Reading Time: 4 minutes

Monday afternoon brought the Milwaukee community together to honor late baseball icon Henry “Hank” Aaron.

The day’s festivities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new mural featuring Aaron and a proclamation from Mayor Cavalier Johnson recognizing July 20, 2026, as Henry Lewis “Hank” Aaron Day.

Hammerin’ Hank’s history

Aaron, who died on Jan. 22, 2021, spent the first 12 years of his career playing for the Milwaukee Braves, before the team moved to Atlanta.

His love for Milwaukee brought him back to the city to play his last two professional seasons for the Brewers.

“I knew how much he loved this place, this community and these people,” said his wife, Billye Aaron.

Billye Aaron continued to appreciate all that Milwaukee had done for Hank.

“Thank you to each of you for the love that you showed him and for the legend that you continue on his behalf,” she said.

It was in Milwaukee 50 years to the date when Aaron hit the 755th and last home run of his career. At the time it was the most ever hit by a player.

Aaron’s 755 home runs are still the second most hit by a player all-time in Major League Baseball. Brian Anderson, the voice of the Brewers, said Aaron is still the all-time home run king. His monstrous home runs earned him the nickname of “Hammerin’ Hank.”

For those who he impacted, his legend grew beyond just the name of baseball. 

“The number 755 represents much more than a milestone. It represents perseverance, excellence and strength in the face of adversity,” Anderson said.

City figures chime in

Politicians and other public leaders were also in attendance for Monday’s celebration and mural unveiling.

They underlined the importance of celebrating Hank Aaron as not only a baseball player but a Milwaukee icon.

“His legacy reminds us that greatness isn’t measured only by records and awards, it’s measured by character, perseverance and service,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “Those are the values that continue to define our community in Milwaukee.”

Johnson also touched on the vitality of Aaron’s Milwaukee presence.

“It’s a lasting tribute to a man whose story belongs in the hearts of people right here in neighborhoods like this,” he said.

Bud Selig, former commissioner of Major League Baseball, also attended the ceremony. Selig, a friend of Aaron’s for over 60 years, was instrumental in returning baseball to Milwaukee after the Braves left for Atlanta in 1966.

“I will always be very grateful. He was the greatest player of our generation and maybe the greatest human being of our generation,” said Selig.

Inspiring the future with art

The new mural of Aaron unveiled during the ceremony is completely textile fabric. Milwaukee artist Rosy Petri created the piece as a part of a series that celebrates African American cultural contributions through baseball. She interweaved traditional African patterns and used kente cloth. The version that hangs above the Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is an installation version of Petri’s textile art.

“I made it for myself, but I hoped that someday it would end up some place where people could see it, appreciate it and learn from it,” said Petri.

Now, it hangs high in Bronzeville – her own neighborhood.

Throughout her creative process, she said she made sure to portray an aura that doesn’t normally attach itself to Aaron’s legacy.

“They talk about him as a humble man and very down to earth, but I wanted the piece to have some swagger to it,” Petri said.

That swagger plays out in the bold white and black color contrast and Aaron’s stance.

Petri hopes that kids playing baseball in the park across the way can see it and be inspired.

“They’ll know that there was somebody else that came before them and did the thing,” Petri said.

Despite the many years since Aaron crushed his last home run, his figure continues to live and inspire in Milwaukee and beyond. 

“When we celebrate icons like Hank Aaron, we’re not just looking back on history, we’re inspiring the next generation of leaders,” Crowley said. 

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Fifty years after his final home run, Milwaukee honors Hank Aaron with new mural is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Strawberries are one of the most sacred symbols in Oneida beadwork, according to the Oneida Indian Nation’s website. Known as the “heart berry,” they represent creation, healing and resilience.

It’s also one of the motifs Mariah Tyakohelahthè Diaz is most drawn to in her beadwork.

Through her business, Ostalókwa by Mariah, Diaz creates traditional and contemporary beadwork, from custom medallions to jewelry to graduation caps, for clients across Wisconsin and beyond.

“I like to do a lot of strawberries,” Diaz said. “The medallions that I make are more custom, and then the hats, more modern.”

But for Diaz, beadwork is about more than creating art. It’s a way of preserving her culture, honoring her ancestors and sharing her Native American identity with future generations.

Learning from traditions

Raised by her grandparents, Diaz grew up between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

“My grandma used to take me to powwows all the time, and I would love to see all the beadwork,” Diaz said.

Although she was introduced to beading when she was younger, Diaz didn’t begin practicing beadwork professionally until 2020. 

She learned from her aunts, Sharon and Carmen, who taught her traditional beading techniques.

“She was always interested in carrying on traditions,” Sharon Diaz said. “I started her out doing daisy chains, because that’s how I learned, and then from there we went on to earrings, and then medallions.”

For Mariah, learning and practicing beadwork was more than a craft; it was a way to reconnect with traditions that previous generations were not always able to pass down.

“My grandma and my grandpa were raised in Catholic schools, and they really weren’t able to direct us into that stuff,” Diaz said. “That really impacted me wanting to learn how to do it.”

Sharing culture through beadwork

As Diaz’s skills grew, so did the impact of her work.

Among her most meaningful commissions are graduation caps, which have become a way for Native American students to celebrate both their academic achievements and their cultural identity.

Carrying traditions forward

Diaz’s audience and confidence grew after creating pieces for former Milwaukee Bucks player MarJon Beauchamp, who is Native American, and current Bucks star Bobby Portis.

“I made a Bobby Portis medallion a while ago. I actually got to give that to him,” Diaz said. “That really improved my beadwork, and me wanting to do more things for others.”

As Ostalókwa by Mariah continues to grow, her focus remains on preserving Oneida traditions.

“Our beadwork and our way of life is still sacred,” Diaz said. “Taking care of the earth, the water, the community, everything.”

The knowledge and traditions passed from Native American community programs to her aunt Sharon Diaz, then to her, are something she hopes won’t stop with her.

“I’d like to teach the youth, so they learn how to bead, and have something to put their minds to,” Diaz said.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Mariah Tyakohelahthè Diaz is helping carry Oneida beading traditions into the next generation is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Inside a classroom at Milwaukee Marshall High School, the sound of Lego bricks clicking together filled the room as children leaned over tables covered with colorful pieces and half-finished builds.

As they pieced together their creations, Nealita Nelson, the instructor behind the popular Milwaukee Recreation Lego classes, moved from desk to desk encouraging students to keep building. 

Nelson, a Milwaukee native known online as “Builds by Nene,” began teaching Lego-building classes through MKE Rec after appearing on Season 4 of Fox’s “LEGO Masters” in 2023 alongside her brother, Paul Wellington.

Jeff McAvoy, whose 7-year-old son has been attending Nelson’s classes since they began two years ago, expressed his admiration for her teaching style. 

“It comes down to a simple shared interest in Lego and building, but she approaches it with such care and interest in what each of the kids are doing,” McAvoy said.

Nelson’s classes are typically divided by age groups, welcoming everyone from young children to adult builders:

• LEGO Open Build (Designed for ages 3+): Focuses on beginner basics, open building zones and simple challenges.
• LEGO Adventures: Encourages participants to step outside their comfort zones with complex, guided builds.
• Learning LEGO (Designed for ages 13 to adults): Covers the history of Lego, advanced building techniques and creative design.

For Nelson, Lego-building classes are about much more than play or building toys.

“I see the need for help, and I see the need to get these kids out from in front of screens,” Nelson said. “I feel like it was my duty to give back to my community that helped me when I was younger.”

Raised on Milwaukee’s North Side, Nelson and Wellington spent a lot of their childhood building together, before their almost 10-year age gap inevitably drew them apart.

Their close relationship became an advantage on “LEGO Masters,” where the siblings advanced in the competition, becoming third-place finalists.

“We’re both very different people. It helps bring out our best qualities and we’re able to work together well,” said Wellington, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum. “I’m very timid. She pushed me to believe in myself and that led us to succeed.”

The siblings competed again, this time internationally, on “LEGO Masters: Grand Masters of the Galaxy” in Australia in 2025. They also were the first all-Black team in the U.S. version of “LEGO Masters” to win a challenge.

Nelson said they intentionally incorporated a few references to the city and state into their builds throughout the competitions.

“When we were doing the TV shows, we tried to incorporate something from Milwaukee or something that symbolizes Wisconsin as a whole,” Nelson said. “In the first episode, we did the dairy boat.”

While Nelson currently works in health care, she continues to build her public identity through her social media presence and Lego-building classes with MKE Rec.

“I felt like this was my calling, this is my passion. I love Lego,” Nelson said.

Registration for Nelson’s summer Lego-building sessions are open now until the first week of classes on June 22. You can register here.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Nealita Nelson is building community one Lego brick at a time is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Brenda Hines still likes to refer to her son, Donovan Hines, as her “favorite son,” the same way he liked to refer to himself before he was killed on Nov. 13, 2017. 

Donovan was driving near North 29th Street and West Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee when he was struck by a stray bullet and crashed through a fence and into a home in the 4700 block of North 29th Street.

In the months that followed, Brenda Hines said she sank into such a deep, dark grief that she cried daily, unable to eat or work. She even contemplated taking her own life. 

“It took me a while to get out of the state of shock,” Hines said. “It was very difficult, spiritually, for me to come back.”

Now, almost a decade later, she has turned that pain into hope by building The Donovan Hines Foundation of Exuberance Co., a Milwaukee nonprofit that offers consistent, community-based support for families grieving violent loss.

“Exuberance means vibrant. And that’s what Donovan was. He always came out with a smile on his face,” Hines said.

After the unexpected loss of her son, Hines connected with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Project UJIMA, a collaborative, multidisciplinary program geared to stop violent behavior patterns and reduce the number of children hurt by violence. Meeting with Project UJIMA once a month was helpful and inspired Hines to begin her own grief group that met more frequently. 

“Being a person of color, we don’t seek therapy, and we have so much trauma, so much violence going on,” Hines said.

Hines hosted her grief group weekly for about a year, with the support of the late Bishop Sedgwick Daniels of Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ.

“That was the beginning of my healing process,” Hines said. “Not only listening to someone else, but being there for myself.”

Seven months after her loss, Hines was asked to continue her work with The Salvation Army Chaplaincy Program, in partnership with the Milwaukee Police Department. She was asked to serve as a chaplain on a case that hit close to home, helping a family who had just lost their son, who was the same age as Donovan, to suicide. 

“It gave me something to hope for,” Hines said. “That’s when I started coming back out and decided to start having empowerment groups and transformation stuff for grief.”

Ever since then, she’s kept going, growing her nonprofit in any way she can, whether it be through the Summer Meal Program for children, the emergency food pantry or stockboxes for older adults.

“I just kept going and going. I was like, ‘OK, I’m still not doing enough,” Hines said. “The more I help others, it seems like, the more it helps me.”

Hines, along with several other Milwaukee nonprofits, hosted a survivor-led candlelight vigil to join a National Moment of Remembrance in December. The vigil centered on healing and the belief that everyone deserves the freedom to live.

On the hardest days, what keeps Hines going is “God first, my family and the foundation.”

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Turning pain into purpose: How Brenda Hines works through her grief by supporting Milwaukee families is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.