Racism

The future of a state-funded program to increase the diversity of faculty at colleges and universities in Illinois is in doubt as the Trump administration continues to pressure higher education to abandon DEI values.

Author and musician Ruth Anne King is coming to the Bloomington Public Library to share the inspirations for her memoir titled When I was 35 years old, I became Black.

The messages invoked slavery and some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time “with your belongings,” while others didn’t include a location. The FBI and FCC, as well as state authorities, are investigating.

Some worry about the militarization of police agencies nationwide as tactical units, automatic weapons, body armor, and armored vehicles proliferate to cities across the nation. A noted scholar who will appear at Illinois State University on March 28 said that's really nothing new.

A central Illinois Chapter of the Audubon Society is distancing itself from the name of the founder of the national bird watching movement. The John Wesley Powell Chapter of the National Audubon Society has changed its name to the Grand Prairie Bird Alliance.

Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said during a media availability on Monday that society has come a long way over the decades but there is still a small pocket of people in the country where racism exists.

A judge dismissed Carla Campbell-Jackson's claim that State Farm fired her in 2016 after 27 years of employment because she reported an anonymous letter that contained racist and offensive statements that was sent to several workers at a Michigan office of the company.

After multiple tries, Senate Bill 90 — or the Racism Free Schools Act — was passed by the state legislature in the spring, signaling a policy victory for Teach Plus Illinois, a group of educators working for legislative solutions in the education field.

The display of a Confederate flag outside University High School in Normal did not go down well with other students. One took down the flag. Several reported it. In-school social messaging platforms blew up. The Black Student Union at the high school issued a statement condemning the act as an "obscenity."

The Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP hosted a virtual remembrance event Tuesday to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police.