“This city needs to change right now”: Fellow James Causey sought solutions for ending racism in Milwaukee
O’Brien Fellowship provided James tools and resources to dig deep and seek solutions
By Ziyang Fu
Expose injustice and ignite change through the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. Apply now through Jan. 21 for the 2022–23 fellowships.
After experiencing and writing about racial issues in Milwaukee for decades, journalist James Causey said he was sick and tired of the systematic oppression.
He was eager to make a change, come up with solutions, and facilitate outcomes to fight racial inequality.
The result was “Milwaukee’s Promise,” Causey’s reporting project when he was a Fellow at O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism in 2019-’20.
“This city needs to change right now…” said Causey, a journalist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We can’t wait another decade or two in order to see change.”
In the 1960s and ’70s, cities like Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland held out the promise to African-Americans of good job opportunities. Numerous African-Americans came to these cities with a dream to build better lives. After the great migration, many of these jobs disappeared along with the other supports. Milwaukee became one of the worst places for racial disparities.
“If you’re a journalist of color, please apply because there is opportunity for you to do great things.”
Causey said about the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.
To promote change and justice, Causey used his nine-month O’Brien Fellowship to document other cities’ successful experiences and at the same time support the anti-racism practices that work in Milwaukee.
One of the struggles that African Americans are facing is education. In Nashville, Tennessee, there are Black men who go to schools and read for Black children to inspire these children’s interest in reading.
Causey saw the potential of this model and was dedicated to promoting it to more institutions and communities. In an interview with a school superintendent for Black Nouveau, a Milwaukee PBS program, several months after Causey’s O’Brien project, the superintendent showed interest and willingness to adopt the model.
“Boom, that’s instant impact,” Causey said.
Causey covered a broad range of racial issues in his O’Brien project. Other than education for African American communities, Causey also reported on efforts to combat racism and the major lack of homeownership opportunities for people of color.
Causey’s mission to combat injustice did not stop with his project at O’Brien.
Causey hosted several public forums to discuss issues raised in Milwaukee’s Promise. Partners included Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR, the Milwaukee Public Library, and Milwaukee PBS, which came together as Listen MKE. Another partner was the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, along with the O’Brien Fellowship.
All these efforts serve one purpose: to improve Milwaukee and make it a better place.
When talking about the O’Brien Fellowship, Causey mentioned he produced his best work in this experience.
“This Fellowship provided me with all the tools I needed, to really get the things I needed to get done,” Causey said.
Causey believed the opportunity of O’Brien came at a perfect time for him to take a deep dive, seek solutions, and create an impact on Milwaukee.
He emphasized that journalists of color often don’t apply to these Fellowships because they believe they can’t get it or think they don’t have the experience or they worry their company won’t give them the time off.
But, Causey said this Fellowship has taken him to a whole other level and that it can do the same for others.
“If you’re a journalist of color, please apply because there is opportunity for you to do great things,” Causey said.
