On April 25, activists and supporters from across southern Wisconsin gathered at the James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Hall to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement (WiBOPM or “We Bop ‘Em”). The joyful event emphasized solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, featuring talks and a drag show.
The WiBOPM was established in the wake of the historic 2011 occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol to resist then-Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to gut collective bargaining. At its height, more than 100,000 union workers and community members joined the protests.
Today, WiBOPM is a multigenerational group with statewide reach and much experience under its belt, from supporting strikes in Madison to protesting racist police terror in Milwaukee, from opposing ICE terror against immigrants to demanding an end to US wars…