Category Archives: African Americans

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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Posted in African American, African Americans, civil rights, Crime, Gun violence, Justice, police accountability, Policing, Violence | Comments Off

A Conversation with Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files

Posted on 11/12/2021 by Public i

The Public i recently talked to Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files Please tell our readers a little about yourself. “I am a wife, mother, and registered nurse. I currently work in mental health and addiction services. I enjoy reading, writing … Continue reading →

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Posted in African Americans, Arts, Community, Local Arts, Poetry, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off

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

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 →

Posted in African American, African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, Community, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off

Black Art Politicized: A Discussion with Leslie Smith

Posted on 05/26/2021 by Drake Materre

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Leslie Smith, a board member of the Urbana–Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) and the founder of Black Voices Theater Production. As someone who grew up in a household with a father who is … Continue reading →

Posted in African American Women in CU, African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Local Arts, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off

“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U

Posted on 12/06/2020 by FirstFollowers

In the midst of the global pandemic, Champaign-Urbana has its own local epidemic: gun violence. As of July 20, police had received 95 reports in 2020 of shooting incidents in Champaign alone. This is more than double the total for … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Gun violence, incarceration, Poetry, Violence, Voices of Color | Comments Off

Blurs and Erases

Posted on 06/05/2020 by Johnny Page

We find ourselves at an interesting moment. Pivotal, in fact. As we collectively attempt to navigate uncharted waters, I am constantly thinking about how prepared I am. For a large portion of my life, lockdown was my reality. This in … Continue reading →

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Posted in African Americans, COVID-19, incarceration | Comments Off

Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago

Posted on 12/12/2018 by John Palen

If you’ve read Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson, you know what it’s like to be kidnapped by a historian who’s also a great story teller. The reading lamp burns late. I’ve just finished a new book on Illinois history … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Chicago, Politics | Comments Off

1968 – Not Really So Long Ago or Far Away

Posted on 11/14/2018 by Janice Jayes

“I want kids to see that it wasn’t just Martin Luther King making things happen in the 1960s, it was local folks here as well. Just as it is today.” Katie Snyder, Education Program Specialist, Museum of the Grand Prairie … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968, African Americans, African Americans, Environment, University of Illinois, Vietnam War, Youth | Comments Off

Trump Pardons Jack Johnson

Posted on 06/13/2018 by Neil Parthun

On May 24, 2018, President Donald Trump officially signed a posthumous pardon for heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson. As a radical and a sports fan, it was a surreal moment on a number of levels. But to explain how, it is … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, bigotry, Sports, Trump | Comments Off

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Nika Lucks

Posted on 02/11/2018 by Rachel Storm

A column curated by staff of the Urbana Public Arts Program Nika Lucks is a local photographer originally from the Chicago Southside. Her most recent work, People of Speech: Part I, draws inspiration from parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Arts | Comments Off

The Cops Killed Richie

Posted on 05/01/2017 by Brian Dolinar

No matter how much training or technology they get, the cops just can’t stop killing Black people. On a Wednesday morning, November 16, 2016, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Champaign police received a call about a “disorderly” subject, Richard “Richie” Turner, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Homelessness, Police, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Daughters of the Dust and the Place of the Gullah/Geechee

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Krystal Ashlee Smalls

I was first introduced to Julie Dash’s exquisite film in 2000, about nine years after its release. One of my dear friends at the time, underground hip hop legend Percee P, was an avid collector of black cinema and was … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, cinema, Feminism, Gullah/Geechee | Comments Off

A Black Herstory Slam Redux

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Kerry Wilson

A Black Herstory Slam Redux This past February, the Women’s Resources Center at the University of Illinois sponsored Black Herstory Slam, an open mic devoted to poetry, spoken word, and performance that highlights Black women’s history and black feminist thought. … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Feminism, Women | Comments Off

Full Transcript of Evelyn Reynolds’s CU Women’s March Speech

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Evelyn Reynolds

I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. None of today’s speakers can fully represent the array of magnificent women in our community. Many of which don’t hold public positions of influence or prestigious titles. Many of whom are … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Feminism, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off

Malcolm X on The Media

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Public i

Jason Patterson Malcolm X Interviewed at Intermediate School 201, Harlem, 1964 Fixed soft pastel on raw canvas, under self leveling clear gel 2016 jasonpattersonart.com

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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

Doing SOLHOT as a Reliable Way of Life

Posted on 01/19/2017 by Blair Smith

“I remember the day I let go of the idea and held on to people it’s much riskier now I really wanna’ take care” – We Levitate, “Take Care”, How I Feel EP (2016) I am a lover/bandbae/dreamer/Black girl artist/DJ/and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Youth | Comments Off

Hip-Hop and the Black Radical Tradition in CU

Posted on 11/18/2016 by Sunny Ture

i must confess that waltzes do not move me. i have no sympathy for symphonies i guess i hummed the Blues too early, and spent too many midnights out wailing in the rain. Assata Shakur – Culture The tradition of … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Arts, Youth | Comments Off

Demands for a Transformed University

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Public i

On September 9, 2016, a “Rally for a Transformed University” was held at the alma mater on UIUC campus. It corresponded with the release of a list of demands. Led by Black Students For Revolution, the coalition of student organizations … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Labor/Economics, LGBTQA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off