Not flying pride flag an act of acquiescence by Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society has chosen not to raise the Pride flag this year, ending a practice that it had started in 2019. While there are understandable reasons to avoid flying all flags except for state and national flags on government buildings, it is difficult not to see this decision as an act of negation, a step backward, and an act of political acquiescence.
When the current federal administration has chosen to attack LGBTQ+ communities by removing protections and allowing discrimination at the same time that it rejects decades of historical scholarship with the Executive Orders 'Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling' and 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History' (both openly rejected by professional historical organizations), it is no small act to choose negation.
The denial of history is intimately related to citizen acquiescence and then social erosion. The timing of the Historical Society's decision leaves one to wonder if a president and party that wields power with threats to funding and vituperative speech had a role in this decision.
The Historical Society's spokesperson, Colleen Lies, has said that while the decision was 'complex and difficult,' the society would be guided by its mission to 'connect people to history by collecting, preserving and sharing stories of Wisconsinites from all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.' And a quick look at the society's website clearly demonstrates its commitment to headlining LGBTQ+ stories this month.
Letters: House budget provision exempts executive branch from following court orders
But history is not just an act of collection; it can often be built on acts of erasure. The erasure of history has been used to do harm, maintain power, and silence painful reckoning. "History," wrote Maya Angelou, "despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
Noted historian Gerda Lerner, who practiced and helped build the field of women's history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, just yards from the doors of the Wisconsin Historical Society, asserted that historical knowledge was power. Only by reclaiming their history could women empower themselves.
"Men develop ideas and systems of explanation by absorbing past knowledge and critiquing and superseding it,' she wrote in "The Creation of Feminist Consciousness." "Women, ignorant of their own history, did not know what women before them had thought and taught,' and so could hardly change the cycle of subordination.
Historical consciousness helped change that trajectory. Without that consciousness, historical ignorance and erasure doom us all to a Sisyphean struggle. We are in a moment of national and local reckoning with history's importance. Every historical gesture and decision matters.
The Wisconsin Historical Society, one of the premiere historical societies in the nation, has chosen an act of negation, perhaps adding to a quiet erosion of all that the state has done to pioneer Queer rights. Pride Month, like Women's History Month or Black History Month, reminds us that in the recovery of history, in the preservation of those histories alongside equally important but longer-told and better-known histories, we enrich the nation and the national story. In our many histories and many stories, we build strength and tolerance.
Opinion: Americans need transformative talks on race. Juneteenth is the space for that.
Collection and preservation are crucial, but we must also fight erosion and erasure, particularly at a moment when the process of erasure is federally mandated and funded. In 1851, just after statehood, Wisconsin adopted the motto 'Forward' to reflect the collective desire to lead the nation toward progress. At this important moment, let's not go backward.
A. Kristen Foster received her Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked at the Wisconsin Historical Society while completing her degree and is currently an Associate Professor of History Marquette University.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Not flying pride flag step backward for WI Historical Society | Opinion
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
31 minutes ago
- Politico
Playbook PM: Reconciliation, rescissions roil Republicans
Presented by THE CATCH-UP BIG IMMIGRATION NEWS: The Trump administration today will tell hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who immigrated here legally under humanitarian parole that their legal status is being terminated, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez scooped. That will leave them vulnerable to deportation, after the Supreme Court green-lit the policy for now. … But the administration seems to have paused its plans to begin mass transfers of detained immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, POLITICO's Myah Ward and Nahal Toosi report. RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Republicans have averted one small blow-up on the Hill — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is invited to today's White House congressional picnic after all. President Donald Trump announced it, and Paul posted a photo of his grandson in a MAGA hat (though Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he too had his tickets withheld). But much more challenging clashes still loom for both the reconciliation megabill and today's House vote on rescissions. Miller time: White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller met with Senate Republicans today to advocate for border/immigration enforcement funding in the reconciliation bill, per ABC's Allison Pecorin. But things got tense between Miller and deficit hawks who want to pare back spending, including what sources tell Punchbowl's Andrew Desiderio was a 'shouting match' with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on the budget math. Axios' Stef Kight reports that Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) was peeved at Miller, while an absent Paul loomed large. Kicking the can down the road: A decision on the state and local tax deduction number won't be included in the Senate Finance bill text yet, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told Semafor's Burgess Everett. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told reporters he's working with House members to try to land a SALT deal. 'I hope they modify it in a very small way,' Speaker Mike Johnson said, holding up prayer hands. By the numbers: The latest CBO report offers a neat encapsulation of the messaging wars likely to come between Democrats and Republicans on the bill. The analysis finds that the reconciliation package — including tax cuts, Medicaid cuts and SNAP cuts — would bolster the average American household's resources from 2026 to 2034. But it would increase inequality, hurting low-income families' resources while benefiting the middle class and wealthy. Specifically, the nonpartisan scorekeeper says low-income households would suffer a $1,600 annual hit on average, middle-income households would gain $500 to $1,000, and high-income households would romp with a whopping $12,000 boost, per POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes. WHAT TO WATCH TODAY: The House is barreling toward a 3 p.m. vote on enshrining Department of Government Efficiency cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting, with the outcome potentially still up in the air. Johnson said he feels confident Republicans have the votes to claw back $9 billion in funding. But POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports that it's not a done deal yet: Leadership hasn't been able to flip seven GOP holdouts, and they 'may have to rely on Dem absences.' At stake: The consequences of this vote are enormous. Republicans see it as a way to start institutionalizing DOGE cuts and ax spending for organizations they dislike. But decimating funding for PEPFAR could threaten HIV treatment and prevention programs that have saved 25 million lives in 22 years, even as the White House claims it'll keep lifesaving work going. Humanitarian groups say the future of foreign aid looks very bleak, though the Senate may try to scale back some of the cuts, NOTUS' Helen Huiskes reports. Meanwhile, cuts to PBS and NPR have public media stations, especially in rural areas, fearing they may not survive, POLITICO's Aaron Pellish reports. Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@ 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS WATCH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today refused to confirm that the administration would comply with a potential court ruling barring the deployment of Marines to support ICE operations in Los Angeles, POLITICO's Joe Gould reports. He deflected lawmakers' questions and said only that 'we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy.' The California clash: Ahead of this afternoon's court hearing, California Gov. Gavin Newsom continued to go after Trump for deploying troops to anti-ICE protests. On NYT's 'The Daily,' Newsom outright questioned the president's mental acuity after Trump claimed he talked to the governor Monday: 'Maybe he actually believed he said those things, and he's not all there. I mean that.' But he also distanced himself from sanctuary policies and said he'd work with ICE. Indeed, many Democrats are hoping to refocus the political conversation here away from immigration policy and onto Trump pushing the legal limits of his power, POLITICO's Dustin Gardiner and Natalie Fertig report from San Francisco. Behind the escalation: Before the LA situation, there was a monthslong history of planning within the administration to use the military more to support domestic immigration enforcement, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Natasha Bertrand report. And on the flip side, far-left groups that advocate for violence have encouraged agitators to escalate beyond peaceful protests, especially at night — part of a pattern from other cities in recent years, NBC's Rich Schapiro and Andrew Blankstein report. Wait, what? Apparently having heard from farming and hospitality advocates, Trump posted on Truth Social today to indicate that he doesn't want aggressive deportations to target their workforce. That message may not have gotten through to his vast immigration enforcement apparatus: Border czar Tom Homan told Semafor's Ben Smith that coming soon, 'worksite enforcement operations are going to massively expand.' The other military hubbub: The latest AP/NORC poll shows Americans have mixed feelings about Trump's military parade on his birthday this Saturday. The median opinion seems to be something like: Seems fine, but wish we weren't spending money on it. U.S. adults overall say they approve of the parade, 40 percent to 31 percent, but don't think it's a good use of government funds, 60 percent to 38 percent. 2. PAGING NUUK: 'I just want to help you out, because people try to twist your words,' Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said to Hegseth on the Hill today. 'You are not confirming in your testimony today that at the Pentagon, there are plans for invading or taking by force Greenland, correct?' But Hegseth wouldn't go there: 'The Pentagon has plans for any number of contingencies,' he said. 'We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats.' 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Top Israeli officials are expected to travel tomorrow to meet with special envoy Steve Witkoff, POLITICO's Nahal Toosi reports. That will be an opportunity for Jerusalem to clarify what its plans are toward Iran, amid a flurry of reports that U.S. officials expect an Israeli attack on Iran could be imminent. 'I don't want to say imminent, but it is something that could very well happen,' Trump said of a potential Israeli strike. But Witkoff has warned senators that Iran's response might be a mass casualty event in Israel, Axios' Barak Ravid scooped. 4. MAN OF STEEL: 'Trump Says US Government Will Get 'Golden Share' in US Steel,' by Bloomberg's Josh Wingrove and Mario Parker: 'Trump's comment was the first public confirmation by the administration that it was seeking a golden share. The White House has not yet spelled out what that would mean, including — as is typically the case — whether that would include an equity stake.' 5. TRADING PLACES: Trade talks between the U.S. and India have hit some speed bumps as both sides dig in on crucial demands, including whether New Delhi will allow genetically modified crops in, Bloomberg's Shruti Srivastava reports. Meanwhile, despite Trump touting the latest framework agreement with China this week, Beijing is very much playing the long game and learning how to stall the U.S. repeatedly, NYT's David Pierson and Berry Wang report. 'While Trump seeks quick deals done directly with top leaders, [Chinese President Xi Jinping] favors a framework led by his lieutenants that wards against being blindsided,' Bloomberg writes. 'Such haggling could drag on for years.' 6. WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: Despite Trump's alliance with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, ProPublica's T. Christian Miller and Sebastian Rotella reveal that San Salvador impeded a yearslong U.S. investigation into whether its government had quietly struck a deal with MS-13. Bukele allies have also refused to extradite gang members to the U.S. who could have been witnesses. At the same time, Bukele's growing relationship with Trump has emboldened what experts say is a growing authoritarian crackdown on dissent at home, AP's Megan Janetsky and Marcos Alemán report. Longtime Bukele opponents say there's been 'an inflection point' in recent weeks, as the U.S. Embassy hasn't said anything. 7. LOOK WHO'S BACK: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is hitting the road again with his record-breaking 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour, which has rejuvenated progressives deep into red territory. His stops next weekend will take a similar approach, from the Rio Grande Valley to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Johnson's hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. 8. BUYER'S REMORSE: 'Trump's travel ban fuels despair and disgust with politics among Arab Americans in Michigan,' by AP's Isabella Volmert in Dearborn: 'It came as a particular shock to many Yemeni Americans … While it may not elicit the same protests as 2017, many Yemeni and Arab Americans in the all important battleground state see it as yet another offense contributing to enormous dissatisfaction with both major political parties.' TALK OF THE TOWN Winsome Earle-Sears' old Google/Yelp reviews for her business show that she often got into it with displeased customers. Abraham Lincoln-signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment are going up for auction, potentially fetching several million dollars. Noah Wyle was on the Hill today to advocate for mental health care for health care workers. PLAYBOOK REAL ESTATE SECTION — 'This D.C. real estate agent is closing huge deals with Trump-world elite,' by Axios' Mimi Montgomery: 'Over the years, [Daniel] Heider, 38, has become known in Washington for selling ginormous, ultra-lux estates — positioning him perfectly for catering to the enormously wealthy cast of players moving into President Trump's Gilded Age D.C. … He doesn't see himself as simply a real estate agent. He's more of a white-glove concierge meets sociologist meets therapist, he tells Axios.' OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Walmart's U.S. manufacturing reception yesterday at its Navy Yard office, capping the company's two-day Hill fly-in: Reps. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Brad Knott (R-N.C.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández (D-P.R.). — SPOTTED at the Aspen Institute's Philosophy and Society/Wisdom of Crowds salon with Francis Fukuyama at Damir Marusic's residence last night: Shadi Hamid, Samuel Kimbriel, Christine Emba, Jason Willick, Freddy Gray, Freddie Hayward, Jordan Castro, Rachel Rizzo, Kelly Chapman, Harry Stein, Jamie Kirchick, Diana Brown, Mana Afsari, Santiago Ramos, Kristina Tabor, Samuel Goldman, Jon Purves, Chris Griswold, Peter Catapano, Chris McCaffery, Sadev Parikh and John Hudson. TRANSITIONS — Ronald Rowe Jr. is joining the Chertoff Group as a senior adviser. He previously was acting director of the Secret Service. … Reservoir Communications Group is adding Patrick 'Pat' Kannan as CFO and Ashley Flint as an SVP. Kannan previously was CFO at OPEXUS. Flint previously was a principal at Avalere Health. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
House Settlement Faces First Appeal as Title IX Takes Center Stage
As expected, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's order to grant final approval of the 10-year settlement between the NCAA, power conferences and current and former Division I athletes represented by the House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust litigations has been challenged. A group of objectors—Kacie Breeding, Kate Johnson, Lexi Drumm, Emmie Wannemacher, Savannah Baron, Riley Haas, Emma Appleman and Elizabeth Arnold—filed a notice of appeal with Wilken on Wednesday. The objectors, all current or former Division I athletes, will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Their attorneys include John Clune and Ashlyn Hare of Hutchinson Black and Cook and Rebecca Peterson-Fisher of Katz Banks Kumin. Advertisement More from In January, the objectors argued in a brief to Wilken that the settlement's damages feature violates Title IX. Over a 10-year period, around $2.8 billion will be paid to qualified Division I athletes who played at some point from 2016 onward. It will compensate them for lost NIL, video game and broadcasting opportunities resulting from past NCAA eligibility rules. The objectors argue that because over 90% of this money is going to be paid to male athletes, it runs afoul of Title IX's requirement of gender equity in educational programs. From an antitrust perspective, more money paid to male athletes reflects market realities. As a whole, football and men's basketball generates more revenue than women's teams, meaning players in those sports are more harmed by NCAA rules that restrained competition. But the objectors insist that Title IX would have prevented 'such disproportionate damages in the first place.' Wilken rejected the Title IX argument for several reasons and in several instances. One reason is that the settlement resolves the antitrust claims raised in the three cases, while potential claims that arise under other areas of law—be they Title IX, state NIL statutes or labor and employment laws—are outside the scope of the case. Stated differently, Wilken can't rule on disagreements related to other areas of law that are outside the scope of the pleadings and that haven't been part of the litigation process—cases are limited to the areas of law and issues raised in the complaints. Advertisement In her recent 76-page-order to approve the settlement, Wilken enunciated additional reasons. She wrote that the objectors 'have cited no authority that Title IX applies to damages award' or that Title IX applies to the distribution of those damages. She also asserted that the settlement does not release potential claims that could be raised under Title IX to challenge the injunctive relief portion of the settlement. That portion will enable participating colleges to directly pay athletes a share of up to 22% of the average power conference athletic media, ticket and sponsorship revenue, with $20.5 million expected as the initial annual cap. Many schools are expected to share more money with male athletes, which could lead to Title IX lawsuits against those schools. Importantly, those would be separate cases and not part of Wilken's decision to approve the settlement. In a statement Wednesday, Hagens Berman, which has represented the class members in the cases, warned an appeal could 'block payments to hundreds of thousands of athletes, delaying payments by a minimum of several months to potentially a year or more.' Further, the statement criticized an appeal 'based on a Title IX issue that Judge Wilken already disposed of correctly, quickly and multiple times.' The objectors will hope that the Ninth Circuit is more receptive to their Title IX argument than Wilken. But there could be a long wait for an answer: Some data suggests that from notice of an appeal to a decision often takes more than two years in the Ninth Circuit. As Hagens Berman statement alludes, if the damages portion is stayed pending appeal, class member athletes who are expecting payment will need to wait a while. Advertisement Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Jeffries urges Stefanik to jump into NY governor's race
As Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) mulls a bid for New York's governorship, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is offering some unsolicited advice: Please do. 'Here's my political advice for Elise Stefanik: Run, Elise, run,' Jeffries told reporters on Thursday in the Capitol. The remarks are an early indication that New York Democrats like the odds of keeping control of the governor's mansion — currently occupied by Kathy Hochul (D), who is seeking reelection — if Stefanik is her challenger. Hours earlier, Stefanik had clashed with Hochul during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee staged to examine the controversial immigration policies of a handful of states run by Democrats — a topic that helped propel President Trump into the White House. Stefanik, who is weighing a run for the New York governor's mansion next year, is not a member of the Oversight panel. But GOP leaders granted her a waiver to appear at the hearing, where she sparred fiercely with Hochul over New York's status as a sanctuary state. Ticking off a series of violent crimes in New York committed by those living in the country illegally, Stefanik accused the governor of championing policies that have compromised public safety. 'They're horrific crimes that are committed on your watch. You signed this executive order on your first day in office,' she said. 'We deserve a governor who stands up for New Yorkers, who doesn't put illegals first but actually puts New Yorkers first.' Hochul shot back, accusing Stefanik of peacocking before the cameras to score political points against a potential opponent in next year's governor's race. 'Rather than going after the viral moment, I suggest you look at the facts,' Hochul said. 'Your representation of the facts is absolutely false.' Stefanik, 40, was first elected to the House in 2014, earning an early reputation as a moderate Republican and bipartisan dealmaker. That began to change when Trump won the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. Afterwards, Stefanik shifted to the right to become a fierce partisan — and one of Trump's staunchest congressional defenders. When former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) was removed as chair of the House Republican Conference for challenging Trump's false claims of a stolen election, it was Stefanik who replaced her in leadership. Earlier in the year, Trump had nominated Stefanik to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The nomination was withdrawn in March, however, over concerns about how the vacancy would affect the Republicans' legislative plans under a slim House majority. The reversal temporarily left Stefanik without a seat at the leadership table, though she has since been named chairwoman of House Republican leadership, prompting speculation that she will jump into the governor's race in 2026.
