Here & Now

Equity in Milwaukee

Frederica Freyberg:

During his inaugural ceremony, President Biden spoke out against systemic racism in his call for unity. That call resonates with the leader of Milwaukee County who says, “For years we’ve languished at the bottom as one of the unhealthiest counties in the state. We know that’s in part due to generations of disinvestment from communities of colors and unequally distributed opportunity.” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley looks to new opportunities to create equity. He joins us now and thanks very much for being here.

David Crowley:

Thanks for having me, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

So did you hear what you were hoping to from the new president when it comes to equity?

David Crowley:

I absolutely did. I think when we think about the challenging year we had last year and coming into 2021, when we think about racial equity and getting over this pandemic, it is truer now than ever before. To see this new administration tackling not only this coronavirus pandemic but paying attention to how this has disproportionately affected people of color and when we see the racial inequities that have been exacerbated by this pandemic, this is a breath of fresh air. I think everybody from urban to rural areas.

Frederica Freyberg:

What concrete steps, in your mind, need to be taken to work toward that both at the federal, state and local level?

David Crowley:

Well, I think that’s an excellent question. One, we always have to recognize what is happening, so we have to call a thing what it is. And we did that right here in Milwaukee County by making sure to say that racism was a public health crisis. We’ve been doing exactly that. We’ve been focusing on our first strategic plan in over 20 years to focus explicitly on both health and racial equity. In order to do that, particularly here in Milwaukee County, it’s going to take resources. I think President Biden definitely understands that. And when you think about Milwaukee County specifically, every year we start with about a $20 million deficit. If we want to invest in local priorities, invest in racial equity, it’s going to take resources. That’s one of the reasons why we are creating partnerships here locally, about a 1% sales tax that we’ve been talking about with state officials as well as the governor’s administration, because we have to put our money where our mouth is and we have to focus on three strategic focus areas in my opinion. One, we have to be intentional on who we include to be at the table. It has to be the decision-makers. We have to bridge the gap, making sure that we’re breaking down the barriers and silos that we’ve been operating in as private entities but more importantly as government entities. And we have to put our money where our mouth is and actually invest in equity. And that means putting dollars and resources into communities that have been historically underserved.

Frederica Freyberg:

Because we have been talking about these disparities, especially in Milwaukee for decades. You think these steps will make it different now?

David Crowley:

Absolutely. And I would say that we just finished this week — and I would say this week really gave me hope. We had Dr. Martin Luther King Day on Monday and we had the inauguration this past Wednesday. It’s really about how do we bring this country together, bring our communities together to really have this conversation. If you want to tackle racial equity, I think we’re learning what we’re seeing through this pandemic, it’s going to take all of us being at the table. So whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a union member or a business owner, we need everybody to have some skin in the game and making sure we’re tackling this head-on.

Frederica Freyberg:

Specific to the pandemic, one of the Biden executive orders would create a COVID-19 equity task force. What would you hope would come of that for Milwaukee County, where people of color are disproportionately impacted by COVID and vaccination rates for Black and Hispanic people lag way behind those of white people there.

David Crowley:

When we talk about the vaccination rates, one, we have to educate the community on the efficacy and the safety of this vaccine. This is like myself and other business leaders, community leaders not only educating, but actually going out with a public campaign getting vaccinated themselves. What I would say is when we think about this pandemic and how it’s disproportionately affected people of color, in making sure we have an equitable distribution of the vaccine, I think it’s critically important that we have regional centers, in my opinion. When you think about what local governments and what the state government has to do in order to be prepared to put these shots in people’s arms, we have to rely so much on our federal government for these doses. So I would hope with the president’s ambitious goal of getting 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, I think that is doable, but it’s going to take resources. It’s going to take education and I think a regional approach to this will definitely alleviate a lot of the confusion we have seen as it relates to the vaccine rollout.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is your urgency toward equity in your county and for your people?

David Crowley:

Well, I think there’s a lot. The very beginning you talked about how we’re at the top of a lot of the wrong lists. And so for me, the ultimate goal is getting Milwaukee County to be removed from the list of being one of the most segregated places here in the United States. And this is making sure that we focus on all five determinants of health. But again we have to hold ourselves accountable and we’re doing that and bringing other partners along with us, internally as well as externally. Again, it’s going to take resources. That’s why we are continuously having this conversation about how do we put our best foot forward and gather and leverage resources to invest in the equity and the future we want to see here in Milwaukee County.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, thank you very much.

David Crowley:

Thank you so much for having me.