organization in canvassing throughout the neighborhood and displaying their solidarity with the campaign.

The park was created in a citywide effort to reduce crime by taking money out of the police budget and funneling that money into public projects instead. At the time, Lindbergh was only known as the man who flew across the Atlantic, but in the years after the flight, he began organizing with Nazis and helped create the America First movement.

Berrien, who is 92 years-old, is a lifelong organizer and prominent activist in the Milwaukee area. She was the first Black woman to run for mayor of Milwaukee, a member of the Black Panther Party, helped establish the original Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and has fostered around 200 kids. MAARPR believes Berrien would much better represent the city and neighborhood where the park is located.

On April 24, MAARPR will be hosting a press conference at the park (located on the corner of 16th and Nash Streets). In an act of solidarity and support, the organization will be joined by Lucille Berrien and her family as well as newly-elected Milwaukee County Boardmember Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones. The press conference will be used to announce their demands directly to the city and the county.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #MilwaukeeAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #LucilleBerrien