Category Archives: African American

March/April Issue Front Cover

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Public i

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Black History: Is This Really 2024?

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Mrs. Marilynn Dean Cleveland

I am a mother of three sons and a grandmother of 83 years of age. This incident happened on Wednesday, January 31, in the middle of the afternoon. I was going to visit a friend and on the way, I … Continue reading →

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The $1,686,170 Slap: The Shamar Betts Case Continues

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Janice Jayes

It is hard to understand the magnitude of the restitution fine imposed on Urbana resident Shamar Betts as anything other than the persecution of one young black man. Despite a recent stay on collection of the debt pending a response … Continue reading →

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At the Feds

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Shamar Betts

Shamar Betts had no previous criminal record but was sentenced to three years in federal prison for “inciting a riot” through a Facebook post he wrote after witnessing the video of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. He was also made … Continue reading →

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A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Shortened Print Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This article originally appeared at WILL/Illinois Public Media on July 5, 2023. Reprinted with permission. It has been edited for space and style. See the full version here. “I had a big goose egg on my forehead,” Tianna Morrow recalled, … Continue reading →

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A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Full Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This story is part of a partnership, focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County, between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and Illinois Public Media. This investigation was supported … Continue reading →

 592 total views

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Diesel Therapy

Posted on 07/18/2023 by Shamar Betts

The odyssey of Urbana resident Shamar Betts continues. Betts was arrested for authoring a Facebook post at age 19 in the wake of the George Floyd murder in 2020. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison and charged … Continue reading →

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Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Shamar Betts

I, Shamar Betts, incited a riot through a Facebook post encouraging my people to join alongside the rest of the world in an attempt to express our feelings on the tragic death of George Floyd in May of 2020. Although … Continue reading →

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Posted in African American, African Americans, BLM, Court System, incarceration, January 6 insurrection, Justice, Prisoners, Racism, Trump, Voices of Color, Youth | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts

Juneteenth 2022 at Randolph Street Garden

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Public i

Seitu Ken Jones, a multidisciplinary artist who believes in the power of public art to link the past and present, spent 2020–21 as a visiting artist at the UIUC Center for Advanced Study. He returned this past June to work … Continue reading →

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Shamar Betts Case Moves to Federal Appeals Court

Posted on 05/13/2022 by Janice Jayes

On April 8, the case of Urbana resident Shamar Betts moved to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Betts was arrested in June, 2020 in the midst of a national crackdown on protests against the murder … Continue reading →

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SB 148 and the Assault On Teaching Black History

Posted on 03/31/2022 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

Florida’s SB 148 represents the surging wave of white supremacist fascism sweeping across the country. Entitled “An Act Relating to Individual Freedom,” it symbolizes the deceptive, authoritarian, and racist motivations that characterize the white nationalist Republican Party. By making the … Continue reading →

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Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration

Posted on 02/10/2022 by Brian Dolinar

On a bad day, those of us seeking justice can find little to be hopeful about. The recent acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse again reminds us that the law is designed to protect white lives. Even after widespread protests and demonstrations … Continue reading →

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What’s Understood Need Not Be Explained

Posted on 02/10/2022 by Crushion Stubbs

I’m curious to know, as a reading eye and listening ear, what are you expecting to hear from me? That the feds were somehow wrong, and Shamar was right? Or that he was justified in putting out some call to … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Ubuntu Project

The Ubuntu Project Urbana-Champaign is disappointed to learn that the Champaign City Council is considering voting to purchase license plate readers. Considering the well-documented controversial reputation and questionable value of license plate readers, the Champaign people need more information on … Continue reading →

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Debt Peonage in the 21st Century: The Shamar Betts Case Continues

Posted on 09/23/2021 by Janice Jayes

On August 19, Shamar Betts was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison (minus 12 for time served) for authoring a Facebook post. The sentencing also made Betts personally responsible for repaying $1.5 million for damage committed by others at … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu, Hope, and Respect: Socially Conscious Music from the African Continent, the Indian Ocean, and North America

Posted on 08/03/2021 by Al Kagan

Music is often a reflection of struggles for social change, and a source for joy and hope for the future. This can be heard in the songs noted in my first music review article in the February 2021 issue of … Continue reading →

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Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Posted on 08/03/2021 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

For more than 70 years and over a century, respectively, television and cinema have presented demeaning images of Black people. And for equally as long, African Americans have responded with boycotts, pickets and alternative visions that “depict[ed] our men and … Continue reading →

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Posted in 1968 Revolt, African American, African Americans, Arts, cinema, film, Politics, Racism, Voices, Voices of Color | Comments Off on Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Supporting Women, Girls and Families: An Interview with Stephanie Cockrell

Posted on 05/26/2021 by P. Stewart

Women are praised for being pillars of strength in their families and communities, but this same strength might lead them to be overlooked when designing services to meet the needs of a community. Women also need therapeutic activities that help … 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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Countering Disinformationhttp://publici.ucimc.org/wp-admin/edit.php to Build a Just Society

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Kiana Kazemi

We have heard a lot about disinformation during this past year, but learning more about how information is manipulated, distorted and deployed to shape social debates can help you recognize when you are being targeted in a disinformation campaign. It … Continue reading →

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