Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson got a brief moment in the Democratic National Convention spotlight Wednesday evening.
The second-term millennial mayor gave joint remarks about infrastructure upgrades with Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval at the United Center in Chicago, where the DNC was in its third day.
Johnson credited President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, with helping to bring back Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood after it was decimated by freeway expansion.
“In Wisconsin, keeping promises is important. So is making amends for your mistakes,” Johnson said. “One of those mistakes happened 60 years ago in a neighborhood called Bronzeville, brimming with Black music, Black culture and entrepreneurship. And then came urban renewal and the construction of Interstates 94 and 43, ripping our communities apart.
“Sixth Street was widened and people of color were displaced, homes destroyed, businesses shuttered, all for a quicker commute. Under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, we’re bringing Bronzeville back.”
The neighborhood now has more green space, bike paths and walkable streets, he said.
“The music is coming back, the culture is coming back, and thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the opportunities are coming back,” he said.
Biden came to Milwaukee in March to highlight $36.6 million in federal funds from the Infrastructure Act to convert a 2.6-mile section of Sixth Street to a “complete street.” The effort seeks to make streets safe and convenient to pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and anyone else who wants to use them, regardless of age or ability.
He had previously described his remarks as a “baton handoff” and downplayed their significance in the political career he has been working to build since his early teens.
The mayors’ three or so minutes on stage came on the night Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the party’s vice-presidential nominee, was scheduled to give the keynote speech.
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel at the Wisconsin delegation’s Wednesday morning breakfast, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he was “so elated for everybody from Milwaukee who’s going to be speaking.”
“This speaks directly to the fact that if you’re going to win the White House, you got to go through Wisconsin. Which quite frankly means you got to go through Milwaukee,” Crowley said. “So, to have Milwaukee represented means a lot.”
Crowley said he couldn’t remember anyone from Milwaukee speaking on the convention stage in the past several years. Kenneth Stribling, a retired Teamster from Milwaukee, also spoke Tuesday night.
Two Milwaukee advocates for lead pipe removal also briefly took the stage Wednesday evening. Crowley said that “speaks to a broader issue” of providing clean water to children and families free from lead or PFAS.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. Hope Karnopp can be reached at hkarnopp@gannett.com.
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