After decades of struggle, a nonprofit renews efforts to improve lives of Black men and boys in Milwaukee

Walter Lanier stood before a packed room at the Milwaukee County Zoo in May and repeated his mantra: ‘We have to be organized.”

The room was filled with Black leaders — mostly men — from government, nonprofits and academic institutions. The leaders knew all too well that, year after year, studies have ranked the Milwaukee metropolitan area the worst place to live if you’re Black.

Those studies have cited Wisconsin’s dramatic incarceration rate of Black men, deep racial disparities in income and educational achievement and a legacy of redlining that made Milwaukee one of the nation’s most segregated major cities.

But Lanier, a pastor and community leader who also has worn the hats of educator and lawyer, announced plans to change the narrative by changing the reality — particularly for Black men.

Since 2022, Lanier has served as president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance Milwaukee. The nonprofit aims to make Milwaukee a top city for Black residents by 2025 and serves as the backbone for its latest push to narrow wide achievement gaps for Black men and boys...