ACTIVISM

Bernard and Kathlyn Mann were tireless advocates for education equity in the Madison public schools. 

As loving parents, "Bernie and Kathy" deeply valued education and were relentless in their conviction that all students deserve an education that prepares them to fulfill their goals and achieve a life of purpose. When this couple passed away in the late 80's, family, close friends and the community joined forces to create the Mann Educational Opportunity Fund which focuses on addressing Black student graduation rate disparities in Madison's public schools through mentoring support and educational tools. The fund boasts a 100% high school graduation rate over 25 years of programming!

 

Kathy Mann – Madison Activism (1960s - 1987)

- Served on the Madison Public Schools Superintendent's Citizens Human Relations           

   Advisory Committee

 

- Appeared before the Madison Board of Education on numerous

  occasions speaking on behalf of Black and Brown students and all children                             


-Wisconsin Education Association Council News & Views, August 28, 1987:

 "She was a tireless opponent of racial discrimination."    

   

- Served on Committee to select Franklin Elementary School principal                                    

- Administrative Assistant for Governance - Wisconsin Education Association Council

  Received with standing ovation WEAC's highest staff honor, recognizing leadership and outstanding performance.                               

- Affirmative Action Award - Madison Urban League (1985)  

       

- Co-Chair, Lincoln Middle School 6-8th Grade Study Committee (1984) 

   Appointed by Madison's Public Schools Superintendent.                                                        

- Served on the first Board of Directors of the Madison Urban League                                                                     

- Friends of the Madison Urban League and early organizer 


-    Co-Chaired NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner

                         

- Chair - Madison NAACP Scholarship Selection Committee


- Member/Volunteer - League of Women Voters


- Chairperson, Parish Council of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Madison



- Capital Times Associate Editor, August 11, 1987: "She played a significant role in the

  fight against racism in Wisconsin."


- Capital Times, June 22,1972: "School officials call 'modeling' a legitimate term. A Madison mother calls it      racism."


- Isthmus, October 26, 1984: “As a parent, it’s very painful that my kids are still going through the same     things I went through. That’s why I have to keep fighting and pressing and keeping at it.”

Bernard Mann – Madison Activism (1940s - 1988)

- As part of the "Great Migration," he self-advocated at age 14 to travel on his own from Americus, GA,      to  Madison, seeking to get a better education and life for himself.

- Lifetime Member of both the Madison Urban League and Madison NAACP

- Board of Directors, South Madison Neighborhood Center

- Board of Directors, Quaker Housing Project

- While studying accounting at UW-Madison, was active in student organizations that emphasized               human  and equal rights.

- Member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Madison, serving on committees that focused on      equal rights and social justice.

- Humanitarian and anti-racism activist, pushing to change systemic housing discrimination in Madison

- In 1967, he received the State of Wisconsin's highest merit award (ever granted by the State at that         time) for developing a device to increase the efficiency of validating machines and thereby speed              processing of income-tax returns and taxpayer refunds. For that same innovation, he received another    honor in 1968: The State Merit Suggester of the Year Award.