Growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, many of my classmates were from large families. Knowing nothing about living with multiple siblings, my sister is nearly 9 years older, I thought having lots of live-in playmates would be delightful. I…
Economics 101: Racism damages Peoria’s economy
Larry Ivory knows social and economic inequality can be measured and traced throughout American history. It’s an anchor that weighs down the American capitalist economy and is a valve threatening to explode under pressure. Ivory, president and CEO of the…
Guns and cookies
George Floyd’s death touched off a racial justice movement across the country, and in Peoria, a Journal Star newspaper carrier feels the impact with notes of appreciation, cookies and gun threats. When Geoffrey Landrum started his job in March delivering…
Live music slowly starts to rebound
Remembering music from the ’60s, one wonders when the pandemic will ease enough to move from “The Sounds of Silence” to “I Can Hear Music.” Live music is often a sidelight to fans or local musicians, but for others it’s…
Icons of justice pass the baton to all of us and tell us to pick it up and run
The deaths of John Lewis and C.T. Vivian left a legacy but also a responsibility for the rest of us to carry on the work of moving America toward its ideals and away from its blood-soaked history. Reprinted with permission…
The Lion’s Den | It Continues to Play In Peoria
The City of Peoria became the center of attention in a recent New York Times article titled “The City that Once Guided a Nation Now Shows its Cracks.” The article focused on the looting that took place in the City…
Straight Talk | Dozer Park: A quiet place
The COVID 19 pandemic has affected virtually every aspect of our lives, including sports from tennis to football, basketball and baseball. We miss it. Do you realize there hasn’t been but one sporting event at Dozer Park since Sept. 5…
Bill Knight | World-class art at Peoria Riverfront Museum
It’s a relief to return to the reopened Peoria Riverfront Museum and to roam its galleries –– especially to revel in world-class art, some with local ties. Installed during the months-long pandemic shutdown, new exhibits presented through Sept. 5 are…
Editorial | Anti-Racism
Racism and anti-racism do not come with on-off switches. Anti-racism is a continual learning process. It requires practice. Everyday offers unique opportunities to learn, understand and embody anti-racist thought and practice. Mistakes happen. Nothing along this journey will be perfect,…
Letter to the Editor | How can we sustainably feed the world’s population?
The answer is to turn to regenerative farming. Perhaps you have not heard of regenerative farming. Most of the farming done today, particularly in the United States, is conventional farming/factory farming. Government incentives and our current industrial food complex result…
Letter to the Editor | Don’t point to me to disprove “white privilege” – it exists
I was given a 30-year sentence and fined over $200,000 for nonviolent cannabis offenses. I was a young, white male, hauled off to prison to serve nearly 15 years before being released. I am currently at Stanford University, making use…
Letter to the Editor | Pandemic Safety Measure: Request Ballot to Vote by Mail
To help voters prepare for the upcoming General Election, the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria is encouraging all registered voters to request a vote by mail ballot for the Nov. 3 election. We fully agree with the words…
Real Talk | The Institutional Power of Whiteness
It’s been interesting listening to, and often participating in the debate between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter folk. Patrice Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi are the three African American women who founded Black Lives Matter in 2013…
The Watch | Technical difficulties
Zoom and its cohorts enable groups and governments to meet despite COVID-19. But virtual meetings are not the same — what is? — and can be difficult, at best. Springdale Cemetery Management Authority, for example, didn’t meet in March, April…
Nature Rambles | Funding a Legacy
Are we at our “new normal” yet? In the age of COVID-19, that “new normal” seems to be an ever changing and fleeting reality. Many people have turned to the natural world as a place of stability, solace and escape,…
Inland Art | Rosalyn Schwartz
Rosalyn Schwartz’s most recent work stems from an appraisal of avant-gardism and the shallow consensus about the status of studio art and contemplative art in general. She responds by addressing critical forms and subjects that question the nature of beauty…
Art and Justice | Understanding justice through Native American art
Eliida Lakota grew up understanding the sacred nature of the environment. When her father came home from work, she and her parents would walk to the Sangamon River. Her father would identify trees and flowers along the way. They would…
Reflections From A Secular Humanist | Re-evaluating beliefs
The global pandemic has forced humanity to re-evaluate priorities and core beliefs. What is the role of religion (subjectivity) and reason (objectivity) in response to looming existential threats? Is religion or science a more reliable asset for responding to COVID-19,…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Coronavirus Climate Crisis Crosswalk: COVID Surges, Heat Stroke Explosions
In April, some hospitals in the New York region were almost overwhelmed as a wave of COVID patients swept into emergency rooms. By mid- to late-March, foresight of the cresting wave guided the hasty creation of surge capacity and recruitment…
Reflections From A Hindu Perspective | Freedom
There is an ancient fable. One day a caravan of 100 camels and drivers is traveling in the desert. The caravan loses its way and ends up outside a village at dusk. The travelers put up their tents and start…
Peoria public housing: Concentration camp/safety
Indignation was heated over action the Peoria Housing Authority took at Taft Homes over the July Fourth weekend. PHA implemented measures again this year similar to those followed for almost a decade, but this year advance notification inadvertently did not…