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Jonathan Gramling
Publisher & Editor

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Contributing Writers
Rita Adair, Paul Barrows,
Alfonso Zepeda Capistran,
Theola Carter, Fabu, Andrew
Gramling, Lang Kenneth
Haynes, Eileen Cecille Hocker,
Heidi Pascual, & Lisa Peyton
Vol. 7    No. 10
MAY 17, 2012
Reflections/Jonathan Gramling
Thinking about ...
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The Capital City Hues
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When I think about it, I think we can honestly say that it is National
Education Month in May. One of the most important values in the
African American and other communities of color is the importance
of education in getting ahead in life. And it is happening all over the
place.
This weekend, 100 Black Men of Madison will be holding a special teacher recognition ceremony. We need
to honor the teachers who are the best in terms of motivating students of color to succeed
academically and then are able to give them the tools to do so. We also have the Madison Metropolitan
Chapter of The Links who will be holding their annual African American Student Recognition program at the
Redsten Gym at Madison College-Truax. Twice this Sunday afternoon, once for elementary and middle
school students and once for high school students, the gym will be filled with deserving students and their
parents, families and friends. It is always a wonderful affair to see these students step forward and shine
in the attention given to them for claiming their educational legacy. They are proud to stand up and have
people know they are young, gifted and Black.

Then there are the three college graduations that will be occurring this weekend. The University of
Wisconsin-Madison campus will be filled with graduating students and their families attending special
receptions and listening to their child reminisce about their college years. And I am sure that many a
Madison restaurant will have a full house over the weekend as the students and their families hold their
own private celebrations. UW-Madison graduation ceremonies will be held at The Kohl Center on Saturday
and Sunday.

Edgewood College will have the same level of activity this weekend, albeit on a smaller scale. Edgewood
will hold their commencement ceremony on May 20th at the Alliant Energy Center. I remember back that it
wasn’t so long ago that the late LaMarr Billups gave a commencement speech for Edgewood when he
was an Edgewood Trustee.

And Madison College will be holding its commencement celebration at the Overture Center for the Arts on
State Street this year at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

This is just a wonderful time of the year. For the past few weeks, the UW Odyssey Program, UW PEOPLE
Program, AAP, Posse and soon First Wave programs have all held their own special graduation
ceremonies. Wisconsin DPI’s Gear Up also did their graduation ceremony as many of their participants
matriculate to high education.

And there is the All City American Indian and Alaskan Native Graduation Ceremony at Madison College. It is
always wonderful to see students, from elementary school to post-graduate, recognized for their
academic success. I am proud to say that The Capital City Hues’ Native American banner, which was
created last summer as a part of our five-year anniversary, will be on display at the celebration.

It is always an awesome experience to listen to the graduates as they reflect on their collegiate or
programmatic experiences. All of these are cohort types of programs where students of color form a
leaning family withy each other as they go through their academic experience. Life-long bonds are formed
between students and between students and program staff. Over and over again, I hear how important
these programs were to the students’ academic success.

They really do make a difference in our community and I hope that state law makers understand how
crucial they are and continue the necessary and sufficient funding to keep them going. These programs
are an investment in all of our futures.

***
Wisconsin’s gubernatorial and lieutenant governor special elections are coming up quickly on June 5th.
Make sure that you register to vote early and that you know exactly where you need to vote on June 5th.
There is much at stake here in this election and it features diametrically opposed views on what
Wisconsin, as a state, should be. And remember that Madison’s own Mahlon Mitchell is the Democratic
nominee for lieutenant governor. Get out there and support him! He just might be Wisconsin’s first African
American lieutenant governor if people show him the support he needs.