For The Sake Of Aaron
Celebrating Our Black Men

"Men for All Seasons" by Charles Bibbs

"There’s nothing we can do for our kids today, but we can do a lot for them tomorrow and that starts today!"

Kim Robinson

"We have to want to be more than basketball players and entertainers. They are all right but there are so many other jobs that youngsters can aspire to. architects, police officers; fire fighters; paramedics, computer programmers, sanitation workers, counselors; teachers, ministers, business people and more."

by Patricia O’Flynn Pattillo
Kim Robinson, husband, father, son, police officer, forensic investigator, photographer and entrepreneur. There are many superlatives attached to each of the descriptives.

Born in Milwaukee, the son of an architect, Kim attended Lee Street Elementary School and lived at 2457 North Ninth Street, he quickly recalled. Then busing, the de facto segregation initiative, was legislated and he was sent to Edison Middle School, at 37th and Rohr, miles away from his neighborhood. He graduated from Riverside in 1975.

Remembering, he said, " I would catch the bus at Teutonia Avenue and Wright Street and ride to Edison, everyday. From there I went to Washington High School. Some of my classmates were, Valerie Daniels; P.B. Easton; Steve Perkins, who lives in Texas; and WinFred Trammel, who lived near the old St. Michaels Hospital area."

Milwaukee was considered "a great place to bring up kids." Crime was low, schools were by comparison, pretty good. Though ''separate but equal," outlawed by the Brown vs. the Board of Education, was prevalent in neighborhoods defined by "color barriers".

Attorney Lloyd Barbee, a State Legislator, was a dominant figure in the school desegregation marches and while many parents objected to their children taking the buses, the community was basically unified about the need to integrate schools to increase equal access.

"I was a solid C/B student, Robinson states. I liked school! Education was a major aspiration of most of us, at that time." When asked about the busing experience, from the child's perspective, he remembered an incident in woodshop with a bully, who pushed him out of the class. "I was not an aggressive guy, but found myself fighting with students, and when others heard about what happened, there was a big disturbance, over by Grebe's Bakery. There was a racial slur, and the shuffling extended into the street 37th and Villard Avenue."

"But, Mrs. Joyce Bender, the girls' Phy Ed teacher; Mr. Robertson, the boy's physical education teacher; and Mr. Broadwater who taught history, as well. Mr. Roger Onick, who taught English and now the principal over at Samuel Morse Jr. High understood this major transition and tried to welcome the busing students, as well as incorporate them into the school's activities. Fran Jefferson, Mrs. Tolbert, and Mr. Butler were some of my favorite teachers in elementary school!"

Kim reminisced about typical childhood challenges, but they were brief, sweet and quickly left behind. "While I remember them, I never permitted them to make me angry. We understood that childhood was childhood. Growing up is growing up, but we always knew there were bigger things ahead. And, we were working to get ahead."

A strong work ethic came early. "When we were at 9th Street School, there was an organization called the Youth Incentive Program. It began my work for money," he recalled.

"This White guy came into the community and got permission from our parents to sell candy in other neighborhoods, door to door. We had chocolate covered thin mints, peanut brittle, mixed nuts, and Turtles, which we sold for $1.50 a box.

"For every box we sold, we kept 25 cents. Some of the money was used to send us to different summer camps in Wisconsin. One year, the top sellers went to New York City for two weeks. We stayed at the Taft Hotel, saw Radio City Music Hall, the movie "True Grit" with John Wayne, and the play "The Great White Hope," with James Earl Jones. We went to Palisades' theme park in New Jersey, Remember, we were only 11 to 12 years old," he reflected.

Kim still thinks the program had special benefits. Inner city boys were taken outside their neighborhoods, shown homes that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they were accustomed to seeing everyday. Also, they met people, and equally important, people met them!

During this time the song by Sammy Davis, Jr., "The Candy Man" was popular, and we sang this song as we went door-to-door selling candy. Our drivers were White men named "Mouse," John, Harold and Carl Castle; the drivers took us all over Wisconsin selling candy. "When the children heard us coming they would run to their parents saying." Here comes the Candy Man!" By the way, John runs a Vienna Hot Dog stand on the Southside of Milwaukee, and still considers those days some of his best.

"One day, we went to a house, and I began my spiel about going to camp. The man gave me $100, told me to put it into my sock and put it away for college. I did!" "Another time, we went to the Southside and I was chased away. Racism has always been a challenge for people with limited exposure and few experiences," Kim says.

Mentoring, exposure to others, field trips and many positive experiences are critical components to understanding cultures and differences in values, preferences and jobs. "That program was a good one. I learned how to save money, earn money for my own things, and compete for top seller. Danny, Elgie and BoBo, were the top sellers from 9th Street along with myself," Kim proudly exclaimed, "We traveled the whole state.

"In fact, my older brother went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the late '60s during the riots in Milwaukee."

So when it was time for Kim to begin college, he applied at UW-Oshkosh and was accepted. He wanted to be a lawyer, he thought. So, he began work in criminal justice and social work, in 1975, then graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Social Welfare in 1980.

And, through Saint Boniface, the Commando Project, the House of Peace, and people like Brother Nathaniel Givens, Father Groppii and Athletes for Youth, Caucasian families volunteered to take inner city boys into their homes as exposure opportunities. "One year, I went to the home of Mr. Tiddi, a dean of Lakeland College.

"His family and I traveled all around the state visiting places like the House on the Rock; Cave of the Mounds and Camping and into Iowa. My brother went with a family who taught him mink farming at their Sheboygan farm.

"Our parents felt these were beneficial and they supported the integration efforts. One of my neighbors went to Green Bay on that exchange. He stayed and went on to school there. He has now opened his own business."

"He talks about the old neighborhood, Sid's Grocery Store, Henry Taylor, Jr., a.k.a. "Bull Dog," on the corner of 9th and Meinecke. The families that lived in that area were Attorney Lloyd Barbee, Theodore Coggs, Marcia Coggs, the Coleman's, the Lathan's, the Johnson's, and Attorney Thomas Dale.

"Attorney Dale took us kids to the natatorium. We learned to swim through Mr. Dale's efforts. The Quarles, Kelly a.k.a. 'Peewee,' had every toy there was; he kept the latest GI Joe action figures. Kelly's mom, Mrs. Alleen worked at A.O Smith for over 40 years and his dad made the best eggnog at Christmas. Kelly, who also works in the Criminal Justice System (probation and parole) and I both went to Lee School, Riverside High, and UW-Oshkosh."

The old saying about "it takes a whole village" really applied in those days. And, yes, there was always one or two who required more discipline, even punishments. But no child was left behind, a cliche that really was sincere.

"My father, Alonzo Robinson, first Black registered architect in Milwaukee, would always sit us down and tell us about the racial controversy he encountered during the early '50s when he relocated to Milwaukee from Wilmington, Delaware.
"He, however, encouraged us to think outside the box and be versatile, as only we can open that door to success. He left the city and later started his own practice, Alonzo Robinson and Sons, in Waukesha and Milwaukee. Before retiring as an architect for Milwaukee County, he designed several inner city churches and buildings."

Through (USSA) the United States Student Association, inner city children hosted youngsters from the suburbs. Projects were written through the Multicultural Diversity programs of Chris Johns, an Oneida Indian, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, that encouraged youngsters to earn internship credits by helping in the inner city. Kim interviewed former State Senator Monroe Swan, who liked the program.

The program became a prototype for multiple projects on other campuses, including the University of Maryland. Kim, quite involved in the multicultural project, remembered even going to visit his grandmother in Chantilly, Virginia and bringing her home cooking back to dorm buddies, "Jimbo" Toran and Fletcher Hall, who were on the same floor, at the Oshkosh campus.

As graduation neared, Kim began to visit the employment office often. Among other jobs, he applied to the Milwaukee Police Department. Immediately after applying, he was called in for an interview. That was 1980.

Kim has been with the MPD ever since. "I never thought about another job," Kim shared. "I went to the Academy, and have come up through the ranks like every other police officer. I have done my job."

His jobs have included being a driver for former Police Chief Harold Brier, walking the beat, driving the Patty Wagon, and working at squad 15 Hillside Projects. He has been assigned to District #1 /Police Administration throughout his career. He field trained at District #5 were he grew up and remembers one day, as a child, that police officers drove onto the ground and took his bicycle.

"I had to be accompanied by my dad to see Sergeant William Wade in order to have it returned. Everyone knew about Sgt. Felmers Chaney, Detective Dewey Russ, Detective Richardson and former Police Chief, then Detective Arthur Jones. And of course their was Shorty, who all the kids thought was a real cop.

"I have had an opportunity to help families in domestic situations," Kim shared. "Just my presence helped quell bad situations. Sometimes I would even come in contact with people I knew. I would tell them " this is a no win situation, so let's just go without a disturbance.

"In my job transporting prisoners, I would run into buddies I used to play basketball with, I would tell them, 'This is my job. Let's not ever have to meet again under these kinds of circumstances. One time, I was sent to a situation. The mother had called the police because her son was out of control and she was concerned about what he might do. Of course, she did not want her son hurt. When she explained that he had stopped taking his medicine, I took another approach.

"That woman still thanks me today," Kim shared. An officer who knows the situation is trained to act accordingly. That is why it is so important to have professional officers, with diversity training, in the police department and all of the service areas.

Role models for Officer Robinson include the late Leonce Rhodes, former Chief Jones and the major contributions of the League of Martin, who interfaced with the Fire and Police Commission, which ultimately expanded opportunities for Black officers to be more proportionate to the Black population.

In 1985, Kim Robinson was the first African American promoted to the Bureau of Identification in the Milwaukee Police Department as an Identification technician. This was a major event because the department had never appointed African American officers for that position. "My father said to me, 'Be whatever you want to be.' As a result, I went to the FBI Academy, took the fingerprinting technician classes, and Advanced Latent Fingerprint School in Quantico, Virginia. Today, I am an Identification Division Supervisor for the Milwaukee Police Department."

Kim recently celebrated his 26th year at MPD! His family-- wife, of 27 years, Terese, a teacher, is mother to their three children: son Kim, Jr., 18; daughters Krystal, 26 and Kourtnei, 16.

His brother, Wayne, works at Kohler; another brother, Ron, is a computer programmer; and his sister, Jean Marie, is an attorney on the East Coast, all share their pride in Kim Robinson's accomplishments.

Kim's other role models and supporters include Reverend Fred Crouthers, Reverend Vernon Moore of St. James United Methodist Church, Richard Artison, former Sheriff of Milwaukee County; Donald Jefferson and George Rogers of the Milwaukee Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., William Gore, former chairman of the Fire and Police Commission has been a long-term model for officer Robinson; as are community advocates William Rogers of Nirvana Ministries and 100 Black men; Dr. Rueben Harpole of the Helen Bader Foundation; Mikel Holt, founding editor of the "Community Journal," president of Malik Communications and television commentator of the Sunday "Charlie Sykes Show," Eric Vonn, principal anchor of Radio Station, WMCS along with Don Rossett and CEO Willie Davis; Thomas Mitchell, Jr., MCJ editor; Harry Kemp, photographer and mentor who introduced him to photography as an avocation and hobby/past time. "This hobby exposed me to people from all walks of life. Taking photographs of Packer games, fights for Don King Productions and President Clinton."

When I asked one of Milwaukee's best police officer's opinions about crime, our youth, our mentoring project and what we hope to achieve, he expounded. "Crime is all over.
This week, we were at 6th and Vienna; last week, it was Center Street and 36th Street and next week it could be your street. Neighborhood block watch groups are good for everyone. There are things going on (crime-wise) up on Brown Deer Road, in the Northridge area. No one is proud of these violent crimes.

"Killing someone for auto rims is ridiculous! Kim continued. Burning someone because they reported a crime is abominable! The glorification of these illegal activities cannot be tolerated. We cannot buy into this drug culture. It is destroying our communities. We have to again look back to our past. We did it with so much less.

"Our values were about uplifting our families and each one helping the next one. My father-in-law, Eugene Wheeler, once said that former Alderman Michael McGee, Sr. was needed to keep the chemistry of the inner city in check and I feel that his son, current Alderman Michael McGee, will do the same. I share my story about my childhood because within it, are examples for young people today.

"We were not rich! And we worked, productively, early in our lives, twenty-five cents at a time."

When asked to give advice for young people, who want to do it the right way, Officer Robinson stated. "Take a look at who is at the Rescue Mission, today! Years ago, you saw men, typically over 59 years, usually with alcohol problems. Today, the people at the mission are 17 through 55 years if age, men, women and young children. Jobs are a major issue. We must have more of them, but students also must get their education.

"NO excuses! We have to want to be more than basketball players and entertainers. They are all right but there are so many other jobs that youngsters can aspire to; architects, police officer, fire fighters, paramedics, computer programmers, sanitation workers, counselors; teachers, ministers, business people and more. That's why I like what you are doing with the 'Best of the Bests.' Many different professionals are being introduced to those who are reading the articles."

Officer Robinson also believes that it is time for our men to take back the streets. "I love those movies with Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier--"A Piece of The Action," and "Shaft I and II" because they took back the "hood!" Former Chief Jones has the Quality of Life Foundation that teaches respect. It says it's not okay to drink on the streets, wear your pants so that they are falling off of you, cursing as you drive along, hanging out of cars, selling your Quest card for crack. Richard said it the best: 'We got to get that monkey off our back.' Those actions are simply unacceptable," he said.

Officer Robinson also believes that the fraternities and sororities, the NAACP, Urban League, Northcott Neighborhood House and other organizations must play a specific role in taking back the streets and educating our youths. Subliminal messages from blunts, billboards, corner stores, drug paraphanailla in the place of penny/nickel candy are infiltrating the minds of our community.

As Don King so eloquently stated, "ONLY IN AMERICA." For example, he said on the issue of being required to show a photo ID before you vote: "If we have to have one to drive or to cash a check, why not have one to vote. It makes everyone more responsible. We have to have pride in our neighborhoods. If there is no litter, there are no rats! It is truly that simple! I support what Cassandra Cassandra, from radio station 1290AM, has said: 'Blame no one! Do what you can do!' And, I do. I have mentored with the Dr. King School almost every year. And, I help many families with housing and other primary needs. I am committed to doing my part," he explained.

To the youngsters, he had this advice, "1) respect and listen to your elders and teachers; 2) do your homework; 3) find a church home; 4) DON'T be afraid of police officers; 5) In addition to the public libraries, use the University campuses for resources; 6) carry identification that tells people where you live, who you are, who your parents are, telephone, etc.; 7) DO NOT use a nickname, use your legal name; 8) DO NOT hinder an officer when they ask questions; 9) 'Be Aware and Be Alivel;' and 10) Treasure your friends and families, for without them you are a stranger.

"We as Black families need to pull our resources together by any means necessary. In the past, parents, grandparents and older children would pool their resources in order to get ahead. Neighborhood Clean-up campaigns are a necessary component for changing a community and making it a better place in which to live. You can move forward, regardless of your circumstances. Larry and Sharon Adams over on Walnut Way at 17th and North Avenue are making a difference in their community.

"Remember, we are here to enforce the law, not to attack, nor to purposely distract someone. We are here to help, not hurt! Parents should always tell their children that the police can help and the need to have dialogue with them. More inner city students from MPS high schools should apply for the Police Aide and Fire Cadet Program at the City Hall Fire and Police Commission."

Officer/Identification Division Supervisor Kim Robinson, seasoned forensic investigator, photo journalist, you represent the bests of our MPD.

Your tenured service has always been exemplary and you continue to lead as an advocate, mentor and role model for our youth and our community. You are the Best of the Best! We applaud you, salute you and support you in your efforts to "take back the community!" We wish you the very BEST!