Milwaukee’s Sherman Park became a model for community building, racially integrated with a neighborhood association strong enough to block a freeway expansion, which would have bulldozed many blocks of handsome homes. Paul Geenen, a longtime resident and community activist, positions Sherman Park at the forefront of Milwaukee’s push for civil rights in the 1960s and brings the story through the present in his highly personal yet researched account. “It is not a place but a lifestyle,” he states, emphasizing the need for hands-on commitment to making cities livable for all of their residents.

Paul Geenen speaks about Sherman Park at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 4 at Washington Park Library, 2121 N. Sherman Blvd.