Quick facts about BLOC
BLOC has already jump-started its 2023 work with a comprehensive initiative to engage and turn out Milwaukee voters for the critically important Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The primary election is February 21 and the general election is April 4, so BLOC is already knocking doors and educating community members about the candidates and about what is at stake. Support BLOC’s efforts here.
About BLOC: Since its inception in 2017, BLOC has been centering underrepresented Black voices in Milwaukee and throughout the state of Wisconsin to ensure a high quality of life and access to opportunities for members of the Black community. BLOC is educating people civically, and building a strong sense of community. BLOC is the only Black led organization that has a year-round field program, which is critical for maintaining a strong voter base in election years.
In 2020, BLOC drove turnout, helping Wisconsin to cast 28,454 more votes for Joe Biden than Hillary Clinton in 2016; Biden won the state by just 20,500 votes! In 2020, BLOC also:
Onboarded 25 Ambassadors for a total of 73 Ambassadors working to engage community members. When COVID closed down their canvassing work, BLOC trained their Ambassadors to have conversations via phone, text, and emails to proceed with hearing the Community's issues as well as informing and engaging them. Since March of 2020, Ambassadors have made a total of 242,156 calls, sent out 650,670 text messages, and dropped literature and information at 37,173 doors.
Used a digital organizer for the first time to organize virtual town halls, organize fun and educational online events, and partner with officials and organizations to engage community members.
Hired a Special Projects Organizer to develop and implement coalition-based strategies for post-election work needed to affirm the fair results of the November 2020 election.
Featured heavily in media pieces about the election, including the video Dress Rehearsal, which was shown in the Crooked Media pre-game show at the Democratic National Convention.
In 2021-22, BLOC will fight for a democracy in which all voices are heard, by advocating to redraw gerrymandered districts to fairly represent BIPOC communities, restore the right to vote to all incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Americans, and prevent voter suppression and big money influence in politics.
Develop a Political Ambassador program to develop relationships with elected officials and candidates and work to hold them accountable, and create agendas that advance priority issues.
Develop a Court Watch program to advocate for fair treatment in the criminal justice system.
With Flip the Vote’s Help, BLOC will build capacity and leadership for critical 2022 and 2023 elections by:
Expanding and developing its Ambassador Program to be able to go deeper, expand their reach, and engage people multiple times, including continuing its expansion into the Racine and Kenosha areas (home of Jacob Blake and a significant police reform movement).
Creating Task Forces to develop advocacy strategies for priority issues, such as education and public safety. Each Task Force will have its own organizer from within BLOC, which will foster leadership development and scalability, and assist BLOC to better engage with their communities.