Rep. Jim Clyburn held a voting and civil rights roundtable in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We've been here waiting on, literally waiting on you, just me, waiting on everyone else.
00:15Well that's a good time.
00:17Well good morning everybody.
00:19Good morning.
00:20Come on, it's the morning, we at Coffee Makes You Black, let's feel good.
00:23How y'all doing this morning?
00:24Great.
00:25Doing great.
00:26I am County Executive David Brown and it's such a pleasure to be joining you all during
00:31this Voting Rights Roundtable, but also to have a congressman who has been working hard
00:36for the American people for so many years, Representative James Clyburn.
00:40Let me give him a round of applause.
00:44I have to say it's a great morning.
00:46I am feeling good because I woke up and, you know, it's one of those mornings where I had
00:51a great opportunity to open a pickleball course for Milwaukee County, so that lets you know
00:56that this black job that I have is doing great.
01:00It's just wonderful to be in this seat, wonderful to be here.
01:03And one thing before opening up and handing the microphone over to the congressman, I
01:08just have to say that it's a great opportunity to be here to really talk about the stark
01:13contrast that we have in President Biden and in Trump.
01:18And I think that when we think about President Biden and what he's bringing to the table,
01:21he's speaking to the future.
01:23He's speaking to the soul and the spirit of America.
01:26He understands that we have to do everything that we can to protect the American democracy
01:32because it is under attack.
01:33Women's rights are under attack.
01:35Voting rights are under attack.
01:37And if you are a person of color, you have always been under attack under the Trump administration.
01:42And for me, when it comes to looking forward, that's what Joe Biden brings to the table.
01:47And I know that many people have been looking at what happened during the debate and just
01:51looking at his appearance, but the appearance does not matter when you look at the substance
01:56of what was being talked about.
01:58Joe Biden spoke to the things that matter.
02:00He told the truth.
02:02And on the other side of that, you had a guy coming to the table who actually didn't answer
02:07a question, didn't bring anything, didn't talk about the future, didn't put any real
02:11policy ideas on the table, but literally continued to spew lies after lies and then
02:17sprinkled a few bits of hateful comments in it.
02:20But I just want folks to know that when we think about moving forward, particularly right
02:24here in Walnut County, we know that if it wasn't for President Biden, if it wasn't for
02:29Vice President Harris, we wouldn't have been able to make the types of level of investment
02:33in affordable housing, the levels of investment to combat the opioid epidemic, and making
02:38sure that when the tide rises, all the boats, not just here in Milwaukee and Wisconsin rises,
02:44but the entire country rises.
02:46So it's exciting to have you here, Congressman, because it's a great opportunity, one, to
02:51again talk about all the great things this administration has done, but it would be great
02:55also for you to speak to what Congress is doing and things that are happening there.
03:00And many people, again, don't understand, there's a stark contrast related to governing
03:06under Trump and governing under Biden.
03:08And I absolutely remember that when I was sworn in May of 2020, the onset of the pandemic,
03:13and seeing how much Trump, then President Trump, fumbled everything.
03:20And so this is a great opportunity to again showcase what the Biden-Harris administration
03:25has been doing.
03:26And so I'm going to go ahead and shut up and allow the Congressman to get us started.
03:29But I'm really excited for you to be joining us today and can't wait to hear the great
03:34things that you have to share with us.
03:36Well, thank you very much, Commissioner, for having me.
03:39And thanks to all of you.
03:40It's so good to renew my relationship with Mandela.
03:43That started years ago when he was a college student.
03:47Thank you so much for his principle over the years and his leadership.
03:53You know, in the Congress, when we don't think we can improve on anything that's been said
03:59before, we just move to associate.
04:01And I'm going to associate myself with the introductory remarks that you have made.
04:07But let me add a couple of things, if I may.
04:10On my way over here today, we took a circuitous route, did some detours.
04:18I looked at all of these cautionary barrels that was sitting out there.
04:26And I thought about the four years of 45.
04:31In four years, he talked about infrastructure.
04:35This is going to be infrastructure week.
04:37This is going to be infrastructure month.
04:40In four years, not one dime spent on infrastructure.
04:45Everywhere I go now, all over this great country, in my community, and what I saw here today,
04:52was Joe Biden's infrastructure plan at work.
04:57Putting people back to work, building roads, repairing bridges.
05:04But he didn't stop there.
05:06He went on to look at these communities that needed good, safe drinking water.
05:12He went out to look at these lead pipes to get them out of these schools
05:17so our children could have safe drinking water.
05:21And he went on to put into that infrastructure bill $65 billion, which just happened to have been my bill,
05:29to have accessible, affordable broadband for all.
05:36That was the name of the bill.
05:38Why did I push that bill the way I did?
05:41I chaired the Coronavirus Subcommittee.
05:45And I saw what was happening to children who were down at McDonald's and other fast food joints
05:54trying to do homework because they didn't have the Internet at home, trying to stay in touch with education.
06:02I've got a granddaughter who's got the Internet.
06:06She stayed in touch with education during the pandemic.
06:09She had a classmate, good friend, who, in fact, could not pass a proficiency test
06:14because she didn't have the Internet in her home and therefore lost a year's school.
06:20Joe Biden saw all of that and decided that when he put that infrastructure bill forward,
06:26he would not stop at roads and bridges.
06:29He would go into water and sewage, and he would go in to make broadband accessible and affordable for all.
06:35We rescued this economy through the American Rescue Plan.
06:39How many Republicans voted for it?
06:41Not one single Republican voted for it.
06:45It immediately unsevered businesses.
06:47It immediately put children back in school.
06:50Immediately, half of the children lived in poverty, out of poverty.
06:55And put in a reservoir of resource money and said to the states,
07:03we don't know it all here in Washington.
07:06You know what needs to be done in your communities,
07:10and this part of money is here for you to come up with creative ideas about what we can do
07:17to bring this country back from the brink, which is where we were.
07:22The worst pandemic in 100 years.
07:26What happened to that part of money?
07:28I'll tell you what we did in South Carolina.
07:30I'm not sure if we did it up here in Wisconsin, but in South Carolina,
07:35my governor, the first governor in the country to endorse Trump,
07:39called me and says, I'm going to put before the legislature a plan to endorse,
07:51as if it's a quote, your internet bill, your broadband bill.
07:57We're going to put that in place.
07:59What did he do?
08:01He said, I'm going to need $650 million to put the internet in every home and every business.
08:10He said, well, what am I going to do?
08:12I'm going to get $50 million from the state legislature.
08:15I'm going to get $100 million from the infrastructure committee.
08:18I'm going to get $100 million from the FCC.
08:21$250 million.
08:23I said, where the other $400 million coming from?
08:26I'm going to go into that reservoir of money and sit in the rescue plan.
08:31He's not going to want to do that.
08:33Where you have states using creativity to build out every home, every business in South Carolina
08:41will be connected to the internet, and $400 million of that is coming from Joe Biden's rescue plan.
08:48And so this has happened throughout.
08:50The Chips and Slides Act, the Inflation Reduction Act.
08:55And I'll close with this, because I'm sure it's going to get some questions.
08:59I'm particularly interested in the Inflation Reduction Act.
09:04And some people say it was misnamed.
09:06I don't think so.
09:08It wasn't done.
09:09Much of the President could do about the inflationary prices of groceries.
09:13But he could do something about the inflationary prices of medicine.
09:18And he tackled that.
09:20People keep missing that.
09:22My late wife lost her 30-year-old daughter to diabetes.
09:25They full-shotted their diabetic.
09:28Her insulin bill ran as high as $600 some months.
09:34And she had good insurance.
09:40But she's not the only one in that.
09:42So Joe Biden says, we are going to improve upon the so-called Affordable Care Act.
09:53And we are going to cap insulin at $25 to $35 per month from $600 per month for C's.
10:07Now, people mystify that when the bill passed the House, it was $35 a month for everybody.
10:16There were proposals in the Senate.
10:19In fact, the Senator from South Carolina put up the amendment,
10:23amendment to grant to cap it only for people on Medicare.
10:32But what do we have to look for in Joe Biden's future?
10:38Re-elect Joe Biden.
10:40Keep Senator Baldwin in the Senate.
10:44Send Gwen Moore back.
10:46What we're going to do, we're going to expand that $35 to the rest of the people in this country.
10:53No child has to be born with diabetes.
10:58One of the fastest-growing maladies in the country is juvenile diabetes.
11:04And so why should we have a family with Medicaid?
11:08Seven.
11:10With $400, $500, $600 a month.
11:12But they are in Medicare, but they're in Medicaid.
11:16So they're uncomfortable.
11:18So we need to spread this to everybody.
11:21I could go through a lot of things.
11:23I could go through the PAC Act and what we did for veterans.
11:26Went back and picked up all of those Vietnam veterans who got short chains,
11:33coming back from Vietnam and getting 15 to 20 percent disability,
11:37and gave them 100 percent disability with the PAC Act.
11:41Joe Biden has done everything he promised to do and more.
11:48Close this up.
11:50When I asked him if he got the opportunity to put an African-American woman on the Supreme Court,
11:57he got a record, and he did that.
12:00But he didn't stop there.
12:02Joe Biden has put more women of color on our federal courts of appeals
12:09than all 45 previous presidents combined.
12:15Just think about that.
12:17That's what he's done.
12:19And he would have done more if he could get cooperation from Republicans.
12:27And those Republicans that started out to cooperate, especially on the border,
12:32Joe Biden conceded, I'm not going to give what I want.
12:39They're going to give me a border bill that progressives in my party do not want.
12:44And this person is sometimes aggressive, sometimes moderate.
12:49I decided to swallow the bill because I didn't like the bill.
12:53But we said we'll go for it.
12:56Trump called the Republicans and said, don't go for it.
13:01So he did not want to solve the problem at the border.
13:05He wanted to have an issue to run on.
13:07And he lied about that during the debate.
13:11So we've got a binary choice here.
13:15Do we want to continue our pursuit of a more perfect union,
13:20or do we want to turn the clock back on border rights, on women's reproductive rights,
13:27and all those other rights that make us a viable nation for a valuable group of people?
13:38Thank you.
13:39Absolutely.
13:41Well, thank you for those remarks.
13:43I will be remiss if I didn't say, first and foremost, thank you to Coffee Makes You Black,
13:46another black job that we talk about for hosting us today.
13:50So I just want to say thank you.
13:51But I do want to open it up.
13:53There's a lot happening in the country, a lot happening in our own backyard.
13:56But would anybody like to share some of the things that they're saying?
14:00Well, we're going to intro, because I hope everybody talked.
14:05But maybe we can get started with intros right away.
14:07I appreciate that.
14:08So let's do that.
14:10Thank you so much.
14:12I'm Tani Chong.
14:15I've been a long time community member here in Milwaukee.
14:19Is there a microphone over here?
14:21Great.
14:25And, you know, I've been doing a lot of work here locally around making sure that
14:30small and other self-employed groups here in the state are able to vote, right,
14:37and to make sure that their votes are heard and that, you know, that they also take up space
14:43and they take up power to champion civil rights.
14:46So I'm really glad to be here today.
14:52Good morning.
14:53I'm happy that you're coming to Wisconsin, to Milwaukee.
14:55My name is Kevin Henry.
14:56I'm a district representative for this initiative.
14:58You're also the assistant to the county leader.
15:01How are you doing?
15:05Once again, thank you for being here.
15:08And I'm very, too, happy today.
15:10I'm an election commissioner here at the city of Milwaukee.
15:13And I'm also a faith leader.
15:15And one of my goals is to make sure that the faith community has a seat at the table.
15:24It's extremely important that we, you know, talk to the faith leaders from different denominations
15:30to talk about what are our rights and that we have to be here, we have to be involved
15:34because for so many years, especially the Latino community, we just sit in the pulpit
15:39and we just sit there and we do not be active.
15:43And if we want change and we want to have this country with values, we have to be able
15:49to go in and vote for somebody that is going to be teaching us what Jesus Christ has been
15:54teaching us to walk away with and not to be enslaved in this country.
16:00Thank you.
16:01I'm Ed Elgar.
16:02I work for the city governor.
16:03I'm wearing a couple hats as well.
16:05One, I work for Wisconsin to make sure that student engagement is the door in communities
16:12where rights are often taken away.
16:16Where people are often targeted because of their sheer audacity to pass a ballot in spite of it all.
16:23And the other hat is, you mentioned the Inflation Reduction Act.
16:27It's one of the biggest projects I'm working on right now.
16:30Ensuring there is equitable access to communities all across the state of Wisconsin.
16:35And I want to make sure that we are the leading state when it comes to using those resources.
16:41So thank you.
16:43Thank you.
16:45I'm State Senator Latonya Johnson.
16:47I represent the 6th and 8th districts, which is primarily in Milwaukee's north and the
16:525th and 5th in Wauwatosa.
16:54And it's a privilege to be here with you today for everything that you've done for politics
16:59in the world, but especially for our Supreme Court announcement.
17:04That is awesome.
17:05Thank you.
17:07Thank you.
17:08Absolutely.
17:09With introductions getting out of the way, what are some of the things that folks want
17:13to talk about?
17:14We know there's a full cabinet of different issues to talk about.
17:17We can talk about clean water.
17:19We can talk about voting rights.
17:21We can talk about affordable housing.
17:23But one thing I'll do is I'll kick it a little bit off and talk about what we've been able
17:29to do, particularly as you related to the American Rescue Plan Act.
17:33Now here in Milwaukee County, we received close to about $163 million in American Rescue
17:38Plan Act dollars.
17:40And when we received those dollars, we knew that, one, it was not enough money.
17:45We think about the need that was absolutely out here.
17:47And that's just Milwaukee County.
17:49That's every community across this country.
17:51But we knew that with this level of investment, there's an opportunity, quite frankly, for
17:56us to go big or to go home.
17:58And when we talk about affordable housing, we're seeing the largest push of affordable
18:03housing in suburban communities in Milwaukee County in our county's history.
18:09We just did an announcement of affordable housing happening in Franklin, one of the
18:15most conservative counties in Milwaukee County.
18:17And we have affordable housing projects happening in four other suburban communities right here
18:22within Milwaukee.
18:23But on top of that, we know that home ownership, the data tells us that we still have a huge
18:30gap in home ownership, particularly between black and whites in our community.
18:36And so because of the American Rescue Plan Act dollars, we're investing in 110 single
18:42family homes.
18:44And that is because of the Biden-Harris administration.
18:47And folks like yourself, and folks like Gwen Moore, and folks like Tammy Baldwin, you voted
18:51and made sure that we ushered those dollars, those resources through.
18:57And it's imperative.
18:58Because for us, our vision is that by achieving racial equity, we can become the healthiest
19:03county in the state of Wisconsin.
19:05And that's key because we know that many of the disparities here in the state of Wisconsin
19:09largely fall along racial lines.
19:11I believe the Annie Casey Foundation years ago did a report that said that Wisconsin
19:16was the worst place to raise a black child.
19:19But with the different types of elections that we have had, with the leadership that
19:23we have woken in at the state with government-owned leaders, and because of the leadership at
19:29the federal level, we're seeing the tide rise.
19:32We're seeing the votes rise.
19:34And that's extremely important.
19:35Because prior to the Biden administration dealing with the pandemic, we didn't know
19:42how we were actually going to save people's lives.
19:45And it was the administration literally telling people to inject bleach into their arms because
19:50that was going to save them, right?
19:52And again, we have to remember that we need substance.
19:56And there's no substance coming out of 45's mouth.
19:59It's all lies and hate-filled rhetoric because he's trying to divide and conquer this community
20:05every single day because he has nothing to bring to the table.
20:09And I know that there are so many partners at this table who I've been able to rely on
20:14and lean on when it comes down to this work.
20:17But I just have to say thank you because you are one of those unsung heroes that we don't
20:22necessarily get to see on an everyday basis who help to move this forward every single day.
20:28Thank you guys.
20:29I want to piggyback on that and talk about the things that I've been hearing on the floor.
20:34It's easy to see the construction projects that we have going on in this neighborhood.
20:41But we can also see that this is one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods too.
20:46It's a problem.
20:48And, you know, to point out not to come on the floor and have those conversations with
20:53the residents and ask them about what's most important to them.
20:57And every once in a while encountering those individuals who say,
21:01we're washed out of it.
21:03Because, you know, my life is going to be the same.
21:06What has this resident done for me?
21:08And one of the things that I want to remind people about on the floor is that Milwaukee
21:14was facing bankruptcy.
21:16And we were going to go bankrupt in January 2025.
21:20And if it had not been for the American Rescue Plan and the dollars that Milwaukee had put
21:26into this city that paid for essential services, we were down to our last $96 million.
21:35Money of which my Republican colleagues asked our Republican federal delegation not to
21:41send money to the county because we didn't need it.
21:44And surely in this city that money made a tremendous difference.
21:49Because it helped to stab all of that bankruptcy.
21:52To at least give us an opportunity to get an increase in shared revenue and to reduce
21:58the sales tax.
21:59But one of the things that I remind people, especially in this city, when they ask, well,
22:06what is this resident going to do for me?
22:08Let's start with helping to keep the lights on.
22:11To keep your garbage being picked up on a regular basis.
22:16Because these are part of the pressure that's paid for.
22:19And I think sometimes when you're in a community, especially where people are struggling so
22:25hard to make sure that they're providing everything that they need for the home that they live
22:31in, sometimes it's hard to get the full picture of the political picture.
22:36Because they're so focused on what they need to do with their families.
22:41So I guess I want to put to one thing about voter rights in general.
22:46So from over here, being in South Carolina, obviously, became a core issue for me.
22:51And even being in Congress, I've seen the erosion of voter rights in states all across
22:57the country.
22:58In Wisconsin, it would become particularly hard for a person to be able to pass a ballot.
23:02And that was not always the case.
23:03We had some of the most aggressive voter laws for a very long time until a certain governor
23:07came along.
23:09And I'm just a peculiar case of voting.
23:12And so I am really interested, too, in different challenges that the voting community faces
23:17when it comes to voting.
23:18And to go back to you, Mr. Clyburn, I just want to talk about, you know, we know the
23:24answer.
23:25But there are a lot of people who are going to watch this who don't necessarily know
23:27the answer.
23:28Who aren't going to be as up-to-date as to why they are the way they are.
23:32If you could talk a little bit about why we see this erosion of voter rights across
23:36the country.
23:37That would help people.
23:38But I would love to hear about the opposing challenges.
23:40Well, sure.
23:41And I think as someone who directly has been around the chorus, talking to voters, you
23:47know, people are really concerned about language access.
23:50Right?
23:51I really don't understand.
23:52Right?
23:53And even, you know, working and organizing with communities to get mail-in ballots.
23:59Right?
24:00And some of our elders really prefer that.
24:02Right?
24:03So I think language access is making them understand.
24:06Like, you know, I voted here and there, but it hasn't been consistent because I just have
24:13not seen anything that comes back to me.
24:16And how it's been accumulated around me.
24:18Right?
24:19And so I think language access is part of it.
24:24You know, I've consistently heard people say, even going to vote is a very intimidating
24:30process.
24:31Like, I'm like, you know, I mean, we have some elders that go with, like, files of information
24:37just to be able to, like, I need to go to that.
24:39Right?
24:40And so doing this work at the community level, really making sure people understand what
24:46those votes are.
24:47Right?
24:48Going to that.
24:49You know, you have to register to vote before you can go to the election.
24:52You know, like, all of these things are really important just because you can do that.
24:55But, you know, I'm really, really concerned in this election because I feel like, you
25:00know, there's a lot of folks in the community that have made a decision.
25:05Right?
25:06And they have decided that they're not going to vote.
25:09And they're going to run out from this election.
25:11And so what is it that we need to do to make sure that folks are not sitting in this run
25:15out and folks are going to stay?
25:17Because they don't really see the impact of what's coming if we don't actually go to the
25:23polls.
25:25And that's the context there.
25:26We have a third largest population in the entire country here in Wisconsin.
25:30So it's a significant amount of people who are being blocked from the process because
25:36of those barriers.
25:38And should the language, was it another, a virtual language barrier?
25:42Yeah.
25:43Just language barrier, but then also the lack of education about voting.
25:49Right?
25:50Voting education.
25:51Right now with all of our communities being inundated with misinformation, what does,
25:56you know, what folks need?
25:58I think that that also could be an impact.
26:00You know, being able to share that information.
26:02One of the most basic things about this entire process, of course, is in fact voting.
26:07I remember when my parents got the right to cast an effective vote.
26:18Because in South Carolina, at the time when I was growing up, the Democratic primary was
26:23a private club.
26:25A whites only private club.
26:28And black folks were not allowed until after a lawsuit was filed called Elbow vs. Whites.
26:35So I can remember that.
26:38What we did in 1965, after John Lewis and others fought the protest that was created,
26:46and that was in March, Congress in August, in August 6th, the President signed the 1965
26:54Voting Rights Act.
26:56This Supreme Court has neutered the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and it went directly to the issues
27:06you just raised.
27:08They are now, all of a sudden now, 33 states have passed laws in keeping with the Supreme
27:14Court decision that now says, in one statement they made the other day, they said it's going
27:19to be a felony for a person to assist a person with an absentee ballot.
27:27A felony for a person to give someone standing next to a judge in line a drink of water.
27:36You can be in line for 6, 7, 8 hours.
27:40If I give you a bottle of water, it's going to be a felony.
27:44That in and of itself, we need to explain to everybody what we're fighting for.
27:52We're fighting to reverse what the Supreme Court did.
27:56We've been trying to pass John Lewis Voting Rights in advance of that.
28:00We passed it out of the House four different times.
28:04We just introduced it again last week.
28:07Because we're not going to give up.
28:10What we've got to do is have a Senate that will not filibuster the bill.
28:16That's why the Senate election here in Wisconsin is so important.
28:21We really have to get people to see the relationship between their vote and the water that's coming
28:32into their homes through the water lines that are no longer with lead pipes.
28:38They've got to sit.
28:40You want to know exactly what it does?
28:42Think about your children and what happens to your children when they're having problems
28:46in school because of lead pipes.
28:49We didn't win over that because of Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.
28:53We've got to get the young people to understand that historically, what they're trying to do now
28:59is go back to where we were.
29:02Most people that I talk to don't know it.
29:05That Reconstruction came to an end by one vote.
29:09Jim Crow became the law of the land by one vote.
29:18A committee vote of eight to seven ended Reconstruction.
29:24An electoral college vote of 185 to 184 ended Reconstruction.
29:36It started Jim Crow.
29:38So we have to get people to see the relationship between them casting this vote
29:44and what could very well be their future.
29:47You say to a person, you didn't have broadband under the previous administration.
29:52Your children got the Internet now.
29:54They don't have to go down to McDonald's and sit in the parking lot because of Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.
30:01We have to just explain to people in language that they understand in their everyday lives.
30:08We can't be esoteric.
30:11We've got to say, hey, here's how you relate to this vote.
30:15So it may not be a direct vote in your living room unless you're connected to what's coming into your water,
30:25into your kitchen, Internet, into your living room, and other things of that sort.
30:32We've just got to get people to see how it relates to their everyday lives.
30:35I appreciate that because I think that speaks to how much your vote matters.
30:40It speaks directly to how much your vote matters.
30:43So many people out here don't think that it really matters until it gets down to the nitty-gritty.
30:48And one of the things I was going to, Patricia was talking about the faith community.
30:52One of the things that you would like to tell us, Congressman Clyburn,
30:57how do we engage the faith community more, but also can you talk about some of the initiatives you all are working,
31:02particularly as it relates to getting people to exercise their right and register to vote?
31:08So one of the things that we've been talking about with different pastors is
31:14right now conservatives talking about the process of getting registered to vote,
31:19being able to have people help them register to vote and tell them exactly what they need to go vote.
31:25So a lot of times it's very complicated, especially the new citizens,
31:29because they feel that because they became U.S. citizens and their language is not perfect,
31:34but they go there and then they get nervous.
31:37So it happens like for me, for example, when I get nervous, my accent kicks in,
31:42and sometimes I can't pronounce the words, but I'm okay with it.
31:45Some of the elders are not.
31:47And I'm not just talking about the Latino community.
31:49I'm talking about a lot of the new immigrants that are U.S. citizens,
31:53and they might not speak English, or their English may be very limited.
31:58So they do need that language access.
32:01Or at least be able to have somebody ask the question for them.
32:05So those are some of the things that we are doing in some of the churches after the service,
32:09and really engaging on, you know, this country was founded on the freedom of religion.
32:16And if we do not vote for people that are going to be respecting those rights,
32:21right now they're fighting against women.
32:26But what about when they start coming against you, okay?
32:30So once they start saying, well, you know what?
32:33You don't believe like me, then you are wrong.
32:36You are a terrorist for this country.
32:39And so it's very important that we talk to the people in the churches,
32:47and then have politicians go in there, not only in the election year,
32:50but then going in there and, here, I'm the person that I'm representing you.
32:55We can't go to D.C., but I'm there talking, I'm your vote.
32:59And so some of the initiatives that we're doing right now is doing table discussions like this.
33:04What are the biggest concerns?
33:06A lot of people think that our current president is only focusing on certain things,
33:12and then I talked about insulin.
33:15Your grandma needs insulin.
33:17Well, you know how before she couldn't afford insulin, and now she could afford insulin.
33:21So what it is is bringing the message home,
33:24connecting it to somebody that they love, that they know,
33:28because that's the only way that they're going to see the big picture.
33:32Sometimes people say, oh, you know, the Latino, the immigrants, the refugees are taking Guacha.
33:39Well, what kind of Guachas are those?
33:42So, oh, Latinos are, Mexicans are only good for construction.
33:47A Mexican comes and builds a house like this.
33:51It's not only Mexicans.
33:52There's a lot of other people that have different kinds of jobs,
33:55and so it's just enabling them.
33:57It's just education, education, and that's where I need help from,
34:01and I think a lot of people need help from.
34:03There are some churches and some spaces that they just focus on their spirituality,
34:08but we have to bring in the message that in order for you to say that spirituality
34:15is a sacred space, you have to look like people that is going to respect your faith,
34:21your faith in general.
34:23It's just because I look different or because I sound different,
34:27I'm not different and I'm not a threat to this country.
34:30I appreciate that.
34:32Oh, yeah, I was going to say, like, you're on the ballot, you're on the ballot this year,
34:37so hopefully y'all are not going to avoid it.
34:39And when y'all are not going to avoid it,
34:42when people are inevitably asking the question, you know,
34:45what if the president is down for me, you know, what if y'all are down for me,
34:48I'm just really curious to know how y'all respond to that.
34:51You can flatter him constantly.
34:57Yeah, so we're not going to avoid it.
35:01We're not going to avoid it.
35:02I think that part of it is that we're not going to avoid it.
35:04We're not going to avoid it.
35:05We're not going to avoid it.
35:06We're not going to avoid it.
35:07We're not going to avoid it.
35:09We're not going to avoid it.
35:10We're not going to avoid it.
35:11We're not going to avoid it.
35:12We're not going to avoid it.
35:13We're not going to avoid it.
35:14We're not going to avoid it.
35:15We're not going to avoid it.
35:16We're not going to avoid it.
35:17We're not going to avoid it.
35:18We're not going to avoid it.
35:19We're not going to avoid it.
35:20We're not going to avoid it.
35:21We're not going to avoid it.
35:22We're not going to avoid it.
35:23We're not going to avoid it.
35:24We're not going to avoid it.
35:25We're not going to avoid it.
35:26We're not going to avoid it.
35:27We're not going to avoid it.
35:28We're not going to avoid it.
35:29We're not going to avoid it.
35:30We're not going to avoid it.
35:31We're not going to avoid it.
35:32We're not going to avoid it.
35:33We're not going to avoid it.
35:34We're not going to avoid it.
35:35We're not going to avoid it.
35:36We're not going to avoid it.
35:37We're not going to avoid it.
35:38We're not going to avoid it.
35:39We're not going to avoid it.
35:40We're not going to avoid it.
35:41We're not going to avoid it.
35:42We're not going to avoid it.
35:43We're not going to avoid it.
35:44We're not going to avoid it.
35:45We're not going to avoid it.
35:46We're not going to avoid it.
35:47We're not going to avoid it.
35:48We're not going to avoid it.
35:49We're not going to avoid it.
35:50We're not going to avoid it.
35:51We're not going to avoid it.
35:52We're not going to avoid it.
35:54We're not going to avoid it.
35:55We're not going to avoid it.
35:56We're not going to avoid it.
35:57We're not going to avoid it.
35:58We're not going to avoid it.
35:59We're not going to avoid it.
36:00We're not going to avoid it.
36:01We're not going to avoid it.
36:02We're not going to avoid it.
36:03We're not going to avoid it.
36:04We're not going to avoid it.
36:05We're not going to avoid it.
36:06We're not going to avoid it.
36:07We're not going to avoid it.
36:08We're not going to avoid it.
36:09We're not going to avoid it.
36:10We're not going to avoid it.
36:11We're not going to avoid it.
36:12We're not going to avoid it.
36:13We're not going to avoid it.
36:14We're not going to avoid it.
36:15We're not going to avoid it.
36:17We're not going to avoid it.
36:18We're not going to avoid it.
36:19We're not going to avoid it.
36:20We're not going to avoid it.
36:21We're not going to avoid it.
36:22We're not going to avoid it.
36:23We're not going to avoid it.
36:24We're not going to avoid it.
36:25We're not going to avoid it.
36:26We're not going to avoid it.
36:27We're not going to avoid it.
36:28We're not going to avoid it.
36:29We're not going to avoid it.
36:30We're not going to avoid it.
36:31We're not going to avoid it.
36:32We're not going to avoid it.
36:33We're not going to avoid it.
36:34We're not going to avoid it.
36:35We're not going to avoid it.
36:36We're not going to avoid it.
36:37We're not going to avoid it.
36:38We're not going to avoid it.
36:39We're not going to avoid it.
36:40We're not going to avoid it.
36:41We're not going to avoid it.
36:42We're not going to avoid it.
36:43We're not going to avoid it.
36:44We're not going to avoid it.
36:45We're not going to avoid it.
36:46We're not going to avoid it.
36:47We're not going to avoid it.
36:48We're not going to avoid it.
36:49We're not going to avoid it.
36:50We're not going to avoid it.
36:51We're not going to avoid it.
36:52We're not going to avoid it.
36:53We're not going to avoid it.
36:54We're not going to avoid it.
36:55We're not going to avoid it.
36:56We're not going to avoid it.
36:57We're not going to avoid it.
36:58We're not going to avoid it.
36:59We're not going to avoid it.
37:00We're not going to avoid it.
37:02We're not going to avoid it.
37:03We're not going to avoid it.
37:04We're not going to avoid it.
37:05We're not going to avoid it.
37:06We're not going to avoid it.
37:07We're not going to avoid it.
37:08We're not going to avoid it.
37:09We're not going to avoid it.
37:10We're not going to avoid it.
37:11We're not going to avoid it.
37:12We're not going to avoid it.
37:13We're not going to avoid it.
37:14We're not going to avoid it.
37:15We're not going to avoid it.
37:16We're not going to avoid it.
37:17We're not going to avoid it.
37:18We're not going to avoid it.
37:19We're not going to avoid it.
37:20We're not going to avoid it.
37:21We're not going to avoid it.
37:22We're not going to avoid it.
37:23We're not going to avoid it.
37:24We're not going to avoid it.
37:25We're not going to avoid it.
37:26We're not going to avoid it.
37:27We're not going to avoid it.
37:28We're not going to avoid it.
37:29We're not going to avoid it.
37:30We're not going to avoid it.
37:31We're not going to avoid it.
37:32We're not going to avoid it.
37:33We're not going to avoid it.
37:34We're not going to avoid it.
37:35We're not going to avoid it.
37:36We're not going to avoid it.
37:37We're not going to avoid it.
37:38We're not going to avoid it.
37:39We're not going to avoid it.
37:40We're not going to avoid it.
37:41We're not going to avoid it.
37:42We're not going to avoid it.
37:43We're not going to avoid it.
37:44We're not going to avoid it.
37:45We're not going to avoid it.
37:47And it doesn't matter how good my legislation is or how well-intended my intentions are
37:54to help the people in this community.
37:57Without the help from our colleagues, we can't get that done.
38:01And the same with, you know, President Biden.
38:04He's done a lot.
38:05But there's a lot more that he wants to get done.
38:09And without that help across the aisle, without those votes that, you know, that would help
38:16to pass a lot of that legislation through, it just doesn't happen.
38:20And I think that when you explain to people, sometimes people assume, okay, I elected you.
38:27Or I elected President Biden.
38:29My job is done.
38:30There's nothing else that I need to do.
38:32He can do it all on his own.
38:34And that's not the case.
38:36And I think when people really understand that, and you stand there and you have those
38:41conversations with them, they get that.
38:44And what better people to bring that message out into their voice than the elected officials
38:49that are doing the work?
38:51When we go out and we're not going to avoid it, it happens.
38:54You know, I appreciate you saying that.
38:56You know, it's also a disconnect sometimes with people and their elected officials, right?
39:00Because that level of trust.
39:01And so Mandela, you know, working with organizations, getting, encouraging people to get out to
39:06vote, getting folks to the polls, registering folks to vote.
39:09What are you also seeing on the ground outside with organizations and what they're doing?
39:14But also, what are some of the tools that you need for people to get you or step up
39:18to do in order to make sure we're getting people to the polls?
39:21Yeah, so we've been on doors since September with Power to Votes.
39:27That's a C4 campus.
39:29We're talking about the needs to get out there and vote for the president, vote for
39:33Senator Ball, and the rest of the ballot as well.
39:37It's been over a hundred thousand doors since September.
39:40But even, you know, the 2020 re-doors, we were asking more questions than, you know,
39:48saying, you know, the promotion committee candidate.
39:51And I'll be honest and say, you know, the reactions weren't great.
39:54I mean, there's so much people who continue to be able to pass.
39:57We will continue to knock doors.
39:59We're not, you know, scaling the largest, you know, grassroots program ever in this
40:03state.
40:04But unfortunately, there are a lot of people who haven't had this information.
40:09Sorry.
40:10And in addition to the general feeling that, you know, their quality of life has not improved,
40:16there's something, you know, on the internet, stuff like C4.
40:20That program is getting ready to go to sunset.
40:22So even if people will have an opportunity to get connected, there's going to potentially
40:27be a cliffhanger, which, in my opinion, is going to be one of the most unfortunate things
40:31because it's going to lead to further discussion of government doing the right thing for them.
40:35You know, people always talk about, yeah, you showed up and you did something before
40:38an election.
40:39The worst thing that can happen is somebody getting taken away right before an election.
40:42But as, you know, incomes, wages have increased.
40:46We still see the same rising costs as the grocery stores.
40:50And I think that one thing that we try to do at the door as an organization is to, one,
40:56draw that contrast.
40:57Two, make sure people know that it's not just up to the president.
41:02It's not just up to people.
41:03So there's involvement.
41:04There's so many other moving parts.
41:06And participation in local government is also going to be key.
41:11So you actually recognize your full power, your full potential as a voter.
41:15So we provide that information.
41:16Because sometimes, you know, I was a receptionist at a very long time in my life.
41:20So I know what kind of calls come in, right?
41:22Like, people call issues of all sorts of levels of government.
41:25It had nothing to do with the city.
41:27And sometimes, like, the blame is in this place.
41:30And so we try to make sure that people know exactly who they need to bring their grievances
41:34to, how they can most effectively air those grievances down.
41:39On the nonpartisan side, you know, there's work that's happening with a number of organizations
41:44where they're talking about benefits that people have access to that they had no idea about.
41:49This is low to moderate income people who have been struggling for a while to rise in energy costs.
41:56And then there's an opportunity for them to lower their energy costs, be able to invest in those clean energy upgrades
42:01to get the installation work done.
42:03And the installation work goes a long way in a state like Wisconsin to reduce a person's energy burden.
42:09So there was recently a poll that showed, you know, a number of the cities in Milwaukee, you know,
42:16we are still having our challenges.
42:18But we're doing better than some other metropolitan areas that are of importance.
42:23It's like Denver, like a Detroit, like a Philly.
42:26But the more we can go out there and have those conversations, look people eye to eye,
42:32and also have trusted messengers going out there, enjoy it.
42:36Because, you know, too often it's a random organizer out there from wherever.
42:41And I was one of those random organizers when I met you in 2008.
42:44Knocking on doors in a place where I had very little familiarity.
42:47Yeah, definitely.
42:48But, you know, time goes on.
42:502008 was a much different story, right?
42:52People were motivated.
42:54Much different time.
42:55People were motivated regardless.
42:58But now it is an uphill climb.
43:03We can all admit that.
43:04But we have folks who are from the communities that they're knocking on doors.
43:08And I've been out with our canvassers a number of times.
43:10I've been able to see people, you know, bump into somebody at the school or bump into a family member at the door,
43:15which made the point that much easier to get across.
43:20So what we need is just, you know, obviously it's always, you know, more investment in the program.
43:25But most importantly, we need people who are, one, going to continue to do the right thing.
43:33And, two, end up in the community, which you're doing.
43:36But we need people to be a little bit more vocal about what's going on and actually what's getting in the way
43:42so that we can kind of grasp what's going on even more clearly.
43:44And, Congressmen, just so you know, we don't have too much time,
43:47but I do want to quickly say this before I pass the mic to you to respond and close this out,
43:52but this is a very unique opportunity for Wisconsin.
43:55You know, we just had a ruling come down where we got our own redistricting process that went down,
44:00and now we don't have any gerrymandered maps.
44:02So it's not just about voting for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
44:07It's not just about Tammy Baldwin and Congresswoman Gwen Moore in the Milwaukee area.
44:12It's about making sure that we're electing Democrats up and down the ticket,
44:16even in our local communities and across the state,
44:19because it gets us closer to doing the exact job that we need to do for the people that we serve every single day.
44:25So I just want to say thank you for being here, because this is extremely important,
44:29but it's also extremely important for people in communities of color to see someone of your stature coming here
44:35and recognizing the importance of a Milwaukee in this upcoming election.
44:39So thank you.
44:40Well, thank you very much, and thanks to all of you.
44:42And let me begin by saying, I know, congratulations to you guys.
44:47We still have gerrymandered maps in South Carolina, thanks to the United States Supreme Court.
44:54Even though the lower court said they are gerrymandered unconstitutionally,
44:58the Supreme Court step in and says people are going to run their race anyway.
45:02And so we still have gerrymandered maps.
45:05My youngest daughter is up for re-election this year to the school board.
45:09And so it's very important to me that these local elections.
45:13They're going after the school board now.
45:15Absolutely. They're going after them.
45:18With moms going all over the country demanding that books be taken out of schools
45:26and that they change the school board.
45:30So we're going after all of that.
45:32Let me say a couple of things that I hope you will take away from this.
45:36I also chair the House Democrats Creative Working Group.
45:39I grew up in a post which I did follow my father into the ministry,
45:44but I know how important the faith community is to this process.
45:51So I'm asking that every church or synagogue or temple or mosque that I know adopt a precept.
46:03Don't just go out and talk about it. Adopt a precept.
46:08Because I learned in the book of James, the very second chapter, where it says,
46:13faith without works is dead.
46:16So you can have all the faith you want to, but you've got to put this faith to work.
46:21And so we have to let people know part of your job is to make sure that if your brother or sister
46:28comes to you hungry or naked, you feed them and clothe them.
46:31Don't just pray for them.
46:34Go to work and feed them and clothe them.
46:37And you do that with these programs that you all are creating at the state levels
46:42and you're doing at the national levels to create staff programs that the republics
46:47are now trying to cut $33 billion out of so that we won't be able to feed hungry children.
46:55So I'm asking.
46:57You know, I'm in Omega. There are athletes and there are capitalists and there are saints and there are atheists.
47:02I'm asking every sorority, every fraternity and their chapters, adopt the precept.
47:10By that I mean get the entire precept list.
47:16Know that your next meeting, look at that precept list and say,
47:20I'm going to be responsible for these 1,500 people on this list.
47:25My chapters will be responsible for that.
47:27So we've got to do that.
47:29I'm a third-degree Mason.
47:31I'm saying to every Masonic group, adopt the precept.
47:36Don't just talk about it.
47:38Pay the two or three dollars it takes.
47:43Get the list.
47:45Go through that list.
47:47At your large meeting when you finish, whatever you're going to do,
47:52sit down with your membership and say, we're going to be responsible for this precinct.
47:57And if the divine nine get together, the Alpha's going to take one precinct,
48:01the Omega's take another, the Delta's take the eighth, whoever.
48:06We have got to put this on a person-to-person level.
48:11You talk about, I call them validators.
48:13I keep calling them something else.
48:15Trusted messengers.
48:17Same thing.
48:19Let's get the trusted messengers.
48:21Let's get the validators.
48:23When people they know knock on their door, they're more apt to respond.
48:29One of the biggest mistakes this party ever made seven years ago when we decided
48:33that we were not going to hire local people, we were going to bring people in from the outside.
48:37We did that back in 1990.
48:41We did in 1902.
48:43I remember when they did it.
48:45It still happens.
48:46Well, it's crazy.
48:48Because my late wife, if you knock on her door, none of y'all do this up north,
48:53and you call her Emily, she's going to close the door.
48:58I'm serious.
49:00She grew up in rural South Carolina where her mother was never allowed to be,
49:06was not addressed as Mrs. or her daddy, as Mr.
49:13Right down through my daughters, they teach their children.
49:16This is yes ma'am, no ma'am, Mr. and Mrs.
49:19You don't call people by their first names you don't know.
49:22That's just another thing.
49:24And so we had to get people who know the culture.
49:28So don't come to Milwaukee unless you're going to get people to work in this campaign
49:34that these people know and relate to.
49:36And so that's the kind of stuff we've got to do in this campaign.
49:40Remember the culture.
49:42Get the people out of these communities.
49:44Get the people who know and they respect.
49:48And let's win this race.
49:50Because philosophy will be the most consequential lecture ever.
49:54Maybe since 1876.
49:56Now I'm going to get into a lot of history of the day.
49:58But let me close my comments by saying this.
50:00When I was studying at the HBCU down in Barnesburg, South Carolina,
50:05I learned the teachings, at least from the book,
50:11to the body of work of Alexis de Tocqueville.
50:15De Tocqueville came to this country to study our penal system.
50:20While he was here, he said he saw something magical about this country.
50:27And he set out to find out what that magic was.
50:32He went all over, into our legislative halls, on our campuses,
50:38our colleges and universities.
50:41And de Tocqueville came to the conclusion.
50:44He said it was not until he went into our places of worship
50:48he found out what the real magic of this country was.
50:54And he said, America is great.
51:00Because its people are good.
51:04And if the people of America ever cease to be good,
51:10America will cease to be great.
51:13We've got a candidate for president that's creating nothing but hate
51:19and division, creating chaos,
51:24putting the worst of the American people
51:28on display.
51:30That's the big threat to this country.
51:34I agree with de Tocqueville.
51:37We must not allow the goodness, the basic goodnesses of the American people
51:44to get annihilated or eliminated.
51:49Because if we do, this country will lose its greatness.
51:55That's what this campaign is all about to me.
51:57Thank you, guys.
51:59Thank you, everybody.