Civil Rights & Immigration
U.S. immigration, border agencies face funding shortfall after public health order ends
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security expects to be short on cash for border and immigration operations later this year after the federal government ends a Trump-era policy that prevents migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis. A halt to the program, known as Title 42, has divided Democrats, some of whom […]
Researcher urges Congress to redress decades of housing discrimination
The federal government should take concrete steps to help bolster housing in Black and other nonwhite communities in order to rectify racist practices that for decades cleaved them from white communities that benefited exclusively from support and investment, a professor who has studied the history of segregation in Milwaukee told a Congressional committee Tuesday. “We […]
New federal COVID aid delayed after U.S. Senate Republicans insist on immigration debate
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have departed their offices and hearing rooms on Capitol Hill for a two-week spring recess without passing additional funding to combat the coronavirus, amid a stalemate over immigration policy. Despite reaching a bipartisan agreement Monday, April 4, for $10 billion for testing, treatments and vaccines, much of it needed in […]
Wisconsin communities see uptick in white supremacist activity
In late March, a banner reading “Resist Black Terror” was hung from the Waukesha Transit Center’s parking garage. Quotes from Adolph Hitler were allegedly featured on the banner calling for a new nation for “only white people(s) of good stock,” and promoting a website linked to a recognized white supremacist group. Exactly who was responsible […]
More than 1,500 books have been banned in public schools, and a U.S. House panel asks why
WASHINGTON — A U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee panel on Thursday examined why thousands of books, predominantly written by marginalized authors, have been banned from public schools, and the impact of those actions on students and teachers. “Most books being targeted for censorship are books that introduce ideas about diversity or our common humanity, […]
After Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed: When will Black women be enough?
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson certainly deserved the confirmation of the Senate, which she received on Thursday, to become the next justice to join the U.S. Supreme Court. But many of us watched in complete disgust and anger at how President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was treated during her hearing. I had […]
Milwaukee’s Jewish Community marshals resources, volunteers to aid Ukrainian refugees
The Jewish community in Milwaukee has deep and long connections to the Jewish population in Ukraine. And for Milwaukeeans involved in relief efforts at the Ukrainian border, recent experiences of assisting refugees and evacuating Holocaust survivors from Ukraine have been harrowing and “deeply personal.” “Keep in mind our immediate response to today’s staggering needs was […]
Student activists demand lunch justice in Milwaukee schools
A new campaign pushing for reform in the school lunchroom was launched in Milwaukee Thursday. Organizers from Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), a multicultural social justice organization, rallied outside of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) central office. Joined by allied organizations, the students are calling for food cooked fresh in the school, accommodations for […]
Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases could curb colleges’ use of affirmative action
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices could fundamentally reshape the college admissions process later this year when it takes up two landmark cases challenging affirmative action in higher education. The court recently agreed to hear two cases that challenge race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, […]
Biden signs law named for Emmett Till that makes lynching a federal hate crime
WASHINGTON — Nearly 70 years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi by two white men, President Joe Biden signed into law on Tuesday a bill to make lynching a federal hate crime. “Lynching was pure terror to enforce the lie that not everyone belongs in America,” Biden said at the Rose […]
Jackson’s Supreme Court hearing a flashback to Thurgood Marshall’s featuring race, crime
U.S. Sen. James Eastland posed a question to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Thurgood Marshall during his August 1967 confirmation hearings. “Are you prejudiced against white people in the South?” Eastland, a known white supremacist, could not be clearer in conveying his fears about Marshall and race. Fifty-five years after Marshall’s hearings, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn […]
Latina leadership program takes off
Beatriz Aguilar, chair of the music department at Edgewood College, will sometimes volunteer as a translator at Madison-area schools. One time at Madison East High School, some parents asked her what she does for a living, and when she told them, their high school Latina daughter perked up and asked Aguilar if she had a […]