Civil Rights & Immigration

Close-Up of rainbow flag with crowd In background during LGBT Pride Parade. Getty Images.

Wisconsin pride showcased at ‘the gayest political convention in history’

BY: - August 20, 2020

The LGBTQ Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday was a clear celebration of Wisconsin. Naturally, the first speaker was Sen. Tammy Baldwin and the second up was Rep. Mark Pocan. It didn’t stop there. The third speaker was the secretary of the DNC Jason Rae — also a Wisconsinite. “You may notice a […]

Protesters gather for the march on the Trump Rally in Oskhosk, August 2020 (Photo courtesy of Voces de la Frontera Action)

Trump campaign gives activists a taste of what’s at stake in the election

BY: - August 20, 2020

“We should be moving towards progress, and now it just seems that we kind of went backwards,” Idalia Cervantes, a regional organizer with Voces de la Frontera Action, a branch of the immigrant and Latinx advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, told Wisconsin Examiner. November is approaching, and the group has continued to shape and […]

Gov. Tony Evers and Kathy Evers signing executive order creating committee for 100th anniversary of 19th Amendment

100 years of women voting, yet the battle is still not over

BY: - August 19, 2020

One hundred years ago Tuesday, the United States ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote. Some women, that is. Wisconsin has bragging rights as the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 10, 1919. While it is a day to celebrate women’s suffrage, it is important […]

Wauwatosa officers confront protesters in the days after the incident at Mensah's house. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

The scene as a protester is arrested in Wauwatosa

BY: - August 18, 2020

On Aug. 14, the Wauwatosa police made one of their first arrests of a Black Lives Matter protester after weeks of sustained protests in the Milwaukee County suburb. Protesters had started in Milwaukee, and marched down Wells Street to cross into Wauwatosa. Police confronted the marchers as they reached the city limits. On Aetna St. […]

A drone, likely operated by police based on its complexity on the first day of demonstrations in Milwaukee. (Wisconsin Examiner | Isiah Holmes)

A look at the DNC’s “security footprint” and plans for the days ahead

BY: - August 18, 2020

Opening day for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was supposed to be a huge opportunity for Milwaukee. Thousands of people were expected to stream into Wisconsin’s largest city for events spanning four days. The economic boost Milwaukee would have received would have been unrivaled. But then COVID-19 happened, and the format of the DNC had […]

Attorney Kimberly Motley stands before a line of suburban riot police in August 2020. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Tosa PD escalates tactics against protesters following incident at officer’s home

BY: - August 17, 2020

Despite escalating tactics to restrain protesters, the suburban City of Wauwatosa has become the epicenter of Milwaukee’s Black Lives Matter movement. Following a confrontation with protesters at the home of Officer Joseph Mensah, the Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD) pledged to take the gloves off. The threats of arrest and surveillance, however, haven’t deterred The People’s […]

Shawano County Courthouse

Shawano County: ‘The Land the Constitution Forgot’

BY: - August 13, 2020

There’s a saying in Shawano County, usually attributed to the county’s former district attorney, that if you come on vacation, you’ll leave on probation.  Decades of law and order prosecutors and a historically punitive culture have created a court system that mistreats outsiders, locals, Native Americans from the neighboring Menominee Reservation, defendants and victims. At […]

Books written by Rev. Barber and others were available at the Summit On Poverty (Photo by: Isiah Holmes)

New report examines the power of poor and low-income voters

BY: - August 13, 2020

America’s poor, over 140 million strong, have the power to shift the direction of this country. That’s according to a report compiled by the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC), examining how trends in American poverty translate to votes in the ballot box. The report’s title is a call to action “Unleashing the power of poor and […]

Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis alongside Rev. Dr. William Barber at a rally. (Photo by Steve Pavey)

Reverend William Barber discusses what’s at stake in the 2020 election

BY: - August 12, 2020

Reverend Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, says more is at stake in the 2020 election than people realize. The question, he says, is “whether or not we’re going to address these five interlocking injustices”— systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and distorted moral narratives, which plague America’s poor. Barber […]

Black Lives Matter protesters gather and march to the Milwaukee City Hall during 2020. Many called for the removal of Milwaukee police Chief Alfonso Morales. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Milwaukee continues to reel from the demotion of Police Chief Morales

BY: - August 11, 2020

The demotion of Alfonso Morales from chief of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to captain has triggered a shake-up in leadership both in MPD and within the Fire and Police Commission (FPC), which called for his removal. Although some marked the demotion as a victory, others are concerned that his replacement by former assistant chief […]

COMMENTARY
A detail of the Undocumented Migration Project’s Hostile Terrain 94 installation. (Undocumented Migration Project)

Why I wrote 500 toe tags during a pandemic

BY: - August 10, 2020

This column first appeared in the Kansas Reflector, our sister news outlet in Kansas. Huascar Medina is the current  Poet Laureate of Kansas.  The Undocumented Migration Project’s Hostile Terrain 94 art exhibit will be on display in Milwaukee on Sept. 24 at the UW-Milwaukee.    I recently completed the task of filling out more than […]

Wauwatosa Police Department squad cars responding during a standoff with protesters on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Isiah Holmes)

Tosa’s Equity and Inclusion getting into “good trouble” with police reforms

BY: - August 7, 2020

As chair of Wauwatosa’s Equity and Inclusion Commission (EIC), Sean Lowe feels it’s his duty to get into what the late Congressman John Lewis called “good trouble.” The commission was formed in 2019, after a group of residents pushed the idea as part of the solution to the suburb’s checkered legacy with racial issues. Right […]