Category Archives: Voices

University of Illinois “Old” Alums Return for a Conference on the 1960s Protest Movement

Posted on December 2019 by Robert Justin Goldstein

About 50 literally “old” University of Illinois alums returned to campus from around the country (and in one case, from Switzerland) to attend an October 4-5 conference about the 1960s UI student protest movements for free speech and against the … Continue reading →

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This is going to take more than windmills: Addressing Trauma at the UN Climate Summit

Posted on December 2019 by Kate Insolia

Climate activists from around the world converged on New York City during the United Nations Climate Summit in September, 2019, and I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to this historic moment. There were scientists, lawyers, architects and … Continue reading →

Posted in Co Counseling, Environment, Indigenous | Comments Off on This is going to take more than windmills: Addressing Trauma at the UN Climate Summit

University and High School Students Collaborate to Host September 20th Climate Strike

Posted on December 2019 by Anya Kaplan-Hartnett

Between September 20 and 27, over 6000 protests took place in 185 countries as part of the Global Week for Future. Students walked out of classes, workers went on strike, and millions gathered to demand climate justice and take action … Continue reading →

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Attacks on the Campus Left Then and Now: Fighting Student Activists on Illinois’ Campus in the 1930s

Posted on May 2019 by Nick Goodell

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 →

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For a World Without Borders

Posted on March 2019 by Tariq Khan

Speech by Tariq Khan at the UIUC Ayuda Rally at Anniversary Plaza, November 29, 2018. UIUC Ayuda was a student group/campaign to raise awareness about and material support for the Central American caravans made up of people seeking asylum. I … Continue reading →

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Women Workers on the March: UNITE HERE Hotel Workers Strike

Posted on March 2019 by Stephanie Fortado

Currently women workers are leading the march of labor in this country. Although it is lost amid the headlines of the #MeToo movement, this movement’s call for an end to sexual harassment and assault is at its core a demand … Continue reading →

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Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago

Posted on December 2018 by John Palen

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 →

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A Muslim on the Inside

Posted on November 2018 by Isra Rahman

“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 →

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1968 – Not Really So Long Ago or Far Away

Posted on November 2018 by Janice Jayes

“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 | Comments Off on 1968 – Not Really So Long Ago or Far Away

Trustee Trip

Posted on September 2018 by Jay Rosenstein

This past spring, two U of I Trustees set out on a secret mission to solve the seemingly endless Chief Illiniwek problem once and for all. And they did it. But I doubt they’re happy with the result. They hoped … Continue reading →

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