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Category Archives: African Americans
“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U
In the midst of the global pandemic, Champaign-Urbana has its own local epidemic: gun violence. As of July 20, police had received 95 reports in 2020 of shooting incidents in Champaign alone. This is more than double the total for … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Gun violence, incarceration, Poetry, Violence, Voices of Color
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The Decline of African Languages at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois used to be one of the best universities for learning African languages. Emeritus professor of Linguistics Eyamba Bokamba would always say, “here in Illinois we offer African languages from A to Z, Arabic to Zulu.” Unfortunately, … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, African Americans, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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We Don’t Live in a Food Desert, We Live under Food Apartheid: Interview with Dawn Blackman
Dawn Mosley Blackman, a Chicago native, moved to Champaign in April, 1993. She is the current steward of the Randolph Street Community Garden and a pastor at the Church of the Brethren. As a military wife she lived in Europe … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Community, Food Insecurity, health, Poverty
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Emma Scott Bridgewater: Lived Experience Marked by Race and Discrimination
I met Mrs. Erma Pauline Scott Bridgewater (1913-2013) in Spring, 2009, during my research visits to Bethel A.M.E. Church. She led a life of service, racial work, and local activism in Champaign, being, arguably, the most interviewed and celebrated local … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, bigotry, Women
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FirstSteps Community House
“Our community needs a transitional house … we’re gonna reach out and help people get employment, help them bond back with their families and be able to give back to the community.” — Casandis Hunt, peer mentor at FirstFollowers, talking … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Community, Housing, incarceration
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Attacks on the Campus Left Then and Now: Fighting Student Activists on Illinois’ Campus in the 1930s
In the 1930s, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was home to a thriving anti-war and anti-imperialist community of different radical, socialist, and communist groups. The National Student League (NSL), later called the American Student Union (ASU), the Communist Youth … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Alt-Right, military, Students, University of Illinois
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On the Topic of Islamophobia and Nationalism
From the time we are little until we are fully grown, most of us are taught the basic saying “treat others the way you want to be treated.” It represents the action of being courteous and kind, to not disrespect … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, bigotry, China, civil rights, Islamophobia, Israel/Palestine, Xenophobia
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Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago
If you’ve read Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson, you know what it’s like to be kidnapped by a historian who’s also a great story teller. The reading lamp burns late. I’ve just finished a new book on Illinois history … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Chicago, Politics
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A Muslim on the Inside
“Praise the Gods, Martin Luther King is dead.” Monroe Haynes was an 18-year-old in Vietnam fighting a war he did not understand, with people he did not know, when he heard his commander proclaim this statement. Just barely an adult, … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Islam, Prisoners
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1968 – Not Really So Long Ago or Far Away
“I want kids to see that it wasn’t just Martin Luther King making things happen in the 1960s, it was local folks here as well. Just as it is today.” Katie Snyder, Education Program Specialist, Museum of the Grand Prairie … Continue reading
Posted in 1968, African Americans, African Americans, Environment, University of Illinois, Vietnam War, Youth
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Artist Spotlight on Charlotte Prieu
Tell me a little about yourself and your past creative work. I am a French native and a PhD student in French Linguistics at the University of Illinois. I am very passionate about social justice, especially regarding anti-racism and intersectional … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Arts, Justice, Police
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Goodbye, Ms. Franklin
Aretha Franklin’s musical talents were legion. Incomparable singer that she was, it is hardly surprising that multiple critics have identified her as the greatest voice in popular music of the 20th century. Labeled the “Queen of Soul,” she was in … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Feminism, Music
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History Matters: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Fight for Economic Justice
By Stephanie Fortado Dr. Stephanie Seawell Fortado is a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Labor Education Program, providing workshops and extension programming for unions and the general public on the Champaign-Urbana campus and throughout Illinois. Before joining the University, … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Economy, Justice, labor, Voices of Color
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History Matters: Remembering Two “Dangerous” Labor Union Women
By Stephanie Fortado Dr. Stephanie Seawell Fortado is a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Labor Education Program, providing workshops and extension programming for unions and the general public on the Champaign-Urbana campus and throughout Illinois. Before joining the University, … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Feminism, labor, Labor/Economics, Women, Women
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Is Chancellor Jones in the ‘Sunken Place’?
by Kurtis ‘Sunny’ Ture Kurtis ‘Sunny’ Ture is a music producer, organizer, and graduate student at UIUC. As a founding member of Black Students for Revolution and the Speak Truth Collective, Sunny seeks to raise political consciousness, celebrate Black culture, … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, bigotry, Indigenous, Voices of Color
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Parkland College Social Justice Club Response to Viral Video of Police Arrest
Below is a statement from the Social Justice Club at Parkland College. On Wednesday, September 20, they held a rally to demand accountability from the Parkland administration. On September 7, 2017, a Parkland College student, Oluwatobi Mordi, also known as … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Police
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“Not Here, Not in My Town”: Charlottesville Black Lives Matter on Why We Must All Resist Fascism
Communities in Charlottesville, Va., are reeling from a murderous Nazi and white supremacist march on their town—one that stole the life of anti-Nazi protester Heather Heyer and wounded many more. I spoke with Lisa Woolfork, a member of Charlottesville’s Black Lives Matter … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Antisemitism, Trump
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The Racial Justice Task Force and the slow trudge toward justice in Champaign County
The Champaign County Racial Justice Task Force (RJTF) will be issuing its final report this fall. Those who sought to create this task force, and those working within it, have faced an uphill struggle in trying to get the white … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Justice
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Rodney Davis: Can’t Blame Trump for Charlottesville
In the August 15th Issue of the News-Gazette, our congressional representative Rodney Davis is quoted as saying: “What happened in Charlottesville is no more President Trump’s fault than what happened to me two months ago when a Bernie Sanders supporter … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Antisemitism, Trump
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No Accident: White Cop Shoots Another Black Man in Champaign
The shooting of unarmed Black men by white police in the United States is a story that keeps repeating over and over. The recent case of a local 22-year-old African American man shot in the shoulder by Champaign police officer … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Police, Policing, Uncategorized
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