A Tour of Milwaukee’s South Side

There is more to Milwaukee than meets the eye. Taking a closer look at Milwaukee’s south side, one would agree that this area has some distinct features in comparison to other parts of the metro area. After spending an afternoon on the south side, I feel I was able to successfully view the area through the eyes of someone that lives in that area. By deriving information about typical Loyola students’ days, I was able to successfully re-create a “typical” day that a Loyola Academy student might undergo.
Through the use of a camera, and an understanding of what a typical day might entail, I was able to furbish a presentation of images that could indeed simulate a Loyola student’s day. By using the information collected through interviews and “ice-breaker” strategies, I was able to mold a generalization about how a student’s day goes. One recurrent theme that seemed to come up with most of the students I became involved with was religion. It seemed everyone at Loyola Academy was a devout Catholic, a conclusion one might reach by noticing that almost every student wears a religious necklace of some sort.
I feel I learned a lot about Milwaukee’s south side. A common theme that seemed recurrent throughout my tour of the area was the assimilation versus separation theme. It seemed most areas were promoting a sense of assimilation, a coming together of races, towards a unified goal of social equality. Other areas clearly defined a sense of separation, as noted by the store sign included within my photo essay which read, “American & Hispanic Food.” It is messages like that that give the average passer-by a sense that there is a difference between the two. These messages might cause certain people to not identify themselves as “American” and instead as “Hispanic.”
Another significant piece of information that I was able to derive from touring the south side was the fact that the area seemed to once be a predominantly Polish community. By looking at the images within my photo essay, namely the statue and the building with two lower level shops, one can clearly come to the realization that the area was at one point in time predominantly Polish. As other images suggest, this notion has been nullified by the abundant and almost overwhelming presence of Hispanic Americans in this area.
To conclude, I proved to myself that Milwaukee has more to offer than what it seems. By assigning the task of creating a photo essay, I was able to learn a lot of information about Milwaukee’s south side. In addition, I derived information from students at Loyola Academy and created a presentation covering what I considered to be a typical day. The final product allowed me to challenge previous notions about Milwaukee, and helped discover new information about the metropolitan area in which I live.