THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF THE MADISON TIMES WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We need your voice

Dear Editor,

I grew up in Madison and first saw your paper on the stands at a bus stop when I was visiting my family in 2001.

I took out a one-year subscription in October (I think) 2001 and have been receiving it ever since. I always wondered why you didn’t either stop sending it or send a renewal notice after one year had passed.

Since I’m so far away, it made no difference to me when I received it or if I received two papers together. I always enjoy reading it to see what’s happening in Madison in the non-White community. I’m impressed to see that quite a bit is happening, and that the paper does such a wonderful job of telling us about it.

I actually think you’re one of the few independent newspapers left in the country, not just Wisconsin. Our nation needs your voice more than ever. Keep up the good work!

Janet Warzyn

Oakland, Calif.

Amnesty International thanks TMT

Dear Editor,

Season's Greetings. My first year at Amnesty International has been quite an adventure, and I want to thank you for your continued support during this period.

During the last 12 months, our Domestic Human Rights program has worked on some pretty amazing issues. We were able to convince Congress to expand the "Prison Rape Elimination Act" to cover inmates who are raped by guards, and we helped pass the bill into law. We successfully worked with a coalition of civil and human-rights organizations to end the Department of Justice (DOJ)'s "special registration program," and we helped mobilize the public to combat the most disturbing aspects of the Patriot Act by passing pro-civil rights and civil liberties resolutions in over 200 communities and three states.

In the past eight weeks, we have held six hearings on racial profiling in five states. We will use the testimony from these hearings, some of which was graciously provided by the editors of NNPA newspapers, as the foundation for a report to be published in early 2004. The launch of the report will coincide with a public education campaign to help build consensus for the passage of the "End Racial Profiling Act of 2003," legislation spearheaded by Congressman John Conyers, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

I know that each of these victories would have been much more difficult, and in some instances impossible, without the support of my friends and colleagues in the Black press. I greatly appreciate your paper's commitment to telling the stories ignored by the mainstream media and for the leadership you have shown in helping build consensus for much needed reforms.

While pushing forward on all fronts, my wife, Lia, who has been busy with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s efforts to save affirmative action, and I have bought our first home and begun settling in to married life.

May this holiday season bring you much joy and many blessings.

Benjamin Todd Jealous, Director

U.S. Domestic Human Rights

Program

Amnesty International USA