Newsletter FEBRUARY 2024
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH Echoes of Langston: In his own words Toussant Daniels I speak a panoramic blackness / full of southern drawls & negro northern tongues / I sing songs... / songs of dark girls lamenting to the bitterness of strange fruit / I danse Africaine moving with a beautiful bishma / when she wears red a queen from some time dead-egyptian night once, walks again / enchanted by jazzonia rhapsody, tom-toms beating ripples within my negro soul / I lived at Seventh street in Langston Hughes (1902–1967) By Reiss (1886–1953) | National Washington / I wrote with Gwendelyn in Bronzeville and Harlem! / when Winold Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution I dream it's not of Nordic views or Episcopal heavens / I dream of Harlem nights that wrap around you, where neon lights make incandescent crowns / loud laughter in the hands of fate - are my people / even my humidifier gives off terra-cotta vapors / I want to fling my arms so wide in some place of the sun / and bathe each morning in euphoria carried from the night before / looking long at placid eyes and coquettish grins from some sable temptress / but I have nightmares too / my mahogany dread is filled with the smell of charred skin / triple k insignias of cloaked avengers hidden beneath blue coats / religiosity that pacifies the spirit / shivers from the thunder of rain Gods that muzzles the fluidity of my sun speak / nourishment that ferments & festers / mental calluses from climbing staggered & prodded racial mountains slicked by white fear / shallow screams of defiance like a dot of black Yessence washed over by dominant opulence / or being regulated OUR PARAGRAPH TEXT to a servant & sycophant who smiles & leaves the room when company comes / but at last I'm left with this incongruous humor similar to weary blues / That chuckles are mixed with tears / I speak a panoramic blackness full of southern drawls & negro northern tongue
A note from the author: I recited this piece via spoken word for our first production of a play entitled “Who Are You”. I played the role of Langston Hughes. This poem is a collage of his poetry as well as his essays to help me choreograph a story that I hope Mr. Hughes would have been proud of.
6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
FEBRUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER
Welcome home, Brian! This is Brian Beals, a frequent contributor to the CTJC newsletter while incarcerated. Last year on December 12, I was exonerated after spending thirty-five years inside. Even though I am working through my own transition back into society, I can’t stop working on behalf of the community I just left behind. As a result, I am looking forward to writing this column that will cover events and laws that impact the incarcerated. I was in Springfield meeting with legislators during the first legislative session in January. In those meetings I discussed the myriad of problems incarcerated people are experiencing and was keenly focused on the rollout of HB3026. The bill instructs prison administrators to calculate sentence credit for people incarcerated before 1998 (people serving fifty percent of their sentence). It awards them sentence credit at the rate they would earn now under current policies. I explained that the position taken by IDOC is having a negative impact on incarcerated people and their family members. Another highlight of my journey thus far was attending the opening of the Walls Turned Sideways Gallery, sponsored by the Prison +Neighborhood Arts Education Project (PNAP). The event was heavily attended by the formerly incarcerated, Educators, and Activist. The featured artist was Arkee, a cartoon columnist who has been featured in Stateville Speaks since its inception. His art was enlarged and covered the walls of the gallery. Arkee’s wit and artistry amused and informed all in attendance. The guests were provided a buffet with an open bar, and it was clear that everybody there had a great time. The art gallery /community space is managed by formerly incarcerated Director Pablo Mendoza. He and his team explained how the concept for the space originated at Stateville. The Walls Turned Sideways Gallery is a much needed bridge between the inside community and the outside community. Bridging both communities has been a personal goal of my activism as a community builder.
A Conversation on Intracommunal Violence In March 2023, CTJC published an article about relationship between state violence intracommunal violence. A writing group at Robinson came together to discuss and write reflections on their own experiences with violence. A word from Brian Beals who facilitated the group: “I would like to first thank the CTJC for opening the discussion on intracommunal violence. It inspired me to assemble a group of my peers who grew up outside of Chicago to share our experience on how intracommunal violence affected us.”
Top: Brian Beals in Springfield in January 2024 Bottom: Brian Beals with Gilary Valenzuela (left) and Rebecca Wilson Bretz (right) at CTJC.
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FEBRUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER Intracommunal violence cont’d
F.O.C Dakota Patton
DeMarco “Tru” Taylor
I’m Dakota Patton aka Kocaine. I grew up in the projects in Danville, Illinois, in the slums of our city and low-income housing, best known as Fair Oaks City! Violence affected our city because Fair Oaks and Green Meadows projects was cut off by the rest of the city. We were divided into cliques. Seeing guns, drugs, and robberies on a daily basis. It shaped the way we look at things due to being isolated from the rest of Danville. Murders began to happen in our lil projects due to greed, envy and also gambling.
What is violence to me? The roaring is the violence my stomach makes when there's no food. The yawn my shoe makes upon my every step. The echoed sound of screams to whimpers in my house. The rapid sound of blicks and broken glass was the melody that's constant in my ears. The illuminated bruises I wear as a badge of honor. The frantic thump the door makes in cadence with the frenzied heartbeat of hypes.
Being that I was mixed black and white and also one of the only light bright niggas in our projects, I had to make myself known because niggas would try me, thinking because I was light-skinned I couldn’t fight or they could go on me. Fighting became a normal thing everyday. I would get suspended from school and also get into multiple fights in the projects. These things here made me do other things, like selling drugs because I wasn't in school, and I had to have money because family ain’t have it. I began to handle guns to support myself with protection and to enforce robberies if I went broke. As I became a man shaped by violence, a few lil int and big joints bits made me want change. Friends and family members became divided by gang ties and violence. Even at 27 years old I'm still faced with the dilemma of how Imma change. Am I going to be trapped in a lifestyle that once caused me to be violent and do prison bits, or am I going to be a hard working productive man who may struggle to get by?
Violence was the ladle that stirred the ingredients of my life. Whether these experiences come from poverty, domestic violence, or violence in the neighborhood, the effects were profound. Violence became my voice, I began to secretly vocalize this into action. At a young age I started having fights at school as well as in the neighborhood, which ultimately led to being expelled. From there I began to cultivate my voice by selling drugs and stealing. This led to robberies that gave me that euphoric feeling you get upon taking that first hit. Being victimized at a young age, violence became my shield. My actions brought about consequences that led me to be charged and convicted of First Degree Murder for a robbery. While incarcerated, I was able to form a new voice through writing. This was accomplished through trial and error, as I searched for a way to convey my message in a healthy way. However, remnants of my violence find a way to the surface. My environment is populated with individuals who don't understand peaceful conversations, making it difficult not to result back to my violent ways.
Violence is my trauma that was passed on from generation after generation. The normalization of violence exists in my community because society has not addressed this issue with a solution outside of mass incarceration. Those who influenced my environment played a huge role in my development. It hasn't been so easy to rid myself of something that’s been a part of me for so long. I plan to continue to make strides to correct this behavior by finding positive outlets, and creating pathways that others can follow.
Evertt Shelton Being born and raised from Chicago and residing in Rockford, IL for a numerous amount of years, I've experienced various types of violent acts. These acts have instilled a very strong influence on how I deal with certain situations in life, from gang banging, domestic violence and gun violence. I'm always on guard when dealing with people and certain situations. The things I've learned in the streets have not only affected me, but have affected my social relationships with friends and family. Violence is labeled the norm for the blacks where I've resided and the main influence of that violence is poverty. Society has made it hard for the black community to survive in this world, which puts a major strain on one's mental, to where we lash out in these violent acts I've mentioned. From lack of jobs and low paying wages, also with major inflation in food and housing, the government has given the black community no choice but to involve themselves in certain things in the streets so they can provide for their loved ones. These are specifics on why violence is so high in my community. Now at 39 yrs old, I've learned how to turn a negative into a positive. I've built a strong relationship with my Higher Power because in this day and age it's always good to have a relationship with God, because with all the bad that's going on in the world, through him you can see good, always. 6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
FEBRUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER
Do you need support for your next court date? The CTJC offers support and accompaniment to survivors' court dates. We know that navigating the legal system can be daunting, retraumatizing, and often lonely. Do you have an upcoming court date that you would like support with? Please reach out to organizer Mark Clements with the following information: Name: Judge:
Please mail court support requests to:
Case Status: Turnout preference (minimal, as many as possible etc.):
Mark Clements Chicago Torture Justice Center 6337 S. Woodlawn Ave. Chicago IL 60637
Attorney name, phone and email:
Writing & Reflection Prompt
PROMPT What do you see when you look in the mirror? This prompt was provided by Tee, a social justice intern at CTJC. We invite you to respond to this prompt in the expression of your choice, whether that be poetry, stream-of-consciousness writing, drawing, etc. Maybe this is a question that you want to sit with on your own, or maybe it’s an opportunity to reflect with others and hear their thoughts. If you would like to share your responses with us and/or would like your work to be featured in the newsletter, please write to: Gilary Valenzuela Chicago Torture Justice Center 6337 S. Woodlawn Ave. Chicago, IL 60637
Somatic Practice: Muscle Relaxation Muscle relaxation exercises can be a helpful way to manage anxiety. One progressive muscle relaxation exercise suggests choosing a muscle group (like your thighs), intentionally tightening the muscles for a few seconds, and then letting them go. Continue with different muscle groups until you’ve worked your way through your whole body. With each muscle group, think about turning the muscles off for the time being to give them rest.
6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG