February 8, 2021 News Update | | Winter Sign Placement Challenge!
Have you been able to get your Everyone Vote signs out? Snow shovels, twine, zipties, or, as a last resort, windows offer options for the challenge of getting signs displayed in spite of the frozen ground! Send us a selfie with your sign for our homepage gallery or post on your favorite social media platform.
| | | Upcoming League Events...
the who, what, where, when, and how to attend LWVLA events
| February Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, February 12
11:30 AM - 1 PM
Still time to register!
Women's Health Legislation in Wisconsin
Courtney Hayward, Government Relations Specialist at Planned Parenthood of WI
Ms. Hayward will present information about upcoming women's health policy and legislation in Wisconsin.
| Recordings of previous League programs are available on our website.
| SAVE THE DATE: March 8
We hope you can join us for the International Women's Day celebration with the AAUW. | | Speaking of Democracy
Join the Conversation
LWVLA Book Club
Monday, February 22
6:30 - 8:00 pm
ALL ARE WELCOME!
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
| | | As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.
Background information about this book and links to several online events with Ms. Kimmerer can be found here.
| Book Club is meeting virtually. The link below will take you to our Events calendar. Click on the Book Club entry for registration on the Event page. A Zoom link will be sent to you in your confirmation email.
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The next books will be “The Politics Industry: How Political Innovations can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy," by Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter for the March meeting and “Cultural Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy” by Talia Lavin for the April meeting.
| Get Involved...
opportunities to volunteer or to join one of our teams--
help us defend democracy and empower voters.
| Our Vote411.org Team Needs You:
Can You Help Develop Our Voter Guide?
Vote411 is another tool in the LWV toolbox to empower voters and defend democracy. The La Crosse League joined the Vote411.org platform for local offices in 2020. Over 2300 voters from La Crosse County and almost 98,000 statewide used the Vote411.org voter information website in 2020.
Need: If you have time to make some phone calls, please join our team! We also invite volunteers with an interest in technology to learn about managing the platform used by the LWV US and local leagues across the country.
Provide vital voter education about local government. If you are interested in joining the Vote411 La Crosse team, send an email to lwvlawi@gmail.com with Vote411 in the subject line. Check out the voter information platform Vote411.org.
| 2021 Elections
February 16 Spring Primary | | State Superintendent Candidate Forum:
What's at Stake for Black and Brown Communities?
Thursday, February 11 @ 7 pm
The Forum is free and open to public.
| View Recordings of Candidate Forums for the February 16 Primary
If you are asked where voters can view candidate forums or debates for local and state races in the Spring Primary, our League now has a page on our website dedicated to providing links to those recordings as they become available.
Anyone visiting the website can access this page. Please let others know and share the link to our Candidate Forums page.
| Check Us Out...
in each of the next few Updates, we'll focus on explaining or demonstrating some of the features of our new website and the Club Express system.
| | Have You Visited Our Voting Pages
at
lwvlacrosse.org ?
League members are often asked for information about voting rules, processes, protocols, and election deadlines.
The Voting section of our website, developed by members of our League's Voter Services committee, offers comprehensive information, links to state websites, and video tutorials. We invite you to become familiar with this valuable resource for voter education and to inform others about this useful resource. | | | For Your Consideration...
local events, virtual events, viewing and reading suggestions that reflect the League's mission and priorities. Please send us your recommendations. |  | | Community Conversations with our Muslim Neighbors:
Celebrating five years of standing shoulder to shoulder together to uphold American values.
Wednesday, February 17
12 - 1 PM
The La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network (LISSN) collaborates with other groups to support diverse justice and peace events with a special focus on supporting our Muslim neighbors and educating the greater La Crosse community about Islam. LISSN empowers people of all faiths and spiritualities to work together to end anti-Muslim sentiment by strengthening the voice of tolerance, freedom and peace. The greater La Crosse community is invited to meet some of your Muslim neighbors and hear how you may join with LISSN in building a safer community for all people.
These monthly conversations are sponsored by the Interfaith Leaders’ Coalition and hosted by English Lutheran Church. Registration is not required.
| | Rethinking Christian Responses to Islamophobia
Thursday, February 18
7 PM
--livestreamed on the LISSN Facebook page
Please join the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network (LISSN) and Viterbo University’s Religious Studies Department for a virtual presentation by Todd H. Green, Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College. Professor Green will offer reflections and facilitate dialogue on some of the more common misconceptions Christians in the United States have concerning anti-Muslim prejudice, with an eye toward helping Christian communities generate more constructive responses to systemic discrimination against Muslim Americans.
Those who do not have a Facebook account can join via a Viterbo Zoom link:
| | | | Amplifying the Voices of Black Youth and Their Parents in the La Crosse Area
Parts I & II
Sunday, February 21
2 - 5 PM
--sponsored by the LaX Waking Up White Collaborative
This event will facilitate discussion and understanding of a film intended to amplify the voices of the Black youth and their parents in La Crosse, to engage our community in necessary conversations about bias, racism, and privilege. We challenge our community to ACTION by changing the environment, policies, and practices that disproportionately impact black youth and their families. | | The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration
--recording available on the LaX Waking Up White Collaborative FB page
The event has been viewed over 11,000 times! It includes:
--The keynote address by Rev. Dr. William J Barber II, who heads the Poor People's Campaign and is advising the new Federal administration;
--Amanda Goodenough's acceptance address for this year's MLK Leadership Award;
--Reverend Dr. Calvin Morris' acceptance address for the MLK Special Recognition Award; and
--Chaya Davis's acceptance address for the Lynda Blackmon Lowery Youth Leadership Award. | | | Help us defend democracy and empower voters.
| And follow, like, and share our social media pages. | Contact Us:
PO Box 363
La Crosse, WI 54602
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