NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021
"I Am Change": An Interview with Arewa Karen Winters
Arewa Karen Winters is a catalyst for liberation in her community. This month, she and her family continue to honor her nephew Pierre Loury, who was murdered by Chicago Police on April 11, 2016. Pierre was only 16 years old at the time of his death. An organizer and artist who originally connected with the Chicago Torture Justice Center through her local work with Black Lives Matter, Arewa continues to bring her fighting spirit to all she does. Today, she works with CTJC's Justice For Families group and offers community leadership in Chicago's enforcement of the Consent Decree. Arewa uses her powerful voice to speak truth to the reality of how police violence impacts us all. CTJC: How did you connect with the Chicago Torture Justice Center? AKW: Trauma therapy was offered, and I wanted to take advantage of those services. After my nephew was killed, I couldn’t sleep. It was replaying over in my head and so I started with the therapy. Then there came the Freedom Songbook, the wraparound care, and connecting to CTJC families impacted by Photo courtesy of Arewa Karen Winters. police violence. CTJC: As we continue to fight for change, how does your work give you a seat in the room with CPD? How can we impact the cycles of violence and racism we are dealing with in policing? AKW: The campaigns we see, like the movement for defunding the police, we know that Black and Brown communities could benefit from the reallocation of funds, however we have to demand more of the Mayor, political officials, and CPD. We are dealing with a political construct. Chicago is considered a politically corrupt city. The city does not think about the people—they think about the construct. But [the conviction of the officer in the murder of] Laquan McDonald was a victory, reparations for Jon Burge Torture Survivors was a victory. Things are happening, not fast enough and maybe not large enough, but small things will create the big changes and I will remain optimistic. I get to see what they [CPD] do and how they plan on training the new incoming trainees in the police academy. 2021 policies are coming, and we want to see those changes in those streets. I stand by what I say. I am change and the Deputy Chief needs to shift in what he sees because I will be there to question it. We know that White Supremacy is a foundational part of the culture of policing. Yet this is the conversation that needs to be had. However it is muted and the louder discussion being focused on misconduct, abuse and accountability. As the first Cochair of the Use of Force Working Group, it was easy for me to serve along with Deputy Chief Ernest Cato, III. My fear was that I would have been paired with someone impossible to work with, that it would have become a Black Lives Matter versus Blue Lives Matter agenda, which would have been a very difficult challenge for me. We respected each other's viewpoints, we valued each others opinions and although it was a hard space to sit in, what he heard from the community members has been transformational for him and will impact his work.
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P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
CTJC: Can you tell us about the 411 Movement for Pierre Loury? AKW: [The day Pierre was killed] was a surreal day. The hospital waited hours to tell us that my nephew was in the county morgue. They described him as a 30-year-old looking male. My nephew did not look old, he was young man, a teen. This shifted something in me. What can we do to make things better, so other families do not have to go through this? It is hard to have to re-live it. When you see it and hear it, it is like reopening a wound. An image playing out in your head, and the purpose of 411 is to be a vehicle to fight and to get up, specifically going back to North Lawndale to bring peace and a sense of healing. We have officially become a 501(c) 3 organization. We want to come together and work with our youth. CTJC: How does 411 work with youth and what is the impact you are creating? AKW: Well, we are artists! Working with the arts is a way to keep his memory alive. Pierre was an artist. The officer trials are happening, and we want to keep Pierre Loury alive. We have connected with other organizations that we feel honored to be in the space with. We work with The School of the Art Institute of Chicago-Homan Square Campus, offering Art Therapy Care Sessions with the staff and students for families and community members who have been impacted by police violence. We came to it and it immersed us into a fight for justice. Every year on his birthday and angel day we commemorate his life, and as the matriarch of the family we will keep this 411 movement alive. When it happened, I was asked how I was feeling and I said that all this pain that has happened in my life has led me to these movements. Sometimes we don’t remember the strength or the abilities that we have and then when something happens, it’s a like a switch and our bodies remember. Some things come and we can go back to it—it’s called kofa—we go back. And we can go back to our history. In times of trouble, we look at art where we can express suppressed emotion, like for me—my poetry, my rhymes—I am killing that officer everyday with my pen! CTJC: When you think of community, what do you imagine? AKW: I think of a village. I see it as me when I was a child, with immediate and extended family. Elders, stories, food and celebration. And not to say that we didn’t have discord, but that got tended to. The community, the neighborhood—my neighborhood knew everybody. Once upon a time that’s how it was: if a family was in need we would be there for each other. If the police saw a group of young men on the corner, the police would bring the youth back home, not kill them or chase them. There was a sense of home and safety. A village concept. We need to bring that back into our healing. Our ancestors were a people of village. Everybody has a role. We are all helping each other out. Interview by Gabriela Martinez ... Learn more about the 411 Movement for Pierre Loury: facebook.com/The411movementforPierreLoury P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
Our Anniversary Month: Where We're Going, We Need Each Other
Many thanks to our community member Carlos, who generously shared this beautiful piece of art (left) with us earlier this year! We are so grateful for the gifts of those around us and the ways they choose to share them. We love the movement and message Carlos's piece communicates to us. It has us thinking about where we've come from and where we're going.
This May marks the 6-year anniversary of the historic Reparations Ordinance and the 4-year anniversary of the opening of CTJC. The past year has shown us that when it comes to the work of ending police violence, we are far from finished, and we need each other. All month long, we will offer workshops, community conversations, music, and art so that we might reflect on what we've achieved and grow together into the fight ahead.
On these anniversaries, we want to hear from you! Please share any art, written reflections, or poetry with us you'd like at the PO Box below.
Wellness on the Inside: Creativity and Connection
Whether it's writing, drawing, or making music, expressing our story can be an important tool to help us work through emotion, pain, or oppression. Turning our pain into creativity can be a powerful experience, both for us and for others we share with. Everyone has different ways to express themselves so find what inspires you! Here are some ideas: Write letters to your idols, your past or future self, people who changed you and may not even realize it. You can always write to us at CTJC at the address below! In your writing, say what you wish you had known or said, what you want to say or do one day. What you do with the letters is up to you: you might choose to send the letters, keep them, or destroy them. Read stories that take place somewhere very different from where you are. Picture life there vividly in your mind. Draw a timeline of your life. Include when you met the people who are most important to you. If words are difficult, use your body to express what you feel. Try wiggling or tapping your toes and fingers, stretching, or shaking out your arms and legs.
P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
5-4-3-2-1 Exercise
This is meant to bring you back to what is physically happening around you through your five senses. It can be useful if you are feeling caught up in your thoughts or disconnected from your body. What are 5 things you can see? Look for small details such as a pattern on the ceiling, the way light reflects off a surface, or an object you never noticed. What are 4 things you can feel? Notice the sensation of clothing on your body, your hand on your knee, or the feeling of the chair you are sitting in. Pick up an object and examine its weight, texture, and other physical qualities. What are 3 things you can hear? Pay special attention to the sounds your mind may have tuned out. What are 2 things you can smell? Try to notice smells in the air around you, or you may also look around for something that has a scent you can imagine. What is 1 thing you can taste?
Drawing Hands Exercise Draw or trace both of your hands. On one side draw or write what you want to "keep" in your life. Warmth, care, love, joy, etc. On the other hand draw or write the things you are letting go. Worry, anxiety, fear, regret, etc. Is there anything that doesn't neatly fit on either side? (There probably is, and that's okay.) Make room for it in between your hands. Write down any thoughts or reflections you're having somewhere on the page, or on the other side of your drawing. This might be an exercise you'll want to revisit another time, and it could look totally different. Remember: all of these are suggestions to get you started, but you know yourself best! When it comes to engaging your creativity and connecting to yourself, what works for you? P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG