Category Archives: Latino/a

Stream some Laughs: Four Political Comedies from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico

Posted on December 2017 by Audrey Wells

Subtitles don’t bite. Turn them on, if you need, and check out a superb satire from Mexican director Luis Estrada, The Perfect Dictatorship (La Dictadura Perfecta, 2014), streaming on Netflix. Prepare to laugh and squirm. In this uncomfortably relevant and … Continue reading →

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Taking Applications for “Open Scene,” IMC’s Youth Media Project

Posted on October 2016 by Public i

The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) and the City of Urbana are happy to launch Open Scene, a project to reimagine downtown Urbana through arts-based dialogues led by youth. Open Scene will be anchored at the UCIMC, a media and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, IMC, Latino/a, LGBTQA, Transgenders, Uncategorized, Women, Youth | Comments Off on Taking Applications for “Open Scene,” IMC’s Youth Media Project

How Lawmakers Are Exploiting Public Fear After Orlando to Push More Police Militarization

Posted on July 2016 by Sarah Lazare

To date, the Orlando Police Department has disclosed no definitive evidence that its military-style weaponry protected public safety the morning of the horrific massacre at the LGBTQ Pulse club’s Latin night. And the department’s chief has not ruled out that … Continue reading →

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Racism and Mass Incarceration in the US Heartland: Historical Roots of the New Jim Crow

Posted on May 2016 by James Kilgore

If asked what state had the highest rate of incarceration rate of black men, most people would likely cite somewhere in the old Confederacy, perhaps Mississippi or Louisiana. They would be about 1000 miles too far South. According to labor … Continue reading →

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Incarceration figures

Posted on May 2016 by Public i

Some figures compiled in the Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter (April 2016). Reprinted with Permission. I. Number Incarcerated in U.S., 2014 1.5 million people at an annual per person cost of $80 billion–approximately $51,250 each. (A “free world” minimum wage of $15/hr … Continue reading →

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The Beheading of a Saint: Junipero Serra and the California Monument Wars

Posted on April 2016 by Richard Esbenshade

During his visit to Mexico in February, Pope Francis apologized for the “systematic and organized” exclusion of indigenous Americans over the centuries. This took place in San Cristobal de las Casas, the epicenter of the indigenous-identified Zapatista uprising in 1994, … Continue reading →

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Groundswell Organizing and Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

Posted on January 2015 by Aaron Johnson-Ortiz

After President Obama signed his executive action on immigration last November, immigrant activists commended the president for his decision, which might help up to 4 million undocumented immigrants normalize their status, and at the same time emphasized that this action … Continue reading →

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Political Memory at Work in Latin America

Posted on October 2012 by Richard Esbenshade

My recent trip to El Salvador and Argentina focused heavily on ‘sites of memory,’ locations where events of massive political violence had occurred and where attempts to learn from them are underway. These two countries have experienced extreme social conflict—military … Continue reading →

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CU-Immigration Forum Holds Immigration Justice Month

Posted on September 2012 by Franciso Baires

  Several local religious congregations will be holding various faith-based and immigration-themed events throughout the month of October in what is sure to be an inspiring series of local community gatherings. The Allies of Faith is an interfaith coalition of … Continue reading →

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“Secure Communities” Program Adopted by Sheriff Wreaking Havoc in Local Immigrant Community

Posted on November 2011 by Brian Dolinar

The “Secure Communities” program being adopted in local counties across the United States has already caused much controversy in its short history. The implementation of Secure Communities by Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh has brought great distraught to several families … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, Latino/a | Comments Off on “Secure Communities” Program Adopted by Sheriff Wreaking Havoc in Local Immigrant Community