"Those are real issues:" Mayor Barrett seeks positive change after last weekend's unrest
MILWAUKEE-- While many are asking "what's next?" after last week's officer-involved shooting spurred a night of unrest, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is looking to answer that same question.
On Saturday, August 13, he was just one of many watching his television as local businesses burned, gunfire rang out and masses of people took the street.
"Shocking, disappointed, just like everyone, angry," Barrett said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett
Authorities were able to stem the unrest within the next couple of days. The community started to show signs of picking itself back up with the goal of never letting similar scenes onto the city's streets again.
"I drove over there Sunday morning and was moved by the hundreds of people that were there saying, 'We don't want this neighborhood ruined' and you've seen that throughout this week," Barrett explained.
Mayor Barrett said he thinks there are a host of factors that prompted the unrest that spilled on to the streets on Saturday, August 13. One of those factors was the amount of attention that officer-involved shootings are getting recently. Other factors stemmed from issues that spawn hopelessness, like poverty, education, and housing issues.
"Those are all real issues, " Barrett said. "Those are all very, very real issues in the neighborhood, particularly the neighborhoods east of the Sherman Park area.
Mayor Barrett also said he's already focused on using the experience as a catalyst for positive change in the community.
"The vast majority of people in this city and I think, in this region, don't want to write off the city," Barrett explained. "They don't want to write off this neighborhood. They know there are problems. They know there are issues and now our challenge is to really address those issues."
Mayor Barrett told FOX6 he has already met with business owners affected by last weekend's unrest. He said the city plans to work with them in hopes of keeping their businesses in the community and employing workers from that area.
