Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising

Mother-daughter team Danell Cross and Melody McCurtis are determined to prevent what America witnessed during Wisconsin’s April primary election from happening again. It is estimated that the primary, held despite Covid-19 concerns, disenfranchised almost 16 percent of Black voters in Milwaukee, the largest city in a key swing state. “Metcalfe Park: Black Vote Rising” follows Danell and her daughter, Melody, as they organize their Black community of Metcalfe Park to not just prepare for reduced polling stations and see through disinformation campaigns, but to find a way to vote amid the challenges of job loss, furloughs, school closure, and illness. As they canvass door-to-door to reach people who are missed by digital social media campaigns, they deliver food and Covid-19 safety kits along with voting instructions. And they try to convince cynical and distrustful neighbors to vote despite their tested faith in the system and legitimate musings about what a president will do to change things on their block.

This project was supported by the journalism nonprofit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and was made in association with Wisconsin Watch and the PBS World Channel.