Monthly Archives: April 2021

Remembering: Jenny Barrett

Posted on 04/04/2021 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 04/04/2021 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 04/04/2021 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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The 2021 Illinois Police and Criminal Justice Reform Bill

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Belden Fields

On February 22, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3653. This bill, rather a composite omnibus of many bills, was sponsored by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in both the Illinois House and Senate. Several of the individual bills were sponsored … Continue reading →

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Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Carol Skalnik Leff

  The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits “excessive” bail, a prohibition that dates back to English common law, and is largely honored in the breach. In Champaign County Jail, on any given day this past winter, there were … Continue reading →

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Shamar Betts: Caught in a Legal Drama that Started Before He was Born

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Janice Jayes

No one wants to be the poster child for a Supreme Court challenge. However, finding his case before the Supreme Court could not only help Urbana resident Shamar Betts resolve his own situation, but it could redraw the legal lines … Continue reading →

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The Haters Among Them

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Pat Simpson

The number is thirty so far, thirty police officers charged with the act of participating in the Capitol insurrection last January. Many, many Americans felt shock, and media analysts expressed particular outrage, to find men in blue—perhaps even waving blue-line, … Continue reading →

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Counting the Costs of War

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Seth Lerner

“The refugee crisis” is a big and scary concept, but to many of us it is just that, conceptual. However, a September 2020 study has found that between 37 and 59 million people from 12 different countries have been displaced … Continue reading →

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Africa and COVID-19 Vaccines: The Politics Surrounding Equitable Access to Vaccines

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Fatou Jobe

Global North countries, including France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are hoarding COVID-19 vaccines, leaving countries of the Global South behind in equitable access to vaccines. As COVID-19 vaccines become available, many Global North countries have already purchased half of the … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Elections

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Mark Weisbrot

  This article was first published in The Raw Story on December 21, 2020, under the title “Trump’s Coup is Failing—But a Similar Effort Backed by the US has Already Succeeded.” It has been amended to note the inauguration’s having happened. Reprinted … Continue reading →

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UCIMC News

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Public i

The C-U Independent Media Center, in collaboration with its Public i Working Group, presents a panel on “Grassroots Journalism in Our Community: Past, Present and Future,” with Belden Fields and Janice Jayes, Public i Editorial Collective; Phalonna Stewart, Public i … Continue reading →

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