Milwaukee Opioid Crisis Killing Black Men
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the opioid crisis in Milwaukee is disproportionately affecting older Black men, particularly those born between 1951 and 1970.
This demographic has seen a significant increase in drug-related deaths, primarily due to the infiltration of fentanyl into the cocaine supply. The tragic story of Hamid Abd-Al-Jabbar, a peace activist who succumbed to a fatal overdose in 2021, highlights the stigma and challenges faced by this community.
Hamid Abd-Al-Jabbar’s life was one of redemption and service. Growing up on Milwaukee’s North Side, he was exposed to alcohol and drugs at a young age and made dangerous choices as a teenager. At 19, he was imprisoned for a fatal shooting during a drug house robbery in 1988. While incarcerated, he worked on himself and, upon release, dedicated his life to peace activism. He became a violence interrupter for Milwaukee’s 414 Life program, aiming to prevent gun violence through de-escalation and intervention
Despite his outward transformation, Abd-Al-Jabbar struggled with the trauma of his past and did not seek help for his addiction. He died in February 2021 after ingesting a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine.
Between 2018 and 2022, older Black men accounted for 12.5% of all drug deaths in Milwaukee County, despite representing only 2.3% of the population. Their death rate is alarmingly high, being 14.2 times the national average and 5.5 times higher than other county residents. This crisis has intensified since 2022, even as overall drug deaths in the county have declined, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions and support.
Six other Wisconsin counties — Brown, Dane, Kenosha, Racine, Rock and Waukesha — ranked among the top 408 nationally in drug deaths during the years analyzed. But Milwaukee was the only one in Wisconsin where this generation of Black men died at such staggering rates.
In response to this crisis, Milwaukee County has launched a new overdose dashboard aimed at reducing drug-related deaths through real-time data tracking and intervention efforts. The dashboard, introduced by County Executive David Crowley, provides critical insights into overdose trends, including the most common drug combinations and the frequency of Naloxone administration.
The introduction of the dashboard comes at a time when Milwaukee County is cautiously optimistic about a decline in overdose deaths, which fell in 2023 for the first time in six years. However, fentanyl remains a significant concern, linked to the majority of overdose deaths in the county.
Since 2018, over 33,000 Milwaukee County residents have been treated for suspected nonfatal overdoses, and more than 4,500 have died from overdoses since 2016. The dashboard aims to inform public health organizations, researchers, and community stakeholders, helping them to better understand and address the overdose crisis. Officials hope that this tool will serve as a reminder of the power of community collaboration and data-driven approaches in saving lives.
SOURCES
“Milwaukee is losing a generation of Black men to drug crisis”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 3, 2025.
“Milwaukee County’s new overdose dashboard uses data to help mitigate deaths,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 18, 2025.