what are the colors in your world? and how deep do they run? - … · 2015-04-02 · atkinson,...

May & June 2008Vol XVIII, No. 3

NEWS

Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice

NETWORK

What’s Inside This Issue

p. 2 WNPJ Events and Items p. 3 Orchids and Onions p. 4 Loving Beyond Boundries p. 5 Diversity Circles and

Vigilers p. 6 Oppressed to Oppressor

and War-Tax Resister p. 7 Action Alert p. 9 Bits and Peaces p. 10 Thanks and

P& J Resources p. 11 Report from the Office and Calendar

See You Can’t Say That, page 7

When the Lutheran Human RelationsAssociation was encouraged to joinWNPJ, one of the first things I lookedfor was some indication that this groupwas committed to an anti-racist,multicultural and inclusive identity. TheBoard was already entering the journeyof this work by stating their desire toexamine the issue of racism and theirintention to invite people from culturesnot as well represented to join the Board.At the first meeting I attended, a Madi-son based group called Groundwork andI had the opportunity to present material

What Are the Colors in Your World? AndHow Deep Do They Run?

From Marilyn Miller, Lutheran Human Relations Association

and activities to open up the discussionabout racism and white privilege.

What are the colors in your world?Recently, an associate shared an exer-cise she had participated in where peoplewere asked to show “their world” byusing different colored stones to repre-sent the different people in their lives andthose they interact with on a regular ba-sis. My associate noticed that most ofthe people participating had little diver-sity in “their world” and asked her foralmost all of her white stones, which rep-

resented European heritage peoples. Iwould not have been surprised if thebrown people used mostly brown stones,the black people black stones, the red –red, and the yellow- yellow. Because wehave all been taught well to stay in ourplaces, and we do, for the most part.Incidentally, though she is of Europeanheritage, my associate’s world lookedvery different from the others. This isbecause she has been on a wide “worldview” journey from a very young age in

Appleton, DePere, Dodgeville, Duluth, Elm Grove, Ft.Atkinson, Hayward, Janesville, Kenosha, LaCrosse, Madi-son, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Minocqua, Racine, Ripon, SaukPrairie, Sheboygan, Viroqua, Wausau, Webster and Wis-consin Rapids were some of the 35 communities that spokeagainst the continuation of the war and occupation of Iraq.

You Can’t Say Thatby Barbara Golden - Madison

See Colors, page 3

A black female character in the Madi-son Repertory Theater’s production of“Permanent Collection” tells her blackboss that “You can’t say that” in responseto an article where he has called hiswhite colleague a racist. This contem-porary play, set in a museum, speaks vol-umes about race in American society.

“You can’t say that.” We can admitthat racism exist, that disparities amongwhites and people of color are real—from graduation rates and earnings, toincarceration, but as the recent GeraldineFerraro flap illustrates, we can’t say thatracism has anything to do with any-one. It’s amorphous, existing some-

where in the ether, but not in our homes,our families, or our workplaces. It onlyexists in a world inhabited by hategroups. And we all know who they are.

The problem with this logic is that itmakes us collectively powerless to doanything about the racism that infects oursociety. Jimmy Carter was laughed atwhen, as president, he spoke of the lustin his heart as being equally as sinful asthe actual deed. I’m not suggesting thatwe all go around flailing ourselves likepenitents on a march, but I do believethat the pendulum has swung so far to

WNPJ Network News - May & June 2008

The Wisconsin Network forPeace and Justice facilitatesactivities, cooperation andcommunication among Wisconsinorganizations and individualsworking toward the creation ofa world free from violence andinjustice.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

OFFICERS

• John Peck, Co-Chair, Madison [email protected]

• Janet Parker, Co-Chair, Madison [email protected]

• Dennis Bergren, Secretary, Madison [email protected]

• Stefania Sani, Treasurer, Madison [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

NEWSLETTER : Hildegard Dorrer, Waunakee608-849-4219 [email protected] CHAIR: Alfred Meyer, Washington, DC608-513-4354 [email protected] : Chuck Baynton, Whitefish Bay

414-961-1467 [email protected]

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

• Barb Boehme, Middleton

608-831-1786 [email protected]• Cindy Bruenig, Milwuakee [email protected]• Bill Christofferson, Milwaukee 414-486-9651, [email protected]• Wix Covey/Carol Lukens, Wausau 715-675-9681 [email protected] 715-842-4538 [email protected]• George Martin, Milwaukee [email protected]• Carol Hannah, Hayward 715-634-1319 [email protected]• Bob Hanson, Neshkoro 920-293-8856 [email protected] Simon Harak, Milwaukee 414-288-5006 [email protected]• Tom McGrath, Wausau 715-842-1075 [email protected] Marilyn Miller, Milwaukee 414-536-0585 [email protected]• Chamomile Nusz, Waupaca 715-256-3993 [email protected]• Mary Beth Schlagheck, Windsor 608-846-7924 [email protected]• Jack Tiffany, Madison

608-233-8506 [email protected]• Dan Wadle, Green Bay

920-496-1188 [email protected]• Xong Xiong, LaCrosse

608-784-1617 [email protected]

STAFF

••••• Judy Miner, Office Coordinator [email protected]

••••• Stephen Burns, Program [email protected]

••••• Colin Bowden, Intern [email protected]

••••• Todd Dennis, UW work-study- [email protected]

••••• Jhoselis Briosos, UW [email protected]

••••• Brett Preuss, UW work-study- [email protected] Submit articles and calendar items to:E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 608-250-9240Mail: 122 State Street, #402 - Madison, WI 53703

WNPJ EventsThis year’s WNPJ Steering Committee meeting in Prairie du Sac featured

inspirational luncheon speaker, Kathy Kelly ( photo below) . The keynote addressby Diane Farsetta, of the Center for Media and Democracy, was about the floodof government and corporate PR that dominates our media. Diane argued that weshould view the media in terms of “communication rights”, based on Article 19 ofthe UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,(see www.un.org) which guarantees to all the“freedom to hold opinions without interferenceand to seek, receive and impart information andideas through any media and regardless of fron-tiers.” Three hands-on workshops helpedWNPJ members sharpen their media skills. GilHalsted, a reporter with Wisconsin Public Radio,led a workshop on media relations and writingpress releases, Editors from the ProgressiveMagazine, Amitabh Pal and Andrea Potter, led a workshop on writing Op-ed piecesand getting them published, and WNPJ staff Steve Burns was joined by BillChristofferson, an experienced reporter and political campaign manager and con-tributor to the blog Uppity Wisconsin, (see www.uppitywis.org) for a workshop onblogging and creating effective quarter-sheet flyers. More photos at our website.

A February 16th public hearing at the State Capitol in Madison chaired by StateSenator Mark Miller heard testimony against the U.S. Department of Energy’sproposal to spend $150 billion refurbishing U.S. nuclear weapons production facili-ties, a program the DOE calls “nuclear complex transformation.” Those testifyingincluded Alfred Meyer, past chair of WNPJ, and Lee Brown, coordinator of the

Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-bomb Exhibition Com-mittee. If you would like to bring the Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-bomb Exhibition to your commu-nity or receive a video of the public hearingtestimony, contact Lee Brown [email protected].

WNPJ has a NEW sign ready forSpring – for your yard or a smallerversion for your window. We thankSue Kummer, Stefania Sani, JanetParker and Steve Burns for theirwork on this project.There are 6languages represented on thesign: Norwegian, Arabic, Spanish,German, English and Hmong. Toget your signs, contact WNPj [email protected] or call 608-250-9240.

“Immigrants Are Welcome Here”


her life. It takes a great deal of resis-tance, intentionality and work to shift our“world view.” But, even those of us whohave been here for a while can learnsome new ways of being, seeing, anddoing.

How deep do your colors run?Though segregation is against the law,we still live fairly segregated lives whenit comes to deep authentic cross-cultural(ethnic as well as other life journey) re-lationships. The Rev. Dr. Martin LutherKing said, “Sunday morning is still oneof the most segregated times inAmerica.” As a nation we have notclearly and intentionally acknowledged,apologized nor addressed the atrocitiesthat have been and continue to be com-mitted against all kinds of people here.The list is deep and wide. As organiza-tions working for justice with many dif-ferent campaigns, this is an opportunity

Colors from front page

for us to take a look at who we are andwho is still not included. Even with jus-tice as the focus of our work, we canstill function in ways that maintain sys-temic racism and oppression. And, I amwilling to bet money that every justiceissue we are working to address has arace related issue/context that still hasto be confronted.

WNPJ’s Board is making a commit-ment to address racism, white privilege,and other oppressions that divide us. Theparticipants at the Board Retreat thoughtthe work was a good start in August2007. But, it was just that, the beginningof a long journey. We want to invite youto join us on this journey and expand theopportunity to continue this work withall of our member organizations and as-sociates. By now, contacts of the 156member groups of WNPJ will have re-ceived a Racial Justice Survey in the mail

and/or by e-mail. We invite you to havesomeone from your organization com-plete the survey and return it to theWNPJ office. We will use this survey toput together a workshop we would liketo offer statewide with your assistance,support and participation. Our organiza-tions and communities will reap the ben-efits of this work today and into the fu-ture. With intentional work, dedicatedresources, and the willingness to be trans-formed, we will be able to say with in-tegrity; we acted justly as we did ourwork for justice in the world. We lookforward to working together and accom-panying each other on this journey.Thank you in advance for completing theRacial Justice Survey and getting it backto WNPJ as soon as possible. If you needanother copy, contact [email protected].

Marilyn Miller is a WNPJ Boardmember from Milwaukee –[email protected].

AN ORCHID TO

First United Methodist Church of Madison, its church council, and pastor for standing by its commitment to provideshelter to the homeless against the pressure of developer Fred Moh, who threatened to withdraw the free parking he hadprovided to the congregation on Sunday if the FUMC shelter continued.

To the voters of Brattleboro and Marlboro Vermont, for passing voter initiatives instructing their town police forces toarrest President Bush and Vice President Cheney, should they ever appear in town. The resolutions cited Bush and Cheney’snumerous violations of U.S. and international law, and instructed police to “extradite them to other authorities that mayreasonably contend to prosecute them.”

To the countless faithful vigilers and protesters coming out and staying the course in whatever manner - against the war.

AN ONION TO

The Dane County Sheriff for reporting over 300 county residents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over60 of whom have been deported.

President Bush who at the 5th anniversary of the war and occupation of Iraq, declared the event cause for celebration.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who benefited from dishonest and racially divisive attack adsagainst his opponent, Justice Louis Butler. Gableman refused to repudiate the ads, even after numerous watchdog groups andeven many Republicans pointed out the ads were based on a dishonest misrepresentation of Justice Butler’s record.


See Loving Beyond Boundries, page 8

Loving Beyond Boundaries: interview with Kristen Petroshius

Introduction and comments by LJ Haukeness:Member of the Madison group, Groundwork http://groundworknetwork.org/

Groundwork provided a training ondiversity and white supremacy at theWNPJ Board retreat in August, 2007and has collaborated with WNPJBoard member Marilyn Miller to de-velop a Diversity Survey distributedto WNPJ member groups this Spring.

WNPJ’s major campaigns this year onimmigration, the Prison Industrial Com-plex and the Iraq war are each closelylinked with racism. U.S. immigrationlaws today aim to maintain racial oppres-sion and a historical white powerstructure’s wealth at the dehumanizingexpense of people of color, largelyLatino; incarceration is for a dispropor-tionate number of people of color, par-ticularly in WI; the Iraq war allows themurder and colonization of people ofcolor in Iraq while people of color herein the U.S. feel the effects of budget cutsmost drastically.

All of these issues are intertwined andpeople of color are organizing aroundthese issues in ways that may be diffi-cult for white activists to see. The WNPJBoard recognizes this and is making ef-forts and plans for WNPJ and Ground-work to offer multiple anti-racism work-shops around the state within the nextyear. WNPJ is a largely white organiza-tion and has the capacity for addressingracism through its statewide network oforganizations. Groundwork is an organi-zation in Madison focused on whitepeople working for Racial Justice.

One way white people can workagainst racism is by supporting with loveand passion the work of people of color.However, this is not easy, as white peoplehave been taught to internalize superior-

ity and carry out racism, often timeswithout knowing that it is happening.Kristen Petroshius is a white organizerworking for racial justice in Madison WI.She is a member of Groundwork, as wellas Operation Welcome Home, a groupof mostly low-income and homelessBlack men and their allies organizingaround homelessness in Madison. I gota chance to talk with her about her workwith an organization called FreedomInc., a grassroots non-profit group thatprovides services and advocacy to lowand no-income communities of color inDane County. Their primary goal is tolook at new definitions and solutions toend violence against women and chil-dren. They are centered in, but not lim-ited to, working with the South East Asiancommunity.

Kristen was working with mostlyWhite social justice groups thinking moreand more about racism.

“I began trying to figure out whatpeople of color were doing in Madi-son. I didn’t know! This is a commonissue for white organizers and activ-ists. I found out about Freedom Inc.and sent them an e-mail saying I am amember of Groundwork, whatGroundwork does, and I’m interestedin volunteering with them. Kabzuagresponded and I met with her andTrue. I was putting out my politics andtelling them where I am coming from.They agreed with what I was saying.They also knew another member ofGroundwork, Laura McNeil, and theytrusted her. These were the things thathelped begin our relationship and ourwork together.

I had recently read the book Uproot-ing Racism by Paul Kivel and as I wasworking with Freedom Inc. I keptthinking of one of the stories in thebook about a white woman who be-gan working with an Indigenousgroup and didn’t say much for some-thing like 3 years. She just showedup consistently and listened. Sheslowly developed a trusting relation-ship with the group and at the time,had been working with the group forsomething like 15 years.

I began working with the boys groupwhich is a space for South East Asianmostly teenagers to develop leader-ship and talk about what is going onin their lives. I went for 6 months to ayear -and just showed up. I didn’t saymuch. It often felt like I was being in-effective. Then I was asked to helpwith an egg roll fundraiser. They weremaking a few hundred egg rolls. I wasasked to bring a letter around to storesto get donations and to help make theegg rolls. I also asked people fromGroundwork to come and help andthree people came to help. Somethingelse that is in Uprooting Racism is thatthe work is often not sexy. Making eggrolls might not be that sexy, but ourtwo organizations were building rela-tionships together: building trust, get-ting to know people, building friend-ships.

It takes time for people who don’tknow each other to build trust. With ahistory of colonization, it is under-standable that no person of colorwould trust me or trust groundworkbecause we are a white


Diversity CirclesBy Wix Covey and Carol Lukens - WNPJ Board members from Wausau

When we hear the word “racism,” wethink of our experiences as both partici-pants and facilitators of Diversity Circlesin central Wisconsin. Conducted in acircle context of dialogue and discussion,Diversity Circles are aimed at organiz-ing dialogue on racism to create changein our communities.

We are not only enthused with the op-portunity to address the many ways inwhich racism oppresses others, but rec-ognize a powerful communication toolpracticed as part of the Circle - the useof dialogue rather than debate, a processthat can be applied directly to our peacework and commitment to nonviolent com-munication.

Throughout six weekly two-hour ses-sions, the Diversity Circle process strivesthrough three successive goals to bringabout a vision for change in our commu-nities: to organize, to hold dialogue, andto act.

Each Circle consists of 8-12 partici-pants, diverse in beliefs as well as iden-tity. The goal is that a Circle include com-munity members diverse in areas suchas age, gender, race/ethnicity (includingrecent immigrants), political views, so-cial/economic background, and faith.Since attendance at all sessions is re-quired and the group commits itself to

follow specific ground rules that honorthe dignity of every member, the level ofcomfort, safety and feeling of commu-nity among participants tends to increaseeach week, enhancing the likelihood ofhonest listening and sharing. This in turnprovides a wonderful opportunity formembers to establish relationships andtrust, sharing their insights and experi-ences as they explore different sides ofissues as well as common concerns.Because the facilitator remains neutral,serving only as a guide for the process,participants share direct responsibility fordialogue, discussion and action.

Since the goal of Diversity Circles isto create a vision for change in our com-munities, the process not only addressesthe personal aspects of racism, but theinstitutional and structural aspects aswell. This is done with a variety of ac-tivities throughout the six weekly ses-sions, from the sharing of personal sto-ries, to experiential exercises that helpgroup members grasp a deeper under-standing of constructs in our society, suchas institutional racism and white privi-lege. As a result, participants tend to gainfurther insights into their own history andexperiences, develop greater trust andcompassion for fellow group membersand others who have been affected byracism, and a deeper commitment to

action in dealing with racism in their com-munity.

Also, in working toward the goal ofcreating actual change, the facilitatorhelps participants assess inequities intheir community and throughout thecountry by examining data based on re-search and statistical information. Witheach successive session, information andideas gleaned from group members isdocumented and then provided to par-ticipants for their use in developing anaction plan during the final session. Theyare then encouraged to host an actionforum, inviting members of their com-munity including educators, police, gov-ernment personnel, and others from awide variety of agencies and institutions.The hope is to attain democratic solu-tions to various problems throughout theircommunity.

We have been powerfully moved byour own increased understanding andawareness of the many aspects of rac-ism through our participation in the Di-versity Circle process. If you would liketo know more about Diversity Circles,please contact Wix Covey([email protected]) andCarol Lukens ([email protected]).More information can also be found atthe Everyday Democracy website:www.everyday-democracy.org.

Something profound is happening in our towns and cities – every day.People who want peace are standing on corners with signs and bannerssaying “War is NOT the Answer”, “Honk for Peace” or “Impeach Bushand Cheney”. Many of these Wisconsin vigilers have been out there foryears, in all types of weather – facing their neighbors with determination.And this action has changed public opinion. Four years ago, vigilersreported verbal abuse and taunts. They are now routinely greeted with“thumbs up” and encouraging words. On Saturday, March 1 in Madison,WNPJ honored the hundreds of participants from more than 40 regularvigils in our region at an “Imagine Peace” celebration. You can view theslide show at http://www.wnpj.org/pdf/vigilppp.pdf.

VIGIL for PEACE


Oppressed to oppressor and back againBy Rick Guerard, Milwaukee WNPJ member – [email protected]

Native American nations all have along held tradition of honoring the war-rior. I am sure it goes back to who wouldbe brave enough to stand up against anattacking bear, wolf or maybe saber toothtiger. It was gratitude for those that wouldfight to save the community from an at-tacking group. It even applied to thosethat fought with the terrorists/insurgentshere that were standing up against Brit-ish rule of the colonies.

This rich heritage is not lost to the re-cruiting folks at the Pentagon. There arerecruiting campaigns that are targetedtoward Native people and play on the“honor” aspect. It is much easier for therecruiters to sell the empty promises

when they can play the honor card andlink a poverty stricken individual to theirheroic ancestors. They are very suc-cessful at it too. In a similar way it isalso being done in the Latino communi-ties.

This form of racism is not going com-pletely unnoticed though. There is nowa small but growing sentiment within theNative American communities that serv-ing in the U.S. military is not so honored.Those that serve are even consideredtraitors to their people by some. This isunderstandable, if you look at the bluntforce trauma nature of U.S. foreignpolicy towards nations and peoples thatare cursed by having natural resources

or location that the American empirewants. What the warrior is doing whenserving is to do unto other native peoplewhat had been done to his or her ances-tors by the same uniform that they nowwear.

It is also noticed that so many returnto the same conditions as when they left.Education isn’t as promised and jobs re-main invisible for too many. The povertyamongst native people continues to bebeyond imaginable.

May the Great Spirit grant all the wis-dom to make wise choices. May ourspirits be washed clean and we becomeone with the creation.

A Report on my first year as a Simple-LivingWar-Tax Resister

By Marion Stuenkel - Madison

“My grandma’s a war-tax resister!”That’s what my 10-year-old grandsonannounced to our new acquaintances. Ihad thought so, too, when I ‘retired’ inSeptember 2006 to live on an annuityseveral hundred dollars below the 2007Federal Poverty Level of $9,500. As rev-elations about “depleted uranium” andno-touch torture emerged, I could nolonger go on with business as usual,seemingly inured to all the rest of it. ‘In-tentional Income Reduction’ became oneway of reducing my contribution to war.

I agree with Oliver Wendell Holmeswho said, “Taxes are the price we payfor civilized society.” I think he was re-ferring to public support of schools andlibraries. When it comes to providingclean water and sewage disposal, publicfunding is vital.. I live in community -and taxes are the current way of fund-ing these services. I cannot refuse to paytaxes that I feel I owe. But I also will

not pay for depleted uranium. That iswhy I decided to live below the taxablelevel.

Being poor is an oxymoron for me - asI have a college education, no depen-dents, have traveled, and have everythingmaterial I want. Choosing to be poor isdifferent from not having basic food,shelter and clothing needs met, let alonehaving luxuries like books. Choosing tonot have health insurance is very differ-ent than not being able to afford neededmedicine. This is not to say that I haven’tlearned a lot about myself, my values,and the impact of personal choices onrelationships during this process.

It came as a surprise then this Springto learn that with all this preparation anddecision-making, it turns out I am not a“real” 100% war-tax resister after all.My annuity from the State of Wisconsinby December 2007 was $8,958.18 for

the year, well below the poverty line. Butafter all the deductions, I still ended upwith taxable $119. At my 10% tax rate,I owed $19.00, which I paid.

So I am not a war tax resister, becauseI paid this Federal tax. I am still finan-cially complicit. I failed at total resis-tance. I rationalize this as a reminder thatlike the feudal serf, unless I leave themanor, I’m beholden. My grandson canno longer tell people I am a war-tax re-sister. I continue to live simply on theannuity. The reasons for that choice aresound. I am not so confidant about mychoice to pay the $19.00. Thoreau wouldnot have agreed - and I don’t think mygrandson does either. I’m deep in thoughtabout next year.

Marion L Stuenkel is a LifetimeWNPJ member, writer, and anti-nuclear activist. Contact: 608-442-8064


You Can’t Say That from front page

the other side that we now excoriate themessenger rather than listen to the mes-sage.

In “Permanent Collection”, a museum,which has had one black employee in itsentire existence, is now run by a blackman, one of those whom some whitesmight refer to as an uppity n***** andsome blacks speak of fondly as a brotherwho has made it while not forgettingwhere he came from. His young assis-tant obviously sees him as old school.She says her generation has grown upwith whites, been schooled with them,and counts them among their friends.Her boss corrects her and says whitesare acquaintances, not friends. For eventhough you may inhabit the same spaceat the same party, there remains an in-visible line that you dare not cross. Whois right? Can friendships cross racialboundaries, or are we doomed to for-ever play the race card, as the whiteantagonist of the play accuses his blackcolleagues of doing?

I’ve lived long enough to raise my chil-dren to adulthood and welcome a grand-child into the world. I long to hold somedifferent cards, but we play the handthat’s dealt us. The choice lies in thevalue we assign each card. My earliestmemories of race as a divisive issue in-volve standing on the lawn of my grand-parents’ home one night as the familywatched a burning cross illuminate thespace around us. The grownups talkedin whispered tones about the ones whohad done this terrible thing. I could havedecided right then to never cross thatracial divide, but instead it made me de-termined to look beyond surface iden-tity. I refuse to be diminished by race.

Senseless acts of racism, especially inour community are not as obvious as thatburning cross; they don’t light up thenighttime sky and leave a scorched lawnfor everyone to see. It’s subtler, but justas pernicious. This is what makes it easyfor our collective conscience to besoothed in to thinking that there is no

problem, and if it rears its ugly head wewill march against it, we will shout itdown, we will erase the visible signs ofits existence. So we believe. We shoutthe Klan down when they gather at theCapitol, then we go home and ignore thejails bulging with our black and brownyoung people.

In my work against racism here inDane county I have heard many re-sponses that support what I believe hasbecome benevolent tolerance of injus-tice.

Like the head of the museum in “Per-manent Collection,” I have been told thatyou cannot call someone on his or herracism by using the word. You can’t calla person, or an institution racist. A blackwoman in a prominent position in one ofthose institutions here told me that if youuse the R word, they will tune you outand make your work life miserable. Shelearned to button her lip and took earlyretirement. The current and only way totalk about race (ism) is in private and inour own groups, that is, with people wholook like us, where we presume that theyalso think like us. Then people of colorcan call white people racist without fearof reprisal, and whites can call people ofcolor whiners, and racist for calling themracist. An absurd game, to be sure, butone that is being played out on a largescale in the run for the presidency.

A year ago I found my name in theCapital Times with the statement that“Barbara Golden should leave town.”Who was this man who was so bold asto attack me personally in a letter to theeditor; and what had I done to him? Iunderstand better now than I did a yearago. I had and continue to break taboosby naming the skeletons in the closet ofliberal Dane county. Racism is hiding inthe closet, its bones held firmly togetherby some of the same people, institutions,and behaviors that also put us on the best-places-to-live lists.

When an article appeared in the localpaper about the number of nonprofits inDane county with no African Americanson staff, the response was predictable.No one denied the accuracy of the data;but neither did they take responsibilityfor it. Instead we heard about how hardthey try to diversify their staff. One largeagency even recruited an out of townAfrican American to help them. Themessage to some of the unemployed andunder- employed educated black peoplehere is that we are invisible in this com-munity. Look around you. As you workin your agency to improve the quality oflife in Dane county, who are your col-leagues? Who speaks for the groups whoyou are “helping”?

I haven’t seen a burning cross on alawn since I was a child visiting Alabama.But every day I see the scars left by thesubtle acts of racism in this community.We all suffer when we value polite pub-lic discourse (or silence) over meaning-ful dialogue, however painful. I know thatthere are brave ones out there talkingand acting. Because of this, I remainhopeful.

Barbara Golden is the founder ofthe Madison Area Family Advisory/Advocacy Coalition.

We have a Health Care crisis,with more than 50 million Ameri-cans now uninsured. A Single PayerBill, HR 676, is in Congress andseventy House members havesigned on as sponsors. Talk toyour Representative. S/he mightneed your support to have the willto stand up to the insurance indus-try. Contact: Dede Mayberry at 608-259-1258 to learn more.

Action Alert


organization….So just those littlethings of showing up and taking jobsseriously, helped.” KP

It wasn’t until a year and a half intothe work that Kristen really got someexplicit positive feedback from the group.Kabzuag, a lead organizer of the organi-zation was invited to speak at a Ground-work workshop. Kabzuag spoke to thegroup of mostly white activists about howshe appreciated the way that Kristen wasable to be supportive and didn’t take upspace as other white volunteers had of-ten done in the past. She listened anddid her homework so she didn’t have totake up important meeting time askingquestions that would hold back the group.

After continuing a regular commitmentfor years, Kristen also began spendingmore time working with Operation Wel-come Home. Operation Welcome Homestarted when a homeless transgenderwoman Miss Arlene died at BrittinghamPark, just across from Freedom Inc.’smain organizing space. Neighbors pro-posed to the Mayor and City officials toput a fence around the park to keep outthe mostly Black group of people whospend time there.

“When this issue came up abouthomeless people being pushed out ofpublic space in Madison, Ground-work and Freedom Inc were ready towork together because we knew andtrusted each other.” KP

Groundwork, Freedom Inc. and peoplefrom Brittingham Park published an op-ed in the Capital Times and have contin-ued supporting one another since.

Groundwork was also able to raise$800 to support members of FreedomInc. to attend the US Social Forum inAtlanta. Oftentimes, White people haveconnections to money and this is a con-crete way of supporting the work ofpeople of color who are historically de-

nied economic resources for their basiclivelihood and to carry out Social Justicework.

We’re [Groundwork] mostly middleclass white people. It’s powerful to getto know Hmong and South East Asianpeople at Freedom Inc. We come fromdifferent experiences but have a similarcommitment to Racial Justice and simi-lar politics and vision for creating a worldwe want to live in. It’s exciting becauseI feel our trust is always getting deeper.

“Because of my time commitmentwith Operation Welcome Home I toldpeople at Freedom Inc. that I wasn’tgoing to be involved in the boys group

anymore. But they said “you’re al-ready doing work that is part of Free-dom Inc.’s mission.” They are rootedin the South East Asian community, yetthey see their work tied to the libera-tion of all poor people and people ofcolor. They see the work of organiz-ing with homeless people as part oftheir mission, so I was invited to jointhe board of directors. “ KP

Kristen continues to be someone thatsome people in the group can call on foradvice and to talk through what is goingon with the group and with other partsof their lives.

While building these relationships andcreating a world we want to live in, weare all benefiting from the healing of rac-ism. Although in a much different andless violent way, white people are alsoaffected by the dehumanization of rac-ism.

“In a lot of the ways white peopleare destroyed spiritually and mentally.None of us want to be bad people,none of us are bad people. But whenwe do things that hurt other peoplewe hurt ourselves because none of uswant to live in that sort of a world.”KP

Here are a few ideas from Kristen’sexperience for white people working tosupport an organization of color:

• Research what people ofcolor are doing in your area.There are People of colordoing racial justice workwherever you live even if itseems that there aren’t any,even if you live in a mostlywhite place.

• Ask how you can support thework of groups regardless ofwhat they want you to do. Alot of this is doing behind thescenes work like fundraising,office work.

• Do what you say you’re goingto do.

• Keep showing up.• Have people you can talk

with outside of the group toprocess emotions and thingsthat come up.

• Go into the relationship willingto learn and come from aplace of wanting to getconnected with human beingswith deep love.

• Be open to transformingourselves and the world wewant to live in.

Loving Beyond Boundries from page 4


Bits & PeacesMuslim Peacemaker Team Ad-

dresses Depleted Uranium Crisis

Sami Rasouli, Dr. Najim Askouri andDr. Assad Al-Janabi, members of Mus-lim Peacemaker Teams – Iraq, partici-pated in a forum on depleted uranium(DU) in Kurdish Iraq earlier this year.

Sami Rasouli, a member of the Mus-lim Peacemaker Team and frequent visi-tor/speaker in Wisconsin, was instrumen-tal is bringing the panel together. Dr.Najim is a nuclear physicist, trained inBritain, and one of the leading nuclearresearchers in Iraq until his departure in1998. Dr. Assad is the director of thePathology Department at the 400-bedpublic hospital in Najaf, Iraq.

They reported on an internal Iraqi studyfocused on Najaf, a city of over one mil-lion people, and the surrounding ruralareas, where DU was used in the FirstGulf War.

Starting in 2004, when the political situ-ation and devastation of the health careinfrastructure were at their worst, therewere 251 reported cases of cancer inthat area of Iraq. By 2006, that figurehad risen to 688. Already in 2007, 801cancer cases have been reported. Thosefigures portray an incidence rate of 28.21per 100,000 people in 2006. The normalrate is 8-12 cases of cancer per 100,000people.

Two observations are striking:

1. There has been a dramatic in-crease in the cancers that are relatedto radiation exposure, especially thevery rare soft tissue sarcoma and leu-kemia.

2. The age at which cancer beginshas been dropping rapidly. Dr. Assadnoted that 6% of the cancers report-edly occurred in the 11-20 year old age-range and another 18% in ages 21-30.

Dr. Najim noted that U.S.-led Coali-tion Forces used 350 tons of DU weap-ons in about 45 days in 1991, primarily inthe stretch of Iraq northwest of Kuwait,following the retreat of Iraqi troops.Then in 2003, during the ‘Shock andAwe’ bombing of Baghdad, the U.S. usedanother 150 tons of DU. He asked,“Would it be just to ask for equipment tocontinue the testing to locate contami-nated sites, a hospital to care for chil-dren born with a DU-impacted geneticsystem, a center for study and decon-tamination of affected areas, and sup-port for a special environmental depart-ment at the local university?” He as-sumed the U.S. would not respond to atotal compensation request, but did as-sume it was appropriate to make theserequests for compensation, to clean theenvironment, and care for those exposedto the DU. From Nukewatch Quar-terly, [email protected] ,Spring, 2008.

Ho-Chunk Acquires BadgerAmmo Plant

The Ho-Chunk Nation has requestedthe transfer of an estimated 1,552 acresof the Badger Army Ammunition Plant,near Merrimac, WI. This acquisition isfor the use and benefit of the Ho-ChunkNation and its people. The land aroundBadger has very important historic andcultural significance to the Ho-Chunk, asit lies within their aboriginal territory andincludes a number of historic and pre-

historic sites of significance to Nativepeoples. Plans for the restoration includeprairie, wetlands and oak savanna. Habi-tat restoration will coincide with the ex-pansion of the Ho-Chunk Nation bisonherd. There will also be low-impact rec-reation activity sites established, such asareas for interpretive nature walks, hik-ing, wildlife viewing, and bison tours.Citizens for Safe Water Around Bad-ger (CSWAB) Newsletter, Spring [email protected].

Pentagon Tries to PurchaseDiebold

In a move that reminds one of the post-Vietnam era - when the news networkswere bought by the major military profi-teers in order to eliminate truth in report-ing - the Pentagon contractor UnitedTechnologies has reportedly put forth anoffer to purchase Diebold, Inc. Don’tforget - Diebold, Inc. is the major manu-facturer of voting systems used inAmerica. Rick Guerard – [email protected].

Torture Watchlist

Israel, Syria, China, Iran, Afghanistan,Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the UnitedStates have something in common. Theyare all on Canada’s Foreign Ministry“torture watchlist”. The list is used in a‘torture awareness’ course given to Ca-nadian diplomats. It helps them deter-

mine whether prisoners they visitabroad are likely to have been mis-treated. Nukewatch Quarterly, –[email protected] - Spring2008.


ThanksBy Dennis Bergren, WNPJ secretary [email protected]

The Wisconsin Books to PrisonersProject (WBTP) is happy to announcea grant to their group from the NewHarvest Foundation, which is providing$1,200 to purchase and send books tolesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender(LGBT) inmates of Wisconsin’s adultcorrectional institutions. The New Har-vest Foundation channels charitable con-tributions to organizations working topromote LGBT rights, services, culture,and community development.

Wisconsin Books to Prisoners Projectis a small, all-volunteer, non-profit orga-

nization, founded in the fall of 2006 thatsends books to prisoners in Wisconsinand several other states. It responds toevery letter received (presently 20-30 aweek).

WBTP believes that books are toolsfor learning and that reading opens mindsto new ideas and possibilities. By send-ing books to prisoners, WBTP hopes tofoster a love of reading and support thepursuit of self-education. From our do-nated stock of books and limited funds,we generally send 2-3 books in the fields

of interest indicated by prisoners. Rain-bow Bookstore Cooperative of Madisonserves as our retail sponsor.

WBTP is also grateful to the Wiscon-sin Community Fund, the RacineDominican Sisters, and the MadisonWar Tax Resisters for their continuedsupport. Contact WBTP to donatebooks or money or to receive addi-tional information at:[email protected] see www.madisoninfoshop.org/wbtp/.

Peace and Justice ResourcesApril 2008 marks the 40th anniver-

sary of the assassination of Dr. Mar-tin Luther King. The national officeof United for Peace and Justice hasposted online several posters and fli-ers that can be downloaded, printed andused: www.5yearstoomany.org/down-loads/King%20Posters1-word.doc; orthe flier: www.5yearstoomany.org/downloads/MLK%20flier.doc.

The Racial Justice Reader compiledby Groundwork is available from theWNPJ office. This 220-page documenthas everything you want to know aboutresources, history, and plans for achiev-ing racial justice. Contact Judy [email protected] to get your copy of thisvaluable resource.

NAACP’s Annual Report focuseson racial disparity. The report called“African Americans: the State of Dis-parity” can be downloads from thewebsite: www.NAACP.org/programs.

Check out truth-in-recruiting re-sources on the website of the CoalitionAgainst Militarism Of Our Schools ,www.militaryfreeschools.org. (CAMS)

WNPJ has a copy of the DVD “Wayof the Warrior” for use by our mem-bers. This documentary was producedfor Wisconsin Public Television, explor-ing peace and Native Americans andwar. If you would like to check out thiscopy, contact Judy at [email protected].

The Peace Symbol is 50 years old!Read about the origins in PEACE: TheBiography of a Symbol (National Geo-graphic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0294-0; April 1, 2008; $25 hardcover), by KenKolsbun with Michael Sweeney.

Games for Peace and Justice:Peacemaker attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by having the play-ers assume the role of the Israeli primeminister or Palestinian president

w w w . p e a c e m a k e r g a m e . c o m /game.php; Darfur Is Dying is a web-based game designed to raise awarenessof the humanitarian crisis in Africa. Findit at www.darfurisdying.com/; FoodForce teaches children about global hun-ger and humanitarian aid. Find it on theUN World Food Program website -www.food-force.com/.

The Body of War, a documentary byPhil Donahue and Ellen Spiro will be re-leased this spring. It tells the story of ayoung solder who became a paraplegicin Iraq. Added to the website announc-ing the film is a link to an interview ofthe authors by Bill Moyers. http://www.bodyofwar.com/ and http://w w w. p b s . o rg / m o y e r s / j o u r n a l /03212008/profile2.html.


Phone 608-250-9240; E-Mail [email protected]; Website www.wnpj.org. WNPJ is a 501c3 organization and donations are tax-deductible.

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice

Type of Membership (Check one) Individual $35/yr Family $45/yr Fixed Income/War Tax Resister $15/yr Sustaining $52/yr ($1/wk) A-dollar-a-day for peace $365/yr Benefactor $_____/yr*** Organization without paid staff $50/yr Organization with paid staff $75/yr

***You can pay monthly with PayPal online, seewww.wnpj.org “Join Us” to see how.

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice122 State Street, #402Madison, WI 53703

Send completed form to:

Name_________________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________

City ___________________________________State _____ Zip __________

Phone ___________________E-mail________________________________

Contact Person for Organization Membership __________________________

The main focus for my/our peace and justice effort is: ____________________

WNPJ gives thanks to so many volun-teers this long winter and spring! Madisonactivists Joy First, Flo Evans, Susan Spahn,& Karin Sandvik were able to do commu-nity service for WNPJ in place of payingfines for arrests for their civil resistance.

REPORT FROM THE WNPJ OFFICEFrom Judy Miner, Office Coordinator

WNPJ Calendar for May - June, 2008

5/1 Thurs 10:30 am March forImmigration Rights – Milwaukee,5th and Washington. Contact Vocesde la Frontera, 414-643-1620.

5/1 Thurs 12 noon- Rally/March forImmigration Reform – Madison.Contact Alex [email protected].

5/1 Thurs 7 pmSami Rasouli –Wausau.

At St. Anne Parish, 700 W. Bridge St.Eyewitness accounts of Iraq by thismember of the Muslim PeacemakingTeam. Contact: Carol [email protected].

5/11 Sun 12 noon Mother’s Daypeace Luncheon – Milwaukee.Maharaja Indian Restaurant, 1550Farwell Ave. Reservations [email protected].

5/14 Wed 7 pm Public Address byArchbishop Elias Chacour: BuildingPeace in the Midst of thePalestinian/Israeli Conflict –Madison. At First United MethodistChurch, 203 Wisconsin. [email protected].

5/15 Thurs 7 pm “Training OurSons and Daughters to Kill” -Racine. Huron Room of the RacineBuilding, Gateway Technical College.Contact [email protected].

5/17 Sat Celebration of Leadership ofLGBT Youth - Madison. MononaTerrace. Contact: Cindy Crane, ofGSA for Safe Schools - 608-661-4141.

5/24 Sat “Surge Against the War”Rally and Workshops – Madison. Allwelcome. Contact: Rae Vogeler ofMAPC at [email protected].

6/14 – 6/22 Sat – Sun Travel toNicaragua with WCCN- 8 day trip -“Social Change through AlternativeEconomic Projects: Women’sEmpowerment and Microcredit inNicaragua.” http://wccnica.org/tours orcall 608-257-7230.

6/20 Fri 7:30 – 10:30 Pancakes forPeace – Benefit for WNPJ – Custer.At the Energy Fair. [email protected].

6/25 Wed Pastors for Peace CaravanStop – Luck. West Denmark Church.Contact Mike [email protected].

Volunteers make WNPJ work!Lois, Jane, and Bev from Dakota helpedwith sortings and mailings over the NewYear. Mary Beth Schlagheck organized anevent to honor vigilers. Barb Boehme, NanCheney and Stefania helped with FairTrade tabling. Sue Kummar lent her tal-

ents as a graphic designer for our newImmigrants Welcome yard sign. RussellNovkov and Fred Brancel tabled forWNPJ at a Madison event honoring MLK.And Chuck Baynton traveled far and widefor WNPJ outreach. Thanks to all!

WNPJ ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS(New Members in bold)

Alliance for Animals–MadisonACLU - MadisonAnathoth Community Farm–LuckArtha Sustainable Living Center, LLC -

AmherstBeloit Monthly Meeting of FriendsBenedict Center–MilwaukeeBenedictine Women of MadisonBread for the World – AppletonCable United Church of ChristCampus Anti-war Network – MadisonCandlelight Coalition–WauwatosaCasa Maria–MilwaukeeCenter Advocates–MilwaukeeChurch Women United of WisconsinChurches Center for Land and People–Citizen Action of Wisconsin - Green

BayCitizens for Global Solutions– Dane

County and Whitewater ChaptersCitizens for Safe Water Around Badger–

MerrimacCoalition for Wisconsin Health–

MadisonCode Pink–BoscobelColombia Support Network–MadisonCommunity Action on Latin America–Concerned Citizens of Newport, Inc.–

Wisconsin DellsConcerned Citizens of Stevens PointCongregation of St Agnes, Justice Peace

& Ecology Office–Fond du LacCoulee Progressives–LaCrosseDale Heights Presbyterian Church

Outreach Committee–MadisonDeKalb, IL Interfaith Network for P&JDells Country Progressive VoicesDemocratic Socialists of America–

Madison AreaDriftless Community Radio–ViroquaEast Timor Action Network–MadisonELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod–Peace

and Justice CommitteeFamily Farm Defenders–MadisonFellowship of Reconciliation–Fox

Valley ChapterFirst Cong Church, UCC-MenomonieFirst United Methodist Church, Church

and Society Committee–MadisonFox Valley Peace Coalition–MenashaFranciscan Sisters of Mary–MadisonGay Straight Alliance for Safe SchoolsGlobal Connections Team:ELCA

Grandmothers for Peace–SuperiorGreat Lakes Region Social Concerns

NetworkHabiba Foundation–JanesvilleHill Connections–ChaseburgHiroshima-Nagasaki A-bomb

Exhibition Committee - MadisonInterfaith Coalition for Worker Justice -

MadisonInterfaith Justice and Peace Group–La

CrosseInternational Committee for the Peace

Council–MadisonIraq Veterans Against the War - MadisonJewish Voices for Peace - MadisonJuneau County Peace Committee–

MaustonKickapoo Peace Circle–ViroquaLakeshore Peacemakers–ManitowocLoaves and Fishes Catholic Worker–

DuluthLutheran Human Relations Association -

MilwaukeeLutheran Office of Justice and Peace–

LaCrosseMadison Arcatao Sister City ProjectMadison Area Peace CoalitionMadison Area War Tax ResistanceMadison Buddhist Peace FellowshipMadison East Students for Peace and

FreedomMadison Fair Trade Action AllianceMadison Friends of International

StudentsMadison Friends Meeting–Peace &

Social Concerns CommitteeMadison Hours Co-opMadison InfoshopMadison Mennonite ChurchMadison/Rafah Sister City ProjectMadison Unitarian YouthMUUYACMMadison-area Urban MinistryMadison Women for Peace:CODEPinkMarquette University Center for

Peacemaking - MilwaukeeMary House–Wisconsin DellsMidwest Renewable Energy Association-

CusterMiracles Prisoner Ministry - WI DellsNational Campaign for Nonviolent

Resistance–MadisonNational Peace Foundation–Eau ClaireNorth Country Fair Trade–St.Paul

Northwoods Peace Fellowship–WausauNukewatch–LuckPAX Christi–MadisonPeace Action Wisconsin–MilwaukeePeace Economics–MadisonPeace North–DrummondPeace Seekers of Washington CountyPeople for Peace–WaupacaPeregrine Forum–MadisonPhysicians for Social Responsibility–

MadisonPlowshare Center–WaukeshaPortage Area Peace SeekersPreserve Our Climate–MadisonProgressive Forum–Washington IslandProgressive Voices–BarabooRacine Coalition for Peace and JusticeRacine Dominicans Justice OutreachRainbow Bookstore Cooperative–

MadisonRapids Citizens for Peace - Wisconsin

RapidsRed Cedar Peace Initiative–MenomonieReturned Peace Corps Volunteers of

Wisconsin–MadisonRock County Citizens for Peace–

JanesvilleRockford Peace and Justice Action–ILRock Ridge Community–DodgevilleRock River Peace Group -

Ft.Atkinson - WhitewaterRock Valley Fellowship of Reconciliation–JanesvilleSaint Bede Monastery–Eau ClaireSt. Norbert Abbey Justice and Peace

Committee–DePereSt. Norbert College, Peace &Justice

Center–DePereSauk Prairie Area Peace CouncilSchool of Americas Watch–MadisonSchool Sisters of Notre Dame–Elm

GroveSEIU District 1199W–MadisonSinsinawa Dominicans–River Falls, ILSisters of St. Francis of Assisi–

MilwaukeeSisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross–

Green BaySisters of St. Joseph, TOSFSisters of the Divine Savior–MilwaukeeSocial Justice Center - MadisonSocialist Party of Wisconsin–Milw.

Socialist Party of WI–So. Central Local–Madison

SOS Senior Council–MadisonSouth Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO–MadisonSouthern Lakes Citizens for Peace–

ElkhornSW Grassroots Citizens for Peace–

DodgevilleThe Madison InstituteUnion de la Trabajadores Inmigrantes -

MadisonUnited Methodist Federation for Social

Action, WI ChapterUnited Nations Association–Dane Co &

Milwaukee Chapters & WisconsinDivision

UW-Milwaukee Peace Studies ProgramUniversity United Methodist Church–

MadisonVeterans for Peace–Chapter 25,

Madison, Chapter #153, Cable, &Chapter 80, Lake Superior Area

Watertown Peace and DemocracyWaukesha Catholic WorkerWAVE Educational Fund–MilwakeeWaysmeet Quaker Center–Richland

CenterWinds of Peace–Projects in VietnamWinnebago Peace and Justice Center–

OshkoshWisconsin Books to Prisoners ProjectWisconsin Coalition Against Domestic

ViolenceWisconsin Coalition to Normalize

Relations with Cuba–MilwaukeeWisconsin Community FundWisconsin Coordinating Council on

NicaraguaWisconsin Council of Churches–Peace

& Justice CommitteeWisconsin Democracy CampaignWisconsin GreensWI Impeachment/Bring Our Troops

Home–MadisonWisconsin Resources Protection

Council–LaCrosseWisconsin Women’s NetworkWomen’s International League for Peace

and Freedom–MadisonWorkers’ Rights Center Board -

MadisonYahara Friends Meeting–Monona


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PAIDMADISON, WIPERMIT #2576

122 State Street #402Madison, WI [email protected]

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