1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Citizen with Baritun Day, a show 2 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: where we reimagine the worst citizen as a verb and 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: remind ourselves how to wield our collective power. I'm Baritone Day. 4 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: This year, the name Abrahm x Kendy has become very popular. 5 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: You might remember that period this summer when the top 6 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: selling books in the US went from how to Bake 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: sour dough Bread to how to be an Anti Racist. 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Dr Kendy wrote how to be an Anti Racist, But 9 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: before the coronavirus landed in the US way back on 10 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: January seven of this year, I was focused on another 11 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: piece by Dr Kendy, an article in the Atlantic called 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: The Other Swing Voter. Here's an excerpt. The common conception 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: of the swing voter is one who shifts between voting 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: Republican and voting Democrat. The center right or center left. 15 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: Voters are typically white and older. Meanwhile, people of color 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: and young people and especially young people of color, are 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: more likely than white people and older people to swing 18 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: between voting Democrat and not voting or voting third party. 19 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: These are America's other swing voters. Othered because they are 20 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: typically young and not white, Othered because they are hardly 21 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: recognized at the table of political agency, othered because they 22 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: are primarily recognized at the table of political shame when 23 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: they don't vote, other because Americans refuse to recognize how 24 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: voter suppression and depression affect their agency. I wanted to 25 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: talk about these other swing voters and since new infrastructure 26 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: has allowed grassroots organizations to engage these voters or non 27 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: voters in new ways that include building long term relationships 28 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: and investing in the political education of people we all 29 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: too often ignore. This election could see the largest percentage 30 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: of voter turnout ever, and that's due in large part 31 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: to the work of organizations like Voto Latino, run by 32 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: Maria Terressa Kumar, who we had on this show in 33 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: episode ten. It's also due to the work of smaller groups, 34 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: local groups on the ground, groups like Black Leaders Organizing 35 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: Communities a k A BLOCK in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I got 36 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: a chance to speak with Angela Lang Blocks executive director, 37 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: who's been laying the foundation in Milwaukee since I wanted 38 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: to understand what has changed between and today, why Block 39 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: has had such success in engaging with non voters in 40 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: their community, and how they're preparing for November three and beyond. 41 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: My name is Angela Lang and I am the founder 42 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: and executive director of Black Black Leaders Organizing for Communities 43 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 1: based in Milwaukee, and we are a year round civic 44 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: engagement organization making sure that people understand the political process 45 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: and how to get involved and understand the agency that 46 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: they have to make a change in their own community. 47 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: Can you tell me the story of why you created 48 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: block and why whatever existed didn't feel like enough to you? Yeah? So, 49 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: in Seen, it was a heartbreak for us one the 50 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: outcome of the election, but then also in the weeks afterwards, 51 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: everyone was pointing the finger at us, specifically black folks, 52 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: and if you know, if those blacks would have just 53 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: shown up, we wouldn't be in the situation. Those were 54 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: exact quotes of what we were hearing, the microaggressions, the 55 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: problematic language, and it was very frustrating to hear when 56 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: you say that you're talking about those blacks in Milwaukee specifically, 57 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: or Wisconsin or Milwaukee specifically. But I think people generally 58 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: we're targeting the black community and the black vote in 59 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: the state of Wisconsin, but a lot of times people 60 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: know that they're they're using code for specifically Milwaukee, which 61 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: is the largest concentration of black folks in the state 62 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: of Wisconsin. And so it was incredibly frustrating and hurtful 63 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: to know that we are some of the most disenfranchised 64 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: and least engaged, but yet we were to blame for 65 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: the outcome of this election, and it was important for 66 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: us to not wait for a candidate, a party, or 67 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: an elected official to engage us. We were going to 68 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: do that work ourselves, and that we were going to 69 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: train folks from the community to have conversations about political process, 70 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: how to get involved, what's the difference between a state 71 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: senator and a U. S Senator, and the difference between 72 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: city government and county government, and how can we actually 73 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: make a change based off of the issues that we 74 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: care about. And so we wanted to really kind of 75 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: build something that I think was missing a little bit 76 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen. And so we've been working, you know, 77 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 1: the last almost three years for this moment. But we're 78 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: so much more than elections. We want to make sure 79 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: that we're engaging people in between election cycles, caring about issues, 80 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: bringing community members together. Last summer, we were able to 81 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: do a lot of cookouts, a lot of barbecues, just 82 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: to bring neighbors together, to talk about their issues, just 83 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: to do something positive in the community. How did you 84 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: get into this work? To Angela, what's your bag? I 85 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: didn't intend to. I will say that my family knew 86 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:24,840 Speaker 1: long before I did. Always thought I was going to 87 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: be a doctor. I said, I wanted to do doctors 88 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,919 Speaker 1: without borders. That's when I entered college. As in my 89 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: undergrad I was like, I'm gonna be a pre med major. 90 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: And I've always been fond of politics, always been like 91 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: more active. I was the nerd. I was class president 92 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: of middle school, right. I was that like nerdy Parson 93 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: middle school class president's duties. Oh you organized the dance, 94 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: you organized the canned food drive, you do that type 95 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: of stuff. And I was always really interested in it, 96 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: but I didn't think I would make a career out 97 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: of it, and I didn't know what organizing was. And 98 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: then I was doing a lot of nonpartisan work on campus, 99 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: a lot of you know, know your rights, making sure 100 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: that students have the correct idea to vote, a lot 101 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: of just nonpartisan voter registration. And then in when Scott 102 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: Walker was elected governor, that really kind of shifted things. 103 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: Folks remember there are lots of protests in the Capitol. 104 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: We slept over in the Capitol. I was still remember 105 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: that cold linoleum floor in Madison. I remember protesting not 106 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: just for student rights, but for rights of workers and 107 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: collective bargaining, and seeing the student movement kind of really 108 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: converge with the labor movement. And that's really where I 109 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: got a crash course and organizing. My first job out 110 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: of college was for the Service Employees International Union. When 111 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: I was at SCIU of the whole goal was to 112 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: get in the door, have a conversation, and to learn 113 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: how people view themselves politically too, And I learned a 114 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: lot that people were like, oh, I'm not political, but 115 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: yet Yeah, just had a forty five conversation about how 116 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: child care should be free, how yes we should raise 117 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: the minimum ways. I want to talk about black folks 118 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: and assumptions with elections because my observation experience has been, 119 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: you know, a politician rolls through every four years, maybe 120 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,679 Speaker 1: every two in this sort of church plate passing mode, 121 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: and you deposit your votes here please, And you have 122 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: been using this phrase of year round engagement. How is 123 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: blocks model different from the type of voter mobilization we're 124 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: used to seeing, experiencing, or reading about in terms of 125 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: the black community. Yeah, I think in a lot of senses, 126 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: our level of engagement is incredibly different. We're trying to 127 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: swipt this model on its head. I think a lot 128 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: of times candidates, as you mentioned, come in a couple 129 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: of weeks or a couple of months before an election 130 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: and say, hey, vote for me, and we haven't seen 131 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: you since the last time you said hey, vote for me. 132 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: We don't know what you did, we don't know why 133 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: you actually deserve our votes. And so we're trying to 134 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: flip that model and say you want our vote, come 135 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: get our vote. We want to make sure that you're 136 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: talking to us, you have an understanding of our issues, 137 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: and you're engaged and having a deep, meaningful conversation and 138 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: building that trust in our community. And that's not something 139 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: you can do a month or so before an election. 140 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: And so what we try to do is that we 141 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: want to kind of center that community power. And something 142 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: that we also try to note as well is that 143 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: there are people who haven't had their voting rights restored 144 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: yet unfortunately, but they deserve a conversation, They deserve you 145 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: listening to their issues just like anyone else should. And 146 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: so I'm proud to say that in twenty nineteen, we 147 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: had three presidential candidates visit us and knocked doors with us. 148 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 1: We had folks engaged with us in twenty nineteen because 149 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: they understood that you cannot just come in in October 150 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: of making your first rounds of introductions to us and 151 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: thinking that's going to be enough. What is it like 152 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: for the black Milwaukee resident to have a full year 153 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: before an election or even more, someone knock on their 154 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 1: door and ask them what their concerns are, what their 155 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: dreams are, what their fears are. I think it's a 156 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,079 Speaker 1: huge difference. There are times that people don't even get 157 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: that door knock, let alone if they do one that 158 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: asked them what they care about, what their hopes are, 159 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: what their dreams are, what it looks like for our 160 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: communities to thrive. There are folks shortly after we've started 161 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: knocking in that said, I've lived in this house five 162 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: ten years, and you're the first person to knock on 163 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: my door. We exclude people so much because they're not 164 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: seen as the regular voter, and they just don't get 165 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: that touch at all. And we want to make sure 166 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: that we're spending our time talking to the folks that 167 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: are being left behind being able to have those conversations 168 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: on a year on basis, And I tell folks that 169 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: we have to have three separate conversations. On one hand, 170 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: we want to turn a non voter into a voter 171 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: after you know, we have that really big conversation that's 172 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: not an easy conversation. Then we want to make sure 173 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,319 Speaker 1: that people understand the political process and where they fit in. 174 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: They understand why they're voting for someone for the State 175 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: Supreme Court because they understand what the state Supreme Court does. 176 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: We want them to understand the broader process. And then lastly, 177 00:09:58,120 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: we want them to vote for the candidates that we've 178 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: and are advocating the most for our communities. So these 179 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: are three separate conversations that we can't start to have 180 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: around this time. You know, three weeks before an election. 181 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: It takes a lot to move people from being a 182 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: non voter to a voter. There are people that say 183 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,679 Speaker 1: that they are skeptical, they don't think that their voice 184 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: or their vote even matters. Those are big conversations, and 185 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: we don't believe that you should shame people for not voting. 186 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 1: There is a reason, and we want to get to 187 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: the core of that reason. Let's have the conversation, why 188 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,559 Speaker 1: are you a non voter? Why do you think it's 189 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 1: important for you to have your voice heard? Are there 190 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: other ways that we can get you to be civically 191 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: engaged so you see how the process works and hopefully 192 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: at some point that process for you does include voting. 193 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: And so we want to meet people where they're at 194 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: and have those honest conversations. And I think that's something 195 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: that a lot of times organizations don't have time to 196 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: do or just don't prioritize how they're having those conversations. 197 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: What have you learned as the main reasons people remain 198 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: in that non voter category and would have been some 199 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: of the more active ways of helping move them into 200 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: the voter category. Yeah. I think the biggest thing that 201 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: I've learned over the last several years, even before I 202 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,559 Speaker 1: joined Block, is that people aren't apathetic. And I think 203 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 1: there's this idea that if you don't vote, then you 204 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,199 Speaker 1: must not care, you must be apathetic. And there hasn't 205 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: been a person that I talk to you that said 206 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: I'm apathetic. I just don't care. They have issues that 207 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: they care about. They may not see how those issues 208 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,359 Speaker 1: relate in a broader political sense of voting, But everybody 209 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:30,959 Speaker 1: cares about something and it's on us to make sure 210 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 1: that we're getting to the heart of what that is. 211 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: And I think, you know, that's something that's very beautiful 212 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: and special, and I tell people all the time this 213 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: is my favorite part of the job, is that I 214 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,080 Speaker 1: get a chance to be able to bear witness and 215 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: play a small role in that light bulb going off 216 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 1: on people understanding the agency that they have in a 217 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: political system that often tells us that we don't have 218 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: any to have people understand how to make their voice 219 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: heard in the city budget hearing, for example, or to 220 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: you know, sit in front of a presidential candidate and said, 221 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: what are you gonna do for my community? You need 222 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: to listen to me. And they may not even have 223 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: their voting rights restored yet, but they still have that 224 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: power and are able to claim and take up that space. 225 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: And I think that's really what's super important for us. 226 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: And I think that's something also too that I'm very 227 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: proud of as well. What's on the minds of the 228 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: people in the black Milwaukee community. What are the issues. 229 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: What are you learning when you knock doors and engage 230 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: with folks. Yeah, I think what's the most fascinating about 231 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:33,119 Speaker 1: this particular cycle is that people are experiencing the effects 232 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: of the federal government and know that the federal government 233 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: is to blame for some of the issues that they're 234 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: experiencing right now. If people are having a hard time 235 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: dealing with the effects of COVID, whether that's financially or 236 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: that's due to mental health, they know who to blame. 237 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: And I think a lot of times the federal government 238 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: feels very far removed from our issues. We don't always 239 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: feel the impact right away unless you're paying attention very 240 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,079 Speaker 1: closely and watching c SPAN all day every day. But 241 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: people know now when those benefits ran out, they knew 242 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: it was Congress that was stalled and not able to 243 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 1: pass another package to extend those unemployment benefits. If there's 244 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: another you know, stimulus and people are able to get 245 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: another check, people know it is their congress person that 246 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,559 Speaker 1: is doing these negotiations. In addition to this current administration, 247 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 1: so we're actually watching things play out in real time 248 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: in ways that we haven't really seen before. So a 249 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: lot of the issues, whether it's financially or anything that's 250 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: related to COVID, I think is immediately on folks mind. 251 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,439 Speaker 1: And also, you know, people care about things like healthcare. 252 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 1: You know, I think a lot of times people don't 253 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: think of healthcare as a black issue. And I tell 254 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: folks all the time, like, yes, you know, mass incarceration 255 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: is something that is intimately connected to our community in 256 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,199 Speaker 1: ways that are different from other communities. But we also 257 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: care about education and things like healthcare and those quote 258 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: mainstream issues, We also care about them as well. You 259 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: use this phrase earlier, and I think maybe it's a 260 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,200 Speaker 1: question you ask people what would it mean for your 261 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 1: community to thrive? Could you tell me about the origin 262 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: of that question. I've done door to door just for 263 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: some context. I've been sent out by campaigns and I 264 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: get a checklist and it's like, what do you think 265 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 1: about this? How would you rate your feelings. I'm like 266 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: a door to door poster and I've never been asked 267 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: to ask someone what would it take for their community 268 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: to thrive? So what's the origin of that question and 269 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: what are you learning in terms of the answers? Yeah, 270 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: we knew immediately based off of that we wanted to 271 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: do things differently, and one of those things was really 272 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: digging deep in and building trust. And that also means 273 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: getting to know what people care about. I think there's 274 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: a lot of times we run poles, you know, we 275 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: think that we know we're making these assumptions, Oh, we 276 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: know the black community they only care about criminal justice 277 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 1: because half of them are locked up, right, Like, we 278 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: make these assumptions all the time without actually asking people 279 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: what do they care about. We try to sell them 280 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: on things. We knock on their door and say, hey, 281 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: you know, vote for this person and sign this petition, 282 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: come join me doing acts. But how many times do 283 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: we knock a door and say, hey, what do you 284 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: care about? And so we knew that we needed to 285 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: build trust as a new organization, and we wanted to 286 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: establish those relationships. So we started when we knocked doors 287 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: in November of seventeen and we just opened up with 288 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: that question what does it look like for the black 289 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: community to thrive? And people were looking at us crazy, 290 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: they were skeptical. They were like, what do you really want? 291 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: Why are you really here? And we said, no, we 292 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: want to hear about what are the issues that matter 293 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: to you the most? And people struggle because they weren't 294 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: used to even thinking about thriving, let alone ask that 295 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: question from a stranger. A lot of times in our community, 296 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: we're trying to survive day to day, hoping that interactions 297 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: from the police don't end up in us being murdered. 298 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: That we can you know, like last that extra hundred 299 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: dollars to provide for our family until we get paid 300 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: on Friday. You know, those are those things, and so 301 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: it provides us an opportunity to to say about our dreams, 302 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: to think about the world that we want to live in. 303 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: And there are times people say, well, I think we 304 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: need a speed bump, and we're like, okay, let's get you. 305 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: Let's speed bump. I don't know if that's thriving, but 306 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 1: let's get you that speed bump, and let's have a 307 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: conversation that you feel that your community isn't being invested 308 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: in the same way that other suburbs are. Maybe that's 309 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: a bigger issue. Let's have that conversation as well, in 310 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 1: addition to getting you that speed bump. So we've heard 311 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: everything from really micro level issues to really macro level 312 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: issues and how people really want to get involved and 313 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: advocate for their their neighborhoods too, and once you unlock that, 314 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: once you've got people sharing their dreams and their hopes 315 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: and their thrive manifestoes, what happens with all that energy. Yeah, 316 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: So one of the big things that translated out of 317 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: that was our our now Block agenda. So we have 318 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: been having these conversations in the field for so long. 319 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: Last year we said we wanted to make sure that 320 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: we're consolidating what we're hearing. So we started to kind 321 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: of hear some different themes around healthcare, around transportation, education, 322 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 1: and last fall, almost about a year ago, we had 323 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: a series of people's assemblies and there are ten different 324 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,719 Speaker 1: issue areas and themes that we've heard, and we had 325 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: butcher paper everywhere. We had our team facilitate small group 326 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: discussions on the Saturday, and we said, okay, as it 327 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: relates to education, what do we want to keep, what 328 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: do we want to amend, what do we want to 329 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,159 Speaker 1: make better? What do we need to protect? And we 330 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: just captured as much of the conversation as we could. 331 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: Our political director went back compiled it into a draft agenda, 332 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:29,399 Speaker 1: and then we came back with the same group a 333 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: couple of weeks later and said Hey, it's now on paper. 334 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: What does this look like? What does this feel like? 335 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: Does this feel good? Do we need to make any edits? 336 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: And we ratify it as a community and it's meant 337 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: to be a living document to grow and change as 338 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: the needs of the community change. But that was one step, 339 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: and that's really kind of is how we're centering our 340 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,919 Speaker 1: our policy work. Blocks started knocking on doors in November, 341 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: which is well ahead of the typical timing for a 342 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: election cycle. What position are you in now? How does 343 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: Milwaukee and Black Milwaukee look from a voter engagement perspective 344 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: versus four years ago? I think that we are in 345 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: a better position. There's infrastructure that exists now that didn't 346 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: exist in whether that is you know, groups like ours 347 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: leaders igniting transformation, A lot of other groups are doing 348 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: that work. And we also used the last four years 349 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: as different benchmarks and tests we played in every single election, 350 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: whether it was the state Supreme Court that no one 351 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: really you know, paid attention to in or whether it 352 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: was the Shareff's race that was getting overlooked in the 353 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: midst of a really crowded gubernatorial primary. We wanted to 354 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 1: make sure that we were talking about the down ballot 355 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,879 Speaker 1: races that seem to be forgotten, and we've had fellowship 356 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,199 Speaker 1: programs who were able to train hundreds of people between 357 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,920 Speaker 1: then and now about the deeper political process and having 358 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: folks turn out in ways that they haven't turned out 359 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: before to see, you know, so many people turn out 360 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: and testify as a city budget hearing that typically are overlooked, 361 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: you know, was a testament that more people are paying 362 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 1: attention and more people are pushing back and asking questions 363 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: and making sure that their voices are heard. So I 364 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: think a lot has happened in the last four years 365 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: just in our world, in our city. And then I 366 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: also think that there's just a lot of infrastructure that 367 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,239 Speaker 1: has been working very, very hard to connect with our 368 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 1: community to make sure that people are active. We were 369 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: really excited shameless plug. Last week, MSNBC actually did a 370 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: profile on two of our lead ambassadors who did not 371 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 1: vote in and not only are voting this year, their 372 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 1: whole job now is to organize other people to vote. 373 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,239 Speaker 1: You use the word ambassadors to refer to people who 374 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: work with the organization. What is your training model, how 375 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: do you get done, what you get done, and and 376 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: how different is it from the other groups. You've been 377 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: a part of our seen Yeah, we really really value 378 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 1: leadership development. We want to make sure that we're digging 379 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: deeper having quality type of conversations. And and I've worked 380 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: for organizations where someone will come in, apply for your job, 381 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: fill out an application, get interviewed, do a brief training, 382 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 1: and we send them out on doors within an hour 383 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: from applying to being out on doors. We're pushing people 384 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: out because we need to hit as many doors as possible. 385 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: I know some folks that wouldn't even pay for chairs 386 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,159 Speaker 1: in their offices because they wanted people to be in 387 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: and out so quickly. We are very different. We wanted 388 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: to make sure our team is fully educated. We wanted 389 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: them to have more meaningful conversations on doors. So instead 390 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: of saying, hey, we vote for the sheriff, we're saying, hey, 391 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 1: do you know what the sheriff does? Do you know 392 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: their jurisdiction. We're able to do some of that political 393 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: education on training, which means we're constantly role playing. We're 394 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: constantly workshopping any issues that we're having or we're hearing 395 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: in the field. We're constantly educating ourselves. If there is 396 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: an ad that came out we talk about it, we 397 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: analyze it. If there's a poll that comes up, we 398 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: analyze it because we want to raise everyone's consciousness as well. 399 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 1: And so we put our team through at least thirty 400 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 1: hours of training before they're even knock a door. Um 401 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: Zo thirty hours three zero. And like I said, I've 402 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: been a part of canvas programs where you're in and 403 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,640 Speaker 1: out within an hour. You know, you're trying to get 404 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: people to vote for your candidate, but we're not talking 405 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: about the issues. We're not talking about the jurisdiction, the 406 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: roles and responsibility of that office. Why should I just 407 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 1: tell people to vote for a U. S. Senator if 408 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: they don't have any concept of what the U. S. 409 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: Senate does and how it directly impacts their lives. And 410 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: so we want them to be able to have those 411 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: types of conversations because we want to be able to 412 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 1: build the awareness and the analysis in this culture of 413 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: civic engagement in our community, and that an election is 414 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: a tool to do so. But really it is, it's 415 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: just one pathway. We want to make sure that people 416 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: understand their civic engagement rights and how to be a 417 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: part of it on a year round basis. Whether it's 418 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,120 Speaker 1: the city budget hearings, or it's voting or anything in between, 419 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 1: and so we take that extra time. I think that's 420 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: something that we are really proud of by digging d 421 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: been having fellowship programs, We've been doing Civics Jeopardy via 422 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: Facebook Live. That's one of the ways we train our folks. 423 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: And there's different categories, you know, legislative, judicial, block history, 424 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 1: and that's how we kind of keep our stuff fresh 425 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,920 Speaker 1: and keep it fun. So it's not just dry trainings 426 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: who were constantly able to keep each other on our toes. 427 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: I want to know more about Civics Jeopardy. How often 428 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,680 Speaker 1: do you do that? So every Friday in October, but 429 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 1: we've been Facebook living it. Last week was our first 430 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: week and we're gonna be having some special guests as well, 431 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: some local elected officials to kind of help out and 432 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: to be you know, a guest host and to read 433 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: some of the issues and some of the questions. So 434 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: it's something that we we do want a regular basis 435 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: and it allows us to be able to have fun 436 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,199 Speaker 1: as well as kind of you know, stay fresh on 437 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,120 Speaker 1: some of the dates and everything that keeps changing. Civics 438 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,280 Speaker 1: is not easy to keep up with when they constantly 439 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 1: keep trying to change the rules. So this is a 440 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,119 Speaker 1: good way to stay on top of it. Is that 441 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 1: open to the public. Anybody can tune into your Facebook 442 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: page and watch Dame. Yes every Friday, I say, around 443 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: new but we're give us to like twelve fifteen. We're 444 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: running a little bit behind, a little bit on some days. 445 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: But yeah, check out our our Facebook live We had 446 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: the first one just air and you can still check 447 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: out our live video. Oh thank you for that. I 448 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: was reading Milwaukee Magazine the other day, as I do sometimes, 449 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: and I saw a quote from you in there where 450 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: you said, I tell people all the time, Milwaukee breaks 451 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 1: my heart and inspires me every day. Can you expand 452 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 1: on that. I've never lived anywhere else. I'm born and 453 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: raised in Milwaukee. I was one of those teenagers I 454 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 1: wanted to move far away full disclosure. As much as 455 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: I've got Milwaukee, there was a point in time where 456 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: I wanted to leave. I wanted to be that eighteen 457 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: year old that went to the big city, and that 458 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,919 Speaker 1: went and moved to New York and you know, became 459 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: a doctor and went to Columbia, and that did not 460 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,680 Speaker 1: work out. I had a route awakening. I was humbled 461 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,000 Speaker 1: greatly that Columbia, being my dream school, I didn't get 462 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: into and I didn't know what to do. I was 463 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: really devastating because it was really banking on going to 464 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:02,119 Speaker 1: New York and I stayed in Milwaukee, and it was 465 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: the best decision that I made, And it is now 466 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: a conscious decision of why I stay here. And I 467 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: think it's because there's so many resilient people. And I 468 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: tell folks all the time, like, I could leave, but 469 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: I don't know if I would feel as comfortable organizing 470 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 1: somewhere else. It's very intimate, it's very personal all the 471 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: the challenges that we're experiencing. It hits different when you're 472 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: born and raised in the same place that you're doing 473 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 1: your organizing and to see all the challenges you know, 474 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 1: home to one of the most incarcerated zip codes, Wisconsin 475 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: being the worst place to raise a black child, all 476 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: of those things, I'm like, how do I still live here? 477 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: But at the same time, there's so much work to 478 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,360 Speaker 1: be done. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I'm 479 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: solely the sole person to fix those issues, but I 480 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: want to do what I can because I feel like 481 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: Milwaukee helped raise me, and I feel like there's just 482 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: a lot of resilience and a lot of beautiful people, 483 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: and there's a lot of potential that I think is 484 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: untapped in Milwaukee, and I want to make sure that 485 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,159 Speaker 1: it is the best place that it could possibly be 486 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: for everyone, including a black community. So meanwhile, groups like 487 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: Block based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and others in cities across 488 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: the country have been doing the very hard work to 489 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: turn non voters into voters. They're helping people see how 490 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,640 Speaker 1: the political process connects to things they care about. And 491 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: I loved that they started on this election three years ago, 492 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,719 Speaker 1: going door to door asking people what it looks like 493 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: to thrive, creating a community vision and manifesto. While groups 494 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 1: like Block invite more people into the political process, others 495 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: are working to make sure they can actually cast those 496 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: votes and have them counted. We have the fortune of 497 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:58,200 Speaker 1: speaking with Quentin Palfrey about efforts to protect our right 498 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 1: to vote. He's the chair of Voter Protection Core, a 499 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: grassroots organization that was founded after by data scientists and 500 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,359 Speaker 1: lawyers to help protect and defend people's rights to vote, 501 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: especially communities of color. So the Voter Protection CORES was 502 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 1: launched last year, and this is my fifth presidential cycle 503 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 1: working on voter protection issues. And over the last few cycles, 504 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: we've learned some things about some of the problems that 505 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: can come up in elections. And so last year a 506 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: bunch of us who were involved in the Obama campaign 507 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: and the Carry campaign and Clinton campaign got together and said, 508 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: you know, maybe we ought to get out ahead of 509 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 1: some of these problems. Maybe we ought to try and 510 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 1: solve the things that can be solved in advance, and 511 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,679 Speaker 1: maybe we ought to combine some of the legal expertise 512 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: that we have in the voter protection community with some 513 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 1: data expertise. So we formed a partnership with the Carnegie 514 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: Mellon University and tried to look at the places where 515 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,119 Speaker 1: voters faced most obstacles and started to target some of 516 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: our activities towards the places that were most likely to 517 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: be a problem in the elections. So essentially, what the 518 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: Voter Protection Core is is a network of lawyers and 519 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: data scientists who are trying to identify the obstacles that 520 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: voters face to registering, voting and having their votes count, 521 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 1: and then try to head off those kinds of problems 522 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: you mentioned protecting people's registration, there's sort of voting activity 523 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: and the count. Can you dive into what exactly you're 524 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 1: trying to protect In our country, we have a shameful 525 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: legacy of racial bias in our elections. Communities of color, 526 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: younger people, people who tend to move around a lot, 527 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,960 Speaker 1: tend to run into problems in our system that aren't 528 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: faced by other people in the system. So think about 529 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: this spring voters waiting for four or five hours in 530 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: a number of African American communities during the primaries. That's 531 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 1: been endemic to our system for a long period of time. 532 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: Voters of color have faced voter purges for many years, 533 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 1: face voter suppression, have faced legislation that aims to make 534 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: it harder for them to register and vote. And so 535 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: we've got these really shameful inequalities in our system. Some 536 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: of them are caused by intentional voter suppression. So, unfortunately, 537 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: we now have a president and some allies who have 538 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: weaponized lies about voter fraud in order to make it 539 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: harder for people to vote, and particularly communities that the 540 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,440 Speaker 1: president as allies think will will not vote for them 541 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 1: in the election. Um, so they're using voter suppression as 542 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 1: a campaign tactic. So your organization is a network of lawyers, 543 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: of data scientists, it's a nerd network. It's an exactingly 544 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: powerful network of thoughtful people. And you're on the ground 545 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: in a bunch of places. What are you seeing on 546 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: the ground? Where are you seeing it that concerns you 547 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: the most? So I think that you have to understand. 548 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: And the people are voting in a bunch of different ways, 549 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 1: and so the challenges come up in different context. So 550 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 1: I'm very interested in making sure that in person voting 551 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: works well because we've seen that African American students, the homeless, 552 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: and Native Americans have a tendency to use in person 553 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: voting options at a higher rate and to be disproportionately 554 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: impacted when there are long lines or when they're polling 555 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: place closures. So one of the things that we've spent 556 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: a lot of time doing is making sure that there 557 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 1: are enough poll workers, because we know that when their 558 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: poll workers shortages their long lines, we know that when 559 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: their long lines, the vote is suppressed. So making sure 560 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: that there are enough poll workers to avoid the kind 561 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: of debacle we had, for example, in the African American 562 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: communities in Milwaukee during the primaries, or that we've seen 563 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,480 Speaker 1: repeatedly in Georgia, that we saw in the Vada, that 564 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 1: we saw in Philadelphia. We need to make sure that 565 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: there are enough election officials so that people can wait 566 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: in shorter lines. We need to make sure that they're 567 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 1: not shutting down polling places. I mentioned Milwaukee in their primary. 568 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: They went from a hundred and eighty polling places in 569 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: the primary to five in this election, and you saw 570 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 1: people waited in really long lines. Some people may have 571 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: contracted coronavirus as a result of voting. Those are very 572 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 1: bad outcomes. We need to make sure that we keep 573 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 1: the polls open. On the vote by mail side, vote 574 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: by mail is an extremely effective way for people to vote. 575 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: Every serious scholar who's looked at this from the Brennan Center, 576 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: the Bipartisan Policy Center, from the Voter Protection Course has 577 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: concluded that this is a safe and effective way to vote. 578 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: But not all of the states that are ramping up 579 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: their vote by mail system know how to do it 580 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: well yet. So the states that have done it well 581 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: historically are really good at it, but some of the 582 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: states that are starting for the first time are rejecting 583 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: a lot of ballots for really stupid reasons, and a 584 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:55,719 Speaker 1: lot of voters who are casting valid ballots are running 585 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: into rejection rates that are much higher than they ought 586 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 1: to be. What's a high rejection rate. Well, so, in 587 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: the states that do a good job of administering elections 588 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,800 Speaker 1: vote by mail, the rights rejection can do less than 589 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: one percent. And you know, we have this tradition in 590 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: the voting law community of honoring the intent of the 591 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,959 Speaker 1: voter and not rejecting a validly cast ballot because of 592 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: some minor procedural requirement. In the New York primary, almost 593 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: one in five ballots were rejected. It's almost ballots were rejected. 594 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: We're seeing in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania rejection of ballots 595 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: because they're called naked ballots. People didn't use the proper envelopes, 596 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 1: and you know, we were worried that more than a 597 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: thousand people could be disenfranchised because of a really foolish 598 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: question around like which envelope did you use? So I 599 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: think those are the kinds of things we need to 600 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: teach election officials how to do better over time. But 601 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: to your initial point, you know, some of those things 602 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: are no longer fixable, and so what you have to 603 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,120 Speaker 1: focus on now is teaching voters how to do it 604 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: and making sure that we bring down those rejection rates 605 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: just by making through voter education. What has you the 606 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: most excited or hopeful in terms of our ability to 607 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: preserve the legitimacy of our electoral system. I'll say two things. 608 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: The first is the one that I started with, which 609 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: is this notion that we actually are starting to have 610 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: new candidates, new voters, new people involved in our elections. 611 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: It's been really exciting to see an emergence of much 612 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: more diverse voice, of younger voices, more gender balanced candidates, 613 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 1: new voters. There's a real energy and if you sort 614 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,959 Speaker 1: of think about where our country is going, you know, 615 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: the views of younger people, even in the red est states, 616 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,320 Speaker 1: if you look at the demographics of some of the 617 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 1: states that have been traditionally I think the future is 618 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,320 Speaker 1: progressive and the future is more diverse and more gender balance, 619 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,960 Speaker 1: and I think that that's really exciting. We are in 620 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: an election period where people are already voting, so the 621 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: idea of election day is more like election season, and 622 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 1: I think of November three as a voting deadline, not 623 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 1: a voting day. What is your advice for how we 624 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 1: can prepare ourselves what we should expect at the end 625 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: of November three. I think you're entirely right that because 626 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: of the pandemic and because of some of the changes 627 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,479 Speaker 1: that we've made to our election system, we should be 628 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,040 Speaker 1: thinking about this as an election period, not in election day. 629 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: And one of the things that I think we ought 630 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: to do is change our view of what election night 631 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:40,720 Speaker 1: is going to look like. So we have this picture 632 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 1: that somebody is going to stand up in front of 633 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: these maps on cable TV, and we're gonna watch it, 634 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: and then we're either going to be very happy or 635 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: very sad by the end of the night, but we're 636 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 1: basically going to know how the election is going to 637 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:52,920 Speaker 1: turn out. And that's not the way it's going to 638 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: be this year, because there are a lot of states, 639 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: for good reasons, that are going to accept ballots that 640 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: are postmarked on election day but received a couple of 641 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 1: days afterwards. And I think it's gonna be really important 642 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 1: for us to shift our view and say, actually, we 643 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: should wait, we should be patient, we should not declare 644 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,360 Speaker 1: victory or defeat until all of those ballots are counted. 645 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,319 Speaker 1: I also think that there's good reason to suggest that 646 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: a lot of the Trump voters are going to vote 647 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,400 Speaker 1: in person, and those votes are going to be counted earlier, 648 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 1: and that the Biden vote is going to be a 649 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 1: little bit more spread out, and so some of the 650 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 1: votes that are going to be counted in the days 651 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,760 Speaker 1: after election day may well be for Biden and harrass, 652 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 1: and so the narrative across the week may shift a 653 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:38,560 Speaker 1: little bit. I think that we should be very vigilant 654 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: against Donald Trump and the Turr in general, Barr and 655 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: some of their allies saying, actually, election results are final 656 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 1: immediately if they look a little bit more pro Trump 657 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,560 Speaker 1: than the polls have looked, because that's actually to be expected. 658 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:56,239 Speaker 1: And there's been some some talk of this notion of 659 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,400 Speaker 1: a red mirage. But I think that the way to 660 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: think about that is that we ought to be patient 661 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 1: and count all of the votes. That's important in the democracy, 662 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: and wait until all of the votes are counted before 663 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:11,480 Speaker 1: we form an assessment as to who won. What can 664 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:15,719 Speaker 1: someone do who hears this isn't a lawyer or an 665 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 1: election lawyer or a data scientist to leave it all 666 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,880 Speaker 1: in the field in this area? What does that mean? So? 667 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:24,360 Speaker 1: First of all, there are lots of ways for you 668 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 1: to get involved with our organization. It's voter dash Protection 669 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 1: dot org. We'd love to have your help. But more broadly, 670 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: I think that you should think about using your time 671 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: and your money to make sure that this election reflects 672 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: your values. And using your time, I think means helping 673 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,920 Speaker 1: to get out the vote. It means helping to recruit 674 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,839 Speaker 1: poll workers or to monitor at the polls. There are 675 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: opportunities within both the nonpartisan sector there's the Election Protection 676 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 1: Coalition and within the campaign, within the Biden Harris campaign 677 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: to to work as a poll monitor. And if you 678 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,359 Speaker 1: have resources, I do think that this is a time 679 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 1: to dig deep and contribute those resources to organizations or 680 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:08,160 Speaker 1: campaigns that reflect your values. Oh that is a simple 681 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:12,120 Speaker 1: and hard to ask, but very important one. Quentin. I 682 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: want to thank you for your time. There's been a 683 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:28,600 Speaker 1: terrific conversation. I really appreciate you having me on. Many 684 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:31,560 Speaker 1: of the voter suppression tactics and scenarios that Quentin and 685 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 1: Voter Protection Corps are fighting exists at just one level 686 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,680 Speaker 1: in the system, but this is and as we know, 687 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:44,360 Speaker 1: there are many levels, which means Angela and Block have 688 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 1: found themselves preparing the black community for things she never 689 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: thought she would have to consider. A lot of us 690 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: are seeing headlines and images of what the situation on 691 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,600 Speaker 1: the ground is in Wisconsin and in Milwaukee, long lines. 692 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,200 Speaker 1: You read about various efforts to make it harder to 693 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: vote this time in particular, what are you seeing in 694 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,680 Speaker 1: terms of the challenge of voting in the pandemic especially, 695 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:13,200 Speaker 1: and and how are you all trying to overcome any 696 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:16,600 Speaker 1: of those new obstacles. We're anticipating, you know, any potentially 697 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:18,720 Speaker 1: long lines, so we want to make sure that folks 698 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,479 Speaker 1: are early voting or voting absentee. We also just don't 699 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,680 Speaker 1: know what's going to happen on election day. We've seen 700 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,520 Speaker 1: in presidential elections if there's long lines, people have to 701 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:30,279 Speaker 1: wait a while. But we're also preparing for any voter 702 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: intimidation that's going to happen at the polls. Realistically speaking, 703 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:37,720 Speaker 1: we heard the president talking about having his supporters poll watch, 704 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,359 Speaker 1: and pole observed. We also know that his supporters can 705 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,719 Speaker 1: be incredibly violent and incredibly dangerous, so we're preparing for 706 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:47,160 Speaker 1: those things. But ultimately people were asking, hey, you know 707 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: we have five polling places open in April. Are we 708 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:52,279 Speaker 1: sure that's not gonna happen no November. People have been 709 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: making plans since our disastrous election in April, and people 710 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,560 Speaker 1: are like, okay, basically, come hell or high water. I 711 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,960 Speaker 1: couldn't vote in April, but I'm going to vote in November. 712 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: And we saw people starting to make plans sense then, 713 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: and I think people are really fired up and people 714 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,440 Speaker 1: will feel very very strongly about making sure that they 715 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,879 Speaker 1: make a plan, they make a backup plan, and they're 716 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:15,560 Speaker 1: making sure that their voices are heard. It's like disaster prep. 717 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:22,000 Speaker 1: That's that's really it shouldn't be that way, But to 718 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,200 Speaker 1: deny it is to not be prepared. I want to 719 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:28,719 Speaker 1: touch on this political violence point with you because you've 720 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 1: got Kenosha, which the country is very familiar with in 721 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,359 Speaker 1: terms of written house. You've got wad with Toosa and 722 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: and recent incidents with the police killing someone in folks 723 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 1: you know, going out to protests and being hit with 724 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:45,680 Speaker 1: more violence from the police. And then you mentioned the 725 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:48,720 Speaker 1: president and his support is being willing to use violence. 726 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:55,799 Speaker 1: How do you prepare your communities to protect themselves in 727 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: a political environment that often goes beyond tough talk to 728 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 1: actual violent action. Yeah, that's a really good question, one 729 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:09,880 Speaker 1: I didn't anticipate to have to do when I was 730 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:13,080 Speaker 1: making my New Year's resolutions and preparing for the year. 731 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:17,080 Speaker 1: You know, the amount of meetings and conversations I've had 732 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:21,080 Speaker 1: about white militia folks, it's been astounding, It's and I 733 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,160 Speaker 1: didn't expect to be having these types of conversations. We're 734 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,760 Speaker 1: working with our folks from our national affiliate, the Center 735 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:31,000 Speaker 1: for Popular Democracy, to do what we're calling voter guardian trainings, 736 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: making sure people understand the basic ins and out casting 737 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,480 Speaker 1: a provisional ballot in case there's any you know, logistical 738 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,279 Speaker 1: issues that come up with people casting their ballot, but 739 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:43,919 Speaker 1: also being prepared to de escalate if any conflict arises, 740 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,880 Speaker 1: making sure that if there is a conflict, the first 741 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:49,520 Speaker 1: line and defense isn't to call the police. Is there 742 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,719 Speaker 1: a way that we can deescalate, you know, internally, so 743 00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:55,280 Speaker 1: people can stand in line and to make their voice 744 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,160 Speaker 1: heard safely. We're talking about all those things. We have 745 00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:01,800 Speaker 1: those trainings, our team and I know my myself personally 746 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: have gone through easily ten hours of digital security training, 747 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: which can be kind of frightening and kind of triggering 748 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,839 Speaker 1: to think about, how do you keep yourself safe, understanding 749 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,280 Speaker 1: that white militias and the Proud Boys are on standby, 750 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:18,480 Speaker 1: and to do this work. You know, you don't want 751 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,480 Speaker 1: to freak people out, but you want to be honest 752 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:24,319 Speaker 1: that this work goes and disrupts the status quo. And 753 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:27,239 Speaker 1: anytime you go against the status quo, we've seen what 754 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 1: that looks like in history. So trying to prepare our 755 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,560 Speaker 1: folks and saying, you know, we're on the right side 756 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:35,600 Speaker 1: of history, but that also means it comes with some challenges, 757 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,080 Speaker 1: and sometimes it feels like there's a target on our back, 758 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,480 Speaker 1: and it's been really tough. You know, honestly, the last 759 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,000 Speaker 1: couple of months and thinking about those things have been 760 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:47,360 Speaker 1: incredibly difficult. And it's strange to know that there's a 761 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 1: you know, a threat on your organization or there's a 762 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:53,759 Speaker 1: threat to you personally, just given the fact that you 763 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 1: just want to empower people and just make sure that 764 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,320 Speaker 1: their voices are heard. So it's it's been a challenge 765 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: and one that we're trying to navigate, I think in 766 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,480 Speaker 1: real time, and you know, everyone's priority is making sure 767 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:07,160 Speaker 1: that we're we're keeping everyone safe and we're still you know, 768 00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:08,920 Speaker 1: doing the best that we can to speak true to 769 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:11,239 Speaker 1: power to just like our ancestors have done in our 770 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:15,879 Speaker 1: civil rights icons as well. We have a view on 771 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,719 Speaker 1: this show that the word citizen is less useful as 772 00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,600 Speaker 1: a legal status than it is as a verb and 773 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,520 Speaker 1: a steat of actions. That we citizen, it is to 774 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:30,560 Speaker 1: citizens our purpose here. How would you define the word 775 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:33,640 Speaker 1: citizen if you were to interpret it as a verb? Yeah, 776 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:37,319 Speaker 1: I would define citizen as a person without boundaries, right. 777 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 1: I think a lot of times people here citizen and 778 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 1: they always think of geographical boundaries. But what does it 779 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:44,080 Speaker 1: mean to be a citizen of the society and as 780 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:47,319 Speaker 1: a citizen of this world and want to contribute in 781 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:51,120 Speaker 1: a way that you are able to be liberated and 782 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:55,040 Speaker 1: free and live your true and full self while also 783 00:41:55,120 --> 00:42:00,960 Speaker 1: being able to participate in a representative, participatory democracy without 784 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,319 Speaker 1: any challenges or barriers. Do you want your voice heard? 785 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:06,960 Speaker 1: Your voice matters just as much as you know a 786 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,360 Speaker 1: billionaire who builds their wealth off of the backs of 787 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,320 Speaker 1: the working class. At the same time, you are able 788 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:16,279 Speaker 1: to make your voice heard and live freely and in 789 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:20,040 Speaker 1: a way where your rights, your body, who you love, 790 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:24,920 Speaker 1: how you express yourself isn't regulated through the government that 791 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:28,400 Speaker 1: doesn't look like you, that doesn't represent you, but decides 792 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:30,720 Speaker 1: to tell you what you should do with your body 793 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,680 Speaker 1: and your expression. To me, that's what it means to 794 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:37,040 Speaker 1: be a citizen of this world and of the society. 795 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:40,000 Speaker 1: People want to help Angela. I get asked a lot. 796 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:43,000 Speaker 1: I live in New York or I live in California. 797 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:45,319 Speaker 1: What can I do? How can I make sure that 798 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,759 Speaker 1: every vote is kind of How do I support Wisconsin? 799 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 1: What do you say to people who want to help? 800 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:53,719 Speaker 1: Do you have specific things you need people to do, 801 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 1: whether they live in Wisconsin or not. Yeah, so there's 802 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:58,560 Speaker 1: a couple different ways we tell folks that they could 803 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:01,840 Speaker 1: be helpful. One, I would be a bad executive director 804 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:04,600 Speaker 1: if I didn't make a fundraising pitch. There's ways that 805 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,439 Speaker 1: people can support us on our website. We have both 806 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:11,520 Speaker 1: nonpartisan and partisan capabilities, and we divide up our donations 807 00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: appropriately in that way too. You know, are there folks 808 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:17,520 Speaker 1: that you think that we should get to know? Do 809 00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 1: you have a rich uncle, does your brother make a podcast? 810 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:21,760 Speaker 1: And do you think that I'd be a great guest? 811 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,239 Speaker 1: Or are there other organizations you know, either locally or 812 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:27,680 Speaker 1: nationally that you think that we should be collaborating with 813 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:31,160 Speaker 1: we'd love to be able to get connected to other folks. 814 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:34,160 Speaker 1: And then lastly, is that in this time where everyone 815 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,279 Speaker 1: is having difficult conversations or I hope everyone is having 816 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:41,480 Speaker 1: difficult conversations, being able to center and amplify the work 817 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,560 Speaker 1: and lived experiences of our community and so being able 818 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:48,200 Speaker 1: to amplify and share our content one so more people 819 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:50,520 Speaker 1: can hear about us. But too, I think we're all 820 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,560 Speaker 1: being collectively gas lit about some of these situations that 821 00:43:53,600 --> 00:43:57,279 Speaker 1: we're in. People think that racism is still not a 822 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,759 Speaker 1: problem in our country, and people respond, but when you 823 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,520 Speaker 1: say black lives matter, and so by being able to 824 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,320 Speaker 1: really center and amplify the lived experiences of our community 825 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,319 Speaker 1: through our social media is also helpful if people want 826 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,640 Speaker 1: to to help out specifically on election day, you know, 827 00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:15,200 Speaker 1: we want to make sure that we have enough voter 828 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:18,840 Speaker 1: guardians at polling places to de escalate where possible, So 829 00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:20,920 Speaker 1: feel free to send us a message. We're putting all 830 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:23,920 Speaker 1: those plans together, so people can d m us on Facebook, Twitter, 831 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram, or you can send us a note through 832 00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:29,319 Speaker 1: our website at block by block dot org and that's 833 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:35,319 Speaker 1: Bloc b y Bloc Data Org is there anything else 834 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:38,440 Speaker 1: you want to make sure to mention or to address 835 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:42,120 Speaker 1: with this moment. I think the only thing that I 836 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:47,040 Speaker 1: would mention is that we're living in these really dark, troubled, 837 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:50,239 Speaker 1: unprecedented times and we just need to show up as 838 00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:54,040 Speaker 1: real people and allow ourselves the grace to feel what 839 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:58,160 Speaker 1: we're feeling, to know that is not normal. To have 840 00:44:58,239 --> 00:45:02,320 Speaker 1: conversations about white militia are not normal. To have people 841 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:07,000 Speaker 1: openly killing and shooting protesters at seventeen years old is 842 00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:09,239 Speaker 1: not normal, and we should never get used to this. 843 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:11,960 Speaker 1: We have a choice to really decide who we want 844 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,000 Speaker 1: to be as a country and how we show up 845 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:16,400 Speaker 1: in this work. You know. I think shortly after the 846 00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:20,120 Speaker 1: murders of Brianna Taylor and George Floyd, people were buying 847 00:45:20,239 --> 00:45:23,120 Speaker 1: the book White Fragility. People are buying all these books, 848 00:45:23,239 --> 00:45:25,399 Speaker 1: and I hope that people are reading them. They're doing 849 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:28,120 Speaker 1: the work, and they're not just collecting dust after they 850 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:31,000 Speaker 1: posted them on Instagram claiming to be woke, but are 851 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:34,839 Speaker 1: actually doing that tough work. Because this moment that we're 852 00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:38,720 Speaker 1: in is what happens when privilege goes unchecked for years 853 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:42,800 Speaker 1: and decades, and this is our moment to really create 854 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:45,680 Speaker 1: a vision of a world that we want to live in, 855 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,120 Speaker 1: and we get to start over. We get to reimagine, 856 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,279 Speaker 1: you know, what safety is, maybe without the police, and 857 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,200 Speaker 1: we get to really kind of dream without any limitations. 858 00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:55,799 Speaker 1: But that means that we have to do that work 859 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:59,920 Speaker 1: as well internally, all right, in terms of that content, 860 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:02,920 Speaker 1: I know I'm checking out Civics Jeopardy. First of my 861 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:06,200 Speaker 1: thank you Angela for the time, thank you for the 862 00:46:06,239 --> 00:46:08,560 Speaker 1: insight um and and thank you for the work that 863 00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,319 Speaker 1: you're doing and that you're a part of. Thank you, 864 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,400 Speaker 1: I appreciate it, and thanks for having me on to 865 00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:19,920 Speaker 1: tell our story too. Thank you to Angela Lang and 866 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:23,440 Speaker 1: Quincon pow Free for joining us. You can follow Angela 867 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:27,200 Speaker 1: and Block by Block on the social She is Angela 868 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:31,319 Speaker 1: underscored Lange. The organization is Block by Block m k E. 869 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:35,000 Speaker 1: That's b l oc b y Bloc m k E. 870 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:37,840 Speaker 1: That's on Twitter. You can also find them on the 871 00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:42,160 Speaker 1: regular Free and Open Internet at block by Block dot org. 872 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:47,200 Speaker 1: Again that's bloc b y bloc. Follow Quincon and the 873 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:51,600 Speaker 1: Voter Protection Core on Twitter, q poal free and Protect 874 00:46:51,719 --> 00:46:54,920 Speaker 1: the Vote or the respective handles, and again you can 875 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:59,760 Speaker 1: visit that website don't forget about websites, y'all, voter dash 876 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:05,000 Speaker 1: Detection dot org. As always, we post this episode extra 877 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:10,640 Speaker 1: notes transcript developed by robots at how to citizen dot com, 878 00:47:10,719 --> 00:47:13,000 Speaker 1: and as always, we ask you to leave a rating 879 00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:17,560 Speaker 1: or review wherever you are listening to this podcast because 880 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:21,240 Speaker 1: it helps introduce people to us. Here are the actions 881 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: the moment you've been waiting for. What is barrattune they're 882 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:28,040 Speaker 1: gonna ask us to do? All? Right? First up internal actions, 883 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:31,359 Speaker 1: and by internal as a refresher, we mean that these 884 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:35,000 Speaker 1: are actions that help you reflect on yourself, explored your 885 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:38,600 Speaker 1: emotions and your experiences. Or there are actions that are 886 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,120 Speaker 1: personal and don't necessarily involve other people. Got too up 887 00:47:42,120 --> 00:47:45,680 Speaker 1: for you this time? First answer this question, it's the 888 00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:50,000 Speaker 1: block question. What does it mean for your community to thrive? 889 00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:55,319 Speaker 1: Could be speed bumps, probably more, think about it, write 890 00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:59,440 Speaker 1: it down, think about it and more. The second internal 891 00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:04,640 Speaker 1: action we want to return to June. Remember when we 892 00:48:04,640 --> 00:48:08,360 Speaker 1: were all black Lives Matter and hashtag and turn my 893 00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 1: I G Square black. We bought a lot of books 894 00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:15,960 Speaker 1: on anti racism. Have we read them? Now is a 895 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:19,480 Speaker 1: good time to check back in doing some of that 896 00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:23,560 Speaker 1: internal work to make this Land, More Free, and more fair. 897 00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:28,160 Speaker 1: Read those books. Support the organizations you said you would 898 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,920 Speaker 1: support the black community in the way you said you would. 899 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:35,040 Speaker 1: This is a good time to revisit and re engage 900 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:39,080 Speaker 1: on the external actions. These are public facing for the 901 00:48:39,120 --> 00:48:43,440 Speaker 1: most part, they involved other human beings. Interactive three for 902 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:49,040 Speaker 1: you here one just support Block in Milwaukee blocked by 903 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:52,279 Speaker 1: block dot org slash donation. This is the sort of 904 00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:56,879 Speaker 1: group that actually makes change happen, and I, for one, 905 00:48:57,040 --> 00:49:01,360 Speaker 1: am very frustrated and annoyed at certain elements of the 906 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:07,360 Speaker 1: nonprofit political philanthropic world that just pile money and resources 907 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:09,920 Speaker 1: on the people who are not in the community, who 908 00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,840 Speaker 1: do not know what they're talking about. But because they 909 00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:16,920 Speaker 1: worked on some campaign eight, ten, twelve years ago, they 910 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,200 Speaker 1: still get all the goods. Let's support Angela and her 911 00:49:20,239 --> 00:49:23,840 Speaker 1: team at Block again blocked by blocked out org slash 912 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:28,680 Speaker 1: donations in Milwaukee. If you are there or no people there, 913 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:33,239 Speaker 1: encourage them or yourself. Become a voter guardian again. This 914 00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:36,239 Speaker 1: is a Block's website. These are people who are going 915 00:49:36,280 --> 00:49:40,560 Speaker 1: to monitor the polls for intimidation, and they're trained to 916 00:49:40,680 --> 00:49:44,919 Speaker 1: de escalate situations instead of calling the police. So it's 917 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:47,960 Speaker 1: like a two fer. We know that the President is 918 00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:52,040 Speaker 1: out here encouraging a level of nonsense and tom foolery 919 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:56,200 Speaker 1: at the polls, and we don't want to encourage conflict 920 00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:59,560 Speaker 1: around that. We want to de escalate. Again. I trust 921 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:02,919 Speaker 1: Block to do this the right way, so support them 922 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:05,960 Speaker 1: and their efforts in Milwaukee to do the same. Finally, 923 00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:08,560 Speaker 1: volunteer to be a poll worker. Where we've asked before, 924 00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:11,839 Speaker 1: we will ask again. You literally can't have too many 925 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:15,040 Speaker 1: in a pandemic. More poll workers means shorter lines and 926 00:50:15,080 --> 00:50:19,479 Speaker 1: also shorter shifts for poll workers, reducing everyone's exposure. Voter 927 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:22,600 Speaker 1: Protection Corps is running a program to encourage people to 928 00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:25,160 Speaker 1: do this, so check out voter dash Protection dot org 929 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:29,319 Speaker 1: slash be a poll worker. If you do any of 930 00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:33,160 Speaker 1: these things, let a brother know. Shoot me an email 931 00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:36,200 Speaker 1: action at how to citizen dot com mentioned in the 932 00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:39,880 Speaker 1: subject line voting or making our presence felt, which is 933 00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:42,480 Speaker 1: the title of this episode, And whether you tell me 934 00:50:42,560 --> 00:50:45,480 Speaker 1: personally or not, tell somebody, tell a friend, tell a 935 00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:48,480 Speaker 1: family member, do that old school chain email. Have you 936 00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:51,319 Speaker 1: voted yet? Send it on to ten people and tell 937 00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:54,640 Speaker 1: them what you did. In this particular episode, we encourage 938 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:57,080 Speaker 1: you to the hashtag how to Citizen if you take 939 00:50:57,120 --> 00:50:59,880 Speaker 1: it to the socials and you can email us broadly 940 00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:03,759 Speaker 1: comments at how to citizen dot com. If there's an organization, 941 00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:06,640 Speaker 1: a person and effort you think fits in this show, 942 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:10,080 Speaker 1: we want you to let us know. You can visit 943 00:51:10,120 --> 00:51:13,160 Speaker 1: my website, sign up from a newsletter, find out about 944 00:51:13,239 --> 00:51:16,920 Speaker 1: upcoming events. It's all the how do citizen dot com. 945 00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:20,239 Speaker 1: And I'm on Instagram at Barrattune Day. I'm on Patreon 946 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:23,879 Speaker 1: slash Barrattune Day. You can even text me right now 947 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,719 Speaker 1: two o eight nine four eight eight four four drop 948 00:51:26,760 --> 00:51:29,120 Speaker 1: the worst citizen in I text out that are the 949 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:32,239 Speaker 1: first people to learn about the upcoming tapings of the show. 950 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:34,840 Speaker 1: They get the zoom link a little earlier because honestly, 951 00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:36,840 Speaker 1: it's just easier for me to text it out than 952 00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:40,120 Speaker 1: spending up the whole email list thing, which comes, you know, 953 00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:42,640 Speaker 1: a day and a few hours later. All Right, that's it. 954 00:51:43,239 --> 00:51:45,719 Speaker 1: How This Citizen with barrattun Day is a production of 955 00:51:45,760 --> 00:51:50,320 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio Podcasts. Executive produced by Miles Gray, Nick Stump, 956 00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:54,480 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Stewart and Barrattune Day Thursday produced by Joel Smith, 957 00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:57,640 Speaker 1: edited by Justine Smith. Powered by you