“That’s bullshit.” “This is not justice.” “Disappointed, but not surprised.” “What he did is a terroristic act and should be in prison for it.” The news that Michael Ray Stepanek, an Iowa City man who intentionally drove through a crowd of racial justice protesters on Aug. 21 in order to give them an “attitude adjustment,” […]
racism
‘Our state has never been stronger’: Reynolds calls for accelerated tax cuts and full-time in-person school, despite pandemic

More than 4,200 Iowans have died from COVID-19, and food insecurity in the state has been pushed to it highest level in living memory by economic damage from the pandemic. Still, Gov. Kim Reynolds told the Iowa Legislature at the beginning of her Condition of the State speech on Tuesday night that “the condition of […]
The ‘demure white supremacy of the Midwest’

Beneath a veneer of “niceness,” the Midwest is among the very worst places to live in the United States if you’re a person of color. That’s what historian and University of Iowa history professor Colin Gordon discovered while completing a report for the Iowa Policy Project titled “Race in the Heartland: Equity, Opportunity, and Public […]
Artist Jordan Weber explores the intersection of climate and racial violence in collaboration with Cedar Rapids museums

Jordan Weber first began meditating when he was a junior in high school, with visions of professional basketball in his future. He read the book Sacred Hoops by long-time NBA player and coach Phil Jackson, which in turn led him to seminal Western practice text Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. “I was extremely lucky to find […]
Eight former Hawkeyes demand firing of Ferentzes and Gary Barta, $20 million in restitution

Uncertainty over whether the Big 10 conference would compete this fall football season has dominated conversations in the past few months. But this week, with the Iowa Hawkeyes preparing for a postponed season opener in West Lafayette, Indiana on Saturday, a potential lawsuit has shifted focus back to allegations of racial discrimination within the University […]
Des Moines-area group stages ‘Back the Blue’ march in Iowa City

The Facebook post promoting the “Back the Blue” march in Iowa City on Friday evening said the event would have a “special guest” — it didn’t mention the tractor, or the bagpiper. But the approximately 75 people who gathered for the event marched from College Green Park to the Pentacrest, and back again, following a […]
What you need to know ahead of Coralville’s Sept. 29 special election

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, a special election will be held in Coralville to fill a vacant seat on the city council. The vacancy was created when longtime Coralville City Councilmember Tom Gill resigned in late July, after coming under fire for comments made during a virtual meeting of the council focused in part on racial […]
1619 Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones discusses Waterloo schooldays, ‘reckoning’ with slavery and hopes for the Biden presidency

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke to the University of Iowa community about her renowned 1619 Project in a free livestream hosted by the University Lecture Committee Tuesday evening. Originally published in New York Times Magazine in August 2019, the collection of essays, poetry, short fiction, photos, podcast episodes and classroom curricula that make […]
Iowan Nikole Hannah-Jones, 1619 Project creator and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, to give online lecture for UI community

“My dad always flew an American flag in our front yard,” begins the award-winning essay that kicked off New York Times Magazine’s landmark 1619 Project. Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project, grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, in a redlined neighborhood “along the river that divided the black side from the white side of […]
Iowa Freedom Riders lead a weekend of protests ahead of the Iowa City Council’s next meeting

The Iowa Freedom Riders led three nights of protest in Iowa City starting on Friday to push for the Iowa City Council to take faster action on the group’s demands, ahead of the city council’s next meeting on Tuesday. A fourth night of protest is scheduled for Monday. IFR’s demands for action to address issues […]
The Bowery Street Grocery Store and Iowa City’s omitted history of segregation

In 2014, a small building on the block between South Johnson and South Van Buren streets in Iowa City was added to the National Register for Historic Places. Its inclusion was well-warranted; it had served as a small grocery store for nearly a century, beginning in the late 1800s. The store at 518 E Bowery […]
Coralville City Councilmember who called Black Lives Matter ‘criminals’ resigns

Longtime Coralville City Councilmember Tom Gill resigned on Friday, three days after making inflammatory statements about Black Lives Matter during a council meeting. “BLM, to a lot of people, is a great organization,” the five-term councilor said near the end of last Tuesday’s Zoom meeting, which was streamed publicly. […]