Here & Now

Black Leader Sees Narrative Shift Across US, Feels Different

Frederica Freyberg:

It will take all hands on deck to heal our community. That’s in the agenda for the organization Black Leaders Organizing for Communities based in Milwaukee. Just about a month ago we sat down with BLOC’s Executive Director Angela Lang, in the direct aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. Angela Lang joins us again tonight with her thoughts on where we’ve come. Thanks for being here.

Angela Lang:

Thanks for having me. Good to see you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Four weeks ago you said that in prior cases of police brutality against black people, there are these outcries and then a couple of months later, it seems to go back to business as usual. Are we now slipping back into business as usual, or is this outcry enduring?

Angela Lang:

I think it’s enduring. I’m actually really hopeful and really excited to continue to see protests, to see people be in it for the long term. So I’m really grateful for that. I think, you now, we are living in this moment that just feels different from anything else we’ve ever seen before. We’re also seeing how there’s a narrative shift that’s happening all across the country. We’re able to see real changes and real conversations happening in ways that have never happened before. I am so grateful for the protesters to be able to continue to up the pressure. I don’t know what day it is anymore, but it’s definitely been the last several weeks. I think people are in it for the long haul. I think people are going to continue to be outraged. I was just made aware earlier this week about the shooting in the Sheboygan area, the officer-involved shooting, looking to learn more details around that. It just is another example that these incidents and these murders continue to happen and this brutality continues to happen. And as long as that continues, I think the protesters and all of us organizers and activists are really in it for the long haul to really make that substantial change that we’re looking for.

Frederica Freyberg:

In terms of working toward concrete reforms, how would you regard progress on that so far, concrete reforms?

Angela Lang:

Yeah. I think we’re seeing some more immediate solutions right now. I know in the city of Milwaukee the Common Council is evaluating at least a 10% decrease in the police budget for the fall. We are in the very, very beginning stages of the city budget here in Milwaukee. And the fact that the Common Council is evaluating right now a 10% decrease and knowing that those numbers could fluctuate, they could go up, but they set the standard that they’re looking at reduce the police budget by at least 10%. These are conversations that have been happening for years. And we’re really in this pivotal moment where it really feels like a perfect storm and really this opportunity to make concrete changes. I think being able to change what is happening internally with police departments is a very immediate thing. But we really also should be thinking long-term strategies. How are we defining safety as a community? How are we keeping people safe? And what are bigger reforms that we are looking at, whether it’s targeting the police department budget but also on the other hand making sure we’re investing those resources into things like mental health, into youth programs, into transportation so people can have access to living wage jobs. I think those are broader conversations. So I’m really glad to see the initial conversations. But at the end of the day I think people want something that’s long lasting. It’s not just one budget cycle. It’s going to be over several years.

Frederica Freyberg:

Yeah. At the state level there seems to have been so far very little traction on agreement over reforms in this regard. How impatient are people for change?

Angela Lang:

Yeah. I mean, I think people are incredibly impatient and that’s why we’re in the moment we are right now. When you really have to justify your existence as a black person, as a person of color, people are fed up and people are inpatient. And I think people are looking for that tangible solution. People are looking for tangible results and people are looking for leadership. People are making their voices heard, but at the end of the day if our leadership and our legislature, we know the dynamics there, if they’re not willing to act, then I can imagine these protests are going to happen until there’s real change.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, your organization is in the midst of mobilizing the vote in the presidential election. How have the pandemic and response and reaction to systematic racism affected that work?

Angela Lang:

Yeah. It’s definitely been an interesting year for us. We knew we were going to be in for a little bit of a challenge since this is our first year– this is our first presidential cycle as an organization. So this was new for us. But we were ready for the challenge. Layer in the COVID pandemic and layering in the protest, it made things a little bit more interesting how we had to be nimble and get creative. We’ve had to move exclusively to digital. We are texting and phone banking, ramping up our social media presence. We’re doing virtual town halls with candidates that are on the ballot for August. So we’ve had to shift a little bit but our priorities are still the same. We are still looking to have a fellowship start on July 14th. And the theme about that is going to be around voter registration and how to request an absentee ballot. We’re still looking to expand our team, so we’re holding interviews this week specifically to hire more ambassadors. Even though we’re not able to be on doors at this moment the way that we want to, we’re hopeful we’re able to do that later on. We’re using this opportunity as a learning and educational moment. How are we actually being able to connect the dots between history and how we’ve gotten here in this moment. So our team, they get homework assignments, they’re looking up things like black Wall Street. They’re looking up things like gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts in the ’60s and how that is impacting us today. So we’re really trying to paint this full picture with our team about how we got here. This isn’t something that just happened overnight. I feel that when I look at the protesters and I see the protest and the action that’s happening, I feel that it’s mirroring the civil rights era and it’s the closest thing I have seen to any comparison to the civil rights era. And we’re continuing to repeat history. So we want to make sure we’re using this as an opportunity to really connect the dots of policy of how we got here and why it’s so important to make our voices heard in November, too.

Frederica Freyberg:

Great. Angela Lang, thank you for your time once again.

Angela Lang:

Thanks. I appreciate it.