Sunday 14 August 2011

Weekend events celebrate culture with no incidents

Flash-mob violence refers to an instantly organized crowd, usually teenagers, bent on mayhem. This summer there have been incidents around the country: Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and, more recently, at the Wisconsin State Fair. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with Eugene Kane, columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about incidents of alleged hate crimes involving young African Americans at the state fair.


The 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Back to School Festival was held, an event were children are provided with backpacks of school supplies, and fun activities. This event was founded by State Representative Elizabeth Coggs when she served on the County Board.


African World Festival returned again with a one day event filled with educational information, fun, entertainment, cultural activities and food. This year national and local entertainment performed, people from all ages participated in the festival. No flash mobs, no fights and preventive measures were in space through security in the event that some incidents would have taken place.


Milwaukee County Supervisor Evon Biddle, Sr. even weighed in on the events:


“With all the rhetoric about the “deteriorating African American culture” in this city, I saw some awesome events this weekend. They really showed the haters that there are many positive things going on in the Black community that we can all be proud of.” Biddle said. “Kudos to all those who worked tirelessly for months organizing these great events for the benefit of both youth and adults.”


With all of the continued rhetoric regarding the State Fair incident, little has been said regarding the responsibility of the organizers of State Fair in providing some crime prevention tools. Last year, the fair did hire security that had the expertise to identify the brewing of incidents, and prevent them before they erupt into fights and more. This year, organizers went into the fair cutting corners, and didn’t put anything in place.


It has also been stated that smaller situations had occurred that signaled a bigger incident could erupt. Some workers stated that they brought these situations to the attention of State Fair staff, and nothing was done.

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