UW PEOPLE Program and Chancellor’s Scholar Martinez White
Headed for Kenya
Headed for Kenya
Martinex White will spend the next semsester
in Kenya studying and working in an
anti-HIV/AIDS program
in Kenya studying and working in an
anti-HIV/AIDS program
By Jonathan Gramling
They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It wasn’t until he was around 12 years old that
Martinez White, a UW-Madison senior, learned what is father, O. C. White had done in Milwaukee’s
African American community. The elder White was an early radio personality on soul radio station
WAWA in the 1960s and had pushed for the hiring of African Americans by the Milwaukee Metropolitan
Sewage District among other civic pursuits. By the time that Martinez had learned about his father’s
legacy, he was already into his own multi-media thing.
“I don’t want people to think that I shun my father’s legacy, but it is just that all my life, my mom
has given me the freedom to construct who I want to be,” White said during an interview with The
Capital City Hues. “She hasn’t pushed anything on me. She has supported me. She has been by my
side and in front of me sometimes defending me. I would hate for people to attribute my choices to my
father’s choices. But it’s crazy that it is darn near the same. I know my father is proud of what I am
doing.”
Since he came to the UW-Madison campus as a PEOPLE Program Scholar, White has excelled in
his studies and been part of the campus scene. He hosts a Monday night radio show on WSUM and
has served as an emcee for several campus events. White is a UW Chancellors Scholar and a
member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It wasn’t until he was around 12 years old that
Martinez White, a UW-Madison senior, learned what is father, O. C. White had done in Milwaukee’s
African American community. The elder White was an early radio personality on soul radio station
WAWA in the 1960s and had pushed for the hiring of African Americans by the Milwaukee Metropolitan
Sewage District among other civic pursuits. By the time that Martinez had learned about his father’s
legacy, he was already into his own multi-media thing.
“I don’t want people to think that I shun my father’s legacy, but it is just that all my life, my mom
has given me the freedom to construct who I want to be,” White said during an interview with The
Capital City Hues. “She hasn’t pushed anything on me. She has supported me. She has been by my
side and in front of me sometimes defending me. I would hate for people to attribute my choices to my
father’s choices. But it’s crazy that it is darn near the same. I know my father is proud of what I am
doing.”
Since he came to the UW-Madison campus as a PEOPLE Program Scholar, White has excelled in
his studies and been part of the campus scene. He hosts a Monday night radio show on WSUM and
has served as an emcee for several campus events. White is a UW Chancellors Scholar and a
member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
White had been sensitized to the issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic when two people close to his family back in Milwaukee died from AIDS. Last
year, White took Professor David Watkins’ class about HIV/AIDS and he was spurred to take action. “I learned a lot in the class in terms of how
diverse and smart that disease is,” White said. “By getting into people’s cells, it becomes a part of them. When I learned about the whole HIV/AIDS
pandemic, I learned that more than half of the world’s HIV/AIDS population is on one continent. That was ridiculous to me, to know that half of the
folks were on the continent of Africa.”
White had already made up his mind to spend a semester abroad. After that class, he decided to study in Kenya where he will take 17 credits
during an intense six-week period that will apply to the credits he needs for graduation and will work on an anti-AIDS project for six weeks. He will
be departing from Wisconsin August 29 as a member of a group of 30 students — 15 from UW-Madison and 15 from the University of Minnesota —
going on the trip.
While Kenya will be a totally new experience for him — outside what he has heard from a Kenyan he met and an old dorm friend who told him
about her experiences — White is ready to go with a few apprehensions. “The biggest think is the idea of being so far away from home and if I don’t
feel comfortable, nor being able to come back right away,” White said. “I know the culture will be completely different than what I am used to. I was
talking to Alana, the person I met my freshman year and she said the whole culture with clothing, bathing and the way you greet and speak to people
is just different. The food will probably be a lot different too. I’m a light guy myself, so I don’t want to lose what I worked so hard to gain. I know the
food will be differently. I’ve also thought about currency, like money. I don’t want to run out of money while I am over there. I look forward to learning
the culture. I’m kind of like a sponge. I don’t have any apprehension about other cultures and other people’s lifestyles. I really soak it up. So I don’t
have a lot of fears about going abroad. Whatever people do, unless they are trying to hurt me, I’m willing to do it.”
While he is there, White hopes to shoot some video so that he can produce a film about his experience in Africa. This is a natural for someone who
hopes to go to graduate school at the same NYU school where Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese went. “At this point in my life, I really want to be a film
maker, whether it is documentaries or fiction,” White said. “That medium is very powerful. The visual element of film can bring you down. You can
watch a movie and just be ready to go to Kenya. You never know. Anything I do will definitely be in media. But it might spill into politics. I never
know. But as of right now, I want to pursue film as a starter.”
White’s family in Milwaukee isn’t able to help him financially. He has already borrowed money for the plane fare and had to pay $1,000 for his
immunizations. And he will need to provide for all of his incidentals and travel while he is in Africa. He is a struggling college kid who is hoping that
people will invest in him for this trip. “I genuinely want people to know how much my success and my academic achievement and the connections I’
ve made since high school have come from the contributions of other people,” Martinez said. “A lot of it was my work and my doing. But a great
portion of it was the help that I received from other people. And that is the same thing that I am asking for right now, to write a check of investment
in my future and the future of my family and the people I continue to touch.”
Investments in White’s African trip can be sent to Maurice White, c/o Olivia Smith 5035 N. 38th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53209. White can be
reached at mwhite3@wisc.edu.
year, White took Professor David Watkins’ class about HIV/AIDS and he was spurred to take action. “I learned a lot in the class in terms of how
diverse and smart that disease is,” White said. “By getting into people’s cells, it becomes a part of them. When I learned about the whole HIV/AIDS
pandemic, I learned that more than half of the world’s HIV/AIDS population is on one continent. That was ridiculous to me, to know that half of the
folks were on the continent of Africa.”
White had already made up his mind to spend a semester abroad. After that class, he decided to study in Kenya where he will take 17 credits
during an intense six-week period that will apply to the credits he needs for graduation and will work on an anti-AIDS project for six weeks. He will
be departing from Wisconsin August 29 as a member of a group of 30 students — 15 from UW-Madison and 15 from the University of Minnesota —
going on the trip.
While Kenya will be a totally new experience for him — outside what he has heard from a Kenyan he met and an old dorm friend who told him
about her experiences — White is ready to go with a few apprehensions. “The biggest think is the idea of being so far away from home and if I don’t
feel comfortable, nor being able to come back right away,” White said. “I know the culture will be completely different than what I am used to. I was
talking to Alana, the person I met my freshman year and she said the whole culture with clothing, bathing and the way you greet and speak to people
is just different. The food will probably be a lot different too. I’m a light guy myself, so I don’t want to lose what I worked so hard to gain. I know the
food will be differently. I’ve also thought about currency, like money. I don’t want to run out of money while I am over there. I look forward to learning
the culture. I’m kind of like a sponge. I don’t have any apprehension about other cultures and other people’s lifestyles. I really soak it up. So I don’t
have a lot of fears about going abroad. Whatever people do, unless they are trying to hurt me, I’m willing to do it.”
While he is there, White hopes to shoot some video so that he can produce a film about his experience in Africa. This is a natural for someone who
hopes to go to graduate school at the same NYU school where Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese went. “At this point in my life, I really want to be a film
maker, whether it is documentaries or fiction,” White said. “That medium is very powerful. The visual element of film can bring you down. You can
watch a movie and just be ready to go to Kenya. You never know. Anything I do will definitely be in media. But it might spill into politics. I never
know. But as of right now, I want to pursue film as a starter.”
White’s family in Milwaukee isn’t able to help him financially. He has already borrowed money for the plane fare and had to pay $1,000 for his
immunizations. And he will need to provide for all of his incidentals and travel while he is in Africa. He is a struggling college kid who is hoping that
people will invest in him for this trip. “I genuinely want people to know how much my success and my academic achievement and the connections I’
ve made since high school have come from the contributions of other people,” Martinez said. “A lot of it was my work and my doing. But a great
portion of it was the help that I received from other people. And that is the same thing that I am asking for right now, to write a check of investment
in my future and the future of my family and the people I continue to touch.”
Investments in White’s African trip can be sent to Maurice White, c/o Olivia Smith 5035 N. 38th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53209. White can be
reached at mwhite3@wisc.edu.
