🏉🧀PACKERLAND & BEYOND: Diversity Comes To North Central Wisconsin!

 

Duke Behnke

Jeff Bollier

Appleton Post-Crescent

https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2022/06/07/northeast-wisconsin-more-accepting-diversity-but-work-needed/9715435002/

Dr. Yolo Diaz could feel the room take ownership of the Familias Sanas (Healthy Families) initiative.

Diaz and YWCA Greater Green Bay sought to develop a program entirely in Spanish to improve the Hispanic community’s access to health care. They invited residents to the YWCA to brainstorm. Diaz identified areas she wanted to cover: nutrition, physical activity, mental health, disease prevention and environmental health.

It didn’t take long for attendees to add to the list: spiritual health, drug and alcohol abuse and sex education. Their participation was a key step in making the program less of a lecture and more about sharing and empowerment.

Familias Sanas is an example of how community organizations in northeast Wisconsin have recognized the region’s growing racial and ethnic diversity and are consciously working to ensure historically marginalized communities feel welcome and safe and have equal access to everything from education and employment to health care and housing.

Those efforts are showing signs of success.

In a 2021 Brown County LIFE (Leading Indicators for Excellence) Study, 56% of the survey respondents held a positive view of the growing diversity of cultures, compared with 12% who held a negative view.

Five years earlier, the scale of perception was far different. The 2016 Brown County LIFE Study showed only 33% of the respondents had a positive view of diversity and that 30% had a negative view.

In another metric, a 2021 well-being survey conducted by Imagine Fox Cities found 51% of the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) respondents described themselves as thriving, up from 45% in 2019.

Conversely, 46% of the BIPOC respondents described themselves as struggling, down from 53% in 2019.

E-Ben Grisby, co-chair of Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities, has noticed gains in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in recent years, even amid the polarization of politics in the state and nation.

“I think there are a lot of improvements that have been made in the Fox Cities in terms of being a much more welcoming environment when it comes to our business climate, when it comes to a sense of community,” Grisby said.

“I feel like we’re getting a voice,” Austin said. “I never thought I’d be able to talk about being Black in Green Bay. Now we’re a community.”

Black, Asian, Hispanic, Indigenous and multiracial people accounted for three-fourths of the population growth in Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data.

Nonwhite youth make up about 60% of the students in the Green Bay Area Public School District and 35% of the students in the Appleton Area School District, according to 2021-22 data reported by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The growth of northeast Wisconsin’s minority populations sometimes catches long-time residents by surprise, Grisby said.

. . . .

How to become an ally of marginalized populations

Brown has some straight-forward advice to advance the understanding and appreciation of the different customs, lifestyles and perspectives that make up the fabric of northeast Wisconsin.

“Take the initiative to educate yourself about the various cultures and identities that exist within our community,” he said. “Learn from your co-workers, learn from your neighbors, learn from the youth and understand that each person contributes to the success of our community. Be present and immerse yourself in cultures and opportunities that are different than the ones that are immediately to your left and right.”

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Grisby said being an ally for marginalized people doesn’t mean one has to wear a Superman cape and vow to avenge a wrong. It can be as simple as giving someone the time of day or being a sounding board for their ideas.

Bomstad said the region needs to hear from and engage with more people who support diversity.

“If you believe in an inclusive, welcoming community, that is where we really need people to step up, quite frankly,” Bomstad said.

Wello put its approach into action when it received a federal grant to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in minority populations.

. . . .

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Read the complete article at the link.

I have noticed during our many jaunts to Wisconsin to visit family that there are many more vibrant ethnic restaurants in the Green Bay/Appleton area than there were when I was in college at Lawrence University in Appleton in the late 1960s. 

Our daughter, Anna, also an LU graduate (‘05), was inspired by children of Hmong backgrounds that she met while practice teaching in Appleton to qualify to teach English Language Learners in Wisconsin (Menasha & Walworth).

She now teaches English in the Beloit Public Schools which has a very diverse student body. She and her husband Daniel have hosted foster children of different ethnic backgrounds, one of whom is now their adopted son, our grandson. So, diversity has had a very direct impact on our family.

Cathy and I also noticed when attending our grandson Nathaniel’s band concert at St. Bernard’s Elementary in Green Bay the diversity among the student body, the music teachers, and the audience. Everyone working together, contributing, and enjoying the moment.

El Sarape East in Green Bay is one of our family favorites. We order/go there at least once most times we are in the Bay Area! They have done a great job of combining “Packer culture” with an Hispanic flavor!

Obviously, diversity is contributing to Wisconsin in many other ways beyond the restaurant industry. Wisconsin has always had a strong immigrant history along with a vibrant Native American heritage!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-11-22

🏴‍☠️☠️⚰️👎🏻CRIME & (NO) PUNISHMENT: Not An Administration, An Ongoing Criminal Conspiracy, Says Max Boot!

Max Boot
Max Boot
Columnist
Washington Post
Trump Regime Emoji
Trump Regime

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/31/this-isnt-an-administration-its-an-ongoing-criminal-conspiracy/

Max Boot in WashPost:

It is entirely fitting that Donald Trump — the least law-abiding president in our history — was renominated at a convention that was itself a seeming cavalcade of crime. Every night featured apparent violations of the 1939 Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities “in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by an individual employed or holding office in the Government of the United States.”

The White House certainly qualifies as such a facility. Yet Trump used it as a convention prop, even going so far as to televise a naturalization ceremony for immigrants — some of whom did not realize they would be shown at the Republican convention — as part of the nightly show. Trump not only flouted the law but also reveled in doing so. During his acceptance speech, he boasted, “We’re here — they’re not,” and the New York Times reported that Trump “relished the fact that no one could do anything to stop him.”

While the president is exempt from the civil provisions of the Hatch Act, he could be subject, once he leaves office, to criminal penalties if he should “intimidate, threaten, command, or coerce … any employee of the Federal Government … to engage in … any political activity.” That is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.

This is, of course, barely scratching the surface of an administration that should more accurately be described as an ongoing criminal conspiracy. While many of Trump’s awful acts — e.g., confining children in cages or unleashing riot police on peaceful protesters — are merely violations of democratic norms, there is also plentiful evidence of lawbreaking on his part.

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York has identified Trump as “Individual-1” in a conspiracy with his attorney Michael Cohen to violate campaign finance laws by secretly paying off two women with whom Trump allegedly had affairs. Cohen went to prison; Trump, who as president claims immunity from prosecution, wasn’t indicted.

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III uncovered a great deal more potential illegality. He found 10 instances when Trump might have obstructed justice, and in at least four of those cases he found evidence that Trump’s conduct met all three elements of the obstruction-of-justice statute. Each violation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The recent report from the Senate Intelligence Committee suggests that Trump also lied to Mueller when, in written testimony, he claimed not to remember speaking to Roger Stone about WikiLeaks. If he committed perjury, that would subject him to up to five years’ imprisonment.

. . . .

Trump could try to short-circuit justice by seeking to pardon himself before he leaves office — or even by resigning a few hours early and having Vice President Pence sworn in to issue a pardon (as President Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon). In that case, the special counsel would be limited to investigating Trump’s accomplices (unless they are also pardoned) and helping state prosecutors. But the special counsel should still issue a comprehensive report on Trump’s lawbreaking. We must expose and root out this ethical rot before it eats away at the foundations of our democracy.

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Read the rest of Boot’s article at the link. Actually, Max understates the case. Trump long ago ate the ethical underpinnings of American democracy for lunch, with the “JR Five” providing “table service.”

Under “normal” circumstances, the scenario outlined by Boot in his final paragraph would be beyond preposterous! But, in the failed state of American democracy under Trump, it’s perfectly plausible. Whose going to stop him from the “final abuse and mockery of our republic?” Feckless Congress? The Supremely and Serenely Complicit ones? No way. Trump will exploit the moral cowardice and spinelessness of the other failed two branches of Government until the end!

It started about the time that Roberts and his colleagues threw Muslims, refugees, and migrants under the bus in their ridiculously wrong and intellectually dishonest “Travel Ban Fiasco.” The “Dred Scottification” of migrants and people of color and open corruption, aided and abetted by Roberts and his gang, have continued largely unabated since then. 

Max’s use of the term “rot” brings to mind the refugees from many nations, most people of color, rotting in Mexico, futilely waiting for “asylum hearings” that might never come and where denial without due process has been predetermined. This is what “American Justice” has become under Trump, Billy the Bigot, Wolfman the Illegal, and Roberts the Complicit!

Actually, separating families, misrepresenting the policy to Federal Courts, and long-term “civil” detention of families in life-threatening conditions as a “deterrent” to exercising important, fundamental legal and human rights might well be criminal violations in a functioning justice system. Sadly, America basically lacks the latter these days because of the Supremes’ coddling of the “crimes against humanity” committed by Trump, Miller, Barr, Wolf, Cooch, and their co-conspirators.

As those of us with experience adjudicating asylum cases know, lack of accountability before the courts and failure of the judiciary to exercise independent judgment to control a corrupt and tyrannical executive are hallmarks of failed states and banana republics. 

Let’s see! America’s founders created an independent judiciary to insure the right of the “King” to use the Government as his personal servants to violate the Bill of Rights, exploit the nation for his own gain, and create “alternate Kings’ Courts” where the “judges” are his employees, he makes the rules, the results are largely preordained by the King’s personal biases and the interests of his royal cronies, and the penalty can be “death without due process.” Not likely! 

But, that’s what happens when judges’ fealty to ideology, party, or personality often exceeds their loyalty to the Constitution and to the human rights and human dignity of their fellow men, women, and children. It happens when we create an elitist, right-leaning judiciary, out of step with and non-representative of the majority of Americans, where actual knowledge and experience defending the human rights of individuals against Government overreach, courage to speak truth to power, and demonstrated unswerving commitment to equal justice under law is far, far undervalued, even intentionally ignored. Where practical problem-solving skills and human empathy, perhaps the two most important qualities for fair and honest judging, are all too often disrespected and even demeaned.

Better Federal Judges for a better, fairer, functional America! One where the humanity of all persons is honored and respected, rather than being mocked by those in positions of power and privilege. One where the highest Court finally stands up for and enforces the hard-fought Constitutional right to vote, regardless of skin color or ethnicity, rather than aiding and abetting the blatant schemes of the GOP to suppress voting and deny deserved political power to Americans of color. One where an honest Court enforces to the maximum degree the Voting Rights Act rather than intentionally and disingenuously gutting it at the demand of some in the White power structure. 

These travesties have unfolded right in front of us. Yet, even so called “liberal-progressive” commentators largely shrug them off as somehow “normal” or “just the way the system functions.” That’s BS! It’s “judicial malpractice.” It’s a major reason why two centuries after our founding we have not yet achieved racial justice and why our nation is coming apart at the seams under grotesque misgovernance and judicial complicity.

The current Federal Judiciary has facilitated the takeover of our Government by an ongoing criminal conspiracy, as described by Boot. We need change! Sooner rather than later! And, it can’t and won’t happen with the current cast of characters in the Executive, the Senate majority, and the Article III Judiciary.

Due Process Forever!

PWS

09-04-20

COURTSIDE GUEST COLUMNIST: ANNA PATCHIN SCHMIDT — “2020 End of School Year Roundup From Beloit, WI”

Anna Patchin Schmidt
Anna Patchin Schmidt
English Teacher
Beloit Memorial High School
Beloit, WI

2020 End of School Year Roundup From Beloit, Wisconsin

 

By Anna Patchin Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive 

June 5, 2020. I almost couldn’t pull this off this year due to the realities of quarantine life. But here are my annual end-of-the-year reflections on education (and life)!

It has been a tumultuous school year in Beloit. We saw yet another superintendent come and go, but not before sustaining damage from his abusive leadership style and warped priorities. For a while the anonymous facebook profile “Jane Smith” stole our attention with a series of fascinating social media exposés. An election that coincided with a stay-at-home order and a brazen disregard for life and democratic values by state lawmakers, did at least result in some refreshing new faces on the school board. Meanwhile, a so-called “public” charter school has used the chance to sneak into town and garner support by exploiting the fears of white parents and the frustrations of parents of color. 

And yet amidst the chaos and uncertainty of distance learning during a global pandemic, I actually think that we are in a better position than ever. Indeed, our current explosive national climate should be a wake up call that results in a renewed commitment to public education and a heightened awareness of its vital role in communities. 

Earlier this year, long before the trauma induced by Covid-19 and George Floyd’s murder, I noticed a troubling narrative reflected in many conversations: “The School District of Beloit USED TO BE great,” or similarly, “The School District of Beloit is not the right place for my child ANYMORE.” Only now, in light of recent events, do I better understand what this narrative means. I can’t help but think that its unspoken truth is: “We never USED TO have to talk about race. We USED TO be able to push all this under the rug.” 

If we are really serious about dismantling racism, as so many claim to be, then we need to get serious about supporting public schools. No doubt the public schools have a long-standing history of perpetuating systemic racism and oppression. I’m hardly suggesting that we ignore or accept the status quo. On the contrary, we still need the reforms inspired by activists that help our schools function better and thus serve all members of the community. This kind of activism could take many forms, including standing up to a corrupt school board member, pushing for teacher training on equity and trauma-informed instruction, promoting fair and representative hiring practices, or raising concerns about how bias influences individual and district-wide policies resulting in a disproportionate effect.

But instead of contributing towards positive change, many people opt out of public schools with the following justifications:

-“We are looking for a more rigorous curriculum.”

-“I’m concerned about all the behavior problems in public schools.”

-“I don’t think I should have to sacrifice my own child to make a political statement.”

-“We had a really bad experience with a teacher or principal.”

-“The school district doesn’t meet the individual needs of MY child.”

These types of explanations may not be racist in intent but, nevertheless, the results of these decisions do reinforce inequity.  There are easy outs and self-serving options (for those few who have the resources to make these choices), but they do not hold up for those who are serious about being anti-racist. Private schools and charter schools will always be selective about who and how many students they serve. They continue to siphon funds away from public schools that desperately need them and their profit and successes are paid for by the struggle of others. We all live with a fair amount of hypocrisy in our lives. But the discrepancy between sharing black lives matter memes and then opting out of public school is just too much for me.

When I reflect on the sentiment that Beloit schools “used to be great,” I can’t help but think about the huge number of people marching at Horace White Park last Sunday, many of whom were our students. Their presence, their courage, and their sense of purpose is, for me, a marker of success and greatness and I’m proud to support them. While there are a growing number of fears I have for my own children as they grow up in this world, the value of their education in the School District of Beloit isn’t one of them.

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Anna Patchin Schmidt is a High School English teacher in the Public Schools of Beloit, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Professor Daniel Barolsky, and their three children Oscar, Eve, and Atticus, all of whom attend a bilingual program at Todd Elementary School, a Beloit Public School. Anna holds a B.A. and a B.Mus., both with honors, from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where she was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.A. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She is also certified to teach English Language Learning and did so in the Menasha and Walworth, Wisconsin Public School Systems before joining the Beloit System. She and Daniel are dedicated members of the “Beloit Proud” Movement, and she is also a qualified Doula who has assisted in the delivery of several babies. Anna grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where she attended Alexandria City Public Schools (as did her brothers, Wick & Will) and graduated from T.C. Williams High School (“Remember the Titans”) with honors, earning 12 varsity letters, rowing on several championship crew teams, and playing oboe in the T.C. Williams Band. She is our daughter.

 

PWS

06-05-20

 

COURTSIDE EDUCATION: INSIDE TODAY’S PUBLIC TEACHING PROFESSION WITH ANNA PATCHIN SCHMIDT — “The morale of teachers is a pretty good gauge for the future of our nation. No one will escape the ramifications of deprioritizing public education.”

Anna writes on Facebook:

I have a question for you. If you learned that the attached quote was functioning as someone’s daily mantra or motivation, what job or endeavor would you imagine that person to be connected to? Perhaps an investigative journalist exposing some hard truths. Maybe a civil rights lawyer. Maybe someone speaking up about an abusive relationship. Perhaps, even, someone gearing up for battle. With that in mind, what does it mean that on a Wednesday morning last week, I came into my classroom and saw this quote on my daily feminism calendar and connected with it so deeply that I had to tape it next to my desk? I am a teacher, people. I work with children. What does that say to you about the conditions that public school teachers are working under? I came in this morning to a quiet classroom, empty of students for the weekend, and only then did I have the rare clarity of mind to see the quote taped there and recognize something: it isn’t right that I need this here; it isn’t normal and it most certainly is not acceptable. Sometimes I feel like I AM gearing up for battle. There are days, weeks, or even months in this profession that are so hard that I question whether I’m going to make it another 25 years. I think I can. I know I want to. But sometimes when I think about my emotional and physical well-being, I wonder if I should keep going. I don’t blame my administrators: they are just finding temporary loopholes in a broken system. I don’t blame parents: teachers are an easy scapegoat when life is hard and unfair. I don’t even blame the students: we raised them, after all. The morale of teachers is a pretty good gauge for the future of our nation. No one will escape the ramifications of deprioritizing public education. And yet, I AM still here. I AM sticking around. Silence from me is only an indication that I have thoughts brewing.

(Disclaimer: It’s sad that I feel a need to point this out alongside every post I make about education, but please do not file this post as reason number 472 why you aren’t going to send your kid to public school. You might have come to that decision for different reasons that I hope have nothing to do with me. I don’t think it’s right to sugarcoat or hide the hard truths about public education just because I’m scared someone will read them and bolt. At the end of the day, I don’t just send my kids to the public school around the corner and teach in another because I think I should- I actually feel fortunate to do so.)

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I’m sure there are many U.S. Immigration Judges, Immigration Court Clerks, pro bono lawyers, and other dedicated and talented government employees who feel the same way. Public institutions are essential to a great future. Once destroyed, they won’t easily, if ever, be rebuilt.

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Anna Patchin Schmidt is a Middle School English teacher in the Public Schools of Beloit, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Professor Daniel Barolsky, and their three children Oscar, Eve, and Atticus.  Oscar and Atticus attend a bilingual program at Todd Elementary School, a Beloit Public School, where Eve will go next year. Anna holds a B.A. and a B.Mus., both with honors, from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where she was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.A. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She is also certified to teach English Language Learning and did so in the Menasha and Walworth, Wisconsin Public School Systems before joining the Beloit System. She and Daniel are dedicated members of the “Beloit Proud” Movement, and she is also a qualified Doula who has assisted in the delivery of several babies. Anna grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where she attended Alexandria City Public Schools (as did her brothers, Wick & Will) and graduated from T.C. Williams High School (“Remember the Titans”) with honors, earning 12 varsity letters, rowing on several championship crew teams, and playing oboe in the T.C. Williams Band. She is our daughter.

PWS

01-21-19