On February 17th, 202o an event unprecedented in Great Waters Group history took place. Eleven activists from the Milwaukee African American community received honors as "Environmental Pioneers" at a Black History Month presentation held at the Wisconsin Black History Society Museum. Even a snowstorm did not prevent close to 150 people from attending. Starting with a social hour and museum tours, the program began with a stirring "Call to Ceremony" by Ko-Thi drummers. Event Chair Yvonne McCaskill then asked the crowd to rise and join in singing the Black National Antherm, James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice".  Yvonne then introduced featured speaker Brenda Coley of Milwaukee Water Commons.  Brenda spoke of the fight for environmental justice in Milwaukee and cities across the country.  She emphasized the fact fighting for environmental justice means joining the fight for racial justice in America. The honorees were each presented with an award framed in African cloth featuring the "Asase Ye Duru" Adinkra symbol representing the "divinity of Mother Earth".  Friends of Lincoln Park presented each honoree with a hand-finished wooden walking stick made from invasive buckthorn.  The Park Friends group regularly engages volunteers in fighting invasive buckthorn and has dubbed the sticks as "BUB" sticks, meaning "Better Use of Buckthorn"  The program included the True Skool video, "Liquid Gold", which has students rapping about how clean water is important to people in all communities. Poet/spoken word artist Kavon Cortez Jones was irecited his "Love Letter to Milwaukee" to an amazed and transfixed audience.  The entire program was puntuated by the music and drumming of Jahmes Finlayson.  Photographer Yvonne Kemp documented the event and her photographs can be seen at this link.

The honorees were:

Sharon and Larry Adams - Adams Garden Park
Will Allen - Farmer
Antonio Butts - Walnut Way Conservation Corp.
Brenda Coley - Milwaukee Water Commons
Andre Lee Ellis - We Got This
David Johnson - Cream City Farms
George Martin - Peace Action Wisconsin
Dr. Patricia McManus, Ph.D - Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin
Deneine Powell - Groundwork Milwaukee
Venice Williams - Alice's Garden

The Event sponsors were:
Milwaukee Water Commons
Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association
Urban Ecology Center – Washington Park
Nearby Nature Milwaukee
Sierra Club Great Waters Group

The event committee was made up of Yvonne McCaskill of Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association, Cassandra Flagg, of Flagg Consulting, Terry Evans, director of Urban Ecology Center, Washington Park and David Thomas coordinator of Nearby Nature Milwaukee.

Funding support for the program was provided by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation as well as Great Waters Goup, Nearby Nature and private donors.