Announcer:

The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Robert Brooks:

We’ve reached an agreement here in the Assembly on the Brewers package.

Frederica Freyberg:

A flurry of activity in the state Capitol, including a new deal to update the Brewers’ baseball stadium in an effort to keep the team in Milwaukee. Plus, Wisconsin reaction on the deadly conflict in Gaza.

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” two members of Congress join us with their thoughts on how to proceed on the deadly and developing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and we ask them about the hunt for a new House speaker. Then, a round-up of a busy week in the state legislature. Also tonight, we learn about a program that aims to increase Black homeownership. It’s “Here & Now” for October 20.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

The horror continues to unfold, now nearly two weeks after Hamas terrorists launched a deadly surprise attack in Israel. President Joe Biden seeks $100 billion in military and humanitarian aid, including for Israel and Ukraine. Meanwhile, leadership in the House of Representatives, which would have to vote on that aid package, has been in chaos. The Republican majority has struggled mightily to elect a speaker. On this, we head to Washington now for a check-in with members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation on this developing situation on two fronts. First, we talk with Wisconsin sixth congressional district U.S. Representative Republican Glenn Grothman. Congressman, thanks very much for being with here.

Glenn Grothman:

Happy to be on the show.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you and the rest of the Wisconsin delegation continue to support Representative Jim Jordan in multiple failed votes for speaker. Minus Derrick van Orden, who we know is absent because he is now in Israel. What is your response to being part of this disarray, really, that has left U.S. government unable to fully govern?

Glenn Grothman:

The problem is, I think leadership over a period of years, and maybe they couldn’t have done anything different, failed to instill in the Republicans the idea that you have an internal vote first, a paper ballot vote, a secret vote between people who want to be speaker. And then the person who wins that vote, every single Republican is supposed to stick behind them on the floor so we can go ahead. Unfortunately, in the last week or so, there are a given number of people who would not vote for Kevin McCarthy, the speaker. I voted for him. There were a given number of people who would not vote for Steve Scalise, who was the majority leader right under the speaker. We did not take that vote to the floor, but 10 to 15 people made a credible threat that they would not vote on the floor so Steve Scalise withdrew. The third man up was Jim Jordan, and we’ve now given him three votes, which quite frankly is more than enough votes, and he lost, 20, then 22, then 25 votes. So your listeners understand that if they lose more than three votes, they don’t have the votes to govern. And like I said, I think it comes down to a lack of preparation from the beginning. I think of the eight people who voted against Kevin McCarthy, I believe only one of those eight was around when I got to Congress just a few years ago. So I think they’ve done a really bad job of educating the freshmen on the idea behind team play.

Frederica Freyberg:

A House vote would be needed for the $100 billion military and humanitarian aid package to include Israel and Ukraine that President Biden is seeking and spoke to in an address to the nation Thursday night. What is your support for that kind of aid package?

Glenn Grothman:

There are two parts to it. First of all, we do have to get aid to Israel, but we also have to realize that we’ve got to make it clear to Joe Biden, we’re not taking these Palestinian folks in America as refugees. They have been raised from early on to hate Jews in general, and Egypt, which is the obvious place for these people to go, will not take them. I think they won’t take them because they know very well who they’d be getting. So we don’t want these Gaza people showing up here, much less a million of them. With regard to Ukraine, I voted for Ukraine packages six times in the past, but the Biden administration is not trying to negotiate an end here or they’re not deputizing the Turks or the French or somebody to work towards an end. The Biden administration – this thing has been going on for about a year and a half – and I think they’d be happy if it went on another year and a half without making any steps towards peace. Somehow, we’ve got to send the message to the Biden administration that we want peace in Russia and they are doing, from what I can tell, nothing. I’ll also point out when the Russia-Ukraine war started, it seems like every six weeks or couple months, we received private briefings from the relevant people in the Biden administration as to what was going on. We have not received a briefing on what’s going on in Ukraine since before Christmas. So for whatever reason, the Biden administration is not talking to Congress and that’s another reason to vote “no” for now until they let us know what’s going on there.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you are saying with less than 30 seconds left, that you would vote “no” on this military and humanitarian aid package?

Glenn Grothman:

I wouldn’t call it military and humanitarian but like I said, the two things we want is some effort from the Biden administration to work towards peace and some guarantee they’re not going to open up the doors and give us a million Palestinian refugees.

Frederica Freyberg:

Representative Glenn Grothman, thanks very much.

Glenn Grothman:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Next, we turn to second congressional district U.S. Representative Mark Pocan, who has called for a ceasefire of hostilities against civilians in the war between Israel and Hamas to pave the way for robust aid in an unfolding humanitarian crisis. He joins us now. Thanks very much for being here.

Mark Pocan:

Yeah. Thank you, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

First, in the face of war and humanitarian crisis, the House of Representatives Republican majority is in chaos. How does their struggle to elect a speaker affect the U.S. response in Israel?

Mark Pocan:

Well, it affects anything that we can do in Congress. We can’t pass any legislation on the floor until we have a speaker, by our rules, and because of that, until we have a speaker, we’re a bit paralyzed. Now, action happens often at the administration level so the president is acting and doing what we need to in the immediate situation, some world events, but we do need Congress to pass funding and other issues that are going to have to happen and you can only do that when the Republican caucus becomes less chaotic and can select a speaker.

Frederica Freyberg:

Did President Biden address last night what you think is needed in terms of supplemental military and humanitarian aid funding?

Mark Pocan:

Well, what we need absolutely is funding for humanitarian needs in particular. I think that figure is going to have to be much more substantial than we’ve seen in the past given world events, and I think that’s really important, because that is an important part of how the U.S. is positioned in the world, is that kind of — showing that compassionate values of our country. And then there will also be additional military assistance for Ukraine, they’re proposing for Israel and some border funding and other things. There’s also going to be another domestic supplemental that will have money for things like childcare and other issues. So those are two things that Congress does have to act on which is, again, all the more reason why we need to have a speaker, so that we can do that. Short of that, some of those funds cannot be expended.

Frederica Freyberg:

You’ve called for cessation of hostilities towards civilians in the region. What are your urgent concerns about what’s happening right now?

Mark Pocan:

There’s no question. This was a horrific attack by a terrorist organization, Hamas, and the price has to be paid. I don’t blame Israel in going after Hamas. The problem is what we’re seeing is not going after strategically Hamas. We’re seeing a collective punishment, it appears to be, of all Palestinians in Gaza. There are 2.2 million people. Clearly, they are not all Hamas. Half of them are children. And we’ve seen thousands plus now of people dead, including children, and the amount of bombing, the type of places that are being bombed, the very broad attack is not a targeted attack going after Hamas, and that’s why we want to stop the cessation of this — in regards to civilians in particular, and the only way that you can ensure that people aren’t being just punished is to do that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Just speaking with Republican Glenn Grothman, he and others call to close our borders to Palestinian refugees of what’s your response to that?

Mark Pocan:

It’s credible xenophobic. I mean, obviously, not all Palestinians are members of Hamas, by an unbelievable amount, and Hamas doesn’t necessarily represent the Palestinian people. In fact, they’ve had people in Gaza under quite tough conditions with their governing in that area, combined by the inability for people to come and go because of Israel and Egypt on the borders has really made this, in many ways, an open-air prison for 2.2 million people. For a long time, I’ve talked about Gaza for years. I’ve twice been denied when I’ve been there to get in. I just recently gotten permission from Israel to go. I would be the first member in 10 years to be able to go and then this happened. It’s been an issue that’s been brewing for a long time but clearly a horrific attack like occurred is wrong at any level. There’s no justification whatsoever. But having the overresponse that’s happening, including people saying no Palestinians should be able to come, that’s a ridiculous statement and it really shows I think an unawareness of what’s actually happening on the ground.

Frederica Freyberg:

Representative Mark Pocan, thanks very much for joining us.

Mark Pocan:

Sure. Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Turning to state Capitol news, it was a busy week in legislative business. The state Assembly passed a $545 million plan for renovation of the Milwaukee Brewers stadium to keep the team in the city through 2050.

Robin Vos:

This is a bipartisan deal that focuses on making sure that we are going to get more revenue coming into the state to spend on programs that people consider to be important than if the team left.

Frederica Freyberg:

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, as cochair of the legislature’s Employment Committee, also approved a pay raise for state employees, but not for UW staff because of its diversity, equity and inclusion positions.

Robin Vos:

I would love to outlaw DEI and be as aggressive as we possibly can be, but again, trying to find a middle ground, trying to make sure that the situation does not get worse than where it is now.

Frederica Freyberg:

On the Senate side, the Republican majority passed a $2 billion income tax cut and expanded childcare credits in answer to Governor Tony Evers’ call for a $1 billion workforce package. Evers is expected to veto the Republican proposal. Meanwhile, this week, the governor announced he would use $170 million in federal pandemic relief money to keep the Childcare Counts program until 2025. The Senate also voted to fire eight appointees Evers nominated to boards, including the majority of members on the natural resources board, an elections commissioner and the chair of the medical examining board. Evers called it insanity and immediately replaced those rejected with new appointees.

Turning now to our series of special reports on race, with “Wisconsin in Black and White” in partnership with the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development. Last week, reporter Nathan Denzin explored the legacy of urban renewal programs and fair housing protests. Tonight, we take a look at what organizations around Wisconsin are doing now to help Black people build toward a better future. Here’s the next installment of “Wisconsin in Black and White: Racial Wealth Gap. ”

Nathan Denzin:

Historical wrongs like blatant housing discrimination in Wisconsin.

1960s landlord:

I am sorry. We don’t feel that we can rent to colored people.

Nathan Denzin:

The Federal Fair Housing Act is supposed to protect renters or buyers from discrimination based on a number of protected classes, including race. However, discrimination in the housing market has persisted in the 55 years since it became law.

White housing tester:

Is as or more prevalent today than it has been in the past.

Black housing tester:

The discrimination is a reality. It’s not hypothetical, it’s not theoretical. It still happens; it’s just more subtle.

Nathan Denzin:

These two people, one white and one Black, test for discrimination in housing as a part of Wisconsin’s Fair Housing Council, a nonprofit that ensures realtors and landlords follow the law. They have been made anonymous to ensure they can continue to test.

1960s landlord:

Well, I’m not gonna rent it to you.

1960s renter:

I’m sorry?

1960s landlord:

I’m not gonna rent it to you.

Nathan Denzin:

This 1961 film was recorded in Madison at the height of segregation, but it was hidden by the University of Wisconsin and never shown to the public until 2021. Flash forward to today.

Black housing tester:

In today’s time, it’s probably more subtle, but they’ve already concluded that they’re not gonna rent you the apartment.

Nathan Denzin:

The two testers from the Fair Housing Council recently toured the same apartment building and found discrimination based on race.

Black housing tester:

I went to an apartment building. I asked if a unit was available October. They said nothing was available.

White housing tester:

Yeah, they did show me more than one apartment, so they were very, very eager to show me around.

Nathan Denzin:

However, the Black tester had a different experience.

Black housing tester:

But I never saw the actual unit because it wasn’t available.

White housing tester:

One thing I remember clearly about this is that they were just so engaging and they repeated, like, two or three times over, you know, the amenities that they had.

Black housing tester:

Then the person made a slip-up and said, “Well, there was something available in October, but that’s gone now.” And so then you become aware of, like, what’s going on in the back of your mind.

Nathan Denzin:

On top of discrimination by landlords, lenders like Associated Bank in Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha were part of a recent $200 million redlining settlement. A federal complaint in the case alleged the denial of mortgages to Black and Hispanic applicants.

Reggie Jackson:

Many banks have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, giving Black and Latino borrowers different loans than they give whites.

Nathan Denzin:

Reggie Jackson educates people about diversity. Jackson noted that despite the Fair Housing Act, the Black home ownership rate has not improved much since 1968. Ranell Washington says that shuts Black families out of the ability to create generational wealth.

Ranell Washington:

Housing is the cornerstone to the beginning of a financial journey.

Elmer Moore, Jr.:

There have been laws and policies that created some of the disinvestment, the plight, and the wrong that we’re experiencing today. Even if those laws were changed 50 years ago, the consequences of them are still absolutely present.

Nathan Denzin:

Elmer Moore, Jr. and Ranell Washington play critical roles in the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

Elmer Moore, Jr.:

It’s about trying our best, honestly, to correct some historical wrongs.

Nathan Denzin:

The duo cares deeply about evening historical gaps caused by housing discrimination. They provide affordable loans, rental units, and mortgages to low-income individuals. Plus, they invest in future housing or business projects.

Elmer Moore, Jr.:

There’s 147,000 families who’ve been able to buy homes across the state because of the mortgages WHEDA made available, and they might not have otherwise been able to afford those things.

Ranell Washington:

Making really intentional decisions to spur affordable housing development in our inner-city communities is one of the ones that we definitely have a lens on.

Elmer Moore, Jr.:

That’s sequestering some resources and intentionally investing in Black communities. It’s the right thing to do.

Nathan Denzin:

WHEDA has funded developments in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood, including The Griot, which fashioned apartments out of an old schoolhouse.

Elmer Moore, Jr.:

It brought new businesses. It obviously brought new residents. It also does things like plants new trees.

Ranell Washington:

Housing is that cornerstone, and from that, I can have conversations about aspiring to be an entrepreneur.

Nathan Denzin:

Building equity in your house can spur the creation of a second way to build wealth: your own business. And while Black-owned businesses have seen an uptick in recent years, there is still a large disparity between Black and white-owned businesses in Wisconsin.

Sabrina Madison:

And our work does what lots of folks don’t do, primarily, is to center the needs of Black women.

Nathan Denzin:

Sabrina Madison is the founder of the non-profit Progress Center for Black Women in Madison.

Sabrina Madison:

The first level that I really wanna see is Black folks having more power in their pockets. And I always go with the fact Black women in Dane County on average in 2016 earned 57 cents on every dollar made by white men. I wanted to give Black women another option to be successful.

Nathan Denzin:

To help close the gap, the Progress Center provides Black women with programming that includes financial health, professional development, and entrepreneurship.

Sabrina Madison:

Oftentimes, programming is very piecemeal, where you gotta go to one side of town for this, you gotta go somewhere for that, you gotta wait on a phone call for this other thing. And we wanted to sort of, like, center all of your needs in one space.

Nathan Denzin:

Madison says her foundation has helped hundreds of women create their own business or secure a better job.

Sabrina Madison:

I absolutely wanna see the rest of the state, but more importantly, Madison and Milwaukee extend its Black leaders through wealth creation because with wealth, you have more power.

Nathan Denzin:

Despite the work of WHEDA and the Progress Center, Madison says everyone has to buy in to make Wisconsin a more equitable place.

Sabrina Madison:

So these visions that Black folks have for their lives as Wisconsinites, ’cause we too are from Wisconsin and we too live here, that you want to also be part of this vision and see this vision expanded.

Nathan Denzin:

While that vision might take years to be realized, Madison says the work starts today. For “Here & Now,” I’m Nathan Denzin.

Frederica Freyberg:

Our “Wisconsin in Black and White” series on the racial wealth gap focused on the barriers to homeownership for people of color in Wisconsin. Special project journalist Murv Seymour launched the project and tonight has this report on work in two cities to get people into their own homes, starting first in Milwaukee.

Teacher:

The city of Milwaukee has a $5,000 grant but you have to live in the city of Milwaukee.

Murv Seymour:

School is always in at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Teacher:

The minimal credit score requirement to get preapproved for a home loan is 620.

Murv Seymour:

On this day –

Teacher:

Make sure that you’re paying your bills on time.

Murv Seymour:

Members of the Men of Color Initiative, a mentoring group that helps Black and brown men get through college learn about the ins and outs of what it takes to become a homeowner.

Teacher:

You need to show that you’ve been working for six months to a year.

Murv Seymour:

The goal is to encourage and educate students like Jeremiah Crawford to become homeowners sooner rather than later.

Jeremiah Crawford:

I think homeownership for the Black community is a dream that many don’t believe they can achieve.

Teacher:

When I bought that duplex, I was not making a lot of money at all.

Jeremiah Crawford:

It’s more than just having a place to stay. It’s about building your future. You don’t want to have to continue to rent from someone and paying their mortgage when you could be paying your own mortgage.

Sara Alvarado:

The Alvarado Real Estate Group is a small brokerage.

Murv Seymour:

From a small office just down the street from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, owners of Alvarado Realty Group look to change the game in real estate.

Sara Alvarado:

We are unapologetic about supporting Black and brown homeownership.

Murv Seymour:

They do it by putting their mouth where their money is. Sarah Alvarado candidly admits growing up, she thought everyone had an equal path towards owning a home.

TV announcer:

At last, the Bryants have all the space they need. Big floor-to-ceiling closets for each member of the family.

Sara Alvarado:

If your parents go to college, you just assume you’re going to go to college. If your parents have a house, you assume you’re going to have a house. So it wasn’t until I started working with people who were like, “Oh, my gosh, to own a house is my dream. ”

Murv Seymour:

Historians and housing experts openly acknowledge for too long federally run, race-based policies like redlining and overall discrimination have systemically kept homeownership out of reach for most Black and brown families.

Sara Alvarado:

Dane County numbers, it’s 15% of families that are Black or brown own homes compared to 65% of white families. In 1968 when they had the Fair Housing Act and then they were like, okay, now no discrimination, Black and brown people go ahead and try and catch up to this accumulation of wealth in these neighborhoods that have been segregated on purpose and these school districts that have been segregated on purpose, how is that possible without their — without there being a plan of some sort?

Murv Seymour:

Sara and her husband’s plan is called OWN IT: Building Black Wealth.

Sara Alvarado:

It is a down payment assistance program with an education aspect to it.

Murv Seymour:

In a partnership with One City Schools where more than 85% of the students are Black and brown, OWN IT funds a $15,000 payment towards a home for any One City teacher or parent.

Sara Alvarado:

We’re about learning and teaching about wealth building because wealth building in itself is critical and there are lots of different ways to do it.

Murv Seymour:

Fueled by a growing number of real estate professionals, investors, homeowners, and anyone who wants to change the narrative, contributions and proceeds from home sales drive OWN IT.

Sara Alvarado:

We get a lot of contributions within the real estate industry and within the community. We’ve had sellers who, at the time of closing, write a check. Sometimes it’s a thousand dollars.

Murv Seymour:

Meet Jodie Pope and her son, Cameron.

Jodie Pope:

We knew nothing as children, really, about homeownership. When you put your fingers on there, what does it do?

Murv Seymour:

Since OWN IT took launch in 2020, the Sun Prairie single mom is one of 10 families in the Madison area who now proudly owns and no longer rents because of the program.

Jodie Pope:

Homeownership is significant. It was an emotional process because I almost didn’t get the keys. This was my seventh offer.

Murv Seymour:

We met with Jodie days away from the one-year anniversary of her move-in.

Jodie Pope:

It’s ours so it gives you a sense of pride, a sense of ownership. I’ve kind of leaned into my projects and I’ve hung drywall. I’ve painted. My son and I are social and I love to be able to host people over here. No one can tell you to leave. No one can tell you what you can do. You can paint the wall. You can put Steph Curry stickers all over the wall and on the ceiling fan.

Murv Seymour:

His mom says gradually Cameron is getting more comfortable in their new community.

Jodie Pope:

My son can walk to school. He never has had the neighborhood experience of having friends that live two and three doors down. Being able to provide that stability, to go to the same school for your entire life, from here out, right, that type of stability to form those relationships with the friendships, with teachers, within the school district is key.

Murv Seymour:

Jodie says most importantly, her son is learning about wealth and homeownership.

Jodie Pope:

To teach him how to put a new handle on a toilet, which I’ve done, how to unclog a garbage disposal. Our housing prices, rental prices, it leaves us out. We need to do this.

Murv Seymour:

The name OWN IT represents the painful past –

Jodie Pope:

Owning the history of what has happened in the real estate industry.

Murv Seymour:

While supporting the promising future.

Jodie Pope:

It is literally me owning this place.

Murv Seymour:

Reporting for “Here & Now,” I’m Murv Seymour.

Frederica Freyberg:

Next week on “Wisconsin in Black and White, ” a look at health divides in Wisconsin. For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website at PBSwisconsin.org and then click on the news tab. That’s our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.