MILWAUKEE — In August 1990, my family moved from the north side of this city to Wauwatosa, a suburb immediately to the west. At the time, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. I was eight, and I had to leave all of my friends. Yet, as I learned many years later, my parents moved because the schools are better in Wauwatosa.

And, according to the latest report from the United States Census Bureau, the most racially segregated metropolitan area for African-Americans in this country is Milwaukee.

I am quite literally the product of what some social scientists call “white flight,” though when at home, I can actually walk across the street and stand in Milwaukee. So I guess we really didn’t go that far. And, keep in mind, my parents left for the education, not because of the skin color of our neighbors.

Regardless of these facts, education and racial diversity in America — particularly in metropolitan Milwaukee — should not be this way. Quality elementary education should not hinge on your ability to move to a more affluent suburb. There must not be streets in the city of Milwaukee, or anywhere in America, dividing blacks from whites.

Why do I bring this up? Irvin Favre and Marcia Coggs.

I bet you know the first person but not the second.

For several days, nearly every newscast in Milwaukee headlined with the death of Irvin Favre. We’re talking the first several minutes of nearly every 30-minute program over at least four days. They even sent reporters to Kiln, Miss., to interview family members and take pictures of Packers hero Brett Favre attending the funeral. Sportscasters tried to delve into the psychology of a star quarterback’s ability to play effectively after a traumatic experience. News anchors looked visibly shaken by the death of such an important figure in the life of their beloved sports leader.

I can respect that. When anyone dies before their time, it is tragic. From what I have read and heard, Irvin Favre was certainly an important and respected member of his community, not to mention the fact that he was Brett Favre’s father.

But is it right that his death received considerably more attention than that of Marcia Coggs? Oh yeah, seemingly no one on this campus knows who she was.

Coggs was the first African-American woman ever elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature. She won the seat from a district in the city of Milwaukee in 1976. As a representative in the Assembly, she became the first African American to sit on the powerful Joint Finance Committee, where final budget fights are finally negotiated. She protested apartheid in South Africa, to the point where she was actually arrested during a rally in Washington, D.C. (The charges were later dropped.) Most importantly, she fought for better schools and school desegregation during her 16 years in the Legislature.

She was, in many ways, the voice of reality in a legislature that had been out of touch with minorities. In the words of Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., at her funeral, “She never forgot about the importance of improving the quality of life for African Americans.” She was even once called the “Conscience of the State of Wisconsin.”

So when Irvin Favre’s death received at least twice the news coverage as hers, I could not help but feel astounded. Here was a woman who had done more on behalf of education, African Americans, and the poor of this city than anyone in recent memory. She brought race — an issue clearly in need of more attention in this city — to the halls of power in Madison.

Her death could have served to remind residents that they still have a long way to go on education and race relations. Many inner-city school districts, oftentimes populated by African-Americans, are drastically under-funded — while affluent white suburbs like Wauwatosa continue to do well. And there are representatives at the Capitol who continue to believe institutional racism doesn’t exist!

“Time takes care of many things, and I hope and intend to see some changes in my times,” Coggs was known to say.

We need more people like her.

Paul Temple ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science and philosophy.