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Wisconsin Community Fund community change maker award

Cardinal (and progressive) virtue

by Jonathan Gramling

Since Ricardo González opened the Cardinal Bar on Madison's near east side in 1974, it has been the home for many a political or human rights fundraiser or cause. It's a place where most Madison residents have gone to at least once during their stay in Madison. "If social justice is a religion in this community, then the Cardinal is its holiest temple," exclaimed Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin at the Wisconsin Community Fund's annual fundraiser on December 2, which was held, of all places, at the Cardinal Bar. "The Cardinal Bar is where worlds converged: gay, straight, bi and transgender, workers of the world and the bourgeoisie, bikers and hikers, lawmakers and lawbreakers, you name it, we all came to the Cardinal and you made us all welcome. More often than not, we came to throw a few more bucks in the kitty, sign a petition, sport a button, and support a cause that we believe in."

Baldwin was speaking of González, the recipient of the 2004 Community Change Maker Award. Among the projects that WCF provides funding to is the Wisconsin Apprentice Organizers Project, whch places community organizing trainees at community-based organizations like the Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center.

The Cardinal was just one example mentioned of González's lifetime commitment to progressive causes. "Your entire adult life, from your early work with migrant workers to your work as a state affirmative action officer through your service on the common council here in Madison and at WORT through your tireless dedication to your native country and your adopted home, you have lived that mission too, working at the grassroots level to address community problems and support people whose voices are often not heard or whose languages are not understood," Baldwin said. "Nowhere did your talents as a businessman, community activist, and passionate music lover coalesce more fully than right here at the Cardinal. Your hospitality has raised untold amounts of money and generated untold volunteer efforts for those causes."

González was clearly moved by the honor although he used the occasion to praise the Wisconsin Community Fund and its mission. "This evening is really about more than just me," González emphasized. "It's about the Wisconsin Community Fund and what it means, what it has accomplished, and why I'm so glad to be a part of it, the work for social justice, for economic equality, fighting racism, sexism, and homophobia, standing up for the environment and peace, a truly distinguished organization of which we can all be proud. I'm going to take this opportunity to rededicate myself to these great progressive efforts, these great progressive goals that have brought us together and which will continue to unify us: peace, equality, and justice. Thank you all for this distinguished honor, something I will cherish for the rest of my life."