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.
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)
“The Kernel of Truth”
“The Kernel of Truth” By Katie Mulligan Exuberant audiences cheered the premiere performances of “The Kernel of Truth” at the Overture Center on Father's Day weekend. Billed as a story of redemption from behind bars, the play presents the stories of men imprisoned in a county jail and shows how they come to understand the complexities of the criminal justice system and eventually realize their own power in building new lives and transforming their communities. Each man steps...
Who Is Corey Marionneaux and Why Do I Keep Seeing His Name?
Who Is Corey Marionneaux and Why Do I Keep Seeing His Name? By Sherry Reames If MOSES members haven’t yet heard about Corey Marionneaux and his ambitious projects, trust me – this is a young community leader to watch. Marionneaux is founder and CEO of Black Men Coalition of Dane County, a nonprofit established in 2020 “to foster and develop a safe and inclusive environment for Black men and other vulnerable populations in Dane County through community involvement, mentorship, education, and...
Lunch and Learn Fundraiser Celebrates Madison’s New SAFE House
Lunch and Learn Fundraiser Celebrates Madison’s New SAFE House By Katie Mulligan On May 15, MOSES members and others gathered for a “Lunch and Learn” fundraiser at Lake Edge Lutheran Church in Monona. We were there to hear EXPO member Deliliah McKinney speak about the special problems of women who spend time in prison, what they need to succeed after release, and how she obtained a grant for a SAFE House that helps them move toward new lives. “I am in awe of her,” said MOSES organizer James...
What’s the Significance of “23”?
What’s the Significance of “23”? By Pamela Gates On the 23rd of every month, MOSES and EXPO members plan to gather from 12 to 12:30 pm on the State Street steps of the Capitol to draw attention to the fact that hundreds of people are being subjected to solitary confinement in Wisconsin’s prisons, and to demand that the state put an end this practice. The 23rd was chosen because people in solitary spend 23 hours alone in their cells every day. They spend the other hour someplace else,...
Organizer’s Corner
Organizer’s Corner: Greetings, Everyone! From Community Organizer, James Morgan It is my sincere hope that as I share with you in this moment, that you’ll gain a greater appreciation for having had, at one time or another, an experience of making “it” make sense. The “It” I am referring to has no boundaries, when it comes to how we may act, or our reaction to the situations and circumstances before us. It can and often does involve personal and collective decision-making in our...
Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI) Activities and Concerns
Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI) Activities and Concerns By Tom and Jan Gilbert, Mary Anglim, and Kathy Luker Dane County has not been actively pursuing reform initiatives that are of interest to us in the past year. This is part of the ebb and flow of county government, but here are some of the reasons for the inactivity: • County Executive Parisi’s announcement in October 2023 that he would retire had an impact on everything in county government. His retirement took effect on...