Author: Staff

Lola Vaganova: Poems written in Ukrainian bomb shelter offer a powerful witness of war to Milwaukee

During a poetry reading by Olena Jennings and Krystia Nora, from their book “Ukrainian-American Poets Respond,” there was a Q&A session with the audience at the Boswell Book Company on December 14. Instead of presenting a question, however, one young woman asked if she could read her own poems. Lola Vaganova began by apologizing for standing up to speak, instead of asking a question. The 21-year-old explained in English that she was a refugee from Izium, Ukraine. It was a tremendous act of courage for the audience to witness. “I really wanted to say thank you, to each and...

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Seventh annual Rosa Parks Day tribute honors Civil Rights leader with an open seat on every MCTS bus

For the seventh consecutive year, the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) will keep a seat open on every bus in the fleet from December 1 through December 3, to honor the life of Civil Rights hero Rosa Parks and recognize her contribution to the ongoing fight for equality and equity for all Each reserved seat will include a red rose and a special placard that features Parks’ photo and a message about her courageous act. The signs read, “On the anniversary of her courageous act, MCTS salutes Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and all who made a seat available for...

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Holodomor Memorial Day: Honoring Ukrainian victims on 90th anniversary of Stalin’s genocide and famine

The observation of Holodomor Memorial Day on November 26, a solemn time to remember the Ukrainian people who were victims of Stalin’s genocide by famine, takes place against a backdrop in 2022 that parallels the cruelty of 90 years ago. Following the playbook of brutality used previously by Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, the current dictator has also weaponized access to food, and expanded the campaign of terror by targeting civilian populations with missiles and artillery. Every time Vladimir Putin’s war effort stalled on the battlefield, he tried to starve Ukraine into submission. Survivors of the Russian occupation...

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Milwaukee-based education program works with men and boys to take a stand against human trafficking

HEMAD Milwaukee launched its five-week campaign to educate men about how they can end human trafficking, during a press conference at City Hall on November 21. The HEMAD (Human trafficking Educators working with Men and boys to stand Against the Demand) project was designed primarily to push men to take a stand against the demand of sex trafficking. It is the fifth year of the Milwaukee-based campaign, lasting until December 28. “Human trafficking is a crime. It exploits young children, teenagers, men, and women alike of all races. They’re subject to force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of...

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Milwaukee County approves Wisconsin’s first historic LGBTQ landmark for site of the Black Nite Uprising

The Milwaukee County Landmarks Committee unanimously approved a historic landmark designation on November 14 for the site of the Black Nite Uprising at 400 N. Plankinton Avenue, the location of the first documented act of LGBTQ resistance in Wisconsin history. The designation became the first official historical monument, marker, or memorial in Wisconsin to be devoted to the history of LGBTQ people. The commemoration also honored the leadership of Josie Carter, a black woman of trans experience and a local nightlife persona for over six decades. “This is a moment of victory,” said Michail Takach, curator of the Wisconsin...

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Ewaso Village: Author Chip Duncan explores the Maasai people of East Africa in book of intimate stories

Milwaukee-based filmmaker, photojournalist, writer, and poet Chip Duncan shares a profound journey to Kenya in his new book, “Ewaso Village: Poems and Stories.” Duncan’s work has taken him to distant ice fields, war zones, slums, shipyards, palaces, deserts, rainforests, and farmlands to produce more than fifty non-fiction films for international broadcast. Located in Kenya’s Laikipia County, Ewaso Village is his first book of poetry, and the first in a trilogy featuring indigenous cultures from around the world. “Ewaso Village is luxurious storytelling for all of the literary senses: stunning photography, vulnerable prose and vivid poems. The collection is eloquent...

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