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WISDOM update November 17

ACTIONS you can participate in this week with WISDOM

There is a lot going on this week in the WISDOM statewide network! It feels heavy, but... This is the reason we build social justice organizations! There are some very serious things going on in Burlington, and in our prison system, and we have some real opportunities to take a stand on the side of those who are fighting for justice and compassion.

THURSDAY:

At 11 am, we have a Zoom event called “Solidarity With Burlington.” We will pray together; we will hear about some of the ways that racism is playing out in Burlington, especially against children of color in the schools; we will pledge our support; and we’ll talk about what comes next. The media have been invited.

To be on the call, please register here: Solidarity With Burlington.After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. It will mean a lot to our members in Burlington to know they are not alone in demanding better for the black and brown children of that city.

There will be an opportunity for people from local WISDOM groups to speak for up to one minute on the call. Please let me know who will speak for your local organization so we can be orderly about it. The whole call should take less than an hour.

Later on Thursday, at 1 pm, we have our monthly WISDOM Leadership Call. This will be a little less “business-y” than our usual Leadership calls. We will mostly want to evaluate what happened in the morning, talk about what is happening on Tuesday (see below), and plan for our next Zoom get together that will be happening on January 21, from 9 am to 12 noon.

The info to connect to the Thursday afternoon call is:

Topic: WISDOM Leadership Call
Time: Nov 19, 2020 01:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81904620314

By phone: 312-62-66799
Meeting ID: 819 0462 0314

TUESDAY (Nov. 24)

At 11 am, we will be gathering in front of the Governor’s mansion to say “Enough is Enough!”There will also be information about how you can follow this event on Facebook Live if you are unable to come to Madison. (We’ll send out announcements far and wide after the Burlington event, so people don’t get confused.)

We have been holding a vigil in front of the Governor’s mansion since October 19, until he at least makes a statement about the horrifying outbreaks of COVID 19 among people who live and work in our state’s prisons—and says whether he intends to use his extraordinary powers to do something about it. In the month we have been there, the Governor has issued many statements about COVID-19; he has issued statements about court cases and the Republicans; he has issued statements about proposed tax cuts, movie theatres and holiday ornaments. But, he has not said a word about the fact that more than 25% of people in Wisconsin prisons have contracted the virus, or that about 1,500 Department of Corrections employees have tested positive, and he has certainly not mentioned the deaths or the very seriously ill people in that realm.

On Tuesday, November 24 , we will amplify our message that our Governor needs to acknowledge the seriousness of the disease in our Corrections system as he does for the rest of the state. And, he needs to join the growing list of Governors who have used their powers to commute sentences to move elderly and ill people out of the prisons, and to release the many very-low-risk people so that those who remain in the prisons can have a chance to stay healthy. We can’t let him just run out the clock, and acknowledge the situation after it is too late.

Stay tuned for more details. But, join us in Madison on Tuesday if you can.

David Liners
david.liners1@gmail.com
WISDOM

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