by MOSES Publications | Oct 30, 2024 | Newsletter, Support MOSES
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 money by donating financially, and the most effective way to do that is by being a sustaining member – that is, setting up a monthly donation, deducted from our checking account.
So why is MOSES so important to me? I tell this story every time I have a one-on-one conversation to build relationships within MOSES.
I was blessed to be able to raise a traumatized niece and nephew who were found to be in need of protective services. It was challenging at first, but we built a family of care and healing through the years. After both children had graduated from high school, I found my way to the Allied Drive neighborhood and began a 25-year journey mentoring teens. Most of these children were Black. Many came from traumatic family circumstances. Some struggled a great deal, some found success in life, and some had trouble with the law from time to time.
In the summer of 2016, while I was out of the country, I heard one more time about a policeman shooting a young, unarmed Black man in the back. I had heard these terrible stories many times before, but this time I was deeply impacted. I couldn’t reach and hug the children I knew, and I realized this could have happened to someone I had grown to love. At that moment, I determined that I would make a change to the systems that allowed such violence to occur.
That fall at a community meeting I met James Morgan, who is now MOSES’s community organizer, and Jeannie Verschay, who co-chairs MOSES’s longest-standing task force. We were talking about criminal-legal system reform, and they encouraged me to join their work, which I did.
I have learned from MOSES how to understand the problems with the carceral system in this country, the extreme racial disparities in Wisconsin’s prisons and the Dane County Jail, and the systemic traumatization of children in need of protective services, who enter the public school system with traumas that affect their sense of belonging, and thus their learning capacity and sometimes their behavior.
We seek to disrupt all of these systems. Together we learn and grow in relationship to build power and make the change we envision. And together we can contribute the money needed to support this work. That is why I am a sustaining member. Please join me.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 30, 2024 | Action Opportunities, Meetings, Newsletter, Support MOSES
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. Paul AME Church with both Saundra and James, who made an impressive presentation about MOSES. We felt welcomed into their community by the Rev. Greg Armstrong and his congregation, and after the service we chatted with church members about MOSES. St. Paul is already a MOSES member; the goal of this visit was to encourage their greater participation.
On June 23, the Racial Equity Team attended the Sunday service at Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church, where the lead pastor is the Rev. David Hart. President Saundra gave the MOSES presentation. The congregation was very interested in MOSES, and Saundra has been in continuing contact with them as they consider whether to join, though they have not yet become members.
On July 21, several MOSES members attended services at S.S. Morris Community AME Church with Saundra, who spoke on behalf of MOSES, sharing our mission statement, our advocacy work, and her own personal rationale for inviting S.S. Morris to join us. After the presentation, Pastor Karla Garcia said, “We got you!”
After the service, we shared MOSES yearbooks, newsletters, etc., with members, as well as a sign-up sheet. At least 10 members completed feedback forms. Their contact information has been entered into our database, so that they can stay informed and in contact.
On Aug. 18, MOSES members, including the Communications Team, attended the service at Second Baptist Church. The Rev. Anthony Wade and his congregation gave the service, and, again, MOSES members felt very welcome. Saundra and James made moving presentations, and Rev. Wade stated, before the service was even over, that Second Baptist was joining us! There seemed to be general enthusiasm for this decision as we mingled after the service, sharing yearbooks, newsletters, and fellowship.
Upcoming visits that have already been arranged include Mt. Zion Baptist in September and Fountain of Life in October, both on the third Sunday. If you would like to participate in any of these visits, please feel free to do so. They are not limited to the group that has agreed to come. Contact President Saundra Brown at president.moses.madison@gmail.com for more information.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 30, 2024 | Information, MOSES activities, Newsletter, Organizer
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!
by MOSES Publications | Aug 30, 2024 | Events, Fundraisers, Newsletter, Support MOSES
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, and that you were convicted of a crime and sentenced to years in prison. How would you feel? Might you try to change your ways? You might study, write letters, pray, or see how your life could be different. Not only do you not want to cause harm and sadness, but you also want to be renewed, to be helpful to friends and family.
Finally the day comes, and you are released. With the help of others, you find ways to get your life in order. You see that there are things you can do to restore your family. You even begin to reach out to other families. With your new insights, you want to find ways to make the community safe. You dream of a place where everyone will get along — a place where everyone who needs a job has one, where everyone is safe, where everyone has enough to eat and a place to live and can enjoy life! Now how do you feel?
Shall we rejoice with you? Shall we have a celebration? You are making such a great difference in a difficult time that we want to tell the whole world. We want to have a GALA!
Since 2017, MOSES has brought people together to honor and celebrate those who were incarcerated and who now are making the world a better place. One of those people had an idea: Wouldn’t it be great if there could be an occasion when we could get dressed up and meet other people who have worked to make the prison system one of compassion, one that helps people overcome the traumas of their lives, rather than a place of lifelong punishment?
Let’s all go! Let’s do MOSES! Let’s rejoice that we have helped build power to create systems that enable people to be the best they can be! Let’s celebrate that we are dismantling disparities, so that we have communities of justice, peace, and caring!
We will greet each other. We will eat great appetizers and sweets prepared by the young people trained by the Goodman Center. There might be a raffle! We will especially welcome the new awardees who have overcome the pain of incarceration and become stars in the community.
Sponsors and participants contribute to the ongoing work of MOSES. Those who can will add to the cost of their tickets, so that some folks fresh out of the carceral system can celebrate with us and dream of how they will make the world a better place.
MOSES will hold its seventh annual Gala on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Brassworks of The Goodman Center, 214 Waubesa St. Tickets are $75/person, or $65/person for two or more registering together. Save the date! Further information will be available in October.
by Renee Gregory | Feb 25, 2016 | Events
MOSES will be tabling an event at the Central Library March 3rd, called ARTISTS IN ABSENTIA. Artist in Absentia will be featuring the art, writing, music, and dramatic work of artists from Oakhill Correctional Institution. The art will be on display from March 3–31, 2016 in THE BUBBLER, Madison Public Library – Central Branch at 201 W Mifflin St, Madison Wisconsin.
The opening reception is Thursday March 3, 6–8:30 p.m. with a documentary preview screening at 7 p.m.
There will be a silent charity auction of the art and texts throughout the evening and into the next day. This is an initiative of the Oakhill Prison Humanities Project.
http://www.artistsinabsentia.com/
