| AmiraThePoet has curated and performed original spoken word pieces at various corporate and nonprofit events across Milwaukee and beyond. Her poetry serves as both a medium for creative expression and a tool for community engagement, aligning with her mission to inspire, educate, and uplift through the art of spoken word. Amira’s dedication to community service and the arts reflects her passion for fostering positive change and building solidarity within her community.
We are pleased to announce Amira will present an original poem at our Annual Meeting on May 31.
| | |  | ANNUAL MEETING AUCTION
Saturday May 31
Do you, or someone you know, have a business that would like to get exposure within the League? Consider donating something, like an item(s) or a certificate for a meal, service, class, etc., to the Annual Meeting Auction. Obviously, proceeds go to a very worthy cause and members learn more about what you have to offer. Win, win!
Contact Liz Harris-Hodge if you have questions or would like to donate items for the auction at eharrisce@aol.com. |  |
LWV Milwaukee County is a co-host for this TIMELY training.
June 8th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Greendale Community Church, 6015 Clover Ln, Greendale
Bystander Intervention Training
Facilitated by Stephanie Roades, SURJ MIlwaukee
Link to facebook event
Now more than ever, it’s going to take community to keep each other safe. No one is born with the skills needed to intervene in public instances of interpersonal violence and harassment. It takes lifelong learning and practice to keep the tools in your harm reduction toolbox sharp.
Bystander Intervention training will focus on ways to intervene when you're a bystander to racist, sexist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Trans, or other forms of interpersonal violence, all while considering the safety of all parties. This workshop includes a learning segment of tips and strategies, how to document, knowing your rights as an intervener, and practice scenarios.
Join us! Free and open to the public. No registration necessary.
Showing Up For Racial Justice-Milwaukee is a Southeastern Wisconsin network of groups and individuals undertaking the work of challenging and dismantling racism by calling in our fellow white people to learn, build relationships, organize, mobilize and act against white supremacy with passion and accountability.
Hosted by: Franklin LOC, Greendale Community Church, League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County, SURJ MKE and ACTive Bystander WI
For more information, contact Donna Spars at d.spars@lwvmilwaukee.org. |  |
Continue to Fight Back!
June 14th from Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Specific Location will be Revealed When Application is Approved.
NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies. We’ve watched as they’ve cracked down on free speech, detained people for their political views, threatened to deport American citizens, and defied the courts. The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it.
On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings. Check out nokings.org for more information.
Event Itinerary:
- 12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Assemble, Protest Chants, Make Noise
- 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Speakers (Will be updated)
- 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. March (Tentative)
A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.
For more information or to make plans to assemble together, contact Donna Spars at d.spars@lwvmilwaukee.org. | Grass Roots North Shore (GRNS) Promotes Wisconsin Safety Net at Volunteer Fair
Sunday, June 22nd at 4:00 p.m.
Doctors Park, Fox Point, WI
Visit tables set up by local nonprofits filling the gaps as the national support network collapses. Find your best match and help us make a difference as we strengthen our community resources.
Our featured speaker is Robert Kraig.
Dr. Kraig is the Executive Director of Citizen Action of WI, which promotes activism and accountability in Health Care, Climate Action, Health Justice, and Energy Burden.
He has appeared on major national and international media outlets such as Fox News, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, syndicated radio programs, has been quoted in national newspapers and magazines (New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Mother Jones), and serves as a panelist on the local PBS television program, International Focus.
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MEC Addresses Ballot Shortage
It was an Election Day good news/bad news story on April 1. The bad news: nine city of Milwaukee polling sites ran out of ballots (which were replenished, but with a delay), and many more experienced ballot shortages. The good news: the shortages were due to a large increase in voter turnout! Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) Executive Director Paulina Gutierrez said that with dramatic increases in voter turnout for Supreme Court elections, "... the historical data no longer serves us. It is a new normal."
Since there will be WI Supreme Court races in every spring election through 2031, Gutierrez said the MEC will print enough ballots for all registered voters, which would allow for roughly double the recent turnout.
Read more details in this Urban Milwaukee news article. | League at Day Without Immigrants and Workers March and Next Steps | It was a chilly rainy day but about twenty-five League members marched or attended the rally to demonstrate support for immigrants and workers in our community at the annual Voces de la Frontera event, "Day Without Immigrants and Workers".
Next Steps:
Do you have some interest in continuing to show support for immigrants? If so, please email Donna Spars at d.spars@lwvmilwaukee.org to arrange a no-obligation conversation about immigration advocacy. |  |
The LWVMC Annual Spring Appeal is Underway!
With your generous support, we now have an Endowment Fund with the Greater Milwaukee Committee to help secure our financial future. This accomplishment capped a year of accomplishments that empowered voters and defended democracy.
You recently received a letter from Nancy Maloney about the 2025 Spring Appeal. Click here for a copy of the letter. As we move ahead during 2025 and into 2026, our work will continue without regard to political partisanship. While your valuable volunteer time is free, materials, support, and expenses to maintain LWVMC as a nonprofit business all come at a cost.
We are counting on your generosity in asking that you please make a gift for on-going operations, for the endowment fund, or for both. Our goal is to raise $10,000 from this 2025 Spring Appeal. Please give what you can that is aligned with your personal budget and know that we appreciate your continued support.
You can donate by check made payable to League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and mailed to the League office at 6737 West Washington Avenue, Suite 2218, West Allis, WI 53214. Or you can donate by credit card at www.lwvmilwaukee.org/Donate. |  | Action Alert
Contact Your Assembly Rep: Support Extending Medicaid Services to 1 Year Postpartum
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin supports the passage of Assembly Bill 97, the companion bill of SB 23 which was passed almost unanimously by the Senate on April 22, 2025! This bill extends postpartum healthcare for one year after giving birth for those who are Medicaid eligible. Currently, postpartum care for those who are Medicaid eligible is only 60 days, with Wisconsin and Arkansas as the only states not providing one year coverage.
We are asking voters to call their state legislators in the Assembly to urge them to request that the Speaker of the Assembly bring the bill to the floor for a vote and to pass AB 97. There is overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill–yet, the bill still has not passed for over 2 years because it has not been brought to the floor for a vote.
A phone call script and more info here. Find your legislators. |  | NOW IS THE TIME……
Today we introduce Zitkála-Šá (“Red Bird”/Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) in our series on suffragists.
Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938), Yankton Dakota writer, composer, educator and political activist, fought for Native American citizenship and suffrage. As a member of the Society of American Indians and a founder of the National Council of American Indians, she advocated to end the wardship status of Native Americans and helped win them full citizenship rights with the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.
Zitkála-Šá is known for promoting the preservation of Native American cultural and tribal identities. While being sharply critical of assimilation, she was firm in her conviction that Indigenous people in America should be American citizens, and that as citizens, they should have the vote.
The fifth coin of the 2024 American Women Quarters Program honors Zitkála-Šá and celebrates her life. A gifted violinist, she also collaborated on the first known American Indian opera.
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As a member of Our Future Milwaukee (OFM), our League joins other nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations to locally address climate change and economic inequities.
OFM recently reported the City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office received a memo from the U.S. EPA terminating two federal contracts: Healthy Homes and the ECO Neighborhoods Initiative. Healthy Homes makes homes lead safe and energy efficient. ECO Neighborhoods builds a neighborhood's climate resilience through collaborative climate education, planning, and action that is supported by local expertise and resources. The City plans to dispute the termination of its contract.
SAVE THE DATE - Saturday, Jun 21, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m,
Public Information Forum on data centers, your energy bill and more, featuring Tom Content, Executive Director of CUB, Citizens Utility Board. Watch future Updates for details.
Your energy bill is not the only cost you pay for the energy we use - your lungs and health pay! Act Now at http://lung.org/sota to improve Wisconsin’s F grade and protect our air quality. Use the link above to access The American Lung Association’s latest report on Wisconsin’s air quality and to act. Enter your ZIP code and click on the “sign the petition” box to let our US Senators and your House Representative know you want them to act for good air quality. |  | Friday. May 30th at 10:00 a.m.
East Side Library
League Café, the book and discussion club of the League of Women Voters of
Milwaukee County meets this month on May 30 (due to Memorial Day week-end) at
10:00 a.m. at the East Side Library. We alternate between “general discussion” and a
specific book. This month we are discussing the book, “How the Word is Passed: A
Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith . Even if you
haven’t read the book, our discussions are usually lively and interesting. We have
chosen books now through Sept. See schedule below:
May: Discussing the book “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery in America “ by Clint
Smith
June: General discussion
July: Discussing the book “Demystifying Disability” by Emily Ladau
Aug.: General Discussion
Sept.: Discussing the book “After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America” by Jessica
Goudeau |  |
Accessing Members-Only Resources on the LWVMC Website
The website contains resources for members-only. Members must be logged in to see this information.
| Support Local Democracy. Support Your League.
Your support is critical to help our nonpartisan grassroots organization reach voters play a critical role in democracy. It would not be possible to empower voters and defend democracy without your support.
Thank you! LWVMC
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