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 […]
racism
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
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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 […]
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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.
Posted inCommunity/News
Coralville City Councilmember says he has ‘zero tolerance’ for Black Lives Matter, calls it ‘a bunch of criminals’
During the public comments period of the Coralville City Council’s Tuesday Zoom meeting, multiple residents inquired about the city’s efforts to oversee and potentially reform the Coralville Police Department, as protesters have demanded. Twice, Councilmember Tom Gill interrupted responses to these questions from his fellow city councilmembers by pointing out there was a work session slated to discuss issues of racial justice following the meeting.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Englert web series ‘Nuggets of Wisdom’ presents a friendly dialogue on race and queerness
Viewers might watch an episode of the Englert Theatre’s new series, Nuggets of Wisdom, and think Sharon Udoh and Jonny Stax have been close friends for years. Whether it’s the chemistry they have in their conversation, or how comfortable they seem talking about personal subjects, there’s a sense of familiarity. The two actually met in […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: The UI Nonfiction Writing Program responds to Black students’ demands for change
Dear Students, We are deeply grateful for this letter. Thank you for all the painful labor and thought that has gone into it, and for giving us the opportunity to make amends and to change. We want to acknowledge that as a program we have failed and harmed Black students, and you are right to […]
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Black writers at the University of Iowa describe encounters with racism in Iowa City
Content warning: This article includes stories involving racism and mental health issues, including suicidal ideation. In cities like Minneapolis, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, the myth of Midwest Nice that has allowed white people to ignore systematic racism for decades is being steadily dismantled. Despite its reputation as a liberal haven, Iowa City — like […]
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Coping with uncertainty
We are in a coracle with no oars or rudder, heading to an unknown fate. We are in peregrination. So that’s my topic for the return of UR Here. Rarely have I just not known what to write about for this column. Even though I was ecstatic that Little Village was coming back to print, […]
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Your Village: Why is Quaker Oats dropping Aunt Jemima?
Have a question about what’s going on in your community? Ask Little Village. Submit your questions through the Your Village feature on our homepage, or email us at editor@littlevillagemag.com. So Quaker Oats is finally dropping the Aunt Jemima brand. What’s the origin story there? I’ve read a lot of debate about it. And did they […]
