Last Week in Review

Last Wednesday, Senate Republicans approved legislation that would allow certain health care providers the ability to deny patients care based on the  individual’s gender, or sexual orientation. Democratic  members vehemently opposed the bill, which would put an enormous number of Wisconsinites in danger of being denied access to quality care. The bill had originally included comprehensive anti-discrimination protections, but the legislature unanimously signed off on an amendment to gut this provision. Democrats stand united with Wisconsin families and oppose discrimination. 

In both the Assembly and Senate last week, Republicans refused to take action on Governor Evers’s special session that invests millions in public schools, mental health services and special education. More on details on events from the Assembly's two days in session, including Special Session can be found below.

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Holocaust Education Requirement Passes Assembly

Last week, the State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 816 (AB 816) which requires instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides to be incorporated into the social studies curriculum at least once in grades 5 to 8 and at least once in grades 9 to 12 by public school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program.

As a teenager I had the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors and interview them as part of a Jewish youth group project. They shared survival stories that were nothing short of heroic but also filled with tragedy and loss. As the number of Holocaust survivors shrinks, it is incumbent upon us to ensure their plight is never forgotten and the unforgivable events of the past never happen again.

In a recent poll, 22% of millennials said they had never heard of the Holocaust, double the percentage of American adults who said the same. Additionally, two-thirds of American millennials surveyed in 2018 could not identify the historical significance of Auschwitz.

A 2019 audit by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation revealed a staggering 329% increase Anti-Semitic incidents in Wisconsin since 2015. More than a quarter of all recorded anti-Semitic incidents in Wisconsin during this timeframe took place among students or on campus.

In this era of growing divisiveness and increasing anti-Semitic activity, I felt it was time to add Wisconsin to the growing list of states requiring Holocaust education. Knowing and understanding the history of the Holocaust and other genocides is vital to ensuring we never repeat these atrocities.

The Wisconsin-based Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC) has made a commitment to the state to provide materials and support at no additional cost to schools. Members and supporters of HERC attended a hearing in large numbers the previous week to show their support of the bill.

I want to thank the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center for their commitment to ensuring the Holocaust is never forgotten and never repeated. I am hopeful the Senate will quickly follow suit by passing AB 816 and sending it to Governor Evers’s desk for his signature.

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Special Session on Education

After rejecting Governor Evers’s proposal to invest in our budget surplus into our public schools while simultaneously cutting property taxes for Wisconsin families by $130 million, Assembly Republicans passed Senate Bill 821 (SB 821) last Thursday. SB 821 was fast tracked legislation that broke a series of Republican promises for investment in our public schools.

Governor Evers’s special session proposal reflected many of the recommendations that came out of the speaker’s own blue ribbon commission on K-12 public education The misplaced priorities from Republicans for our projected budget surplus are depriving Wisconsin students of investment in their futures while also missing an opportunity for property tax relief.

Since 2011, nearly one million Wisconsinites have voted to raise their own taxes to support their local schools. AB 821 does nothing to help school districts get out of the cycle of relying on referendum and taxpayers to fund local schools. Last year, Republicans promised to return Wisconsin to its 2/3 funding promise for our public schools. They also promised to reach a 30% reimbursement rate for special education, and to address mental health care issues in our schools.

Our schools, students, and teachers have been disregarded by Republicans for far too long. The governor’s proposal could go a long way to ensure students with disabilities receive the services and support they need to be successful, and that mental health services are available for students who need them. It is time for Republicans to start working with Democrats to find solutions that really work for Wisconsin.

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Help Improve Habitat for Wildlife

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking to partner with landowners for the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) designed for healthy deer and habitat.

DMAP is a cooperative effort between the Department of Natural Resources, landowners, and hunters to provide habitat and deer herd management assistance to those interested in managing their property for wildlife. Wildlife and forestry professionals assist landowners with management practices that consider the ecological and social impacts white-tailed deer have on the landscape.

In return, DMAP participants can choose to share habitat information, collect biological data and participate in DMAP workshops. This one-on-one relationship, stressing communication and cooperation, makes DMAP a flexible and effective deer management program for private and public lands alike.

Although DMAP enrollment is open year-round, landowners, hunters and land managers with properties that are 160 acres or more are encouraged to enroll before March 1 to be eligible for a site visit with a DNR biologist and forester in 2020. Landowners who enroll by March 1 will also receive a management plan with recommendations to assist with reaching the goals for the property.

DMAP provides informational resources and professional assistance regarding wildlife habitat management for properties of any size to help participants improve habitat for wildlife. DMAP participants are invited to professional workshops on a variety of topics such as:

• Financial assistance programs;
• Natural forage for deer, deer ecology and management;
• Chronic wasting disease (CWD); and
• Deer research and predator effects on the deer herd.

DMAP participants receive regular updates on items of interest to land stewards and opportunities to participate in citizen science programs. Neighboring landowners with properties within one-half mile are encouraged to enroll as a DMAP cooperative.

Landowners who enroll in a DMAP cooperative with a combined acreage of 160 acres or more are eligible to receive a site visit and management plan. DMAP cooperatives also provide an opportunity to monitor local wildlife populations and share costs and equipment on habitat projects to benefit deer and other wildlife over a greater area.

To receive DMAP email updates and other information, subscribe here. Follow the prompts and select the "Deer Management Assistance Program" option, found under Wildlife Management. Article via DNR

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AARP Community Challenge Grant Submissions Wanted

AARP invites you to submit applications for quick-action projects that can help your community become more livable. Applications are now being accepted for small grants to improve housing, transportation, public space, smart cities, civic engagement and more. Since 2017, over $3 Million in grants have been distributed nationwide with over $100,000+ in Wisconsin alone.  Projects have included public space beautification and accessibility, transportation pilots, and health and wellbeing projects to name just a few.  For more information and to submit an application, please click on the link: www.aarp.org/communitychallenge Applications are due by April 1, 2020, 11:59 p.m. ET. All projects must be completed by November 9, 2020.

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Wisconsin Black History Fact

Lloyd Augustus Barbee was an attorney, a Wisconsin legislator, and one of the most prominent leaders of Wisconsin's civil rights movement who fought for school integration in Milwaukee.

He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 17, 1925, and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when he was just 12 years old. Barbee served in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

In 1949, he graduated from the all-black LeMoyne-Owen College with a B.A. in economics. Later that year, Barbee moved to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin Law School, but dropped out after his first year because of the racism he encountered among his peers and professors. He eventually returned to the university, however, and received his law degree in 1956.

Fighting Segregation in Milwaukee Schools

Barbee had already become involved with the NAACP and various political causes by the time he came to Milwaukee in 1962. In 1964, Barbee organized and led an alliance of civil rights activists dedicated to ending de facto segregation in Milwaukee called the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC). This group became the primary vehicle for his desegregation efforts and a class-action lawsuit against the city's school board.

In 1963 Barbee led the NAACP's challenge to the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), demanding that school officials make stronger efforts to integrate schools. When MPS refused to modify its school policy, the NAACP organized boycotts of MPS schools and operated "freedom schools" in their place. When that failed, Barbee decided to file a lawsuit to make the courts do what the school board would not.

On June 17, 1965, Barbee filed a federal lawsuit, "Amos et al. v. Board of School Directors of the City of Milwaukee" charging the Milwaukee School Board with unconstitutionally maintaining racial segregation in its schools. From 1965 to 1976 Barbee spent thousands of hours on the case, often working alone against a battery of Milwaukee Public School lawyers.

Finally, in January of 1976, Federal Judge John Reynolds ruled that Milwaukee Public Schools were indeed segregated unlawfully, prompting the Wisconsin Legislature to enact a school integration program. Although Barbee won the case in 1976, he spent the next several years dealing with appeals, new trials, and work to enact a viable plan to desegregate the school system. Though not perfect, the court decision began to address schooling issues in Milwaukee.

In 1992, the Wisconsin Advisory Committee issued a report on the effects of the desegregation program implemented after Barbee's victory and its impact on the quality of education received by students in Milwaukee. 

Work in the Wisconsin State Assembly

In 1964, Barbee was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly where he served until 1977. He introduced legislation concerning open housing (State Fair Housing bill) and fair employment practices, as well as introducing legislation promoting gay rights, women's rights, prison reform, the legalization of drugs and prostitution, disarming police officers and taxation of churches. In later years, Barbee continued to work as a Milwaukee lawyer, and remained dedicated in his commitment to promoting human rights and positive social change. Barbee continued to fight segregation and inequality in Milwaukee until his death on December 29, 2002, at the age of 77.
Article and images via Wisconsin Historical Society

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