February 2023 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2023

Bringing the art of ceramics to CTJC

This March CTJC is offering a brand-new ceramics program! Our art therapist, Shalom Parker, is also a ceramic artist and she will be leading this program. Clay is a very therapeutic, tactile, and accessible medium that will help to find new ways of facilitating healing through art making. It has been shown to improve mood, awaken creativity, foster socialization, and open up healing from trauma The focus of the workshop is creating containers to hold your grief. The impact of torture and incarceration runs deep in the lives of the members of our community Oftentimes society forces us to try and push down the emotions related to grief and loss. Our workshop is a place to safely explore that grief and honor it by creating a container to hold it while also learning a new medium of ceramics. Some of the questions that we will be taking into consideration throughout the process of creating the vessels include: What would that vessel look like, what size would it be, how would it open and close, and what images would be displayed on it?

The program will meet two days a week to accommodate differing schedules, the first days will be Thursday March 9th from 5-7 and Saturday March 12th 10-12 The program is set to be 6 weeks long, and then this summer we will have an art show where we will be able to share what was made and about the process of making it. If you are interested in being a part of this program please reach out to Shalom Parker through email at shalom@chicagotorturejustice.org There are limited spots available.

We also would like to extend an invitation to our brothers and sisters inside to be a part of the program by creating a drawing and short explanation of what a vessel to hold your grief would look like. Our hope is to be able to include these in the show as well, with your permission. If you would like to be a part, please send your piece addressed to Shalom Parker Chicago Torture Justice Center 6337 S

Woodlawn Ave Chicago Il 60637

Black History Month: Resistance in Art

Recently, Shalom visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina" exhibit where she learned about David Drake, a Black enslaved potter. Much of David's pottery dates back to the 1850s, and it is some of the only pottery created by enslaved potters that can be traced back to the original artist. Although it was a punishable crime for enslaved people to learn to read and write, David etched poetry and signed his name on a portion of his vases, which is how we know of him today It is through David's quiet yet brave acts that we are able to see how art plays a unique part in resistance.

Nearly 2 centuries have passed since David created these magnificent vases, yet his work serves as a source of inspiration for artists who seek to use their art as a means of resistance and radical transformation We hope to carry David's legacy forward through this new ceramics program as we continue imagining and creating a world free from state and police violence.

The CTJC art room with 4 pottery wheels we were able to purchase with a grant from Envisioning Justice

6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637

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Left: A photo taken by Shalom of the exhibit. Right: One of Dave Drake's pots inscribed with a poem

Remembering Tyre Nichols and all those we've lost to police violence

Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old father and son who was stopped by Memphis police on his way home on January 6, 2023 On a night when he should have come home to see his mother and 4-year-old son, he was instead beaten severely by five police officers during what was supposed to be a traffic stop Tyre died three days later from his injuries It is especially difficult for our community when there is news of yet another police killing. Our community is all too familiar with this particular form of violence. As survivors on the team have shared, "We are all Tyre Nichols".

We have so much admiration and gratitude for survivors and for our mothers of the movement: the ones who have gone through unimaginable pain and continue to fight every single day. We love you and we will continue to fight for and create a world where no mother will have to lose a child to state violence

Dream of of a world free from police violence. What doesitlooklike?

On February 6, we held a healing circle for our community of survivors and system-impacted folks to collectively grieve After a night of sharing incredibly difficult stories and holding the heavy feelings that come with grief, we closed with a prompt for collective dreaming: "Dream of a world that is free from police violence What does it look like?"

Here are a few responses to the prompt that are now posted on the walls of our community room. They serve as reminders for the world we are working towards. We invite you to dream and reflect with us. How did you feel when you heard the news of Tyre Nichols' death? What would our world look like if it was free from police violence? If you feel led to, you can share your thoughts and words with us We grieve collectively as a political and necessary act of healing and resistance

No killing of our young Black-n-Brown kids

No broken hearted mothers

Black people could feel safe, walk with dignity, knowing that Black humanity was not under the ever present possibility of police violence, terror and murder

The world would look like a community on a journey to heal An expression of governing by community based off a system to heal + restore.

Peace and safety for everyone

A lot of people would be alive and a lot less walking wounded. We would have a world with less trauma and less terror.

The world would look/feel like a Whitney Houston song (young Whitney)

People (specifically black & brown ones) would have the opportunity to live their lives, to grow, change, make mistakes, & learn new ways of being without constant fear of death There would be new forms of justice that help people to change instead of killing them or locking them away

We remember and honor RonnieMan Johnson, Archie Lee Chambers Jr., Pierre Loury, Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson, Manny Tortuguita Téran, Murray Hooper, and all those that we have lost to police and state violence.

It is not merely OK to grieve. It is wholly necessary if we are to remain connected to our collective power, trulyinvestedinourliberation,andwholeenoughto sustain ourselves in struggle. We need to grieve for those we have lost, for ourselves, for our bodies, for theland,forourfamiliesandourancestors.

Let grief be part of the movement-building process for which we allow hallowed space, and let it build within us the compassion, wisdom, and rage that propelusintonewbattles.

-Benji

Hart,inCTJC'sGrievingisHealingZine

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING AT THE CENTER

Politicized Healing from Palestine to Chicago

On January 30, we were grateful to welcome Dr Yasser Abu Jamei from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) The GCMHP offers a similar politicized healing model and framework for its participants, many of whom are political prisoners and torture survivors.

We exchanged stories of struggle and movement in the face of political and racist repression, along with stories of hope and collective healing. Dr. Abu Jamei shared the story of Ahmad Manasra, a Palestinian political prisoner, who was arrested and tortured at just 12 years old

Ahmad remains incarcerated today, and continues to suffer from the mental and physical impacts of

being brutally tortured by Israeli forces In response, organizer Mark Clements shared the story of Marcus Wiggins, who was arrested, tortured, and framed by Chicago police in 1991 at only 13 years old

The similarities in the pattern and practice of torture and targeting young people were striking. In Dr. Abu Jamei's words, "The struggle is one. We are all connected." He mentioned that torture, although a practice that should never be allowed in any corner of the world, is the reality experienced by colonized people all over the globe. However through the work of both of our centers and despite the oceans that separate us, we are equally united in our collective healing and liberation.

We stand with the people of Palestine: those who are languishing behind prison walls because of their courageous resistance to settler colonialism, as well as Palestinian families who continue living under an apartheid regime We are grateful to hear of the important work that GCMHP offers to the people of Gaza

Move - Breathe - Connect: Mindful Movement & Meditation

We had our first mindful Movement & Meditation on February 8th We're excited to now offer this program to our community Here's what people have shared about their experience:

"It was different from what I pictured I had never done yoga before. I thought we had to sit on the floor and have to do hard stretches, but it wasn't like that. We were sitting down doing arm, head, and neck movements. The breathing exercises helped calm me down. I would tell people to take a chance on it because it was a good experience "

"It was unique It my first time doing something like that It was very relaxing and I would do it again "

Mindful Movement & Meditation sessions happen every other Wednesday at the Chicago Torture Justice Center All skill and experience levels are welcome These sessions are free to attend and open to people impacted by police violence and their families.

Session Schedule

Every other Wednesday, 4:30-6pm

February 8 & 22

March 8 & 22

April 5 & 19

May 3 & 17

June 14 & 28

People with sex and gun convictions are required to register with police. CPD can’t keep up.

Police turn away people trying to register, leaving them at risk of arrest Some crime victims say the system fails them too

By Shannon Heffernan

Originally published by WBEZ Chicago on January 11, 2023

Outside a red brick building in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood, Odell Whitehorn Jr recently stood in a line with over a dozen men on a bitterly cold morning. Whitehorn is on the Illinois murder and violence against youth registry, for a crime he committed when he was eighteen-years-old, in 2000 Once a year, Whitehorn is required to register with the Chicago police. This was the fifth time he said he’d attempted to register in the previous couple of weeks

On the other occasions, Whitehorn said police turned him away because it was too crowded and they didn’t have enough capacity to register everyone Other men in line complained they’ve faced the same problem.

Whitehorn nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he considered his impossible situation If he gives up and doesn’t register he could end up in prison. But he can’t skip work and risk losing his job to keep coming back again and again

Thousands of people in Chicago are on a criminal conviction registry, including registries for gun crimes, sex offenses and murder and violence against youth. People on the registry have to show up yearly, quarterly or weekly or risk getting locked-up. But WBEZ has found men are repeatedly being turned away because of staffing shortages in the Chicago Police Department’s registry office

Data from public records show CPD routinely registered more than 1,000 people per month in 2018. By the end of 2022, that number had been cut nearly in half.

The team that registers people is “a unit that for some reason the Chicago Police Department, especially the bureau detectives, who oversee this unit, do not care if it succeeds. And right now it is failing,” said Patty Casey, a former Chicago Police Commander who oversaw the registries until she retired in June 2021

Casey called the situation inhumane and said people who are trying to comply with the law should be able to do that

Despite repeated requests for comment, the Chicago Police Department did not respond

Outside a red brick building in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood, Odell Whitehorn Jr. recently stood in a line with over a dozen men on a bitterly cold morning Whitehorn is on the Illinois murder and violence against youth registry, for a crime he committed when he was eighteen-years-old, in 2000. Once a year, Whitehorn is required to register with the Chicago police. This was the fifth time he said he’d attempted to register in the previous couple of weeks.

On the other occasions, Whitehorn said police turned him away because it was too crowded and they didn’t have enough capacity to register everyone Other men in line complained they’ve faced the same problem

Whitehorn nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he considered his impossible situation If he gives up and doesn’t register he could end up in prison. But he can’t skip work and risk losing his job to keep coming back again and again.

Thousands of people in Chicago are on a criminal conviction registry, including registries for gun crimes, sex offenses and murder and violence against youth People on the registry have to show up yearly, quarterly or weekly or risk getting locked-up But WBEZ has found men are repeatedly being turned away because of staffing shortages in the Chicago Police Department’s registry office Data from public records show CPD routinely registered more than 1,000 people per month in 2018. By the end of 2022, that number had been cut nearly in half

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People waiting outside a Chicago police registry office Dec 12, 2022. Registrants say they are often turned away because police are short-staffed. Shannon Heffernan / WBEZ

Despite repeated requests for comment, the Chicago Police Department did not respond

The stakes are high. People on the registry risk arrest and incarceration, causing destabilized families and communities And Chicago is wrestling with big concerns over public safety and how to use its limited resources to fight violence. Chicago 400 Alliance, an organization led by unhoused people on the registry, said the problems exacerbate an already racist system They estimate that one in every 147 men in Illinois is on a registry. For Black men it’s much higher: 1 in 42.

“People have gotten jobs, they’re taking care of their families, they’re doing their best and they’re constantly having to come back to the police station to be treated like they’re in custody,” said Laurie Jo Reynolds, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and the coordinator of the Chicago 400 Alliance. “So they’re really tied down in the weight of this impossible system ”

Victims and their families also say poorly functioning registries are not in their interests. Jennifer BishopJenkins, a victim advocate and director of Marsy’s Law for Illinois, said victims can be retraumatized if the system fails to work as promised “This is a matter of public safety and law And it is not something that should be a, ‘Oh, only if we feel like it today ’ ”

Barriers to registering

Outside the office, Dale Miller was bundled up, waiting in line to register, which he is required to do every 90 days. He said he lives across town and it had taken him two hours and three buses to get there. He left his house at 4:30 a m because he wanted to be near the front of the line since four other attempts to register failed when police told him they were at capacity. But when Miller finally reached the front of the line, he said he had to pay a $100 registration fee and didn’t have the cash Miller said he’d have to wait until his social security check came later in the month and he would have to make the long trek yet again.

In the past, people could register at police headquarters, located at a relatively central location at 35th and Michigan Avenue. But the location recently changed, and now anyone who registers yearly or quarterly must go to an office on 91st Street on the South Side in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood. Weekly registrants are assigned to other locations throughout the city Chicago Police did not answer questions about why the registry office was moved or why it was moved to a non-central location.

Another man in the line, Leo Charles, said the process is even more difficult for people who are unhoused The law requires those without an address to register every week. Charles has housing now but was previously unhoused.

He said his entire week revolved around showing up to register and scrounging together money for transportation. It added an extra barrier to the already arduous task of finding a job and housing.

“You’ve already been convicted, you already served time, you already did what you’re supposed to do. And now, you know, gotta sit out here in the public’s eye just lined up a block long rain, sleet, snow,” Charles said

Waiting outside is not just a problem of being exposed to the elements. Some men in the line said it placed them at risk of violence One young man in the line nervously looked over his shoulder

“We already registered as gun offenders so we don’t have nothing out here to protect ourselves So anybody who rides past and sees us, that don’t like us, they can harm us right here and get away with it,” he said. Before the location change, when people registered at police headquarters, they could wait inside Casey, the former police commander, said the line outdoors makes the situation much more dangerous especially since people often have to cross gang lines to register. “I think it’s a drive-by waiting to happen, which is a danger to the registrants and also to the police officers,” Casey said.

Chicago police did not answer questions about the potential danger flagged by the former police commander.

Solutions: Increasing resources or decreasing registries

Casey said in order for registries to operate, they need to have offices at multiple locations, so people can easily and safely register She also said they need to be reliably open so people don’t get turned away. All that requires increased staffing. Casey said she believes registries are a useful tool for police, but right now the units are being starved. Victim advocates, like BishopJenkins, agree the city needs to increase resources for its registries. Chicago police did not answer requests for comment about staffing resources, but public records show the number of people working on registries has been significantly cut, from 18 in 2021, to 10 in 2022

But some victim advocates argue that increasing the number of police working on registries is a distraction from more important work

Madeleine Behr, the policy manager at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation which provides free legal services for victims of sexualized violence, said CAASE clients sometimes call detectives assigned to their cases and detectives tell them they can’t meet because they are busy doing compliance checks.

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Registry cont'd

She said those detectives are busy re-arresting people for technical violations, such as failing to update an address, instead of interviewing victims who need immediate help.

“The more we spend on maintaining this system, we’re not helping survivors, we’re not helping folks in real time,” Behr said.

Reynolds said the Chicago 400 Alliance is working with state legislators to propose a bill that would shrink registries and ease the backlog by cutting the amount of time people spend on the murder and violence against youth registry and eliminating a requirement that unhoused people register weekly.

“If we think that the police have an important role to play, it should be investigating crime or responding to 911 calls or helping people in need But instead, I’m seeing the police get bogged down by literally thousands of people coming back to re-register at police stations, when all they’re doing is filling out a form of information,” Reynolds said.

Several men in the line complained that if filling out those forms was really in the public’s interest, the city would make it easier for them to actually complete the task. And if safety was the goal they wouldn’t have them standing outside, exposed.

A car drove by with its window down and one man, worried about a drive-by shooting, pointed at it “This could get really critical,” he said.

Still, he knew he had to stay in line and register. He said it was his third attempt; other times, the door was locked or the offices were over capacity He said police had already issued a warrant for him

Shannon Heffernan covers criminal justice for WBEZ.

VOICES FROM INSIDE

Over the past couple months, we have received an outpouring of thoughts, reflections, and powerful writing from our community inside If you sent in a piece recently, we promise that we've read it! We will publish as many as we can over the next few months

A Tale Called Unshackled Soul

By Yusef, writer and poet

I often hear people speak of our battles in life against our oppressors, but the battle's against one another, my people We caused each other too much pain over the years, my people We must fight each day for self-respect for reach other. Reach one, teach one you know. Nothing is just given to you. Yet once one consider that there are many unseen scars! The scars left within our black people from slavery wars I truly believe that's why some of us have no beliefs and that includes me too. I had no desire to pursue any happiness once. Though the chains of slavery are removed, the strings of slavery is still attached We must do as we are instructed Read more, love thyself more, and educate one another. More and most importantly, love each other. Today I unshackled the truth. So today I fight against the social delusional concepts of being high, to suppress my true emotions in order to escape the realities of my incarceration Remember strength is only as strong as the integrity of the person from which it flows. I leave you as I come with great peace Please unshackle your hurt of the past

March is Women's History Month!

We want to hear from you for Women's History Month. March 8th is International Women's Day -- a day dedicated to recognizing women who make

an impact on the world but who often are invisibilized: mothers of all walks of life, working class women, incarcerated women, queer women, trans women, disabled women, immigrant women, refugee women, etc If you are a woman who would like to share your voice with the CTJC community, we want to hear from you and publish it in upcoming newsletters If you're not a woman but want to pay tribute or reflect on the ways women have impacted and influenced your life, we'd love to hear from you too