Michael was always knowledgeable about the news and the impact that tragedies had on communities. When a community was hit by natural or man-made calamities, Michael would raise food and resources and lead a caravan to the disaster zone. While on some level, it did create favorable publicity for Michael and the Club, I do believe it was an honest impulse on his part for Michael did care about children and people.

And Michael did use his influence to bring heightened community awareness of the contributions of Black people to the state of Wisconsin. For instance, Frances Huntley-Cooper was the first African American to be elected mayor in the state of Wisconsin until recently. Outside of the Black community — and sometimes within it — that accomplishment went unnoticed. It was Michael who led the effort for the room where the Fitchburg Common Council met — Frances had been both an alder and the mayor — to be named after Frances. It took someone of Michael’s stature to successfully bring that forward as a resident of Fitchburg at the time.

And most importantly, it was Michael who led the effort to have a statue of Vel Phillips erected on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol. Vel had many firsts in Wisconsin including the first African American woman to graduate from the UW School of Law and elected to a statewide office. And of course, it was Vel along with others like Father Groppi who led the fair housing marches in Milwaukee in the 1960s that led to Wisconsin’s open housing laws and freed so many to be able to choose where they wanted to live.

And so it was Michael, along with Vel’s son — also named Michael — who got the job done. And there it stands on the Capitol Square today. I am sure that there are other accomplishments that I am unaware of.

Now as a newspaper publisher, I get information from so many places that I can’t keep track of, especially on Facebook. During the 11 or so days since Michael died, I have seen more than one criticisms of Michael. In some ways, Michael had been a gatekeeper for communities of color, probably given that position by wealthy, mostly white people in the Madison area. And so, Michael made decisions that rubbed people the wrong way or used his position to partially direct how resources were distributed within communities of color in the greater Madison community. And he still had a little of the Chicago streets in him that didn’t go well with other people who were trying to garner resources for their cause.

As one rises in prominence and influence, there are bound to be winners and losers. It’s the nature of the game and I can appreciate how people feel who were on the losing side of that equation. Michael’s and my friendship faded somewhat as Michael rose in prominence. Our time, attention and energy are limited as human beings and so people have to make decisions in terms of what they are trying to achieve. It’s been a while since Michael and I met for breakfast.

Michael was, after all, a human being and I haven’t seen him being raised to the Heavens. That shouldn’t detract from everything that Michael accomplished in Madison and beyond. He did wonderful things for a lot of people and he should be commended and remembered for that. In the complex environment that he existed in as a Black man — no we are not beyond race in this community and nation — Michael did some wonderful things for our children and others.

And so Michael, I mourn your passing and pray that Toya and the children will be able to adjust to life without you. Michael, you’ve done good!