Harnessing the power of face-to-face conversation, thousands of people who gathered for On the Table MKE this month strengthened the community’s fabric and prospects for the future.
Led by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, On the Table MKE is a large collection of small gatherings that anyone in the community can host. Around the region on a single day, participants join together to share a meal, talk about topics that matter in their lives and put their ideas in motion to improve the quality of life in greater Milwaukee. On the Table MKE took place Oct. 9, 2018, its second year.
Thanks to the vision and leadership of hundreds of hosts who facilitated deep, meaningful discussions across the region, the initiative was a tremendous success on which our community will continue to build in the weeks and months ahead.
“Our community is clearly motivated to connect on important issues, and On the Table MKE is helping accelerate the collaboration and action that must occur for greater Milwaukee to be a place where everyone thrives,” said Ellen Gilligan, Foundation president and CEO. “Thank you to every person who pulled up a chair, leaned in to a challenging topic and voiced their commitment to spark positive change.”
Like a full chorus, voices from every sector of the community spoke out with their observations and ideas. Youth in particular were represented as schools, corporations, nonprofits, places of worship, associations, universities, neighborhoods and individual residents all participated, and their topics of discussion were commensurately diverse.
At Woodlands School in Milwaukee, a range of school, community and Near West Side neighborhood guests discussed how to build resilience through character education. Maggie Tate-Techtmann, whose daughter attends Woodlands State Street Campus, organized the table.
“What I absolutely love about our discussion was the frank, honest conversation and the energy, but most of all, the possibility,” she said. “The possibilities I see coming out of our morning for character education in Milwaukee, for our students and future community leaders is immense.”
Mary Sussman helped organize tables for the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County where participants discussed issues related to mass incarceration such as prison conditions, mandatory sentences, crimeless revocation and re-entry into the community.
“Talking to the people at my table who worked for advocacy groups, I felt I could better understand how these problems had directly affected individual lives,” she said. “It is hopeful that people are articulating the issues and problems and working together to improve the situation.”
The tables had a very open dialogue and plan to meet again to advance their conversation.
For Advocate Aurora Health and the young professionals organization One MKE, a second year of collaboration brought deeper dialogue and ideas. Their On the Table MKE gathering was geared toward iconic area neighborhoods like Walker’s Point and Sherman Park, and each corresponding table was led by a community leader with the power and influence to effect change in these communities. They partnered with Advocate Aurora Health system leaders to guide the conversations.
“This served as a demonstration of our desire to foster collaboration through mutual listening and learning,” said Erickajoy Daniels, senior vice president, chief diversity & inclusion officer, Advocate Aurora Health. “Our neighborhood structure helped to spark some honest and provocative conversations about what is truly plaguing our backyards. At the close of the evening, it was quite clear that our table discussions would blossom into actionable next steps that extend beyond our dialogue. Many of our guests shared that they were in the process of scheduling followup meetings with new partners and were committed to seizing the opportunity to bring new ideas and solutions to life.”
Dominic Inouye had the unique perspective of hosting a discussion at both the Super Chat breakfast organized by Marcus Hotels & Resorts at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center as well as the community dinner the Foundation held at Milwaukee City Hall in partnership with NEWaukee. Inouye is a long-time educator who now manages a photo project called ZIP MKE that promotes cultural understanding and helps organize Jane’s Walk MKE.
His morning conversation focused on the intersection of art, the community and social justice. The connections to projects like ZIP MKE were natural and led to ideas for greater impact, such as teaching useful and profitable skills and creating sustainable relationships in neighborhoods. He set the table for the NEWaukee dinner conversation by asking each person what they had “created” that day. This was followed by unpacking issues that were near and dear to each person’s heart – from apprenticeship opportunities to understanding autism.
“Each of these issues, we determined, boiled down to a desire for a healthier, more educated, more inclusive community,” Inouye said. “Each individual addressed in their own way the desire for paradigm shifts, the diminishment of ignorance, the recognition of ‘in-between-ness,’ and the need for support systems to help all that happen. This was one of the most refreshing discussions among a group of strangers that I have had in a long time.”
The Foundation will continue to report on meaningful outcomes and activities advancing through On the Table MKE. Watch for new stories and information at onthetableMKE.org.
And if you were a 2018 participant, don’t forget:
- Completing the On the Table MKE 2018 survey will ensure your voice is represented.