Category Archives: African American

What Educational Values and Beliefs Underpin a Decision to have Armed School Resource Officers?

Posted on 10/27/2020 by Ameena Payne

This article was previously published in Smile Politely, On December 17, 2019, the Urbana Board of Education (BOE) signed an intergovernmental agreement to approve funding of two full-time armed police officers (called School Resource Officers, or SROs)—one at the middle … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, Education, Education, Police, Policing, Urbana, Voices of Color | Comments Off

Black Lives Matter in the Middle East

Posted on 10/26/2020 by Janice Jayes

George Floyd’s murder horrified people of the Middle East just as it did many in the US and, just as in America, the outrage that followed exposed cultural fault lines, forced uncomfortable introspection, and was sometimes exploited for political purposes. … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, BLM, International, Middle East | Tagged Police Violence | Comments Off

African American Cultural Center Gets a New Building

Posted on 11/02/2019 by Terry Townsend

After 50 years of political struggle, the African American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois has a new building. In 1969, the Black Student Association (BSA) and Black Champaign-Urbana activists, with support from white students, presented 41 demands to … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, University of Illinois | Comments Off

Remembering Willeta Donaldson

Posted on 03/12/2019 by Belden Fields

Urbana has lost one of its most distinguished citizens, Willeta Mae Hassell Donaldson. She passed away on February 2. Willeta, who worked at the University of Illinois in the Office of Admissions and the School of Social Work, also served … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, Urbana school desegregation | Comments Off

Celebrating Albert R. Lee: An Early Beacon for Civil Rights in Champaign County

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Vanessa Rouillon

The African American community in Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois community gathered this fall on several occasions to celebrate the life and contributions of an outstanding African American man: Albert R. Lee (1874-1948). Lee was the son of a slave, … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, civil rights | Comments Off

Hidden African American Films

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Audrey Wells

The popular film “Hidden Figures” tells a great story based on real figures, three important Black American women who work for NASA in key positions, as mathematicians and engineers, during the segregated 1960s. Contemporary audiences are celebrating this film that … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, cinema | Comments Off

The Extremes of Struggle at the Monster’s Heart: The Black Working Class and Socioeconomic Realities under Obama’s Neoliberalism

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Augustus Wood

“International capitalism cannot be destroyed without the extremes of struggle. The entire colonial world is watching the blacks inside the U.S…We are on the inside. We are the only ones who can get at the monster’s heart…” — George L. … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, African Americans, Labor/Economics | Comments Off

Fighting Mass Incarceration Under Trump: New Strategies, New Alliance

Posted on 02/23/2017 by James Kilgore

By James Kilgore Yusef Shakur is a Detroit community organizer who spent several years in Michigan state prisons. “The prison-industrial complex has found the right person to feed it,” he said in response to the election results. “Trump is of … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, Justice, Policing, Prisoners, Trump | Comments Off