[Lekooks] BLM Learn & Take Action March 2021 #1

[Ginger G]

Black Lives Matter - Learn & Take Action for March 2021 #1
LEARN – Joseph Mensah <https://upnorthnewswi.com/2021/01/26/waukesha-sheriff-hires-joseph-mensah-former-cop-who-killed-three-people-in-five-years/>, is a Black police officer that worked for Wauwatosa from 2015 – 2020. He  killed 3 people in the line of duty - a Hispanic man, a Black man, and a Black teen – and was not disciplined or charged* in any of them. In 2020, Tosa had numerous Black Lives Matter protests over this. Mensah resigned with compensation for 2021. Mensah was hired <https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2021/02/18/waukesha-faith-group-questions-mensah-hiring/> in 2021 by the Waukesha County. From 2015 – 2020 Wisconsin law enforcement fatally shot 99 people <https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/> – two of those were under 18, 22 were Black and 6 were Hispanic. Joseph Mensah killed one of these two children and 11% of all Black and Hispanic people fatally shot by police over 6 years.

TAKE ACTION – Make a plan to vote in the April 6th non-partisan (but actually VERY partisan) election (State Senate District 13, local school board, judges, school superintendent.) HERE <https://www.waukeshacounty.gov/globalassets/county-clerk/election-information/contests-spring-2021.pdf> are the candidates for Waukesha County. Please make sure to vote!       

This election matters for Black lives! Some things to consider: Do they support Fair Maps <https://www.wisdc.org/reforms/support-fair-voting-maps> or current gerrymandered <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering> ones? Do they support expanding voting or more rigorous voter rules (suppression) <https://badgerherald.com/news/2021/01/26/state-gop-introduces-controversial-election-reform-bill/>  Are they aligned with political groups you support? Do they ignore Covid or not? Was literature for partisan and non-partisan candidates dropped off together at your door? (I received flyers for Republican John Jagler for Senate District 13 together with non-partisan Shelley Grogan and Oconomowoc School Board candidate Alexandra Schweitzer, endorsed by former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, from an unmasked door-to-door canvasser.) Since this is not a Presidential election or major partisan one, maybe our turnout to uphold Black lives will prevail.

Ginger Goral, Social Justice committee, Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church, lcuuc.org <http://lcuuc.org/>P.S. Please REPLY to this email if you are uncertain what the candidates support or don’t have time to find out. I have links to research on candidates in your district, and also my opinion. ;) I’d feel useful and I’d love to help!

*The passage of Act 10 in Wisconsin in 2011 virtually eliminated collective bargaining (unions) but police and firefighters were exempted. Read more on police unions and holding officers accountable HERE <https://reason.com/volokh/2020/05/30/police-unions-and-the-problem-of-police-misconduct/>.


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