Milwaukee – Women changemakers have been often labeled “dangerous,” but their voices and actions have been essential in creating positive change and remain so today. A public forum, centered around the pilot episode of a documentary series on this topic and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and UWM Women’s & Gender Studies, features a diverse panel of younger “dangerous women” changemakers. The free event is Tuesday, October 18, 6-8 p.m. at UWM’s Mitchell Hall, 3203 N. Downer Ave., Room 191.
Panelists include: Lauren Feaster, the CEO of Professional Dimensions, the leading women’s professional association in the Milwaukee area; Arvina Martin, the first Native person ever elected to Madison’s Common Council, and now the Executive Director of Emerge Wisconsin, which recruits and trains women to run for public office; Marcelia Nicholson, the first Black woman and Latina elected as Chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, recently re-elected for her second term. An audience Q&A will follow the panel, along with refreshments and the opportunity for informal interaction with the panelists.
The Most Dangerous Women series of documentary shorts is a project of Milwaukee-based New Moon Productions. It presents the stories of women changemakers, and invites viewers to discover and document women in their own families, communities, and regions working towards a more just and equitable world. The pilot episode begins in1869, when Wyoming becomes the only territory in the world to specifically recognize women’s right to vote and to hold elected office, a full 50 years before passage of the Nineteenth Amendment..
The public is invited to attend the free forum. Continuing the League of Women Voters’ century-long efforts to ensure voting rights, League of Women Voters members will staff a voter registration table.
