News and Commentary
This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. Signed articles offer information and interpretations to support advocacy, but are not official MOSES positions. Links to official MOSES position statements may be found on this page. 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.
Why I Am a Sustaining Member
Why I Am a Sustaining Member By Barbie Jackson I am so grateful that I was able to find my way to MOSES in 2017. So grateful that I learned how to roll up my sleeves and help this marvelous organization advocate for social justice. I have learned from MOSES that successful advocacy requires us to build power, which in turn requires organized people and organized money. We organize people through our relationships with one another and with those we hope to influence. We organize...
Update on the Right to Read Bill (ACT 20)
Update on the Right to Read Bill (ACT 20) By Shel Gross and Tracy Frank The Racial Justice for All Children committee (RJAC), and specifically the Education Advocacy Group (EAG), has been learning that advocacy work requires time, long-term commitment, nuanced inspection, and connections. Over the past few years, a lot has happened in the state and in our local community in the area of reading. In Wisconsin, fewer than 40% of students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade, and...
Some Highlights from the EXPO Gala, Held October 5
Some Highlights from the EXPO Gala, Held October 5 By Sherry Reames I bought tickets for this year’s EXPO (EX-incarcerated People Organizing) celebration and fundraiser primarily because I wanted to hear the guest speaker, Susan Burton. Ms. Burton’s organization, A New Way of Life, is providing a transformative model of housing for formerly incarcerated women, as many of us learned from Delilah McKinney when she spoke at the MOSES Lunch and Learn in May. Each Gala...
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Review of Ben Austen, Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change
Ben Austen, Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change, New York: Flatiron Books, 2023 review by Sherry Reames I bought this book because of its focus on long-term prisoners seeking parole, but it sheds so much light on the larger stories surrounding today's prison crisis that I think every member and friend of MOSES should read it. If we are serious about dismantling the systems of mass incarceration and the racial disparities that contribute to them, we need to...
MOSES Reaches Out to African American Churches
MOSES Reaches Out to African American Churches By Saundra Brown and Pam Gates One of President Saundra Brown’s goals for MOSES is deeper involvement by local African American churches. To that end, she has been setting up visits by small MOSES groups to different African American churches. Four visits have already happened. Each visiting MOSES group is accompanied by Saundra and/or James Morgan, our organizer. On April 21, the MOSES executive committee attended service at St....
Organizer’s Corner
Organizer’s Corner By James Morgan The months of June, July, and August have been full of activities and growth for MOSES. We started with tabling and participation in the Juneteenth celebration and march. A huge “Thank you!” to all who participated! MOSES was also present, in collaboration with JustDane, the South Madison District police chief, and Devine’s Grilling, at the “National Night Out” anti-violence event on Madison’s south side, where our donations of food and voter...
Meet Returning Citizen Daniel Mayer
Meet Returning Citizen Daniel Mayer By Ken Warren Daniel has spent most of his 28 years of life as a boy and young man near Crystal Lake, Ill., in the greater Chicago area. His parents are both retired, but his father operated his own HVAC business for many years while his mother was a registered nurse. He has three sisters and one brother, all older than him. He graduated from high school in Huntley, Ill., in 2015. In 2020, he and a female friend moved to the Janesville area,...
Some Sample Questions for Legislative Candidates
Some Sample Questions for Legislative Candidates Compiled by Sherry Reames With all the seats in the Wisconsin Assembly and half the seats in the Senate coming up for election this November, many of them in more competitive new districts, we should have unusual opportunities this fall to meet with candidates and learn about their priorities. Here are some suggestions from MOSES leaders about issues you might highlight and questions you might ask. On Education: Question: The...