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Monday, April 27, 2015
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Youth summit seeks to empower in wake of Tony Robinson’s death By Irene Burski The Daily Cardinal
With the underlying context of Tony Robinson’s death six weeks ago, more than 1,300 Madison area students filled the James Madison Memorial High School gym Sunday for a series of speakers focusing on the positive messages of youth empowerment, intermixed with student
performances, workshops and live music. The Dane County Youth and Unity Summit, an event sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and American Family Insurance, among other organizations, echoed other youth engagement oriented events. “The model is pretty much the same, however the climate of
what’s been happening here in Madison created a greater sense of urgency, which ultimately pushed up the timing,” Project Manager John Suggs said. Facilitated by Suggs and Boys and Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson, as well as other individuals, the event inte-
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Annual Crazylegs Classic racers draw support from UW-Madison area crowd By Michael Frett The Daily Cardinal Emily Buck/cardinal File Photo
Young, Gifted and Black co-founder Brandi Grayson has revived her history of activism by leading many protests since last fall.
ALUMNUS PROFILE
YGB leader renews social justice history By Bailey NachreinerMackesey the daily cardinal
UW-Madison alumna Brandi Grayson has gained widespread recognition as a co-founder and spokesperson for the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition, but her activism in Madison started long before the Coalition’s formation last fall. As a student at UW-Madison in the 1990s, Grayson served on Associated Students of Madison and campaigned to increase minority representation in student government. “That’s when I really began in activism, gaining an idea of what it looked like and what it meant to be active and to organize and mobilize,” Grayson said. “And then after leaving college my life shifted more towards taking care of my kids and fostering children.” Grayson attributes her recent return to activism to “the death rate of our black people across the country tied directly to state violence, what state violence looks like and the understanding of how people become disenfranchised and marginalized.” The release of Race to Equity’s report on racial disparity in Dane County then solidified her drive to become involved and prompted
her to reach out to other people she knew doing social justice work, which led to the birth of YGB. “Sometimes in this work you feel alone, you feel like you’re the only one thinking what you’re thinking, you’re the only one feeling the hurt of witnessing people die physically, mentally, emotionally,” Grayson said. “But doing this work has put me in the presence of some amazing, like-minded people so I’ve been inspired and empowered by this work to continue on.” According to fellow co-founder Matthew Braunginn, YGB is a “direct action black liberation movement, meaning [their] main actions are disruptive to heighten awareness of issues and heighten conversations.” This commitment to direct action, including protests, marches and sit-ins, has, however, received its share of criticism from community members and even other activists. “To the critics, I say thank you, because it’s important that everybody has the space for their voices to be heard,” Grayson said. “We don’t know all the correct answers, but what we do know is that we have power in people and we have collective power when we stand together.”
Thousands of runners crossed the field at Camp Randall under a chilled, overcast sky as they finished the final stretch of the 34th annual Crazylegs Classic Saturday. The Crazylegs Classic, called a “tradition” by runners and commentators, is an 8-kilometer run through
and groups like the Road Runners Club of America, students and alumni always seem to fill out the ranks. “It’s kind of fun to do something that supports the school and it’s pretty easy to get your friends to do it with you,” said Claire Piggott, a UW graduate who ran her third Crazylegs
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Police search for man who showed gun at Cheba Hut A man displayed a silver handgun at Cheba Hut on 453 West Gilman St. at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, a spokesperson for the UW-Madison Police Department reported. The man fled toward
University Avenue, and police warned students to avoid the area. Police described the suspect as a 5-foot-8-inch tall, 160 pound, 20-year-old man with orange curly hair. He wore wire-rim glasses and a “reggae style” multicolored jacket
with a white shirt underneath at the time, according to a crime alert. About an hour after sending the first report, Madison police told students there was no threat and promised to continue to investigate the event.
Camp Randall
Football springs into action
Coach Josh Gasser and Dare Ogunbowale celebrate a successful play against Team Dukan in the Wisconsin Football Spring Game Saturday. Fans showed up to watch Wisconsin Football players scrimmage against each other at Camp Randall. + Photo by Grey Satterfield
+ OPINION, page 5
The downside of opinion...
the UW-Madison area held to raise money for UW Athletics. Since the first race in 1982, which only brought 1,525 runners, more than 300,000 runners and walkers have run the race, according to Crazylegs Classic’s website. But, while the race has drawn national attention, including recognition from magazines like Runner’s World
Spring Game Standouts + SPORTS, page 8
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”