Can Wisconsin’s 6% Black population achieve real political power to affect change

Key Highlights

1. “In his provocative book and documentary ‘The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto,’ Charles M. Blow argues that for Black Americans to achieve true political power, there must be a strategic reverse migration back to the South.”
2. “If even a fraction of the Black population spread across other states concentrated in the South, it could reach a critical mass to swing statewide races, turn red states blue, gain governing power, and radically transform the political landscape for Black people.”
3. “With just 6% of Wisconsin’s population, the Black community are at the political margins, with limited ability to set the agenda or determine outcomes. Even if every eligible Black voter turned out, it wouldn’t be enough to swing most statewide races.”
4. “If Wisconsin’s Black population rose from 6% to 20% or 30%, it would radically alter electoral math and political dynamics. No party could win without the Black vote. Black issues and demands would have to be front and center.”
5. “While fighting for rights in Wisconsin, Black Americans must zoom out and think bigger. Supporting a new Great Migration to build Black majorities with governing power in some states, while maximizing mobilization and influence in others, can be a two-track path to expanding Black political might nationwide.”

In his provocative book and HBO documentary “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto,” New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow makes a compelling case that for Black Americans to achieve true political power and self-determination, there must be a strategic reverse migration of Black people back to the South. 

Blow argues that while the Great Migration of the early-to-mid 20th century, in which over 6 million African Americans fled the oppression of the Jim Crow South for the North and West, was necessary for survival and opportunity at the time, it ended up diluting Black political power. Today, Black Americans make up sizable minorities in many Northern, Midwestern and Western states like New York, Illinois, Michigan, and California but rarely constitute a large enough share of the electorate to sway elections and policy decisively.

However, due to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, Southern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and South Carolina have much higher percentages of Black residents – often 30% or more. Blow contends that if even a fraction of the Black population spread across the other states concentrated in the South, it could reach a critical mass to swing statewide races, turn red states blue, gain governing power, and radically transform the political and economic landscape for Black people.

It’s a bold proposition, one that admittedly faces major hurdles. The South’s long history of violent racist oppression and resistance to Black freedom and equality can’t be overlooked. Its conservative political establishment and the white majority would fiercely oppose any “takeover” attempt. And the prospect of leaving behind lives and communities in the North for an uncertain future down South is a big ask for many Black folks.

But Blow lays out the raw demographic potential. For example, if just half of the Black residents of Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California relocated to Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, those states would flip from red to blue. With an empowered Black electorate able to determine electoral outcomes, ‌policy priorities would drastically change – think voting rights protections, criminal justice reform, investments in education and healthcare, reparations for slavery and Jim Crow, and more.

Of course, as Blow acknowledges, not every Black person can or should move to the South. There are other ways to build political power where we are. But overall, he contends the Black community needs to think much more strategically about leveraging our numbers and geographic distribution for maximal political impact. Continuing to be dispersed minorities in most states may bring some representation and benefits. Still, it’s unlikely to translate into the real power needed to achieve full racial justice and equity.

This has major implications for states like my home of Wisconsin, where Black people make up just 6% of the population. Black Wisconsinites have made valiant efforts to gain more political power and voice in recent years. We’ve fought hard for voting rights, police accountability, fair maps, and investment in our communities. We’ve elected trailblazing Black leaders at the local level and sent the first Black woman, Gwen Moore, to Congress.

But the hard truth is, with our statewide numbers, Black Wisconsinites are still at the political margins, with limited ability to set the agenda or determine political outcomes. Even if every eligible Black voter turned out (and we know voter suppression efforts work hard to prevent that), it wouldn’t be enough to swing most statewide races in our favor. And for over a decade, an anti-democratic reality has loomed over Wisconsin: elections for the state legislature haven’t mattered.

Since 2012, no matter how voters throughout one of America’s most competitive states cast their ballots, Republicans have been guaranteed to hold control of the state legislature. That’s because, for more than a decade, Republicans drew districts’ lines that were so distorted in their favor that they cemented their control. The dominance was underscored in 2022 when Tony Evers, a Democrat, won re-election with 51.2% of the vote. Republicans still held 65% of the seats in the 99-person state assembly.

However, as of February 19th, that era is over. In a 4-3 decision in December, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state legislative maps, ruling that the many non-contiguous districts in the plan violated a constitutional requirement for contiguity. It invited the legislature, governor, and various other parties to submit proposals for a new map and warned it would draw its own if lawmakers and the governor could not agree on a plan.

A few weeks ago, after much wrangling, the Republican-led legislature passed new maps drawn by Governor Evers. The new plan dramatically reshapes politics in Wisconsin, giving Democrats a chance to win control of the assembly this year. They could also win control of the state senate in 2026, giving them complete control of state government.

This redistricting could open up new opportunities for Black political power in Wisconsin. With fairer maps, Black voters and candidates may have a better chance of influencing electoral outcomes and gaining representation. However, the fundamental challenge remains – with just 6% of the state population, Black Wisconsinites will likely still struggle to be a decisive force in statewide politics.

So what would it take for Black people to gain real political power in a state like Wisconsin? Honestly, probably something close to what Blow describes – a mass in-migration of Black folks from other parts of the country. If Wisconsin’s Black population rose from 6% to 20% or 30%, it would radically alter ‌electoral math and political dynamics. No party could win without the Black vote. Our issues and demands would have to be front and center.

Now, the idea of thousands of Black people suddenly moving to Wisconsin is far-fetched. The weather alone is a huge deterrent. But it illustrates just how much the deck is stacked against Black political power in states with relatively small Black populations, no matter how mobilized and engaged we are. We simply may not have the numbers to determine political outcomes.

So what would it take for Black people to gain real political power in a state like Wisconsin? We can look to states like Georgia and Minnesota for inspiration and lessons. In Georgia, years of concerted organizing and mobilization by Black leaders like Stacey Abrams helped turn out the Black vote in record numbers, flipping the state blue in the 2020 presidential and 2021 Senate races. While Georgia’s Black population, at over 30%, is much larger than Wisconsin’s, the key was harnessing that potential through grassroots engagement.

In Minnesota, Black people comprise about 7% of the population, similar to Wisconsin. But in recent years, Minnesota has elected several Black candidates to statewide office, including Attorney General Keith Ellison and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. Minneapolis also has a robust Black political leadership, with a strong Black presence on the city council and school board. The key there has been building power on the local level and forming multiracial coalitions with white allies and other communities of color.

Minnesota has also benefited from strong Black-led political organizations like the African American Leadership Forum and the Somali American Caucus. These groups have been instrumental in registering, educating and mobilizing Black voters and recruiting and supporting Black candidates. Wisconsin’s Black community could invest in similar institution-building to amplify our political voice and influence.

Another key lesson from Minnesota is the importance of multiracial coalition-building. Successful Black candidates like Keith Ellison have built broad support across racial lines while still centering a racial justice agenda. With its sizable Hmong, Latino, and Native populations in addition to Black folks, Wisconsin is increasingly diverse. Building solidarity and shared political agendas across these communities and with white allies will be crucial to expanding Black political power in the state.

But‌ the biggest takeaway from Minnesota is the power of sustained, strategic organizing over time. The state’s Black political leadership didn’t emerge overnight – it took years of unglamorous on-the-ground work to register voters, engage communities, train leaders, and build a movement. There are no shortcuts. In Wisconsin, we’ll need to play the long game, patiently building our power base in cities like Milwaukee, Racine, and Beloit year after year

Wisconsin can learn from these examples. We must double down on grassroots organizing to mobilize every possible Black voter. We must create coalitions with other Black communities in other urban centers in Wisconsin like Maidson, Green Bay and Beloit. We need to cultivate more Black candidates for office at every level. We must build alliances with other marginalized communities who share our values. These strategies can help maximize Black political power even with our limited numbers.

So while I believe we must keep fighting for our rights and well-being here in Wisconsin, we must zoom out and think about the bigger picture of Black political strategy nationwide, as Blow challenges us to do. Supporting a new Great Migration to build Black majorities with governing power in some states while fighting for maximum mobilization, representation and influence in others can be a two-track path to expanding Black political might overall.  

The limitations of being a political minority, and the revolutionary potential of Black voter majorities, can be seen right now in the state of Georgia. For years, pundits wrote off Georgia as a solid red state, despite its large Black population. But thanks to years of on-the-ground organizing by leaders like Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s growing, mobilized Black electorate tipped the state blue in the 2020 presidential race and 2021 Senate runoffs. 

Now, the Republican establishment is working overtime to suppress those Black votes with new restrictions. But they can’t change the fundamental demographic reality that Georgia is on the cusp of a Black political majority that could transform the state for generations. Imagine that scenario replicated across multiple Southern states, and you can see the disruptive potential of Blow’s vision.

Of course, there’s much more to building real Black political power than just numbers and geography. We need strong Black candidates, organizations, and movements. We need to build alliances with other communities of color and white allies. We need an agenda that speaks to the diversity of the Black experience. And we can’t forget the power of Black people in local governments, the judicial system, the economy, the media, and culture.

But Blow is right that unless we can gain a critical mass somewhere, Black folks will remain politically hamstrung overall, confined to pleading for incremental change within systems stacked against us. A New Great Migration may seem like a radical idea, but these are radical times, demanding outside-the-box thinking about Black liberation and power.

So while I’ll keep fighting the good fight here in Wisconsin, I’m intrigued and inspired by Blow’s vision. At the very least, it’s sparking some much-needed imaginative thinking about Black political strategy and power-building. One thing’s for sure – doing more of the same is unlikely to get us the political power and self-determination we’ve been striving for for generations. It’s time to take a page from our ancestors and set out for new lands in search of building our own promised land.