- It will take all hands on
deck to heal our community.
That is in the agenda
for the organization Black
Leaders Organizing for
Communities, based in
Milwaukee.
Just about a month ago, we sat
down with BLOC's Executive
Director Angela Lang in the
direct aftermath of the killing
of George Floyd.
Angela Lang joins us again
tonight with her thoughts
on where we've come.
And thank you very much for
being here.
- Thanks for having me. Good to
see you.
- So four weeks ago, you
said that in prior cases
of police brutality against
black people, that there
are these outcries and then
a couple of months later, it
seems to go back to business as
usual.
Are we now slipping back into
business as usual or
is this outcry enduring?
- I think it's enduring.
I'm actually really
hopeful and really excited to
continue to see protests,
to see people be in
it for the long term.
I'm really grateful for that.
I think, you know, we are
living in this moment that just
feels different from anything
else that we've ever seen
before.
We're also seeing how there's a
narrative shift that's
happening all across the
country. We're able to see
real changes and real
conversations that are
happening in ways that have
never happened before.
And so I am so grateful for the
protesters to be able to
continue to up the pressure.
I don't know what day it is
anymore, but it's definitely
been the last several weeks.
And I think people are in
it for the long haul.
I think people are going to
continue to to be outraged.
I was just made aware
earlier this week about the
shooting in the Sheboygan
area. The officer-involved
shooting, looking to
learn more details around that.
But we just-- it's just another
example that these incidences
and these murders continue
to happen and this brutality
continue to happen.
And as long as that continues,
I think the protesters and all
of us, organizers and activists
are really in it for the long
haul to really make that
substantial change that we're
looking for.
- In terms of working toward
concrete reforms, how would
you regard progress
on that so far, concrete
reforms?
- Yeah, I think we're seeing
some more immediate solutions
right now. I know in the city
of Milwaukee, the Common
Council is evaluating
at least a 10% decrease
in the police budget for the
fall.
We are in the very, very
beginning stages of the city
budget here in Milwaukee.
And the fact that the Common
Council is evaluating right now
a 10% decrease and
knowing that those numbers
could fluctuate, they can go
up, but they set the standard
that they're looking at,
reducing the police budget by
at least 10%.
These are conversations that
have been happening for years.
And we're really in this
pivotal moment where it really
feels like a perfect storm
and really this opportunity to
make concrete changes.
I think being able to change
what is happening internally
with police departments
is a very immediate thing.
But we really also should be
thinking long term strategies.
How are we defining safety
as a community?
How are we keeping people safe?
And what are bigger reforms
that we're looking at, whether
it's targeting the police
department budget, but also, on
the other hand, making sure
we're investing those resources
into things like mental health,
into youth programs, into
transportation so people can
have access to living wage
jobs. I think those are broader
conversations.
And so I'm really glad to see
the initial conversations.
But at the end of the day, I
think people want something
that's long lasting.
It's not just one budget cycle.
It's going to be over several
years.
- Yeah.
At the state level, there seems
to have been so far very
little traction on agreement
over reforms
in this regard.
How impatient are people
for change?
- Yeah. I mean, I think people
are incredibly impatient and
that's why we're in the moment
that we're in right now.
When you really have to justify
your existence as a black
person, as a person of color,
to really have
to justify and say my life
matters, too.
That's why people are
impatient. That's why we're
seeing the protests happening
every night for it for several
weeks at a time.
People are fed up and people
are impatient.
And I think people are looking
for that tangible solution.
People are looking for tangible
results and people are looking
for leadership.
People are making their voices
heard. But at the end
of the day, if our leadership
in our legislature,
we know the dynamics there.
If they're not willing to act,
then I can imagine that these
protests are going to continue
until there's real change.
- Meanwhile, your organization
is in the midst of mobilizing
the vote in the presidential
election.
How have the pandemic
and response and reaction to
systemic racism
affected that work?
- Yeah, it's definitely been an
interesting year for us.
We knew that we were going to
be in for a little bit of a
challenge since this is our
first year as a--
this is our first presidential
cycle as an organization.
So this was new for us, but
we were ready for the challenge
and, you know, layer in the
COVID pandemic and layer in the
protests.
It made things a little bit
interesting of how we're had to
be nimble and get creative.
We've had to move exclusively
to digital.
We are texting and phone
banking, ramping up our social
media presence.
We're doing virtual town halls
with candidates that are on the
ballot for August.
So we've had to shift a little
bit, but our priorities are
still the same.
We are still looking to have a
fellowship start on
July 14th.
And the theme about that is
going to be around voter
registration and how to
request an absentee ballot.
We're still looking to expand
our team. So we're holding
interviews this week
specifically to hire more
ambassadors. So even though
we're not able to be on doors
at this moment, the way that we
want to, we're hopeful that
we're able to do that later on.
And we're using this opportunity
as as a learning and
educational moment.
How are we actually being able
to connect the dots
between history and how we've
gotten here in this moment?
You know, so our team, they get
homework assignments.
They're looking up things like
black Wall Street.
They're looking up things like
gerrymandering and voter
suppression efforts in the 60s
and how that is
impacting us today.
So we're really trying to paint
this full picture with our team
about how we got here.
This isn't something that just
happened overnight.
I feel that when I look at the
protesters and I see the
protest and the action that's
happening, I feel that it's
mirroring the Civil Rights
era. And it's the closest thing
that I have seen to
any comparison to the Civil
Rights era.
And we're we're continuing
to repeat history.
And so we want to make sure
that we're using this as an
opportunity to really
connect the dots to policy of
how we got here and why it's so
important to make our voices
heard in November too.
- Great. Well, Angela Lang,
thank you very much for your
time once again.
- Thanks. I appreciate it.