Economic Struggles and Politics: Malaika Jabali on Milwaukee’s Challenges

As the Republican National Convention comes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Laura talks with award-winning reporter and author, Malaika Jabali, author of "It's Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time to Break Up and How to Move On”. Wisconsin is one of the most racially unequal states in the country, with rising housing costs outpacing wages and one of the highest Black male incarceration rates in the nation. It’s also seen a precipitous decline in Black voting — for either party. Are these things connected? Back in 2020 Jabali went to Milwaukee to find out and made a short film “Left Out“ in which she spoke to Black elected officials as well as non-voters. In this episode of Laura Flanders & Friends we’ll revisit that film, hear Jabali’s advice for concerned Dems, and answers, when it comes to the RNC, what’s in it for Black Midwesterners? All that and a commentary from Laura. Jabali is the former Senior News and Politics Editor at Essence Magazine.

“It's almost a cottage industry of trying to figure out what happened with the white working class . . . The other side of that is that you have a lot of Black non-voters. A lot of Black people are saying, ‘We don't have any options between the Republican and Democratic party’ . . . So they tend to stay home. It was me trying to understand what was going on behind the numbers. I barely saw any journalism about it.” - Malaika Jabali

“. . . We have a propaganda machine through the US government, media, law and policy that made it illegal to be socialists . . . Martin Luther King, the Black Power Movement, the Black Panthers, they were surveilled for any hint of thinking about any anti-capitalist thought . . . What kind of system is that where it is so hell bent on freedom, but does not give you the freedom to think about other ideas and types of policies? I don't consider that very democratic.” - Malaika Jabali

Guest:  Malaika Jabali: Journalist & Author, “It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism”

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more.

Music In the Middle:  “Everything Must Change” by Milwaukee Jazz artist Jeannine Rivers.  And additional music included- "Steppin"  by Podington Bear.

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

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