Power To The People: Tasha Viets-VanLear
By Thaddeus Tukes [A version of this story, A profile in power: Activist Tasha Viets-VanLear fights for black freedom in Chicago was co-published in The Grio and on SJNN (Social Justice News Nexus)] An aura of serenity and peace permeates the room when Tasha Viets-VanLear enters. Clad in all black with a gray scarf, she sips […]
When a Chicago Radio Station becomes a mouthpiece for activism
By Iacopo Luzi Que4 Radio is more than just another Chicago radio station. It’s a place where people can share ideas, develop solidarity, and promote diversity. The community station shares independent music and independent thoughts. Located on North Elston Avenue, Que4 Radio broadcasts its music and the voice of its radio hosts every day. “It’s […]
Black women activists focus on prison pipeline, joining the fight for social justice
By Branden Hampton Eighty percent of prison inmates report that they were in foster care as youth, and the foster care-to-prison pipeline must be dismantled, according to social justice activist Charity Tolliver. “When we look at the boom of the prison system in the ’80s, one of the systems that also exploded at the same […]
Activists debate over black-only space
By Meggie Morris Two weeks after Buzzfeed leaked emails from a University of Chicago fraternity, revealing four years of racist and misogynistic sentiment, students, faculty and local organizers gathered last week to discuss the complexities of racism and activism. As social justice movements gain momentum and exposure nation-wide, activists remain concerned about the balance between […]
Recruiting minorities is not the solution to police reform, say community groups
By Meggie Morris Community-based organizations demanding police reform say recruiting more minorities to better reflect Chicago’s demographics is not enough to improve police-community relations. The recruitment campaign, which is to end this week, will be ineffective unless the city first addresses the policing system as a whole, the groups say. “It certainly is a prerequisite […]
Protesters crash mayor’s private MLK party
Text by Hannah Gebresilassie Video by Kat Lonsdorf Chicago activists interrupted Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s privately held interfaith breakfast Friday commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to protest the mayor’s handling of fatal shootings of unarmed black teenagers by Chicago police. As promised, more than 30 protesters gathered at the main entrance of […]
Chicago ministers say no to King breakfast with the mayor
By Hannah Gebresilassie Who wants breakfast? Not ministers and activists in Chicago. In light of the controversy surrounding the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald and Cedrick Chatman, also 17, religious leaders say they will join activists in a protest on Friday morning outside of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s planned private commemorative breakfast of Dr. Martin […]
Going door-to-door: protecting Albany Park residents against immigration raids
By Marisa Endicott Almost 70 people chose to spend Saturday’s wet and dreary afternoon walking door-to-door in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood. Volunteers turned out in response to the deportation campaign launched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that targets recent Central American immigrants with deportation orders. Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) held the door-knocking campaign […]
