Category Archives: Women

Kathryn J. Oberdeck (January 18, 1958–June 8, 2022)

Posted on September 2022 by Jim Barrett

Kathy was a passionate fighter against all forms of inequality. She combined an unwavering commitment to the highest intellectual standards with a selfless dedication to community and family. She was a prolific historian of poor and working-class people, particularly their … Continue reading →

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Local Emergency Rally for Reproductive Rights

Posted on May 2022 by Public i

 Local citizens gather in front of the Urbana Courthouse on May 3 to protest the likely coming Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade and endangering women’s right to choose.  268 total views

 268 total views

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March Issue Front Cover

Posted on March 2022 by Public i

WOMEN”S HISTORY MONTH ISSUE  442 total views,  1 views today

 442 total views,  1 views today

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Union Women on the Move

Posted on March 2022 by Pat Simpson

Hopeful signs of a labor resurgence are everywhere. Despite another decline in the unionized percentage of the labor force and the stalemate in efforts at labor law reform, new frontiers in union organizing have emerged, strikes are on the upswing, … Continue reading →

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Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Logan Women’s Prison in Illinois

Posted on November 2021 by Brian Dolinar and Panagioti Tsolkas

“I’ve been incarcerated since the age of 18, I grew up in the penal system,” shares Mishunda Davis. “I went from the Cook County jail to Dwight prison, to Lincoln, and I have never seen as many condemned buildings as … Continue reading →

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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 →

 510 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 →

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Remembering: Jenny Barrett

Posted on April 2021 by Public i

Emma Goldman, anarcho-syndicalist, union organizer and general hellraiser, once affirmed, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Though she was arguably a gentler soul than Goldman, these words nevertheless apply well to Jenny Barrett, … Continue reading →

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Remembering: Anne Feeney

Posted on April 2021 by Public i

She carried a business card that read: “Performer, Producer, Hellraiser.” And that is who Anne Feeney was throughout her time as a traveling troubadour on behalf of social justice. Born July 1, 1951 just outside of Pittsburgh into an Irish-American … Continue reading →

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Remembering: Claire Szoke

Posted on April 2021 by Public i

We were very saddened by the passing of our friend and dedicated worker for social justice, Claire Szoke. Claire grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a major in Spanish and journalism. In … Continue reading →

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Thank the Suffragists: Celebrating the Women’s Rights History of Champaign County

Posted on February 2021 by Barb Oehlschlaeger-Garvey

Ever wondered why March is Women’s History Month? We at the Museum of the Grand Prairie invite you to answer that question with a visit to our latest exhibit celebrating the centennial of women’s voting rights, “How Long Must Women … Continue reading →

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Polish Women Take to the Streets

Posted on December 2020 by Richard Esbenshade

Following an October 22 Polish Supreme Court decision cutting off the main route to legal abortion in the country, Polish women, and many supportive men and children, took to the streets in the biggest mass mobilization in Poland in 40 … Continue reading →

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Is a Woman a Person?

Posted on September 2019 by Esther Patt

In a 1980 article about the proposed Human Life Amendment (HLA) to the U.S. Constitution, journalist Ellen Goodman asked, “is a woman a person?” The HLA would have granted constitutional personhood to every fertilized human ovum. Few people back then … Continue reading →

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Emma Scott Bridgewater: Lived Experience Marked by Race and Discrimination

Posted on September 2019 by Vanessa Rouillon

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 →

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Fight for the ERA in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on September 2018 by Laura Keller

Sometimes we are lucky enough to be part of history, to fight for a cause that we believe in strongly. I was among many other local women who had that privilege some forty years ago, when Illinois was at the … Continue reading →

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History Matters: Remembering Two “Dangerous” Labor Union Women

Posted on March 2018 by Stephanie Fortado

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 →

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Abused: Working Women Face Widespread Harassment and Violence

Posted on March 2018 by Patricia Simpson

By Pat Simpson Pat Simpson, Emerita Professor, Loyola University, formerly taught in the Labor Education Program, UIUC. A longtime labor and social justice activist, she is  currently a member of the Chambana Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and of the … Continue reading →

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Women and the Environment

Posted on March 2018 by Jacquelyn Potter

By Jacquelyn Potter, Sierra Club Prairie Group About a month ago I had the “great” idea to write an article in honor of Women’s History Month about women in the environmental movement. I soon realized the futility of this. Writing … Continue reading →

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White Male Patriarchy + Misogyny – Feminism = Trump’s Election

Posted on April 2017 by Pauline E. Kayes

Not many know that in 1982 Champaign-Urbana played a notable role in a “chain-in” protest against the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment at the State Legislature in Springfield, Illinois. This passionate feminist action gained widespread national media coverage, including … Continue reading →

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Am I My Sister’s Keeper? Help Pass IL House Bill 40

Posted on April 2017 by Esther Patt

Who would have thought Donald Trump would win the Presidency—or that abortion would become illegal again in the United States? These are the realities of our time. If President Trump gets one more Supreme Court appointment after Gorsuch, the high … Continue reading →

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