League of Women’s Voters Whitewater Area

On the evening of Thursday, January 19^th, 2017 the League of Women’s Voters of Wisconsin’s Whitewater area hosted a screening and discussion of MILWAUKEE 53206. Over 70 people including LMV organization members, members of the 1^st United Methodist Church, local students, educators and city counsel members attended the screening that was held in the City Counsel Chambers. The subsequent panel discussion included the Chief of the Whitewater Police Department, two University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professors and a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student from 53206 with incarcerated parents.  After the screening, attendees discussed ways to take action in their community and to collaborate with Northcott Neighborhood House, an organization located just outside 53206 that donates funds to train former inmates in construction work and provides GED classes.  The Chief of the Whitewater Police Department expressed how the film had given her new insight into the crisis of mass incarceration and is expected to address this in some capacity within her department.