Category Archives: Voices

First Class Justice vs. “the Cattle Call”

Posted on 09/03/2015 by Public i

By a Courtwatcher Courtwatch is a group of citizens who volunteer to attend criminal proceedings by request of the defendant or a family member of a jailed defendant. We are there as witnesses to criminal justice in Champaign County, to … Continue reading →

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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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International Women’s Day Drawing by Maya Bauer

Posted on 03/29/2015 by Public i
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A Running List of CU Businesses Supporting White Supremacy

Posted on 02/13/2015 by Ryan Kenji Kuramitsu

Offensive imagery is a big problem on our campus.  That is, the entrenched white supremacy that formed and birthed my institution of higher learning resists erasure in powerful ways.  Each year we see a familiar slew of problems – in residence halls, some students hang Confederate … Continue reading →

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Groundswell Organizing and Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

Posted on 01/30/2015 by Aaron Johnson-Ortiz

After President Obama signed his executive action on immigration last November, immigrant activists commended the president for his decision, which might help up to 4 million undocumented immigrants normalize their status, and at the same time emphasized that this action … Continue reading →

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Chuco’s Justice Center in Los Angeles: Home of “College Prep, Not Prison Prep”

Posted on 10/01/2014 by James Kilgore

In August I travelled to California as part of my research into the use of electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system. My first stop was a converted factory along the border between South Central Los Angeles and Inglewood, Chuco’s … 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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The Economic and Political Context of Student Debt

Posted on 01/31/2014 by David Green

Alan Collinge, author of “The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back,” recently spoke to students at Lincoln Hall on the UI campus. His argument is detailed, persuasive, and heartbreaking; it … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics, Youth | Comments Off on The Economic and Political Context of Student Debt

Transgender Justice and Prisons

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Onni Gust

Onni Gust (Onni Gust is originally from London, UK, where she took part in social justice activism and education, particularly on LGBT rights and racism. Onni arrived in Champaign-Urbana in August 2013 and is a post-doctoral fellow at the Illinois … Continue reading →

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“Inside Voices”: Poetry from the Champaign County Jail

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Rachel Storm

INSIDE VOICES In a class facilitated by educators, Rachel Lauren Storm, Becca Sorgert, and Meadow Jones, incarcerated men have participated in a weekly poetry lab offered at the Champaign County Jail since January of 2012. Inside Voices is a ongoing column … Continue reading →

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How Privatization Destroyed Award-Winning Suicide Prevention Program in Champaign County Jail

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Brian Dolinar

Several years ago, while working at our local Books to Prisoners, I met a volunteer who had formerly worked as a mental health counselor in the local jail. This was just after there had been three jail suicides within a … 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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Poetry by Robin Arbiter

Posted on 05/24/2013 by Robin Arbiter

Adoption Stories By Robin Arbiter One mother is still convinced, And one is still assured, And I must deal with history, The dawn of which was painful, The end of which approaches. In the face of stories More certain than … 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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Frances Friedman’s Passing; A Deep Loss to This Community

Posted on 04/03/2013 by Belden Fields

On February 28, this community lost a woman who made enormous contributions to the quality of life of so many in Champaign-Urbana.  Originally from Chicago’s West Side, Frances came to Champaign-Urbana and graduated in nursing from Mercy Hospital School of … 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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