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.