Category Archives: Women

Supporting Women, Girls and Families: An Interview with Stephanie Cockrell

Posted on 05/26/2021 by P. Stewart

Women are praised for being pillars of strength in their families and communities, but this same strength might lead them to be overlooked when designing services to meet the needs of a community. Women also need therapeutic activities that help … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, Community, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on Supporting Women, Girls and Families: An Interview with Stephanie Cockrell

Black Art Politicized: A Discussion with Leslie Smith

Posted on 05/26/2021 by Drake Materre

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Leslie Smith, a board member of the Urbana–Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) and the founder of Black Voices Theater Production. As someone who grew up in a household with a father who is … Continue reading →

Posted in African American Women in CU, African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Local Arts, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on Black Art Politicized: A Discussion with Leslie Smith

Stop Asian Hate: A Local Perspective

Posted on 05/26/2021 by Sharon S. Lee

The March 16, 2021 shootings in Atlanta, resulting in the tragic deaths of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, have raised awareness of anti-Asian violence, misogyny, and hatred in this country. In this unprecedented time when global viruses … Continue reading →

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Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Carol Skalnik Leff

  The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits “excessive” bail, a prohibition that dates back to English common law, and is largely honored in the breach. In Champaign County Jail, on any given day this past winter, there were … Continue reading →

Posted in Court System, IL, incarceration, Justice, National, Women | Comments Off on Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

Shamar Betts: Caught in a Legal Drama that Started Before He was Born

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Janice Jayes

No one wants to be the poster child for a Supreme Court challenge. However, finding his case before the Supreme Court could not only help Urbana resident Shamar Betts resolve his own situation, but it could redraw the legal lines … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, BLM, Champaign County, civil rights, Court System, Justice, News, Racism, Women | Comments Off on Shamar Betts: Caught in a Legal Drama that Started Before He was Born

The Haters Among Them

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Pat Simpson

The number is thirty so far, thirty police officers charged with the act of participating in the Capitol insurrection last January. Many, many Americans felt shock, and media analysts expressed particular outrage, to find men in blue—perhaps even waving blue-line, … Continue reading →

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Africa and COVID-19 Vaccines: The Politics Surrounding Equitable Access to Vaccines

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Fatou Jobe

Global North countries, including France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are hoarding COVID-19 vaccines, leaving countries of the Global South behind in equitable access to vaccines. As COVID-19 vaccines become available, many Global North countries have already purchased half of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, COVID-19, International, International, Women | Comments Off on Africa and COVID-19 Vaccines: The Politics Surrounding Equitable Access to Vaccines

Thank the Suffragists: Celebrating the Women’s Rights History of Champaign County

Posted on 02/07/2021 by Barb Oehlschlaeger-Garvey

Ever wondered why March is Women’s History Month? We at the Museum of the Grand Prairie invite you to answer that question with a visit to our latest exhibit celebrating the centennial of women’s voting rights, “How Long Must Women … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Voting Rights, Women, wonen's rights | Comments Off on Thank the Suffragists: Celebrating the Women’s Rights History of Champaign County

Countering Disinformationhttp://publici.ucimc.org/wp-admin/edit.php to Build a Just Society

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Kiana Kazemi

We have heard a lot about disinformation during this past year, but learning more about how information is manipulated, distorted and deployed to shape social debates can help you recognize when you are being targeted in a disinformation campaign. It … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, Media, Racism, Trump, Women, Youth | Comments Off on Countering Disinformationhttp://publici.ucimc.org/wp-admin/edit.php to Build a Just Society

White Nationalism in our Own Front Yards

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Janice Jayes

This past summer residents of West Champaign awoke to find their neighborhoods had been leafletted with an insulting anti-immigrant flyer bearing the imprint of the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA), a group designated as a white nationalist hate group … Continue reading →

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Separating Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Jenni Walkup

The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I woke up wondering if I was still white. I am Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish, and had always felt confident in the safety my light skin afforded me. That day, for the first … Continue reading →

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Women Workers on the March: UNITE HERE Hotel Workers Strike

Posted on 03/12/2019 by Stephanie Fortado

Currently women workers are leading the march of labor in this country. Although it is lost amid the headlines of the #MeToo movement, this movement’s call for an end to sexual harassment and assault is at its core a demand … Continue reading →

Posted in health care, labor, Women | Comments Off on Women Workers on the March: UNITE HERE Hotel Workers Strike

History Matters: Remembering Two “Dangerous” Labor Union Women

Posted on 03/27/2018 by Stephanie Fortado

By Stephanie Fortado Dr. Stephanie Seawell Fortado is a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Labor Education Program, providing workshops and extension programming for unions and the general public on the Champaign-Urbana campus and throughout Illinois. Before joining the University, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Feminism, labor, Labor/Economics, Women, Women | Comments Off on History Matters: Remembering Two “Dangerous” Labor Union Women

Abused: Working Women Face Widespread Harassment and Violence

Posted on 03/26/2018 by Patricia Simpson

By Pat Simpson Pat Simpson, Emerita Professor, Loyola University, formerly taught in the Labor Education Program, UIUC. A longtime labor and social justice activist, she is  currently a member of the Chambana Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and of the … Continue reading →

Posted in labor, Labor/Economics, Sexual abuse, Women, Women | Comments Off on Abused: Working Women Face Widespread Harassment and Violence

Women and the Environment

Posted on 03/26/2018 by Jacquelyn Potter

By Jacquelyn Potter, Sierra Club Prairie Group About a month ago I had the “great” idea to write an article in honor of Women’s History Month about women in the environmental movement. I soon realized the futility of this. Writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Environment, Women, Women | Comments Off on Women and the Environment

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 →

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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 on Equal Pay Now, We Cannot Afford to Wait

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 →

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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 on Manifesto: In Review

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 on A Black Herstory Slam Redux