Changing a community starts by helping the community come together, and sometimes the way to do that is to simply appear on a neighborhood corner, at least for the evening.
That was the idea behind a Pop-up Community Event Running Rebels helped to organize at the corner of 14th and North Avenue on Milwaukee's northwest side.
Music, dancing and food are just some of the ways community organizers are trying to get people in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood to form connections. Important for Napewter McBroom and her young daughters who are new to the neighborhood.
"I have met a lot of neighbors that I have never seen since I have been here that actually live on the same block as I do," McBroom said.
Lindsay Heights sits in the middle of the 53206 zip code. It gained national attention for having the highest incarceration rate in the country. But it also houses non-profits like Walnut Way Conservation Corp and Running Rebels. Those groups hosted a cook out Monday night.
"The goal is to show the residents we have a sense of community with the organizations that exist in the neighborhood," said Dynasty Ceasar who is a community organizer with Running Rebels.
Despite some of the crime in the neighborhood, Ceasar said the people who live here are passionate about changing it. She said it's why they have to keep holding events so the positive voices overpower the negative.
"Create a positive energy and space to speak to each other," Ceasar said.
It's something McBroom has already seen.
"A lot of people came out and asked questions," McBroom said.
They also enjoyed being together on a summer evening.
