Four years ago we set out to change Milwaukee. We were fed up with the status quo of police killing Black people, while their departments absorb the majority of our budgets, and our communities not having what they need.

In February the African American Roundtable (AART) launched its participatory budgeting process that will invest $40,000 in Milwaukee’s Northwest Side.

The African American Roundtable is excited to announce that our 2022 Annual Report has been published!

Last year was a year of strategic growth where we focused on the sustainability and future of the African American Roundtable. We made a major impact in Milwaukee and beyond.

On the night of September 28, a public meeting was held to discuss the potential opening of a youth detention center. There was a diverse crowd, but none that were in relation to the group of people whose lives would be impacted by their decision.

The African American Roundtable (AART) engages in c3 Transformative Democracy. Though we will not endorse candidates, we advocate for residents and work to educate them on electoral processes.

Over the last four years, Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections (DOC) has been under legal pressure to relocate young people abused in unacceptable living conditions at Lincoln Hills School to new facilities.

With Mayor Cavalier “Chevy” Johnson’s first budget just being approved, we thought it would be a great opportunity to check back in on how the mayor’s budget priorities align with the needs of our communities. Here is a report card on the mayor’s record.

Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer who targeted men and boys in Ohio and Milwaukee, committed traumatic acts that popular culture profits from. Netflix, producers of Dahmer TV shows, merchandisers, and blind consumers of it all fail to acknowledge the stories that matter most: the stories of each and every life impacted by Dahmer's violence.

We are so excited to welcome our newest board members to the AART family! These ladies exemplify Black women leadership, and we cannot wait to see how they will help strategize with us to elevate our organization to new heights.

Milwaukee Mayor Chevy Johnson and the city council’s recent budget hearing confirmed a few very clear things. First, it’s widely known that the Milwaukee Police Department is drastically overfunded, and our communities continue to suffer because of this.

The Milwaukee Police Department will get a 7% increase. The mayor’s budget proposes a $20 million increase from 2022. If the budget is approved, the police would receive $300,860,638. While the mayor deceptively touts this budget as a 1% cut to MPD’s budget, it is actually a 7% increase.

When I came to the African American Roundtable (AART) in 2019, I was excited to be joining the team at that moment. We were three months away from launching our LiberateMKE campaign, which aims to divest from police and fund our communities. Since that moment, AART has grown from two to six staff members, we have been able to launch new programs, and are on the path to being fully independent.

The African American Roundtable (AART) recently wrapped up its second Leadership Development Cohort of 2021. Fifteen Black leaders successfully completed this cohort focused on the 2022 city budget.

Through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, the City of Milwaukee will receive $397 million dollars, in two installments, to aid our pandemic recovery. With this, city officials have a huge opportunity to rebuild our communities in a people-oriented way.

Northwest Side Stories is a social media project launched by Milwaukee non-profit African American Roundtable (AART) in May of this year.

The African American Roundtable (AART) would like to take this time to congratulate the inaugural class of Leadership Development Cohort graduates.

We’re excited to announce that the African American Roundtable was featured in a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The African American Roundtable is excited to share our new logo design inspired by the AART staff/board and created by Marquayla S. Ellison of Ellastic Designs, LLC here in Milwaukee.