Fostering Unity in All Spaces
“In our schools and communities, our very safety is at stake. Baraboo Acts Coalition partners with We Are Many - United”
We Are Many - United Against Hate is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of everyday Wisconsinites who are working to build unity within our society with a particular focus on middle and high schools. When the photo of high school boys appearing to give the Nazi salute in Baraboo went viral, Masood Akhtar, President of WAMUAH, was one of the first people to reach out to the Baraboo School District and offer support. He worked with the Baraboo School District and other community members to bring The Gift of Our Wounds authors Pardeep Singh Kaleka, a Sikh, and Arno Michaelis, a former white supremacist, to speak both to students at the Baraboo High School and to Baraboo area community members. Their message of forgiveness and compassion was inspiring. Since that time, Masood, and We Are Many United Against Hate, has been a supporter and advisor for the Baraboo Acts Coalition, encouraging the Baraboo community to continue working with youth, and to find ways to foster unity in all spaces.
This work is critical to the safety of our schools and communities. Stronger community connections will allow us to accept and appreciate differences of perspective as we learn from and support each other.
Jeff Jacobson - Dr. Jacobson served 28 years as a high school principal in three Wisconsin schools with an additional eleven years as a teacher and district administrator. He currently serves as the Liaison for School programs for We Are Many - United. We Are Many - United
WAMUAH Unity Summit, spring 2026
Beginning in the fall of 2025, BSD leadership, teachers, city administrators, Baraboo Acts Coalition members, and WAMUAH staff have been meeting regularly to consider ways to support student lead initiatives in the Baraboo School District that foster unity in school spaces. This year, 10 students, along with Social Justice Club teacher Katie Cummings attended the WAMUAH Youth Unity Summit in March.
The summit focuses on bringing together high school students to learn strategies to combat hate, foster inclusion, and promote unity within their schools and communities. It shows students how to speak out against hate crimes and bullying, encouraging them to share their voices for positive change.
Alex Hughan shared his thoughts from the Summit:
The things that I find interesting are that they have a variety of clubs that can help out between schools and the community, including thinking of ideas….and partnerships with other city companies to support….organizations regarding leadership and combating hate.
The things that I learned were to collaborate with other students, or other people… talking about their stories and coming up with problems and solutions to spread awareness on bullying and hate.
The things that I would think we could start doing in Baraboo are to make a sponsored partnership between a company and our school on awareness and coming up with a prevention week to make sure that we are combating hate and bullying, and spreading the kindness of others.
We could also do this field trip again to the Youth Unity Summit for students who haven't heard of it before, to help…make that happen.
~ By: Alex Hughan
BHS Students at the WAMUAH Unity Summit, spring 2026
BHS students in action at the Unity Summit