The Great Milwaukee Block Party brings 'joyful rebellion' to RNC week

Whenever Rae Chappelle gets a break from their Amazon delivery job, they fire off texts and Facebook messages about the Great Milwaukee Block Party.

The weeklong event was conceived in January during a community meeting at Zao MKE Church, where people were discussing their opposition to Milwaukee hosting the Republican National Convention.

As people of color and or members of the LGBTQ+ community detailed their safety concerns and mentioned trying to leave town for the week, Chapelle envisioned an alternative possibility: safe spaces for joyful rebellion.

In their mind, they saw groups gathering for movie night on living room couches, porch parties with neighbors, group bike rides down city blocks, and an opportunity for underrepresented and marginalized Milwaukeeans to gather during a high-intensity political moment.

Starting on Saturday, Chapelle's goal will be realized through the celebration of the Great Milwaukee Block Party, a weeklong lineup of events in Milwaukee promoting peace and community.

In addition to opposing the RNC, the Great Milwaukee Block Party was created to offer an alternative for people who might feel unsafe or uncomfortable at mainstream protest events, Chappelle said.

Since January, Chapelle said, their efforts to find community partners and support to bring the idea to life has been nonstop.

"This is an opportunity for us to engage with the wider population of people within the city," Chappelle told attendees at an early planning meeting. "Let's not move out of just fear right now. Let's move with love of one another."

Planning process ramped up in spring, but wasn't without struggles

The spring planning meetings for the event often brought 30 to 40 attendees who packed themselves into a wide circle in the living room of Zao MKE Church, fueled by pizza and soft drinks.

"Even if we have five spaces that people can go to get some kind of joy and connection during this event, that will feel like a success," Chappelle said at one of the group's early planning meetings in May.

Since then, more than 25 events have been scheduled between July 13 and 20, during and around the week of the RNC.

Among Chappelle's first collaborators was Stephanie Roades, a telecommunications engineer and seasoned Milwaukee activist.

Together, the pair serve as booking managers, location scouts, public relations and community engagement leaders for the event.

Roades said the work can be overwhelming. Roades wakes up at 4 a.m. most days to check the group's email for updates and makes calls to confirm venue space.

"This is not my job. I've never worked sound checks or planned this kind of stuff," Roades told the Journal Sentinel in the weeks leading up to the block party. "At the same time, when something starts to work out, I'm just like, "OK, this is what we're supposed to do.'"

The planning process hasn't been without its challenges.

Though the event garnered significant community attention in its early stages, the two organizers ultimately led significant portions of the planning, they said.

The group hoped to establish safety trainings and guides for people who wanted to partake in physical protest near the convention, but failed to successfully draw adequate volunteers.

Chappelle and Roades also agree one area of improvement is recruiting more organizers of color in the future.

Block Party events include fashion show and political education training

The block party's long list of events includes a Monday fashion show called "It's Raining Love" at X-Ray Arcade.

The event will feature designs by Devin Billingslea and Sasha Solana Walton, live music by DJ Deeandra Schott, a burlesque performance and a series of drag performances by Carmel Bliss Karizma Mirage, Malaiya Marvel and more.

On Tuesday, Voces de la Frontera will host a session of Freedom School, a political education program. At the event in Mitchell Park, organizers will offer civic education and political engagement training for young adults and people of color.

In addition to other gatherings, a limited-edition Great Milwaukee Block Party candle called "communiTEA" from Wick + Bean Candle Company will be sold at the Kujichagulia Producers Cooperative at the Sherman Phoenix through the month of July.

The group plans to continue accepting event suggestions through Saturday and has shared similar events by other organizing groups on their social media.

Between meetings with local organizers and performers, Roades is planning a small gathering of her own to kick off the week's events.

"I think that you're more likely to show up at things and in an unfamiliar place if you're not alone, so I'm doing this as a model, to get people to start doing that together," Roades said.

Though the development of the Great Milwaukee Block Party was a major accomplishment, the two co-creators recognize there is a long way to go before they truly have an inclusive, accessible and representative event for the community.

"Maybe this experiment happens every summer — we do a week every summer and maybe it looks different next time," Roades said.

Tamia Fowlkes is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Great Milwaukee Block Party brings 'joyful rebellion' to RNC week