CURTO Conversations

The state of our ecosystem in Milwaukee offers much hope, even as we face noteworthy challenges to providing systemic and holistic supports for young people of color. Every year since its inception, the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub has released a yearly “State of the Ecosystem” report chronicling the initiative’s work over the year. In 2024, our accompanying podcast for the report brings together our faculty director, Nate Deans (Director of the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement), Walter Lanier (visionary and co-founder of the BLEST Hub), Robert Smith (Director of CURTO), and Ali Shana (a graduate student research assistant and GEAR UP employee). We discuss our work, the current state of the ecosystem, and what energies us into the future.

Dr. Gabriel Velez is an associate professor and developmental psychologist in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership (EDPL) in the College of Education at Marquette University. Dr. Velez studies identity development in adolescents and emerging adults, particularly in relation to their educational experiences, including restorative justice, peace education, and artificial intelligence. He also serves as the Faculty Director of the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub at Marquette, and the Chair of the Faculty Research Team for the Center for Peacemaking. A detailed listing of his work can be found at https://marquette.academia.edu/GabrielVelez.

Walter Lanier is a seasoned leader, pastor, and social entrepreneur with over 25 years of multifaceted experience spanning legal, educational, business, and community sectors. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan and a Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Theological Seminary, alongside advanced studies in transformational leadership. He is currently the head of the Great Lakes Urban Empowerment Center, and his leadership roles have ranged from founding a business and civil rights law firm to directing community engagement initiatives at Milwaukee Area Technical College and leading the African American Leadership Alliance Milwaukee.

Nate Deans is the Director of the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee with degrees in English Education and Literary and Critical Studies, and taught English at Milwaukee Academy of Science and Riverside University High School. Nate has been recognized with the MPS Start, Stay, Succeed Award in 2017, the UWM Graduate of the Last Decade Award in 2018, and was a nominee for the Wisconsin Teacher of the Year Award in 2016.

Dr. Robert S. Smith is the Harry G. John Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach at Marquette University. Rob is the author of Black Liberation from Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter and Race, Labor & Civil Rights; Griggs v. Duke Power and the Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity.

Ali Shana is a researching academic and education specialist under the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. He is currently completing his PhD at Marquette University’s Educational Policy & Leadership program.

Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek, provided music for this podcast on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

Here’s the link to the report:

https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/documents/blesthub-state-of-the-ecosystem-2024.pdf

To view the database of reports clink the link below

https://airtable.com/appBuw566ksLz2vlB/shrX6A95GVwGIyRaS/tbl5lBgeOzt8DakaM

Faculty Director of the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub Dr. Gabriel Velez is joined by CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance Walter Lanier, BLEST Hub Assistant Director Troy Washington, and Marquette Students Michael Vasquez and Kendall Watts to discuss the current state of black and brown students in Milwaukee. They provide updates on the work of the BLEST Hub in 2022-2023, focusing on dual enrollment and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. The conversation coincides with the release of the 2023 State of the Ecosystem report (linked below).

The report can be found by following this link: https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/documents/blesthub-state-of-the-ecosystem-2023.pdf

Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek, provided music for this podcast on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

The conversation identifies the data, equity gap, and support for our low-income students and students of color who continue to navigate Dual Enrollment programs in Wisconsin and beyond. Research Assistant of the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub Michael Vazquez hosts Vicki Bott, Karin Smith, and Dr. Jason Taylor in a discussion of their work with Dual Enrollment. For further information regarding the BLEST Hub initiative and work related to dual enrollment, check out the following link: https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/dual-enrollment-hub.php 

Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek, provided music for this podcast on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

Faculty Director of the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub Dr. Gabriel Velez is joined by Walter Lanier, Alberto J. Maldonado, Saúl López, and Max Harteen to discuss their work with black and brown students in Milwaukee. The conversation touches on challenges and opportunities in the Milwaukee area and is timed to coincide with the release of the  2022 State of the Ecosystem report.

The report can be found by following this link: https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/documents/blesthub-state-of-the-ecosystem-2022.pdf  

Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek, provided music for this podcast on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

During the Spring Semester, Ibtisam Abujad (Ph.D. Candidate, English) hosted a virtual event in her class that explored how cultural activism in the form of music, poetry, filmmaking, and storytelling can produce local and global shifts that cure social ills and promote justice. This panel featured award-winning and influential filmmakers:

Queen Muhammad Ali: Director, Producer, & Visual Anthropologist

Hakeem Khaaliq: Directory, Producer, & Visual Anthropologist

Khaula Malik: Director, Producer, & Filmaker

Ibtisam and the panelists graciously agreed to let us share a recording of part of this conversation.

Center Director Dr. Robert Smith has a conversation with three graduate students who participated in a nine-day Civil Rights Pilgrimage facilitated by Marquette University's Center for Peacemaking.

Participants include:

A Milwaukee native, Serina Jamison is a MA candidate in the English department at Marquette University. Her background is in Education, and her interests include Black studies and literature, African American Rhetoric(s), curriculum, and pedagogy.

Saúl López was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up on the Southside of Milwaukee. Saúl is a current Ph.D. student at Marquette University, where he studies Educational Policy and Leadership. Saúl's current research interests include Latinx Student Experience, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Jesuit Institutions of Higher Education. You can follow him on Twitter @Saulescribe

A native Kentuckian, Benjamin Linzy is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Marquette University. He serves as the Senior Graduate Researcher at CURTO and is the Program Coordinator for Humanities Without Walls. You can follow him on Twitter @Bendangerously 

Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek, provided music for this podcast. You can find him on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek 

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

Black and Latino/a students in Milwaukee face many obstacles in higher education and career success, and it is no secret that their outcomes in these areas are starkly different than their White counterparts. Still, there are also numerous organizations, initiatives, activists, and other actors working to bolster Black and Latino/a students’ success.  In this podcast, a CURTO team of faculty, graduate students, and community college partner discuss their work in this area with the Black and Latino/a Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub.  The conversation touches on challenges and opportunities in the Milwaukee area, as well as their emerging work and efforts to build a visual map of the ecosystem.

Featuring:

Dr. Gabriel Velez

Walter Lanier 

Verónica Mancheno 

Saúl López

For more information about BLEST Hub, you can visit our website at https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/dual-enrollment-hub.php

Music for this podcast was provided by Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

This episode is the second in a two-part conversation about the criminal justice system in the wake of the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd. Dr. Darren Wheelock speaks with Marquette Professor of Law Michael O'Hear, a recognized authority on sentencing to discuss Chauvin's sentencing. They also discuss the differences in sentencing between Minnesota and Wisconsin and the possibilities of criminal justice reform.  

Dr. Darren Wheelock - Associate Professor of Criminology and Law Studies, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University

Michael O'Hear - Professor of Law Marquette University Law School.

For more information about CURTO, you can visit our website at https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/

Music for this podcast was provided by Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

This episode will be the first in a two-part conversation about policing in the wake of the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd. First, Dr. Darren Wheelock speaks with his colleague, Dr. Meghan Stroshine, whose research focuses on policing and law enforcement. Topics include problems in police culture, the training and recruitment of officers, and the results of the status of reforms of the Milwaukee Police Department following the 2017 court settlement with the ACLU.

Dr. Darren Wheelock - Associate Professor of Criminology and Law Studies, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University

Dr. Meghan Stroshine - Associate Professor of Criminology and Law Studies & Chair of the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University.

For more information about CURTO, you can visit our website at https://www.marquette.edu/urban-research-teaching-outreach/

Music for this podcast was provided by Ronald Johnson, AKA as ChocoGeek on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/chocogeek

Intro music, Arkham Talent Show

The outro music, One More Time Around The Loop (Irascible Funk)

On this episode of CURTO Conversations, our Director Dr. Robert Smith, is joined by associate professor of political science at Marquette University Dr. Julia Azari, to discuss the implications of the events of January 6th, 2021, when insurrectionists attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election by disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to certify the electoral college. 

Dr. Azari has also written about the Insurrection on the collaborative political science blog, Mischiefs of Faction. You can find her post here.