Category Archives: African Americans

Islam and the Inmate: Mislabeled “Menaces”

Posted on 07/08/2015 by Public i

By Anatta Oknokwo “Allahu Akbar!” Mack Trimble, Jr. enthusiastically calls his fellow inmates to prayer.  Soon the chapel of Jackson State Prison will hum with the melodic recitation of the Holy Qur’an as the community of Muslim males prostrate before … Continue reading →

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The Rosenwald Schools

Posted on 10/01/2014 by Belden Fields

This May I took a trip to Savannah, Georgia, and to the southern coast of South Carolina. In Savannah, I took a “Freedom Tour” that included visits to the oldest Black church, the black cemetery that contains a whip-scarred “whipping … Continue reading →

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Racism and Freedom of Speech: Framing the Issues

Posted on 10/01/2014 by Al Kagan

Two of the more volatile issues in our society are racism and freedom of speech. This article is about an interesting case that severely divided the American Library Association in the late 1970s, and was recently revived. Readers ought to … Continue reading →

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The Community Saturday School and the Ongoing Campaign for Literacy

Posted on 01/31/2014 by Amira Davis

“History has shown that, up to the present time, revolutionary regimes have been the only ones capable of organizing successful mass literacy campaigns. From the Soviet Union to China, from Vietnam to Cuba, all revolutionary governments have given high priority … Continue reading →

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Racism in the Land of Lincoln

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Belden Fields

    From: Jim Allen <jimallen@consolidated.net> Sent: 06/18/13 10:59 PM To: dibendahl@mail.com Subject: 13th Congressional District reply Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Shitcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm … Continue reading →

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A Poem by T’Aari D. Hunter, “ME”

Posted on 05/24/2013 by T'Ari D. Hunter

ME by: T’Ari D. Hunter They said I wasn’t Pretty, They Lied. To be like them, I tried. But being like them wasn’t for me. Being like them, I didn’t feel pretty. I felt ashamed, Like I was a follower. … Continue reading →

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Jason Collins

Posted on 05/24/2013 by Neil Parthun

“I’m a 34 year old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” With these simple words, Jason Collins made history as the first actively playing out athlete in the NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL. The overwhelming reaction to Collins’ important … Continue reading →

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Rosa Parks Turns 100

Posted on 04/03/2013 by Brian Dolinar

Born February 4, 1913, Rosa Parks would have been 100 years old this year. A statue of Parks was recently unveiled in the U.S. Congress, the first black woman to be so honored. A in a new book titled The … Continue reading →

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“What’s in a Name? Two C-U Buildings Named After African American Women”

Posted on 03/14/2013 by Brian Dolinar

As a new building on campus is being named after Maudelle Bousfield, the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Illinois, a public housing complex named after Joann Dorsey, black community activist in Champaign during the 1960s, … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Cities: Public Access to Police Complaints in Champaign and Urbana

Posted on 11/23/2012 by Belden Fields

Backstory: Champaign Over the course of 2012, several pieces have been published in the Public i and the News Gazette regarding the city’s continued practice of ignoring Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding complaints against the police and its … Continue reading →

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The Fruits of Our Labor: Champaign’s Summer Youth Jobs Program

Posted on 09/08/2012 by Jelani Saadiq

Jelani Saadiq is a senior at Piney Woods School in Mississippi. He participated in Champaign’s summer youth employment program this summer. This summer I was bamboozled; I thought that the summer employment program would be a boring 9am-1 pm job, … Continue reading →

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Kudos to Our Own Brian Dolinar

Posted on 07/10/2012 by Belden Fields

Researcher, teacher, and editor/writer for the Public i, Brian Dolinar, has just made two major contributions to the world of knowledge.  Both of them are books about the contributions of African Americans to the intellectual, cultural and political life of … Continue reading →

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CUCPJ Public Forum on New Jail Proposal

Posted on 04/22/2012 by Public i

Champaign Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice Present A Public Forum on: The County Board’s Proposal to Spend $20 Million on a New Jail Speakers: Carol Ammons, County Board member who opposes the jail proposal Members of Decarcerate Monroe County, … Continue reading →

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Pre-1968 Foundations of African American Recruitment at the U of I

Posted on 03/22/2012 by Belden Fields

(767 words)   Pre-1968 Foundations of African American Student Recruitment at the U of I (edited)   Joseph H. Smith   Joseph H. Smith served the U of I as an administrator and English professor from 1964 to 1994.  He … Continue reading →

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Red Tails, A Historically Accurate Film?

Posted on 03/01/2012 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

By Sundiata Cha-Jua Dr. Sundiata Cha-Jua is a Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies and History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously published at: http://illinois.edu/lb/article/72/59144 America’s first unit of African-American fighter pilots, the highly decorated Tuskegee … Continue reading →

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Black Youth Beaten by Champaign Police

Posted on 11/01/2011 by Brian Dolinar

It has been two years since Kiwane Carrington was killed by a Champaign police officer, but 18-year-old black youth, Calvin Miller, is still afraid of the police. So when a Champaign cop attempted to pull him over for no apparent … Continue reading →

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Sweet Corn Festival Brings Major Disappointment

Posted on 10/02/2011 by Safiya Noble

At a time when our community has been so significantly impacted by the death of a young African-American man at the hands of the Champaign Police, we continue to be mourning and healing. I teach courses on race, gender and … Continue reading →

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Soon To Be Displaced Residents Protest Outside of Housing Authority

Posted on 08/23/2011 by Brian Dolinar

As Ed Bland arrived at work on Wednesday morning, July 27, 2011, he was greeted by a group of protesters. Residents at two public housing units, Dunbar Court and Joann Dorsey Homes, stood outside of the offices of the Champaign … Continue reading →

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Portraits of Local African American Women

Posted on 03/28/2011 by Public i

These images reprinted in the Public i are among 23 portraits created by local artist Jason Patterson. They hung in the Murphy Gallery of the Campus YMCA for February and March, Black History Month and Women’s History Month. The exhibit … Continue reading →

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SOLHOT Saving Yourself First

Posted on 02/24/2011 by Porshe Garner

Here in the local community, I am a part of a phenomenal group called Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT). SOLHOT is a space organized for and by Black women and girls. Within SOLHOT, female student volunteers from the … Continue reading →

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