
Human Powered
A podcast from Wisconsin Humanities, because being human is a shared experience, and we are here to explore it together. Join us for relevant and personal conversations with people who are using their passions, skills, and cultural traditions to create healthy civic spaces for all of us.
Season four is hosted by Jen Rubin and Jessica Becker, with audio production by Chrissy Widmayer.
Human Powered
It's Not Just a Vote
The right to vote is a core building block for our democracy. We are taught that our vote matters and that voting is integral to our communities and our country. In this final episode of Humanity Unlocked, we confront a fundamental issue: roughly 45,000 people ‘on papers’ in Wisconsin do not have the right to vote, even though they are no longer in prison. Jerome Dillard, Executive Director of EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing), calls this being “locked up on the outside.”
In this episode, we talk to Jerome and his colleague Tamra Oman about the implications of the disenfranchisement of individuals who have been incarcerated. After serving prison sentences themselves, they learned first-hand that civic health and community health depend on knowing that you belong.
Visit the Episode Extras on the Wisconsin Humanity website to read an essay from Robert Taliaferro and to learn more about voter disenfranchisement and the work that EXPO is doing.