In December 2024, I attended the National Symposium for State and Local Reparations in Evanston, IL. I typed up seven pages of notes, with links to many phenomenal organizations, but here are some key takeaways. For more information, FirstRepair has a lot of resources on their website; we have some on ours at cureparationscoalition.com
ReGeneration Fund
My family started the ReGeneration Fund, through the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (CFECI) to support young people working toward racial, economic, and environmental justice locally. The ReGeneration Fund can grow from its current modest size to greater potential if others contribute as well. Go to the CFECI website if you would like to […]
Examining White Supremacy, Again
The Swamp
I write on a very muggy day in central Illinois. It’s a day made for thinking about bad air, toxic humors, fuzzy minds, and muddled actions. The concerns around the unhiring of Steven Salaita have preoccupied me for a month. I will not go over ground so ably covered elsewhere, but I need to sort […]
“All that We Let In”
Metaphorically speaking, I agree with the lyrics of The Indigo Girls’ song when they sing “we’re better off for all that we let in.” The song reminds me to be open to challenges and growth, but of course sometimes “all” the suffering of the world is too much and needs to be balanced by celebration […]
Ubuntu
Last Thursday (December 11), I attended a panel organized by a working group at the University of Illinois called Ubuntu. Computer scientists kind of colonized the word by using it to describe a Debian-based Linux distribution. But in any case, Ubuntu is a Xhosa and Zulu word describing a philosophy of community and sharing. And […]
Every Body! Again
Artist Bonnie Fortune, organizer and curator of the exhibit “Every Body!,” asked some of us to reflect on these questions, or similar ones: How feminist health movements challenge/change the images of women and/or men and health? Where do you think the visual representation of bodies in feminist health movements needs to go, and/ or the new concerns they must grapple with? […]
Confrontations Do Not Conversations Make
Walking on the sidewalk with “Respect Native Hosts” yard signs under my arm, I am on my way to deliver them in east Urbana. Man on porch whistles, then yells at me: “Let me see those signs!” Retracing my steps, I stand in his driveway and say that the signs are in support of Heap […]
Yard Signs in Solidarity
Here’s the press release that a group of us wrote to accompany distribution of the yard signs created in solidarity with Edgar Heap of Birds’ art installation, “Beyond the Chief.” Respect Native Hosts, a grassroots campaign in support of Native American artist’s public art installation Student groups, local activists, and concerned citizens join today, Thursday, […]
Memorial Day and Beyond the Chief
I have spent this rainy Memorial Day thinking more about responses to the vandalism of “Beyond the Chief,” by artist Edgar Heap of Birds. Because this art installation of twelve red and white signs is to honor and remember those tribes and peoples who have come before us, I wondered about parallels between the damage […]
