8 O'Clock Buzz

Earnings on garment workers bore the brunt of bad economics during COVID pandemic, according to Jacob Horwitz, Field Director at the Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum. His recent article in Inequality.org “Garment Workers Take on Wage Theft and Wall Street” details South and Southeast Asian workers, who make up almost all of the fashion garment industry, lost, on average, 22% of their earnings — while at the same time Nike and other fashion companies made record earnings and spent their earnings on huge stock buy-backs rather then paying their workers. International cooperation of garment worker unions are working to link up for greater worker support.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Stan Woodard and 1neofmani (Breyon Sommerville), Professor Clarence Lusane, Director of the International Affairs at Howard University joins to talk about his new book, “Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy.”

More about Professor Clarence Lusane: https://profiles.howard.edu/clarence-lusane 

Listen in Madison at 89.9FM or online anywhere at wortfm.org.  Support your community radio with a donation online at wortfm.org.

Photo by Jon Miner

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Lake Ivanhoe: Part Of Wisconsins Black History

You might be forgiven for missing Lake Ivanhoe, Wisconsin if you drive by on Highway 50 on your way to Lake Geneva.  In 2020, there were only 426 year-round residents in the southern Wisconsin community.  But Lake Ivanhoe has a unique history – it was a thriving African American resort in the 1920s – a place built specifically to give black urbanites space to escape and relax.  This year, the spot got a historical marker, part of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s efforts to rectify gaps in the historical record of the state.  Angela Titus is the Asst. Deputy Director & Chief Program Officer for the Wisconsin Historical Society and she joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on February 27, 2023.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Black Violin Brings Classical/Hiphop Sounds To Madison

Classmates at Dillard High School of the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Kevin Marcus and Wil Baptiste shared a love for the sound of the violin.  After going to separate musical colleges, Marcus and Baptiste reunited, along with DJ SPS and keyboardist Liston Gregory, to form the hip hop / classical ensemble Black Violin.  Their musical career took off, as Black Violin has toured the world and garnered two Grammy award nominations.  On March 2, Black Violin brings their unique sound to Madison’s Overture Center.  Violinist and founding member Kevin Marcus spoke with Monday Buzz host Brian Standing.

 

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On Sunday, the Wisconsin Book Festival held an event called Love Released Again, which showcased new releases from several Madison authors and poets. One of these creators was Dr. Fabu Phillis Carter, presenting her new volume of poetry, “We Eat to Remember: Soul Food Poetry.” The former Madison Poet Laureate joins host Andy Moore on the Friday 8 O’Clock Buzz to discuss and read excerpts from “We Eat to Remember,” which depicts the history, culture and joy that is connected to Black cuisine.

Dr. Fabu Phillis Carter, known professionally as Poet Fabu, is a poet based in Madison. She served as Madison’s Poet Laureate between 2008 and 2012. “We Eat to Remember: Soul Food Poetry” is the most recent of her many books of poetry. Information on how to order her works can be found on her website.

Photo courtesy of Fabu Phillis Carter via her website

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This week, Republican-backed judge Dan Kelly and Democrat-backed judge Janet Protasiewicz won the top spots in Tuesday’s statewide primary and will soon face each other in the April 4th general election. The stakes are high, and it’s going to come in handy to know very assuredly where the candidates stand on abortion rights, gerrymandering and whether our elections are valid. In many ways the vote for the high court is the most important of all. Luckily, our guest on this week’s Friday 8 O’Clock Buzz knows the job first hand. Appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson, Janine Geske served on the State Supreme Court in 1993, won election in 1994 and served until 1998. On this episode, she joins host Andy Moore to talk about what’s at stake in the upcoming election and how being a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice has changed since her tenure.

Janine Geske is a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice and is a Distinguished Professor of Law at Marquette University. The general election day is Tuesday, April 4. For more election information, visit myvote.wi.gov/

Photo courtesy of Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay

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Are you, or someone you love, providing home health care for a family member with aging or disability issues?

A severe shortage of home health care professionals means many families are bearing the burden – financial, emotional and physical – of caring for loved ones, often at the expense of their own well-being and employment. Tony’s guests today on the 8 O’Clock Buzz are Echnaton Vedder and Luciano Matheron, who encourage listeners to raise awareness of this issue by taking part in tonight’s meeting of the Disability Rights Commission.

The virtual meeting is tonight, Thursday, February 23 at 5:00pm, and if interested, you can watch it online as well as register to comment.

Let the city of Madison know what kind of steps need to be taken to address the crisis families are facing as they seek to help their aging and/or disabled family member live their lives with dignity.

Photo courtesy of sabinevanerp on Pixabay.

 

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That is the question, and the High Concept comedy show is prepared to tackle it head on. Mike Jonjak and Glenn Widdicombe, producers of the show, join the Thursday Morning 8 O’Clock Buzz to talk with host Tony Castañeda about the cannabis-centered performance tonight at 8:00 pm at Madison’s, 119 King Street. As the guests describe it, it’s not quite standup, and not quite podcast, but rather it rides the euphoric line between the two. So, don’t be a dope, catch the buzz and watch the performers get into the weeds while stirring the pot as they reefer to high-minded topics of the day. Imbibing is encouraged.

Photo courtesy of High Concept.

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Victoria Gutierrez, Education Committee, South Central Federation of Labor, talks about the upcoming panel on Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, at 6 pm C.S.T., to talk about the struggle for reproductive justice in context historically vis-à-vis a right-wing agenda with attacks on workers; and also give attendees concrete, practical strategies to fight for abortion rights and reproductive justice, both inside and outside the union hall. This panel is also to bring attention to the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election in April. This will have in-person (at the United Way building on Atwood Ave) or Zoom options; sign up for either option here.

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Michael J. Keegan, Co-chair of Don’t Waste Michigan — an environmental watchdog group organized to prevent nuclear waste storage in Michigan, talks about the group’s Freedom of Information Act request with the Nuclear Regulatory Committee documents of their attempts to garner billions of dollars of bailout money from the Department of Energy and the State of Michigan to supposedly re-start the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

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