Moving has been a theme of my life, as it may well be for many others. As a transplant from — gasp! — Kenosha who came to Wisconsin by way of Waukegan, IL from LaSalle, IL, stasis never felt like home to me. 

After graduating high school in Kenosha, where we had moved after my father’s layoff so that he could work in Milwaukee while my mother continued nursing in IL, I moved to Chicago for five years, before returning to finish my degree at UW-Parkside and then lived in Racine, then Trevor, WI, before moving back to Racine. 

Now that I’ve made a home here with my partner and children, I want to better understand how the city and county of Racine have taken shape by looking at the people who have moved into and through it, as well as how they moved. 

So when I applied for the Racine Writer in Residence position, I proposed a project that will take me the whole six months to complete. I’m basically writing one long poem about moving in and through Racine. 

To that end, the next twenty or so posts will focus as much as possible on developing a community-based documentary poetics project using research about travel, transportation and  throughout the region known as Racine County as a metaphor for social and personal conflicts as well as positive changes undergone by various inhabitants throughout the pre-colonial, colonial, modern and contemporary periods, considering ecological, economic and socio-cultural implications. 

While there may be some detours into poetic form or literary criticism if I find myself stuck for time, I plan for each post to include a poem and then a supplement — some photo, interview, primary source or brief essay with a list of resources — dealing with travel, transportation, migration or movement. The course as I’ve charted it so far will survey not just our local destinations, but also major historical influences on Racine’s culture 

I’ll ride bus routes, take kayak/canoe trips and ride bike paths and reflect on Racine’s industrial legacy with wagons, wheels and small engines. But I’ll also give a brief non-historian’s take on major eras in Racine’s development.

Individual, private vehicular travel and freight transport represent significant economic drivers, particularly as relates alternative fuel sources. Attention on public transit and rideshare options for local (the recently electrified Ryde system) and regional (Amtrak, Wisconsin Coach Lines) travel has increased in recent decades. 

Public causeways, such as sidewalks, bike lanes and trails areas of interest, as is beautification of the throughways. Likewise, our airport, marinas and tourism/hospitality industry are all noteworthy topics, alongside Racine’s industrial connections with wagon production in particular. 

But, looking forward, we face necessary challenges for overcoming these roadblocks to our future. The current transportation infrastructure in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor faces socio-cultural, ecological, economic obstacles. But these challenges have very deep roots. 

Beginning with the indigenous people who were removed from our region following the Indian Removal Act, I’ll also examine French and U.S. settlers of the area and Racine’s industrial legacy as a wagon, wheel and small motor producer, along with the major roadways that ran through Racine connecting the economic behemoths of Milwaukee and Chicago. 

Also of concern for Racine is its role as a destination for Black people escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad. Joshua Glover’s story and its contemporary legacy in Racine thus occupy a significant place in my thoughts on movement in these parts.

Looking at travel in Racine wouldn’t be complete without paying attention to the immigration of Danish and Armenian people in the early 1900s, as well as Black and Latino families who made Racine home between WWII and the 1970s (and the impact of redlining thereupon). 

I likewise want to draw attention to access to safe transportation available to elders, people with disabilities and others who rely on a public transportation system in order to access jobs, services and grocery stores, among other things.. 

Amid the removal and attempted conquest of sovereign indigenous people, the Chicagoland and Milwaukee metro area have since their respective foundings in 1837 and 1846 grown toward a megalopolis while remaining racially and economically divided landscapes. 

Along with the economic growth that has followed from this urban expansion that has kept us teetering but not falling into the precipice below the rustbelt, our home front has seen sharp increases in income inequality marked by disproportionate educational attainment, prison sentencing and community health crises. 

These economic concerns served as the explicit impetus for Racine’s former Mayor Gary Becker’s efforts to begin marketing Racine as an arts community and emphasizing the Uptown neighborhood as a central hub, the effects of which echo in the present upsurge of Racine’s creative class. 

Likewise, these socio-economic conflicts find ecological corollaries in air and water pollution are likewise tied to reduced green space. Moreover, individuals from the most marginalized social groups in our current economic, political and social climate face a mental health crisis, the product of which can be seen in homelessness, drug overdose and suicide rates. 

Local ecological impacts of industrialization and development on our increasingly precious freshwater supply have been well documented and provide an area of concern for local organization Root Pike WIN. Broader ecological impacts on air quality and global climate change have also received attention. 

To address these concerns, I want to highlight indigenous and contemporary ecological wisdom around shared experiences and histories of transportation. By pointing to present and historical points of celebration in Racine’s history as well as the hope that our presence as a central, creative hub in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor without ignoring the injustices and separation toward increasing resilience and strength, I hope to highlight the diversity of voices in our city as well as their unity.

My premise is that if we can surface new narratives about the individual and collective changes needed for a sustainable future and reconcile these with our past, we stand a better chance of moving forward. At the end of the project, I’ll invite everyone to a reading and workshop where we can write poems together.

As we move forward together, I invite anyone reading this to suggest resources that they’d like to see me use in developing more poetic thinking around this theme and its connection to our shared home of Racine, WI.

— NMR 10:56