Black voters make up roughly 5 percent of the electorate in Wisconsin. But in this swing state where the election is likely to be won by a slim margin, their vote is critical for both campaigns.
We spent several days in the Milwaukee area, the heart of Wisconsin’s Black population, talking to dozens of residents about the issues that loom largest in their lives. They lamented the state of Milwaukee’s mismanaged public schools, the persistent crime and the racial inequities that still influence housing and employment in this deeply segregated city.
Many are disillusioned by the state of national politics, and the sense that life for Black families in Milwaukee has scarcely improved in the last four years. Some described the election in bleak terms and wondered whether they should vote in November at all.
Is there anything that gives me hope in this election?
Is there anything that gives me hope in this election?
We’re doomed.
Advertisement
We’re doomed.
If you really want me to tell you how I feel,
If you really want me to tell you how I feel,
I feel impending doom all the time.
I feel impending doom all the time.
Advertisement
The state of our country right now, to me,
The state of our country right now, to me,
feels like a soap opera.
feels like a soap opera.
It’s quite embarrassing, to be honest.
Advertisement
It’s quite embarrassing, to be honest.
I don’t feel like I hear a plan or any sort of strategy
I don’t feel like I hear a plan or any sort of strategy
for follow-through after they get my vote.
for follow-through after they get my vote.
Advertisement
I am not willing to continue to engage
I am not willing to continue to engage
in a system that I don’t feel has my best interests in mind.
in a system that I don’t feel has my best interests in mind.
I don’t believe that the system is broken.
Advertisement
I don’t believe that the system is broken.
I believe that it’s doing exactly what it has been intended to do
I believe that it’s doing exactly what it has been intended to do
in favor of certain Americans and not others.
in favor of certain Americans and not others.
Advertisement
The fear is that we will continue this divide,
The fear is that we will continue this divide,
and unless something significant changes,
and unless something significant changes,
it’s not going to be
Advertisement
it’s not going to be
a comfortable or safe place for anyone.
a comfortable or safe place for anyone.
Recent polls show Black support for Democrats slipping, and former President Donald J. Trump has sought to capitalize on that by appealing to Black voters’ economic concerns, framing his time in the White House as one of peace and prosperity.
Advertisement
Voters in Milwaukee will get a closer look at Mr. Trump this week during the Republican National Convention, which began on Monday. At the very least, some said, the convention could bring an economic boost to a city that has lost its footing as a manufacturing powerhouse of the country and is now struggling to find its identity.
Growing Hopelessness Over the Economy
Messages from the Biden administration that the country’s economy is on the rebound have fallen flat in Milwaukee. While tourism and entertainment are on the rise, the city’s population has stagnated, factories that once offered solid middle-class jobs have closed, and for many residents it is hard to glimpse what the future brings. At the same time, high crime and threats of cuts to public services have left some feeling like deeper problems are creeping in.
Michael Patton owns a bistro specializing in Cajun cuisine in the buzzy Bay View neighborhood. He grew up in Milwaukee and wants to see it thriving, but is troubled by its violent crime, which he says is the city’s biggest issue, despite police statistics showing a decrease in shootings and burglaries since the pandemic.
Advertisement
Keeping his three-year-old restaurant flourishing is another challenge. Even with a steady stream of regulars, he feels like he’s barely keeping up. “I worry about my business right now,” Mr. Patton said, “because I feel like we have a lot of customers, but the price of everything is so much.”
Brittney Roundtree, a 31-year-old teacher and single mother, says it’s difficult to pay the bills on her annual salary of $49,000. She hears of frustrated teachers who are leaving the city and moving south in search of a better life. “I think we need a fresh start. Nothing’s really been done in the last four years.”
Some voters we talked to are still bruised from inflation and higher prices, at the grocery store and in the housing market. Many of those pocketbook concerns hit even harder in the Black community, which for decades had been denied the opportunity to build wealth through real estate.
and all of the other things that are going on when
Advertisement
and all of the other things that are going on when
my pockets are hurting.
my pockets are hurting.
My money is starting to not go as far as it used to be,
My money is starting to not go as far as it used to be,
Advertisement
so that’s an issue that
so that’s an issue that
one of these two candidates
one of these two candidates
should be able to address.
Advertisement
should be able to address.
We have yet to see a president really focus on
We have yet to see a president really focus on
addressing the quality-of-life issues for communities of color.
addressing the quality-of-life issues for communities of color.
Advertisement
I don’t feel like I will ever be able to own a home.
I don’t feel like I will ever be able to own a home.
I really just don’t think that
I really just don’t think that
Black homeownership is really a priority.
Advertisement
Black homeownership is really a priority.
I would like to buy a house.
I would like to buy a house.
It is hard for me to buy a house to have been a felon
It is hard for me to buy a house to have been a felon
Advertisement
because a lot of the funding is from federal,
because a lot of the funding is from federal,
and federal does not fund a lot of individuals
and federal does not fund a lot of individuals
that are still considered a felon.
Advertisement
that are still considered a felon.
We make the people that are struggling the most,
We make the people that are struggling the most,
we create the most difficult process
we create the most difficult process
Advertisement
for them to be able to get to the point
for them to be able to get to the point
where they can get ahead.
where they can get ahead.
Advertisement
Owning a home, a marker of the American dream, remains a primary goal for many residents of Milwaukee. But property costs are still rising here, leaving homeownership out of reach for many families.
“I’m getting paid more than I have ever been paid,” said Quinton Marks, a 31-year-old property manager who rents a home with his husband, Que Hughes. They would like to buy their own place one day. “Sometimes it still does feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck,” Mr. Marks said.
James Johnson is 88 years old and retired, with his days of working in a metal-forging factory in a Milwaukee suburb comfortably behind him. But he remembers what it was like when he was young, when he could buy a house and take care of his family of five. That feels impossible today, he says.
Joseph Abujana, a former bus driver, worries about the same thing. He is retired at 63 and living with his wife, a school administrator. “Everything is more expensive,” he said. “My wife and I can’t keep up our standard of living.”
Despite their desire for solutions, Black voters say they doubt that a new presidential election will bring meaningful change. When they think about the outcome in November, many said, it is with a sense of dread rather than hope.
Advertisement
Mixed Feelings About Donald Trump
Many Black voters in Milwaukee are eyeing Mr. Trump and his possible second term with trepidation. Here is a candidate who has already stoked racial tensions, they said, and inflamed divisions in the country.
“I have a bad feeling about the election. Trump and his cult of personality really worries me,” said Thaddeus Hudlon, a 45-year-old former nurse from Chicago who now lives outside Milwaukee and works as an associate for Burlington Coat Factory. “I feel like I’m surrounded,” he added, “by people who are actually oblivious to the choice that we’re making.”
If Mr. Trump is re-elected, some voters fear that Black people will suffer the most.
Frankly, I’m worried about the outcome of this election.
Frankly, I’m worried about the outcome of this election.
There is a lot of racial tension in the country.
Advertisement
There is a lot of racial tension in the country.
I have a small child, and I worry about
I have a small child, and I worry about
if one candidate becomes our president,
if one candidate becomes our president,
Advertisement
I fear that my son will experience
I fear that my son will experience
the world as my grandma did or my grandparents did.
the world as my grandma did or my grandparents did.
When you have been engaging with white supremacist parties,
Advertisement
When you have been engaging with white supremacist parties,
when you are in support of things that happened on Jan. 6,
when you are in support of things that happened on Jan. 6,
I can’t trust you.
I can’t trust you.
Advertisement
What Trump said made me feel like my brother
What Trump said made me feel like my brother
or my neighbor was an enemy,
or my neighbor was an enemy,
and none of us in America should be living like that.
Advertisement
and none of us in America should be living like that.
My fear is that in all honesty,
My fear is that in all honesty,
that Trump wins and that he carries out
that Trump wins and that he carries out
Advertisement
exactly what he says that he’s going to carry out
exactly what he says that he’s going to carry out
and have cops running in the street.
and have cops running in the street.
And that as a gay Black male, that I won’t feel safe
Advertisement
And that as a gay Black male, that I won’t feel safe
to be able to walk at any point.
to be able to walk at any point.
And if he comes into power,
And if he comes into power,
Advertisement
I fear that I may not be able to continue to be here.
I fear that I may not be able to continue to be here.
But others say they see in Mr. Trump an ability to run things, lead with forcefulness and take on the problems of the world. Even his recent criminal conviction in New York endeared him to one Milwaukee resident who is also a felon.
to the community that I had spent a majority of my life with.
to the community that I had spent a majority of my life with.
Donald Trump just —
Donald Trump just —
Advertisement
a person who speaks his mind, he ain’t got no filters.
a person who speaks his mind, he ain’t got no filters.
He don’t care.
He don’t care.
And that’s all right with me.
Advertisement
And that’s all right with me.
yeah, the felony thing has,
yeah, the felony thing has,
you know, as a black man is why he’s got RICO charges
you know, as a black man is why he’s got RICO charges
Advertisement
he’s going through the same thing he’s young thug
he’s going through the same thing he’s young thug
who is a rapper and he’s got being treated as a rapper.
who is a rapper and he’s got being treated as a rapper.
Advertisement
“I feel like Trump’s acceptance among Black people has gone up. You start to see him at Black churches, doing more things for Black people,” said Mr. Patton, 36, the restaurant owner, adding, “People aren’t used to someone just saying whatever he feels.”
Still, some Black voters say they are criticized by their friends and family for supporting the former president. “There’s a lot of pressure to vote Democrat for me,” said Jeffrey Freeman, a landlord outside Milwaukee.
Mr. Marks, the property manager, laments how divided people have become. “It’s sad how there’s so much separation instilled in everybody now,” he said. “The election the last time really brought that out. There was so much negativity that came from these two candidates, and I think they lost sight of the United States.”
