Shortly after his inauguration, President Joe Biden reversed former President’s Donald Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban, stating those actions are a stain on our national conscience.” This stance aligns with that of the tens of thousands of protesters who, at the time the first Muslim Travel Ban was enacted in January 2017, took to the streets and to airports across the country with slogans such as, “We are all Immigrants,” “Standing with Muslims against Islamophobia,” and “Stop Hatred against Muslims.” To be sure, the Muslim Travel Ban is a racist policy. It seeks to keep out or deport people perceived to be Muslim based upon the racist assumption that “they” are violent potential terrorist enemies of the U.S. nation. The ban was an executive order that prevented individuals from primarily Muslim countries, and later, from many African countries, from entering the United States. Yet ending the Muslim Ban only scratches the surface of a much larger problem. If progressives really want to end anti-Muslim racism, we are going to need a more radical approach, that requires, as Angela Davis reminds us, “grasping things at the root.” The root cause of the Muslim Ban is anti-Muslim racism, which has many roots.
Race and Culture
How Black women cleared a path for Kamala Harris to be the Democrats’ VP pick
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Harris makes history as America marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote — a right that most Black women weren’t afforded until much later.
against the legacy of the many Black women on whose shoulders they believe she stands.
Perspectives
Now is the time to look inside and fight white supremacy for what it is
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The subjugation of black people, enforced by violence and embedded in capitalism, has been the through line of American history.
Race and Culture
Roy Larson, former publisher of The Chicago Reporter, dies at 90
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Credited with helping the magazine survive the succession of its founder, Larson oversaw the Reporter’s redesign, investigations on asbestos in public housing and the launch of Catalyst Chicago.
Government and Politics
Is Lightfoot’s war on poverty too late to stop Chicago’s black exodus?
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A new study says Chicago’s black population decline is due to decades of racial inequality.
Government and Politics
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she’s ending poverty in a generation. Is it possible?
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The STEP summit dissected the scope of poverty in Chicago and examined policies that have been successful so far.
Perspectives
A moral argument — and course of action — for legalized marijuana in 2020
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As cannabis becomes legal in more states, religious leaders should be truth-tellers of the racialized history and disparate impact of the war on drugs in recommending how their congregations and communities should respond.
Race and Culture
13 essential social justice-themed films of the 2010s
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Here’s our picks of films from the past decade that reflect the political, social and cultural upheaval that have shaped the times we live in now.
Race and Culture
Five things to read or watch for 50th anniversary of Fred Hampton’s murder by police
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A roundup of coverage marking 50 years since Illinois Black Panthers Party leaders were killed by Chicago police, an event that’s had lasting repercussions for the city and country.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Lessons from Chicago’s Black Arts Movement
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The remarkable flowering of the arts reflecting the Black Power movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was guided by a philosophy of self-determination.
Perspectives
The forgotten history of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks
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Municipal swimming pools flourished in the 20th century. But too often, their success was based on the exclusion of African Americans.