Waukesha Republican seeks deployment of National Guard troops to occupy Milwaukee’s Black community
A Waukesha County Republican said that armed troops patrolling the streets of Milwaukee is necessary for residents to feel like they don’t live in a “warzone-like setting.” State Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R–New Berlin), concerned about recent increases in violent...
Equity Principles: Elmbrook School District’s plan to address inclusivity sparks backlash from parents
In the year of reckoning following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, conversations about race, equity and belonging have gained momentum in some Wisconsin school districts. In several, that meant reassessing the presence of school...
Dual Pandemics: Milwaukee schools continue to fight the coronavirus and inequality
June 1 was the day the city of Milwaukee lifted its mask mandates, but you would not know it watching the Milwaukee school board meeting that same night. On camera, all board members were in different rooms with masks. Superintendent Keith Posley and his staff sat in...
Wisconsin’s response to the pandemic foreshadows the national battle against vaccine hesitancy
The fight against the coronavirus hit a milestone in the United States when the Biden administration announcing more than half of adult Americans are now fully vaccinated. But big issues remain and perhaps few states illustrate the struggles ahead better than...
A world of disinformation: How countries used COVID-19 as an excuse to crackdown on press freedom
By Sara Torsner, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Freedom of the Media, University of Sheffield; and Jackie Harrison, Professor of Public Communication, Centre for Freedom of the Media, University of Sheffield A government’s fear of scrutiny and criticism...
ACLU accuses state lawmakers of discrimination after voting to slash Milwaukee’s public transit funding
The state Legislature’s budget committee voted to cut funding for public transit in Milwaukee and Madison by 50 percent over the next two years. The transportation plan was approved on June 8 11-4 along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor and all...
Stimulus plan for pandemic-stricken mass transit would be a down payment on reviving American cities
By Ruth Steiner, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida Congress now has control over what kind of commute… good, bad, awful, that workers returning to offices in the United States will have. President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan,...
Standing United: How Milwaukee’s March with Pride for #BlackLivesMatter changed the LGBTQ+ community
By Montell Infiniti Ross • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service With June being the official month of Pride, I reflect on the experience of being not just a gay man, but a BLACK gay man. I can’t help but think about the similarities between being Black and gay. You...
Nisei Soldiers: Japanese Americans fought Axis forces overseas and racial prejudice at home
By Susan H. Kamei, Lecturer in History; Managing Director of the Spatial Sciences Institute, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Imagine being forced from your home by the government, being imprisoned in a detention camp under armed guards and behind...
Local anger over Tokyo Olympics reflects just how unpopular hosting the games has become
By Mark Wilson, Professor, Urban & Regional Planning, School of Planning, Design and Construction, Michigan State University The Summer Olympics, postponed in 2020 by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo. Even...
Where horses and riding are a way of life: Ron Tarver’s journey to document the Black cowboy experience
By Nick Lehr, Arts + Culture Editor Photographer Ron Tarver grew up in Fort Gibson, a small town in Oklahoma where horses, cattle and Wrangler jeans were embedded into the rhythms of everyday life. His grandfather was a cowboy admired for his roping abilities, and...
Wisconsin Republicans draft bills to silence schools from teaching about the social impact of racism
Wisconsin Republicans have drafted bills that would limit how race and racism are taught in K-12 and University of Wisconsin System schools across the state. The proposals follow a national trend of GOP legislators advancing bills on the state and national level that...
