Category Archives: Voices

Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts

Posted on September 2022 by Shamar Betts

I, Shamar Betts, incited a riot through a Facebook post encouraging my people to join alongside the rest of the world in an attempt to express our feelings on the tragic death of George Floyd in May of 2020. Although … Continue reading →

 56 total views

Posted in African American, African Americans, BLM, Court System, incarceration, January 6 insurrection, Justice, Prisoners, Racism, Trump, Voices of Color, Youth | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts

A Time of Monsters: The New Nadir and the Crisis of the Black Worker

Posted on September 2022 by Gus Wood

We currently reside in what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci called “A Time of Monsters.” Exacerbated by the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, the Black working classes continue to struggle under what Black Studies scholar Sundiata Cha-Jua has dubbed “the New Nadir.” For … Continue reading →

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Juneteenth Freedom Day

Posted on September 2022 by Aaron Ammons

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with … Continue reading →

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Juneteenth 2022 at Randolph Street Garden

Posted on September 2022 by Public i

Seitu Ken Jones, a multidisciplinary artist who believes in the power of public art to link the past and present, spent 2020–21 as a visiting artist at the UIUC Center for Advanced Study. He returned this past June to work … Continue reading →

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Reckless Law, Shameless Order: Behind the Scenes

Posted on June 2022 by Nasrin Navab

  One afternoon in April of 2021 Faranak Miraftab called me to ask if I was interested in holding an art workshop with formerly incarcerated artists in continuation of the “IDENSCITY,” a conceptual art space that I had been developing … Continue reading →

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Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Immigrants, incarceration, Local Arts, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Voices, Voices of Color, Women | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reckless Law, Shameless Order: Behind the Scenes

Two Stories from Statesville Prison

Posted on May 2022 by Leo Cardez

Saving Your Mind: Mental Health in the Age of Corona “This is some next-level shit. I thought I’d seen it all in my 20 years in prison,” said Murder (no real names used), my Quarantine Sanitation Specialist co-worker, as we … Continue reading →

 180 total views

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SB 148 and the Assault On Teaching Black History

Posted on March 2022 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

Florida’s SB 148 represents the surging wave of white supremacist fascism sweeping across the country. Entitled “An Act Relating to Individual Freedom,” it symbolizes the deceptive, authoritarian, and racist motivations that characterize the white nationalist Republican Party. By making the … Continue reading →

 251 total views

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Ending Gun Violence Requires Long-Term Investments in People and Communities

Posted on February 2022 by Helen A. Neville and Nickholas Grant

Quansay L. Markham (17 years old), Jonathon McPherson (17), Jadeen Moore (19), Acarrie Ingram-Triner (19), and Jordan Atwater-Lewis (17) are among the people who were shot and killed in Champaign-Urbana in 2021. Are there things we could have done as … Continue reading →

 381 total views

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Champaign County, Gun violence, Voices, Youth Services | Comments Off on Ending Gun Violence Requires Long-Term Investments in People and Communities

What’s Understood Need Not Be Explained

Posted on February 2022 by Crushion Stubbs

I’m curious to know, as a reading eye and listening ear, what are you expecting to hear from me? That the feds were somehow wrong, and Shamar was right? Or that he was justified in putting out some call to … Continue reading →

 332 total views

Posted in African American, African Americans, Arts, BLM, Justice, Local Arts, Police brutality, Racism, Section, Voices | Comments Off on What’s Understood Need Not Be Explained

The Congolese Community of Champaign County

Posted on February 2022 by John Matanda Tshipama

We are the Congolese Community of Champaign County. The estimated number of Congolese living in Champaign County is more than 6,000 persons. Our mission is to support each other and help our children learn about the country, as well as … Continue reading →

 565 total views,  1 views today

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Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

Posted on November 2021 by Ubuntu Project

The Ubuntu Project Urbana-Champaign is disappointed to learn that the Champaign City Council is considering voting to purchase license plate readers. Considering the well-documented controversial reputation and questionable value of license plate readers, the Champaign people need more information on … Continue reading →

 381 total views

Posted in African American, African Americans, civil rights, Crime, Gun violence, Justice, police accountability, Policing, Violence | Comments Off on Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

Texas isn’t the Only Place where a Woman’s Right to a Safe and Legal Abortion is Under Attack

Posted on November 2021 by Ruth Wyman

  Right here in in Illinois, women’s lives and safety are being sacrificed for the election-minded politicians of the Land of Lincoln. In Illinois, young women and girls’ safety is at risk under the Parental Notice Act. The Parental Notice … Continue reading →

 380 total views

Posted in abortion rights, health care, IL, Women, wonen's rights | Comments Off on Texas isn’t the Only Place where a Woman’s Right to a Safe and Legal Abortion is Under Attack

A Conversation with Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files

Posted on November 2021 by Public i

The Public i recently talked to Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files Please tell our readers a little about yourself. “I am a wife, mother, and registered nurse. I currently work in mental health and addiction services. I enjoy reading, writing … Continue reading →

 484 total views

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How the Campus Becomes the Border

Posted on September 2021 by Daniel Gonzalez and Alex Sager

In August, 2020, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) opted for a hybrid in-person/online semester. The decision to partially reopen was made possible by the innovative SHIELD: Target, Test, Tell initiative. A crucial part of this program was … Continue reading →

 802 total views

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The Nest Postpartum Support

Posted on September 2021 by Paige Raab

Five years ago, my world turned upside down after the birth of our first son. What should have been the happiest day of our lives turned into one crisis after another, a transfer to a hospital two hours away, and … Continue reading →

 404 total views

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Moving to End Anti-AAPI Hate

Posted on August 2021 by May Kao Xiong

Despite May having been the month to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage, the preceding year saw the increase of violence and hate towards Asians and Asian Americans that ranged from attacks on Asian and Asian American elders … Continue reading →

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Posted in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, bigotry, Racism, violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on Moving to End Anti-AAPI Hate

Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Posted on August 2021 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

For more than 70 years and over a century, respectively, television and cinema have presented demeaning images of Black people. And for equally as long, African Americans have responded with boycotts, pickets and alternative visions that “depict[ed] our men and … Continue reading →

 465 total views

Posted in 1968 Revolt, African American, African Americans, Arts, cinema, film, Politics, Racism, Voices, Voices of Color | Comments Off on Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Palestinians Aren’t Safe Anywhere, Not Even in their Classrooms

Posted on August 2021 by Sireen Amra

In the past month, Palestinians have witnessed yet another escalation of Zionist violence inflicted onto our homeland without reservation. Israeli warplanes murdered over 250 Palestinians and displaced nearly 100,000 people from their homes during a two-week-long bombardment of the Gaza … Continue reading →

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Posted in International, International, Israel/Palestine, Palestinians, Section, Students, Voices, Women | Comments Off on Palestinians Aren’t Safe Anywhere, Not Even in their Classrooms

Supporting Women, Girls and Families: An Interview with Stephanie Cockrell

Posted on May 2021 by P. Stewart

Women are praised for being pillars of strength in their families and communities, but this same strength might lead them to be overlooked when designing services to meet the needs of a community. Women also need therapeutic activities that help … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, Community, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on Supporting Women, Girls and Families: An Interview with Stephanie Cockrell

Black Art Politicized: A Discussion with Leslie Smith

Posted on May 2021 by Drake Materre

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Leslie Smith, a board member of the Urbana–Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) and the founder of Black Voices Theater Production. As someone who grew up in a household with a father who is … Continue reading →

Posted in African American Women in CU, African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Local Arts, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on Black Art Politicized: A Discussion with Leslie Smith