Views, opinions, and analysis of the latest news and pressing issues.
Ieliot Jackson spent nearly eight years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of selling less than one gram of heroin. He was granted a certificate of innocence in 2019. Jackson recounts the obstacles he faced in the courts and why it is important to always #CheckYourJudges.
“We are the revolution. It is in our bodies. It is in our bones. It is in our art. It is in the way that we speak.”
“We understand,” community organizer Destiny Harris writes, “that we will never have access to the resources we need in abundance if we wait on the government.”
Let Us Breath organizer Kaleb Autman, 18, reflects on his awakening as a West Side activist and how he’s responding to the needs of his community.
“A truth and reconciliation process may create sympathy,” writes former Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. “But justice isn’t about sympathy and sentiment – it’s about tangible action.”
Despite the apparent potential for abuse, the federal courts have historically taken a hands-off approach to prison strip searches—but that changed last month, writes attorney Alan Mills.
Three weeks ago, the nation was transfixed on images of people running out of downtown stores with their hands full. But the historic plunder of Black Chicago deserves our attention, too.
“Each received what amounts to a death sentence for one horrifying but familiar reason: race,” writes attorney and advocate Jennifer Soble.
Two youth organizers with GoodKids MadCity share what activism has taught them, how it has affected them, and how they want to transform Chicago.
GoodKids MadCity youth organizers China Smith and Miracle Boyd reflect on their experiences amid the pandemic and the growing movement against racial injustice, part of our ‘Essential Work’ series.