With a dedicated career helping children and families adversely impacted by immigration, homelessness, abuse, and oppressive systems in South America, Europe, and his native Milwaukee, Luke serves as Director of Program Design and Community Engagement at the Institute for Child and Family Well-being at Children’s Wisconsin.
As an award-winning Senior Columnist for the Milwaukee Independent, Reggie Jackson covers a range of African American issues. He is also a Consultant with Nurturing Diversity Partners, and volunteers as Head Griot for America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) in Bronzeville.
REGGIE JACKSON: 7x Award Winner in Best Column categories from the Milwaukee Press Club
As a teacher for over twenty years, Dominic Inouye helped students to develop their reading, writing, critical thinking, and, most of all, their voices. He worked as The Pfister Hotel Narrator, a one-year appointment, and currently manages the ZIP MKE project that photo documents the city to promote cultural understanding.
Dominic Inouye: 2x Award Winner in Best Column category from the Milwaukee Press Club
Dr. Kenneth Cole is a Licensed Psychologist who has spent the past two decades helping members of the community in developing the ability to bring about positive change for their lives, and empowering those individuals to advocate for themselves.
Kenneth Cole: 2x Award Winner in Reporting categories from the Milwaukee Press Club
Pardeep Kaleka is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, published author of The Gifts of Our Wounds, award-winning columnist with Milwaukee Independent, and a clinician specializing in utilizing a trauma-informed approach to treat survivors and perpetrators of assault, abuse, and acts of violence.
PARDEEP KALEKA: Winner in Best Blog category of the 88th Annual Milwaukee Press Club Awards
John Pavlovitz: Winner of Best Blog at the 89th Annual Milwaukee Press Club Awards
Recent Columns
A history of hope: When the past can offer comfort in the fog of election despair
I know people are on edge, and there is maybe one last thing I can offer before this election. Worried people ask me how I have maintained a sense of hope through the past fraught years. The answer, inevitably for me is in our history. If you had been alive in 1853,...
It can happen here: The rise of an American dictator and the public support behind Trump’s cruelty
On September 7, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump predicted that his plan to deport 15 to 20 million people currently living in the United States would be “bloody.” He also promised to prosecute his political opponents, including, he wrote, lawyers,...
Endorsing Kamala Harris: A champion of the freedoms that American veterans fought to preserve
Milwaukee Independent has never endorsed a political candidate in its history, and it may never do so again. However, as major editorial boards like those of The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times buckle under the weight of fear surrounding Donald Trump, the...
Political patronage: Elon Musk pimps for Trump by peddling lies and promises of dire economic austerity
At a town hall held on his social media platform X, Elon Musk told the audience on October 25 that if Trump wins, he expected to work in a Cabinet-level position to cut the federal government. He told people to expect “temporary hardship” but that cuts would “ensure...
Indifference and ignorance: Why America became a fertile ground for Trump’s Fascist messages to thrive
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued a joint statement on October 24 condemning Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for “labeling [Trump] as a ‘fascist.’” They suggest she is “inviting yet...
Trump’s fascist rally: Puerto Rico called floating island of garbage at Madison Square Garden event
I stand corrected. I thought this year’s October surprise was the reality that Trump’s mental state had slipped so badly he could not campaign in any coherent way. It turns out that the 2024 October surprise was the Trump campaign’s fascist rally at Madison Square...
A fascist to the core: Milley’s interview highlights how Trump has clearly expressed his intentions
“He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country … a fascist to the core.” This is how former chairman...
Exploring Korea: Stories from Milwaukee to the DMZ and across a divided peninsula
EXPLORING KOREA: Stories from Milwaukee to the DMZ and across a divided Peninsula. This special series explores historical sites and cultural traditions from across the Korean Peninsula, building a bridge back to the search for identity in Milwaukee. From the...
A level playing field: Why the Reagan economic era is over regardless of Trump’s future
There are really two major Republican political stories dominating the news these days. The more obvious of the two is the attempt by former president Donald Trump and his followers to destroy American democracy. The other story is older, the one that led to Trump but...
