Disclaimer: The following blog post is not a reflection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s opinion on any of the topics or subjects discussed below.
By KJ LeFave
The Fall 2022 semester at UW-Madison saw the installation and opening of the Public History Project’s Sifting and Reckoning exhibit. Sanctioned by former Chancellor Rebecca Blank in 2019, the Public History Project aims to “uncover and give voice to those who experienced and challenged bigotry and exclusion on campus.”[1] Using archival objects and documents, photographs and oral histories, the Public History Project created Sifting and Reckoning; a free exhibit focused on “the university’s first students of color, discrimination in housing, social organizations and athletics, and protest movements on campus.”[2] Housed in the Chazen Museum on campus, the exhibit, for many locals, alumni and students alike, provided a look into the side of Madison and the University that is largely ignored.
Having grown up just outside of Madison, I was regularly fed the narrative that Madison is a progressive, liberal utopia. Discourse like this is dangerous and ignores the very real and longstanding problems that Madison has. However, the belief that Madison is a liberal paradise is widespread, among locals and outsiders alike. In a New York Times article on the polarization of Wisconsin’s political landscape published in 2022, Madison was referred to as “a kind of Midwestern Berkeley” and “a liberal island.”[4] Madison’s reputation as an ideal city for liberals was further corroborated by Livability, a large online organization dedicated to evaluating small to mid-size cities, which ranked Madison as the best place to live in the United States in both 2021 and 2022.[5] These rankings and labels of a progressive haven focus on Madison’s charming façade – a city with a large young adult population that prides itself on farmers markets, biking everywhere and liberal politics. While a liberal, progressive, and welcoming experience in Madison may be true for some people, for many that is not and has never been the case.
These disparities – a tale of two cities, two universities and the experiences that come with – were highlighted in the Sifting and Reckoning exhibit. Focuses of the project included the history of Teejop and the forced removal of the Ho-Chunk, challenges faced by the first women at the university, the historic, systematic oppression of people of color as perpetrated by university policy and attitudes, issues of housing discrimination, antisemitism and anti-Asian sentiment, ableism, barriers in athletics and more.
While the history and context surrounding the university’s discrimination were emphasized in the exhibit, attention was also brought to the ways in which the university’s biases are still present and affect students and staff today. Quotes from students in recent years reminded visitors that these issues have not gone away and remain an obstacle for marginalized people on campus. Visitors were also confronted with the reality that UW’s activism is often performative. This was notably displayed in the section of the project dedicated to #TheRealUW campaign. Started in 2016, the campaign emerged in response to UWPD arresting Denzel McDonald, also known as King Shabazz, for protesting racism on campus.[7] Arrested in the middle of an Afro-American studies class in front of his peers for spray painting “Racism is in the air. Don’t breathe.” outside of the Mosse Humanities Building, calls for UWPD to discipline the officers involved and for Shabazz to be allowed to complete his degree went unanswered.[8] As a result, #TheRealUW campaign was started as a way for students of color to show what it is like to be a UW student and the harsh realities that come with it.
There is still work to be done. There remains a housing crisis.[10] The university has continued to neglect the needs of Indigenous students.[11] 1 in 4 female UW students have been sexual assaulted since starting college.[12] Redlining still effects Madison neighborhoods.[13] An anti-trans figure was allowed to speak on campus.[14] UW-Madison and the city as a whole have a long way to go; but the initiative taken by the Sifting and Reckoning exhibit and Public History Project serves as an important step. Unmasking the liberal, progressive façade of the university and city enables future change and promotes honest, uncomfortable and necessary discourse surrounding the truth of this history, its influence today, the systems that enable it and how change can be made.
[1] “Public History Project.” Public History Project.
[2] “Exhibition.” Public History Project.
[3] Huynh, Kayla. “sifting and reckoning.” The Cap Times. September 13, 2022.
[4] Hounshell, Blake, and Reid J. Epstein. “Why Wisconsin Is the Most Fascinating State in American Politics.” The New York Times. The New York Times, August 12, 2022.
[5] Jacobs, Kylie. “Madison Found as the Best Place to Live in the U.S., According to Livability.”
[5] Miller, Jeff. “‘Sifting and Reckoning’ exhibit grapples with racist history of UW.” Madison 365. September 12, 2022.
[7] “Student Activism.” Sifting and Reckoning.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Kustner, Eric. “New Chazen exhibition highlights UW’s history of discrimination.” The Badger Herald. September 13, 2022.
[10] Merck, Kathryn. “Affordable Housing Crisis Impacts UW-Madison Students Aiming to Live off-Campus.” Channel3000.com, October 19, 2022.
[11] Garton, Nicholas. “Displaced Again? Indigenous Students Concerned about UW Campus Plan.” Madison365, July 5, 2019.
[12] Carson, Sophie. “About 1 in 4 UW-Madison Undergraduate Women Have Experienced a Sexual Assault, New Survey Finds.” Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 16, 2019.
[13] Gold, Jacob, Sophia Merry, and Peter Newman. “The Legacy of Redlining in Madison, Wisconsin.” MINDS@UW. University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2019.
[14] LaLiberte, Claire, and Noe Goldhaber. “Conservative Commentator Matt Walsh to Speak at UW-Madison about Views on Gender.” The Daily Cardinal, October 18, 2022.