Summary

Ed Fields reflects on his 19-year retrospective journey in Milwaukee, contrasting its current state with his memories and drawing parallels to his efforts for equitable development in his current home, Birmingham, AL.

Abstract

Ed Fields, a marketer and strategist who has spent significant time in both Milwaukee and Birmingham, shares his personal insights on the changes in his hometown of Milwaukee over the past 19 years. Prompted by a family emergency, he revisits the city and notices increased blight, rougher roads, and a decline in community pride, which he compares to Birmingham's longstanding challenges. Fields recalls his youth spent utilizing Milwaukee's public transportation, which provided him with a sense of freedom and shaped his identity through the influence of hip-hop culture. His bus ride down memory lane triggers reflections on formative experiences and locations, including a Boy Scout Troop, a defunct mall, and a McDonald's with a troubling past. Despite the sobering changes, Fields expresses gratitude for the role public transportation played in his life and emphasizes the importance of advocating for equitable opportunities in Birmingham, where he now works as a Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the Mayor's Office.

Opinions

Fields acknowledges a sense of loss and decline in his hometown of Milwaukee, particularly in the neighborhood's appearance and community spirit.
He empathizes with Mayor Randall Woodfin's passion for improving Birmingham, recognizing a shared motivation to revitalize their respective cities.
Fields values the independence and self-discovery that public transportation afforded him and his sister during their youth.
He credits his early exposure to public transit with fostering a love for hip-hop, which became the soundtrack of his life.
Fields' experiences on the North Avenue #21 bus evoke a mix of nostalgia and disillusionment as he confronts the realities of change and challenges in the community.
He expresses a personal connection to the importance of reliable public transportation as a means for exploration and personal growth.
Fields is committed to fighting for equitable opportunities in Birmingham, drawing on his experiences from both cities to inform his advocacy.

Picture Me Rolling: A 19-year Retrospective

A family emergency recently put me on an airplane to my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the city in which I spent the first 19 years of my life.

Ironically, this trip comes upon my 19 year “home-anniversary” in Birmingham. My first day on my first job in Birmingham was August 15, 2000.

I have been sitting in a hospital room for most of this emergency visit, but family chores send me back to one of the North Milwaukee homes of my youth. The neighborhood is different than I remember it. More blighted homes, roads much rougher, and the apparent pride and connectivity I experienced as a youth is greatly diminished. I can’t help but draw comparisons to what many have experienced for decades in Birmingham.

I can relate to the primal motivation to want to fix it. I think to myself, ‘This is what sets Randall afire every day back home in Birmingham.’ I feel you, Mayor.

Anyway, I finish my chores and step out of the house to head back to the hospital. I opt out of an Uber in lieu of Milwaukee’s reliable public transportation via bus.

I walk from 48th and Concordia to Sherman where I take the #30x to North Avenue. I walk across the street, clumsily pulling $2.25 in quarters from my pocket and transfer to the North Avenue #21. I ride it through the North Avenue landmarks of my youth.

My sister, Yvette, and I grew up in a household with cars, but we still rode the bus a lot. It was reliable, affordable, and allowed us to have a significant sense of freedom and responsibility at an early age. In fact, Hip-Hop was forged as the soundtrack of my life because I had the authority to choose my own scenery via bikes and buses. I was the kid with headphones glued to his head, moving to the energy of “Excursions” by A Tribe Called Quest.

The North Avenue #21 rolls past 35th street, where I spent my Saturdays at the Wisconsin Energy sponsored Boy Scout Troop 250. Learning about really hard cases.

It rolls past Fondulac Avenue, where Milwaukee Mall, the defunct uber-urban shopping center used to be filled with 1990s teens hunting for Filas and Skidz.

It rolls past the McDonald’s on 9th, where I once found my former Unity in the Community choir director and hero working behind the counter at McDonald’s after serving a prison bid for pedophilia. Pedophile activity in the same environs I spent many evenings at rehearsal. Lord knows I’ve been kept.

It rolls past MLK Boulevard which looks exactly as it did 30 years ago. Like any MLK Boulevard in America.

It even rolls past my Dad’s now gentrified childhood neighborhood.

I hop off the bus, hit the Foodiest Food Hall to grab a quick meal and take 30 mins to consider and codify this reflection before walking back to the hospital.

My experiences in Milwaukee —inspiring, imperfect and challenging— have brought me to a place of gratitude and perspective for something that I used to take for granted — reliable, consistent public transportation that allowed me to explore myself and my city.

Now, I get to fight for this generation to have equitable opportunities in my chosen home of Birmingham, AL.

Read my September 2015 AL.com article, comparing my two home cities of Milwaukee and Birmingham. I spent 19 years in both cities!

Ed Fields is a marketer and strategist. He currently serves as Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office. Follow Ed on LinkedIn, Medium, or Twitter.