User:Starryzari/sandbox

Marvin Pratt is a political figure who’s most prominent in Milwaukee, WI, where I’m from. Although he has done many interviews, etc., about his life, his Wikipedia page lacks basic information, such as his father’s name or when he graduated high school. It doesn’t mention any of his military achievements or the time he spent in the Army Reserves following his time in Vietnam. There’s limited information about his present day life and I would like to add more to all those sections. I would also like to add a section about media perception.

This topic relates to human rights because Pratt was the firdt black mayor in milwaukee, which is one of the most segregated cities in the United States. This makes him becoming acting mayor an even more surprising acheivement. His life was filled with injustices one wouldn’t know by looking at his Wiki page, and I think this should be changed so his entire story, the good and the bad, can be known not only in Wisconsin but around the world.

Journal Sentinel Interview

The Fall of Marvin Pratt

The third source is already in the biblio

Outline
The Wikipedia article I will be contributing to is the one on Marvin Pratt. Already on the entry is basic information about his run for mayor and some of his activities after the election. There is also basic information about his personal life and how is career first started.

I will be adding:


 * More information about his personal life (The Honorable Marvin Pratt)
 * Media influence on his campaign and general perception (The Fall of Marvin Pratt)
 * What he does currently (Journal Sentinel Interview)

Early Life, Education, and Early Career
Pratt was born on May 26th, 1944 to Leon Pratt, Sr., a United States Naval officer, and Mildred Joyce Pratt in Dallas, Texas. While living in Dallas, he attended a local Catholic school with his twin sister, Reba, until his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1959, following the death of his father in a car accident in 1949. He has two sisters, Gwen and Reba, and a brother, Leon Jr.. Pratt graduated from North Division High School in 1962 and immediately joined the United States Air Force. He was stationed in the Libyan desert during the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged in the mid 60s. He remained a member of the Army reserves until the mid 80s.

When he returned to Milwaukee after his service, he enrolled in Marquette University and gained a degree in political science in 1972. His political career began shortly after, with an internship for then mayor Henry Maier. The first public office Pratt ran for was an alderman seat on Milwaukee's Common Council in 1984, a tense time for race relations in the city. During this year, there was a racial divide over whether or not to rename what was then known as North 3rd Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Despite his loss to Roy B. Nabors in 1984, Pratt won a seat on the Common Council in a special election in 1986. One of his notable victories while serving on the Common Council was the creation of the Resident's Preference Program in 1991, which is described on the official website of the City of Milwaukee website as, "The RPP certification is designed to promote the use of city residents as part of a contractor’s or developer's workforce on certain city-funded construction and private development projects.  Contractors bidding on public works projects and development projects financed with public tax dollars must hire a percentage of RPP-certified City of Milwaukee residents to work on those projects." This program is still in effect today, and has been expanded to include private businesses. By 2000, Pratt was elected the president of the Common Council, "...he was motivated to run after seeing so many vacant boarded up houses never changing in Milwaukee neighborhoods. The city was divided and the city workforce and federal departments didn't represent Milwaukee's population." He held this position until 2004, when he was appointed acting mayor of Milwaukee following Mayor John Norquist leaving office.

Second Draft
'''Zari- Not sure which of these you are planning to use so wasn't sure where to leave feedback; if you want me to review you need to indicate for which with a second draft. Dr. M.'''