Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee – October 2025

Submitted by Terri Gulyas, DEI Chairperson

Many thanks to those who attended our September kick-off event discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our communities. We viewed The DEI Journey with Local Leagues webinar and enjoyed an engaging discussion facilitated by Kole Torres, the LWVWI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager. For those who missed this event, the slides can be viewed at The DEI Journey with Local Leagues slides. Here’s a link to the webinar: The DEI Journey with Local Leagues webinar.

The next session coincides with our DEI committee meeting on October 21 at 6:30 pm. Watch for a Zoom invitation from either Kole or me. We hope to see you there! Our goal is at least 15 attendees, so please pass along this information to others you think might be interested. Dates and times for subsequent sessions in November, February, and March will be coming soon. (Questions about DEI? You can call Terri at 920-595-1105 and leave a message.)

If you are interested in joining the LWVGGB DEI Committee, we’d love to have you! This is a new committee that many members asked for at our Lively Issues meeting last spring. Please contact Terri Gulyas at tsgulyas@gmail.com to be put on our email list. The next committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 21, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom in conjunction with Kole presenting more detail about some of the topics mentioned at our first meeting. If you have friends that are interested, please let me know so I can send them the link too.

Watch for information about events on October 18. There will be a No Kings protest at

Joannes Park here in Green Bay and other protests around Wisconsin and other states.

Lynn Gerlach is putting together a small group of outgoing, friendly people for one aspect of the October 18 No Kings rally. Her area of focus will be the “pre-event” gathering at the

courthouse – the assemblage of people who choose not to march from Joannes Park but gather instead at the courthouse to await the marchers.

These are the instructions she’s been given from the organizer, Wanda Sieber: Each person will have a clipboard with an intro to Indivisible Brown County, along with a QR

code that people could scan to sign up. We'll also have a hardcopy signup sheet available

for folks who don't like to scan. We know there will be LOTS of first-time protesters at this

event, so it is a good time to recruit new members to Indivisible or to League of Women

Voters.

Wanda recommends the team include verbiage like the following:

• Thanks for coming - what brought you out today?

• Have you been to other protests?

• What are your biggest concerns right now?

• Do you know about Indivisible?

• Have you found ways to take action, or are you looking for ideas?

• Would you like to help in some way (what types of things do you like to do?)

• I'm glad you're here - together we are stronger, and we can create change!

Ideally, people will sign up for the Indivisible newsletter or give us their info for membership

or tell us they want to help. Indivisible will provide an ideas list to hand out for those

interested. This duty would preclude you from marching but allow you to help in a different

significant way. Please email Lynn if you want to be on that team October 18.

Why DEI Matters

DEI is more than an initiative; it’s the foundation for building communities where everyone belongs. When we honor differences and come together, we strengthen our capacity to solve problems and imagine better futures. This spirit also connects to what it means to be a global citizen — understanding our place in a wider world, learning from history, and taking responsibility for shaping positive change. Books can be our teachers, guides, and companions on this journey. This season, consider adding these thought-provoking titles to your reading list and expand your understanding of our world.

• Hum if You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais: On June 16, 1976, a student-led demonstration in Soweto was sparked by the government decree mandating that black students be taught in Afrikaans, the language of the white minority regime. Police responded to the peaceful march with tear gas and live ammunition that led to hundreds of students being killed in the initial confrontation and in the following weeks. The Soweto Uprising is considered a critical turning point in the struggle against apartheid, intensifying anti-government sentiment and inspiring global activism.

• Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class by Sarah Smarsh: a collection of 36 essays (2013–2024) that blend memoir and reportage to explore poverty, class, and rural identity in America. Drawing on her upbringing on a Kansas wheat farm, Smarsh examines the stigma of poverty, media stereotypes of rural communities, and the systemic inequities that shape working-class life. Essays range from reflections on “poor teeth” as a class marker to stories of her brother selling plasma despite being a college graduate, illustrating how hard work and education don’t always equal security. Arranged chronologically, the essays reveal her evolving voice while remaining compassionate, incisive, and rooted in personal experience. Critics praise the book as a powerful, humane reckoning with poverty, elitism, and the cultural divides in America.

• Lawless: The Supreme Court’s Illusion of Finality by Leah Litman

This timely work explores how the U.S. Supreme Court exerts its power and why its decisions are not always the final word. Litman reveals the ways the Court influences democracy — and challenges us to think critically about accountability and reform.

• The Shenzhen Experiment by Juan Du

A fascinating history of Shenzhen, China, this book traces its transformation from rice paddies into a global technology powerhouse. Du contrasts its rapid growth with Silicon Valley, raising questions about development, inequality, and what it means to create cities of the future.