Civil Rights & Immigration
Wisconsin’s racial disparities among incarcerated people remain high
Wisconsin continues to incarcerate its residents — especially African Americans — at rates far outpacing other states and even other countries. According to a new Prison Policy Initiative analysis, the Badger State locks up its Black residents, who make up just 6% of the state’s population, in state prisons at a rate of 11.8 times […]
Shutdown would mean even more delays in overwhelmed U.S. immigration courts
WASHINGTON — A looming partial government shutdown will put added pressure on an already strained system — U.S. immigration courts. Canceling or rescheduling court cases that many immigrants have awaited for years will cause even more backlogs, immigration attorneys and judges have warned. “Where we’ll really kind of see the backlog continue to build will […]
Racial gap persists in Milwaukee PD’s use of stop and frisk practices, annual report states
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin is accusing the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) of not complying with key provisions of a five-year-old legal settlement that mandated an end to racial profiling stop and frisk practices in Milwaukee. Citing the latest annual report from the Crime and Justice Institute, which evaluates MPD’s compliance with […]
Unrest in Milwaukee jail underscores chronic problems
“When you get to a point where you can’t take no more, you go to the extreme to do what you got to do to literally draw attention,” says Sylvester Jackson, a Milwaukee-area activist who focuses on mass incarceration. Jackson was reflecting on recent charges against 27 people held within the Milwaukee County jail. Officials […]
Congress and nonprofit working to put women’s suffrage monument on National Mall
As Congress considers a bill to place a women’s suffrage monument on the National Mall, a nonprofit is working to raise the estimated $50 million needed to build it. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, the nonprofit backing the effort, launched a donation campaign Tuesday in an effort to raise funds for a memorial honoring […]
Three years after landmark ruling, Congress silent on tribal jurisdiction in Oklahoma
After a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling defined much of Eastern Oklahoma as a Native American reservation, limiting state jurisdiction over tribal citizens, Congress has taken little interest in addressing the issues the tribes and state officials say the court decision has raised. The 5-4 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma held that lands the federal […]
An anthropologist comes to terms with a child born different
When his second child was born, Thomas Pearson was taken aback by an unexpected outcome. He and his partner, Tiffani Taggart, had a newborn daughter with physical traits associated with Down syndrome, leading their doctor to recommend a blood test that a week later confirmed the genetic abnormality responsible for the condition. For Pearson, an […]
‘Hate will not prevail in America’: Biden marks 60 years since March on Washington
The U.S. still hasn’t met the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, President Joe Biden said Monday, the 60th anniversary of one of the movement’s most iconic events. Six decades to the day after the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, Biden urged Americans not […]
Protesters march during Republican debate
Protesters took to the streets Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, speaking out against the first Republican presidential debate as it was being held at the downtown Fiserv Forum. Groups organized throughout the day, culminating in a gathering at Red Arrow Park, a block from Milwaukee city hall. The coalition of groups, including anti-war and pro-union organizers, […]
Activists in Milwaukee brace for Republican debate, RNC
On Wednesday evening, the city of Milwaukee will be the site of the first Republican presidential primary debate, one year before the city plays host to the Republican National Convention (RNC). Hotel rooms downtown are filling, charging higher rates to accommodate the politicians, pundits and security teams that have been arriving ahead of the debate. […]
Nearly half the states now allow in-state tuition for immigrant students
When Cristian Dubon Solis was getting ready to graduate from a Boston high school in 2020, he started planning to apply to college. It was only then he realized that as an immigrant lacking permanent legal status, he wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition at Massachusetts state universities, nor for state-sponsored financial aid. With no way to […]
‘Force of nature’ Ada Deer dies at 88
This story originally appeared in Indian Country Today. Reprinted with permission. Ada Deer, a “force of nature” and a legendary figure whose life and accomplishments are woven into the social and political fabric of Indian Country, died Tuesday night. Deer, 88, was the first Native American woman to run for statewide office and only the […]