Cook County Government’s Post

Looking for a sweet example of impactful employee ownership? Check out Taharka Brothers Ice Cream Corp in #Baltimore. In December 2020, Taharka Brothers became a worker-owned cooperative, joining the growing ranks of such companies in Baltimore. As a co-op, each of the six worker-owners has equal voting power in decision-making, creating a truly democratic workplace. They're not just selling ice cream; they're inspiring change in their neighborhoods. The Taharka Brothers story shows how employee ownership can create opportunities for wealth-building and community leadership. It's a model that's not only surviving but thriving, offering better job security, living wages, and a sense of shared responsibility among workers. Who's up for some ice cream that tastes good and does good? 🍨 #EmployeeOwnership #SocialEnterprise #CommunityImpact #BusinessForGood https://lnkd.in/eDam-QZg

Rest in Power #EdRoberts and #ZonaRoberts! Your impact will live on!! Check out this latest edition of What's Up WID! https://lnkd.in/ej3HnTZM

"You're not a leader if people don't trust you to lead." JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alabama, shares many reflections on the type of leadership and vision that is necessary to advance social and racial justice. Hailing from a long line of Southern movement leaders and Civil Rights activists, JaTaune and Keecha discuss how just a few leaders can have a tremendous impact on advancing social and racial justice - similar to how Alabama has contributed tremendously to this nation's progress. Catch JaTaune's full episode on #TheRACEPodcast here 🎧 https://ow.ly/MYTW50TsLwx

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation that fundamentally transformed our society. Over the past six decades, we have made significant strides towards equality and justice, breaking down many of the barriers that once divided us. However, while we celebrate these achievements, we must also recognize that there is still much work to be done. Inequities persist, particularly in the realm of policing, where failed personnel policies perpetuate discrimination, bias, and retaliation against police officers of color. These systemic issues not only harm the officers themselves but also erode trust within the communities they serve. Let us honor this anniversary by recommitting ourselves to the ongoing struggle for civil rights and the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in policing to ensure justice and fairness for all.

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who led a movement with principles of nonviolence to change our laws, to make discrimination illegal. The changes the civil rights movement achieved extended far beyond Black people. Because of Black people, I as a white woman am protected from discrimination at work and school. I have recourse when someone sexually harasses me. When companies pay women less than men we can sue and get what is due to us. Universities have to resource women’s athletics. The list goes on. And as Dr. King described in this interview a year before a white supremacist assassinated him, the changes Black people struggled for did not result in true equality for Black people because the vast majority of white people are ambivalent, complicit, and resist true equality for Black people, as we have for 400 years. And on January 20, 2025, a racist, misogynistic, cruel and violent man was inaugurated President, to undo the work of the Civil Rights Movement, to Make America Great Again for white people by asserting our superiority and right to dominate.  92% of Black women voted for Kamala Harris and 53% of white women voted for 47, for the third Presidential election in a row. Many companies are announcing they are abandoning their commitments to diversity equity and inclusion, and broligarchs are weaponizing their platforms to spread racism far and wide. And so I am recommitting to my work of educating white people out of our racism, our complicity, our sense of superiority. As Dr. King wrote in his last book before a white supremacist assassinated him: “Whites, it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn.” Racism is not natural, it is a learned belief and behavior, a system for accumulating wealth and power, and what can be learned can be unlearned. Listen to Dr. King. https://lnkd.in/gjwZhu46

The #MontgomeryBusBoycott (or, as Dr. #MartinLutherKingJr describes it in this video, the Montgomery Bus PROTEST) began 69 years ago today. That’s not that long ago. Not that long ago, Black people in the United States couldn’t ride freely and without discrimination on public transportation. If we never did the deeply moral and critical work of addressing the spiritual and mental deficits that would permit and cultivate that type of bigotry, legislation, and hate, could we have really made significant progress beyond laws? As we see today, the spirit of bigotry and racism is still prevalent and there are those seeking to reverse laws that accompany social change. We need the “soul force” that nonviolent foot soldiers and strategists employed then to bolster us NOW. You see, Kingian nonviolence isn’t weak or passive. It doesn’t comply with injustice. It also doesn’t perpetuate injustice as a means to justice. And, very importantly, it compels us to learn to live together, while at the same time strategically and stringently working for legislative change. We can do both. We must do both. #MLKNow #DoYouUnderstandNonviolence #MLK

As we celebrate the freedoms of Juneteenth, let us raise awareness of modern day slavery. Join Pi Kappa Omega, National Black Prosecutors Association - Sterling Johnson chapter, and the NYS Judicial Institute for a moderated panel discussion introducing practitioners and the community to the difficult issue of human trafficking – both sex and labor trafficking. Surviving and Thriving: The Movement Against Human Trafficking, moderated by NAACP Image Award winner Eboni K. Williams, Esq. will explore issues related to human trafficking, such as related NYS laws, various forms of human trafficking, ways law enforcement have attempted to combat human trafficking, perspective from a survivor; survivor advocacy, and navigating through the justice system.

As we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we invite you to explore the important work of the Drum Major Institute (DMI), an organization he founded in 1961. Today, DMI is led by his son, Martin Luther King III, along with his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and Yolanda King, Dr. King's only grandchild. Dr. King was deeply committed to radical and proactive nonviolence as a means to confront what he called the “Triple Evils” of racism, poverty, and violence. Embracing the King legacy reminds us, as DMI emphasizes, that nonviolence is not passive acceptance of injustice; rather, it is a call to peaceful resistance. One of Dr. King’s most enduring legacies is the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This landmark legislation granted millions of African Americans the right to participate fully in the democratic process—the right to choose their elected representatives rather than submit “to the edict of others.” Yet, even 60 years after the Act’s passage, litigation over its scope and protections continues. In the article “Sounding the Alarm: The 8th Circuit’s Discordant Note on Voting Rights,” Martin Luther King III and Bailey Glasser attorney Paul-Kalvin Collins examine a concerning 2023 ruling by the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling bars private litigants from bringing lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a critical provision that has long served as a safeguard against racial discrimination in voting. Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/vfCo50UIOXW The Drum Major Institute continues to advance Dr. King’s vision by promoting a culture of nonviolence and striving to build the "Beloved Community"—a society grounded in justice, equal opportunity, and love for all humanity. DMI collaborates with leaders and organizations worldwide to create a more just and humane society, recognizing that no single person or group can achieve this vision alone. Together, we can all work toward realizing Dr. King and Coretta Scott King’s dream of a Beloved Community. Learn more about how DMI continues to advance the mission and legacy of Dr. King here: https://ow.ly/KrCA50UIOXV #mlk #mlkday2025 #drummajorinstitute #votingrights #votingrightsact

See 11:00… white people were always against the violence against black people but were never really committed to racial justice and equality. And the same thing happened when George Floyd was killed and the movement behind it. At the end of the day and the anger we expressed, it was a white performative commitment to justice. Thats why when I speak of acts of violence out of frustration and systematic injustice for people of color or the undeserved populations here in the US? , white people have the privilege to say violence is not the right way. Are we truly committed to helping the change the systemic racism in this nation that in the end, serves us? Something we need to think about as we raise white privileged children in a dark time, are we encouraging compliance? What message are we sending them when we don’t act against those that hurt “the others” and only talk and wear t shirts and bumper stickers that express our distaste. We must do better.