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Dora Drake: “DEI Wisconsin actually uplifted poor white folks throughout…”

Featuring: Dora Drake, Democratic | Wisconsin State Senate, District 4

The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda

Published July 2, 2026 | Video Starts at 39:58

And the truth is you saw that a lot of the resources that came from Diversity Equity Inclusion Services actually uplifted poor white folks throughout the whole state. Let me just say that again. DEI Wisconsin actually uplifted poor white folks throughout this whole state. And that's not a bad thing. No, no, it's not. It's because again, our legislators, as legislators, our job is to make your lives better through policy. (39:58–40:04)

CLAIM

Asserts that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in Wisconsin benefited poor white residents.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Dora Drake

“And what really did it was the election that we had that year in Milwaukee. We only had five polling locations, I believe.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 05:43-05:52
“There is only now nine black state electeds in the whole state of Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 09:30-09:41
“Milwaukee had the highest black voter turnout in the whole country [in the last presidential election].”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 10:10-10:22
“We have the lowest rate of homelessness, you know, across the country because of how we address Housing first.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 15:55-16:10
“We have the lowest [Black homeownership rate] in the whole country or one of, one of the lowest.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 16:03-17:17
“The Diversity Supplier Program has only met its requirement 10 times since inception.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 32:01-32:09
“Born and raised in Milwaukee, proud, you know, represent mke, but was the first in my family to go to college and graduate from college.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 02:58-03:07
“I was first generation student, went to Marquette, you know, through their ELP program.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 03:07-03:12
“I served as a pre trial caseworker, a social worker, working with people that had pending charges, making sure that they were compliant with…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 03:39-03:55
“At the time, my predecessor, Jason Fields, at the state rep, he was running for local school, not local school board, local comptroller for…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 06:21-06:30
“In Wisconsin, we had our statewide budget, which we do every two years.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 11:01-11:06
“We did a statewide tour to hear from black Wisconsinites on what they cared about the most.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 11:50-11:58
“Initially, we had four cities [on the tour]: Milwaukee, Green Bay, Racine, and Madison.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 11:59-12:04
“We were able to add Beloit on our stop [for the tour].”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 12:19-12:23
“There are six major buckets that fall into each of these categories [of the policy agenda].”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 13:10-13:17
“The categories [of the policy agenda] are affordable housing and protecting renters, education and literacy, economic opportunity, health…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 13:16-13:33
“The data shows that if you have housing, everything else will fall in line.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 15:50-15:56
“In the 4th Senate district, we have the highest number of out of state owners that own properties.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 16:59-17:07
“Republicans caught wind of it and passed legislation that prevented them from even having those few protections in there.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 18:36-18:45
“We have to change our constitution. That's really the key piece there.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 18:50-18:55
“Doing first time homeowner loans, that's something that I did with Rough Haywood and I know Ahmad Rivera Wagner also push some legislation…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 19:06-19:19
“In my district, it's a lot of homeowners. So you either have to be able to be in a position to purchase a home or, or you're paying super…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 21:19-21:30
“In Wisconsin, we have a constitutional duty to ensure that, you know, there's adequate public education.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 23:38-23:47
“The Republicans have had the majority for over a decade, which means they've had the numbers to pass budgets, you know, right and left, and…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 23:51-24:02
“It is extremely abysmal when we fund our prisons more than our schools and our education.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 24:04-24:13
“We have not fully funded our public school.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 25:09-25:12
“Our school funding formula is written in our, you know, in our policies, it makes we put more resources on your property taxes versus the…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 25:19-25:33
“We need to ensure that there's literacy programs as evidence based.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 25:51-25:55
“We need to address early childhood education too, because a lot of that starts before they even get to K4, K5 and first grade.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 25:55-26:05
“There does need to be accountability, you know, when some are voucher in charter schools.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 26:07-26:10
“If the key point is assuring that every child has the resources necessary to address their literacy, having access to a quality education…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 27:40-27:57
“Proud to be a co-author of raising [the] minimum wage to $20.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 29:43-30:00
“The Diversity Supplier Program in Wisconsin was established in the 1980s.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 31:40-31:44
“Programs like [the Diversity Supplier Program] are being attacked due to executive orders by President Trump.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 32:46-39:24
“Republicans have been in power in Wisconsin for over a decade.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 38:15-38:19
“If this amendment passes, that means if you see it in discrimination, you're like, oh, yeah, great, I'm against discrimination.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 38:28-38:41
“We already have a piece of legislation that passed that talks about the Holocaust.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 38:59-39:05
“The supplier diversity program that I just mentioned is at risk of being litigated.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 39:18-39:24
“In Adams county, they received $1 million to go towards their public health, you know, resources through their ADRC for their elderly folk.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 40:15-40:27
“This anti-discrimination amendment is not just dei.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 41:02-41:12
“This amendment, if it passes, means that regardless of where you're at in the state, you cannot get the resources that you were meant to…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 41:52-42:03
“We cannot legislate truly based on data, whether it's dealing with health care, especially for women that are going through maternal health…”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 42:02-42:15
“If this passes, we're going to pre civil war if this occurs in Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 42:36-42:43
“Republicans have made it very clear that they're not moving on their stance.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 44:38-44:42
“Republicans are actively trying to undercut the Voting Rights Act altogether.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 44:59-45:18
“As legislators in this state, we cannot put push this policy agenda for you.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 45:13-45:18
“The supplier diversity program, which was historically bipartisan, now on the chopping block.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 46:44-46:50
“Black voters are practical and strategic on who can be in the best position to deliver for our communities.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 50:11-50:15
“Our best chance of delivering for black folks in Wisconsin is making sure that we stick together.”
The Wisconsin Black Policy Agenda | Uploaded July 2, 2026 | 50:35-50:43