WUWM: Race & Ethnicity Reporting

Updated on Tuesday at 9:40 a.m. CT

The Menomonee Falls School Board voted 5-2 on Monday to retire Menomonee Falls High School's "Indians" nickname at the end of this school year. 

Wisconsin has some of the worst disparities between black and white people in the country. That's according to a new report that outlines the causes of these disparities — and possible solutions.

Despite the job market doing better than it has in previous years, some people are still having a hard time finding work. That's especially true for black Wisconsinites.

In 2018, the black unemployment rate in Wisconsin was nearly three times that of whites, according to American Community Survey data.

With street names like Winnebago and villages such as Mukwonago, there's no denying the historical presence of Native Americans in Wisconsin.

That spurred one of our listeners to reach out to Beats Me:

"What groups of Indigenous people lived in southeastern Wisconsin?"

We're going to answer that question. But we're also going to explore the importance of not just talking in the past tense when it comes to Native Americans.

Pow wows date back hundreds of years. These celebrations of native culture and traditions bring native people together to sing, dance and drum in honor of their heritage.

The tradition continues right here in Milwaukee, and they're not just for native people to enjoy.

I went to the 15th Annual Hunting Moon Pow Wow that took place recently at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee. It's a three-day competition that includes dancing, drumming and singing.

Milwaukee-area photographer Corey Fells has unveiled a new documentary and photography series – and this time, he's putting men under the spotlight. His name may be familiar because we met Fells at the beginning of the year, when he introduced his “100 Womxn Project.” That project highlighted millennial women of color in Milwaukee.

Gov. Tony Evers has declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day in Wisconsin — the day federally recognized as Columbus Day. The state joins a growing list of others, such as Minnesota and New Mexico, that have chosen to celebrate native peoples instead.

Women and people of color are drastically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). According to the Pew Research Center, black people only make up 9% of STEM jobs. Hispanics are7%, Asians are 13%, and whites make up 69% of STEM jobs.

Jet Constellations CEO Nadiyah Johnson thinks those numbers are alarming.

Bela Suresh Roongta is a woman of many titles. She’s a published author and a clothing designer. She’s also the Pfister Hotel’s current narrator in residence, which means she tells the stories of guests, staff and visitors of the hotel through blogs.

But Roongta’s own story is one about becoming confident in her identity to become the woman she is today.

Hip-hop and chess may seem like an unlikely pair. But a new club has combined the two in a way that’s educating young people about the art of chess and the art of making music.

The Hip-Hop Chess Club celebrated its grand re-opening Tuesday at Flip 'N' Styles, a barbershop on Milwaukee's south side. Even from the rear of the shop, you could hear the echo of ODB’s Shimmy Shimmy Ya hit you as you walk through the doors.

Supporting and pushing students toward academic, professional, and personal success is the driving force behind Future Urban Leaders (FUL). The Milwaukee nonprofit's mission is to create opportunities that support youth in realizing their unique potential.

The organization currently serves more than 150 students in Milwaukee Public Schools. These third-12th graders are primarily African American, from the city’s north side.

Hundreds of communities across the United States have designated themselves a "sanctuary" for immigrant families. Some have created policies vowing they won’t share information about a resident’s immigration status with the federal office of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But what does a "sanctuary city" really mean? And who has a say in the matter?

Sara McKinnon, a UW-Madison associate professor, says a sanctuary city isn't an official government term.

Nearly 4,000 people die from drownings every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s about 10 people a day. But the racial and ethnic disparities within those drownings are equally alarming.

The CDC has found that swimming pool drowning rates for black youth ages five to 19 are 5.5 times higher than whites in the same age group.

Before meeting Moshe Katz, I don’t know if I ever considered “American Jew” and “Jewish American” to be different identities. But Katz says Jewish people are often asked which label represents them. For him, he says the answer is both.

"There are days of the week, or hours of the day, or seconds I respond to something that says, 'I’m a Jewish American.' There are certain things that the way I live my life is 'Jewishly' as an American. There are also days where I live my life as an American, who happens to be Jewish," Katz explains.

Every year, there are thousands of evictions in Milwaukee County. A new exhibition based on the best-selling book Evicted brings the crisis to life.

The exhibition is in an event space called the Mobile Design Box on Milwaukee's near west side — minutes away from Marquette’s campus. When you walk through the doors, you're greeted by a bright yellow banner with the word "evicted" written across it.