Like many American cities built on 19th-century industry, Milwaukee suffered a brain drain after manufacturing declined in the next century. Thirty years ago, when he returned to his hometown from Atlanta where he worked in media, Brad Pruitt wanted to contribute to a new iteration of Milwaukee where artists and entrepreneurs might thrive. “Some of us,” he realized, “need to come back home.”
It’s taken decades, but Pruitt, an Emmy-winning filmmaker and the director of America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood, extols the renewal. It’s taking place across the city from downtown sculpture exhibits to cafés in the renewed Bronzeville district, historically the center of the city’s Black community. “There’s a bit of a renaissance happening in Milwaukee,” he says. “People are coming here from all over the world and staying.”
Brad Pruitt is the director of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, which spans 400 years of history.
Photos by Rita Harper
America’s Black Holocaust Museum, which begins the story of slavery in Africa’s pre-capture civilization, has had its own rebirth. Founded by Dr. James Cameron, who survived a lynching in 1930, the museum closed after his death in 2006. But Pruitt, who had met Cameron while planning a documentary about him, helped launch a virtual museum—a robust online site with more than 3,700 pages frequented by international scholars—and finally opened a brick-and-mortar location on the original site in 2022. Its comprehensive survey from the roots to the legacy of slavery serves to promote healing.
Afar sat down with Pruitt to get his take on how to see the city, which starts, of course, in Bronzeville.
HoneyBee Sage sells herbs, teas, and “metaphysical healing tools.”
Photo by Rita Harper
Visit revitalized Bronzeville
Historically home to Black Milwaukeeans, Bronzeville suffered disinvestment, urban blight, and disruption from freeway construction. “When we broke ground in 2015 on America’s Black Holocaust Museum, it was the first major installation of art and culture,” says Pruitt.
Now, a decade later, several major developments around the museum have revitalized the area, including ThriveOn King, a former 1907 department store renewed with residences and local businesses. Pruitt was on the committee to select artworks from local artists visible in the building’s public spaces and recommends having a look around followed by lunch at Kinship Café; this social enterprise focused on workforce development dishes healthy quinoa bowls as well as fried chicken sandwiches.
Pruitt also suggests touring the neighborhood and stopping for an herbal tisane or fruit tea at HoneyBee Sage Wellness & Apothecary, home to a tearoom and herb shop.
Get acquainted with “our museum family”
“For such a modest-sized market, our museum offerings are pretty amazing,” says Pruitt, calling out “our museum family” beginning with the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Public Museum devoted to nature and culture in Wisconsin, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. On the lakefront, the art museum is renowned not just for its comprehensive collections but also for its landmark wing—that literally looks like a set of wings set to soar over Lake Michigan—by the celebrated Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
Visitors don’t have to like motorcycles to appreciate the Harley-Davidson Museum devoted to the design, history and pop-cultural influences of the world-famous bikes. Pruitt also praises the nonprofit Sculpture Milwaukee for bringing art to downtown streets—the organization’s map will lead visitors on a public art walk—and securing works by major Black artists, including Sanford Biggers.
Catch some live local music
Pruitt’s favorite places to listen to live music are dedicated to supporting local artists not just on the weekends, but nightly, including Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel in the Theater District downtown. Its lively bar in the lobby hosts musicians and DJs throughout the week, and guests can act on their cultural curiosity via the latest exhibits at its in-house gallery or a talk by the hotel’s artist in residence.
On Milwaukee’s Eastside, Pruitt recommends squeezing into the Estate, an intimate 1977-vintage club renowned for its jazz shows and craft cocktails.
Stroll Lake Michigan and the Riverwalk
You can’t visit Milwaukee without taking a stroll along mighty Lake Michigan or hitting the Milwaukee RiverWalk, giving visitors and residents pedestrian access to the Milwaukee River.
Milwaukee is home to “massive, lush, engaging parks throughout the community that are without parallel,” says Pruitt, citing the Frederick Law Olmsted–designed Lake Park on the waterfront. “Very rarely do I go to an American city that has the kind of relationship to green space that Milwaukee does.”
Juneteenth in Milwaukee is celebrated with a parade, a pageant, and a concert series.
Photo by Aaron of L.A. Photography/Shutterstock
Celebrate at summer festivals
Highlighting Milwaukee’s Juneteenth Celebration—54 years old this year—downtown’s Milwaukee Night Market, and a slate of neighborhood celebrations, Pruitt describes Milwaukee as “a city of festivals.”
Over three blockbuster weekends at the city’s fairgrounds, Summerfest hosts headliners as diverse as Megan Thee Stallion and Hozier (both playing this summer). It’s among the world’s largest music festivals—held over 12 stages across 75 acres—and Pruitt thinks more people should know that superlative.
“We may be one of the worst American cities at yelling from the rooftops about our assets,” jokes Pruitt. “It’s Midwest humility gone bad.”
