- Mr. Crowley, thank you for joining us.
- Thank you for having me.
- So as we revisit images from the past year,
I get the sense, the raw emotion
from what happened to George Floyd,
the stress of the Derek Chauvin trial,
it feels like the weight of all this
is gonna be here for some time.
Can you give people a sense of what they can do
to lift some of the pain from what they're feeling?
- Well, one, when we think about the pain
that we have been feeling, you know, we have to talk about it.
And I think one of the things that we have done right here
within Milwaukee County is one,
we have to acknowledge that there is a issue going on,
when you think about both pandemics that we have been in
with COVID-19 and racism,
but it's not just about talking about it.
It's not just about acknowledging it,
because we can't be complacent about what has been going on.
So we have to continue to form partnerships,
work with our neighbors,
organizations, government at all levels
about how we continue to move forward
and make sure that people in this community feel heard
and they have a right to life.
- And what are your thoughts
on how people have been commemorating
this emotionally painful murder a year later?
- You know, I know a lot of people have really taken
to the streets.
One, to let their voices be heard,
but really to call for an investment in social programs
that will help out this community.
When we think about what we have seen
in the past many years, generations,
it has been an unequal distribution of resources
from government at all levels.
And so for us, you know,
it's about listening to the community
and doing what we need to do
to make sure that we're combating racism
across this whole country.
But we also have to make sure
that we're starting right here within Milwaukee county.
And I would say that's also one of the reasons why we say
that racism was a public health crisis,
the first in the nation.
And we have seen 180 communities follow suit.
So we know that we are on the right path,
but we know that we still have a long road ahead of us.
- Yeah, I know you mentioned that a year ago
that you saw racism as a public health crisis
and you wanted to see some change come.
Has there been enough change in your view in the last year?
- Well, I would say that it's never enough.
When you think about everything that we have been enduring
in the middle of this pandemic with COVID-19.
And so I would say
that we see a lot of change here within Milwaukee County.
We not only say that racism is a public health crisis,
but we've been focusing on our first strategic plann
in over 20 years.
And we have three strategic focus areas
that we're focusing on,
which is one, intentional inclusion,
making sure that the people at the table,
the decision makers,
looks exactly like the community.
We want to bridge the gap
in both race and health disparities,
making sure that we can break down silos,
but we also have to put our money where our mouth is,
and that's investing in equity,
making sure that people feel heard
and feel like they are being valued.
So for us, I would say that we are constantly
taking baby steps to combat these forces,
but we can't do it alone.
It's gonna take all of us coming together
and making sure that we do this right.
And I would say that when you think about this work,
it's not for the lighthearted; this is hard work.
It can take a huge toll on us,
and self-care is definitely needed,
but we need all hands on deck.
It doesn't matter if you're a Republican, a Democrat,
a union member, or a business owner,
we need you at the table to figure out
how we solve the issues our community faces.
- Yeah, a new poll by the Associated Press
and the National Opinion Research Center indicates
that most Blacks think
that racism and police brutality are serious problems.
A far less percentage of whites feel the same way.
Why do you think we see the disparity
of opinion between the races?
- I guess at the end of the day,
it's really about having that cultural conversation.
A lot of the times,
you don't understand what somebody has experienced
until you have that deep conversation,
and sometimes it can be uncomfortable.
And so, what we need to do is one,
recognize that there are certain experiences
that certain people have in this community
and we need to call it out.
But I know it's not gonna be easy
when you have two forces coming together
with opposing views to make the change that's needed.
But it's really about
becoming comfortable being uncomfortable,
learning about different backgrounds,
different belief systems,
because we can't continue to allow zip codes,
what you look like,
to determine what the outcomes are gonna be in your life.
- You mentioned zip codes,
do you think this issue of social justice resonates
in the rural communities throughout Wisconsin?
- Oh, I would say absolutely.
You know, when we think about violence in general, poverty,
when we think about the issues of education,
the issues of jobs, that is shared
between many urban and rural communities alike.
And so a lot of the times, if you ask me,
the issue is that it just looks different
in each of those communities.
And so we just need to, again, step outside our comfort zone
and learn about what other folks are going through,
but it's gonna take time, you know.
We are talking about a particular -ism, racism,
which has been here for many decades, hundreds of years.
And so I don't believe
that we're gonna solve all of our problems overnight
or within a year,
but we have to continue to make every stride
that we have available to us
to make sure that we combat all of these forces
and really eliminate racism as an issue here in America,
and across the country and the world.
- And for you as a Black man,
at the table in Wisconsin's largest Black populated city,
what kind of things have you been able to accomplish
from your position as county executive during the past year?
- Well, great question.
You know, in the middle of this pandemic,
we've seen how it disproportionately affected
communities of color.
And so, one of the first things that we did,
is we created a dashboard in March of 2020,
which allowed people to actually see
what our COVID numbers really look like.
And so for us, it's about making sure
that we continue to do what we're doing, you know.
We started a healthy homes program not too long ago,
to help those who are homebound and can't leave their homes,
to make sure they get vaccinated.
We wanted to help out many small businesses.
We gave out $11 million to small businesses,
with the majority of the recipients being
minority, women-owned, and disabled-owned veterans.
And so, we're gonna continue to do work like this.
And even with our zip code program, you know,
we've seen how the distribution of vaccines was not fair,
or it wasn't equitable.
And so we started the zip code program
to help those in some of the most underserved zip codes
within the city of Milwaukee.
So we want to continue to have programs like this,
because we're learning that we're on the right path,
but it's gonna take all of us coming together
to really tackle this issue and solve the problem.
- I've got time for one quick one, really quick.
Does the anniversary of George Floyd's death
become the permanent time marker we use
to measure progress on social justice, real quickly?
- I think it's not just about George Floyd.
We have numerous amount of Black people,
Black women and men,
people of color who have all died.
And so I think that when we look at George Floyd,
we look at justice as it relates to Chauvin being found guilty.
But I think that as we look at this,
we have to recognize that these killings are still going on.
Brutality is still happening.
And so we still have a long road ahead of us.
It's about making sure that we build a big enough table,
so everybody can sit around to help solve these issues.
- All right, we'll have to leave it there.
David Crowley, a Milwaukee County executive,
thank you for joining us for this important discussion.
- Thank you for having me.