8 Comments

Your story reminded me of some of my happiest canvassing moments. The best most interesting and energizing conversations were always in black neighborhoods, and I as an older white woman always felt completely safe. It was only in a white upwardly mobile neighborhood in Florida where a white guy came screaming out of his house and yelled at me for canvassing for Hilary that I realized how fortunate I was that this rarely happened.

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Hi, Jamie,

The same holds true for me. I've only run into threatening men in AZ and NV, and then only very rarely. I hope you'll be canvassing this year, too.

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I wish. Dealing with medical issues right now so not an option. To paraphrase Gwen waltz, I am focusing on doing the work in front of me. That includes organizing the community, texting as much as I can to get out the vote, writing some letters, posting on social media, donating wherever I can, and generally encouraging everyone I know not only to vote but to volunteer. I am a big cheerleader for folks traveling to do on the groundwork. I live on a progressive island in Washington state so my focus is almost entirely on battleground states. I have adopted North Carolina where I used to live.

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Sorry about your medical issues, but it's great you are doing so much. Thanks!

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Thank you so much for doing this work, Steven! You make me want to go to Milwaukee!

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Hi, Jessica,

Thanks! Let me know if you want to go to Milwaukee, or anywhere else, to canvass. If you do go somewhere, we might want to an interview with you for the The Grassroots Connector about your experience.

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And yes, I’ve had my worst experiences with angry white men in both blue-collar and upscale neighborhoods.

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I have canvassed both in Milwaukee (and Kenosha and Racine) and Michigan. I am a 60-something white woman. In Michigan I was in Benton Harbor in a primarily black neighborhood of small sturdy houses. It was hands-down the best Canvassing experience that I’ve ever had . People were so friendly, people were willing to talk. People were voting for Democrats. And that was two weeks before Biden stepped down! I’ve also phone banked into many places, when I phone banked into the city of Chicago regarding a referendum last spring on the primary ballot, I had an all black list again. People were respectful. People were friendly, people were passionate. Nobody was rude. A lot of us could learn some lessons from that!

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