Uptown’s Hillbilly Santa Claus
A real life St Nick, hounded by the Klan, distributed not just toys but solidarity and antiracist militancy
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Rampant Recommends
The Rampant editorial collective spotlights some of our personal favorite books, movies, television, and other media to come out of a truly hellish year.
The End of Whiteness
White supremacy has never been about the supremacy of all whites. Grappling with the sources of white poverty and oppression will be necessary to strengthen the movement against racism.
Biden’s Corporate Cabinet: A Breakdown
Biden's transition team and cabinet appointments so far show that he is not planning for a new New Deal but for his presidency to be pro-corporate, imperialist, and anti-worker onslaught.
Movement Alders Flip to Pass Austerity Budget
In the most contentious Chicago budget vote in a generation, four “progressive” alderpeople buckled to Lightfoot’s pressure and allowed an antiworker austerity city budget to pass for 2021.
We Have to Win for Each Other
Educators in North Carolina's Organize 2020 union caucus discuss how they are building membership and leadership through struggle.
Chicago Needs Treatment not Trauma
A Chicago social worker explains how the mental health crisis response system put forward by the ‘Treatment not Trauma’ plan is a crucial step toward permanently improving the fabric of Chicago’s public health and public safety independent of the police.
Deadlier Than a Pandemic
A new study shows that Black people die at a higher rate in a normal year than the rate of white people dying from the pandemic this year. In this interview, the author of the research explains its significance.
We Take Care of Us
Mutual Aid work in this Chicago neighborhood is forging new communities amid the pandemic and the antiracist rebellion. Rampant interviewed the organizers for a window into their ongoing project.
We Are Not the City’s Garbage Can
Community organizers stand up to a toxic polluter and city officials who continue to practice environmental racism on Chicago’s Southeast side.
There’s Nothing Left but the Streets
The recent rebellion in Philly against the police murder of Walter Wallace Jr. is rooted in struggles of the past and reflects the uprisings of the future.
Four Theses on American Fascism
Theories of modern fascism need to be updated to show its American origins, the centrality of racism, and how it needs to be defeated in the streets.
Black Lives Matter and the Power of History
African Americans have mobilized against the police to defend Black life since the 1960s and before. For this cycle of massive urban rebellion to succeed in changing the racist structures of society, it will require learning from this history and struggles abroad.
All of Them Are Guilty
Dorothy Holmes reflects on her unending struggle for justice for her son, Ronald Johnson, on the sixth anniversary of his murder by Chicago police.
Trump is Not Going Away
Democrats committed to the indefinite extension of neoliberalism are also committed, whether they grasp it or not, to making Trumpism a permanent feature of the political landscape.
Support Survivors by Defunding CPD
New allegations of police rape and cover-up confirm that Chicago’s police will never play a positive role in supporting survivors, even among their own ranks.
Public Safety Without Police
In the wake of the summer antiracist uprising, one Chicago ward is forging ahead with practical alternatives to policing. Ald. Rossana Rodriguez discusses the progress and challenges of defunding the police and imagining a different kind of public safety.
Science in Service of Cops
The Crime Lab research center operated by the University of Chicago uses the illusion of scientific objectivity to support the racist violence of the Chicago Police Department.
License to Loot
Vicky Osterweil’s new book, In Defense of Looting, provides a robust defense of uncivil disobedience and its potential for both radicalizing and exacting change. By dodging the essential issue of organization, however, it leaves many questions unanswered.
Who’s Killing Chicago’s Loop?
For years, Chicago's real estate capitalists have been creating a huge property glut downtown. Now that they face the economic consequences of their own actions, they squall about protests in the Loop in a cynical attempt to shift responsibility and secure even more tax breaks.
Reparations for Slavery and Settler Colonialism
Black and Indigenous solidarity is crucial to the liberation of us all. It's time we talk about what it will take to repair the historical wounds of slavery, genocide, and their interconnections.
Kamala Harris’s History: A List
Knowing Harris’s record of siding with big business and against innocent people locked in the carceral system can only serve everyone struggling for a world in which all Black lives are allowed to matter.
Postal Power vs. Oligarchy
The USPS is the nervous system of democracy in the United States. It has won this round, but the long-running war against the postal service could have lasting consequences for this country.
All Power to the Looters
Chicago police shot someone on the South Side last night. By looting downtown, protesters are addressing the root cause of police violence.