Bloomington Labor Day Parade Sept. 7, Emphasizes Community Service

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The theme for the 2015 Bloomington Labor Day Parade is "For more than ourselves," emphasizing community service and involvement.

The parade marches on Monday, September 7 at 10 a.m., line up at 9 a.m. on Front Street in Downtown Bloomington.  The parade will proceed west on Front Street to Lee Street, south on Lee Street to Wood Street, and then west on Wood Street to Miller Park.

"The parade theme reflects our close community ties," said Trades & Labor President Ronn Morehead.  "All of our unions, through donated labor, volunteering and donations, support local charities, and community organizations.  We want those community organizations to be the center of this year's parade, with Labor's contributions to them."

The parade features union marching units, high school bands, construction equipment, community organizations, antique cars, and elected officials and aspirants for political office. Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal is scheduled to participate.

The local labor community has been a key catalyst in driving diversity and cultural growth. World War II brought unexpected changes to the Twin Cities workplace -- women and African-Americans in the factory. Williams began hiring women as military draft depleting the workforce, Williams losing 383 employees to the armed forces. Williams initially hired 56 women in early 1943, using training films to acquaint them with plant processes.

The other group hired was African-American workers. Although the new female hires joined Machinists Lodge 1000, the African American workers were not allowed to participate in the union. They were kept segregated from the rest of the workforce, doing mainly hand filing and finishing work, and only worked on defense contracts.

A. Phillip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters president, had successfully lobbied President Roosevelt in 1941 to end discriminatory hiring practices. Roosevelt issued an executive order against racial discrimination in war contracts. Ruth Waddell, who worked at Williams during the war, remembered that "some people had problems with us being there," but she and other African-American workers enjoyed the higher pay and an opportunity to do work usually denied to them. As soon as the war contract work ended, though, the African-American workers were laid off.

IWU Students Silently Protest Racism

Lenore Sobota

The Pantagraph

Pantagraph photo by Lori Ann Cook-Neisler

More than 40 students at Illinois Wesleyan University staged a silent protest before the first faculty meeting of the semester on Monday, calling for greater attention to inclusiveness and diversity.

A mixed group of students lined both sides of the hallway outside of the meeting room, holding handwritten signs with messages such as, “Stand against ignorance,” “I won't stand for silence,” and “I should feel accepted in the classroom.”

Most of the faculty and staff members who walked down the hall on their way to the meeting — including IWU President Dick Wilson — stopped to read the signs and many made supportive comments to the students.

Among them was history professor Tom Lutze, who said faculty members needed to hear their message.

“There have been instances of racism on campus,” Lutze said. “We need to create an atmosphere in which all of our students feel welcome, especially our students of color. That's what we're all about.”

Although the protest was triggered by an incident just over a week ago when the N-word was found written on a campus sidewalk, organizers said it was about larger issues, such as students experiencing “microaggressions” in classes, when comments are made that are offensive or make students feel singled out or uncomfortable.

Not In Our Town's Angelique Racki applauded the student's proactive but peaceful approach to the slur, noting "the students didn't riot, they didn't damage property, they didn't cause a dramatic pointless scene." "They made their case and their presence known in an important meeting," Racki said. "To me, that's a win."

Christy Cole, a senior in philosophy and French major from Freeport, said, "To me, this goes beyond race" and includes gender, sexual orientation, and religion.

Senior Ashley Spain, an elementary education major from Chicago, said the university puts “a lot of effort into diversity” but more needs to be done.

“Diversity is in our mission statement at IWU,” said Kitty White, a senior in sociology from Chicago. “If it's in your mission statement, it has to be your mission.”

Reading each sign in the hallway, Wilson told the students, “It takes courage to do this, and I'm proud of you.”

The students asked for and received permission for two students to speak to the meeting on behalf of the others. The students were greeted with applause as they entered the meeting room.

The first speaker, Emani Johnson, a sophomore in sociology from Chicago, said, the students were not there to discredit the school, but “there's always room for improvement.”

She said there can be no improvement without faculty involvement.

“We're here to recruit you as allies,” Johnson said.

The second speaker, senior Catherine Carini, a music major from Chicago, told faculty members, “We look to you to start the conversation” about incidents such as the word written by he fountain and to be as loud about social justice as they are about classroom subject matter.

Carini is involved in “Engaging Diversity,” a three-day program for white, incoming first-year students that began five years ago. Participation grew to 35 students this year.

Cole said students would be back at a later time with more specific suggestions of what the university could do.

Among ideas some students are contemplating is a semester-long general studies course on diversity issues, rather than just the pre-orientation “Engaging Diversity” program.

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Angelique Racki,

Deaf Community Rallies Behind CornBelters Coach

Randy Reinhardt

The Pantagraph

The conversation moves quickly down the right-field line 10 minutes after the Saturday evening baseball game is completed.

Yet other than the occasional sound of hearty laughter, there is silence.

The center of attention is the man in uniform standing on the playing surface. The others huddle around him in the first few rows of the Corn Crib's section 101.

The man is Tommy Barksdale, former CornBelters' player-turned-coach and ambassador. The group of seven has adopted No. 8 as their own.

The hard-of-hearing Barksdale has embraced and become a unifying force in Bloomington-Normal's deaf community.

"It's just a bunch of friends," Barksdale said. "Two of them work at the (Lincoln) community college we stayed at. I saw them signing. They came over to talk to me and introduced me to a bunch of their friends from around town."

Barksdale considers himself "hard of hearing" because he is able to hear when wearing his Cochlear implant. He communicates with his deaf friends through sign language.

"It's nice to know there is a deaf community that supports me and watches my games and afterwards has a conversation with me," said Barksdale. "It's nice to be part of both worlds. I love it. They love it.

"They do mock me sometimes. We all have our jokes. Sometimes I mock them back. It's a family. That's why we can do that."

Barksdale landed in Normal after Belters' manager Brooks Carey received a call from an old friend, former Toronto Blue Jays manager Tim Johnson.

"TJ called me from the California Winter League and said 'Will you sign this kid I have out here?' " recalled Carey, whose team continues its pursuit of the Frontier League's West Division championship Tuesday against Evansville in a 6:35 p.m. game at the Corn Crib.

"About a week later I was talking to TJ and he said 'I forgot to tell you he played for (deaf ex-major leaguer) Curtis Pride at Gallaudet (College) and he's deaf.' I said OK, this is even better."

Barksdale made Normal's season-opening roster but saw little playing time. Hitless in seven at-bats, Barksdale was nearly released several times when other personnel needs arose, according to Carey.

On one occasion he planned to release Barksdale, he had several Belters' veterans accompany Barksdale into his office to provide emotional support.

"Three of them got tears in their eyes. I said 'I don't have any choice,' " Carey said. "I walk out the door and Tommy is sitting in center field in the dark, and Pat (McKenna) is down there with his arm around him.

"They told me Tommy just wants to enjoy the field before he has to go home. I said, 'Never mind, get him back up here.' "

When Barksdale actually was cut from the active roster on July 13, Carey and team president Steve Malliet found a way to keep Barksdale in uniform.

"I told Steve I would make him a coach if we can find a little extra money around," said Carey. "Steve was all for it. The reason Tommy is here is Malliet."

Although Barksdale still considers himself a player, he jumped at the opportunity to serve as bench coach and occasionally coach first base.

"I can't leave the team. These guys are like my family," he said. "I want to support them being a bench coach and learn the game as much as I can. But I'm not going to give up. I'm going to come back next year, play somewhere and give it all I got."

Carey does have to remind Barksdale about the changes his new role has brought.

"The kid is an inspiration to everybody here. He can be a little pain in the neck though," said the third-year Normal manager with a big smile. "He still wants to take BP (batting practice) and do everything the rest of the players are doing. But he has a job now down in the batting cage. He's got to throw BP.

"(Assistant coach Dave) Garcia is out there throwing BP, and here comes Tommy into the batter's box. Are you a coach or are you a player?"

Carey has seen Barksdale treated no differently than anyone on the team.

"He's been a great asset to the organization," Carey said. "I don't think it's a disability. I think it's a positive in his life. He's turned it into a positive."

ISU Seeking 'Books' for Human Library

Illinois State University is seeking individuals who can speak volumes at a Sept. 23 "Human Library" program at the Bone Student Center.

The Human Library is an innovative method designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices, and encourage understanding. The main characteristics of the project are to be found in its simplicity and positive approach.

The Human Library works functions like a normal library: Readers borrow a volunteer human "Book" for a limited period of time, and the Books and readers enter into a personal dialogue. The Books in the Human Library are people representing groups frequently confronted with prejudices and stereotypes, and often are victims of discrimination or social exclusion.

"In the Human Library, Books cannot only speak, but they are able to reply to the readers’ questions and can ask questions themselves,” according to the Human Library Organizers Guide.

ISU students enrolled in LinC Seminar, Success 101, and Transfer Student Seminar courses will be Readers of the Human Library Books. Readers will check out a Human Book for a 30-minute group conversation.

For more information visit: www.UCollege.IllinoisState.edu/HumanLibrary, email HumanLibrary@IllinoisState.edu, or for special accommodations to participate in this event, call 309-438-2599.

Festival of India Offers Taste of Country's Diverse Culture

One of the Twin Cities' key communities will offer a sample of and insights into its culture during the 5th annual Festival of India, from noon to 6 pm. Sunday, Sept. 13, on the Illinois State University quad.

The festival, presented by McLean County India Association and Illinois State University, will feature workshops on yoga meditation, and Pranayama (breath control) and a Rangoli folk art display. Other highlights will include a picture studio with Indian clothing, displays and a parade focusing on the various states represented by Bloomington-Normal's diverse Indian/Indian-American community, henna and face painting, Indian youth sports, balloon art, a bounce house, a culture program, and a Bollywood band influenced by India's major film industry.

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ISU Professor of Graphic Design Archana Shekara, who has helped plan the festival, was on hand for Saturday's Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal strategic planning meeting. "I met some wonderful people shared and listened to great stories — a morning of reflection!" she said.

Shekara noted “each state in India has its own language and culture" -- the McLean County India Association attempts to bridge those regional  differences within the community -- and, with others at Saturday's gathering at Illinois Wesleyan University, stressed the importance of members of the community at large sharing Indian culture with those within the West Asian community.

Tiny House Project 'Springboard' for Transition of Homeless?

It was a different sort of luncheon and home tour recently at Bloomington’s First Christian Church. The luncheon was sloppy joes and three-bean salad, the home could fit roughly in perhaps two church parking spots, and the guests were a mix of city officials, church volunteers, representatives of west side non-profit groups, and guests who spent much of their days – and nights – on the streets.

Local contractor and volunteer mission builder Mike Robinson displays the Tiny House interior for representatives of non-profit organizations.

Redeemer Lutheran Church Tiny House volunteer chats outside the prototype home.

Members of three area churches are currently putting the internal finishing touches to the Tiny House – a modular one-room frame home equipped with AC, heating, a toilet, and shower, designed to put a roof over one currently homeless head. The Tiny House Project – built on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus with private and city support – will go on tour with an eye toward finding a lot and hookups for permanent or transitional residency.

“This is a good thing you guys are doing,” one guest told Tiny House sponsors prior to the home tour.

The Tiny House will be on display for two weeks at a time at various Bloomington-Normal churches, as project coordinators consider options for occupancy. “We actually haven’t thought that far yet,” admitted Tiny House Co-Coordinator Julie Robinson, whose husband, local contractor Mike Robinson, helped build and is now finishing the interior of the structure.

Robinson sees the tiny house as “a viable option” for persons who currently live outside, particularly during periods of inclement weather. City of Bloomington Code Enforcement Grants Coordinator Jennifer Toney sees even longer-term benefits of economic housing for homeless persons: “Housing is probably one of the most important things for an individual when they’re looking for a quality of life.”

Toney subscribes to a “housing first” model, arguing that those not “struggling with where they’re going to put their head at night” can focus on employment, community services, and financial security. “It levels the playing field a little bit.”

PATH Homeless Services Supervisor Lori Kimbrough characterized the Twin Cities’ current homeless situation as “pretty severe,” with some 20-25 people on the streets or “other places not meant for human habitation” on any given night. That number did not drop this past winter as it traditionally has on a seasonal basis, “and we’re looking for some permanent solutions to that problem,” Kimbrough said.

“The folks say who stay out on the street have huge barriers to housing – basically affordability is the biggest issue,” she noted. “They have extremely no to low income, so that doesn’t afford them a living situation or a permanent housing option.

“If the housing choices for a person are in a tent or in a shelter, these people prefer to choose a tent. If we could give them the option of affordable housing, I would say they’d prefer that option.”

Low building costs and floorplan/facilities simplicity also offer relatively low home maintenance costs – another plus for prospective Tiny House tenants trying to regain their financial stability, Kimbrough suggested. Inaugural tiny house projects to date “have worked fairly well” in communities such as Eugene, Ore., Madison, Wis., and Huntsville, Ala., the PATH supervisor maintained.

The City of Bloomington currently administers  a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Local Continuum of Care Grant, which provides about $300,000 per year in homelessness prevention services. Toney and colleagues are investigating possible local lots for tiny houses, preferably along a municipal bus line to accommodate employment and considering public safety issues “for everyone,” she related.

Early talk of the Tiny House Project intrigued Joe Teague, a smaller properties broker and property consultant with Road Runner Real Estate and member of Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Bloomington. Teague concedes that the tiny house concept “breaks a few rules” and poses challenges in zoning and potential liability but notes “I’ve been known to bend or break a few as I go along in life.”

“It’s using great ideas, using different ideas, and using people’s imaginations to tackle a very tough problem and to provide services for folks who are in very tremendous need,” Teague said. “It also benefits our community as a whole. This is not just let’s put people in a shelter – let’s find them serves, let’s make it holistic. I don’t care if you live in a 10,000-square-foot mansion or a 2,500-square=foot nice house, or a cabin – sense of place is so critical. It’s a springboard.”

Notes In Our Town: NIOT:B/N Strengthening Community Partnerships

Roughly one busy year after community leaders and residents gathered at Illinois Wesleyan University's Ames Library to reinvigorate the 18-year-old Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal, NIOT:B/N returned to the library Saturday morning to forge new bonds in fighting local bigotry, bullying, and discrimination.

During a three-hour strategic planning meeting, Twin Cities officials, educators, and representatives of diverse Bloomington-Normal cultural communities hit the whiteboards to brainstorm ways to expand NIOT:B/N partnerships to help underserved constituencies and improve education and communications particularly among those who currently are not "engaged" out of a lack of awareness of local inequities or "discomfort" with discussion of race or culture.

As part of NIOT:B/N's strategy of "inoculation" -- the spread of social awareness on a person-to-person, group-to-group basis -- organization leader Phani Aytam appealed to Saturday's participants to reach out to additional community leaders about NIOT:B/N's mission.

"Is there one person you can talk to?" Aytam suggested.

NIOT:B/N's Art Taylor characterized the Twin Cities culturally as a richly diverse "community of a lot of dots," faced with the daunting challenge of "the connection of those dots." NIOT can serve as "the resource or brokerage for connecting the dots in our community" -- essentially a "one-stop shop" for specific groups seeking to reach the community at large.

Participants underlined the difficulties of bridging the Cities' cultural and economic divides. Meeting facilitator Gina Palmer acknowledged the tendency toward "self-segregation" among individual racial, religious, or social clusters, whether out of discomfort with or fear of offending or creating cultural misperceptions among other groups. Thus, cultural observances and festivals often become "preaching to the choir" rather than opportunities for multicultural education, according to Myra Gordon, who represented Bloomington's Moses Montefiore Temple. Gordon applauded the recent NIOT:B/N-sponsored vigil for the Charleston, S.C. church shooting victims, but suggested individual churches and groups could sponsor various general interest events as a way of introducing participants to other cultures.

Youth was a key focus both in raising early awareness but also as a way of reaching adults and, perhaps, changing the racial or cultural tone of the family dinner table. Unit 5 School District Superintendent Mark Daniel cited estimates that one hour per week of adult mentoring for a student significantly increases classroom participation and reduces disciplinary needs, while Bloomington Human Relations Commission member Rhonda Smith also emphasized the importance of student/student mentoring, arguing "their peers are who they are going to listen to."

Students are taking a hand in reducing school discrimination and bullying, through Not In Our School pledge efforts or the Bloomington-Normal Student Union organization studying possible strategies for leveling the playing field such as later school class times, standardized student testing, or dress codes that help set aside socioeconomic disparities.

McLean County YWCA head Dontae Latson recalled his first tour of Bloomington's west side, where he concluded the divide between east side and west side "wasn't just about race -- it was about class." Often, "capitalism itself is rooted in unfair practices," Latson said. NIOT:B/N's Mike Matejka, a former Bloomington alderman, noted that while the area has enjoyed a relatively low unemployment rate, minorities, ex-offenders, and others may see a far different perspective.

"You may be employed, but you may be stringing together a couple of jobs," Matejka maintained. Illinois Wesleyan University Center for Human Rights and Social Justice Director Irving Epstein held that "once you have a (criminal) record, you are screwed." 

Building community awareness of racial, socioeconomic, or cultural divides amid media downsizing, bustle, and bias is a key challenge, Saturday's participants argued. Cultural communities can help ensure awareness and transparency by securing "a fixed and permanent place for their voice" via weekly print columns or radio segments, Epstein said. Participants meanwhile stressed increased reliance social media and other alternative information sources for community insights.

High Fives, Hugs, and Dialogue

At a time of transition for many communities and law enforcement agencies, the Bloomington Police Department took time Thursday afternoon to literally chill with west side residents, sharing stickers, laughs, hugs, and soft serve.

Bloomington Police Officer Nik Jones was one of more than a half-dozen BPD representatives "throwing out the high fives and hugs" at Carl's Ice Cream on the city's west side Aug. 27. Jones has worked for the past decade in the culturally diverse, generally low-to-middle income neighborhood, and he saw Thursday's Ice Cream With A Cop gathering as a key part of the department's ramped-up effort under Chief Brendan Heffner to establish a strong rapport with residents. The event was a follow up to the recent multiple-department Coffee With a Cop chat at Normal's Dunkin' Donuts; BPD Chief Brendan Heffner was on hand as kids explored Jones' Unit 51 van and updated officers on the new school year.

Carl's, a longstanding summer hangout, donated free cones for children 12 and under -- a move Jones deemed "awesome."

"We're just hanging out with kids and their families, and people in the community," the officer related. "We're getting to spend some quality time with people -- high-fiving, hugging, answering some questions."

Unit 51 was the topic of most of the kids' questions, along with "what we wear on our belts," and the BPD K-9 officers, who were conspicuously absent, Jones said. "All the guys are out now just really active, talking to the community," Off. Jones reported.

Cone With a Cop: Dialogue and a Dip

The Bloomington Police Department will host its first Ice Cream With a Cop event Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at Carl's Ice Cream (601 West Locust, Bloomington)

Officers from BPD will meet, talk, and eat ice cream with adults and children in an effort to field residents' questions, concerns, and views and get to know their neighbors. The event is a follow-up to spring's inaugural Coffee With a Cop get-together at Normal's Dunkin' Donuts.

Carl's Ice Cream will provide free small cones to kids 12 and under during the event.

IWU Prof To Share Green Chem Expertise in India

Illinois Wesleyan University’s Ram Mohan will lecture and provide expertise on green chemistry at Pondicherry University in India as a Fulbright Specialist.

Internationally recognized for his contributions to green chemistry, Mohan is the Wendell and Loretta Hess Professor of Chemistry at Illinois Wesleyan. Mohan’s research, widely published in international chemistry journals, focuses on developing environmentally friendly organic methods guided by green principles. Pondicherry University has been awarded a Fulbright Specialist grant to host Mohan for three weeks later this year.

During his time at Pondicherry, Mohan will deliver a series of lectures on green chemistry to graduate students, help provide expertise in developing green and environmentally friendly laboratory experiments for undergraduate and master’s-level labs, and train Ph.D. students in the practice of green chemistry in labs.

“The lectures will introduce students to fundamental concepts in green chemistry and then highlight the current state of art in the field,” said Mohan. He will present case studies and use real-world examples to highlight environmental problems and how they can be solved using green chemistry principles.

“These experiences will allow me to bring back more green chemistry concepts and ideas to IWU,” said Mohan. “We have been involved in greening our own organic chemistry laboratories over the years in addition to my own research.  Intellectual exchange with scholars at a Ph.D.-granting institution will surely benefit my own research program.”

The Pondicherry grant marks Mohan’s second trip to India on a Fulbright grant. Mohan received a Fulbright-Nehru award to deliver lectures on the principles of green chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Mohali, India, as well as several other Indian colleges and universities during the 2012-2013 academic year.

A 1985 graduate of Hansraj College in Delhi, India, Mohan earned a master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Delhi in 1987 and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), in 1992.  Following that he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

In 2011, the Illinois Heartland Section of the American Chemical Society named Mohan Chemist of the Year. He received the distinguished alumni award from his alma mater UMBC in 2002 and the Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar award in 2001. His research at IWU, which has involved more than 100 IWU students, has been funded by several grants from the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund.

The Fulbright Specialist program provides an opportunity to Indian universities and institutions of higher learning to collaborate with U.S. faculty and professionals. In addition to sharing their expertise, specialists can help develop linkages between their respective institutions. The Fulbright Specialist is sponsored by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Envisioned by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright and founded in 1946, the Fulbright program promotes a mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. 

Bloomington Key In Illinois Women's Rights

August 26 marks the 95th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. After nearly a century, the image of the steadfast “suffragette” remains, but it’s only part of the picture that led to the historic amendment.

“Many people have a one-dimensional understanding of suffragettes, thinking of them only in terms of women who protested for the right to vote, and as only white, middle-class women,” said Associate Professor of History Kyle Ciani. “In reality, by the early 20th century, people concerned with women’s right to vote included African American, native-born white, and immigrant women from diverse economic classes.”

The stereotypical suffragette – or those who wanted the right for women to vote – is often depicted as a passionate woman in the early 1900s, who chained herself to carriages, or was loudly hauled away by police for demanding the vote. Though there were demonstrations and arrests, the movement dates back to the early 1800s, when women pushed for laws that didn’t strip them of their property and rights in marriage.

“This was a long, hard-fought battle. It didn’t happen overnight,” said Ciani. “It was an organized effort that took strategy, and time. No one woke up one morning and just decided they wanted the vote for women.”

By the 1830s and 40s, educated women with ties to the abolitionist movement led the charge for more rights, yet the battle for the vote began in earnest in the post-Civil War days. “The 1870s and 1880s is when women began to enter the political sphere,” said Ciani. When the 15th amendment passed, allowing all men to vote, “women cried foul,” she said, and the symbol of a national women’s vote crystalized.

Of course, women all over the U.S. were already involved in politics by this point. Prior to the 1920s, many states already allowed women to vote, either locally or in state and national elections. Illinois signed women’s suffrage into law in 1913. “Every state had different rules, but women have been active in politics since the 1870s,” said Ciani.

In fact, Bloomington was the first town in Illinois to hold an election where women could cast ballots. In April of 1892, women of Bloomington legally took part in an election for school board members. “Education was considered an extension of women’s roles as a caretaker,” said Associate Professor of History Monica Cousins Noraian, who wrote a book on Sarah Raymond-Fitzwilliam, the nation’s first female school superintendent, who served in Bloomington from 1874 to 1892.

Raymond-Fitzwilliam, a former Bloomington teacher and principal, and a graduate of what was then Illinois State Normal University (ISNU), had been appointed unanimously by school board members for more than 18 years. Yet the 1872 school board election became more about women’s suffrage than job performance. “There were two sets of candidates, who campaigned on a pro-female or anti-female platform,” said Noraian. “The anti-female candidates demanded that women be kicked out of leadership positions in schools, and ‘return things to men.’ It was a very contentious election.”

Raymond-Fitzwilliam was reappointed to her post, but she resigned shortly thereafter, fearing the controversy would limit any hopes of a harmoniously working school board. “She married, moved to Chicago and continued to work for women’s rights,” said Noraian. “So what people might think would be an election where a woman would have all this support, became anything but that.”

Noraian credits Raymond-Fitzwilliam’s upbringing in an abolitionist home, and her education at ISNU as a foundation for equality for women. “Men and women had classes together and conducted debates together,” she said. “Her early experiences helped shape her beliefs on reform.”

“Women in Illinois are historically leaders in social justice reform, and women having access to higher education is key in that,” said Ciani, adding that Sarah Hackett Stevenson, an ISNU graduate, was the first female physician inducted into the American Medical Association in 1876, a full 44 years before the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote.

The lack of a constitutional vote didn’t stop women from making a run for the top office in the nation. Victoria Woodhull ran for president in 1872 under the Equal Rights Party, as did Belva Lockwood in 1884 and 1888. Laura Clay was the first to have her name added to a potential roster of candidates for a major national party, the Democrats. “Hillary Clinton was not the first,” said Ciani.

Women’s rights and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.

Part of Clay’s platform was actually to oppose national suffrage for women. From the South, Clay feared the passage would allow the federal government to interfere with states implementing (or refusing to implement) the 15th amendment.

Race was one of many schisms facing the women’s rights movement on the path to an amendment, noted Ciani. “There is no such thing as one, single movement. There is always a diversity of ideas and dissention within any group, and the women’s rights movement was no different,” she said. “But for every woman who believed—wrongly—that adding African American women to the suffrage push would nix the movement from a national conversation, you had women like journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells, who refused to ‘ask’ permission to march in suffragette parades.”

Looking at the legacy of the women’s rights movement in politics, Ciani said the 19th amendment showed that a long-term strategy could work. “Activists have learned a lot from the highly organized strategies of this movement. I would liken it to the efforts to pass the Marriage Equality Act. It showed the victory could really be won through determination, consensus and compromise.”

ISU Prof's Book Addresses Racial Issues

Nicholas Hartlep has no illusions that his latest book will solve racism in America.

Hartlep is co-editor of The Assault on Communities of Color: Exploring the Realities of Race-Based Violence set for release in June through Roman & Littlefield publishers. A collection of essays from leading scholars across the nation, Hartlep calls the book a platform for voices of a new movement forming in the wake of “modern-day lynchings” of black men such as Trayvon Martin, Eric Gardner, and Michael Brown.

“No other racial group has been more hated in our country than blacks. Our institutional polices reflect that. We’re conditioned to see blacks as inferior,” said Hartlep, an assistant professor of educational foundations at Illinois State University.

Hartlep and co-editor Kenneth Fasching-Varner received more than 140 submissions for the book. The final product contains 57 works with titles such as “We Can’t Breathe: The Impacts of Police Brutality on Women of Color” and “Grey Hoodies, Baggy Jeans, and Brown Skin: The Violence against Black Males via Signs and Signifiers.”

What sets the book apart is accessibility, said Hartlep. “There is no academic jargon, no citations. These are powerful narratives from real human beings.” He noted those who contributed reflect a growing movement rejecting violence against communities of color as simply tragic incidents. Instead, they are seen as evidence of a racist system that has a chokehold on America.

“With race-based violence, you think of images of blood or bludgeoning, and that is what we see in the news,” said Hartlep. “But race-based violence is much more quiet and insidious—damaging psychologically and spiritually. The realities are very complex and nuanced.”

Nicholas Hartlep, assistant professor of educational foundations

The book translates to the courses Hartlep teaches on the historical, cultural, and social foundations of education. “We begin from a place that is learned—part of a learned society that is tethered to white supremacy,” he said. Recently, Hartlep showed one of his classes a video that went viral of a Baltimore mother repeatedly slapping her son for taking part in the riots.

“A lot of the students cheered when I showed the video,” said Hartlep. “When I asked why, they said, ‘She is trying to keep him off the streets and out of gangs,’ or ‘She’s a single mother trying to help her son.’ I looked at them and said, ‘Where are you getting gangs? Where are you getting that the mom is single? These are assumptions you are making because of the stereotypes a white-dominated society places on people of color.’ We dehumanize, we criminalize.”

Pre-sales of the book are already beyond publisher expectations, and are on backorder. Yet Hartlep said the book is not meant to be a guide for the next step in race relations, but a means of expression. “This effort is not to help oppressors understand their oppression. It is a place for the voices of communities of color—voices that come from a place of pain,” he said.

“Let’s be honest. The book will not solve the problem of racism,” said Hartlep. “But it can give us hope for a time when communities of color will not be assaulted. People are angry. If you are not angry, you are not noticing the race-based violence.”

Tiny House Begins Twin Cities Journey

Stop by Bloomington First Christian Church (FCC) at 401 West Jefferson this week to view a new effort to offer people homeless Twin Citians “a place that’s safe and warm – a place for a new beginning.”

A prototype Tiny House – a joint project of First Christian, Illinois Wesleyan University, the Matthew Project Church Extension Fund, and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Bloomington – was transported last week from the Wesleyan campus to FCC -- the first of several anticipated rotating church stops. Local contractor and volunteer mission builder Mike Robinson of FCC will help finish the interior of the single-person dwelling, which will include an air conditioner/heater and a shower.

FCC Associate Minister Kelley Becker, a local homeless activist disturbed by the recent eviction of several individuals in a “tent city” off Market Street, concedes a wide variety of individual issues behind “chronic homelessness,” including addiction, joblessness, mental illness, and/or “past mistakes involving the judicial system, and ongoing tragedies.” She hopes the model Tiny House will not only show those currently homeless an option, but also spur community leaders to consider “more than the emergency shelter approach” to homelessness.

“I learned very early on in this ministry that I cannot fix all these problems, but I’ve spent a lot of time listening to them,” Becker recounts. “I’ve listened to their stories and their dreams and their regrets. The thing I’ve come to feel strongly about is that none of the problems around chronic homelessness can be fixed without homes. Housing must come first.

“A person who is homeless without an address has little hope of ever being offered a job. A person who is addicted to alcohol will struggle to stay sober if he or she returns from treatment to a tent. Living outside is hard, even when a person makes the choice to do so.”

A recent survey by Bloomington-based PATH found 16 people living on the city’s streets and another 220 in some type of shelter. Roughly 40 were considered “chronically” homeless, meaning they live somewhere not meant for habitation, a safe haven or shelter; have been homeless for at least a year or on at least four separate occasions in the last three years; and/or have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability, post-traumatic stress disorder or cognitive impairments.

Bloomington’s Tiny House Project is one of many sprouting across the U.S., and it could help address a costly as well as disturbing problem. The cost of providing an apartment and social work for Utah's “housing-first” clients has been estimated at about $11,000 per year, while the public cost for people living on the streets is pegged at around $17,000 annually because of hospital visits and jail costs.

Arlene: Special Olympics Changing Lives and Attitudes for More Than 47 Years

Arlene Hosea

WJBC Forum

What began as a backyard summer camp for people with intellectual disabilities is now a “global movement that has been changing lives and attitudes for more than 47 years.”

 Eunice Kennedy Shiver had a vision and a goal.  The vision was a summer day camp in her back yard for young people with disabilities.  Her goal was to “learn what these children could do in sports and other activities, and not dwell on what they could not do.”

 That vision and goal continue to remain the purpose and the passion within Special Olympics Illinois today.  Our state and community are embedded in the history of Special Olympics.  The first Special Olympics Games where held in 1968 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Judge James Knecht and Ron Ross were there in 1968 with a group of boys from the Lincoln Development Center, connecting this community to the history of the first games.  In addition, the Special Olympics Illinois main office is located in Normal. 

 When I joined the Special Olympics Board of Directors several years ago, I began to learn more about Special Olympics.  We have 22,000 athletes in Traditional (children and adults) and 20,000 Young Athletes (ages 2-7), all fostering inclusion and acceptance.  In this community we have very strong programs with SOAR and Unit 5.  Unit 5 is leading the way with Project Unify matching individuals with and without intellectual disabilities, fostering Youth Activation, Unified Sports and Spread the Word to End the Word (R Word Campaign). 

 The athletes are the heart, soul and spirit of Special Olympics Illinois.  Athletes serve on the Board of Directors and in addition, they also serve as Global Messengers and speak to organizations, agencies and get to introduce people like the First Lady Michelle Obama at Special Olympic World Games 2015!  If you have not heard a Global Messenger speak, you are missing a very powerful presentation.  Each messenger has their own personal story and passion, it will move you.  You can learn more about Special Olympics Illinois by looking at their website or contacting them. 

 As a community and as a state, we have a great history in Special Olympics and thousands of athletes statewide to be very proud of.  I hope my community will continue to stand with Special Olympics Illinois today and tomorrow.

 The Special Olympics oath completes the story:

 “Let me win.  But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

 I thank the athletes for being brave, being humble and for fostering inclusion and acceptance.  Let us all learn from you. 

'100 Caring Adults' Aimed at Encouraging Returning Students

For the third year in a row, The Bloomington Junior High School Promise Council will be sponsoring "100 Caring Adults." This movement will bring at least 100 adults to the junior high on the first day of school to line the sidewalks and show community support for the returning students.

The 2015 100 Caring Adults event will take place at 7:45 a.m. on the first day of school, Thursday, Aug. 20, at Bloomington Junior High School, 901 Colton Ave.

It is a great opportunity for your associates, employees and others to impact the lives of young people in our community by just showing up. Bloomington Junior High serves about 1200 students as the only junior high school for Bloomington District 87. The Promise Council is a collection of caring adults committed to supporting students through:

* Providing more adult mentors for students

* Increasing opportunities for parental engagement

* Meeting physical needs of students when they stand in the way of academic achievement

Events like 100 Caring Adults help to fulfil the Promise Council aims by introducing potential adult mentors to the school and increasing opportunities for parental engagement. In addition, it strengthens the fabric of our community by sending a message to our 6th, 7th and 8th graders that they matter to the community and we are all engaged in wanting to see them succeed.

Ample parking for this event is available at the Towanda Plaza on the corner of Empire and Towanda near the Bloomington Post Office. It is a short walk to the school from the plaza. There will also be a bus available to shuttle participants from the plaza to the Junior High at 7:30 a.m. Plan to arrive a few minutes early in order to park and catch the shuttle.

 Business and organizations are encouraged to wear colors, work specific shirts or other items that represent their brand or organization. Non-corporate supporters are encouraged to wear school colors (purple and white) to show their support. 

You can register as an individual or register your company or organization’s participation by following this link www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D48A8A923A0FF2-100caring/10549093 to the 100 Caring Adults sign up page. Please register by Monday, August 17th. For more information you can contact Cheree’ Johnson at (309) 268-3504 or by email: cheree.johnson@advocatehealth.com or Mary Litwiller at promisecouncil.bjhs@gmail.com.

Tiny House a Big Idea to Help The Homeless?

Area churches, Illinois Wesleyan University, a local contractor, and the Springfield-based Matthew Project have collaborated on a model home project with a miniscule scale but an impressive mission.

The initial construction phase of the Tiny House Project was near completion Wednesday behind IWU’s McPherson Theater. The small home – designed for the homeless based on similar structures built across the nation – will be transported to Bloomington’s First Christian Church for interior finishing and display as a possible concept for providing shelter for the homeless.

First Christian Associate Minister Kelley Becker, a member of the Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal steering committee, ramped up the search for options for the Twin Cities’ homeless individuals following the eviction of 14 men from a “tent city” on a private lot off Market Street. She and Wesleyan theater set and scenic design professor Curtis Trout were intrigued by the tiny house – portable, easily constructed, equipped with air conditioning and heat to protect against the elements. Trout joined with local construction specialist Mike Robinson and his wife Julie – partners in the non-profit King’s Carpenters, a mission that has helped build churches and homes across the country and in Mexico – and the Matthew Project Church Extension Fund and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Bloomington.

The City of Bloomington is cooperating with the project.

For information on the Tiny House Project, visit this Saturday’s West Side Back-to-School Block Party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at First Christian, 401 W. Jefferson, or see the Tiny House Project Facebook Page.

Minister: Church/LGBT Rift Serious Issue

For the faithful who identify as LGBT, rejection by their church can shake not only their confidence but also their very faith.

As Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal works to forge alliances with churches and other faith-based institutions at the heart of various local communities, it also hopes to explore a major rift between the LGBT community and many churches that crosses racial lines.

Disciples of Christ's General Assembly voted in 2013 to embrace gay and transgender members and welcome them to serve in its churches (which includes Bloomington's Centennial Christian Church and First Christian Church, the Twin Cities' oldest continuing congregation). The Unitarian Church, represented in the Twin Cities by Unitarian Universalist Church, has been a traditional haven for openly LGBT Christians, and Normal's New Covenant Community declares its invitation to all "regardless of race, gender, age, or sexual orientation."

But many other traditional churches run the spectrum from condemning homosexuality or same-sex marriage to maintaining a don't ask/don't tell sort of philosophy toward acceptance or membership. In a video continuing to draw popular buzz and heated debate, Rev. Dewey Smith, pastor of the House of Hope Atlanta in Decatur and the House of Hope Macon, Ga., argued church condemnation of the LGBT community is hypocritical "if you look at half of our choirs and a great number of our artists who we call abominations and we call demons."

"We demonize and dehumanize the same people that we use," the African-American clergyman said. "We don't say nothing about the gay choir director, because he's good for business. . . .We have done what the slave master did to us -- dehumanize us, degrade us, demonize us, but then use them for our advantage."

Cheryl Strong, a Bloomington counselor who is black and a member of the LGBT community, was devastated when her former church not rejected her but also refused to participate in a family member's funeral following her coming-out. Now a member of New Covenant Community, Strong is gratified by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding same-sex marriages but remains concerned by continued interpretation of biblical scriptures as condemning such a union.

She argues "same-sex attraction was not specifically addressed by the Bible." Church condemnation imposes celibacy on LGBT worshippers rather than allowing them to choose what she deems "a gift from God."

"Marriage is an institution of love and intimacy," Strong maintained. "By not sanctioning marriage for gays and lesbian It makes it impossible for an LGBT person to even have a hope of having that kind of intimacy that's afforded in any institution of marriage.

"We're all people, and we all deserve to have love. If you choose to be married, it should be between two people who love each other."

B/N NAACP Head Named Citizen of the Year

The Pantagraph

Quincy Cummings, president of the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP and a charter member of the Minority and Police Partnership, was named Normal's Citizen of the Year on Thursday.

The Pantagraph

"Quincy's tireless efforts to improve this community for all citizens is exemplary," said Mayor Chris Koos. "His dedication to the cause of equality for all residents of Normal and McLean County stands out along with those of the Citizens of the Year who came before him."

Recently, Cummings has been working with Normal and Bloomington to help with the recruitment of minority employees.

"He wasn't critical; he offered suggestions," said Koos.

Cummings, who was clearly surprised at the announcement, said he was speechless. 

"It's definitely an honor; it's definitely not expected," he said.

Cummings, who received the 2013 Normal Human Relations Commission Martin Luther King Jr. Award, said: "The work I do is not to get awards or ink in the paper. It's what I truly believe is right for the community. While I'm here, I will do what I must to make it in better shape then when I found it."

He has lived in Normal for 22 years, first coming to the community to attend Illinois State University. He has worked at State Farm for 14 years, currently serving as a business analyst.

Cummings said Normal and Bloomington have been very receptive to suggestions to attract a diverse pool of employees.

"From the mayor down, they're reaching out to us," he said. "I think in the next three to five years, there will be more diversity."

He said one of the first changes that needs to be made is the perception of police, especially in light of recent happenings around the nation. 

"We've got to change the perception and also change the culture from within," he said.

The local NAACP branch is working with students studying criminal justice at Illinois State University and Lincoln College to show them "doing police work is honorable and needed," he said. 

In 2014, the NAACP recognized Cummings' efforts by awarding him the Roy Wilkins Award, the highest statewide honor.

"Quincy's work in the community is to make sure the family portrait of Bloomington-Normal portrays all of its residents," said Chemberly Cummings, Quincy Cummings' wife.

Cummings worked with the local NAACP chapter to establish the Minority and Police Partnership after he was the victim of racial profiling in a traffic stop. He also serves on Normal's Human Relation Commission.

Ernestine: Commission Seeing Resurgence in Discrimination

While Ernestine Jackson has witnessed racial and cultural progress in the Twin Cities over her 13 1/2–year tenure with the Bloomington Human Relations Commission, she has witnessed resurgence in local discrimination in key areas and, in some cases, in a more subtle, “sophisticated” manner.

The municipal commission’s mission is to work with the community in addressing racial, religious, cultural, gender, and age discrimination in housing, employment, financing, and other areas, under the provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It also educates the public on civil/human rights and expectations and ensuring police and other city agencies and their contractors comply with their own minority hiring and anti-discrimination practices. In essence, commissioners “really try to bring the community together to deal with those issues and hopefully eradicate racism and discrimination in any form,” said Jackson, who investigates discrimination complaints.

“I’m going to be honest with you -- I have seen us going backwards as it relates to civil rights,” Jackson said during Saturday’s Cultural Festival at Illinois State University.  “I have been doing this kind of work for more than 40 years, and I’ve just been saddened that we’re at a point now where we’re still working on those issues that we thought we had fixed years ago. The complaints I’m getting are almost identical to complaints we were getting over 40 years ago.

“The things we’re seeing, the things we’re dealing with, are things we thought we had conquered. If you look at what’s happening, not only in Bloomington but all over, if you shut your eyes, you’d think you were back some time ago. That isn’t to say we haven’t been successful in areas; that’s not to say there haven’t been things that were done that haven’t been good. But now, we’re having to confront issues that most people thought were over.”

The BHRC, established under , is structured along the lines of Illinois’ Department of Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Following an investigation to determine whether an individual complaint constitutes a “probable cause case,” the commission attempts to resolve the issue and, if a resolution can’t be reached, the complaint moves to public hearing.

To an extent, the Twin’s Cities’ growing diversity has revived old-school discrimination in new directions. Housing discrimination remains a major concern for Muslim-Americans and other cultural groups, Jackson reported.

“Why would there be a resurgence of Not In Our Town if we didn’t believe things were happening that shouldn’t be happening,” she posed. “We’re fighting some of the same battles – they’re just more sophisticated.”

For information or to file a complaint, contact the commission at 309-434-2215 or by emailing hr@cityblm.org. To view Bloomington’s Human Relations Ordinance, visit the commission at http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=263.

NIOT:B/N at Saturday's Cultural Festival, gathering youth input on the state of Bloomington-Normal.

Cheryl Pt. 1: Education, Clarity Key to Reducing LGBT Bullying

Gender identity – it’s an incredibly awkward subject for teens and parents. But then again, Bloomington counselor Cheryl Walton Strong notes, it’s an incredibly awkward time all around.

Sexual self-doubts, peer and family pressures, and socially and self-imposed gender stereotypes help foster the “homophobic bully,” according to Strong, who has faced dual challenges as an African-American member of the LGBT community.

Creating a school environment with “more acceptance, more understanding, less hatred, and less homophobia” benefits not only LGBT students and those who may not yet have affirmed their gender identity but also heterosexual youths experiencing the same rollercoaster emotions of puberty and adolescence, Strong maintained.

“It is a time of change – a time of really finding yourself and discovering yourself,” she noted. “You get the messages that, well, you’re supposed to be attracted to the opposite sex. It’s kind of like you’re always out of step, you never quite fit in, you don’t know what’s going on, and you don’t know who to talk to about it.

”A lot of people who are homophobic are actually struggling with their own sexual identity. If there are outlets as far as being LGBT, if it were acceptable, it would likely cut down on some of the bullying and definitely the number of people who are being bullied.”

Most heterosexual students at least can discuss relationship issues with their parents or friends, the counselor stressed. Often, when teens struggle with same-sex attraction, “there’s no one to talk to” or identify with, and relating even to “the heterosexual position” is difficult, Strong said.

Further, students wrestling with gender identity may fear the consequences of discussing their feelings or issues with family, for fear of being “disowned” or even hated. She urged parents to thoroughly research LGBT issues and “to come to some kind of clarity” before reacting emotionally or impulsively.

The consequences of failed family communications or acceptance speak for themselves: LGBT individuals constitute 40 percent of homeless youth. As Strong attests, suppression of identity to appease family can lead to years of often unnecessary confusion, depression, and failed or impossible relationships.

“I struggled so hard – I did the whole marriage thing, I knew I wasn’t quite ‘right,’ I knew something wasn’t feeling right, wasn’t fitting,” she recounted. “I went through my adolescence and was completely confused. I had the boyfriends, but I never really connected with them. Then I had the big wedding and thought, this is great – this would change me.

“I kept it in the closet up until I was close to 30 years old, and then I couldn’t do it anymore. I went ahead and got divorced and came out of the closet, and I felt very free. But that whole time before was just a nightmare.

“I told my cousins I was gay, and they said, ‘Well, we always knew; we were just wondering when you were going to let us know that you knew.’ That was very enlightening and uplifting. And then I found myself writing a letter to my mother – she was pretty traditional, and I didn’t know how she was going to take it. But she sent me a little statue that said, ‘I love you just the way you are.’”