Local Efforts for Racial Justice

A panel on local efforts for racial justice, part of the year-long series on breaking down racism. State Representative Carol Ammons, substituting for a scheduled panelist (her husband, who was ill), described her path from community organizing through the Champaign County Board to the legislature, and argued that the school-to-prison pipeline is fundamentally economic. Evelyn Reynolds, a Parkland College sociology professor, discussed founding the Black Lives Matter Champaign-Urbana chapter and work with a jail-opposition group. Marlon Mitchell described founding the First Followers re-entry program. Audience questions covered the new Champaign County racial justice task force, Unit 4 expulsion disparities, media images of Black death, and what individuals can do.