A Regional Engine for Equity, Policy Innovation, and Collective Action

GLUE: Great Lakes Urban Empowerment Center

GLUE is a regional policy, advocacy, and collective impact organization working to transform the trajectory of Black and Brown communities in America’s legacy cities – Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, and beyond.

These cities are rich in talent and culture, yet consistently rank among the lowest in the nation for economic opportunity, health outcomes, and educational attainment for Black and Brown residents. This is not by accident – it is the result of structural racism, economic disinvestment, and policy neglect.

GLUE exists to change that.

We connect scholars, faith leaders, community organizers, business leaders, and policy practitioners across deeply segregated and siloed cities. Our mission is to:

  • Analyze shared regional inequities through data, history, and lived experience

  • Amplify grassroots innovation and leadership

  • Advance regional policy, institutional change, and collective impact

Our vision is bold but simple: a Great Lakes region where Black and Brown communities lead a renaissance of democratic, economic, and human flourishing.

Grounded in Foundational Research

GLUE’s strategy is informed by the foundational work of three key scholars and strategists:

  • Mr. John C. Austin – Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Chair of the Michigan State Board of Education. His report, Renewing the Great Lakes Region, outlines an inclusive strategy for economic revitalization rooted in regional assets and racial equity.

  • Dr. Marc V. Levine – Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Founding Director of the Center for Economic Development. His research on hypersegregation and racial inequality in Milwaukee offers a data-driven indictment of systemic disinvestment and policy failure in legacy cities.

  • Dr. Henry Louis Taylor Jr. – Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo. His extensive work, including Reconstructing Race and the City, centers the voices of marginalized Black communities in urban planning and redevelopment.

These insights form the intellectual foundation for GLUE’s belief that real transformation must be structural, not symbolic.

Our Milwaukee-Based Model

Milwaukee is GLUE’s proving ground. Here, we serve as the backbone organization for several major collective impact initiatives:

  • Black Men Organizing (BMO) – A fast-growing mobilization of over 400 men across Milwaukee, committed to brotherhood, organizing for power, and building for action.

  • My Brother’s Keeper Milwaukee – In partnership with the Obama Foundation, GLUE provides infrastructure, strategy, and sustainability support for citywide systems change on behalf of Black and Brown boys and young men.

  • MIRACLE Mental Health Network – Now in its 13th year, this initiative reduces stigma, advances trauma-informed community healing, and expands access to culturally responsive mental health education.

GLUE also supports the 30+ year-old Milwaukee Area Technical College African American Network (AAN)–an employee-led advocacy group advancing racial equity for Black students and staff.

These aren’t symbolic affiliations. They represent our core function: providing backbone support to visionary local work that deserves regional scale and national attention.