With the November 2020 presidential election coming up, the founders of MKE Black, an app that connects Milwaukeeans to Black business in the city, hosted a voter registration drive at Company Brewing in Riverwest on Saturday.
Five vendors attended along with two food trucks, Mr. Greens and Twisted Plants.
MKE Black’s Event Community Planner Kim Erdman says that they wanted to put together an event that’s open to the community and brought people out to support Black business.
“During the time and the current climate, there's never been more of a better time to support local Black-owned businesses,” says Erdman.
The organizers chose Company Brewing since it has an intimate patio that accommodated social distancing.
Sylvester Hamilton of Negus Enterprises, a small merchandise company, said he and his business partner Autumn Hamilton were there to do more than just promote their business.
“With Covid in effect, there's so many smaller businesses and micro businesses, it's just a pleasure to get out in the community and get to network, meet a couple of people and see some new and old friends,” he said.
He also wanted to make sure that plenty of souls get to the polls this winter.
Amanda is one of those souls, although she is a resident of Louisville, Ky., and is registered to vote there. She was visiting her mom here in Milwaukee when they decided to stop for a bite to eat. They chose Company Brewing for their food and were delighted when they saw that Twisted Plants was there. Amanda loves Twisted Plants even though she lives miles away. She says it felt serendipitous.
The event was cozy, full of laughter and fulfilled its mission as new and experienced voters registered and enjoyed food.