Monthly Archives: February 2008

Recapturing the captives Minds lost because we’ve adapted Adopted ideas and definitions that tell us what Black is A month to discuss So we rush, Demanding holidays and a place on the bus, that don’t lead “back to Africa” Putting … Continue reading →

Most students who do not complete school do so because of family problems. Some girls especially drop out of school because they want to get married and start a family. Also, some girls’ parents are not interested in education and … Continue reading →

Dr. King, we have a problem with war and terrorism. Instead of going to war killing thousands of people, we should have turned the other cheek and created peace. —Denzel Smith, Grade 9, READY School Now that we are in … Continue reading →

Flip, flip the numbers on the odometer turn over One less mile till I have to deliver the message from Dover Thump, thump goes the mother’s fists against my chest Not enough miles to think of a justification for her … Continue reading →

A mother waits A messenger comes to her door The sun stops in its course across the sky And plunges her world into night Sorrow so deep Her wail so strong It broke my heart Here in Chicago this day. … Continue reading →

Hankering for a tweak on your senses? The C-U African Film Festival promises a respite from the commercial winter fare of Hollywood. Beverly Cinemas in Champaign will host the festival from February 22-28. Organized by the Center for African Studies … Continue reading →

1.) My qualifications for State’s Attorney and why I decided to run for the job: I have over 8 years of criminal law experience as a licensed attorney and additional experience as an intern for the Attorney Generals Office. I … Continue reading →

My parents moved to Champaign, IL when I was a small child in the early 1970’s and they have lived here since. One of the ways in which they have managed to make this community their “home” is through following … Continue reading →

I believe that we should help the communities more, by opening more peer mediation centers and getting young black adults involved more. Try to talk sense into kids by letting them know they’re not alone. Find out what sparks their … Continue reading →

Roshauwnna Winfrey passed on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. I did not know Roshauwnna Winfrey personally. Yet when I was told she committed suicide, my soul stirred. A young person’s death whispers, reminding us that collectively we will not be as … Continue reading →

I think people should stop judging others by how they look. Many people are being affected by this. I know a group of people that are really being affected by this. It is Muslims that get all the bad comments … Continue reading →

Boys and girls are left to find their own recreation and companionship in the streets. An increasing number of children are at home with no adult care or supervision. Young people need to know that someone cares about them. —Kahlil … Continue reading →

In the summer of 1996, Jaquanda Villegas, Jacinda Bullie, and Leida Garcia, came together to found the Chicagobased arts initiative, Kuumba Lynx. Grounded in the belief that Hip-Hop’s power to make social change is in edutainment— a form of popular … Continue reading →

Lots of establishment types like to say there’s nothing new under the sun with respect to religion and politics. In December 2004, White House speechwriter Michael Gerson told journalists that George W. Bush’s religious rhetoric was the same old thing … Continue reading →

In 2001 Chicago’s Mayor, Richard M. Daley commented on an article in the online journal, Education Next, by then-Mayor of Oakland, California, Jerry Brown. Brown’s essay offered a rationale for public military academies in Oakland. In his letter to the … Continue reading →

On the morning of April 29, 1970, Edgar Hoults, a twenty-three year old African American man was shot and killed by a local police officer near his home in Urbana. Edgar, an employee of Follett’s Book Store, had been unable … Continue reading →

Some may remember an incident on March 30, 2007 when Champaign police sent 17 year-old Brian Chesley to the hospital after an incident in Douglass Park. The claims of police brutality were dismissed by local officials, and quickly dropped by … Continue reading →

In the February 5th primary, the voters of both the City of Champaign Township and Cunningham Township (Urbana) voted on referenda supporting rights of detainees and opposing the actual war in Iraq and the President’s launching of a possible future … Continue reading →

This is the sixth year of the essay contest sponsored by the University of Illinois Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Symposium. Since 2003, over 1400 local students have written essays about the living legacy of Dr. King as they experience … Continue reading →

Se wo were fina wo san kofa ayenki. (It is not taboo to go back and fetch what has been lost.) Akan proverb A couple of years ago during a combined 80th birthday celebration for my mother and the first … Continue reading →