Category Archives: Politics

In Celebration of My Political Advisor-Turned-Surrogate Father: Belden Fields‬

Posted on 06/30/2025 by Carol Ammons

In 2025, in my eleventh year serving Champaign-Urbana as state representative, the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. We have a madman in the White House, who is shredding the last remnants of dignity our country had … Continue reading →

483 total views, 1 views today

Posted in African Americans, In Memoriam, Politics, Politics, Section, Voices, Women | Tagged Belden Fields, Illinois state politics, In Memoriam, local politics | Comments Off

Belden’s French Connection

Posted on 06/30/2025 by Marie-Claude Smouts

I met Belden in 1963. We both were residents at the Cité Universitaire Internationale and attended the same seminar on the 1930s at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). It was the start of a close friendship spanning … Continue reading →

447 total views, 1 views today

Posted in 1968, 1968 Revolt, France, In Memoriam, International, International, Politics, Section, Students | Tagged 1968 revolt, Belden Fields, France, In Memoriam, International, politics, students | Comments Off

Indivisible Illinois Empowers Progressive Advocates

Posted on 05/14/2025 by Marci Adelston-Schafer

Indivisible began at the national level after the 2016 election. A few Democratic congressional staffers decided that there needed to be a grassroots movement on the left similar to the Tea Party movement on the right. Since then, the Indivisible … Continue reading →

1,637 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Democracy, Politics, Politics, Section, Trump | Tagged democracy, grassroots politics, Indivisible, organizing, protest, second Trump administration | Comments Off

Israel Anti-Boycott Act a Threat to Free Speech

Posted on 05/14/2025 by Belden Fields

As part of our continuing republication of past articles written by our late cofounder, editorial collective member, and longtime social activist Belden Fields, we chose the article below, from our September 2017 issue, for its clear relevance to the ongoing, … Continue reading →

942 total views

Posted in Boycott, Free Speech, Israel/Palestine, Politics, Politics, Section, World-wide death and suffering | Tagged BDS, civil liberties, freedom of association, freedom of speech, Israel/Palestine, politics | Comments Off

The Democrats’ Debacle: The Path Forward for the Left

Posted on 12/28/2024 by Grant Chassy

Buckle up—it’s happening again. Donald Trump will be president of the United States on January 20, 2025. The next four years will be a constant struggle, as we fight to retain the meager rights and supports we currently possess … Continue reading →

1,862 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Economy, Elections, Gaza, Inequality, Politics, Politics, Section, Supreme Court, Trump | Tagged Democratic Pary, economy, politics, second Trump admiistration, working-class issues | Comments Off

The Poor People’s Campaign Continues

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Paul Mueth

The Poor People’s Campaign is a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and continues to this day, aiming to address issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice in the United States. The campaign was initially launched by Rev. Dr. … Continue reading →

802 total views, 2 views today

Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics, Politics, Poverty, Section | Tagged activism, economy, Poor People's Campaign, poverty | Comments Off

The Making of a Social Justice Priest

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Tom Royer

Compiled by Janice Jayes from interviews she recorded between 2018 and 2023, in which Father Tom reflected on the many experiences that expanded his vision of moral responsibilities in the decades after his 1960 ordination. Daniel Berrigan and the Challenges … Continue reading →

921 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Latin America, Peace movement, Politics, Religious radicalism, Sanctuary movement, Vietnam War, Violence, War, World-wide death and suffering | Tagged antiwar activism, faith and politics, Iraq War, peace movement, religious studies, Vietnam War | Comments Off

Ukrainian Refugees and National(ist) Politics in Eastern Europe

Posted on 02/12/2024 by Richard Esbenshade

In an article in our last issue (November-December Public i), I used the case of Hungary—its positive reception of Ukrainian refugees, alongside its negative role in hindering EU political and material support of Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression—to … Continue reading →

969 total views, 2 views today

Posted in Eastern Europe, Immigrants, International, International, Poland, Politics, Refugees, Section, Ukraine | Tagged Eastern Europe, Immigrants, migrant politics, refugees, Ukraine War, Ukrainian refugees | Comments Off

Ukraine, Hungarian Refugee Politics, and the Future of Migrants in the EU

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Richard Esbenshade

The February 24, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine unleashed, in addition to death, destruction, and hardship on the Ukrainian people as a whole, a wave of refugees not seen in Europe since World War II. Over six million Ukrainians were … Continue reading →

1,382 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Eastern Europe, International, International, Politics, Refugees, Section, Ukraine | Tagged Hungary, migrant politics, migration, Ukraine War, Ukrainian refugees | Comments Off

Should Ukrainians Surrender for World Peace?

Posted on 05/01/2023 by Richard Esbenshade

The February 24 one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw no respite for either the volunteer and professional Ukrainian troops or the civilian population. The Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine and the areas along the military … Continue reading →

1,898 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Eastern Europe, International, International, Politics, Section, Ukraine, War | Tagged Eastern Europe, peace, the Left, Ukraine, war | Comments Off

Who’s Your Family?

Posted on 02/10/2023 by C. Owen

Having just survived the winter holidays, the stressors and supports brought about by family could not be more present in our minds. However, for some of us in the American workforce, even the discussion of our loved ones at home … Continue reading →

1,701 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Community, Human Rights, LGBTQ, Politics, Section | Tagged community, family, human rights, LBGTQ+ | Comments Off

The Move toward Socialism in the United States

Posted on 11/04/2022 by Jim Barrett

People on the Left are understandably preoccupied with the growing strength of fascism, white supremacist and antisemitic rhetoric and violence, and the growth of extreme right-wing groups. There is no doubt that these developments represent an obstacle to badly needed … Continue reading →

1,787 total views

Posted in Labor, Politics, Politics, socialism | Tagged labor history, politics, socialism, US history | Comments Off

A Time of Monsters: The New Nadir and the Crisis of the Black Worker

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Gus Wood

We currently reside in what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci called “A Time of Monsters.” Exacerbated by the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, the Black working classes continue to struggle under what Black Studies scholar Sundiata Cha-Jua has dubbed “the New Nadir.” For … Continue reading →

1,060 total views, 1 views today

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Economy, labor, Labor/Economics, Politics | Tagged Black workers, economic inequality, economic racism, new nadir, underemployment | Comments Off

Champaign Can End its Housing Discrimination

Posted on 09/18/2022 by Housing Working Group of the Champaign-Urbana Democratic Soc

As previously reported in the Public i, housing discrimination in Champaign is a chronic issue. Following on the “tough on crime era,” since 1994 Champaign has allowed landlords to reject tenant lease applications based on their conviction record—in excess of … Continue reading →

1,570 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Champaign County, Housing, Politics, Politics, racial segregation in Champaign/Urbana | Tagged Champaign City Council, community activism, housing discrimination | Comments Off

Progressive Dilemmas on Ukraine

Posted on 05/13/2022 by Richard Esbenshade

The Left has tangled itself in knots over how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Early statements, such as by CodePink and Black Alliance for Peace, while putatively opposing war, laid emphasis on US and Western responsibility, NATO’s … Continue reading →

1,726 total views

Posted in Eastern Europe, Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, International, Politics, Refugees, Ukraine, War | Comments Off

The Great De-Centering: The World after Ukraine

Posted on 05/13/2022 by Janice Jayes

The Ukraine war is a turning point in history, but not the one you might be expecting. It won’t revive the Cold War. It won’t determine the survival of the Liberal World Order (whatever that is). And most decidedly, it … Continue reading →

1,486 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Foreign Policy, International, International, Middle East, Politics, Racism, Ukraine, War | Comments Off

What’s With All That Socialism in South America?

Posted on 03/31/2022 by Michael Brun

The past twenty or so years in South America have seen several powerful electoral victories of socialist-aligned candidates and parties, followed by years of reform. Eventually the momentum for change slowed, however, to be followed by disappointment and defeat. This … Continue reading →

6,670 total views, 2 views today

Posted in Economics, Imperialism, International, Latin America, Politics, Section, socialism | Tagged Bolivia, economics, Ecuador, political theory, socialism, South America, Venezuela | Comments Off

Victory! Dynegy Will Move Its Ash

Posted on 09/23/2021 by Pam and Lan Richart

No More “Cap and Run” After a multi-year campaign calling for the clean-up of coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion, Illinois’ only National Scenic River, Dynegy Midwest Generation, owner of the coal ash, has finally agreed to … Continue reading →

2,258 total views

Posted in Environment, Environment, IL, Politics | Comments Off

Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Posted on 08/03/2021 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

For more than 70 years and over a century, respectively, television and cinema have presented demeaning images of Black people. And for equally as long, African Americans have responded with boycotts, pickets and alternative visions that “depict[ed] our men and … Continue reading →

1,475 total views, 1 views today

Posted in 1968 Revolt, African American, African Americans, Arts, cinema, film, Politics, Racism, Voices, Voices of Color | Comments Off

Turn Off the Spigot: Money vs. Med4All

Posted on 02/08/2021 by Pat Simpson

The COVID pandemic has exposed the flaws in the US health care system as never before, reinforcing longstanding arguments for creating an expanded Medicare for All system in the country. The Public i has previously published articles (see June, November … Continue reading →

Posted in health care, IL, Politics, Politics | Comments Off