Category Archives: Section

Remembering John Prine

Posted on 05/26/2021 by Dan Gilbert

As we trudge through the second year of the pandemic, the calendar brings gloomy anniversaries. April 7, 2021 was an especially mournful day, marking one year since John Prine died from COVID-19 complications in a Nashville hospital at the age … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Music, Remembering | Comments Off on Remembering John Prine

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 →

Posted in Racism, Voices of Color, Women, Xenophobia | Comments Off on Stop Asian Hate: A Local Perspective

Going Dark in Afghanistan

Posted on 05/25/2021 by Janice Jayes

In April President Biden announced he was “ending America’s longest war” by bringing US troops home from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. If only this war were that simple. Biden isn’t really ending the war in Afghanistan, of course: he … Continue reading →

Posted in International, International, military, War | Comments Off on Going Dark in Afghanistan

The 2021 Illinois Police and Criminal Justice Reform Bill

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Belden Fields

On February 22, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3653. This bill, rather a composite omnibus of many bills, was sponsored by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in both the Illinois House and Senate. Several of the individual bills were sponsored … Continue reading →

Posted in Court System, IL, Justice, Police, Police Brutality, Policing | Comments Off on The 2021 Illinois Police and Criminal Justice Reform Bill

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 →

Posted in bigotry, National, Police, police accountability, Racism, White Nationalism, Women | Comments Off on The Haters Among Them

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

A Tale of Two Elections

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Mark Weisbrot

  This article was first published in The Raw Story on December 21, 2020, under the title “Trump’s Coup is Failing—But a Similar Effort Backed by the US has Already Succeeded.” It has been amended to note the inauguration’s having happened. Reprinted … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Foreign Policy, International, Latin America | Comments Off on A Tale of Two Elections

An Indymedia Genesis Story

Posted on 02/08/2021 by Sascha Meinrath

Indymedia is a wide-ranging phenomenon: its genesis in opposition to dominant powers; its constituency spanning numerous public interest movements; and its continuing success creating a proving ground for a next generation of leaders who today, 20 years later, are scattered … Continue reading →

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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 on Turn Off the Spigot: Money vs. Med4All

If You Could Save a Million Lives, Would You Do It?

Posted on 02/07/2021 by Mark Weisbrot

This article was first published in The Hill on October 1, 2020. Reprinted with permission. If you had the opportunity to save a million people from preventable death, would you do it? These are people who would otherwise fall victim … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Economics, International, International, Politics | Comments Off on If You Could Save a Million Lives, Would You Do It?

“Congo to the Mississippi”: Recent Socially Conscious Music from Africa and the Americas

Posted on 02/06/2021 by Al Kagan

It is wonderful that so much music from around the world is now easily available to us, especially through the Internet and radio. My main source is Songlines magazine, a monthly published in print and online in London. Every print … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Arts, Cuba, International, International, Music, South Africa | Comments Off on “Congo to the Mississippi”: Recent Socially Conscious Music from Africa and the Americas

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

“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U

Posted on 12/06/2020 by FirstFollowers

In the midst of the global pandemic, Champaign-Urbana has its own local epidemic: gun violence. As of July 20, police had received 95 reports in 2020 of shooting incidents in Champaign alone. This is more than double the total for … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Gun violence, incarceration, Poetry, Violence, Voices of Color | Comments Off on “It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U

Polish Women Take to the Streets

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Richard Esbenshade

Following an October 22 Polish Supreme Court decision cutting off the main route to legal abortion in the country, Polish women, and many supportive men and children, took to the streets in the biggest mass mobilization in Poland in 40 … Continue reading →

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Urbana Police Chief Finally Admits Misconduct in Aleyah Lewis Arrest

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Christopher Hansen

  It has been more than seven months since the violent arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis. Tens of thousands of people have watched the videos of Urbana Police Officers throwing Lewis to the ground, pinning her, punching her in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Police, police accountability, Police brutality, Policing | Comments Off on Urbana Police Chief Finally Admits Misconduct in Aleyah Lewis Arrest

“The Big Scary ‘S’ Word” is Coming for your Children

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Audrey Wells

  Did you know that Abraham Lincoln and Karl Marx had a correspondence; that Helen Keller was a socialist, as was Francis Bellamy, who authored the Pledge of Allegiance; that North Dakota practices public banking; and that in the 1840s … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, film, socialism | Comments Off on “The Big Scary ‘S’ Word” is Coming for your Children

What I Learned While being the Poet Laureate for the City of Urbana . . .

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Will Reger

I learned that the people of Urbana truly appreciated the emphasis on poetry in their public lives.  They felt it improved their town in a tangible way. I learned that many poets live in this community who don’t always interact … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Local Arts, Poetry | Comments Off on What I Learned While being the Poet Laureate for the City of Urbana . . .

The UCIMC Disinformation Defense Campaign

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center

IMC working groups, projects, and partners are working to fight the tide of disinformation. We have just received a grant and extensive educational materials from MediaJustice to do this work. We will focus on racialized disinformation: disinformation campaigns that specifically … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Racism | Comments Off on The UCIMC Disinformation Defense Campaign