Here & Now

Black Votes Matter: BLOC's Organizing in Southeast Wisconsin

Frederica Freyberg:

With less than two months until the November election, get out the vote groups have their work cut out for them. “Here & Now” reporter Steven Potter caught up with folks working to increase voter turnout for a specific and somewhat neglected demographic in southeastern Wisconsin.

Steven Potter:

Outreach workers are hitting the streets to get out the Black vote ahead of the November elections.

Miracle Holmes:

I feel like I’m lacking a little education just because I don’t know who to vote for.

Steven Potter:

Voters like Miracle Holmes in Racine welcome the personal time and attention. She says these kinds of interactions are what’s needed in the run up to elections.

Angela Lang:

When you aren’t being engaged, you can’t help but to feel that you’re being ignored.

Steven Potter:

There are nearly 250,000 Black residents in the cities of Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha. Those residents, however, have long said that politicians and their campaigns have neglected Black communities.

Angela Lang:

I think why residents have felt ignored because largely we had been, and I think 2016 proved it.

Steven Potter:

That’s when experts say Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took the Black vote for granted, never visited Wisconsin, and ultimately lost the state. In response to that neglect and to help Black leaders make their voice heard, Angela Lang created the Milwaukee group known as BLOC, which stands for Black Leaders Organizing for Communities.

Angela Lang:

BLOC is a year-round civic engagement organization that launched after the 2016 election. In some ways, people were very frustrated by the lack of engagement. I personally was very frustrated to hear from Democrats and progressives that said if you people would have just come out, we wouldn’t be here. And I thought that was a completely misguided interpretation of the election because our community is some of the most disenfranchised and least engaged, but yet we were to blame. We want to make sure that we’re building long term, Black political power. We want to make sure that people feel that they have access to democracy and that they can fully participate in it because they know how democracy and these institutions function. I think a lot of times we think of civic engagement as just voting when it’s so much more than that.

Steven Potter:

Since its creation after the 2016 election, BLOC has grown to include upwards of 50 so-called ambassadors. Employees out knocking on doors, engaging residents in the community.

Angela Lang:

Our bread and butter is really knocking on doors, meeting people where they’re at, and asking the question, what does it look like for the Black community to thrive?

Steven Potter:

With the success BLOC has had in Milwaukee, the group expanded into the cities of Racine and Kenosha. Javonna Lue is leading the BLOC expansion.

Javonna Lue:

Most of my job entitles building relationships.

Steven Potter:

Building relationships and managing new Racine and Kenosha ambassadors. Lue has her team knocking on doors in these two cities a few times a week. Among the primary issues that BLOC organizers are hearing from Black residents are concerns over affordable housing, safety, inflation, and the need for family-supporting jobs. Lue says it’s important to get out and vote because of all that’s at stake.

Javonna Lue:

Why wouldn’t you get out there and vote? If we don’t get out there and vote, somebody is going to make a decision that doesn’t go with the values that we have.

Steven Potter:

As to voter turnout, it changes from election to election. We talked with UW Milwaukee political science professor Paru Shah.

Paru Shah:

One of the things I think really brought on kind of some concern for the Democratic Party is that the Black voters have been the backbone of that party for a very long time and I think 2020 reminded them that there are times when you cannot take that vote for granted.

Steven Potter:

Although Black residents tend to vote for Democratic candidates, Republicans say they’re welcoming those voters to their side of the political aisle. Ken Brown is chairman of the Republican Party of Racine County.

Ken Brown:

I am excited for more and more Black voter turnout because as I said, we are one of the most diverse cities in America and in the state of Wisconsin and a lot of Black voters are coming in and they’re looking in a different direction. They’re prosperous. We’ve actually had probably 30% of the new businesses that have opened in downtown Racine over the last couple years are Black-owned businesses. They’re working professionals. They’ve invested a lot in those businesses and they want to succeed. And I don’t think socialism, which is where the Democratic Party is today, is going to lead them to that level of success. So I welcome Black leadership to come in and encourage Blacks in our community to look at the issues and look at the candidates and where they actually stand.

Steven Potter:

While BLOC is not affiliated with the Democratic Party, Angela Lang says the group does endorse candidates and for this year’s elections, those have been Democrats. How vital is the Black vote for Democrats in statewide races?

Angela Lang:

There’s no way to win a statewide race without the Black vote, specifically Milwaukee, but then also Racine and Kenosha. If you don’t court our vote, you don’t engage us or we just don’t feel excited enough, then that will risk people staying home.

Steven Potter:

Kyle Johnson is BLOC’s political director. He expects the entire state will be watching southeastern Wisconsin on election night.

Kyle Johnson:

We know Black folks are going to play a super important part. We know we’re going to be the deciding factor and that means we have a lot of work to do to meet that moment and make sure we’re getting our communities out here to vote.

Steven Potter:

For “Here & Now,” I’m Steven Potter in Kenosha.