A lot of my friends’ kids call me Uncle Izzy,” Isadore Knox, Jr. laughs, the noon sun making his dimpled cheeks brighten during a coffee break from a recreational continuing ed math class. As a 40-year resident and community leader of South Madison, this honorific title is well-earned. A proud grandfather, father, husband and coach, with 36 years in state, county and city government positions, Knox is also current Alder of City of Madison District 14. “My kids say that retirement is supposed to be fishing and watching tv,” he laughs again.
It takes a special kind of person to serve on a Common Council at any time, let alone after a full career. Knox was called to the task by a deep commitment to his neighborhood and its people. “It’s all about family and community,” he says. “When you see that, you know that things are good.”
Knox was raised in inner city Milwaukee in the 1960’s and briefly lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Growing up, he was surrounded by a strong sense of community, and kids understood that there was an expectation to give back. “My brother and his friends would mentor me and the other kids,” he says. Due to the illegal practice of redlining during that time, Knox remembers a unique atmosphere of adult mentors as well. “All the Black professionals lived in the same neighborhood – doctors, lawyers, even a Milwaukee Braves player,” he remembers. Knox’s own dad, a professional photographer and UW-Milwaukee professor, was founder of the Inner City Arts Council in Milwaukee, and influenced the Black is Beautiful movement there as well as the first observance of Juneteenth.
This environment of adult professionals modeling behaviors of success has changed over time in many urban neighborhoods due to suburbanization, along with further disintegration of community through displacement and gentrification. This has led to an urgent need for thoughtful, community-minded development practices and mentorship programs for youth.
After graduating from Rufus King High School, Knox worked in HR for Milwaukee Public Schools where he got involved in district events. He and his wife Cheryl later found a natural fit in Madison’s Southside, where they moved in 1982, when Knox got a job as a prison guard at Waupun Correctional Institution. That early career experience further set the stage for a life in public service and community leadership. “I had to build really honest communication skills and really get to know myself,” he says.
He and Cheryl became involved with youth programs while raising their own five children. Cheryl created the South Madison Panthers Track Club where she still coaches today, while Isadore got involved with the Southside Raiders youth football and cheerleading program, which he eventually co-directed. Knox explains that the 40-year old Southside Raiders recreational program is “really a prevention and intervention program for kids, where they can learn work ethic, pride for community and be mentored in a positive way.” Knox sees the ultimate success of the program in participants being able to navigate high school, especially with the mental health burdens of our post-COVID climate. Many graduates have gone onto successful athletic and professional careers, and some even return to the program as coaches and mentors.
The Southside Raiders mission aligned with the Knoxes’ parental values. “We always told our kids, ‘if it’s not there, create it.’ It’s important for youth to develop self-confidence and pursue goals in a positive way – this world has all kinds of positives,” he says. Education has been important to the Knox family – Cheryl studied at UW-Madison, has a Master’s degree and is pursuing a second one. All five of their children (who now live all over the country), also have at least a Bachelor’s from a four-year university, with two of them attaining or pursuing Master’s degrees.
Knox was led to politics throughout his almost two decades as Equal Opportunity Manager in the Dane County Executive Office. “Working in government always gets you on the track to getting involved in commissions and committees,” he says. Among them were the Civilian Police Oversight Board, Standing Destination District Taskforce and the South Metropolitan Planning Council. Knox first served as Alder from 2005-2007 after which his son turned 14 and he switched his focus to home. His current term came about in a more unexpected way. “I had intended to put my name in as a placeholder but there ended up being a recall because it was so close. They literally pulled my name out of a bag in the end,” he says. This serendipitous opportunity gave Knox the ability to try to make a difference at a crucial time in South Madison’s development.
As he gestures at the Park Street Pick n’ Save grocery store, with the recently built Park Cedar Apartment rental complex next door, Knox notes “We have to be smart about development. Everybody wants affordable housing, but you need grocery stores, parks, transportation and other essential services too.” This vision drives Knox’s focus on what he sees as the two biggest issues facing South Madison today – a major City of Madison budget deficit and a rapid influx of new residents. “Everything is Southside now,” he says. “But we need to make sure everything that is developing is what the community wants and that the appropriate services are there.”
Knox believes that a City budget reduction with a tax break to ensure affordable rental rates, along with careful planning where developers work closely with communities could be the key to healthy, mixed income neighborhoods, where people at all stages of life have access to housing and services that fit their needs. Ultimately, he hopes to see a thriving, diverse, multi-generational community, where people have all they need without having to go elsewhere. “Improved lifestyles, housing, parks with both basketball courts and places for elderly to sit, performances like MSO at Pier Park, a community garden. I see a place where people’s quality of life is improved and taken care of,” he concludes.
