Our kids our future

As we go through our daily lives, we often surround ourselves with people who look just like us. Sometimes it just happens that way; sometimes it is caused by fear of difference.

Diversity is not something that should frighten us, but something we should be enthusiastic about. Being around different people challenges our ideas, affirming them, or questioning what we take for granted. Either way, it makes us stronger and makes our community better.

We wanted to put everyone looking at the exhibit face-to-face with Kenosha’s vibrant and diverse populations.

Taking the results from the last census, we partnered with Frank and Southport Elementary Schools to take photos of students ages 3-10 to reflect the racial make-up of the City of Kenosha. On this wall are the some of the students who participated.

We hope as you look at those faces that you challenge yourself to compare your personal circle of connections and see how it compares to the broader population of the city.

Racial difference is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced.

When asked about their race, rare were the students who could define what it is, most could not even identify their own race. We put these definitions on ourselves and they do more to divide us than bring us together.

To create a true colorblind society, one need to look no further than our kids. May we all be more like elementary school students.

Kevin Poirier

Sponsored by UW-Parkside and photographed by Kevin Poirier wit collaboration from Frank Elementary, Southport Elementary and individual families that allowed us to photograph the future of Kenosha.

The mural was installed in April 2020 on the Empty wall located in the corner of 58th Street and 6th Avenue.