David Najib Kasir: Changing the Narrative About Arabs

Meet David. David Najib Kasir is an artist who challenges stereotypes about Arabs. He works in oil paint and has drawn inspiration from a form of Middle Eastern tile art called Zellige [pronounced zuh-LEEJ]. He has also adapted his work into mural-scale projects in Milwaukee and other U.S. cities. Currently working out of studio space in Var Gallery in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, David is involved in WaterMarks as one of the artists invited to create art for the Beerline Trail serving Riverwest and Harambee.

Originally from Chicago, David moved to Milwaukee to study at MIAD, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. His work is informed by his relationship to family, country, and world. David’s mother is from Syria, his father was Iraqi, and he identifies as an Arab American. The Syrian civil war weighs heavily upon David, and one theme running through his artwork is the trauma and humanity of people impacted by this war, with his art expressing a universal empathy for refugees and displaced peoples.

Mike Trokan: offering a Guiding Lens for the Beerline Trail

Meet Mike. Mike Trokan is a Riverwester who volunteers as part of Guiding Lens, a community advisory service that supports the development of the Beerline Trail as a placemaking resource to connect Harambee and Riverwest residents.

As one of the group’s co-chairs, Mike represents Riverwest while another resident represents Harambee and another represents the business district.

“The thing about the Beerline is it crosses two neighborhoods: Riverwest and Harambee,” Mike says. “Oftentimes, Holton [Street] is seen as a divider between our neighborhoods. The Beerline goes across Holton and goes through both neighborhoods. So, it has the potential to bring the neighborhoods together—really connect the neighborhoods.”

Ms. Kirsten Brown: Enthusiastic principal of Gaenslen School

Meet Ms. Kirsten Brown. Ms. Brown is proud principal of Frederick J. Gaenslen School in Riverwest.

A 29-year Milwaukee Public Schools veteran, Ms. Brown has served as Gaenslen’s principal since 2017. She is enthusiastic and finds inspiration in her students, almost half of whom are special education students. “To see their eager faces and their determination and them just starting out and for us to be there and to help them on their journey is what inspires me every day.”

Gaenslen, located at 1250 E. Burleigh St. on a Riverwest bluff above the Milwaukee River, is looking forward to revamping its playground in 2023. The school’s “Green & Healthy Schoolyard” redevelopment calls for removing asphalt and installing a bioswale, underground cistern, outdoor classroom, and even a lavender garden.

Kavon Cortez-Jones: Poet of the People, Proud in Purple

Meet KJ. Kavon “KJ” Cortez-Jones is a Milwaukee poet whose gregarious presence draws audiences into his waterfalls of words. He celebrated his 28th birthday in 2022.

“I try my best to be an ambassador of the city. I wish folks saw Milwaukee in the way that I see it,” KJ says. “I feel I lived through certain different angles of Milwaukee, through the traumatic inner city and then diving into the community.”

In his 2016 collection of poetry, self-published as the book Club Noir, KJ called Milwaukee the “Paris of the Midwest.” In his written and spoken words there is an evident love of the city, its people, its quirks, its rhythms. There is also an uncalculating intimacy that swings on lattices of playful syllables from youthful nostalgia through emotional internality to careful observation of urban life. Overall, readers—and especially live audiences—are struck by the expansiveness of KJ’s sonic portraits, washed by waves of his rolling words.

“Why not focus on the light of Milwaukee has?” KJ says.

Cheryl Nenn: A Voice for the River

Meet Cheryl. Cheryl Nenn is Milwaukee’s Riverkeeper. “As Riverkeeper one of my big jobs is to be a voice for the river, because the river obviously doesn’t have a voice,” she says.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is a science-based advocacy organization. Cheryl’s job title there since 2003 has been, literally, Riverkeeper for the waters of the Milwaukee River basin, which encompass the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic River watersheds. Her role is dynamic: senior scientist, policy advocate, educator, communicator—Cheryl is a trusted critical node in the local water nonprofit sphere. Her accomplishments are legion and her reputation sterling. What does not show up in her credentials or many-hats job description is Cheryl’s extemporaneous humor and warm wit.

Cheryl puts the mission simply. “We’re doing this work to protect the rivers, but we’re also doing this to protect ourselves, to protect the health of our communities.”