In Milwaukee, Black voters struggle to find a home with either party

Black voters make up roughly 5 per cent 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.

Recent polls show Black support for Democrats slipping, and former President Donald 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.

Voters in Milwaukee are getting a closer look at 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 Pessimism About 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.

Keeping his 3-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,” 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.

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,” Marks said.

James Johnson is 88 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.

Mixed Feelings About Trump

Many Black voters in Milwaukee are eyeing 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 Trump is reelected, some voters fear that Black people will suffer the most.

But others say they see in 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.

“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 Patton, 36, 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.

Marks 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.”

When Voting Doesn’t Lead to Change

Look at the heart of Milwaukee, and you’ll see a place spruced up with sports arenas, new restaurants and shiny apartment buildings. Development has been slower to come to some predominantly Black neighborhoods on the North Side, where signs of neglect are inescapable.

“I reflect back on when I was a child, when I was living in Kentucky,” said Rosalind Baker, 80. “We were so self-reliant, we didn’t know we were in poverty. Now I look at the Black community and I worry.”

Residents say that blighted homes and empty lots have a dispiriting effect on their day-to-day lives and send a clear message that their neighborhoods are not a priority.

This lack of meaningful change in their daily lives leaves many to wonder why they should bother voting, even as they recognize the power and significance of their vote. Turnout in majority Black wards in Milwaukee fell in the last two presidential elections, after spiking in 2012.

“I vote in every election,” said Roundtree, the teacher. Still, she is torn about this one. “I don’t really know who to vote for right now,” she said. “It won’t be Trump, and more than likely it won’t be Biden. I think we need a fresh start.”