(bright music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music continues) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to Black Nouveau.

I'm Earl Arms, and this is our March edition.

March of course, is Women's History Month, and we'll tell you about an upcoming celebration of Milwaukee artist Della Wells at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Last month, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and Sheboygan Symphony created the Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience with ensemble Mik Nawooj.

Uzezi Okwata takes us behind the scenes for this unique blend of music styles.

And Congresswoman Gwen Moore speaks about the dangerous link between guns and domestic violence.

But we begin with a look forward to the April primary election.

(dramatic music) - That was a scene in April of 2020 as Wisconsinites braved the cold and COVID-19 to cast their ballots for the candidates of their choice.

Pastor Greg Lewis believes voting is the one equalizer in our country that African Americans can control.

Unfortunately, too many of us don't exercise that power and understand how one vote can control policies and impact our communities and neighborhoods.

As president of Souls to the Polls, Lewis and other faith leaders are working to get more Blacks informed on the importance of voting.

Pastor Lewis, thanks for joining us.

- No, thank you for having me.

- Alright.

- Really appreciate it.

- Why are there so many efforts out right now to disenfranchise Black voters?

- Well, you know, most people believe that voting is important, but in our community we've been inculcated with the fact that it just doesn't matter.

Our votes don't count.

And I just believe that if so many people are putting so much money into making sure that we don't vote, that ought to tell us something.

That vote is so important.

I mean, you said it earlier and I want to keep repeating it.

Voting is the great equalizer.

I don't care how much money you have, I don't care how much land you own, I don't care who you are.

If you have nothing, you still have the great equalizer, that's voting and its power.

- What was behind the closing of the Midtown voting site?

- You know, we're trying to figure that one out.

You know, I don't want to be a conspiracy theory buff, but I will say this, that it was the most potent voting center, early voting center in the Midwest, okay?

The Midwest.

And for some reason they said somebody bought the place and they didn't want voting in that location.

And when they asked them to change their minds, they made the price so high to rent the place, that it just wasn't feasible for the city.

So they closed it.

- So we're gonna be voting three times this year.

Could we experience some voter fatigue just being tired of voting so much?

- Well, I tell you, that's one thing that is certainly going to occur.

But you know, we can't let something hard keep us from doing something great.

When people aren't voting like right now, every vote certainly counts.

This is a great opportunity for us to take advantage of the fact that people aren't coming out.

Man, we can flood those polling places and make sure that our choice is the one that's made right now.

The less the people vote, the more your vote counts.

And that's just a fact.

- What do you tell people when they say, "My vote can't make a difference"?

- You know, I tell people that there have been times when one vote made the difference, when one person made the difference.

There have been times when people didn't understand how important that vote is, but when it was all over, they saw the results of it.

There are three times when our votes were very important.

You know, I'm not going on anybody's side here, but when Governor Walker was running for office, the vote here in Milwaukee, put the now Governor Evers over, early votes put him over.

The last presidential race, when the presidential race was won by 20,000 votes, 18,500 came out of Midtown Shopping Center voting place.

Don't tell me our votes don't count.

They're very significant because most of the state, what our white brothers and sisters are split right down the middle, I hate saying this, but when we go out and vote, we make the difference.

I don't know how much power you need to understand to know that that is just sheer power.

- Okay, so say you go out and vote and you do what you need to do, how do we hold our politicians accountable after we cast our vote?

- See, and that's the important part, Mr. Causey.

You know, what we do is we go out and vote and then we don't involve ourselves in the politic after that.

You know, you still gotta make phone calls, you still gotta go to meetings, you still gotta attend events, you still have to stay on top of what your leaders are doing.

You still have to do all those things and you still have to push them to make sure that your interests are looked after.

You know, just because you vote, that don't mean go home and go to sleep.

When you get done voting, you need to start to hold these people accountable.

And that's what we haven't done.

We don't ask for anything, man.

And we give our votes without even a consideration now.

When we vote, we are so far behind the eight ball because what we ought to be doing is having our own candidates, we ought to be having our own folks, everything, and putting them up for election.

Instead, we have to beg every time there's election for people to just come out and vote.

We have to get on to being more advanced and progressive with our voting rights.

The voting system is ours to use, and we are just starting to understand it and now they want to change it to a dictatorship.

- Okay, so we were at a recent Black Men's Forum and you talked about the buddy system, how we could go to the polls together.

Talk a little bit about that.

- So we're gonna have this initiative, and it's called the Vote Tripling, where everybody who's going to vote, we want you to get three people to go with you and we want you to ask those three people to get three people, and we're gonna be doing this starting in our church communities and we want that to expand into the communities at large.

- Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Well thanks a lot.

I really appreciate it.

(energetic music) (dramatic music) (bright piano music) - Okay.

Almost there.

(bright orchestral music) - [Uzezi] This is a rehearsal for the Hip-Hop Experience.

It is sponsored by Ensemble Mik Nawooj.

Christopher Nicholas and JooWan Kim created the company to perform a new genre incorporating classical music mixed with contemporary hip-hop.

- The hip-hop orchestra is our ensemble that is based in Oakland, California, and it consists of hip-hop elements and classical elements.

So for instance, we have a hip-hop MC or rapper.

We have a hip-hop dancer that does turf dance, which is Oakland-centric hip-hop inspired dance.

And we have the classical element, which is a chamber orchestra.

- [Uzezi] Annually, they complete a multi-city tour by teaming up with local symphony musicians from the towns they will perform in.

Earlier this year, they teamed up with the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra to perform at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for Black History Month.

- Generally speaking, traditional orchestras don't play contemporary music and/or if they do, they rarely work with an actual MC.

♪ I believed in you even through the tears ♪ ♪ And a life to less fear ♪ ♪ Past the (indistinct), more (indistinct) ♪ ♪ And the Christmas is what ♪ ♪ But I'm still muted, I rose up ♪ - [Uzezi] In addition to the performance, Christopher Nicholas gave a masterclass on the history of hip-hop.

- Rag time, we have jazz, we have blues, we have soul, we have funk and hip-hop.

And again, we haven't really unpacked this term, but hip-hop is an amalgamation of everything that kind of precedes it.

Now I'm going to ask this question one more time, based on something that I'm going to play.

Is this hip-hop or not?

(upbeat cheerful music) - In regular classical music, there isn't an idea of MCing.

So we are actually juxtaposing it and then actually putting it into a structurally important point within this group.

And that changes the whole nature of the ensemble.

- [Uzezi] And what does hip-hop music mean to you?

- Freedom of expression.

- [Uzezi] JooWan immigrated to America from Korea at 20 years old in pursuit of a musical degree at Berkeley College of Music in Boston.

Soon after his arrival, he grew a liking for American hip-hop.

It was his attraction to hip-hop mixed with his background in classical music that inspired the idea of the Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience.

- I decide to push this project forward, but I felt like I needed help from someone, and that's when I called my college buddy, Christopher Nicholas, who is now our executive director.

And that was about 13 years ago.

We've been doing it consistently.

- When I was in my undergraduate, JooWan was my roommate.

So as I was finishing up my master's and JooWan had asked me to come out, he told me that he did a performance at his school.

So he was getting his master's at SF Conservatory.

And he told me that he did this novelty piece that combined hip-hop MC and chamber orchestra, and he got a full page writeup in Oakland Tribune.

So, I was like, "Wow, that sounds amazing."

And so he was like, "Okay, well, why don't you come out and help me kind of kind of work it, trying to make it do something more, so than just like one page write up?"

- People see it, they don't even hear it.

Meaning like white people and white people are there and then doing something together, and there's an Asian guy.

I think that for me, I want them to see that Americans still can come together and make something new, or at least tolerate each other and maybe we can forgive.

Let's not go to love yet, but like just tolerate and forgive.

And I think the best way to understand each other is to actually do something together.

- I want people to see and experience something that has never been seen and experienced before.

I want them to be comfortable.

I want them to really enjoy the fact that they're seeing something radically different.

And as I mentioned, it hasn't really been done before at this scale.

So I want people to really take home the fact that they're experiencing history in the making.

♪ Cash rules everything around me ♪ ♪ Bringing the money ♪ ♪ Cash rules everything around me ♪ ♪ Bringing the money ♪ - [MC] Louder, come on.

(audience cheers) (gentle orchestral music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - Della Wells is a self-taught Milwaukee artist who began drawing in painting at the age of 42.

She's being honored on March 20th at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

And here to tell us about the event and her work are Tina Johnson, president-elect of the African-American Art Collective, and Dr. Kantara Souffrant, curator of the Community Dialogue for the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Ladies, welcome to Black Nouveau.

- Thanks for having us.

- Thank you.

- All right, doctor, we'll start with you.

Just a question about Della Wells's work, just what makes it so unique and special, especially considering she's from Milwaukee.

- I think if you've ever seen Della's work, whether it's her world famous dolls or her collages, you know that her work is rooted in storytelling and folklore, but it's also rooted in, I think, these Black art traditions from quilting to collage.

And it really showcases her imaginative world.

But I think central is that she's building these worlds to undo Afro-American stereotypes and to really forward new narratives.

And she does it through a way that feels accessible and fresh, and for those who might be scared of art with a capital A, I feel like Della's work is definitely sometimes your first entry into understanding art and feeling like, "Oh this feels like it reflects me."

- So talk about that reflection and why is it so important for us to highlight and remember?

- Well, for example, the work of arts that we're unveiling on March 20th is really one of those ways where it's a large piece, right?

So it's one of the largest work she's done.

It's a collage.

So it's taking all these materials and putting them together.

And I think one of the central stories that she undoes is this myth of Black families being single family homes, right?

So at the center of the image is these two Black figures who are caring for young Black children.

And I think that's part of her work to undo all these stereotypes that people have of Black subjectivity and Black life.

- And Ms. Tina, I'll go to you now.

So talk about the African American Art Alliance and exactly the work that's being done to put on these awards and highlight these artists.

- Well, we're coming from a long tradition that started in 1990 here in Milwaukee to promote, educate, and acquire African American art for the permanent collection of the art museum.

And how it started is three women from from Milwaukee gathered together and decided that there wasn't enough art, Black art in in the art museum.

And just like other support groups of the art museum decided to band together and fundraise and acquire pieces for the art museum.

So it's been around for 34 years, been collecting for 34 years.

So when people visit the art museum, they will see 34 years of collecting and purchasing by people right here in the city.

You know, dollar by dollar people right here in the city, fundraising and collecting art.

- Beautiful, beautiful.

So is the event just March 20th or are there gonna be other days and other times to see Della Wells's work and the other things that you're doing?

- So the celebration of Della is March 20th, and you can get more information at mam.org and the piece that Kantara was referring to is called "Together" and that will only be seen on that day until it's permanently exhibited, which will be late fall probably early next year.

So that's the one day to see it.

- Alright, and what were you gonna say?

- I was gonna say, one of the things I love about the museum too is our digital collection.

So if you wanna see it and you wanna not wait to see it in person, it's also available on mam.org.

So I want people to know that's a free resource also to dig into our collection and see Della's work all the time.

- But on the 20th, when it's unveiled, you can actually see it, not touch it but see it.

And Della will explain her thought process when she was making it.

- So I'm gonna go back to the 34 years of work that's been done by the Alliance.

Just talk about why it's so important to highlight Black artists and the work that's being done by you to do that.

- Well, it's important for us to see ourselves in these institutions, and it's important for our children to see themselves in, in these institutions, that it's not this pie in the sky, just white institution or only white people can make art, and Black people can make, make art, but it stays at home.

These are blue chip pieces that have been purchased by the African American Art Alliance, and even some up-and-coming artists are on display at the museum that we've purchased.

So it's very important to keep that legacy going and keep the community involved in what's going on at the museum.

- Absolutely.

Anything you want to add to that?

- I would say that one of the amazing things that AAAA does is that they have a range of Black art that they've collected.

So in the same way that Della is not subscribing to one way of thinking about the Black community, I think AAAA doesn't subscribe to one way of thinking about Black art.

There are works of art that are abstract, so maybe they don't look like things you see in everyday life.

There are works of art that are portraits, and also I feel like you all are on the cusp always of collecting works that become pieces that are such staples of our collection.

Like other museums ask for them, these are the pieces that are in history books and art history books, and that really shape our cultural moment.

And I think AAAA has really been at the cusp of pushing that and doing that work for the Milwaukee Museum as well.

- AAAA, I like that, use that acronym, but okay.

So anything else that our viewers out there need to know or that you'd like to share?

- So much programming.

- Yeah, I wanna say March 20th is an opportunity to really highlight a local hero in our community, but I don't want people to feel like that's your only time, I don't want Black people to feel like that's your only time and only invitation to come to the museum.

The museum is free for children 12 and under.

We have our new free day and celebration series that are quarterly, that are really community block parties, and we also have our art by artist of the African Diaspora tour that people can request always.

And so I want people to know that it is our museum, it is our community, and we really want this to be an extension of your home.

- Amen.

Thanks to you both for coming on Black Nouveau.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

(energetic music) - Congresswoman Gwen Moore has long been a known advocate for women's rights, making it her personal mission in Congress to uplift and empower survivors of both sexual and domestic violence.

As the city of Milwaukee has seen an increase in firearms used in domestic violence incidents, congresswoman shared her own story of survival and what's at stake with an upcoming Supreme Court decision.

- Not right.

- Hello, I'm Alexandria.

- Hello, Alexandria.

(gentle somber music) I think domestic violence is something that has been a secret, something that is supposed to be kept in the family, and nobody wants to talk about it.

- [Alexandria] Congresswoman Gwen Moore is speaking up on a disturbing yet needed conversation, and she's starting with a powerful story of her own.

- I can remember in particular my early 20s being in a domestic violence situation, and I was in the relationship for longer than any sane person would've been in the relationship, because I spent a whole lot of time blaming myself.

You know, it went from verbal abuse and escalated to physical violence, being beaten.

And finally, finally this man pulled a gun out and put it to my head.

And at that point, I was so fed up with experiencing violence at his hand, that I just sort of lost all sense of survival, I think, and said, you know, "MF, you shoot it or eat it."

I wouldn't necessarily advise someone to take that advice and he did say to me, you know, "B, you're crazy.

And, you know, I could have killed you."

And he could have killed me.

And sad thing is that there are a whole lot of women who are killed every single day in the United States from domestic violence.

- [Alexandria] A startling record high of lives being cut short in Wisconsin.

- My name is Antonia Drew Norton.

I'm the director of the Asha Project, founder of Asha Family Services Incorporated.

We are a culturally specific domestic violence agency in the city of Milwaukee.

- [Producer] I wanna talk a little bit about this "End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin" 2022 report.

- The report highlights, 96 people died in domestic violence incidents, homicides.

And the reality is that's up 20% over 2021.

88.5% of the domestic violence, an intimate partner violence, homicides, a gun is used.

When a gun is present, a woman is five times more likely to die.

- [Alexandria] It's troubling numbers like these that led Moore in late October to introduce a symbolic resolution in Congress.

- The resolution that I've introduced really recognizes the nexus between domestic violence, the presence of a firearm.

It really encourages our judiciary system to continue to withhold the ability of an individual who has committed domestic violence or has orders of protection levied against him from possessing a firearm.

- [Alexandria] The resolution's timing was no coincidence.

In early November, the US Supreme Court heard the case of United States versus Rahimi, which will rule if it's legal to take away the guns of people who are under a domestic violence protective order.

- [John] We'll hear an argument this morning in case 22-915, United States versus Rahimi.

General Prelogar.

- [Elizabeth] Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court: guns and domestic abuse are a deadly combination.

- Rahimi is going to be the next big Second Amendment decision that the Supreme Court issues.

So in this particular case, the parties are the United States and a man named Zackey Rahimi.

Rahimi was prohibited from possessing a gun because he was subject to a domestic violence restraining order.

And his defense in this particular case was that the whole restriction on his right to keep arms in this case violated the Second Amendment.

And on the other end of the spectrum, the government interest in defending this statute, I think it was articulated very well by General Prelogar, her opening at oral argument where she said, pretty much that the combination of domestic violence and guns is a deadly one.

Traditionally in the United States, rights are not absolute.

So just as the First Amendment doesn't allow you to yell "Fire!"

in a crowded theater, the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment also is not absolute.

And in this case, it would seem the government has a compelling interest in restricting gun possession for people that are subject to these domestic violence restraining orders.

- [Alexandria] With so much on the line, survivors like Moore still sharing hope for a life without violence.

- My message for hope for women who are experiencing domestic violence is to remember that you are loved and that you don't have to rely on this particular relationship to be loved.

That there are people that, we're out here, we love you and we're willing to make the interventions that will help you find safe shelter, to be able to maintain your employment, to be able to make sure that you escape in a safe way.

Just know that there are resources out there, people working 24 hours, seven days a week to make sure that you're safe.

- [Alexandria] For more on the domestic violence crisis in Milwaukee, tune into our podcast, "Speaking of the Missing Peace" where we take a deep dive on what is being done to save lives and restore peace.

You can listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.

- And that's our program for this month.

As always, we encourage you to check us out on social media at milwaukeepbs.org.

For Black Nouveau, I'm Earl Arms.

Have a happy and informative Women's History Month.

(energetic music)