By LaKeshia N. Myers In her 1988 hit, “Giving You the Best That I Got”, Anita Baker asks the question, “Ain’t there something I can give you, in exchange for everything you give to me?” I thought about this song and pondered this question when looking at our most recent cause of national embarrassment: former […]
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
Rock-a-bye Baby: Why The American Child Care Crisis is Bad for the Economy
By LaKeshia N. Myers In 1984, my mother was one of the 52% percent of American women who worked outside the home. Both my parents being public school educators, they knew they would need to rely on quality child care upon my birth and mom’s return to work. Enter Mrs. Virginia Dotson; “Mama Dotson” as […]
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
From Jim Crow to James E. Crow, Esquire: White Supremacy is Still Holding On
By LaKeshia N. Myers America is slowly, but surely, becoming more diverse. This has been confirmed for years by census statisticians and has created a wave of panic for some whites who are afraid of living in a majority BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) country. This level of alarm is evidenced by legislation presented […]
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Representative LaKeshia Myers Issue Statement Regarding Wisconsin Legislature’s Passage of Critical Race Theory Bills
MADISON– Representative LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) issued the following statement regarding AB 411 and AB 414. Myers stated, “The bills passed by the legislature today, should be called the ‘White Supremacy Preservation Package of 2021’, because that is what they represent. Both AB411 and AB414 are bills in search of problems. The authors claim the bills […]
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Haiti: Paying the Price of Freedom Since 1804
By LaKeshia N. Myers James Brown once said, “You’ve got to pay the cost to be the boss”—truer words have never been spoken, especially when one considers the plight of Haiti. A small Caribbean nation bordering the Dominican Republic; separated by the Dajabon River and hundreds of years of history, Haiti fought for its independence […]
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Sickle Cell Anemia: A Clarion Call
By LaKeshia N. Myers As a teenager in the 1990s, life was good. I had no real responsibilities and a friend group rivaled by the (middle school) masses, and to top it off, we had the perfect soundtrack to narrate our young lives, TLC. The trio of Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez and […]
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
I Refuse; I Won’t Let Nobody Steal My Joy
By LaKeshia N. Myers Having grown up in the Baptist church, hearing the music of gospel quartets is just as normal as celebrating Christmas. The songs, most often sung by male choruses, are rich in four-part harmonies and often tell stories of overcoming adversity, hope and salvation. According to Colin Palmer, a gospel music researcher […]
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Dr. Gloria Gilmer: Wisconsin’s Own ‘Hidden Figure’
By LaKeshia N. Myers “It could be old math; something that looks at the problem numerically and not theoretically. Math is always dependable.” These words were spoken by Taraji P. Henson in her iconic performance as NASA computer, Katherine Goble Johnson, in the movie “Hidden Figures.” I thought about this poignant scene in the movie, […]
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
The Spirit of Lee Atwater Lingers Among Us: How Critical Race Theory Became the GOP’s new Southern Strategy
By LaKeshia N. Myers As a historian and educator, I have always been fascinated by the methods and platforms of big tent political parties and the strategists who often lead them. One of the most interesting was Republican Lee Atwater. Atwater, a southern political consultant is known as the father of the “Southern Strategy” an […]
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Jim Crow 2.0: Why Congress Must Pass the For the People Act
By LaKeshia N. Myers Fifty-six years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, which ended the deleterious practices of poll taxes, literacy tests, questionnaires and violence used to bar African Americans from the ballot box. In many southern states, egregious exercises in voter intimidation occurred; in some instances, the name, […]