Resources

This page lists blogs and organizations

Groups

Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin

  • Young, Gifted and Black Coalition facebook page. YGB is the Black Lives Matter formation in Madison.
  • Freedom, Inc One of the members of the YGB coalitoin. Freedom, Inc. engages low- to no-income communities of color in Dane County, WI. We work to end violence against people of color, women, those that non-traditionally gender identify, and our youth, to promote healthy lifestyle.  We create healthy communities by campaigning against the root causes of violence, creating new definitions and solutions of identity and resiliency, and empowering all community members as agents of change.
  • Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism AKA WisconsinWatch.org
  • MOSES is the Madison affiliate of WISDOM. It has been active in challenging mass incarceration, in calling attention to racial disparitiesi n policing, and
  • http://www.rocwisconsin.org/  is the web site of Restore our Communities, a project of WISDOM. WISDOM is a statewide network of faith communities that works to promote the common good by building diverse communities and encouraging broad participation in the democratic process.  WISDOM is a grassroots organization, comprised mostly of religious congregations of many denominations, from about 160 congregations, of 19 different religious traditions.  Besides criminal justice reform,WISDOM and its local organizations promote Immigrant Rights, Economic Justice, Health Care availability, Public Transportation, Workforce Housing, and more. WISDOM is an affiliate of Gamaliel.
  • EXPO http://expowisconsin.webs.com/about-expo is an organization of ex-prisoners. It is sponsored/supported by WISDOM. It focuses on issues of reentry and has played a major role in developing Madison’s 15-point program for violence reduction.
  • Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice This is a multi-issue organization. They have a “racial justice tipping point” campaign. The goal of this project is “project to engage 3.5% of WI’s population in a campaign called the Racial Justice Tipping Point. “We are using grassroots organizing strategies to not only bring people together, but to take the big and small steps to make the big shifts that we need in order to make WI a more racially equitable state. While many organizations within our networks have an explicit focus on racial justice issues such as immigrant rights, Black Lives Matter, American Indian sovereignty and human rights, and Hmong self-determination, we are also partnering with organizations outside our networks to build the power we need to win real life improvements in people’s lives. A main component of the program is to engage and deepen white people’s commitment to this work to affect permanent change.”
  • Wisconsin Council on Children and Families is a policy group. One of its core areas is racial equity.
  • Nehemiah Corporation is a faith-baithed African American organization under the leadership of pastor Alex Gee of Fountain of Life Church that works in areas of urban development, community leadership, and prisoner reentry. Nehemiah also hosts the Justified Anger coalition.

National

  • Equal Justice Initiative works on racial disparities in sentencing, death penalty, poverty.
  • Prison Policy Initiative Non-profit, non-partisan, produces cutting edge reserach to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, then sparks advocacy campaigns.
  • Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective US criminal justice system. Focus areas are sentencing, incarceration, racial disparity, felony disenfranchisement, drug policy, juvenile justice, women, collateral consequences.

Blogs

Racial/ethnic minority groups

Policing & Corrections

News sites (many of these can be followed on Facebook, blog aggregators, etc.)

  • Madison365.org A local journalistic endeavor using “excellent journalism to tart conversations, find real and lasting solutions, build community, invite action and encourage emerging leaders in Greater Madison’s communities of color, and to foster dialog between members of diverse communities.”
  • WisconsinWatch.org is produced by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
  • Middle Wisconsin is based in Wausau, WI. It’s stated principles are  Fairness, Respect and Community Good. They say: We believe:
    • in thriving local economies which provide an adequate standard of living for all citizens
    • everyone has a right to a high quality public education
    • everyone has a right to high quality health care
    • in the responsible use and care of our environment
    • in a just and open government

Housing issues