Name: 'This is organized chaos': How activists Frank Nitty and Khalil Coleman have kept Milwaukee marching for more than 2 weeks
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'This is organized chaos': How activists Frank Nitty and Khalil Coleman have kept Milwaukee marching for more than 2 weeks

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Milwaukee Journal SentinelTo outsiders, it may look disorganized.The determined marchers chanting for justice and peace, the caravan of cars with horns blaring and people leaning out of windows, and the route that swings through Milwaukee, dips into the suburbs and circles back again, a journey that lasts well into the night."This is organized chaos," said Frank Sensabaugh, known as Frank Nitty, the nickname he was given as a teenager.&nbsp;Sensabaugh, 39, has become one of the more distinctive faces — and&nbsp;voices&nbsp;—&nbsp;of the movement in Milwaukee. His&nbsp;long dreadlocks are hard to miss, along with his oversized baseball cap&nbsp;worn just so to the side.&nbsp;, direct from the protest front lines, draw&nbsp;thousands of viewers.But just out of camera view is Khalil Coleman, 33, the key organizer of the largest local daily demonstrations that erupted after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Coleman directs&nbsp;medics,&nbsp;security and traffic control and makes&nbsp;sure a certain order holds."For the 10 hours that we're out there every day, people feel a sense of freedom," Coleman said. "They feel a sense of togetherness, a sense of love, something that they never felt before."Sensabaugh and Coleman see themselves as a team, sort of like Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson, the star player guided by the star coach."He just allows me to be unleashed," Sensabaugh said.Since May 29, they have been at the center of protests in the Milwaukee area. Their marches&nbsp;are designed to instill passion and energy, and connect with many who have lost patience with waiting for change to come through measured means.It's unclear whether the momentum will fade or carry on through the summer.But their message is clear."The agenda is justice," Coleman&nbsp;said. "A lot of people wonder what justice looks like. It can look many different ways, but right now it looks like all power to the people."Sensabaugh was born and raised in Milwaukee and has long lived on the city's north side. His mother worked in real estate, while his father was a postal worker and later a bus driver. His grandfather, David Conner, was the longtime coach of the Silver Spring Spartans track program.Sensabaugh emerged as an activist in 2016 during the unrest at Sherman Park, decrying violence while also live-streaming protests ignited by the fatal police shooting of&nbsp;Sylville Smith, 23. He has a keen grasp of&nbsp;social media. If there is a march or rally against injustice, he will be live streaming, bearing witness. In many ways, that's his role, to provide his perspective on what he sees in the world around him.Coleman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved here as a 1-year-old with his mother and his sister. He has&nbsp;lived in various parts of the city. His mother was an&nbsp;order filler at a J.C. Penney warehouse.He engages people, finds out what they need and motivates them to get it. He shaped Occupy the Hood in Milwaukee, which grew out of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here, the focus was on economic opportunity and problems between Milwaukee police and some members of the African American community.With other partners, an early violence-interrupter program in which ambassadors intervene in disputes between neighbors.&nbsp;Through contracts with local schools, . He has self-published short stories that describe&nbsp;the lives of young people&nbsp;living in the inner city and striving to rise above poverty and violence.He has marched for who died in police custody in 2011, and for&nbsp; in Red Arrow Park in 2014. He became one of the founders of the Coalition for Justice, which led protests after Hamilton's death."All of my work is around social issues and social justice," Coleman said.Over the last decade, the community activists have carved out a niche in Milwaukee."I know them well," said state Sen. Lena Taylor, a Milwaukee Democrat. "They have just done the work to keep people peaceful and organized. They have an awesome organization."Taylor said they give the unheard a voice."They're willing to go all in for the community," she said. "They don't get paid for this."Coleman said people have donated to the marches&nbsp;with contributions used to "sustain ground support with traffic, medics and security."Over the years, Sensabaugh and Coleman&nbsp;have grown close to They refer to him as "Pops."Ellis said Sensabaugh is "determined, smart, intelligent,&nbsp;tender, a warrior for sure," and&nbsp;was effusive in his praise for Coleman."I'm proud they're brave enough to take a stand," he said.During these protests, Sensabaugh and Coleman have seized the moment.It began May 29, when another activist, Vaun Mayes, called for a rally to remember Floyd and raise awareness on local criminal justice issues.After the speeches ended, Coleman led the crowd on a march around the city. They stopped at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where Coleman and around 50 protesters went inside."We were locked in the courthouse," Coleman said. "That's when Frank Nitty and the remaining protesters rallied outside the courthouse for us to be free."They have remained focused and determined to get their message out in a peaceful way.&nbsp;But there have been several flareups, including a confrontation at the District 5 police station in the early hours of May 30, Several nearby businesses were looted.On June 2, as protesters attempted to make their way on to the Hoan Bridge, , arrested and later released. He said he has a meeting scheduled with prosecutors. Sensabaugh has said an officer told him he was being investigated for felony charges of resisting arrest.Sensabaugh shows off scrapes he says are from the incident, including an inch-long&nbsp;scar on his right arm from a cut that needed stitches to close.&nbsp;Coleman said security had to be increased&nbsp;after they heard of threats against Sensabaugh.After the early days of protests, the pair came up with different strategies for vehicles and moving crowds along after the demonstrations were finished."We have a whole team of people that control transportation and traffic control from the front all the way to the back," Coleman said. "We work on radios. We have a whole medic team that is out there night and day. We have two medic trucks, they do CPR, they do trauma. We have a security detail."As they have wound around the city and into the suburbs, they have been astonished by the reception and heartened that the marches have been multi-racial and multi-generational.They brought their message to Shorewood, to Whitefish Bay, to Brookfield."We were trying to irritate everybody and now everybody's like cheering for us, getting pictures and that's crazy," Sensabaugh said.He has wept openly several times during the protests, overwhelmed when kids came up to&nbsp;show pictures they drew of him.Sensabaugh has also courted controversy when he used an LGBTQ slur on his Facebook Live posts.He has apologized, expressed regret and promised to change."I'm not trying to be an offensive person," he said.Sensabaugh and Coleman&nbsp;have had numerous minor scrapes with the law, most of them traffic-related. Between them, the two have more than 40 municipal citations and other infractions over the past dozen years.&nbsp;Notably, Sensabaugh was found guilty of loitering and illegal drug activity in 2017 and was fined $699.&nbsp;"After awhile, it's mentally draining, you become afraid of the police," Sensabaugh said. "You become nervous when you see them."Coleman's record includes citations for assault and battery and resisting an officer.&nbsp;In 2011, Coleman was convicted of marijuana possession and bail jumping, both misdemeanors. He spent five days in the House of Correction and was fined $510."I've been targeted the whole nine," Coleman said. "I'm Khalil Coleman, I'm going to stay Khalil Coleman. I think the justice system is flawed. I think there's a lot of people who are in jail or go to jail for issues they shouldn't."They have no end date for the protests."We don't want to go away from original and organic," Coleman said. "We want people to have an identity in this movement."Ask them about an ultimate destination, a list of demands they want met, and they speak of seeking changes with the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission and changes in police training and protocol.But they don't want to get locked into a negotiation that will sap the energy they have created."To come to the table too early and to start negotiating is only a way to get people to stop being in the streets," Coleman said. "And our biggest focus right now is to stay in the street."They want to keep up the momentum."They're engaging in peaceful protest and they're committed to peaceful protest and they understand the impact of getting in&nbsp;the streets and getting to people where they are," said state Rep. David Bowen, a Milwaukee Democrat."They know the value of agitation," Bowen added. "They are not going to let people forget the fact that things have&nbsp;not changed. Everything is intentional."With the fall election on the horizon, the&nbsp;focus may eventually turn to getting protesters involved in the electoral process.Sensabaugh is not currently registered to vote and has not cast a ballot since 2012.Coleman is registered and has voted in recent elections, according to state records. But he didn't vote in any contests between 2010 and 2017, including the last presidential race.This year, they vow they will go to the polls."When you unify the people, it's different," Sensabaugh said. "Now, we can vote. When I vote, that's one thing. When he votes, that's one thing. But now, the new Milwaukee group, all these people we have galvanized together. We can vote. And when we can vote, you can't ignore that."Journal Sentinel reporter Ashley Luthern and columnist Daniel Bice contributed to this article.

Milwaukee Journal SentinelTo outsiders, it may look disorganized.The determined marchers chanting for justice and peace, the caravan of cars with horns blaring and people leaning out of windows, and the route that swings through Milwaukee, dips into the suburbs and circles back again, a journey that lasts well into the night."This is organized chaos," said Frank Sensabaugh, known as Frank Nitty, the nickname he was given as a teenager.&nbsp;Sensabaugh, 39, has become one of the more distinctive faces — and&nbsp;voices&nbsp;—&nbsp;of the movement in Milwaukee. His&nbsp;long dreadlocks are...

'This is organized chaos': How activists Frank Nitty and Khalil Coleman have kept Milwaukee marching for more than 2 weeks

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