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Girls Just Wanna Have Fundamental Rights!
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Cyndi Lauper has invited the League to partner with her on her upcoming "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" farewell tour! The Milwaukee performance is August 3rd at American Family Field. Six LWVMC volunteers will be at a table to invite people to register to vote, take information about Vote411 (Cyndi's a fan,) donate money to the Milwaukee League and become League members.
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Join the Fair Maps Coalition for a Community Hearing in Waukesha County on August 20. While Wisconsin currently has fair maps, these are only in place until the 2030 Census. LEGISLATION is needed to ensure FAIR VOTING MAPS for FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Fair maps leaders across the state have been working on legislation, and want YOUR INPUT!
LWVWI is a member of the Fair Maps Coalition.
Details, including specific locations and the draft legislation, will be provided after registration.
Questions? Email iuscely at iuscely@fairmapswi.com.
REGISTER
| Mass Incarceration Committee Meets Aug. 4th
LWVMC's new advocacy committee, led by Emily Sterk, invites interested members to discuss advocacy for confronting mass incarceration. The committee's next monthly meeting is via Zoom on August 4th at 4:00 p.m. |  | | Climate Action Update
This past Saturday’s Climate Action Group planning session for the 2025-26 League year affirmed our commitment to support local efforts to address climate change and equity. We will continue to follow and advocate for the separate and joint sustainability efforts of the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. We will develop teams that will connect with the 18 other municipalities in our County to move forward on addressing climate change and equity. Finally, plans are underway for an educational program or two combined with easy action opportunities and report back tools.
Sign up now for your County Supervisor’s email updates to stay current with County efforts to address climate change. Sign up at https://findyourcountysupervisor.com/?utm_source=www.findyourcountysupervisor.com (When you enter your address, use N, S, E, W for cardinal directions.)
What YOU CAN DO:
Scratchy Eyes? Trouble Breathing? Follow your air quality at Air Quality Index
Take care of yourself when air quality is worst, stay inside, close windows, make sure your air filter is working. If you are outside, consider wearing an N95 mask.
Reduce air pollution due to the AI Drain on the electric grid! When you search online, enter -AI, that’s minus AI, before you click. “Voila!” You will not drain the grid and get an AI summary, an amalgam, an average, of all that is out there on the internet. Instead you get a list of options from which YOU CHOOSE. |  | |
Q. Have transgender girls gone into school bathrooms to assault others?
A. This is a common concern, but there is no evidence to support the idea that transgender girls enter school bathrooms to harm others.
Concern about transgender girls assaulting others in school bathrooms is unfounded. A 2018 study in Sexuality Research and Social Policy found no increase in safety issues in schools with inclusive restroom policies. Similarly, Media Matters contacted 17 school districts with inclusive policies and found no reported problems. Assaults are already illegal regardless of gender identity. Inclusive policies ensure transgender students, who face high levels of bullying, can use facilities safely and with dignity.
There is no evidence that transgender people as a group, and especially transgender girls, pose a danger in bathrooms.
The League of Women Voters Milwaukee supports policies that protect all students and combat misinformation.
LGBTQ+ All Letters Matter
** If any League member has a question to be considered in this column or are interested in being active please send to k.vance@lwvmilaukee.org
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LWVWI, together with local leagues, is hosting a 60th Anniversary celebration commemorating the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and we hope you can join us!
This will be a powerful community gathering to honor landmark civil rights legislation and mobilize against decades of attacks on voting rights, with a call to restore and protect them through the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Diana Wynn, LWV president, is the keynote speaker.
Register here
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Milwaukee Coalition Gathers to Celebrate Historic Legislation & Call to Protect Voting Rights
On Wednesday, August 6, a coalition of 11 Milwaukee organizations, facilitated by LWVMC, will gather 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. at Ezekiel Gillespie Park, 2478 N. 14th St., to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This landmark legislation was designed to eliminate discriminatory practices that historically denied African Americans and other marginalized groups their right to vote.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson will read a proclamation recognizing the historic significance of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Clayborn Benson, of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum, will share remarks about Ezekiel Gillespie, the first African American to fight for voting rights in Wisconsin in 1866. The event will also acknowledge the 50th Anniversary of Section 203 of the VRA amendments, enacted in 1975 to ensure language-minority citizens could fully participate in the electoral process.
A series of video interviews with Milwaukee residents, sharing why voting matters to them, are posted on social media platforms (#VRA60). The video series also features special messages from actress Kerry Washington and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The public is encouraged to visit the League’s website for more information on the Voting Rights Act: https://lwvmilwaukee.org/ and to visit the Mitchell Street Library, currently showcasing an array of books on voting rights for patrons of all ages in July.
|  | Invest in Local Democracy
Invest in democracy by becoming a monthly donor to the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County. Here are five reasons for making a monthly recurring donation.
- It is convenient and helps your budget. You set up an automated payment that spreads your contribution throughout the year.
- You make a long-term commitment to defending democracy. This is especially important with the current threats against democracy. Taking democracy back will take time and sustained effort.
- Our democracy is on the line, and we are in a constitutional crisis. You feel strongly about defending democracy and want to feel that you are doing as much as you can.
- As a monthly donor, you are part of a special group giving consistent support. Whether you can donate $20 a month or $200 a month, you are connected to the League’s mission and its ongoing progress.
- By making a monthly donation, you join a network of like-minded League members and non-members who believe in the work of the League and are connected to a shared purpose.
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Advocate for Yourself…and Others
Download these free resources from the Progressive Caucus Action Fund* at the links below:
They Work For You
Making Your Voice Heard
*The League doesn't necessarily support all of the Progressive Caucus Action Fund's positions but we thought you might find the skills to advocate for yourself and others that are included in these booklets to be useful.
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“Belonging, Bridging and Beloved Community” is part of MICAH’s (Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Aligned for Hope) We All Belong Campaign – to protect democracy, reject white Christian nationalism, and build Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Beloved Community.
Dr. John Powell is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, structural racism, housing, poverty, and democracy. He is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. (for more info see belonging.berkeley.edu/john-powell)
To register for this event, use the QR code on the flyer or go to the MICAH webpage micahmke.org/event/belonging-bridging-and-beloved-community/.
“Belonging” general admission tickets are $30 including lunch or to further help cover costs consider “Bridging” sponsorship tickets for $100 which includes lunch and recognition in the program.
|  | | The “Big Beautiful Bill” contained monies to hire 10,000 more ICE agents and to expand the number of beds by 80,000 for detention facilities in order to reach a deportation/removal goal of a million people per year. This is especially concerning as many immigrants are not being accorded their constitutional right to due process.
How can you help?
Become a community defense network verifier! Verifiers are people who respond to ICE alerts by quickly traveling to the reported locations to confirm or deny ICE activity. NOTE: The role requires reliable transportation and some daytime flexibility.
Trainings are being held at the Voces Milwaukee office (733 W. Mitchell St) every first and third Saturday of the month from 1-3pm.
Please sign up in advance at: ICE Verifier Training Form
Only one training is required.
Upcoming dates: Saturday, August 2nd; Saturday, August 16th; Saturday, September 6th; Saturday, September 20th.
Questions? Contact Donna Spars, d.spars@lwvmilwaukee.org |  |  |
Attention LWVMC Members!
Please login to the website, go to your Member Profile and complete/update your Additional Member Data and Interests (Interests are found under Website Functions). When logged in, Member Resources will appear in the top menu of the website. There you will find members-only resources such as the Membership Directory. Contact roster@lwvmilwaukee.org with questions. Thank you!
| 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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