10 Search results for "a radical democratic vision"

AirGo x BYP with Barbara Ransby
Black Youth Project has joined forces with AirGo for a year-long #BYPSpotlight series, featuring our favorite Black academics and activists. First up is Barbara Ransby, whose footprint on the Chicago and global social movement landscape is inimitable. A Professor of History, Gender and Women’s Studies, and African American Studies at UIC, Barbara has grounded both organizing and […]
We were Transformed, but was the World? Reflecting on a Decade of Black-led Movement
by Asha Ransby-Sporn A full decade ago this summer, I arrived at a retreat center in the Chicago suburbs with about a hundred other Black organizers, and community leaders from around the country brought together by Cathy Cohen’s Black Youth Project. Not long into former President Barack Obama’s second term, the goal of the gathering […]
Progressive wing of the DNC shaken up in an act signaling a move away from Sanders
The Democratic National Committee’s Chairman Tom Perez sent shock-waves throughout the Democratic Party and the realm of politics in a move that signals what he wants the party to look like going forward. Perez stripped 75 members of the committee of their “at-large” status, members who were either Bernie Sanders or Keith Ellison loyalists and […]
How the state uses “police morale” to divert from the violence inherent to policing
By Benji Hart Recently, the Chicago Police Department released a video on its Facebook page entitled “You Are Not Alone!” intending to raise awareness about the high suicide rate among its officers—which the video cites as being nearly 60% higher than the national average. The video depicts a uniformed officer reaching slowly for their own […]
Liberation is a 3-step process: Broadening activism’s scope in the wake of the Movement for Black Lives
Contrary to popular belief, the Movement for Black Lives is not solely about police brutality. Bigger than body cameras and electoral politics, the Movement is about Black liberation and freedom for all Black people. Liberation and freedom are unconventional in the sense that the system under which society currently operates makes those two realities impossible. […]
We Need Revolution, Not Endorsements
It is true that the Movement for Black Lives is leaderless; it is also true that Deray McKesson has been dubbed the face of this same movement, and within his time as “The Face,” many people – including Black people – have come to critique his decisions. With his name most recently in the news […]
BYP 100 Feature: official statement from the byp100 on the firing of cpd police superintendent
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2015 Contact: Camesha Jones 240-533-2876 chicago.chapter@byp100.org official statement from the byp100 on the firing of cpd police superintendent garry mccarthy BYP100 calls for resignation of Mayor Emanuel and States Attorney Alvarez, defunding of policing and investment in Black futures
Obama’s Speech: To Be or Not to Be [Hopeful]
Four years ago I got a phone call from the Obama Campaign in Cleveland, Ohio that requested me to “join the campaign.” I was more than happy to oblige, as the 2008 race for president seemed as if it would revolutionize our world. The pure hope felt in my 18-year-old mind at the inception of […]
The New Southern Strategy
If the Southern segregationists had to assemble an ideal 4 X 100 meter relay team they would probably be unstoppable. Senator Trent Lott would be the first leg. Since he believes that all the problems in the United States could’ve been avoided had Strom Thurmond been elected President in 1948, he will get a fast […]
The Meltdown: Judge Sotomayor . . . It’s Okay to Cry??
Surrounded by white men in suits. Cameras flickering then flashing. Hands laid flat upon table. Nodding pensively. Swinging pendulum of opinions “we are happy” to “we have many reservations.” Judge Sonia Sotomayor listens as senator after senator summarize their thoughts about her appointment to the highest court in the land . . . a court […]