News and Commentary
This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. The main display shows all items with the most recent first. You can select particular topics, working groups, or types of information to see the articles of one type, with the most recent first. Also see the Publications & Resources page for links to whole newsletters and yearbooks as well as other resources for research.
Youth Restorative Justice Summit
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...
How to Talk Effectively with Legislators About Our Issues Tips from WISDOM Training Sessions
How to Talk Effectively with Legislators About Our Issues Tips from WISDOM Training Sessions By Sherry Reames Do some research in advance about the committee or individual legislator you’ll be talking to. If possible, get advice from other members of MOSES or WISDOM who have met with these committees or individuals in the past. Spend some time looking at the information that’s available on the web. The legislature’s official website, legis.wisconsin.gov, gives a capsule biography of each...
Organizer’s Corner
Organizers’ Corner By James Morgan Greetings, MOSES members! I recently had the pleasure of visiting with congregants at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, one of our member congregations. My discussion centered on the value of relationships, individual and collective, and how relationship-building is one of the key components in building a base for collective power. I expressed how speaking or thinking about relationships often brings to mind terms like kinship and...
Review of A Fever in the Heartland
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, by Timothy Egan, Viking, 2023 Reviewed by Pam Gates And what a story this is! It may shock and embarrass us white Northerners, who like to think we have a better handle on decency in relations with “other” Americans than our Southern counterparts. This story is from America’s heartland, Indiana, though it wanders a bit into Ohio and even to places a little further north, like Wisconsin....
Restorative Justice (RJ) and School Wellness
By Shel Gross In my career as a lobbyist, I learned that the road to policy approval can be long and circuitous. I can point to policy “wins” that were 15 years in the making. While it wasn’t quite that long, the odyssey that led to the Leadership Board’s approval of the Racial Justice for All Children Task Force issue paper on Restorative Justice and School Wellness put me in mind of those days. Different interests and efforts mixed and matched over a number of years, resulting in something...
Meet Returning Citizen Leon Irby
Meet Returning Citizen Leon Irby By Sherry Reames When Leon Irby entered prison in 1972, he was facing the kind of sentence that could, under the right circumstances, have allowed his release on parole as soon as 1999 or 2000. As things turned out, however, he wasn’t released until another 25 years had gone by. When I asked what kept him behind bars for more than 50 years, he said, with a wry smile, that he was a “‘60s social activist” in his youth and never let himself be reconciled...
Madison Action Day
By Margaret Irwin Madison Action Day received an extra boost of energy as some 400 participants celebrated the 25th anniversary of WISDOM. The biannual event took place on April 10, beginning with a plenary session at the Masonic Temple. This was followed by a march to the Capitol and a rally on the State Street steps, visits to legislative offices, and a wrap-up at Grace Episcopal Church, before many boarded buses to return to their homes across the state. The morning program included...
Engaging Our Congregations
Friends of MOSES at Grace Episcopal Church By Margaret Irwin People in our congregations who support the work of MOSES may hesitate to get involved because they are already busy with other commitments. So how do we recruit active members and allies? I started by inviting our Organizer, James Morgan, to speak about MOSES at a Sunday forum. He was enthusiastically received, and some people signed a form indicating an interest in learning more. I wasn’t sure what the next step should be but...
Upcoming meetings
General Membership (Hybrid, as of this edition) Sunday, May 18, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 8, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Leadership Board (Hybrid) Saturday, May 31, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Saturday, July 26, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. MOSES Task Forces (via Zoom) Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI) May 8, June 12, July 10, Aug. 14, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Racial Justice for All Children (RJAC) May 20,...
Some Good News from the Sentencing Project
Submitted by Katie Mulligan Youth arrests and incarceration increased in the closing decades of the 20th century but have fallen sharply since. Public opinion often lags behind these realities, wrongly assuming both that crime is perpetually increasing and that youth offending is routinely violent. In fact, youth offending is predominantly nonviolent, and the 21st century has seen significant declines in youth arrests and incarceration. Between 2000 and 2022, the number of youth held in...