Category Archives: Voices

UPTV and the Chief Controversies

The glaring similarities between the controversy surrounding the broadcast of the anti-Semitic videos on Urbana Public Television and the characterization of a Native American during athletic events and in the Homecoming Parade at the U of I are that: (1) … Continue reading

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Aramark™ Makes Horrible Lunches, and Kids Do Something About It

I go to Leal Elementary School in Urbana, and our school lunches suck. Most of the kids in my class think the school lunches are unhealthy, and should not be served at our school, or any other elementary school. For … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Food, Human Rights, Youth | Leave a comment

The Labor of Black Women

IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, Black women have labored harder within its borders than any other group. Black women have constituted the most disposal segment of the American labor force, working in the least desirable, least paid positions. Not only … Continue reading

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Jails, Hospitals, Hip-Hop

The one-person show, Jails, Hospitals, and Hip-Hop (JH3) by Danny Hoch was presented at spaces across the UIUC campus. Each performance was followed by a discussion with director, Alex Berg-Jacobson, Assistant Director, Keri Carpenter, and actor, Chris Silcox. One night … Continue reading

Posted in Arts, Healthcare, Human Rights, Prisoners | Leave a comment

You Can’t Jail the Spirit: US Political Prisoners and POWs

COMPILED BY THE PRISON ACTIVIST RESOURCE CENTER. For other Political Prisoner/POW-related resources, go to our political prisoner page. The list is alphabetical. And as of February 2005, there are so many names that we have split off onto separate pages … Continue reading

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National Conference for Prison Book Projects Held in Urbana-Champaign

ON NOVEMBER 3, 2007, a conference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois brought together 88 participants from 29 different prison book projects across the country. A similar event of this kind has not taken place since a 2002 conference in Philadelphia. Participants shared … Continue reading

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Vernon Bellecourt: A Life of Struggle for Indian Rights

“Our detractors always say, ‘We are honoring you,’ It’s not an honor. In whose honor? We have to ask. Beginning with the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, about 16 million of us were wiped out, including whole villages in Washington, where … Continue reading

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UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples Rings Hollow at UIUC

IN SEPTEMBER OF 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a landmark declaration in support of the rights of an estimated 370 million indigenous peoples in some 70 countries worldwide, prohibiting State discrimination against them in both practice … Continue reading

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Breast Cancer Survivor

In the year 2003, I am 35 working, raising a child, trying to get by. I go to the women’s clinic for my yearly probe. It becomes more than a matter of routine when the nurse says, “Hey you’re 35 … Continue reading

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Access to Abortion and EC for Teens in Illinois

Obtaining proper reproductive healthcare and education about sexuality and sexual health is essential to keeping teens in our area healthy. In Illinois, teens are lucky to have some access to contraceptives, abortion services and other reproductive care. However, activist groups … Continue reading

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Native Women’s Resurgence at UIUC

Ask your friends and family to name any American Indian women. It is likely that Sacagawea and Pocahontas will be the only ones they know. Why is it that these two Native women have acquired mythical status in American history … Continue reading

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Guard Your Girls From Gardasil: What every woman and parent should know before considering the HPV vaccine.

Recently, the media has been saturated with ads promoting Gardasil, the Human Papillomavirus vaccine created by Merck. The overwhelming tone of this campaign is that cervical cancer is a growing epidemic and that the best preventative measure is to inoculate … Continue reading

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Lesbian Activism and Women’s History in the Cold War Era

ORGANIZING WOMEN’S HISTORIES Which women do we remember when we think about women’s history and which do we forget? What kind of woman has remained invisible when the idea of Women’s History itself becomes institutionalized? Questions like these are not … Continue reading

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Consent Decree 101: The Mis-education of Champaign’s Black Students

More than 50 years after the landmark case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954), this country still has not fulfilled the dream of desegregation. In fact, there are many indications that the country is seeing a trend toward … Continue reading

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Colonized Wombs? Reproduction Rights and Puerto Rican Women

Following World War II, Puerto Rico and the rest of the Third World emerged as a problem for U.S. philanthropists, foreign policy makers, and social scientists to solve. A major concern of the times was that Third World populations were … Continue reading

Posted in Healthcare, Human Rights, Latino/a, Women | Leave a comment

Torture Exposed in the Champaign County Jail

Many are now familiar with the infamous story of Sergeant Jon Burge in Chicago. In 2002, it was found that Sgt. Burge and his underlings had tortured over 150 Black men in Chicago jails. Burge had used a hand-cranked army … Continue reading

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The Injustice System in Champaign County

Recent events have convinced me that the justice system in Champaign County is skewed against the African American population and should be more properly referred to as an injustice system. There have been excessive charges against blacks, retaliatory prosecution and … Continue reading

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Homeopathy–The Choice of More Women

  uses extremely small doses of substances prepared in a special way to re-vitalize a person’s health. The choice of the medicine, referred to as a “remedy,” is individualized for each patient according to the symptoms and characteristics of … Continue reading

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Reducing Post-Partum Depression the Village Way

   the country was shocked to learn how Andrea Yates killed her children during an episode of post partum psychosis. The “eye for an eye” folks wanted her electrocuted. The “spare the rod, spoil the child” folks wanted … Continue reading

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HPV: Prevention of Cervical Cancer Through Vaccination

   has been hailed by gynecologists as the most significant breakthrough in Women’s Health of the century. The first HPV Vaccine has been approved by the FDA. HPV is a DNA virus that infects skin and mucosal tissues … Continue reading

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