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 information were much welcomed.
Our participation in the Gamaliel National LeadershipTraining highlighted the work of MOSES with affiliates from across the country, communicating the value and importance of the work we do here in Wisconsin on local and statewide issues.
Our involvement with WISDOM’s Transformational Justice and Justice Reinvestment campaigns and its Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE) and Relational Voter outreach continue to show that MOSES stands as one of the strongest affiliates within this network. Our involvement brought in close to $25,000 for our organization.
Thanks to Eric Howland, Jeanie Verschay, and many others, the MOSES/WISDOM candidates’ forum in Sun Prairie on August 6 was a success! The candidates for state Senate District 16 and Assembly District 48 were presented with background information and questions on incarceration policies, the shackling of pregnant women in the corrections system, etc., with the goal of ensuring future accountability for our concerns within the legislature. Our power and dedication to these and other issues continue to move MOSES forward.
On August 18, we held a MOSES presentation at Second Baptist Church as part of our outreach to African American churches. Our president and visitation team were well received and came away with a commitment from Second Baptist to become a member of MOSES! A huge “Thank you!”” and extended gratitude to Pastor Wade and his congregation for their willingness to participate in the work of MOSES.
During our time at Second Baptist, we were pleased to hear about their interest in the current voting cycle and their awareness of Project 2025 and its potential to dismantle the most basic principles and values of our democracy. We were admonished to fully understand that “everything is at stake!” in this election cycle.
We have yet to work out the details, but MOSES/WISDOM will be sponsoring another forum prior to the November election for candidates running for open WIsconsin Senate and Assembly seats. I encourage you to reach out to Eric Howland and Sherry Reames and assist in the preparation phase by submitting questions for those candidates. Let’s Do MOSES!