Category Archives: Human Rights

Beyond Abortion: Reproductive Justice Envisions More

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Julie Laut

The human right to choose to have children or not to have children is a foundational principle in the vision of Reproductive Justice (RJ). Thus the increase in legal attacks on abortion rights and trans rights is understandably central to … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Opposition to the Proposed ICE Dwight Detention Center Continues.

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Janice Jayes

Efforts to halt the construction of a 1200-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Dwight, Illinois continue at both the state and local level. The proposed facility would be built and operated by the Virginia-based, for-profit prison company … Continue reading →

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The Honduran Crisis: Not Quite Your Father’s Oligarchy…

Posted on 01/24/2018 by Janice Jayes

By Janice Jayes At first glance the political crisis in Honduras seems depressingly familiar: a military coup against a left-leaning President in 2009, continued repression of opposition groups, and now a Presidential election so full of irregularities that demonstrators refuse … Continue reading →

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4th Annual Welcome Awards Ceremony Celebrates What Makes America Great

Posted on 10/19/2017 by David Cisneros

By David Cisneros. State, national, and international news media have brought us a daily barrage of tragic or infuriating news stories. And national rhetoric increasingly features voices of nativism, racism, and hatred. In the face of all of this, it … Continue reading →

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The Water Project: Examining our relationship with our most precious resource

Posted on 06/30/2017 by Nancy Dietrich

Nancy Dietrich is a resident of Urbana who became an environmentalist because she likes to breathe clean air and drink clean water. “Destruction of water resources and of forest catchments and aquifers is a form of terrorism. Denying poor people … Continue reading →

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Our Mahomet Aquifer

Posted on 06/17/2017 by Jacquelyn Potter

By Jacquelyn Potter, Sierra Club Prairie Group Jacquelyn Potter is on the Executive Committee of the local Sierra Club, where she is involved in activism with many issues, including water protection, and serves on the Mahomet Aquifer Model group. Water … Continue reading →

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People’s Climate March: History & Views from the Local & D.C. Marches

Posted on 06/17/2017 by Alice Englebretsen

By Members of Prairie Group of Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch Origins of the People’s Climate March By Alice Englebretsen Alice Englebretsen has been a member of the Sierra Club for many years, and originally got involved by … Continue reading →

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A Very Rude Awakening

Posted on 01/19/2017 by Faruq Nelson

“Faruq Nelson is an attorney in solo practice. He has been an active member of the local mosque for nearly 25 years.”   Like almost everyone I know, I could not imagine that Donald Trump would win the presidential election. … Continue reading →

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Champaign County Facing Million Dollar Lawsuit for Jail Death

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Brian Dolinar

On August 8, 2016, attorney Shayla Maatuka sent a letter to Champaign County Board Chair Pattsi Petrie requesting a million dollar settlement for the wrongful death of Toya Frazier, who died in the Champaign County jail. The letter is a … Continue reading →

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October Surprise: Harold “Killer” Koh to Lecture at UI Law School in Election Week

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Midge O'Brien

Harold Hongju Koh, Hillary Clinton’s former legal advisor at the State Department  has been invited as an ‘endowed speaker’ at the U.I. College of Law, twelve days prior to the November election. Koh, currently a Yale Law School professor and … 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 →

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In Memory, Honor, and Love of Gene Vanderport

Posted on 06/27/2016 by Belden Fields

It is difficult to write about an untimely death of someone whom one has known for almost half a century. Gene was my student, my comrade, and my friend since the late 1960s. Only a couple of years after my … 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.

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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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Reframing Refugees: Looking Beyond Borders in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 04/25/2016 by Alexandra van Doren

The St. Louis Perhaps you have heard of the Voyage of the St. Louis. On May 13th, 1939, a ship with 937 passengers aboard, predominantly Jewish, set sail from Hamburg en route to Havana. Among the 937 men, women, and … Continue reading →

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Radical Women-An Historical Perspective

Posted on 04/25/2016 by Julie Laut

“Women have to find a script, a narrative to live by, because all other scripts are likely to depict them in roles that fit the conventional stereotypes.” Mamphela Ramphele Last month in these pages I wrote about my personal journey as … Continue reading →

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Barbara Kessel Accepts Humanitarian Award

Posted on 03/11/2016 by Barbara Kessel

Barbara Kessel’s acceptance statement of the 2016 James R. burgess, Jr.-Susan Freiberg Humanitarian Award given by the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Countywide Celebration Committee: “I am happy for this opportunity to remind the audience that as we sit here … Continue reading →

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The Right to Pray Movement and Feminist Politics in India

Posted on 03/11/2016 by India Watcher

by India Watcher The women’s movement in India entered a new phase in late 2015 and early 2016 under the banner of the Right to Pray movement.  During this time, large numbers of women protested that they were barred from … Continue reading →

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Children With Incarcerated Parents Played Key Role in Phone Justice Victory!

Posted on 11/19/2015 by Brian Dolinar

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted recently to cap the rates of phone calls from prisons and jails after years of profiteering by telecommunications companies that have made millions off of those incarcerated and their families. In her comments before … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Community Forum, Human Rights, IMC, National, News, Policing, Politics, Prisoners, UC-IMC, Voices of Color | Comments Off on Children With Incarcerated Parents Played Key Role in Phone Justice Victory!