January 2022 Newsletter

Newsletter JANUARY 2022

IN THIS ISSUE: An update on our new home | Voices From Inside: Spotlight on Dixon CC Performing Arts Program + more

Welcome home!

In 1991, Antonio Nicholas was taken to Area 3 violent crime unit at 3900 S. California Ave. in Chicago, where he was tortured by members of the Chicago Police Department to confess. Nicholas has always maintained that he was innocent of the crime and that he only confessed because of the torture.

He spent 30 and a half years confined to a prison, fighting that he be provided with a hearing on his claim of torture. CTJC organizer Mark Clements and one of the attorneys for Nicholas greeted him at his house soon after he had been released from Illinois River Correctional Center.

"I am free, I need time to adjust, and I want to be able to assist other men and women that are behind the prison walls who are voiceless," he said. "I want to thank everyone that has helped me to gain my freedom."

—Mark Clements, CTJC Organizer This month, we also celebrated the release of survivor Tony Anderson. Tony was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to 50 years in prison on tortured confessions. His case was reviewed and referred to the Circuit Court by the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (TIRC) in 2013 and 2015.

We are thankful to celebrate the blessing of survivors coming home, and it inspires us to continue to work together to Free Them All.

Antonio Nicholas (left) with Mark Clements (right)

Illinois Murder Registry Relocated

By Mark Clements, CTJC Community Organizer

Many of you have heard of the Illinois Murder Registry, and many of you will be required to register days after you are released from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Failure to register could result in new criminal charges being filed against you which would be a violation of parole.

Registries were taking place at 35th and Michigan CPD headquarters. The new home for Illinois Murder Registry in Chicago is 3900 S. California Ave., a torture zone, where hundreds of Black and Brown men and women were tortured by Jon Burge and his subordinates. Many torture survivors suffer trauma resulting from their torture and incarceration. Many who must register on the Illinois Murder Registry are torture survivors who now will have to relive their tortures by going into the same police station they were tortured at to register.

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG

In Loving Memory of Jessie Mae Williams Jessie Mae Williams, mother of survivor and CTJC Learning Fellow Carl Williams, passed away on January 2, 2022. Services were held in Chicago earlier this month.

We send our deepest love and condolences to all who treasured her, and we are grateful for her life. Carl shared these words about his mother: "Thank you to all family and friends who came out to celebrate the life of my mom Jessie Williams. The Beauty of Her Spirit and who She is as a Daughter, a Mother, a Sister, a Grandmother, a Niece, an Aunt, and a Friend is always upon us. For all of you who know her may her memory be everlasting in your hearts."

Body Movement Practice: Sun Salutation (modified) from CTJC's Politicized Grief zine

The Sun Salutation is a series of postures from Yoga traditions in ancient India. There are many variations. This one is modified, and can be done sitting or standing:

Breathing in, raise your arms above your head and look up to the sky.

Breathing out, bend at your hips and lower your arms in front of you into a forward fold. Bend your knees slightly, gazing toward your ankles, shins, or wherever is comfortable.

Breathing in, slide your hands up your shins and lift your chest halfway.

Breathing out, hinge at your hips and fold towards the ground.

As you repeat this cycle, try expanding your breath on each inhale. What feels alive in your body?

I hear the love of those who have loved me echo in me.

All the notes of my song sing over theirs, the only kind of beauty.

The song does not die.

May I live with love and mercy for it will echo long after.

—Steve Garnaas-Holmes

As you exhale and bend, try pushing all of the air out forcefully from your gut, even making a grunt as the breath comes out. What is your body releasing?

This practice is included in our Politicized Grief zine, which we sent in a mailing in November. If you haven't yet received a copy of the zine and would like one, please write us at our PO Box below and we will be happy to mail it to you.

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG

Memorial to honor Mildred "Millie" Henry

Update: Our New Home in Progress!

Last month, we announced the passing of Mildred "Millie" Henry, mother of Kilroy Watkins and a Mother of the Movement. A memorial will be held in her honor in Chicago on Saturday, February 5.

Renovation is underway in our new home! Our Love-athon for Justice continues as we push towards our goal to fund needed repairs to the building. We can't wait to see you in the new Center space!

VOICES FROM INSIDE:

Dixon CC Performing Arts program produces "Coping with Covid" to give a voice to those who feel like they aren't being heard.

By DPA Facilitator Brian Beals We have been trying to garner attention the Dixon CC Theater Workshop for some time. Not for us individually but for the program. We really believe in our model. That was confirmed for us again when we had our after production debrief from Coping with Covid (more on this in the next few pages). All the men talked about the validation and healing they received from their participation. They also discussed the regard they got from the prisoners, love and respect were the words repeated over and over. An enduring bond was formed between the participants.

We believe our motto: Transformational Therapeutic Rehabilitation through the Arts. We've seen it transform hearts and minds. When we create characters for our plays we write them to challenge these young men to see outside the typical lense of their world view. We challenge them to embrace a character who is different from them. Walk in another mans shoes and you see the world through his eyes. That is teaching them the steps of transformation. Here is a synopsis of what we've done: The workshop has wrote cast and produced 4 plays: "Who Are You" (Feb. 2019), "Broken Pieces" (July 2019), "Dreamers Nightmare (musical, Oct. 2019), "My Problem With The World Is Me" (Feb. 2020). All of our plays have a run time of 50 min. to 1 hour. They focus on issues that revolve around criminal justice and urban life. They are all dramas with some humor.

Broken Pieces won an honorable mention, along with a cash prize in the Pen/America national writing contest for prisoners.

The workshop has produced 2 shows featuring spoken word artist along with rap artist. We have also done a stand alone spoken word poetry slam and a stand alone concert.

We have hosted 2 open forum roundtable discussions on violence in the communities we come from. Those events we open to all the prisoners in the prison. We have hosted several writing contest, and art contest.

We created therapeutic practice room for musicians and a workshop band.

The Dixon Theater Workshop has 3 teams: The writing team, The leadership team, and The stage and sound engineering team. We have rehearsed for 100's of hours, and have received participation from prisoners ranging in age from their early 20's to their late 70's. More than 100 prisoners have participated in workshop productions, not counting repeat participants.

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG

VOICES FROM INSIDE - CONTINUED The almost 2 year covid lockdown we are still on has really scaled back our activities. We got permission to start back up in July, we have been limited in what we can do. Coping with Covid was our first large project since 2020. We have also done a writing exposition on the IDOC decision to change our name from offender to Individuals in Custody. (Sept. 2021). We got 49 responses and we awarded 23 certificates for responses we (The leadership team) deemed stand out submissions. We turned over the responses to our program Warden hoping she could discern something from the responses.

While on lockdown I reached out to a good friend and former prisoner Wendell Robinson, he is program director at Restore Justice. He put me in contact with Ms. Andrea Pikscher, the program director at Paramount Theatre and Theatre School. We exchanged many text talking about our workshop and its goals. We sent her copies of some of the plays we had written and she decided to build a team and come in to help us reach those goals. It is a wonderful thing, e first workshop from Paramount was great. The plan is to found an official program with the Paramount team. So we decided along with our workshop superviser Chaplain Robert Thomas to change our name to the Dixon CC Performing Arts program.

We are about to begin the vision casting phase of planning what we are going to propose for Black History month. We start with the six E's. Engage, Encourage, Educate, Entertain, Earn and Evolve. Our projects have to touch each E to begin.

The Suntimes have been running a series of editorials about the root causes of violence. A few weeks ago they suggested a summit on violence, they said new voices need to heard. We agree! We are the stakeholders on that issue who haven't been invited to the table. So we are going to use our events during February to demonstrate we need to be invited.

[In November 2020], Dixon CC was in the throes of a covid surge that killed at least a dozen prisoners and left many more permanently damaged. That happened while the prison was on its highest level lockdown, leaving approximately 1800 men confined to their cells as the killer virus stalked them. One year later with covid /lockdown restrictions relaxing, the Dixon CC Performing Arts program (DPA) produced Coping with Covid to help deal with residual trauma.

The program begins with a memorial service lead by DPA facilitator Alfredo Ramos. In his opening remarks he says "When incarcerated people die their property is packed up, put into two grey boxes and a laundry bag. Then the prison goes back to business as usual. We need space to mourn, and our dead deserve dignity and respect." The memorial part of the program concludes with a moment of silence for all the victims of covid.

Three segments follow the memorial, they focus on the hardships of life on the inside during the pandemic. The first segment is Grief and loss. Two spoken word artist perform pieces that deftly communicate the gravity of the topic. Closing the block is longterm prisoner Jeffrey Bartik, he delivers a solemn speech about his close friendship with several of the men who died.

We achieved a larger goal of helping our community cope without feeling targeted and persecuted.

Next is a segment on the lockdown. This is the longest lockdown in history. Several performers gave speeches or did spoken word pieces describing doing time now. The highlight of the segment was a skit written and performed by the youngest members or the production. James Warren, Drashun Wilson and Jose Saucedo performance captured the frustration of living through this extended lockdown, but the message they delivered conveyed maturity. One line that stood out was from Jose, He asks "I turn on my TV and I see thousands of people packing stadiums, so I ask is our lifes more important than theirs?

"I asked the group what motivated them to get involved in the production? Warren said, "Naturally we are frustrated with how unfair this lockdown feels, however we decided to transition our focus to make our piece more informative. In doing so, we achieved a larger goal of helping our community cope without feeling targeted and persecuted.

The last segment was Mental Health. If featured the most performances, including a speech by Mr. Gehl, a social worker at the prison. All the performers did a great job describing their challenges maintaining mental wellness during the lockdown.

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG

VOICES FROM INSIDE - CONTINUED The highlight of that segment happened when longterm prisoner Stanley Howard discussed an episode of extreme anxiety he endured one night. It was followed by a re-enactment of his ordeal by spoken word artist Tarius Washington. Everyone watching knew they were witnessing something special.

The program concluded with two special messages. Our program supervisor Chaplian Robert Thomas gave a much needed speech on hope. The final message was a audio recorded message from Ms Dilce, a close family member of DPA facilitator Jason Foster.

Her message reminded us to stay strong during this season of adversity because our families love and need us.

All the participants appreciate program Warden A Tack and the Dixon CC staff for giving us a chance to be heard. This is one of the pieces of poetry from Coping with Covid, shared with permission:

Her message reminded us to stay strong during this season of adversity because our families love and need us.

The Bully by Marvin Alexis They say that the scars of the past help shape the stars of tomorrow.

Well yall, I pray that the Lord will start shaping me today, and fast.

Because the wounds that loom inside my heart, they are concealed and filled with so much sorrow.

Now make no mistake, I do have faith that God will soothe my fears But truth is, as I stand here, I am damn near moved to tears.

As I review these 21 grueling years of maneuvering through tiers, units and cellblocks.

Even before I was consumed by this beast When I was in the streets ducking the feds and head shots I don't believe that I have ever been this scared and shellshocked So yeah, physically I am a rock, I am steady But in my head, I am relatively and reticently reflective Unable to say good bye to yesterday- (singing) Why is it so hard to say goodbye to yesterday?

Sad songs of mourning fill my mornings now, and I am sick See, I am one who hates to live in the past tense But, the taste and bad stench of the two years that's passed since Those tragic events that happened here at Dixon, I just can't erase and forget.

Vividly, I remember it 2020 was ending, but it wasn't quite December yet It was like late October/early November, so it wasn't quite winter yet There was news about this big, bad, dude who was transfering here on the new. and that shit flew through the joint like we had the internet Now me being a vet, I've heard the legends told of many of a killers who knew of a million ways to die, plus a few that hadn't even been invented yet

So, when this so-called hitter entered the prison, I played it like I wasn't really impressed But, behind the act, the real fact, in fact, was that I was on real slack the first time we met 'Cause I'd be in the day room on the deck, too school for cool Breaking multiple known cardinal prison rules like over socializing and close talking While walking around often in shower shoes... Then dude came through At first, he was silent, but you could tell that he had violent tendencies and intentions, He stayed in the tuck like lipo out of the light so He could make himself where no one would pay him any attention Meanwhile, he was stealthly stalking his first victim A feeble, one armed senior citizen who was undergoing chemo and sometimes needed assistance with eating, and even getting into the shower I thought to myself, "This is who this freaking coward picked to pull it with?"

I truly believed, at the time, that this foe chose to go after Lefty, not only because the elder could be over-powered, not being strong But also, because he hoped that the old man was so unimportant that no one would notice him once he was gone... But, he was wrong See, our whole deck was close knit and tight like a closed fist So, when this bully attacked our brother, we were pissed Sh*t got ugly. Officers even had to escort the old man off the wing and put him in isolation to recover What happened had us heated like a hot pot of water, boiling And we were even madder, because we couldn't do anything to avoid it

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG

VOICES FROM INSIDE - CONTINUED We were all locked in our boxes at the time, except for my cellie, who was a porter Now when it came to that preying on the weak crap, bro wasn't going So, if this bully was into injuring defenseless men, Rue wasn't for it He wasn't going to ignore it, nor play ignorant No, he was going to push toward it, and render aid out Regardless of the consequences, or however the outcome played out But, when Rue returned to the cell, he didn't appear well and I could tell that he didn't prevail, because he just laid down...

And, he stayed down All night and all day he was out I couldn't believe that this punk just put my bruh on bunk rest I knew right then and there that I had to stop underestimating this deadly enemy and start giving this chump respect...

But man bump that!

21 years of bidding in these gladiator schools, I ain't been punked yet I'm groomed to the rules that if you punch me or one of mine, I'm designed to punch back Straight like that!

They say that the scars of the past help shape the stars of tomorrow.

So, after homey did what he did to bro, I decided to inject myself into the act But before I could react, this cat cracked me smack in the face, and I was out!

This mark hit me so hard; I swear to God it felt like he slapoed me in the face with a house My momma used to threaten me with this when I was a slight, a young tike but, this was the first time in my life that I ever had the taste slapped out of my mouth No lie! Dude did a number on us, and pummeled us so, it's a wonder we didn't die C.O.'s had to take us and put us on the slide 'til we healed up Meanwhile, this big, bad, bully was back in the unit tearing the building up He was terrorizing guys, beating brothers within an inch of their lives, then The most tragic tragedy and tragedy happened when he murdered two of the wise men When I heard the news, I cried 'til my eyes were the size of my cheek bones Hearing that our brother Ricky Z and Pop Watson was gone Word was that it was due to complications from the beating To this day, I still can't believe it They were the backbones of the community and a vital reason for me even being able to do what you see Stand before you courageously and creatively spewing this beautiful piece So, after monsooining through our unit, ruining our unity and beautiful peace This brutal beast moved throughout the compound Taking down any and every person around that he found, on both sides of the aisle But, what was more confusing was that, instead of exterminating and extricating him from the population, there seemed to be serious consternation about the situation And as a result, it was us who was placed in complete isolation Fast forward to today. Confined is how we stay Praying that we no longer have to face this faceless, tasteless, raceless Bully named COVID Sadly, this is our new reality I wrote this as my way of coping

P.O. BOX 647 EVANSTON, IL 60204 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG