Illinois Youth Media Illinois Public Media - WILL

Our Journey: Stories of Desegregation and Community in Champaign-Urbana was created by seven African American girls from Franklin Middle School who spent their 2003/2004 school year working with public radio station, WILL, to collect oral histories from their elders and weave them into a compelling story of social and historical significance.

Honesty Smith interviews her brother, Envision Smith, about the difficulties he overcame in school.

In this final episode, Whispering As-salaamu Alaikum, we focus on how 9/11 impacted the lives of Muslims across the country and locally in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. We cover the struggles that many Muslims experienced due to 9/11 and how they have overcome these challenges and continue to thrive in America today.

In episode three of "800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11's Impact on Central Illinois," we learn some of the different ways in which the United States as a whole changed, including information about the PATRIOT Act, new flight and travel regulations, and homeland security.

One of the direct results of 9/11 was America intervening in the Middle East through the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Despite having strong support when they first started, the wars resulted in intense controversies throughout the United States. This episode features multiple veterans, anti-war activists, and experts to understand the different perspectives on the post-9/11 wars.

The first plane hit the World Trade Center in NYC at 7:46 CST in the morning in 2001. In this first episode of 800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11's Impact on Central Illinois listeners hear memories from this day and the weeks following from a variety of people currently living in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois who recount their experiences during a time that horrified, traumatized, and brought together a nation.