NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2021
WELCOMING NEW LEARNING FELLOWS TO CTJC! When we launched the Learning Fellows program in 2019 it was an experiment in how we could both integrate the leadership and vision of those most impacted by police violence into the Center’s work while simultaneously recognizing and addressing the learning and skills development needs of individuals who have had decades of their lives stolen by the carceral system. And, it was a success! Mark Clements, one of the first Learning Fellows at the Center, has moved into a Community Organizer role. Now, we are incredibly excited to have Carl and Demond joining Gregory as CTJC Learning Fellows. Please help us welcome Carl and Demond to the team!
Carl Williams (he/him/his)
Demond Westen-McIntosh (he/him/his) When asked about his goals and aspirations for starting this journey as a Learning Fellow at CTJC, Demond expressed his desire to learn as much as he can.
Carl, a survivor of police brutality, sees himself as a voice for the silenced. His main goal is to be more involved and active for individuals who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated through organizing. “I would like to organize focusing on clemency, education, and mental health.” He hopes to build relationships with other people, activists and communities that are doing this kind of work. Carl also wants to make resources more accessible to those reentering their communities. “There is no preparation and most of the time no access, especially for us with longer sentences, there is always the well-known excuse! The waitlist! There is a waitlist for all the so-called resources”. After experiencing a lack of resources first-hand, Carl strives to make reintegration a less difficult process for those he meets. “There are many times I felt voiceless and CTJC was there for me, they provided me with information...I want to do the same for those who are incarcerated and for survivors because I am a survivor and I stand deeply rooted in that”.
At the same time, he wants to provide his insight to contribute and to extract the most of his experience. “I am a torture survivor, my experience of vulnerability and being at the mercy of authority, I comprehend that, and I understand feeling and being powerless. I wish to provide real and raw insight on the feelings, emotions and transitioning from powerless to survivor and fighter.” Demond is focused on getting acclimated to society while providing guidance to youth and talking about the pitfalls of torture and incarceration. “I want to provide youth guidance through relationship building. Becoming a visual, becoming present in the community... I just want them to know that I am here and to communicate.” Lastly, Demond expressed the major importance of mental health for incarcerated individuals and the importance of realizing that being free while previously incarcerated is rough yet a blessing. In his words, a “rough blessing”.
Interviews by Gabriela Martinez, CTJC Intern
P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2020 In a year that came hard for us and our folks in a multitude of death-making ways, we also were able to experience the creative and life-affirming ways people showed up for one another in both their righteous rage and unapologetic joy. Whether through organizing resistance to free all incarcerated torture survivors, demanding incarcerated people be released due to COVID, organizing in anger and grief against the killings of loved ones by police, participating in mutual aid projects, dancing with marching bands at protests, or the coming together of new and powerful visionary coalitions, we saw us living our values—living the world we are fighting to build. Despite all of the challenges of 2020, CTJC reached 1,761 people through programming during the year. We recently shared them in a year-end video that you can watch online at chicagotorturejustice.org. Here are just a few highlights: In May, we celebrated the 5 Year Anniversary of the Reparations Ordinance in Chicago! While we had initially planned for this to be an in-person party with survivors, families, and community partners, we had to quickly reimagine things to adapt to our new reality during the pandemic. Thanks to the many supporters who stand with survivors and this movement, we were able to create a beautiful evening with performances and reflections to honor the decades of work and community that brought us here. In August, we launched our Politicized Grief series, a set of 4 sessions and accompanying toolkits offering shared practices for our community. With politicized healing in mind, this series was built for telling your truth without shame, delving into your power, and holding space for what is difficult. We're including some of the practices from our spoken word session with this newsletter. For the toolkits and more details on Politicized Grief, visit chicagotorturejustice.org/politicized-grief. In this year of uprising, CTJC brought our own understanding of the systemic violence of policing and incarceration to the movement. We built on demands to defund police to include demands for accountability across the entire criminal legal system. In July, we co-organized two actions: one outside of Kim Foxx's office and another at Cook County Jail. We continue to work with our partners to mobilize against the ongoing threats of white supremacy and COVID in our communities and inside our prison system. We continue to be so grateful for you, our community, and we can't wait to continue dreaming, growing, working, and healing together in 2021. We have big plans in mind!
ARCHIVE: ONLINE OPENING On Monday, February 15 at 6:30PM, CTJC, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, the Invisible Institute, and the Pozen Center for Human Rights will co-host a virtual online event to commemorate the launch of the Chicago Police Torture Archive. Sign up for the Zoom info: bit.ly/torturearchivelaunch.
TO OUR COMMUNITY INSIDE: A note from Mark Clements, CTJC Organizer: Hi Brothers and sisters. It's so important that you take the time to consult with your Correctional Counselor and make sure your next of kin information is current and correct. So many have died from COVID 19 and the difficult task IDOC faced was how to find out their next of kin information to update loved ones. CTJC supports you and we are here for you.
P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG