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Chicago Tribune
31 minutes ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
‘Our future is bright' Grayslake's Juneteenth A Celebration of Freedom Walk 2025
More than 200 people took part in this year's annual Juneteenth A Celebration of Freedom Walk on June 19 in Grayslake. Thursday's weather for the walk, which began shortly after 5 p.m., was mostly sunny with breezy temperatures in the 80 degree range. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, acknowledges the end of slavery in the United States and is observed every year on June 19. Celebrations for June 19 often fall on or near the date. Juneteenth is a federal holiday. The Grayslake walk, in collaboration with community partners, was launched in 2021 by Tamika Y. Nash of Grayslake, secretary of the Board of Education of Community Consolidated School District 46, and also Juneteenth event coordinator. Nash said the Grayslake Juneteenth event began as a, 'personal 5K walk with me and my children, inspired by Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday. 'It took over two years (June 19, 1865) for the last enslaved Africans to learn of their freedom via the Emancipation Proclamation that was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863. 'The walk symbolizes the long journey to freedom for the Africans of Galveston, Texas,' Nash added. The Grayslake Juneteenth event benefited from grassroots word-of-mouth publicity and expanded from three participants in 2021 to 150 in 2024, Nash indicated. 'Juneteenth is considered a community event because it embodies collective celebration, cultural pride and a commitment to justice and unity,' Nash said. 'Our celebration brings our diverse community together to reflect on history and honor resilience of our nation, and specifically the freedom journey of Africans in America,' Nash added. People assembled outside of the front of the Grayslake Area Public Library and followed a guided path with educational stations staffed by volunteers. Parked at the library was also the Mobile Museum of Tolerance bus. Recently elected Grayslake Mayor Elizabeth Davies greeted participants at the library with welcoming remarks. 'We want everybody to feel valued and that's what this event really does,' said Davies, who added about Grayslake that, 'It's a pillar of what we want to be.' The Juneteenth walk took participants through Central Park to the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum for the opportunity to add their handprints to a community art project created in the outside front courtyard. Inside, activities featured a pop-up Juneteenth display plus performance dance art. Katie Brethorst-Stockwell of Waukegan, deputy director of the Grayslake Heritage Center, said, 'It's been really fun.' The traditional song 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' was included in the program. The keynote speaker at the Heritage Center was newly re-elected Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham. Cunningham said, 'In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, yet it took until June 19, 1865, two and a half years later, for Union troops to arrive in Galveston, Texas, to announce to the last enslaved Africans in America that they were free. 'Consider that deeply, freedom delayed, justice postponed,' Cunningham said. 'Yet, through it all, they hoped, they believed, and they endured. 'Let us recognize that Juneteenth signifies it is not just about a one-time event of freedom,' Cunningham said. 'It represents an ongoing struggle, a collective journey. 'I think our future is bright,' the Waukegan mayor also said. Lynn Glickman, superintendent of schools for (CCSD 46) Community Consolidated School District 46, was among volunteers staffing stops along the path. Glickman held signage with a question for attendees that posed, 'How was the original Juneteenth celebrated?' The answer was, 'People began celebrating with huge feasts and dancing. They prayed and sang spiritual music. The first official Juneteenth celebration took place exactly one year later. It was June 19, 1866.' Glickman said dozens of languages are spoken in Grayslake's school district as a measure of its diversity. 'We are so proud of the inclusivity of our school district and our community,' Glickman said. 'This is a place where everybody can thrive. 'Anytime we can bring our community together, and think through the topics that are important to our community, and should be important to a community, it's a good day,' Glickman added. Diane Summers of Gurnee, president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Lambda Nu Omega chapter (chapter chartered in Waukegan on May 27, 1977), helped to staff a water station. In 2014, chapter members established a foundation called the (LCP) Lake County P.E.A.R.L.S., Inc., which instills empowerment, leadership and service. Summers wore a t-shirt that read, 'Vote. Enough Said,' with an 'O' letter drawn in pearls. 'When you think about the purpose of this (Juneteenth) day, there were a lot of people who didn't have freedom, basic freedom, let alone the ability to vote,' Summers said. 'We need to exercise that.' Ashley Bonnes of Grayslake arrived on a bicycle with daughter Ella, 2, who traveled in a child's bike seat. Son Wyatt, 7, a rising second-grader, also rode a bike. Ashley Bonnes said about Grayslake as a welcoming community, 'I think we do a pretty good job.' See
Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
African refugees bear the brunt of shifting global politics
On World Refugee Day, displaced Africans face the worst conditions yet as conflict and disasters increase, aid plummets and borders tighten. The number of displaced Africans has doubled since 2018. For the 14th consecutive year, conflict and climate change have driven record numbers of people from their homes. Changes in national priorities, economic uncertainty and donor fatigue have seen political attention turn inward, surges in defence spending and corresponding aid cuts, the shuttering of refugee resettlement programmes, and tighter border security. African refugees bear the brunt of these changes. Those already in dire situations now face even bigger threats to their survival. Last week, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released its annual Global Trends report. At the end of 2024, 123.2 million people were displaced — up by seven million in one year. Most displaced Africans remain in their home countries or neighbouring countries, many of which are also resource-poor and suffer from conflict. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa has tripled since 2015, reaching 35.4 million in 2024. Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) comprised almost half (45%) of all conflict-driven internal displacements worldwide in 2024. Sudan is the world's largest displacement and humanitarian crisis. The civil war has driven 14.4 million people from their homes and left two-thirds of the population requiring humanitarian aid. Most (11.6 million) are internally displaced (see graph), and 2.8 million are across borders. At the end of 2024, conflict in eastern DRC had created 1.22 million refugees and asylum seekers, and 6.9 million IDPs. As of April 2025, the UNHCR reported a 1% drop in total refugees worldwide for the first time in a decade. In 2024, 1.6 million people returned to their home countries — mainly Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Many returned to poor conditions after giving up trying to access rights and services in host countries. South Sudan was the only African country to see significant returns. Going home is not viable for most refugees on the continent due to the protracted nature of conflicts. Many end up spending their lives in severely underfunded camps, unable to work, study or move freely. Funding cuts will worsen their prospects. The Norwegian Refugee Council issues an annual list of the top 10 most neglected displacement crises globally. Eight in 2025 are in Africa: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, DRC and Somalia. Cameroon 'most neglected' crisis The council rated Cameroon the world's most neglected crisis, assigning a zero out of 30 rating for political will and 'negligible' media coverage. Cameroon hosts people fleeing internal conflicts and violence in the Lake Chad Basin and Central African Republic. It hosts 1.1 million IDPs, 480,000 refugees, and has 2.8 million people facing acute food security. Most marginal gains in refugee resettlement numbers over the past three years were due to the US. The country raised its resettlement ceiling to 125,000 refugees per year during former president Joe Biden's last three years in office. Although it fell short of the ceiling each year, in 2024 the US resettled 100,034 refugees, the highest number in three decades. At the start of his second term, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing a near-full halt on foreign aid and the Refugee Admissions Program, followed by a halt on activities supporting refugees. Reports also indicate Trump is diverting US$250-million from foreign aid budgets towards repatriating foreigners, often without due process and at times, against court orders. The US recently implemented a travel ban that disproportionately affects Africans, including full bans on people from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, and partial bans on those from Burundi, Sierra Leone and Togo. While the US has made the harshest changes, the UK reduced development assistance by 40%, and several European countries announced their own reductions. The European Union (EU) redirected some of its development budget to Ukraine and border management. Historically, official development aid has always been dwarfed by military spending (see graph). European countries and the EU are also reorienting their migration policies away from humanitarian support and legal pathways to increasing securitisation measures to reduce flows and pressuring governments to accept returns. No 'safe' third country Under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, set to take effect in 2026, the European Commission will remove the requirement for a connection between a migrant and a 'safe third country'. Migrants can then be sent to any country deemed 'safe' — even if they have no connection to that country. The pact also allows for rapid asylum processing for people from countries deemed safe, and for their detention. Before the major slashes, global refugee funding gaps already reached $24-billion in 2024. Funding for humanitarian food aid is projected to drop by up to 45%, and most forcibly displaced people are in areas experiencing food crises. The concomitant reductions in development aid will reduce host country governments' fiscal capabilities to support refugees. Remittances are the most resilient forms of aid and are pivotal to development. They comprise the largest financial flow to Africa and have proven countercyclical, meaning they often go up when markets go down or experience a shock. In another step ostensibly to counter irregular migration, a 3.5% tax on remittances is included in the US's One Big Beautiful Bill that would directly impact development in Africa if enacted. The sum total of these conditions is catastrophic for African refugees and IDPs. Many people are exposed to harm, with fewer protections and almost no development prospects. Programmes such as education, psychosocial support and healthcare are cut first because they are not life-saving. Many African countries that already resist or are outright hostile to refugees will be more likely to shut borders and demolish camps if they think the world is no longer paying attention or has set a double standard. In some circumstances, these conditions will drive onward migration and push people towards illegality. DM
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Vatican-backed report seeks financial reform to avert decades of lost development
FILE PHOTO: A woman carries sack of charcoal, as she walks down a busy street, in Jamestown in Accra, Ghana December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo LONDON - A commission launched by the late Pope Francis has outlined financial reforms it says could help to avert decades of lost development in poor countries that face onerous repayments as global public debts reach record levels. The Jubilee Commission report is published ahead of the once-a-decade United Nations Financing for Development Conference that takes place in Seville, Spain, later in June. The environment for this jubilee-year campaign could hardly be more different from the last - 25 years ago - that yielded billions in historic debt forgiveness. Mariana Mazzucato, a University College London professor and member of the commission, said today's debt crisis was symptomatic of "a broken investment model". "The solution has to be public investment strategies that build productive capacity, domestic value added and sustainable fiscal space," she said. The report recommends measures including more debt suspension initiatives and steps to ensure money from institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, does not end up flowing from countries to private creditors. It also urges legal changes in London and New York - the jurisdictions for most bond contracts - to disincentivise creditors from refusing to take part during debt restructurings. After the debt forgiveness that followed the previous jubilee campaign, many developing countries, freed of their existing debt, turned to more expensive private lending, and China's lending ballooned. As a result, countries including Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana slid into default. A wave of sovereign defaults unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic - and exacerbated by the pressure of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a global rate-hiking cycle that boosted borrowing costs - largely crested last year. But the commission said dozens of countries are still squeezing spending to repay debt - with long-term implications for development and social cohesion. Average interest costs for developing countries as a share of tax revenues has almost doubled since 2014, while 3.3 billion people - and more than half of Africans - live in countries that spend more on debt service than health. The system, the commission's leaders said, traps countries in a cycle in which private lenders send cash when times are good - but quickly shut off access when global risk re-emerges. When lenders of last resort, such as the IMF, send money, the commission said that money often goes towards repaying creditors to avoid default. Martin Guzman, commission co-chair and Argentina's ex-Economy minister, said that created a problem for both creditors and debtors. "They don't come to the table with the right conditions for engaging timely and sustainable restructurings, and that aggravates the development crisis," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
NDTV
a day ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Let He Who Is Without Sin...": Putin, Asked About Mistakes, Quotes Bible
Russian President Vladimir Putin turned to the Holy Bible when asked whether he made any mistakes during his 25 years in power. During a round-table in St Petersburg, a US journalist posed a direct question to Putin, asking if he had any regrets or made any errors over the past quarter of a century. The President quoted from the Bible, saying, "Let he who is without sin among you, cast the first stone at me." The quote means that everyone makes mistakes, and only those who have never made one or done anything wrong have the right to judge or punish others. President Putin asked if he's ever made any mistakes over past quarter of a century Russian leader turns to the Bible for his answer: 'Let he who is without sin among you, cast the first stone at me' Amen ! Good morning Africans — African (@ali_naka) June 19, 2025 During the same interaction, he also shed light on Russia's involvement in Ukraine. Putin said that conditions for Ukraine were much better in 2022 but they have now significantly changed. "The situation is what it is now, but we are still willing to resolve it based on established principles," he said. He urged Kyiv to sit down for negotiations, warning that any further delay would deteriorate the situation for Ukraine. "They shouldn't put it off... they should sit down and talk to us this is an objective FACT," he said. Conditions had been much better for Ukraine in 2022 — Putin Adds if Kiev refuses to negotiate now, situation could get EVEN worse for them 'They shouldn't put if off… this is an objective FACT' — RT (@RT_com) June 18, 2025 Putin said he was open to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only during the final stage of talks to put an end to the three-year conflict, adding that there was no point in holding repeated endless negotiations. He also underlined the goal of not only ending the current war but also ensuring similar conflicts don't reoccur. Russia isn't threatened by NATO even as it increases its military power, Putin said, adding they are strong enough to defend themselves. "We do not consider any rearmament by NATO to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security," he added. On the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, Putin said he was open to acting as a mediator between the two countries to broker a ceasefire. He said Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that allows Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while also assuaging Israeli security concerns, AP reported. Putin said: "It's a delicate issue," adding "in my view, a solution could be found.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stripe's former growth lead helps African diaspora invest in startups, real estate
When Joe Kinvi joined Touchtech Payments in 2017 as head of finance, the Irish startup couldn't afford his full salary. So he negotiated for stock to make up the difference. Eighteen months later, Stripe acquired the company, and that equity converted into Stripe shares, enough to let Kinvi leave his job, bootstrap a side project, and eventually found a startup. That startup, Borderless, is now helping Africans in the diaspora collectively invest in startups and real estate back home. Since launching in beta last year, the U.K.-based platform has processed over $500,000 in transactions. 'The diaspora sends billions of dollars in remittances, but very little of it goes into productive assets,' Kinvi said. 'We think that there is a world where, if we can bring the right collective to the right type of investment opportunities, it'll make it a lot easier for them.' Kinvi's journey to Borderless began in 2020, just as the pandemic hit. He and a group of friends formed Hoaq, an investment club that pooled small checks from local and diasporan angels into African startups. Their first challenge was simply opening a bank account. Financial institutions flagged their activity, and their account with Wise was repeatedly frozen. Other hurdles soon followed: currency mismatches, regulatory requirements, and accreditation rules that made collective investing a legal and logistical headache. To manage the complexity, the group used membership dues to hire a lawyer to handle the paperwork manually. Eventually, Hoaq built light automation into its workflow, an experience that laid the foundation for Borderless. Hoaq has invested in companies such as LemFi, Bamboo and Chowdeck. Stripe acquires Nigeria's Paystack for $200M+ to expand into the African continent By 2022, Kinvi had left Stripe, where he had transitioned into a product and growth role and later spent a year at Paystack, another Stripe subsidiary, helping scale financial partnerships across Africa. When he returned to the problem that had formed Hoaq, he built a tool that digitized everything from onboarding to disbursement. What began as an internal solution soon gained outside interest. Other collectives wanted access, not just for startup deals but for real estate and other assets. Today, Borderless provides the backend infrastructure for diaspora collectives, allowing them to onboard members, accept cross-border payments, and deploy capital securely. There are over 100 communities on its waitlist, according to the startup. However, over the past couple of months, the collectives currently live on the platform have backed more than 10 startups and two real estate projects in Kenya, with minimum investments of $1,000 for startups and $5,000 for property. Borderless operates under U.K. regulatory cover, permitting it to market investment opportunities to diaspora members without violating securities laws. For now, it focuses on two asset classes, startups and real estate, but Kinvi sees room to expand into others, including film and diaspora bonds. In establishing that the most important part of the Borderless model is trust, Kinvi is blunt about why many diaspora investors hesitate to deploy capital: too many have lost money trying to invest informally through family or friends. 'Someone I know sent €200,000 home to build a house,' he said. 'The house was never built.' To address this, Borderless routes investor funds directly to verified sellers, escrow accounts, or lawyers. No money flows through the hands of collective managers. Legal and compliance checks are embedded into the process, and all opportunities require approval under the platform's regulatory umbrella. Borderless earns revenue through transaction fees as well as a cut of membership dues and FX spreads. Over time, it may layer on remittance products, payout fees, and asset management tools. The bigger opportunity, Kinvi argues, lies in unlocking the $30 billion in migrant savings that sit idle every year. While remittance platforms like Zepz, Taptap Send, LemFi and NALA dominate the space of taking some of that money back home, few have built for long-term investing (that might change in the coming years with recent moves from some players). That message has resonated with local investors. Borderless's backers include DFS Lab, Ezra Olubi (Paystack CTO), Olumide Soyombo, and executives from Stripe, Google, among others. Many are not just investors, but also users of the platform. For Kinvi, the mission for Borderless, which raised $500,000 in seed from these investors, is as much about identity as returns. 'Most Africans in the diaspora want to go back home someday,' he said. 'To do that, they need a way to invest securely and confidently at scale. That's what we're building.' Still, scaling won't be easy. Borderless' current vetting model relies heavily on pre-existing relationships and known collective heads. As it grows, it will need robust identity verification, fraud detection, and legal tooling to avoid becoming a target for bad actors. Sign in to access your portfolio
