Legislative Black Caucus Members Discuss Why We Benefit When We All Vote

By Karen Stokes

Biden for President Wisconsin held a “Get Out the Vote” press conference headlined by Legislative Black Caucus Members on Monday, Nov. 2, the day before the election.

The results of the 2020 election will shape U.S. politics for the next four years and beyond.

During the event, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, State Sen. Lena Taylor, State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, State Rep. David Bowen, State Rep. LaKeshia Myers, State Rep. Kalan Haywood II, Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde and candidate for State Assembly District 11 Dora Drake, collaborated to talk about issues facing the Black community and what’s at stake with the 2020 election.

The officials met at Coffee Makes You Black, 2803 N. Teutonia, to share their thoughts.

Bowen told the community that there’s a lot at stake, and voters can change the dynamic of politics not just on the federal level but on the state and the local level.

The candidates discussed the challenges the Black community faces, the economy, healthcare and more.

“Our economy has been devastated under COVID-19. Wisconsin ranked third per capita for COVID-19 in May. Wisconsin cases were the third worst in America for African Americans and people of color. Over 100,000 individuals qualify for unemployment insurance,” Johnson said. “For those waiting for unemployment payments, who lost their jobs, for the over 24,000 individuals in Milwaukee County that are on the eviction list, we can’t afford four more years of Trump, our working poor families can’t afford that, there’s too much at stake.”

“We have the trifecta of crises affecting us,” Moore said. “Not only a pandemic, not only an economic recession, we also have the crisis of the lack of equity, justice, education and criminal injustice. We have the power to change things, the future is now.”

Taylor reminded listeners that leadership matters. Whether it’s locally or nationally, show up and go vote it’s not going to change if you sit on the couch, Taylor said. Go to the polls and have your voice heard.

The ballots may take a few days to be processed because of the record number of early votes due to the pandemic. But, it is imperative that every vote is counted.