News
An Autocratic Agenda: Distorted “crime wave” narrative follows old playbook of fearmongering
There has been a wave of media coverage this summer about an increase in homicides across the United States, with attention often focused on the same political question: will Americans still want to defund or even reform the police if “violent crime” is on the rise?...
A Ripple Effect: How the social trauma from police killings spirals across Black communities
By Denise A. Herd, Professor of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley It has now past one year since George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer set off the largest protests in U.S. history and a national reckoning with racism. Beyond the...
Hostile to our Democracy: Why the authoritarian attacks on Voting Rights are racially motivated
The Republican Party’s assault on constitutional democracy continues unabated. Over 20 restrictive voting laws have already been enacted this year (the Brennan Center’s Voting Rights Roundup is an indispensable resource for monitoring ongoing...
From coins to national motto: How “In God We Trust” legislation is pushing a Christian Nationalist agenda
By Kristina M. Lee, Ph.D. Candidate in Rhetoric, Colorado State University “In God We Trust” became the national motto 65 years ago this month. But over the past few years a string of bills and city ordinances has sought to expand its usage and presence. City vehicles...
Mandela Pledge: Local challenge calls for 67 minutes of community service to honor Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela International Day, celebrated across the world each year on the anniversary of the freedom fighter’s July 18 birthday, mobilizes communities, organizations, governments, and individuals to continue Mandela’s legacy of dedicating his life to positive...
Our Doctors: Wisconsin launches media campaign with local medical endorsements for COVID-19 vaccines
Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced the launch of “Our Doctors” on July 15, a statewide multimedia campaign that will bring together health care professionals across the state of Wisconsin, from different...
Little has changed since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called for an end to institutional racism in Milwaukee in 1971
The last time the Milwaukee Bucks were in the NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the star of the team and a prominent civil rights advocate. He was instrumental in the Bucks winning the NBA Finals in 1971, and he’d be named the NBA’s MVP three times in...
Alternative History: From pulp science fiction novels asking “what if” to a sad modern-day partisan reality
My first experience to read a book featuring an alternative history story was the classic novel by Philip K. Dick, “The Man in the High Castle.” The appeal of it in an imperfect world was “what if” events has gone differently? Dick imagined a...
What the Future will bring: America faces the most significant test of its democracy since the Civil War
“Are you on the side of truth or lies; fact or fiction; justice or injustice; democracy or autocracy?” – President Joe Biden In a speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 13, President Joe Biden asked his audience to take a stand as he...
Trump’s Big Lie: Research shows the corrosive power of his unsubstantiated stolen election claims
Republicans across the country have embraced a similar refrain as they push for new restrictions on voting. A significant chunk of the American electorate doesn’t have confidence in the results of the 2020 election, they argue, so new laws to restore “integrity” to...
Two Americas: Why the national division has shifted to the Vaccinated and Unvaccinated
News broke on July 13 that, under pressure from Republican leaders, Republican-dominated Tennessee will no longer conduct vaccine outreach for minors. Only 38% of people in Tennessee are vaccinated, and yet the state Department of Health will no longer reach out to...
HHS awards Milwaukee $4M to fight COVID-19 and improve health literacy among minority communities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) awarded $4 million to the City of Milwaukee’s Office of African American Affairs. The funding is a part of a $250 million two-year initiative to identify and implement best...
