Wisconsin
Oshkosh educator was shocked to be named one of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Black Leaders of 2023
‘I want to make sure I’m here long enough to create an impact and see that work through,’ said Dr. Samuel Coleman, assistant superintendent of instruction for Oshkosh Area School District.
OSHKOSH ― “I never saw this coming!”
Dr. Samuel Coleman, Oshkosh Area School District assistant superintendent of instruction, was likely being honest more than trying to be humble with that response to being named one of the most influential Black leaders in the state.
After all, he didn’t see himself becoming an educator. So how could he envision being recognized as one?
Yet, that’s exactly what happened less than a month ago when Madison365 named Oshkosh’s new kid on the block as one of Wisconsin’s 51 Most Influential Black Leaders for 2023.
“I became aware of the list about five years ago, but I never made it a goal to get on the list [and] I didn’t make it a goal because I don’t pursue recognition for the work I do,” the 36-year-old Coleman said of his accolade.
Madison365 publishes annual power lists to recognize influential leaders across racial and ethnic groups.
A nonprofit online news publication, Madison365 publishes annual power lists to acknowledge the influence of leaders across different racial and ethnic groups.
So, it wasn’t exactly surprising they eventually pinpointed Coleman following a 16-year career in public education that featured stints in both state and municipal government.
The real shocker might be that Coleman’s current passion was an afterthought as recently as 2007.
“It wasn’t something that was on my radar, to be honest, but I was looking for ways to have an impact, especially on young people,” said Coleman, who was a children’s pastor at a denominational church in Milwaukee at the time.
“My pastor, who’s also my mentor, sat me down for lunch one day and asked if I ever thought about teaching, so then I really began to explore just what it would be like for me as a classroom teacher.”
“From there, I just fell in love with the process of helping students set and reach goals,” he said. “So, as I reflect on my own educational experiences and just how important it was to have people in my life holding me accountable, I want to be that to students, knowing that many students may not have that.”
The unassuming teaching assistant became an ambitious social studies teacher who quickly developed major aspirations in the education ranks.
What then followed were roles as the dean of students, chief of staff, director of student services, director for equity, director of curriculum and instruction, and Coleman’s last position as the chief academic officer for Lynchburg City Schools in Virginia.
Dr. Coleman never expected to be recognized as one of Wisconsin’s most influential Black leaders.
And for all that, Coleman never expected to find himself sandwiched between judges, CEOs and directors on a list of who’s who of Wisconsin’s Black leadership elite.
It may sound somewhat pretentious considering this is a man with three master’s degrees and a doctorate perfectly aligned behind his desk in a 20-foot-by-20-foot office. Somewhere, though, a kid from the north side of Milwaukee who became a first-generation college graduate would disagree.
“I felt excited when I got the email that I have been acknowledged [but] immediately following the excitement was a deep sense of humility and gratitude,” Coleman recalled.
“And I say humility and gratitude because this list specifically highlights leaders who have influence within the state. I believe influence in being able to lead in a way that inspires people is a tremendous responsibility, so for me I was deeply honored and grateful that people allow me to lead, and they choose to follow my leadership.”
This isn’t to say Coleman’s aspirations end here.
Coleman hopes to lead educational policy at the national level for the U.S. Department of Education.
The paraprofessional-turned assistant superintendent still has a couple transformations up his sleeve, figuring one day he could become a district administrator before reaching his ultimate goal — leading educational policy at the national level for the U.S. Department of Education.
“I’m not rushing for those steps just yet because I want to make sure I’m here long enough to create an impact and see that work though,” Coleman acknowledged.
But the Oshkosh community isn’t exactly a stranger to their assistant superintendent’s penchant for the ambitious, despite him being on the job for just six months.
Coleman has already made significant waves by saying he wants the city to reset the U.S. standard for literacy by having most, if not all, of Oshkosh’s students proficient in reading.
Considering the school district is significantly behind the state averages in language arts, it’s safe to say these are lofty goals. But Coleman acknowledges there’s a bigger objective he must first achieve in Oshkosh — earning the community’s trust.
He knows it won’t be easy though. As such, Coleman focuses on the district’s pre-K-12 academic programs, alternative programming, student achievement data and improvement efforts.
Coleman believes his biggest impact can be made outside of the classroom.
Coleman believes it’s through these administrative efforts that his influence will truly be felt, even if he does feel the itch to return to the classroom.
“I do miss the day-to-day interactions and relationship-building opportunities with students and their families because that is something that kept me going as a classroom teacher and as a school administrator,” Coleman said.
“But I think from an impact perspective as I continue to develop my own leadership skills, I learned that the greatest impact that I can have on a system is not in the classroom but at the policy level, the strategy level and the resource allocation level of a school system.
He added, “I can make sure that teachers have what they need and that principals have what they need so they can do the hard and important work that occurs every day in the classroom.”
Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Weekend: Pride bar crawl, Father’s Day deals, and more
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee has no shortage of ways to celebrate this weekend, from a Pride bar crawl to Father’s Day deals around the city and Juneteenth celebrations.
Summerfest and Northcott Neighborhood House are hosting a Juneteenth celebration filled with music and culture at the Summerfest grounds.
Watch: Kidd O’Shea breaks down this weekend’s events:
Wisconsin Weekend in a Minute: June 19-21
The event kicks off right after the traditional Juneteenth Day Festival wraps up.
Pride Bar Crawl
The 9th annual Pride Bar Crawl kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. at Walker’s Pint.
Tickets include drinks and access to exclusive specials at partner bars. Twenty percent of proceeds will benefit the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.
The crawl wraps up with an after-party and drag show at La Cage Nightclub.
Father’s Day
On Sunday, The Motor Restaurant at the Harley-Davidson Museum is offering a free beer for dad when purchased with a meal, along with free admission to the museum. Reservations are highly encouraged.
Families can also take dad to the Milwaukee County Zoo, where all fathers receive free admission on Sunday.
Let’s talk:
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Wisconsin
These Wisconsin swing voters say Trump’s war in Iran wasn’t worth it
Vessels are anchored along the Strait of Hormuz.
Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images
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Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images
The war in Iran was a costly blunder, according to swing voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
NPR observed two online focus groups on Tuesday featuring voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 and then Donald Trump in 2024.
President Trump had just announced a framework agreement to end the war, which he signed on Wednesday.
Yet among the focus groups’ 13 participants, no one said they thought the conflict with Iran was “worth it,” and nine said they felt that the U.S. is coming out of this conflict weaker than before.
Corey M., a 33-year-old independent voter, said he is concerned that the U.S. expended “so much financially and so much of our arsenal,” with little to show for it. (All participants agreed to be part of the focus groups on the condition that they be identified by their first name and last initial only.)
“We essentially got nothing out of it,” he said. “It’s hurt our economy and increased expenses for the everyday American, and it accomplished the square root of nothing.”
Focus groups are not scientifically significant like polling. But they provide insight into how Americans are thinking about what they see in the news.

These focus groups — made up of 10 self-described independents, two Democrats and one Republican — were conducted by messaging and market research firms Engagious and Sago as part of the Swing Voter Project. NPR is a partner on the project.
Rich Thau, president of Engagious, moderated the focus groups. He has been asking voters in key states about this conflict since March. And he said voters have been consistent.
“They were never on board,” Thau said. “Not the beginning. Not in the middle. And as we just learned, not at the end either, judging from what we heard from Wisconsin swing voters.”
Sam M., a 30-year-old independent, said from what he read about the deal, it wasn’t leaving the U.S. in a better position than before the war. In fact, he said he thought the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration — which Trump backed out of — was a better deal for the United States.
Anger over high gas prices
For most voters, though, their biggest concern has remained the high gas prices that are a consequence of the war.
Tammy S., a 53-year-old independent voter, said Americans have been unfairly caught in the middle.
“I just don’t think the way that everybody else had to suffer through the tantrums of these two playing tug-of-war — I just don’t think that it was fair to the American people,” she said. “I don’t think that anybody was a real winner here.”

Several voters said they’ve felt squeezed by costs and as a result have given up something that had been a regular part of their life. They’ve cut vacations and eating out or are getting their hair done less often.
“I’ve given up all my extracurricular hobbies … paddleboarding, yoga,” said Jaylyn M., a 27-year-old who identifies as a Republican. “And then a lot of my subscriptions I’ve cut out, along with my daily coffee, which is minor, but all things that I’ve had to give up to make ends meet.”
“I had to raise all my deductibles on everything — my car insurance, my health insurance — to lower my premiums, so that I can continue to make it,” added Robyn T., a 63-year-old independent.
Trump owns the economic problems
The latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, out Thursday, finds that only a third of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy.
In the focus groups, nine of the 13 voters said they are more anxious about the economy than they were before Trump took office last year. And all but one voter said that “President Trump himself is responsible for those higher prices” because of the war.
“And 10 said he’s out of touch with their economic concerns,” Thau told NPR. “So for them, there’s a clear disconnect between how the president’s operating on the economy and what their needs are.”
And heading into what could be some tough midterm elections for Republicans, voters are really frustrated that Trump isn’t delivering a better economy by now.
“It seems to me, like, pick your issue, and things are not going well for him,” said Josh K., a 29-year-old independent voter. “I mean, we got this stupid war in Iran, and it turns out that we actually aren’t getting anything out of it. I mean, all we got was $4 gas. I mean, pick your issue — the economy, things are more expensive.”
Wisconsin
President of Wisconsin’s largest mosque released from ICE custody
A federal judge has ordered the release of the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, after finding that immigration officials probably detained him in retaliation against his public advocacy for Palestinian rights, suppressing his first amendment rights in the process.
The US district judge James Patrick Hanlon’s order on Thursday marked a sharp rebuke against Trump officials, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who had tried to paint Salah Sarsour as a national security threat.
“Salah Sarsour, who has lived in this country for more than three decades and served as a core pillar in his community without any issues, should never have been detained in the first place,” his legal team wrote in a statement. “While we continue to fight these baseless claims in court, today is about celebrating a family being reunited. It is also a sober reminder that, if the government can target Mr Sarsour, everyone’s free speech rights are at risk.”
Sarsour describes himself as a stateless Palestinian, according to the order. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that he is a Jordanian citizen. He has lived in the United States for more than three decades, becoming a legal permanent resident in 1998. Immigration officials approved Sarsour’s citizenship application decades ago, though he did not naturalize.
Sarsour has garnered public attention as a champion for Palestinian rights, and serves as a board member of an advocacy group called American Muslims for Palestine.
But Rubio personally signed off on a memo to the DHS last year describing Sarsour as deportable despite his green card, because “his actions undermine US foreign policy to combat antisemitism around the world”. The memo, cited in Hanlon’s order, accuses Sarsour’s group of being “found to have been involved in activities providing funds to Hamas”.
A group of plainclothes ICE officers from at least 10 unmarked vehicles swarmed Sarsour on 30 March of this year, arresting him and putting him in deportation proceedings. ICE ultimately detained him in Clay county jail in Indiana.
Sarsour lost 30lb while detained, the order says. His lawyers told the court that he was “at constant risk of developing serious complications from diabetes given that the medical staff only checks his blood-sugar levels once a month”. Tightly controlling diabetes typically requires multiple glucose checks daily.
Hanlon’s order says that homeland security officials and Rubio probably trampled on Sarsour’s first amendment right to free speech and appeared to have arrested him in retaliation for his Palestinian rights advocacy.
The order cited a New York Times story and the website for the Heritage Foundation, the conservative thinktank that dreamed up Project 2025,
The Heritage Foundation presented the White House with the idea to present prominent foreign-born Muslims and Palestinian rights leaders as terrorists in order to sue them, deport them or pressure employers to fire them, the order says, citing reporting from the Times and Heritage’s own website. Sarsour was probably among the targets of that campaign, the order says.
The federal government, through its lawyers, contended that Sarsour should be deported based on two convictions from more than three decades ago in Israel – one for throwing a molotov cocktail and the other for attempting to store weapons and ammunition.
Sarsour denies having committed those crimes.
But Hanlon viewed those crimes as a non-issue for justifying his incarceration, noting that the federal government knew about them since the 1990s and approved his legal permanent residency and his citizenship application anyway.
Sarsour’s speech on Palestinian rights “is core political speech and squarely within the scope of the First Amendment”, the order says. “Mr Sarsour has submitted evidence allowing a reasonable inference that his protected speech was ‘at least a motivating factor’ in Respondents’ decision to detain him.”
A spokesperson for homeland security described Sarsour as a “terrorist”, citing the convictions from his youth in Israel.
Government lawyers had argued that Sarsour did not have the same first amendment rights as US citizens. If he were released, they said, he should have to pay a $25,000 bond, wear an ankle monitor, check in routinely with ICE and remain confined to his house.
Instead, Hanlon ordered his release on personal recognizance, meaning that Sarsour does not have to pay a cash bond to compel him to show up in court again. The order, however, requires him to remain in the state of Wisconsin.
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