Johnsons Park Journal

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March 17, 2009 (1:00PM-3:00PM)
Today we met with Tony Gibson. A few of us from film class wanted to meet with him to discuss possible final project ideas. Our group already knew we wanted to do Block Watch, but we wanted to meet with him to discuss people we could interview and give him some sample questions we would ask the interviewees. We formatted a few good questions we wanted to ask the Alderman and the Assistant Chief. Tony suggested that we gear our questions a little differently because each of them had a different part in making Block Watch the way it is today. Tony gave us phone numbers and e-mail addresses to the Alderman and the Assistant Chief’s secretaries and we are going to get in contact with them to set up an appointment for the interview. Tony was a big help to get us started and I am really happy he was able to meet with us.

March 24, 2009 (12:30PM-2:30PM)
We had another meeting with Tony today. We met him at his house and he was going to give us some photographs that Bently Turner had on a CD of the neighborhood in transition. Tony was able to give us that CD and there were hundreds of photographs of the demolition of the older houses and the rebuild of some of the newer houses. Tony also gave us a tour of the neighborhood. He explained that there was a drug house right across the street from his house that got shut down. He said that activity in his part of the neighborhood seemed to go down a lot due to this close. He showed us the corner store that got shut down due to drug activity, explained the history of the park, and the parts of the neighborhood with the newer houses. We went past Alice’s Garden and he explained how you can buy a plot of the garden and plant vegetables or flowers. Tony said the garden was a great way for the community to get together and work together. I noticed that the residents in the Johnson’s Park neighborhood were very friendly. When we were leaving, one of Tony’s neighbors stopped by and asked him why his truck was parked on the street and he wanted to make sure everything was okay because Tony never parks his truck on the street. I thought that was really neat because it showed that the neighbors were genuinely concerned for one another. Tony’s tour gave me a better feel for the neighborhood and made me feel more comfortable going there.

March 26, 2009 (3:00PM-5:00PM)
Today I went on my own photo tour of the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I was not looking for anything in particular; just documenting what I thought was interesting. I took pictures of the corner store and some of the older houses. I took a lot of pictures of the newer homes and Alice’s Garden. My favorite picture was of a mural on the side of one of the buildings. I thought the mural represented the neighborhood because it depicted many different and significant people. I was able to stop and talk with one of the residents. I asked her how she liked living in the neighborhood and she said she liked it because everyone was very friendly and she was not afraid of bringing her family outside or to the park. I asked her if she participated in the Block Watch program and she did not, but her neighbor did. She said it is pretty peaceful in her part of the neighborhood but she would hear police sirens at night coming from Fond du Lac Avenue. I enjoyed my photo tour and I was not afraid to be in the neighborhood by myself; everyone was really friendly and willing to talk to me and I think I got a really good documentation about what the Johnsons Park neighborhood is all about.

March 26, 2009 (1:00PM-4:00PM)
Today we interviewed Alderman Hines. Robb and I went to City Hall, which was really neat because I have never been there before. We set up in the Alderman’s office and it was hard to find a spot that looked good in the light. We were not really sure how to use the light we got from the film department so we made due with what we had. I set up and worked the camera and Robb interviewed the Alderman. We basically asked him questions that dealt with their role in the Block Watch in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. He said that his office did everything they could to make the community a better and safer place to live. Alderman Hines said that they want to make Johnsons Park a model community so other communities will do the same thing to better themselves. He was very friendly and open to answer our question. The Alderman thought that Robb was the professor which I thought was pretty funny. I was so happy that he agreed to meet with us because he is a busy man and he made us feel important even though we are just college students.

April 7, 2009 (1:00PM-4:00PM)
The second interview I participated in was the one with Assistant Chief of the Milwaukee police, Harpole. Robb, Merari, and I went to his office at the Police Administration building downtown. We were also able to speak with one of his patrol officers who have patrolled the Johnsons Park area in the past. They were both very friendly and eager to answer our questions. I think the Assistant Chief was a little nervous to be on camera at first, which surprised me because I am sure he gets televised interviews all the time and we are just a bunch of college students with a video camera. The Chief read over the questions and asked us to elaborate a little on some of them or reword them to sound better. We sat him and Missy, the patrol officer, up at a conference table with the American flag in the background. We chose that spot because we thought it represented what the police do for us. They protect our civil liberties and they are there to serve the public. The Chief emphasized how crucial it is for the community to get involved to make it a better place and that they should not rely solely on the police. The community should take action and communicate with each other when something is going on. He made a very good point in saying that if more communities were like the Johnson’s Park community Milwaukee would be a much safer place. He said he noticed crime in the area had gone down and he gives a lot of that credit to the Block Watch program. The police are not in the community all the time but the citizens are and if the citizens have the confidence to call their neighbors or call the police a lot of crime could be stopped or lower greatly. The Chief and Missy were explaining the call system in the neighborhood. The citizens have some of the patrol officers’ numbers so they can contact them directly instead of going through the dispatcher by calling 911. This makes the citizens feel like they have a personal relationship with the officers and that the officer care about what is going on in the neighborhood. This interview made me proud to have worked in the Johnson’s Park area. When I first started in the area I kept getting told to be careful because that was a “bad neighborhood” and I should not bring anything valuable with me. I was comfortable to go into that neighborhood alone with my digital camera and my purse because of people like the Assistant Chief and Missy. They truly care and are passionate about protected the people and they have rubbed off on the citizens in Johnsons Park. I was comfortable approaching people in the neighborhood and taking pictures. I think that the area has a bad reputation because it used to be a bad neighborhood but it has made such a great transformation. The houses are beautiful and the citizens are great and now they even have the police on their side.

~~~Artist's Statement~~~

I really enjoyed working on this final project. I chose to research Block Watch in the Johnsons Park neighborhood mainly because I am a criminal justice major and also because I was curious to see how a Block Watch really functioned in a neighborhood. I got the opportunity to meet with a lot of interesting people that play an important role in the Milwaukee community. I had the chance to interview Alderman Hines and the Assistant Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department Harpole. I also helped out in the editing of the Bently Turner interview, who is the block watch captain in the Johnsons Park area. Everyone was so nice to us and willing to talk to us about their role in Block Watch. Our group formatted a set of questions for each person we wanted to interview. We wanted to know their role in the block watch program, how they felt it was working and what they thought they could do to make it better. We then set up an interview with them at their office or home. We used Robb’s video camera and a microphone and tripod from school. Overall I thought the interviews went really well. We were able to set up quickly and Robb was able to read his questions and the interviewees were very thorough in their answers. I ran the camera for the Alderman Hines and Captain Harpole interviews, which was not too hard because the camera was on a tripod. I made sure the lighting looked right and the sound was loud enough. We tried to pick a good spot in their offices that represented them, for example, in the Captain Harpole interview, we had him sit on the conference table and there is an American flag in the background. In the Alderman Hines interview, we had him sit on his couch. The couch looked very professional because it was not just your ordinary couch. I enjoyed filming and editing a lot more than I thought I would. I am not very good with computers and it was my first time using Windows Movie Maker. After a few tries I got the hang of it and had fun doing it. Overall I thought the project went smoothly considering we all have very different schedules. We were able to meet with all the people we wanted and got valuable information on the Block Watch program in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I think we all worked well together and we all worked very hard to put this final project together. I do not consider myself an artist or creative by any means, but this project made me feel like I can do anything if I put my mind to it and if I have the time and patience I can turn it into something great. I am not planning on taking any more film classes in the future, but I will use the tools and knowledge I have gained working on this final project in the future. 

Bently Turner Interview

This part of the Bently Turner interview I thought was significant to my part of the project. He is talking about the relationship between the Milwaukee Police Department and the Johnson's Park neighborhood and what the community does for each other. 

http://mpso.org/MPSO/Welcome_files/shapeimage_2.jpg

I chose this photo because the Milwaukee Police Department District 3 plays an important role in Block Watch in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I think the citizens in the neighborhood are comfortable calling the police when there is a problem and I think that they have a close relationship and good communication.

http://www.southrockport.org/neighborhdwatchlogo.jpg

I chose this photo because I saw it in a lot of windows when touring the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I think this image shows criminals in the area that there are people watching so maybe they will think twice before committing a crime in the area.

What does a block watch do?

I went online and searched Block Watch. I thought this was a good website that thoroughly explained how a Block Watch works in a community. I picked Block Watch for my topic because I am a Criminal Justice major and was eager to see how the Block Watch reduced crime in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. Here is some information I found on the website :

http://www.blockwatch.com/involved.aspx


HOW DOES BLOCK WATCH WORK?
Block Watch is a program of a neighbor helping neighbors. The Block Watch Program is a free community-based crime prevention program administered by your local police. Residents on a street or in a complex form a communication chain, aided by a block map of names, telephone numbers, and addresses. They make a commitment to watch out for each other's homes, and report suspicious activities to the police and to each other. They also keep each other informed about neighbourhood occurrences, burglary, thefts, and other crimes or problems occurring on their street.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BLOCK WATCH PARTICIPANT
-Watch out for their neighbor and their neighbor's property.
-Notify police of any suspicious activity or crime in progress.
-Report if they have been a victim of crime.
-Notify their Block Captain if they have been a victim of a break and enter or other criminal/suspicious activity.
-Update security and hardware in their homes.
-Mark all valuables with their driver's license.
-After participants have marked & catalogued their property they will be given Block Watch --decals by the Captain.
-Attend yearly Block Watch meetings in their neighborhood.

Coo Coo Cal - My Projects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrDg5K2Ly4M&feature=PlayList&p=885922198A88AFD8&index=0&playnext=1

I chose this song for my blog because it really speaks to the struggle of living in the projects and how the projects are segregated from the rest of the city and how people have to fend for themselves. Johnsons Park used to be like this but they were able to rise above this struggle for survival (Plus, Coo Coo Cal is from Milwaukee so he must be speaking from experience.)

Photo Essay - ~*Artist's Statement*~

I did not know much about the Johnsons Park neighborhood before this class. I was interested to learn more about the changes that have been occurring in the neighborhood over the past few years. I decided to meet with Tony Gibson to learn more about what this neighborhood was about. Tony was kind enough to give us a tour and explain, in detail, about the neighborhood. He explained how many of the houses were run down so they tore them down and rebuilt brand new houses in their place. They shut down a drug house across from Tony’s house and shut down the corner store because it was attracting so much crime. The members of community are active in a block watch program and neighbors look out for one another. I tried to capture the rebuild of the neighborhood through my photographs. I used some of the older photographs Tony gave us to show the tearing down of old houses. I went into the neighborhood and took pictures of the newer homes and their properties. I tried to show the transformation from old to new. The difference between some of the homes in unbelievable; some of them are still boarded up and falling apart, while their next door neighbor has a beautiful, two-storied home with a manicured yard. It was very easy to capture the change with a camera. I could see the transformation and the effort put into making this neighborhood a better place. The residents have a new respect for where they live because it is a really nice place to live now. The crime rate seemed to go down due to the neighborhood watch and the community’s effort to keep their neighborhood safe. I am happy that there is an effort to make the communities in Milwaukee a better place. I think that if more communities were like Johnsons Park Milwaukee would have a lot less crime and people would be a lot more friendlily towards each other. I learned through this project that the world can be a better place if you work together and put in the effort.

***Photo Essay***

Fat Albert - Block Watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuKshe9qNP0

I chose this clip because it depicted what Block Watch is. I think it would help kids understand what Block Watch is and what it does in the community. I enjoyed watching this clip because it described Block Watch in a nut shell and added a comedic twist for entertainment purposes.

Block Watch

For my final project I decided to research the block watch program. I would like to see what the police and community do to keep their neighborhood a safer place. I am planning on interviewing Alderman Hines Jr., Captain Harpole and citizens of the community to see how they work together to ensure safety. I want to see how the people get involved with reporting crimes to the police and how active they are in investigating crimes. I also want to see how often the police patrol the area and how well acquainted with the residents the officers are. I want to get the residents’ opinions of the police in their neighborhood and how comfortable they are with the police and how safe they feel in their neighborhood.

Not Always Black or White

Not Always Black or White

The first photograph I chose was Pat Ward Williams’ Accused/Blowtorch/Padlock 1986. There is a lot to look at in this image. The artist places four photos of what looks to be a black man tied to a tree in the center with her random thoughts surrounding the photographs. The subject of the photographs seems to be suffering a great deal with the way his body is twisted. You cannot see the subject’s face to determine how he is feeling or reacting to what is being done to him. There are a lot of unanswered questions and the author seems to be spilling out all her thoughts on the area surrounding the photos. Some words are large, some small, and some are in cursive. You can follow the artist’s thoughts about the photos by her words. Looking at this image, I felt frustrated because I had too many questions and no answers. There is no focus or setting, just disorganization. I think this was the artist’s intention. I think she wanted you to feel uneasy because the photos were of a black man being lynched. She did not want you to feel comfortable looking at these photos. She wants you to ask questions and have them be unanswered. She wants you to feel disturbed and unsettled, which is how you should feel when you look at someone being lynched. Many whites did not think twice when they saw a photo of a lynching. They collected these photographs like one would collect baseball cards and that is the truly disturbing part. This was their way of “keeping blacks in their place.” Benshoff and Griffith define lynching as the “mob torture and murder of an individual, often by hanging; historically used by white people to terrorize non-white communities.” (p. 421) I believe Williams is trying to tell us that being so nonchalant about lynching is twisted and is trying to make us feel anything but content with Accused/Blowtorch/Padlock.

The second image I chose was Vivian Cherry’s Untitled from “The Game of Lynching, Yorkville, East Harlem” 1947. The image is of a young African American boy standing up against a wall covered in graffiti. There is a line painted on the wall and the boy is standing under it and posing as if he were being lynched. This photograph was taken around the time that lynching images were being circulated around the United States. It is strange to think that a young Northern male would know what lynching was. It is stranger to think that he would want to act it out. The boy probably does not understand the meaning behind lynching but saw a photograph of a black person being lynched. As the title suggests, maybe the boy thought it was a game because he saw the circulated photographs so much. Whites saw lynching as sort of a game and form of entertainment, not as cruel and unusual punishment. African Americans were seen as the “others” and were treated as such. They were seen as inferior and lynching photographs were circulated to “put them in their place” and to show them where they belonged in American society. Cherry’s image, to me, represents a young African American finding his “place” in society. He has been shown and possibly told that if he steps out of that place there will be consequences. This image represents him trying to possibly fit into the niche made for him by whites in America. He seems like he has given in to this idea and is saying “you do not have to lynch me, I will do it myself.” It is a really depressing idea, but African Americans probably thought there was no hope for them during this time, especially when lynching images were circulated throughout America. They thought it would be easier for them to play this “game” that white Americans were playing and “staying in their place.”