We are in the midst of a movement that is different than any other from the past, according to Vaun L. Mayes, a local activist in Milwaukee. People are organizing communities and marching on the streets to demonstrate the unequal opportunities that people of color have had in this country and to demand that our governmental systems change. “I think people’s involvement and enthusiasm about changing things is different this time. And this is one of the only times in history I think that most people agree that change needs to happen or that what we all saw was wrong,” says Mayes referencing George Floyd.

The well-known organizer has hope for the future and will not stop speaking out against injustice until he sees tangible change from city officials. It’s impossible to talk about all the initiatives Mayes organizes in a short article, but one way to tap into that work is by watching the regular zoom calls he is doing with lawmakers and retired police officers. In the two meetings they’ve had so far, they discuss the reallocation of funds and other structural changes that can be made.

But let’s take a step back for a minute and get to know the man that has dedicated his life to fighting for those that don’t have a voice. Mayes was born in Milwaukee. As a teenager, he was a good student but got in a lot of trouble and was homeless for a time. At the age of 18, he was convicted for a crime that he says he didn’t commit but was told by his attorney to plead guilty. That incident was the first step on his road to activism. He was sent to jail and “that led me to seeing first-hand the injustices in prison and how it works,” he explains. He began to understand the systematic racism that was built into the institution of the justice system. Then in 2012 when Trayvon Martin was killed, he saw his first protest. After participating in that march, he made it his mission to continue that work.

Organizing Protest

Now Mayes is best known for organizing protests around the city with Community Task Force MKE and his Program the Parks MKE nonprofit organization. Program the Parks is his initiative that he started in 2016 as a way to keep troubled youth in the city away from violence and crime. A large amount of the projects Mayes works on have to do with violence prevention. To support youth, Mayes and other organizers offer mentoring and stipends for helping clean city parks. Their upcoming project in the works is called the Tay Project, named after the young activist Quanita “Tay” Jackson who was shot and killed in Moody Park last year. The team is working with Senator Lena Taylor to build a memorial in Moody Park. “We want to address the trauma that happened due to her death and beautify the park as well,” he says.

Vaun L. Mayes has witnessed traumatic violence, which is why he does everything in his power to prevent violence in our community. But even with those peaceful tactics, change does not come easy. “I’ve learned that as necessary as change is, the resistance to it is just as necessary for some people.” To bring about change, we must first understand and acknowledge the wrongs we have committed as a community. Then we can move forward.

Learn more about Mayes’ work at www.facebook.com/CommunityTaskForceMKE or on his personal Facebook page: www.facebook.com/YungLz

Read this article on the Shepherd Express, part of the column “Hero of the Week.”