Author: Lee Matz

Voting Rights Are Human Rights: A look at how Shepard Fairey installed Milwaukee’s new social justice mural

Internationally acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey and his Obey Giant team painted a visually stunning 7,400 square foot mural entitled “Voting Rights Are Human Rights” in Milwaukee. The mural was originally part of a national tour to support the 2020 election season, by creating public art with a theme and a mission towards getting out the vote.

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A hot mess inside a dumpster fire: Milwaukee’s Democratic supporters watch first presidential debate

Democrats in Milwaukee held a watch party in the Beer Garden outside of the Fiserv Forum on September 29, for the first presidential debate between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Roughly two dozen people attended the private event, social distancing and wearing PPE, to watch what CNN’s Jake Tapper called “a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck.” Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley spoke to the small crowd before the debate began, emphasizing the impact of the pandemic on the watch party. Trump’s failed response to COVID-19 has...

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Civil Rights groups offer words of healing to Kenosha until Mayor John Antarmian upends the effort

Civil rights groups led by Forward Latino gathered in Kenosha on August 24 to offer words of support and healing to a traumatized community with a unified press conference, until altered plans by Kenosha Mayor John Antarmian threw the effort into turmoil. Social tensions became inflamed after a news conference with Kenosha Mayor John Antarmian, originally to be held in a park, was moved inside the city’s public safety building. Hundreds of protesters rushed to the building and a door was snapped off its hinges before police in riot gear pepper-sprayed the crowd, which included a photojournalist. Civil rights...

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National Guard deployed to Kenosha after police shoot Jacob Blake and trigger further racial unrest

Wisconsin’s governor summoned the National Guard for fear of another round of violent protests on August 24, after the violent police shooting of a Black man recorded on video turned Kenosha into the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest. Governor Tony Evers said 125 members of the National Guard would be in Kenosha by night with responsibility for guarding infrastructure and making sure our firefighters and others involved are protected. County authorities also announced an 8:00 p.m. curfew. “I know folks across our state will be making their voices heard in Kenosha and in communities...

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Raysean White reflects on recording the latest example of police brutality against a Black man

Following the string of police shootings of unarmed Black men this year, which culminated in nationwide and ongoing unrest after the death of George Floyd, a 22-year-old Kenosha man filmed the latest extrajudicial killing of an unarmed man of color by law enforcement. Raysean White saw 29-year-old Jacob Blake scuffling with three officers across the street, from his apartment window. The incident happened around 5:00pm on August 23. Kenosha police do not yet have body cameras, so White’s video is the only visual record of the shooting. I was just looking out and thought, I gotta record this. So...

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