#BlackWomenMatter: The fight to support incarcerated black women

By Jasmine M. Ellis A Medill Newsmakers Report There are 106,000 women in prison in the United States. But how does race factor into this? According to The Sentencing Project, the number of African-American women in prison was more than double that of white women in 2014.  This edition of Medill Newsmakers will examine how black women […]

Leslie’s Place Gives Formerly Incarcerated Women a Second Chance at Life

By Jasmine M. Ellis Second chances in life are far and few between, but Leslie Brown knows what it’s like to have one. Brown, who was formerly incarcerated gives a second chance to women through her organization Leslie’s Place. [vimeo 169569429 w=474]

Medill Reports Newscast

By Hannah Gebresilassie Watch the Medill Reports News Update. This week our reporters talk about challenges graduate students face through the eyes of a Loyola University Chicago student. We see how more than 100 veterans experience a special send-off to Washington D.C. through the Honor Flight program. Finally, we get to hear from Reckless Records […]

Medill Reports Newscast: NFL Draft Edition

By Jasmine M. Ellis With the NFL Draft in town, Chicago expects a huge turn out from fans. Watch our team coverage on what to expect. [vimeo 164485740 w=474] Photo at top: Chicago is ready for the 2016 NFL Draft in Grant Park. (Caroline Kenny/MEDILL)

One UIC Student’s Fight for Justice in Palestine

Jasmine M. Ellis The Israeli-Palestinian conflict not only impacts people abroad but also in Chicago. The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) student Manar Daghash spoke on her experiences as a Palestinian American. [vimeo 163894309 w=474]

As the semester winds down with no state budget in sight, Chicago State students ponder their school’s future

By Jasmine Cannon Illinois is the only state in America that has not passed a budget for its fiscal year. The political impasse between the governor and the legislature has been going on since July. The deadlock has caused an uproar in the educational community because some public universities are running out of the money needed […]

#WHERESTHEJUSTICE: Muslim students talk about social justice from an Islamic perspective

By Jasmine M. Ellis Students at Loyola University Chicago are learning more about the Muslim community through Islam Appreciation Week. Hosted by the Muslim Student Association, the organization is focusing on social justice from an Islamic perspective. Using #WHERESTHEJUSTICE students are contributing to the conversation by sharing what social justice issues matter most to them. […]

#SayHerName, hear her too: black women activists fight to be heard

By Jasmine M. Ellis In the age of #SayHerName and #BlackLivesMatter social justice movements, black women have played a key role in protesting injustice across the country. Dedicated to changing the U.S. political and racial climate, they have demanded their voices be heard, while demanding change. However, black women have been noticeably absent from many conversations […]

Local college women answer the call for Hillary at Old Town phone bank

By Jasmine M. Ellis and Torene Harvin With the March 15 Illinois primary less than a week away, local college students hosted an evening of phone banking for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday at the Parkway Ballroom in Old Town. Sponsored by Hillary for America, several of the volunteers remember meeting Clinton at a young age […]

What’s beyond #OscarsSoWhite? Chicagoans sound off on Hollywood diversity

a hand holding an oscar statue

By Jasmine Cannon and Jasmine M. Ellis While Hollywood is still recovering from criticisms revolving around racial diversity in casting, some Chicagoans believe it’s time for The Academy to take a different approach. According to UCLA’s 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report, little more than 10 percent of lead actors in theatrical films were minorities, and just […]