Last Wednesday, Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin told the Rotary Club of Madison that Milwaukee is "the most segregated, racist place I've ever experienced in my life." The full quote, via the Wisconsin State Journal:
"We know we can't cure the world," Feigin said. "But we are very determined to get ourselves involved in programs that we can measure a difference in and put our claws into for a long period of time and show a difference.
"Very bluntly, Milwaukee is the most segregated, racist place I've ever experienced in my life. It just is a place that is antiquated. It is in desperate need of repair and has happened for a long, long time. One of our messages and one of our goals is to lead by example."
Feigin told the Milwaukee Business Journal on Monday that he was discussing the "hard truths" about Milwaukee and the Bucks are "focused on working with the terrific community leaders and organizations that are taking meaningful action to help bring people together and bridge divides in our community."
At the Rotary Club of Madison, Feigin said that the Bucks' new arena, scheduled to open in 2018, will help a part of the city that is in need, adding that the team wants to help Milwaukee's education, wellness and work development, per the Wisconsin State Journal.
"There clearly are issues that exist in the country and they're not Milwaukee issues and they're not Chicago issues," Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said on Monday at media day, per the Milwaukee Business Journal. "To me, the question is not whether there is an issue. The question is how can you best do something to identify the root causes of it and make inequality something that is in the past. I think that actually Peter being as direct as he was about it is the kind of thing you need so that people don't debate whether an issue exists."
When it comes to segregation, there is no debate about whether the issue exists. As Deadspin pointed out, Milwaukee is the most segregated city in America and has been for years. Last month, a police offer shot and killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith, a black man, when he fled after a traffic stop. This resulted in protests and riots, which put the city's segregation into the national spotlight. Given that the Bucks are using $250 million in taxpayer money to finance their new arena, it is not a stretch to say they have a responsibility to make the city a better place. Acknowledging the problem is just a start.
