L. Malik Anderson

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Kenosha NAACP held a press conference on Aug. 27 in Kenosha to address the shooting of Jacob Blake.
“I want to make this point clear, there’s a pattern of killing Black people,” Jackson said.
Thursday marked the fourth anniversary of Colin Kaepernick’s protest against racial injustice. Bishop Tavis Grant, national field director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, accompanied Jackson Sr. as he spoke alongside state and local NAACP officers Derrick Johnson, Wendell Harris, an...

The Fifth Annual Black Restaurant Week, which runs Sunday, August 16 through Sunday, August 23, will honor the legacy of Ms. Milele Chikasa Anana, the pioneer behind the week-long event who passed away in May at the age of 86.
“Ms. Milele’s life’s work was to empower Black businesses and creating Black Restaurant Week was something she was very proud of,” Madison Black Chamber of Commerce President Camille Carter said. “The same characteristics she displayed, including passion, dedication, an...

While cities across the nation canceled their Pride parades earlier this summer, Madison-based LGBTQ+ organization OutReach plans on bringing entertainment, speakers, and hosts to the comfort of your home.
“Madison’s PRIDE event is always in August. We are different than a lot of places that have their events in June,” said Dana Pellebon, OutReach board member and chair of the Magic Pride Festival.
Because of the COVID 19 pandemic and Dane County event restrictions, OutReach LGBTQ+ Community ...

Latinx community leaders participated in a webinar this past Wednesday, August 12, to discuss ongoing strategies to address the disparities and inequities among immigrant families.
“Thankfully, I think in the time of crisis, everyone jumped in and really tried to mobilize and get our community the help it needed at this time,” Karen Menéndez Coller, Executive Director of Centro Hispano said.
The webinar, “The state of the Latinx community and current efforts: A closer look at the disparities ...

With the 2020 census well underway, the creation of new political maps — laying out Assembly, Senate, and US Congressional districts — will begin soon. Unlike in previous years, the new maps will be drawn by a nonpartisan commission of citizens. Residents interested in serving on the People’s Map Commission have until Friday, July 31 to submit their applications to the Office of Governor Tony Evers.
The People’s Maps Commission will consist of nine residents who are 18 years of age or older. ...

CEOs of Tomorrow plans to deliver engaging and hands-on social entrepreneurship education workshops and courses for young children and teenagers this summer.
“Like many other organizations, we had to make the decision whether or not to do face-to-face programming or virtual,” Dr. Roxie Hentz, CEO and founder of CEOs of Tomorrow, tells Madison365.
In August, the program will kick off the 2020 Busine$$ of Giving Summer Camp which will allow kids to learn how to grow their own business from home...

Five of Madison’s young leaders participated in a discussion about youth-led protests for the Real Talk Black Youth Summit last Wednesday.
“We wanted to take this opportunity to lift up the voices of young people in our community so Boys and Girls Club is partnering with Madison365 to be able to do that,” President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County Michael Johnson said.
About two dozen young people participated in the three sessions of the summit. Madison365 Founder, CEO, and Publish...

Politician and bestselling author Stacey Abrams appeared live on Crowdcast in conversation with Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, to discuss her new book, Our Time Is Now last night.
“We forget that not so long ago that the power of the ballot was a terrifying power that had been promised and withdrawn,” Abrams said.
She spoke as the Cheryl Rosen Weston Memorial Lecturer for the Wisconsin Book Festival. While discussing her book, she also spoke about her family instillin...

After the tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others, a group of Black community members in Platteville formed a coalition to elevate Black voices.
“We had informal meetings with different members of the community and tried to decide what form of action to take,” Founding member Sakara Wages told Madison365.
After Wages, Ali Mausser, and other several long-time residents came together, they decided that no one person should speak for the Black community. Ins...

UW-Madison’s PEOPLE Program will offer virtual programming to high school students this summer from June through August because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has put forth the motto “Prepare to Achieve Virtually Anything!”
“We’re still doing all of our core classes and prep work. It’s shorter because we don’t want students sitting at a screen all day,” UW-Madison’s PEOPLE program Director Gail Ford said.
The program, which usually brings middle- and high-school students to campus to e...

Second-generation Wisconsinite, community organizer, and local business owner Francesca Hong would like to represent the 76th Assembly District in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
“I’m 31 now and I’m seeing this district, everything important that has happened to me has happened in this district. I’m seeing a lot of great work being done by organizations in this area,” Hong told Madison365.
Hong’s campaign platform focuses on labor rights, a long-term COVID-19 recovery plan, rehabilitation progr...

Boys and Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson opened a Virtual Town Hall to discuss the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis moderated by Madison365 CEO Henry Sanders on Facebook Live yesterday.
“The murder of George Floyd was a modern-day lynching and the kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck was a suppression technique that is unacceptable in police departments across the United States of America,” Johnson said.
UW Police Chief Kristen Roman, Madison Interim Police Chief Vic Wahl, ...

Though born in Misawa, Japan, Ryan Young x’13 grew up in the Ojibwe community on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in northern Wisconsin. An Indigenous, queer, gender-neutral, multidisciplinary artist, Young identifies as two-spirit: containing both male and female. Ojibwe pronouns don’t indicate masculine or feminine, and in English, Young uses the pronoun they for self-description. Through their art, Young seeks to explore all facets of their identity, activism, and education.
Young came to t...

Last summer, Taren Mansfield ’14 had just two weeks to pack her belongings and relocate to Los Angeles after finding out about the opportunity of a lifetime. She left Madison to spend the next four months in Shondaland — Shonda Rhimes’s television production company — working on alongside actors such as Viola Davis on the hit TV show How to Get Away with Murder.
A Hollywood career wasn’t her original plan. After earning her bachelor of arts in political science and a certificate in gender and...

Former Badger football player Lou Holland Jr. ’86 continues to honor his family legacy by donating to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute.
After his father, Badger Hall of Fame halfback Lou Holland Sr. ’65, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Holland Jr. and his family made a generous donation to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute (WAI) at the UW’s School of Medicine and Public Health. The Holland Research Fund helps to pay for research and to increase support for prevention efforts....