Author Archives: Public i

May Day Rally on Quad

“This is what solidarity looks like.” May Day rally on the U of I Quad.

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Black Lives Matter C-U Summer Activities

Social justice collective, Black Lives Matter, the Champaign-Urbana chapter, has been gaining further traction within their outreach. From demonstrations and panel meetings, to youth involvement and local radio shows, Black Lives Matter’s efforts continue to make striving progress throughout the … Continue reading

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Incarceration figures

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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Youth Poetry

MY CURLY HAIR by Amina Alamin My curly hair can do anything it can be in big braids and in little braids and curled in to ringlets and many more things. Some people don’t like my hair and some people … Continue reading

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#North Carolina Tweet Goes Viral

This tweet by U of I student Stephanie Skora, written in response to the homophobic and transphobic law HB2 in North Carolina, garnered over 7,400 retweets on Twitter and was also shared widely on Facebook: “Time to remind folks that … Continue reading

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Barbara Kessel Wins Burgess-Freiburg Award

Local activist Barbara Kessel has just won the James R. Burgess Jr.-Susan Freiburg Humanitarian Award. It was presented at the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Countywide Celebration at Parkland College on January 15th. Barbara received the award for her … Continue reading

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University YMCA Friday Forum: Breaking Down Racism

BREAKING DOWN RACISM: Fighting for Racial Justice in the U.S. Spring 2016 Friday Forum lecture series YMCA of the University of Illinois | universityymca.org The Spring 2016 Friday Forum lecture series builds on the Fall 2015 series by highlighting specific … Continue reading

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#TuitionMustFall: The Radical Black Student Movement in 2016 & Beyond

Outside of the distraction that is the presidential election season, radical black students within this country have been reinvigorated in our fight against white supremacy and capitalism.  While some organizations are still ambiguous about their ideological foundation, one point must … Continue reading

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New Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Offers Hope to Canada’s First Nations Populations

Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper was nearly universally viewed by First Nations (known in the US as “indigenous” or “native” people), Métis and Inuit peoples as, at the least, insensitive to their concerns and, at worst, actively hostile towards Canada’s … Continue reading

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Art Contest for People Incarcerated

TMK Cleaning service is announcing an art contest for those incarcerated! We will accept submissions from January 1, 2016 through April 4, 2016. This is a contest to enter your best art through poetry, short writing, painting etc. Only published … Continue reading

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#BlackLivesMater-CU’s Winter Coat Drive

Black Lives Matter: Champaign-Urbana’s Winter Coat and Outerwear Drive Many children and families in Champaign-Urbana are in need of winter coats and outerwear such as: gloves, scarves, socks, hats, and boots. Please join BLMCU in our effort to make sure … Continue reading

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Nov. 30: (T)error documentary at Art Theater

Mon, Nov 30, 7:00PM Tickets: $10/Adult, $8.50/Annual Member Post-show discussion to follow (T)ERROR is the first documentary to place filmmakers on the ground during an active FBI counterterrorism sting operation. Through the perspective of “Shariff,” a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned … Continue reading

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Purpose Workshop at the IMC

Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Or maybe you “have it all” on the surface but deep down you’re just plain exasperated and fatigued. Lack is an illusion & you cannot step into a fulfilling life of purpose … Continue reading

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IMC Gallery Exhibits on Display

Drop by the IMC Gallery to see an exhibition of local comic artists Nina Paley, Grant Thomas, and Damian Duffy. The next IMC Gallery exhibit opening November 7th will feature works by Chinese photographer Chen Shen from his Garden Metro … Continue reading

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First Class Justice vs. “the Cattle Call”

By a Courtwatcher Courtwatch is a group of citizens who volunteer to attend criminal proceedings by request of the defendant or a family member of a jailed defendant. We are there as witnesses to criminal justice in Champaign County, to … Continue reading

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Work Day: Lament for Darius Graves

The below poem was written by Ryan Collins for the project Lament for the Dead (http://www.lamentforthedead.org/), an online community poetry project which marks the death of every person killed by police this summer, and every police officer who loses life … Continue reading

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Oct. 4: New Art Film Festival

The New Art Film Festival takes place October 4 at the Art Theater Co-op in downtown Champaign. The festival treats its audiences to a mix of shorts, features, and live presentations, all drawn from a homegrown film culture that has … Continue reading

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IMC Gallery

The IMC Gallery this summer collaborated with the Arts of Life to present a group show curated by artist Tim Stone, of the Chicago Studio. The Arts of Life is a studio based community for adults with developmental disabilities. This … Continue reading

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Oct. 17: Books to Prisoners Book Sale!

UC Books to Prisoners is holding its Saturday, October 17, 2015, 12-5 p.m. Thousands of high quality books from fiction to text books will be available.  Come early for the best selection. At the Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway, … Continue reading

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Oct. 9-11: UCIMC 15th Anniversary

Reunion, Celebration, & Conversation Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 9-11 at the Independent Media Center 15 years ago a handful of people gathered in a living room, collectivized their media equipment and started to tell untold stories. In 2005, we bought the post … Continue reading

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