Originally published on WISN by Derrick Rose
MILWAUKEE—From the 1980’s, until now, Victor Barnett’s vision has been a marvel in Milwaukee.
“Starting when I was 19; dreaming of what I wanted to do to be able to help Milwaukee, and here we are 43 years later,” Barnett said.
“That’s a lot of lives that we’ve touched; we have a full circle where we point to one young person and their goal is to now pour into other young people.”
The mission he describes is a daily mantra at Running Rebels, a community organization Barnett runs with his wife, Dawn. The mentoring group has a foundation in faith to shape young Black lives with purpose.
“Sometimes young people come to us because they’ve made mistakes. You know, so it’s like, how do I how do I be in this world in all of these things around me and still make different choices,” Dawn Barnett said.
The impact of Running Rebels has spanned 4 decades in Milwaukee. Among its secrets to success are commitment, trust and transparency.
“Sometimes we paint this picture to young people like us adults, we’ve got it all figured out and we were perfect. I just think sometimes being open and honest with them and letting them know that life gets rough, but we got to fight through it,” Victor Barnett said.