Category Archives: Section

Local Emergency Rally for Reproductive Rights

 Local citizens gather in front of the Urbana Courthouse on May 3 to protest the likely coming Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade and endangering women’s right to choose.  654 total views

 654 total views

Posted in abortion rights, Back Cover, health care, Women | Comments Off on Local Emergency Rally for Reproductive Rights

March Issue Front Cover

WOMEN”S HISTORY MONTH ISSUE  850 total views,  1 views today

 850 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Front Cover, Labor, Labor militancy, Section, Women | Tagged , , | Comments Off on March Issue Front Cover

I Love My Job, But . . .

The University of Illinois is part of the US land-grant university system. Each state has a land-grant university that operates a Cooperative Extension Service, which provides non-formal education to agricultural producers and communities in each county in Illinois. I work … Continue reading

 1,205 total views

Posted in Labor, Labor/Economics, Section, social services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Tagged , | Comments Off on I Love My Job, But . . .

Passing: Can One Ever “Pass”?

I recently watched one of the most beautiful and perhaps also one of the most significant movies I have seen in a long time. Passing, based on a 1929 novel by the Harlem Renaissance author Nella Larson (1891–1964), is a … Continue reading

 799 total views,  1 views today

Posted in African American women, African Americans, Arts, film, Racism, Section | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Passing: Can One Ever “Pass”?

SB 148 and the Assault On Teaching Black History

Florida’s SB 148 represents the surging wave of white supremacist fascism sweeping across the country. Entitled “An Act Relating to Individual Freedom,” it symbolizes the deceptive, authoritarian, and racist motivations that characterize the white nationalist Republican Party. By making the … Continue reading

 867 total views,  1 views today

Posted in African American, African Americans, Education, Education, Section, Voices, White Nationalism | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on SB 148 and the Assault On Teaching Black History

Rally for Ukraine

 754 total views

 754 total views

Posted in Imperialism, International, International, Section, Ukraine, War | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rally for Ukraine

Local Community Protests Former Champaign Police Chief’s Teaching Appointment at Parkland College

Former Champaign Police Chief Robert T. Finney was hired in August, 2020 to teach Community Policing as well as Introduction to Criminal Justice at Parkland College. “Unbelievable” is what one African American community member thought on hearing the news; “Shocking,” … Continue reading

 1,419 total views,  2 views today

Posted in African Americans, Education, Justice, police accountability, Police brutality, Policing, Section | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Local Community Protests Former Champaign Police Chief’s Teaching Appointment at Parkland College

What’s With All That Socialism in South America?

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

 4,782 total views,  3 views today

Posted in Economics, Imperialism, International, Latin America, Politics, Section, socialism | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on What’s With All That Socialism in South America?

The U of I’s Micro-Modular Reactor Should Be in Another Location

The University of Illinois wants to install a test nuclear reactor (“micro-modular reactor”) at the Abbott Power Plant on the UIUC campus. It has submitted a letter of intent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) advising that it intends to … Continue reading

 846 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Nuclear Power, Section, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Tagged , | Comments Off on The U of I’s Micro-Modular Reactor Should Be in Another Location

Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration

On a bad day, those of us seeking justice can find little to be hopeful about. The recent acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse again reminds us that the law is designed to protect white lives. Even after widespread protests and demonstrations … Continue reading

 1,287 total views,  2 views today

Posted in African American, BLM, Champaign County, incarceration, Justice, Police brutality, Policing, Section, State Government | Comments Off on Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration

Urbana’s Long Search for Traffic-Stop Equity

In 2004 the State of Illinois required all law enforcement agencies to report their annual traffic stop data to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The Urbana Police Department’s (UPD) data shows they have enforced traffic laws inequitably every year … Continue reading

 931 total views

Posted in African Americans, Champaign County, Justice, Police, Policing, Racism | Comments Off on Urbana’s Long Search for Traffic-Stop Equity

What’s Understood Need Not Be Explained

I’m curious to know, as a reading eye and listening ear, what are you expecting to hear from me? That the feds were somehow wrong, and Shamar was right? Or that he was justified in putting out some call to … Continue reading

 951 total views,  1 views today

Posted in African American, African Americans, Arts, BLM, Justice, Local Arts, Police brutality, Racism, Section, Voices | Comments Off on What’s Understood Need Not Be Explained

Filmmaker Raoul Peck: “Do We Wish for a Common History?”

Pristine wilderness. Sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? A place untouched. But does the phrase “pristine wilderness,” connoting unsullied land, serve as a cultural myth that ironically reeks of genocide? Raoul Peck makes this case and many others in … Continue reading

 947 total views

Posted in Arts, film, Imperialism | Comments Off on Filmmaker Raoul Peck: “Do We Wish for a Common History?”

It’s Not a Labor Shortage, It’s a Workers’ Rights Shortage

The Great Uprising, the Great Resignation, even the unofficial General Strike: analysts and pundits—left, right and center—speak of mounting worker unrest in the US in awestruck terms. What these labels certainly do capture is the expansive scale of this unrest … Continue reading

 1,476 total views,  1 views today

Posted in labor, Labor militancy, Labor/Economics | Comments Off on It’s Not a Labor Shortage, It’s a Workers’ Rights Shortage

There’s Something Happening Here

Gun violence in Champaign-Urbana has certainly dominated public discourse of late. As a city council member, I hear a lot of it. Here are some common myths being thrown around about local gun violence and law enforcement: “The libs on … Continue reading

 1,062 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Crime, Gun violence, Police, Policing, Violence | Comments Off on There’s Something Happening Here

Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

The Ubuntu Project Urbana-Champaign is disappointed to learn that the Champaign City Council is considering voting to purchase license plate readers. Considering the well-documented controversial reputation and questionable value of license plate readers, the Champaign people need more information on … Continue reading

 935 total views,  2 views today

Posted in African American, African Americans, civil rights, Crime, Gun violence, Justice, police accountability, Policing, Violence | Comments Off on Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

Illinois Responds to “Code Red” Climate Alarm

  IPCC Issues a Code Red for Humanity “Code Red for Humanity” has become the new rallying cry for climate action. The phrase was coined by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in reference to the August climate report, released … Continue reading

 959 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Climate Activism, Climate Justice, Environment, Environment | Comments Off on Illinois Responds to “Code Red” Climate Alarm

The Border We Build Every Day: Guatemala in Champaign-Urbana

The border mechanisms that capture headlines—the roundups, the cages, and the deportations—deserve attention, but this human sorting isn’t confined to the moment or space of the frontier crossing. It is part of the food we buy, the clothes we wear, … Continue reading

 1,388 total views

Posted in Foreign Policy, Immigrants, Immigration, Indigenous, Refugees, Violence | Comments Off on The Border We Build Every Day: Guatemala in Champaign-Urbana

A Conversation with Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files

The Public i recently talked to Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files Please tell our readers a little about yourself. “I am a wife, mother, and registered nurse. I currently work in mental health and addiction services. I enjoy reading, writing … Continue reading

 1,091 total views,  2 views today

Posted in African Americans, Arts, Community, Local Arts, Poetry, Voices of Color, Women | Comments Off on A Conversation with Urbana Poet Laureate Ashanti Files

Victory! Dynegy Will Move Its Ash

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

 1,759 total views,  3 views today

Posted in Environment, Environment, IL, Politics | Comments Off on Victory! Dynegy Will Move Its Ash