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Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai

Today we remember Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize – she passed away Sunday. In 2009, Independent Lens aired her story in the documentary “Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai“. As Jennifer Buffett wrote in her Huffington Post article today, “She understood that women, working as powerful actors in their local contexts, can change the world.”

Stay tuned to EngageWisconsin in the coming months, as we partner with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) to launch our Women and Girls Lead digital engagement project. Wangari Maathai’s story is one of the many that has inspired our own project. Read other stories, including upcoming WPT programming, at ITVS’s Woman and Girls Lead film and video list.

A plant nursery in Tumutumu Hills, Kenya

In the coming weeks, we’ll be gearing up for the premiere of Prohibition, the new three-part documentary film series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, airing October 2, 3, and 4 on WPT. The rise, rule, and fall of the 18th Constitutional Amendment was a fascinating, complicated time in American history – and Wisconsin was not immune to the lessons and issues of the time. Please join in on a conversation over the impact of Prohibition on Wisconsin life, then and now – and the lessons that continue to affect our Wisconsin communities today.

Prohibition turned law-abiding citizens into criminals, made a mockery of the justice system, caused illicit drinking to seem glamorous and fun…and fostered cynicism and hypocrisy that corroded the social contract all across the country.

That is how the series introduction puts it. The documentary “raises vital questions that are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago – about means and ends, individual rights and responsibilities, the proper role of government and finally, who is — and who is not — a real American.” We can use Prohibition as a historical lens to explore the role of dissent and protest in America and specifically, in Wisconsin, and to ask about the current state of public discourse and civility.

Please stay tuned as we feature stories of Wisconsin residents, about the history of Prohibition in Wisconsin, and the questions raised in this period that continue to resonate in Wisconsin today. Here are some of the topics we will explore:

• Famous hideouts and speakeasies in Wisconsin
• How Prohibition laws impacted Wisconsin’s thriving breweries – like Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller
• Prohibition era cocktails
• Your stories – how did Prohibition affect your community? What legacy, memories, or legends were left behind?
• Your reflections on democracy, freedom, and public conversation in Wisconsin: what might the history of Prohibition teach us?

The opinions expressed by EngageWisconsin bloggers and by those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wisconsin Public Television (WPT). WPT is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by bloggers. WPT is not responsible for any offense caused inadvertently through interpretation of grammar, punctuation, or language. WPT reserves the right to remove, alter, change or vary the WPT blogs or comments at any time without notice. WPT shall endeavor to provide constant, uninterrupted access to the blogs, but do not guarantee to do so and accept no responsibility or liability for any interruption or delay.

From American Experience: “In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students—many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university—decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.”

We want your stories.

EngageWisconsin would like to know: Would you get on the bus? Do you remember the freedom rides? Did you take part? Are you a Wisconsin resident who was involved in the civil rights movement? If you would like to share your story, or know someone who might be interested, please contact us!

Watch the Freedom Riders trailer below and mark your calanders for Monday, May 16 at 8!

Many are surprised to discover the abundance of thought-provoking films on Wisconsin Public Television – topics ranging from race and diversity, social justice and history to education, the arts and civic engagement. These topics resonate in communities throughout Wisconsin.

Reel2Real engages your community by supporting local screenings of acclaimed PBS films followed by discussion events featuring local experts and community leaders. These public screenings have and continue to foster community discussion, bring difficult issues to light and encourage participants to consider diverse perspectives.

Support for Reel2Real comes from the Alliant Energy Foundation and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television. Reel2Real is a partnership of Wisconsin Public Television and the Wisconsin Library Association. For more information please contact Lynne Blinkenberg.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Freedom Riders
Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 6:30-8 p.m.
Appleton Public Library
Lower Level Meeting Room
225 N. Oneida St.
Appleton, WI 54911
Email: eeisen@apl.org
Phone: 920-832-6173

In addition to the screening a panel discussion will be lead by Bob Pedersen, President & CEO of Goodwill Industries, and Paul Eisen insurance broker and Winnebago County Supervisor. Pedersen was active in the Civil Rights movement. Eisen was a personnel investigator for the US Civil Service Commission and a poll watcher in Greenwood, Mississippi during the 1960s.

Freedom Riders
Wednesday, May 18, 6:30 p.m.
Three Lakes Center for the Arts in the Northwoods
1760 Superior St.
Three Lakes, WI 54562
Phone: 715.546-3391

Sponsored by the E.U. Demmer Memorial Library

The Botany of Desire
Thursday, June 9th, time TBA
Western Technical College
220 S Main St.
Viroqua, WI 54665

Sponsored by McIntosh Public Library in Viroqua, WI

BRING REEL2REAL TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY