Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity
for Criminal Legal System Reform

Juneteenth

by | Jul 13, 2025 | Events, MOSES activities, Newsletter

On June 21, MOSES folks and others from throughout the community, young and old, braved the heat to participate in the festive Juneteenth parade. Walkers started at the Labor Temple and moved up South Park Street, which was closed for the event, to Penn Park.

The celebration at the park included music, dancing, games, vendors of souvenirs, and tasty food. Under the big tent, an array of community groups, including MOSES, provided information about their services. It was a day to reestablish connections and make new ones; a day to laugh, a day to hug, a day to remember, and a day to commit to a better and brighter future.  

 

Engaging Our Congregations: First Unitarian Society (FUS)

by | Jul 13, 2025 | MOSES activities, MOSES Groups, Newsletter

By Nancy Kosseff 

The First Unitarian Society (FUS) has been a MOSES member since 2013, following a vote at our annual parish meeting. Carol Rubin and James Morgan had stirred interest through a presentation they had made previously at FUS.  

At the time, our congregation was moving from a standing-committee structure to a ministry-team structure. Small groups of members could form a team focusing on a particular justice issue or parish need. The idea was that these teams would be flexible in responding to current needs, and that they would disband when no longer needed.  

Several of us organized the MOSES ministry team shortly after hearing Carol and James. We attended MOSES organizational meetings and worked to put MOSES membership on our next parish meeting agenda. 

FUS is a large congregation, with dozens of new people joining and others moving on from one year to the next. Keeping everyone aware of the work of MOSES is a continuing challenge. Our team members have also come and gone.  We currently have about six active members, who meet monthly to brainstorm, plan, and evaluate our efforts at engaging the broader membership. Kathy Luker is our current facilitator.  

We have sponsored two or three First Friday Films each year, which have included a pre-film potluck dinner or snack and a post-film discussion. Our team has also hosted several forums on local and state justice-related issues, which are presented between the two Sunday services. Once or twice a month, we host a table during the coffee hour between services. On the table we have MOSES brochures, newsletters, and yearbooks; half-size sheets explaining the work of our ministry team, and sign-up sheets for people wanting to join the team or to learn more. A trifold on the table highlights current and upcoming MOSES and WISDOM news and events. A lending library of relevant books fills one end of the table. 

This spring, the congregation designated a weekend offering for the Dane County Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP). The DPP offers selected people who have committed an offense the chance to attend classes and set up a restitution plan. When they complete all their requirements, the offense is deleted from their record. Donations collected that weekend went to a DPP fund that helps low-income participants with bus fare, court fees, class costs, and other requirements, such as restitution payments, for remaining in the program. Two people spoke about the DPP’s impact on real lives at all three of our weekend services. 

One of our co-ministers, Rev. Kelly  Asprooth-Jackson, has attended several MOSES and WISDOM events, including the MOSES Gala, WISDOM’s Madison Action Day, and a protest action against lockdowns at Waupun Correctional Facility. Rev. Kelly also provides regular staff support to our ministry team. Most recently, we have brainstormed together about ways to add younger FUS members to our team. We have also been exploring the idea of writing letters to incarcerated individuals, a project organized by our national denomination. We are hopeful that this type of undertaking will have broad appeal to our membership.   

 

Reentry 2030

by | Jul 13, 2025 | Life After Prison, Newsletter, WISDOM Post Release

From the Council of State Governments Justice Center

Submitted by Katie Mulligan

Reentry 2030 is a nationwide initiative whose goal is successful reintegration for every person with a criminal record. The initiative aims to reduce recidivism, expand Medicaid access, and improve employment and housing for people returning to their communities from incarceration. In the past year, North Carolina, Nebraska, and New York have joined Missouri and Alabama in signing onto Reentry 2030. These states have set ambitious goals: Nebraska is committing to 90 percent job access for people returning to their communities, while North Carolina wants to reduce homelessness by 50 percent among people leaving incarceration. Learn more about the initiative in this Jails to Jobs article. 

Grassroots Groups Join Forces

by | Jun 13, 2025 | Advocacy, Community Issues, Criminal Legal System, WISDOM

By Pamela Gates and Patti La Cross

On May 27, just six weeks after WISDOM’s Madison Action Day at the state Capitol, members of MOSES and WISDOM joined representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin (one of the organizers), the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI), Northside Rising (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Network, and  Planned Parenthood for an energetic day of networking and advocacy. We heard compelling calls to action, met with legislators and/or aides, and joined forces to demand that the Governor not sign the Republican version of the budget – unless several urgent demands are met.

The principle demands: (1) Close the Green Bay Correctional Institution and build NO NEW PRISON; (2) Support special education in Wisconsin’s public schools by providing schools with a 60% reimbursement for special education costs; (3) Expand BadgerCare by accepting Medicaid, which would make it possible for 91,000 more Wisconsinites to receive healthcare coverage. 

Other demands urgently expressed by some participants were: (4) Restore the $480 million for childcare costs that the Governor’s original budget included and (5) Reject the rapidly increasing diversion of state funding from public schools to private-school vouchers. 

The energy at this event was palpable. It was clear that the participants were deeply invested in the demands they were voicing – demands, in many cases, not for themselves but for other Wisconsin citizens who may be voiceless. We see this event as a blueprint for WISDOM and MOSES in the future: working together with a network of organizations that all have the same general aim of holding our elected officials accountable to the common good, particularly the needs of children and other vulnerable populations in our state – and especially while the federal safety net is collapsing.

Even if you missed this event, you can still do your part! The needs are urgent. Persist! Call and write to elected officials, broaden your communication networks, organize – and keep showing up! 

 

Youth Restorative Justice Summit

by | May 21, 2025 | Children & Youth, MOSES activities, Restorative Justice, RJAC Racial Justice for All Children, Schools

By Shel Gross

On February 28, Barbie Jackson and Shel Gross were given the opportunity to have a table at the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Youth Restorative Justice (RJ) Summit. At that table, they invited youth to respond to this question: What do you want the community to know about RJ? Here’s what the youth said:

Youth (teens) are leaders and facilitators.

RJ helps with voicing opinions.

RJ is a very welcoming place!                    

RJ is a learning experience.

Everyone should be understood.                      

Everyone belongs in and with RJ.

RJ is a good way to work things out.                    

RJ provides a safe place.

RJ is about communication, not just about punishment and taking sides.

Resolving conflict peacefully is a very helpful and essential part of school. 

There is no right or wrong way to contribute to restoring justice. If you show up and put in the work, self-reflect, and practice kindness, you are doing enough.

RJ is learning about yourself, to better understand the world around you and how it affects you.

RJ works not only to resolve conflict, but to create family and community.

RJ is not just confined to a room, but incorporated through every day and action.

Everyone should be respectful!

RJ is like family to me, and it is very transformative. 

RJ is so cool!

RJ is about beliefs, mindsets, and values as much as it is about practice.

RJ can be different for everyone.

RJ includes all genders, races, and identities.