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.
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...
Why Is MOSES Having a Gala?
Why Is MOSES Having a Gala? By Mary Anglim and Joan Duerst The word gala, a festive celebration – is derived from the French word galer, which means “to have a good time, to rejoice.” The mission of MOSES is to build collective power to dismantle the systems of mass incarceration and mass supervision and to eradicate the racial disparities in our community that contribute to them. Why is MOSES rejoicing? Imagine that you did something that harmed the community or someone in it,...
The Marshall Project Gives the Big U.S. Picture
The Marshall Project Gives the Big U.S. Picture By Pam Gates I have become a subscriber to the Marshall Project, a free news service that collects important stories about all aspects of the criminal-legal system across the country – police activity, correctional facilities, individual cases, court decisions, etc., etc. I receive several emails from them every week, with brief summaries and links to fuller accounts with thorough documentation. You can request emails in specific areas of...
Thoughts from the President: Teamwork Is a Strength
Thoughts from the President: Teamwork Is a Strength From Saundra Brown While every single team member’s job is important and necessary, teamwork ought never be used to bring personal gain, nor should it ever be based on ill-fated assumptions. According to WISDOM’s Attitudes and Disciplines, we believe that everyone has something to offer, and that we need everyone’s gifts if we are to succeed. As I look through the lens of success for MOSES, I perceive teamwork as our greatest...
A Tribute to Our Past President, Rachel Kincade
A Tribute to Our Past President, Rachel Kincade By Margaret Irwin When Rachel Kincade became active in MOSES, she brought with her a wealth of experience in direct service to unhoused youth and adults. A native of Minneapolis, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Her life’s direction was set when a friend told her about the kids her teenage son brought home because they had no place to stay. Rachel and her friend decided to do...
Review of Becoming Ms. Burton
Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women By Susan Burton and Cari Lynn, with a foreword by Michelle Alexander The New Press, 2017 Reviewed by Joan Duerst and Pam Gates Susan Burton has lived her whole life in Los Angeles’s Watts neighborhood – except for the times she spent in California’s jails or prisons on drug-related offenses. Readers will be captured by the ups and downs of Sue’s early life, narrated in the first 18 chapters, Part 1. She...
Juneteenth
On Saturday, June 15, MOSES participated in the Juneteenth celebration at Penn Park. Along with many other community groups, we walked in the parade from Fountain of Life Church to the park; there we had an information table to tell the MOSES story. (newsletter had pictures we could add)