Upcoming Events  

Voter Protection: How the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation is on the front lines of defending your right to vote on Nov. 6 

Youth Rights: 2012 Youth Social Justice Forum coming up 

On Wednesday, November 28 the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation will sponsor a daylong event to teach high school students to celebrate and exercise their rights and protect their liberties. The event is free to participating high schools and will be held at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

The Youth Social Justice Forum program uses realistic role-play, hands-on workshops and hot topics from the news about the rights of young people. Students will learn about new media, public art, civics and government and will be offered a chance to discuss racial profiling, bullying, LGBT rights and other topics relevant to youth rights and responsibilities. Participants will also have an opportunity to learn about restorative justice and peace circles.

For more information about the ACLU of Wisconsin's largest youth rights program, please email Emilio De Torre, Youth and Program Director at edetorre@aclu-wi.org or call (414) 305-8569.

In Case You Missed It: Updates on ACLU of Wisconsin news 

Prisoners' Rights: In our last e-newsletter, we described how conditions at the Milwaukee County Jail and County Correctional Facility-South have been steadily getting worse under crumbling medical management. Read our blog post for more on what attorneys and a court-appointed medical monitor witnessed at the jail.  

Since then, the Milwaukee County Board has been debating the details of the county budget and have included funds to hire a medical director. If those funds remain, it will be a step toward progress in improving jail conditions. In the meantime, the ACLU of Wisconsin's legal department, along with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, will continue to work through the courts in November to hold Sheriff David Clarke accountable for the poor conditions.   

Unlock the Vote: Voter suppression makes headlines. But around 62,000 Wisconsin citizens won't be able to vote on November 6 because Wisconsin law denies them that right. The disfranchisement of people with felony convictions in Wisconsin does nothing to improve our public safety, reinforces the powerlessness of those in poverty, and is a critical racial justice issue in light of Wisconsin's glaring disproportionate minority incarceration rate. This year we published the Unlock the Vote report to illustrate why ex-felon disfranchisement laws are bad for our democracy. 

Workplace Giving: An easy way to support the ACLU in Wisconsin 

The ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation is a member of both Community Shares of Wisconsin and Community Shares of Greater Milwaukee. Has your employer told you about workplace giving? 

What makes workplace giving campaigns through Community Shares special is that 100% of your contributions go to the charities you choose. Picking the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation as a recipient of your workplace giving will help us continue to educate Wisconsinites about their civil liberties and defend those liberties in court  when we have to.