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pushed both the city’s police and fire department to acknowledge the chang- ing demographics of Milwaukee and to demand both departments have person- nel including those in leadership that reflect the demographics of the commu- nities it serves. Franklyn Gimbel, who worked as a commissioner with Brother Gore for five years, said his “combination of principles and morality and his guts” made him a successful leader who could handle the challenges of the job. Brother Gore affiliated with the Mil- waukee (WI) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi ® and held life memberships in the fraternity, the Morehouse College Alumni Association, and the NAACP. A 50 plus year member of St. Mark AME Church, he served as a trustee and a Sunday school treasurer for more than 40 years. He was also a 33 rd Degree Prince Hall Mason and served as a director and vice chairman of Colum- bia Savings & Loan Association. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, three daughters Cecilia Gore, Patricia-Ann Hopkins-Solone and Celeste Gore, one granddaughter and sister Annie Mae Gore.
and Police Commission where he served for 15 years including nine as chair- man. African Americans, Hispanics and women made up 4% of the police force and 2% of the fire department when he started on the commission. By the time he left in 1988, minorities made up 16% of police and 11% of the fire depart- ment. Early in his tenure, he challenged the police and fire department’s hiring practices which left him at odds with department chiefs and elected city of- ficials. “At points, we took positions that were opposed by every imaginable sector. At some points by elected officials; ... at points by certain members of the public; and at other points by administrators and unions,” Brother Gore told The Milwaukee Journal in 1988. His work on the commission also fo- cused on bridging divides between the city’s African American community and the police department. In a 1981 New York Times article on Milwaukee and race relations, he expressed, "The attitude of the police seems to be that it is us against them. There are few Black officers, none above the rank of sergeant and no Black com- manders, so the Black community views the police as an occupying force.’’ He
During his time at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex, Brother Gore continually worked to increase access to the community's mental health services to the poor.
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