Category Archives: Voices

Not Every Israeli, but All of Israel

Posted on 01/09/2026 by Dua Aldasouqi

It’s been nearly four weeks since the start of “not a ceasefire” in Gaza. This “ceasefire,” like every previous one, means that Palestinians cease while Israel continues to fire, albeit at a slower pace—one more palatable to world leaders. Since … Continue reading →

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Friendship during Genocide: Former Marine and Palestinian Mother in Gaza Claim Each Other as Family

Posted on 01/09/2026 by Kimberlie Kranich

This is part one of a two-part article on friendship and solidarity during Israel’s war against Palestinians in Gaza. Ear-to-ear smiles form on all three women’s faces when Asma appears on Zoom from 6,000 miles away in Khan Younis in … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Gaza, International, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Palestinians, Section, Voices, War, Women | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Friendship during Genocide: Former Marine and Palestinian Mother in Gaza Claim Each Other as Family

Labor Exploitation, Exclusion, and Racial Terrorism, 1874–1924

Posted on 01/09/2026 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

This article is adapted from Dr. Cha-Jua’s address “Stolen Labor, and Hindered Opportunity,” presented at the African Descent–Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) public meeting on October 4 at the Krannert Center in Urbana. All of the presentations from that gathering are … Continue reading →

Posted in African American history, African Americans, African Americans, labor, labor history, Labor/Economics, Racism, Reparations, Section, Violence, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Labor Exploitation, Exclusion, and Racial Terrorism, 1874–1924

Don’t Ask Me to Mourn Kirk: White Grief, Black Truth

Posted on 01/09/2026 by Reverend Terrance Thomas

Charlie Kirk is dead. For some, that sentence alone stirs discomfort, because you’ve already been trained to mourn. But not all deaths are tragic. Sometimes people live in such a way that when they die, the earth exhales. Kirk was … Continue reading →

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In Celebration of My Political Advisor-Turned-Surrogate Father: Belden Fields‬

Posted on 06/30/2025 by Carol Ammons

In 2025, in my eleventh year serving Champaign-Urbana as state representative, the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. We have a madman in the White House, who is shredding the last remnants of dignity our country had … Continue reading →

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The Real Influencer Threats in Central Illinois

Posted on 02/25/2025 by C. Owen

What Happened November 5? The headlines stated that the swing states might go blue, carried by women angry over the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, or by Latinos who would not hand their states to racists like Donald Trump, … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Immigrants, LGBTQA, Politics, Racism, Reproductive Justice, Right-wing Libertarianism, Section, Tax policy, Trump, Voices, White Nationalism | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Real Influencer Threats in Central Illinois

ACLU Warns U of I to Respect Free Speech

Posted on 02/23/2025 by Jane McClintock

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois recently sent an open letter to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign warning administrators that new guidelines surrounding “expressive activities” are having a chilling effect on student expressions of free speech. Despite UIUC’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Censorship, Climate Activism, Environment, Gaza, Section, Students, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ACLU Warns U of I to Respect Free Speech

CU MAC Open Letter to Champaign City Council

Posted on 02/23/2025 by CU Muslim Action Committee

This letter was sent on January 28. It has been lightly edited for style. Dear Champaign City Council, Since May 7, 2024, the Muslim community here in Champaign-Urbana has shown up to city council meetings as part of a diverse … Continue reading →

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Hope Village: The North End Community Speaks Out

Posted on 02/23/2025 by Melinda Carr and Jackie Curry and Darleen Bailey

The north-end community acknowledges that Champaign-Urbana is facing a growing population of homeless individuals. We fully understand the need, and benefits, of the Hope Village development. We realize it is vital that empathy be shown for the homeless and a … Continue reading →

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The Negro/Black Cultural, History, and Art Museum of Urbana

Posted on 12/23/2024 by Mrs. Marilynn Dean Cleveland

I would like to see this museum established here in our town of Urbana for the purpose of educating our people, especially our Black children: to teach them about our history and what Black people have contributed to this country, … Continue reading →

Posted in African American history, African American women, African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Local Arts, Racism, Remembering, Section, Voices, Women | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Negro/Black Cultural, History, and Art Museum of Urbana

Popular University for Gaza at UIUC

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Clara Belitz and Sana Saboowala and Izzy Grosof

From Friday, April 26 through Friday, May 10, we established a branch of the Popular University for Gaza at UIUC, joining the national student movement for Palestine. This encampment was just one small piece in the long movement for Palestinian … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Section, Students, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Popular University for Gaza at UIUC

Remembering Irfan Ahmad

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Roveiza Irfan

Longtime Urbana resident Irfan Ahmad passed away on May 2 due to complications from a chronic lung condition. He was 66. Ahmad immigrated from Pakistan in 1989 to pursue his graduate education in agricultural engineering at the University of Illinois. … Continue reading →

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May/June Issue Front Cover

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Public i

The Suffering in Gaza is Our Community’s Concern!

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City Business is Whatever the Community Cares About

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Dua Aldasouqi

Americans have been in the streets since October 8 demanding an end to the US-backed Israeli attack on Gaza. They’re at sporting events and camping out in front of top politicians’ homes. They were at tree-lighting and caroling events over the … Continue reading →

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Beyond Abortion: Reproductive Justice Envisions More

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Julie Laut

The human right to choose to have children or not to have children is a foundational principle in the vision of Reproductive Justice (RJ). Thus the increase in legal attacks on abortion rights and trans rights is understandably central to … Continue reading →

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Healing Culture in Wartime

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Evelyne Accad

Forty-one years ago when we organized the Common Differences conference on the UI campus, I was a young professor, already quite engaged in women’s issues, which had led to my research, writing, travels, and overall commitment. When I retired from the University of … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, International, Middle East, Section, Voices, War, Women, Women, wonen's rights | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Healing Culture in Wartime

Coalition of Labor Union Women for Champaign County

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Stephanie Fortado

On the evening of March 27 more than 30 people representing about a dozen labor unions and community groups gathered at the Plumbers Local 149 Union Hall in Savoy to launch a chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Labor, Labor/Economics, Section, union soldarity, Voices, Women, Women | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Coalition of Labor Union Women for Champaign County

The Case for Reparations: Champaign County

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Jeff Trask

According to the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, Black people in America own 10 cents of wealth for every dollar a white person owns, have lower life expectancies and higher unemployment, will earn $1 million less during their lifetimes, are … Continue reading →

Posted in African American history, African Americans, African Americans, Inequality, Labor/Economics, Racism, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Case for Reparations: Champaign County

What is the Radical Black Church?

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Reverend Terrance Thomas

How Do We Define the “Black” Church? In some sense, the Black Church can be readily defined by its music, style of preaching and sounds. Yet these are only surface definitions—it is so much more. The Black Church was born … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African American history, African Americans, African Americans, civil rights, Justice, Religious radicalism, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What is the Radical Black Church?

Criminology Mixology

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Leo Cardez

Criminalization, abolition, and prison reform have long been third-rail issues in America. The only benefit to this impasse of ideologies is the mountain of research that has been collected in the interim. Those of us in camp reality, camp humanity, … Continue reading →

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