MILWAUKEE — Thursday marked the 4th day of Hip-Hop week MKE as community members took advantage of a job fair at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee, complete with an on-site DJ.
The city-wide event is meant to celebrate the positive impact Hip-Hop has made in urban communities and focuses on anything from civic engagement to art or financial literacy.
22-year-old Juanan Watts was one of the job fair’s many attendees, trying to find a job that fits. With around 40 potential employers to choose from Watts was confident that he and the friends he brought along would find something to pique their interest.
“I was going to go to college but me going to jail stopped everything, so why not choose a different career,” Watts said. “Instead of sitting down on something and dwelling on the past, you can start a whole new career in something else.”
Jason Thompson works as a workforce outreach specialist with Milwaukee’s Office of Workforce and Development. He said the event was a chance to bring jobs directly to the communities most in need of the opportunities.
“Areas where we’ve recognized that there are high instances of unemployment and also individuals in these communities are disconnected from information about hiring opportunities, who to connect with for job training,” he explained.
Opportunities many like Watts took advantage of on Saturday, with several people choosing to fill out applications on the spot.
“It relates a lot to the black culture, to the young black kids. If they not going to listen to anything they going listen to some hip-hop,” Watts said. “So, if they see the hip-hop week, everybody here getting a job, they go follow the trend like why not get a job instead of doing all that other stuff.”
Hip-Hop week will continue through to Sunday. This year’s event celebrates 50 years since the genre first took the music industry by storm.
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