Morgan Elise J
@morganelisej.thetriibe.com
Filmmaker, Force of Nature
Co-founder of thetriibe.com.
Become a member of The TRiiBE and get access to the RESHAPE newsletter https://thetriibe.com/newsletters
Co-founder of thetriibe.com.
Become a member of The TRiiBE and get access to the RESHAPE newsletter https://thetriibe.com/newsletters
Pinned
Hey BlueSky! I’m a filmmaker and co-founder of @thetriibe.com, a Black-owned publication based in Chicago. We’re building trust, community and civic engagement on here.
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
The Mayor has budgeted $5 million for a ShotSpotter replacement for CPD.
You really could not have a clearer illustration of the choices between community resources vs state surveillance, and so far, as usual, the choice is state surveillance.
You really could not have a clearer illustration of the choices between community resources vs state surveillance, and so far, as usual, the choice is state surveillance.
NEW — Cutting less than one day of the Chicago police would cover the $4.5M needed to ensure there are no cuts to library staffing and resources, one resident writes.
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
OPINION: The Chicago Public Library budget is under threat. Let’s remember what libraries do for us • The TRiiBE
Cutting less than one day of the Chicago police would cover the $4.5M needed to ensure there are no cuts to library staffing and resources.
thetriibe.com
December 6, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Mayor has budgeted $5 million for a ShotSpotter replacement for CPD.
You really could not have a clearer illustration of the choices between community resources vs state surveillance, and so far, as usual, the choice is state surveillance.
You really could not have a clearer illustration of the choices between community resources vs state surveillance, and so far, as usual, the choice is state surveillance.
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
“We're going to protest her, because she has to go. It’s the same way that organizations came together, community and family came together to raise awareness about [former Cook County State’s Attorney] Anita Alvarez.”
thetriibe.com/2025/12/prot...
thetriibe.com/2025/12/prot...
Protestors disrupt Cook County State’s Attorney O’Neill Burke during anniversary speech • The TRiiBE
“We're going to protest her, because she has to go,” Chicago organizer Jasmine Smith said about Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke.
thetriibe.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:08 PM
“We're going to protest her, because she has to go. It’s the same way that organizations came together, community and family came together to raise awareness about [former Cook County State’s Attorney] Anita Alvarez.”
thetriibe.com/2025/12/prot...
thetriibe.com/2025/12/prot...
We do this every 3-6 months…
Failed mayoral candidate Ja'mal Green is once again claiming on social media that @thetriibe.com's story on how Paul Vallas’s campaign paid him is untrue. I edited that story; @tonia.thetriibe.com reported it.
So once again: here are the receipts. bit.ly/JaymalPaid
So once again: here are the receipts. bit.ly/JaymalPaid
December 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
We do this every 3-6 months…
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
NEW — West Side native Robert Townsend is returning home to Chicago this weekend to host a two-day film festival.
The celebration includes a bid whist tournament. Townsend will hit the table with his friend Jackie Taylor, founder/CEO of the Black Ensemble Theater.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/robe...
The celebration includes a bid whist tournament. Townsend will hit the table with his friend Jackie Taylor, founder/CEO of the Black Ensemble Theater.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/robe...
Robert Townsend’s pop-up film festival celebrates Black art, Chicago roots, and giving back • The TRiiBE
Robert Townsend returns to Chicago for a two-day pop-up film festival, turning his legacy of Black storytelling into a weekend of celebration, culture and support for West Side organizations.
thetriibe.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:19 PM
NEW — West Side native Robert Townsend is returning home to Chicago this weekend to host a two-day film festival.
The celebration includes a bid whist tournament. Townsend will hit the table with his friend Jackie Taylor, founder/CEO of the Black Ensemble Theater.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/robe...
The celebration includes a bid whist tournament. Townsend will hit the table with his friend Jackie Taylor, founder/CEO of the Black Ensemble Theater.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/robe...
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
Excited to release my project from my year as a visiting scholar at BKC Harvard! This report and the accompanying podcast asks: how can communities come together on social media platforms, and what barriers stand in the way of solidarity?
www.madelab.org/programs/soc...
www.madelab.org/programs/soc...
Social Media & Tech Solidarity Workshop at Harvard University — Media and Data Equity (MADE) Lab
www.madelab.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Excited to release my project from my year as a visiting scholar at BKC Harvard! This report and the accompanying podcast asks: how can communities come together on social media platforms, and what barriers stand in the way of solidarity?
www.madelab.org/programs/soc...
www.madelab.org/programs/soc...
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
NEW — Cutting less than one day of the Chicago police would cover the $4.5M needed to ensure there are no cuts to library staffing and resources, one resident writes.
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
OPINION: The Chicago Public Library budget is under threat. Let’s remember what libraries do for us • The TRiiBE
Cutting less than one day of the Chicago police would cover the $4.5M needed to ensure there are no cuts to library staffing and resources.
thetriibe.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:28 PM
NEW — Cutting less than one day of the Chicago police would cover the $4.5M needed to ensure there are no cuts to library staffing and resources, one resident writes.
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
Read this opinion submission about protecting city libraries in the 2026 budget.
thetriibe.com/2025/12/opin...
Some of y’all were confused when progressive alders were being targeted for not supporting the Protect Chicago budget. An alternative budget crafted by oppositional alders raises our garbage collection fees & puts slot machines at O’hare to replace the head tax: chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
December 2, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Some of y’all were confused when progressive alders were being targeted for not supporting the Protect Chicago budget. An alternative budget crafted by oppositional alders raises our garbage collection fees & puts slot machines at O’hare to replace the head tax: chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
“With his garden, he showcases the resilience of our people in a society whose goal has always been to stifle [Black] progression. If you ask him why he decided to start the garden, he’d tell you because he wanted to watch things grow.”
ESSAY | How my great-grandfather’s garden out South has fed my family for generations • The TRiiBE
With a green oasis in the backyard of his Auburn Gresham two-flat, Pops is what most would define as an urban farmer.
thetriibe.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
“With his garden, he showcases the resilience of our people in a society whose goal has always been to stifle [Black] progression. If you ask him why he decided to start the garden, he’d tell you because he wanted to watch things grow.”
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
NEW — South Shore residents who still live in the apartment building that was raided by ICE nearly two months ago in Chicago spoke out about the unlivable conditions there.
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came.”
thetriibe.com/2025/11/buil...
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came.”
thetriibe.com/2025/11/buil...
Building raided by ICE now ‘falling apart from the inside out,’ South Shore residents say • The TRiiBE
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came,” said Infiniti Gant, a housing organizer with Southside Together. “People were living here with mice and r...
thetriibe.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM
NEW — South Shore residents who still live in the apartment building that was raided by ICE nearly two months ago in Chicago spoke out about the unlivable conditions there.
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came.”
thetriibe.com/2025/11/buil...
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came.”
thetriibe.com/2025/11/buil...
I want better for us 💔
Loop shootings leave 14-year-old boy dead and several wounded, including 7 shot outside Chicago Theatre. Obviously this is unacceptable. Tragic and disturbing.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/22/f...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/22/f...
Loop shootings leave 14-year-old boy dead and several wounded, including 7 shot outside Chicago Theatre
As many as seven people were shot outside the Chicago Theatre in the Loop late Friday, Chicago police said. An hour later and a few blocks south, a second shooting left a 14-year-old boy dead.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I want better for us 💔
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
OK, this is kinda nuts
NEW — One political ad caused a stir in Chicago this week for what some saw as a characterization of Ald. Andre Vasquez as a puppet of President Donald J. Trump.
The TRiiBE spoke with the Atlanta-based group behind the ad.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
The TRiiBE spoke with the Atlanta-based group behind the ad.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
An out-of-state campaign just entered Chicago's budget battle • The TRiiBE
The point of Black Voters Matter Fund’s local ad campaign is to help residents connect the dots between the ways billionaires influence federal policy and the trickle-down effect on local government, ...
thetriibe.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:09 AM
OK, this is kinda nuts
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
Every day we get a comment from someone demanding the SA "prosecute ICE" and we once again invite you to Just Google Her
A program allowing Chicago police officers to file charges in low-level gun crimes without first getting approval from a prosecutor will be expanded across the city, Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke announced on Friday.
Cook County State's Attorney expands program allowing CPD officers to directly file felony gun charges
A program allowing Chicago police officers to file charges in low-level gun crimes without first getting approval from a prosecutor will be expanded across the city, Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke announced on Friday.
www.cbsnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Every day we get a comment from someone demanding the SA "prosecute ICE" and we once again invite you to Just Google Her
If you are following Chicago’s budget battle, read this immediately. Reporting by our EIC @tiffany.thetriibe.com
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
An out-of-state campaign just entered Chicago's budget battle • The TRiiBE
The point of Black Voters Matter Fund’s local ad campaign is to help residents connect the dots between the ways billionaires influence federal policy and the trickle-down effect on local government, ...
thetriibe.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:25 PM
If you are following Chicago’s budget battle, read this immediately. Reporting by our EIC @tiffany.thetriibe.com
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/an-o...
Chicago organizers get another win. thetriibe.com/2025/11/cook...
Cook County becomes the first county in the US to establish permanent funding for guaranteed income • The TRiiBE
On Thursday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the FY 2026 budget, which includes $7.5 million to fund the county’s guaranteed basic income program.
thetriibe.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Chicago organizers get another win. thetriibe.com/2025/11/cook...
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
Please do submit a comment if you live in Illinois. This is a practice that causes active harm to inmates, separates them even more from external support systems, and even makes it harder for U.S. attorneys to communicate with incarcerated clients
NEW — Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies.
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates are urging Illinois residents to ‘say no’ to mail scanning in Illinois prisons • The TRiiBE
Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies. Criminal justice a...
thetriibe.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Please do submit a comment if you live in Illinois. This is a practice that causes active harm to inmates, separates them even more from external support systems, and even makes it harder for U.S. attorneys to communicate with incarcerated clients
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) started using mail scanning at all prisons in September and could make it a permanent practice soon. This takes away the ability of incarcerated people to touch their physical mail, including letters/photographs from family. thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates are urging Illinois residents to ‘say no’ to mail scanning in Illinois prisons • The TRiiBE
Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies. Criminal justice a...
thetriibe.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:23 PM
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) started using mail scanning at all prisons in September and could make it a permanent practice soon. This takes away the ability of incarcerated people to touch their physical mail, including letters/photographs from family. thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
NEW — An investigation by a group of Chicago-area newsrooms and independent journalists found that federal agents used chemical weapons on protesters at least 49 times across 18 incidents across Chicago and the suburbs since October 1.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/feds...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/feds...
Feds used chemical agents dozens of times in Chicago • The TRiiBE
An investigation by reporters from six newsrooms found that agents used chemical irritants nearly 50 times during Operation Midway Blitz.
thetriibe.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
NEW — An investigation by a group of Chicago-area newsrooms and independent journalists found that federal agents used chemical weapons on protesters at least 49 times across 18 incidents across Chicago and the suburbs since October 1.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/feds...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/feds...
The best thing we can do when we see articles about Rahm Emanuel is to not click on them. Show no interest at all. The Atlantic actually paid to promote this article on IG.
November 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
The best thing we can do when we see articles about Rahm Emanuel is to not click on them. Show no interest at all. The Atlantic actually paid to promote this article on IG.
@romej.thetriibe.com just wrote what I think is one of the best profiles we’ve ever produced. If you are an artist who has tried to make it in L.A.—or an artist period— read this. thetriibe.com/2025/11/chic...
Chicago raised her. Hollywood sharpened her. Director Sam Bailey returns home to create on her own terms • The TRiiBE
Fresh off directing for Marvel’s ‘Ironheart,’ Bailey returns to her hometown ready to get back to the collaborative Chicago artistry that first fueled her art.
thetriibe.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:58 PM
@romej.thetriibe.com just wrote what I think is one of the best profiles we’ve ever produced. If you are an artist who has tried to make it in L.A.—or an artist period— read this. thetriibe.com/2025/11/chic...
The TRiiBE Weekly is out. A gentle reminder that you should be on our email list 🤗👇🏾
manage.kmail-lists.com/subscription...
manage.kmail-lists.com/subscription...
manage.kmail-lists.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The TRiiBE Weekly is out. A gentle reminder that you should be on our email list 🤗👇🏾
manage.kmail-lists.com/subscription...
manage.kmail-lists.com/subscription...
Chicagoans: We discuss narrative change and building people power through the media in @thetriibe.com’s RESHAPE newsletter.
Influential, old money power players sometimes thwart leftist movements. Stay informed and empowered thetriibe.com/newsletters/
Influential, old money power players sometimes thwart leftist movements. Stay informed and empowered thetriibe.com/newsletters/
November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Chicagoans: We discuss narrative change and building people power through the media in @thetriibe.com’s RESHAPE newsletter.
Influential, old money power players sometimes thwart leftist movements. Stay informed and empowered thetriibe.com/newsletters/
Influential, old money power players sometimes thwart leftist movements. Stay informed and empowered thetriibe.com/newsletters/
Reposted by Morgan Elise J
Went looking for a bit of history on Chicago’s head tax and found this good read by the @thetriibe.com
thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
Emanuel killed it. Johnson wants it back. Chicago’s corporate head tax debate is about more than money • The TRiiBE
Proponents say former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s removal of the corporate head tax left a hole in the city's budget that was never replaced; they want the rich to pay their fair share.
thetriibe.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Went looking for a bit of history on Chicago’s head tax and found this good read by the @thetriibe.com
thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
Join a newsroom with a mission. Check it out 👇🏾
We’re hiring!
The TRiiBE is currently experiencing an exciting period of audience growth, which requires a leader to capture new readers and pipeline them into our membership program.
Come work with our independent and Black-owned newsroom ✊🏾✨
thetriibe.com/jobs
The TRiiBE is currently experiencing an exciting period of audience growth, which requires a leader to capture new readers and pipeline them into our membership program.
Come work with our independent and Black-owned newsroom ✊🏾✨
thetriibe.com/jobs
We're hiring!
The TRiiBE is hiring! Take a look at our Chicago-based employment opportunities and apply today!
thetriibe.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Join a newsroom with a mission. Check it out 👇🏾
Ald. Yancy told The TRiiBE on Oct. 16 that he thought Johnson’s budget proposal was “extremely progressive.” Now, his thoughts have apparently changed…Business PAC One Future Illinois sent out text messages to support Yancy’s show of opposition. Read more ➡️ thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
November 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Ald. Yancy told The TRiiBE on Oct. 16 that he thought Johnson’s budget proposal was “extremely progressive.” Now, his thoughts have apparently changed…Business PAC One Future Illinois sent out text messages to support Yancy’s show of opposition. Read more ➡️ thetriibe.com/2025/11/eman...
Mayor Johnson is right. Journalists need to start asking individual alders exactly what they oppose about this budget and whether they have any financial ties with corporations who oppose the head tax.
November 17, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Mayor Johnson is right. Journalists need to start asking individual alders exactly what they oppose about this budget and whether they have any financial ties with corporations who oppose the head tax.