Category Archives: Women

Remembering: Claire Szoke

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Public i

We were very saddened by the passing of our friend and dedicated worker for social justice, Claire Szoke. Claire grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a major in Spanish and journalism. In … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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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Is a Woman a Person?

Posted on 09/20/2019 by Esther Patt

In a 1980 article about the proposed Human Life Amendment (HLA) to the U.S. Constitution, journalist Ellen Goodman asked, “is a woman a person?” The HLA would have granted constitutional personhood to every fertilized human ovum. Few people back then … Continue reading →

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Emma Scott Bridgewater: Lived Experience Marked by Race and Discrimination

Posted on 09/20/2019 by Vanessa Rouillon

I met Mrs. Erma Pauline Scott Bridgewater (1913-2013) in Spring, 2009, during my research visits to Bethel A.M.E. Church. She led a life of service, racial work, and local activism in Champaign, being, arguably, the most interviewed and celebrated local … Continue reading →

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Fight for the ERA in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Laura Keller

Sometimes we are lucky enough to be part of history, to fight for a cause that we believe in strongly. I was among many other local women who had that privilege some forty years ago, when Illinois was at the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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White Male Patriarchy + Misogyny – Feminism = Trump’s Election

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Pauline E. Kayes

Not many know that in 1982 Champaign-Urbana played a notable role in a “chain-in” protest against the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment at the State Legislature in Springfield, Illinois. This passionate feminist action gained widespread national media coverage, including … Continue reading →

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Am I My Sister’s Keeper? Help Pass IL House Bill 40

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Esther Patt

Who would have thought Donald Trump would win the Presidency—or that abortion would become illegal again in the United States? These are the realities of our time. If President Trump gets one more Supreme Court appointment after Gorsuch, the high … Continue reading →

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Activists Among Us: Esther Patt

Posted on 11/18/2016 by Julie Laut

By Julie Laut It is easier than ever today to “virtually” act on behalf of social justice issues. Emails come to your inbox and with just a click of a button you can send a robo-letter to your senator or … Continue reading →

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To Serve and Protect

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Marya Burke

 Marya Burke works in partner abuse intervention and cognitive behavioral therapy with survivors and other groups in our community. Many are distressed by police violence and are personally affected by the ways in which it has been acted out in … Continue reading →

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