Category Archives: Voices

Stream some Laughs: Four Political Comedies from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico

Posted on 12/07/2017 by Audrey Wells

Subtitles don’t bite. Turn them on, if you need, and check out a superb satire from Mexican director Luis Estrada, The Perfect Dictatorship (La Dictadura Perfecta, 2014), streaming on Netflix. Prepare to laugh and squirm. In this uncomfortably relevant and … Continue reading →

Posted in film, Latino/a, Media | Comments Off

UI Bans “War Chant”

Posted on 10/19/2017 by David Prochaska

On February 21, 2007 the University of Illinois got rid of the Chief Illiniwek mascot. On August 24, 2017 they got rid of the “war chant.” The “war chant,” separate from but related to the so-called “3-in-1,” was created during … Continue reading →

Posted in Indigenous, News-Gazette, Trump | Comments Off

The YWCA: We Are on a Mission

Posted on 10/19/2017 by Andrea Rundell

Since opening on campus in 1884 as a women’s residence hall, the YWCA of the University of Illinois has served as an organization on a mission to promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We recognize the powerful potential … Continue reading →

Posted in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Women, wonen's rights | Comments Off

Interview with Marlon Mitchell from FirstFollowers

Posted on 09/09/2017 by Carol Inskeep

. The local group FirstFollowers is only two years old, but it is already making in impact in our community. In this interview Marlon Mitchell talks with Carol Inskeep about their mission and the ambitious range of projects the group … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Justice, Prisoners | 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

Equal Pay Now, We Cannot Afford to Wait

Posted on 04/07/2017 by Julie Laut

By Julie Laut On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, I will observe Equal Pay Day, a day that symbolizes how far into the new year women must work to earn as much as men did in 2016. According to the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Women | 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

The Politics of Looking at Women’s Rights in the Middle East

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Janice Jayes

As someone who has lived in and studies the Middle East I am often asked my opinion on the situation of women in that region. Of course it’s impossible to comment on “women” anywhere, even in Champaign or Urbana, without … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, wonen's rights | Comments Off

Manifesto: In Review

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Rachel Storm

By Rachel Lauren Storm Nestled in the Armory Free Theater on campus, captive audiences witnessed a theatrical performance this March that urged an examination of feminist histories and futures. “How do you talk about 300 years in four minutes? [sighs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Women | 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

Politically Correct

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Public i

By Molly M. McLay “He tells it like it is,” you say, singing his praises “I don’t have to be politically correct anymore”– these are words out of a politician’s mouth; If you’re a politician and you’re not correct on … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Uncategorized, 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

Posted in African Americans | Comments Off

Orange Crush: The Rise of Tactical Teams in Prison

Posted on 02/23/2017 by Brian Dolinar

Since Ferguson, there has been a public outcry over militarized police who shoot down African Americans on the streets of our cities, but less is known beyond prison walls about guards who regularly brutalize those incarcerated. In Illinois, there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisoners | 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

The Recolonization of Standing Rock

Posted on 01/19/2017 by dezyp

By Desmond Powers After a thirty-five hour drive from New Orleans, I rolled into Standing Rock’s Oceti Sakowin camp in a VW hatchback plastered with Bernie stickers with two fellow New Orleanians and a trunk full of herbal medicine and … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Indigenous, Voices of Color | 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

Keep Loving, Keep Fighting: Meditations from the Days after Trump Presidency Was Declared

Posted on 01/19/2017 by Brett Ashley Kaplan

I’d wager that for all of you November 9, 2016 was a day of shock, revulsion, horror, disbelief, tears, confusion and a huge amount of fury. Like most of you, I had a very hard time focusing on anything but … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 election, Politics, Trump, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices | Comments Off

Small Victories Matter

Posted on 01/19/2017 by Jacquelyn Potter

By Jacquelyn Potter Jacquelyn Potter is on the Executive Committee of the local Sierra Club, where she is involved in activism regarding DAPL and other pipeline issues. A celebration of joy erupted in the cold, snowy and wet camp at … Continue reading →