Organizer’s Corner: James Morgan
Interview by Margaret Irwin
James is working in several areas to help MOSES be a more effective voice for criminal legal system reform in our community and state.
- He is planning how best to work with the new UW student group Students Against Mass Incarceration. The training material he’s used in the past needs to be reworked and updated. He’s looking forward to strengthening this link between MOSES and the university.
- The reconstituted Fundraising Team is working on various ideas to raise money for the work of MOSES. James has been handing out flyers to various organizations for the Lunch and Learn event on May 20, featuring The Honorable Reverend Everett Mitchell, pastor of Christ the Solid Rock church and a Dane County Circuit Court judge. James hopes to have a full house for the event this year.
- The Fundraising Team will be exploring potential grants on behalf of MOSES. Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE): In the past, WISDOM did the fundraising for all the affiliates; this year it is up to us to find our own funding.
- Individual gifts: Some of us know people of means who might be willing to make a donation to MOSES. Many of us are hesitant to ask others for money, but James is not! He will come up with a document to help us discern who potential donors might be, and he will be glad to do the asking for us!
- Education: As active members of MOSES, we need to educate ourselves about the issues MOSES is concerned with so we can talk knowledgeably about them. James is planning to create a list of resources that will be useful for us. He recommends “Power,” a documentary about the history of policing. It is available on Netflix.
- Commutations: James welcomes Gov. Ever’s initiative on commutations (See Sherry Reames’ article on p. x). However, much more needs to be done to ensure that whole classes of people are not left out of this opportunity.
• Community-building: James hopes the members of MOSES can form deeper connections with one another by sharing stories of how we came to be part of this organization. This issue of the