5225 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53208, on sidewalk
CONTACT: Kyle Pfister, [email protected], 608-628-5672
MILWAUKEE, WI — As young people organize across the nation to demand no guns or police in schools, Milwaukee youth will launch a campaign Thursday to put the focus on Milwaukee, demanding the city end punitive suspension policies and the policing of young people.
The campaign comes as Milwaukee Public Schools face a resolution agreement from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to change their policies after an investigation revealed racial disparities in discipline. In the 2016-2017 school year, 80 percent of the students MPS suspended were Black, while they make up 53 percent of the student population. The campaign also comes as Gov. Scott Walker attempts to add even more armed guards to schools across Wisconsin, with no new money for additional teachers and classroom support.
Led by Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), a local youth-led organizing group, the campaign will argue that more policing isn’t the answer and urge the school board to adopt the Youth Power Agenda, a comprehensive platform with demands for MPS and the Milwaukee Board of Directors that youth will reveal Thursday. The platform calls for the removal of metal detectors and police officers in schools and more investment into teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, and jobs programs.
WHAT: Press conference to launch youth-led campaign calling for reforms in Milwaukee schools
WHEN: Thursday, March 22, 2018
WHERE: 5225 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53208, on sidewalk
RSVP: For more information on the action or to connect with young leaders, please contact Kyle Pfister
at [email protected] (929) 285-9623.
WHO: Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), Urban Underground, Youth Justice Milwaukee, NextGen
Wisconsin, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities(BLOC), Plymouth Church UCC, Plymouth Justice
Network, MICAH Education Task Force, UBLAC.
