Category Archives: Voices

Resolution Opposing The Dakota Access Pipeline

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Paul Mueth

Resolution Opposing The Dakota Access Pipeline WHEREAS, the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of fracked crude oil per day for over 1,000 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, passing … Continue reading →

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Taking Applications for “Open Scene,” IMC’s Youth Media Project

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Public i

The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) and the City of Urbana are happy to launch Open Scene, a project to reimagine downtown Urbana through arts-based dialogues led by youth. Open Scene will be anchored at the UCIMC, a media and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, IMC, Latino/a, LGBTQA, Transgenders, Uncategorized, Women, Youth | Comments Off on Taking Applications for “Open Scene,” IMC’s Youth Media Project

Why Traditional School is a Dangerous Place for Black Boys

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Lori Patterson

My son is an A student in his junior year of college and a budding composer and performer with shining confidence. However, that was not always the case. In the 5th grade he came home and said, “Mom, the teacher … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Forum, Education, Women | Comments Off on Why Traditional School is a Dangerous Place for Black Boys

CU Schools Need to Work Harder to Involve African American Parents

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Deloris Henry

During the month of August, thousands of children will head back to schools in Champaign Unit 4 and Urbana 116 school districts. Many African American families and students are probably anxious about the new school year because of issues they … Continue reading →

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Activists Among Us: Claire Szoke

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Julie Laut

By Julie Laut Claire Szoke is an activist among us who has worked tirelessly on behalf of social justice issues for over forty years. She is currently the co-chair of Central Illinois Jobs With Justice, part-time director at the Channing-Murray … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, International, Refugees, Women | Comments Off on Activists Among Us: Claire Szoke

Statement on the Upcoming Ballot Referendum on “Public Facilities”

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Public i

Statement delivered by Build Programs, Not Jails before the County Board on August 18, 2016.  Last week [on Tuesday, August 9, 2016] the County Board’s Committee of the Whole voted in favor of placing a referendum on the November ballot … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Prisoners | Comments Off on Statement on the Upcoming Ballot Referendum on “Public Facilities”

We Don’t Need a New Jail, We Need Abolition

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Kadeem Fuller

Speaking to the Champaign County Board on Tuesday, August 9th, local Black organizer/activist, Kadeem Fuller made a much needed case for the abolition of jails, prisons, and white supremacy. The following is a transcript of his speech.  Tonight I sit … Continue reading →

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IMC Helps Pass Prison Phone Justice Bill in Illinois

Posted on 08/24/2016 by Brian Dolinar

State Representative Carol Ammons and Wandjell Harvey-Robinson attended the signing of HB6200 on August 22, 2016. The bill will cut in half the cost of phone calls from Illinois prisons. Thank you to Rep. Ammons and Wandjell for fighting for … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisoners, UC-IMC | Comments Off on IMC Helps Pass Prison Phone Justice Bill in Illinois

Orlando Shooter Was A Product of US Hyper-Masculinity

Posted on 07/14/2016 by Tariq Khan

Like so many others, I’ve been at a loss trying to make sense of the heinous act of anti-queer mass murder in Orlando. The following are some of my scattered thoughts on the topic, some of which I originally posted … Continue reading →

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How Lawmakers Are Exploiting Public Fear After Orlando to Push More Police Militarization

Posted on 07/13/2016 by Sarah Lazare

To date, the Orlando Police Department has disclosed no definitive evidence that its military-style weaponry protected public safety the morning of the horrific massacre at the LGBTQ Pulse club’s Latin night. And the department’s chief has not ruled out that … Continue reading →

Posted in Latino/a, LGBTQA, Police | Comments Off on How Lawmakers Are Exploiting Public Fear After Orlando to Push More Police Militarization

News-Gazette: Always Right

Posted on 07/13/2016 by David Prochaska

The News-Gazette has always been Right — right-wing Republican, and in its smug self-righteousness, right. The paper presents itself as “respectable Republican,” as representing the values of “proper,” polite society. It abhors what is impolitic, impolite. That the News-Gazette is … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Speech, Indigenous, Labor/Economics, News, News-Gazette | Comments Off on News-Gazette: Always Right

Prison Boycott in Illinois Targets Costs of Incarceration

Posted on 07/13/2016 by Brian Dolinar

During the month of April, at least 100 of those incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center, about an hour outside of Chicago, participated in a boycott of the overpriced phone calls, commissary goods, and vending machines. “Mass incarceration is a luxury … Continue reading →

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May Day Rally on Quad

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

“This is what solidarity looks like.” May Day rally on the U of I Quad.

Posted in African Americans, Human Rights, International, Israel/Palestine, Labor/Economics | Comments Off on May Day Rally on Quad

The Myron Scruggs Case and the Champaign Police Department

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Belden Fields

by Belden Fields An  Ugly Image From the Past In the late 1960s, I joined the newly created chapter of the Champaign County ACLU and became the chair of its investigations committee. I received a call from a woman member … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Justice, Policing | Comments Off on The Myron Scruggs Case and the Champaign Police Department

Jail is Not Drug Treatment

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Brian Dolinar

If you were to believe those like Champaign County Board Chair Pattsi Petrie, who spoke recently at a meeting of Champaign County’s Racial Justice Task Force, those in the local jail are dangerous people that shouldn’t be let out on … Continue reading →

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Racism and Mass Incarceration in the US Heartland: Historical Roots of the New Jim Crow

Posted on 05/27/2016 by James Kilgore

If asked what state had the highest rate of incarceration rate of black men, most people would likely cite somewhere in the old Confederacy, perhaps Mississippi or Louisiana. They would be about 1000 miles too far South. According to labor … Continue reading →

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Black Lives Matter C-U Summer Activities

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

Social justice collective, Black Lives Matter, the Champaign-Urbana chapter, has been gaining further traction within their outreach. From demonstrations and panel meetings, to youth involvement and local radio shows, Black Lives Matter’s efforts continue to make striving progress throughout the … Continue reading →

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Incarceration figures

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

Some figures compiled in the Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter (April 2016). Reprinted with Permission. I. Number Incarcerated in U.S., 2014 1.5 million people at an annual per person cost of $80 billion–approximately $51,250 each. (A “free world” minimum wage of $15/hr … Continue reading →

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City and IMC Announce $50,000 grant for creative placemaking from the NEA

Posted on 05/10/2016 by Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center

Downtown Urbana is about to become a lot more creative – thanks to the vision of local youth, the City of Urbana, the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC), and the National Endowment of the Arts. The NEA has announced awards … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, UC-IMC, Voices of Color, Youth | Comments Off on City and IMC Announce $50,000 grant for creative placemaking from the NEA

The Beheading of a Saint: Junipero Serra and the California Monument Wars

Posted on 04/25/2016 by Richard Esbenshade

During his visit to Mexico in February, Pope Francis apologized for the “systematic and organized” exclusion of indigenous Americans over the centuries. This took place in San Cristobal de las Casas, the epicenter of the indigenous-identified Zapatista uprising in 1994, … Continue reading →

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