Civil Rights & Immigration
Wauwatosa PD releases details of officer’s non-fatal shooting of teen
“The subject dictates the officer’s response,” said Wauwatosa Police Chief James MacGillis in a recent video, released following the Milwaukee County district attorney’s decision to not issue charges for an officer-involved shooting back in April. The incident, which involved Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD) officers Evan Olson and Dexter Schleis, left 17-year-old Damiso Lee wounded after […]
Wisconsin schools are not meeting state mandate on Native American education
The Wisconsin Indian Education Association held a celebration of the state’s commitment to Native American education under Act 31 on Thursday, Aug. 18 at the Menominee Casino Resort in Keshena, with Native peoples from all over Wisconsin attending. Act 31 is a remarkable piece of legislation. The law requires that primary and secondary public schools […]
Kenosha Police identify, cite man who had distributed anti-semitic fliers in city
The Kenosha Police Department identified and cited a 56-year-old man who had been distributing anti-semitic fliers across the city for months. The man, whom the Kenosha News identified as Kenosha resident Jeffrey Kidden, was cited $4,301 by the police department last week for violating the city’s littering ordinance. Kidden, according to Wisconsin court records, has […]
Voting access in Milwaukee County jail in question
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary and the general election in November, voting access is a growing concern in Wisconsin, particularly as new policies restrict the use of absentee ballots and drop boxes. Ballot access is also a concern in county jails, including in Milwaukee, the state’s largest city. Linea Sundstrom, an organizer with the Milwaukee-based voter […]
U.S. House Democrats file brief in college affirmative action case
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott of Virginia has filed a brief along with 64 other House Democrats urging the Supreme Court to uphold the role that race plays in college admission policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. “Narrowly tailored admissions policies that recognize race as […]
Museum of Wisconsin Art exhibitions showcase Native American identity, history, veterans
Over the past few weeks, the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend has opened two new exhibitions by indigenous artists to the public. On July 23, the museum opened Ho-Chunk photographer Tom Jones’s first major retrospective, which features 120 photos from sixteen bodies of work over 25 years. Curator Graeme Reid says MOWA […]
Misogyny is fueling the country’s gun violence epidemic, experts say
This story originally appeared in Michigan Advance. Dawn Gillard’s life revolved around her children. Everyone who loved her knew that. The rest of the world would read about it in her obituary. On May 27, Gillard was shot and killed at age 40 alongside her three young children: Katelynn, 6; Ronald, 4; and Joshua, 3, […]
Wisconsinites with disabilities push for voting rights
Wisconsinites with disabilities say they’re concerned that a recent decision from the state Supreme Court will force them to ask their friends and family to break the law in order to help them vote. At an event Thursday celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) hosted by Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) […]
New lawsuit filed against Wauwatosa for Cole shooting
Civil rights attorney Kimberley Motley has filed a new lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, focusing on the 2020 killing of 17-year-old Alvin Cole by former Wauwatosa officer Joseph Mensah. Cole was shot while fleeing an altercation between a group of youth at Wauwatosa’s Mayfair Mall. Police said Cole fired a single shot from […]
GOP support for same-sex marriage protections builds in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate appears on track to send President Joe Biden a bill in the coming weeks that would guarantee same-sex and interracial couples can marry, even if the Supreme Court overturns the landmark cases that enshrined those rights. “I think we’re very close,” Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday of efforts […]
Immigrant activists hold action outside Homeland Security secretary’s home
Over a hundred immigrant rights activists staged an action outside the home of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas early Monday morning to send a message to Mayorkas and President Joe Biden to stop deputizing local police for immigration enforcement. Ending the 287(g) program, as it’s called, has long been a priority for […]
Nearly two dozen Wauwatosa protest tickets and cases dismissed
Nearly two dozen tickets and cases related to Wauwatosa’s protests during 2020 have been dismissed to date. While not stemming from the city’s October 2020 curfew, the tickets were issued to protesters at other points throughout the year. Many of the tickets, costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, were issued for disorderly conduct, obstructing, resisting […]