Newsletter NOVEMBER 2022
An Open Letter to Mayor Lightfoot: Fund and Build the Memorial Now! This letter was written by Chicago Torture Justice Memorials (CTJM), a group that was key in passing the Reparations Ordinance in 2015. Since then, they have been organizing to make sure the memorial that the City promised to survivors is funded and built. A press conference announcing the open letter to Mayor Lightfoot was held at City Hall on October 26, 2022. 10 locally elected officials, 54 organizations, and 220 individuals signed onto the letter. October 26, 2022 Dear Mayor Lightfoot, It has been seven years since Chicago’s City Council passed unprecedented legislation providing reparations to people tortured by notorious former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and the detectives under his command. In doing so, the City of Chicago made history becoming the first municipality in the U.S. to provide redress for racially motivated police violence. With the passage of the legislation, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials (CTJM) and others have worked tirelessly with City officials to implement the reparations legislation providing holistic redress which included: an official apology; monetary compensation; the creation of the Chicago Torture Justice Center; a history curriculum (“Reparations Won”) about the Burge torture cases taught in Chicago Public Schools; free enrollment in Chicago City Colleges; and the creation of a public memorial for the Burge torture survivors. The one component of this legislation that has yet to be fulfilled is the creation of the permanent public memorial. CTJM demanded the memorial be included as part of the reparations legislation to ensure that this chapter of racially motivated state violence is not erased from public memory by inscribing it onto the landscape of Chicago. The memorial is a testament to the survivors, their families and communities who persevered and struggled for justice as they grappled with their unrelenting trauma. Like memorials in South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Germany, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Alabama, Chicago’s memorial
A model of the design selected for the memorial, titled 'Breath, Form & Freedom'. Designed by Patricia Nguyen and John Lee.
will show the nation and the world how public art can bear witness to the ugly truth of our past and how people can come together collectively to seek change and repair systematic harm. It will serve as a call to action that connects the past with the current struggles to end racist police violence and systemic racism. The City of Chicago, when promising to build the Burge torture justice memorial appropriately acknowledged that “education about the transgressions of the past is essential to laying claim to a future that is free of racism, discrimination, inequality and cruelty.” CTJM continues to work with City officials to secure a site for the memorial, titled “Breath, Form & Freedom” in the 20th ward where the Chicago Torture Justice Center is currently located. While CTJM has raised $500,000 to build the memorial, the City of Chicago has made no official commitment to financially fulfill its promise to pay for the remaining costs of the project, approximately two million dollars.
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The memorial will serve to permanently and publicly acknowledge what the torture survivors endured, particularly in light of the fact that they were disbelieved for decades when sharing their horrifying encounters. The fact that seven years later the memorial still has not been built serves once again to deny or disregard the state sponsored violence the survivors endured. City officials must not let political will trump justice. It is the city’s and our collective moral responsibility to not further harm or continue to traumatize our neighbors and communities who have borne the brunt of the worst forms of the city’s complicity and silence. Survivors are aging and members of their families have passed. They should have had the opportunity to see this memorial built to honor them. Justice delayed is justice denied! Recently the Chicago Monuments Project recommended the City of Chicago build the Burge torture justice memorial, noting that such a memorial, like others, will “require significant government support to access land, expertise and funding.” This was the most recent call by advisors to your administration, Mayor Lightfoot, to call on you to commit the city to build this memorial. In May of 2019, the Arts & Culture Transition Team recommended that you fund the memorial as soon as possible.
The memorial will serve to permanently and publicly acknowledge what the torture survivors endured, particularly in light of the fact that they were disbelieved for decades when sharing their horrifying encounters. By building the public memorial for the Burge torture survivors, the City of Chicago will make history and demonstrate true leadership in condemning racially motivated police violence. It’s time for you and Chicago’s City Council to fulfill its promises. It’s time for them to walk the walk, and not just talk the talk about racial equity and justice. Today, we stand with CTJM to demand the City fully fund the development, construction, and maintenance of the Burge torture justice memorial, and that those funds be included in the City of Chicago’s budget for 2023.
October/November Recap Left: A group photo from our community fair on October 29. Right: Community Navigators facilitating a Know Your Rights training on November 14.
November Calendar November 17 Launch of Love-a-thon for Justice November 23-25 CTJC closed for the holiday Photos from the October reentry dinner on October 26. 6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
OCTOBER 2022 NEWSLETTER
Meet our interns! Introducing Christin Adams and Gabe Schendler! They are social work interns who will be supporting our organizing team, community navigators, and radical resourcing. We interviewed them about what they're looking forward to in the next year. We're so excited to Have Christin and Gabe on board.
Your Contributions This article was submitted to us by Brian Beals, who is is a facilitator for Dixon Performing Arts. It's wonderful to hear what our community inside is up to. Thank your organizing this beautiful event and for sharing it with us, Brian! We always welcome contributions from our community. If you would like to share what you're up to or what you've been working on, you can write to us at the mailing address below.
Mi Pueblo Unido ~ My People United: A Showcase of Music - Culture - Unity The Mi Pueblo Unido showcase was performed at Dixon C.C. by the Dixon Performing Arts (DPA) program to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM).The DPA is a peer-led program whose motto is: Transformational Therapeutic Rehabilitation Through The Arts. The Dixon Sound Project, the prison's band, performed music from various Latin American countries throughout the celebration. Marcos Cadenas kept the audience energized singing beautiful ballads and rousing national songs. Isreal Gonzalez, the band's leader, composed a medley of national songs that had
the crowd singing along as segments from their home country was being played. The Dixon Sound Project literally had the joint jumping. DPA facilitator Apolinar Sernas-Jacobo and project manager Jessie Martinez researched the origin of HHM and held a group discussion with the performers to ensure they understood the significance of HHM. They also worked with DPA sponsor Chaplain R Thomas to create a digital collage of iconic figures, national flags and picturesque landscapes in South America. The collage ran continuously on the auditorium's large screen, serving as a backdrop for the entire showcase. cont'd on next page
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Emerging DPA writers Jose Sacuedo and James Warren wrote a series of skits they titled "Lost in Translation"; each skit highlighted the difficulty prisoners who don't speak English well, or not at all, have accessing healthcare and educational programming. Actors Lawrence Ludlow, Fermin Barron and Stevin Ramirez did a great job acting in the skits. They managed to keep a strong emphasis on the serious issue while blending just enough humor to both educate and entertain the crowd. By all accounts, Rey Ocampo stole the show. His performance in the showcase's rendition of Sabado Gigante, a beloved show produced in Latin America, had the audience in stitches. Rey's little dance before he sang was hilarious, he looked so earnest while he was singing, and when El Chacal blew his trumpet, Rey had the nerve to look shocked. Rey was also one of the performers who recited parts of the epic poem "I am Joagun". The poem was written by Rudolopho "Corky" Gonzalez, it is an ode to what it means to be Latino. I asked Rey what motivated him to be a part of the program, he said " I did the Sabado Gigante performance to lift the spirit of the guys, I was one of the Joagun's to represent the culture".
The HHM art contest was another important part of the showcase. Peer Artroom Instructor Sherman Spears lined the foyer of the auditorium with this years submissions. All two hundred showcase attendees received a ballot in the mail before the showcase. It was really satisfying to watch so many guys study the submissions like they were professional art critics, it was even more satisfying to see the winner decided by their votes. After the showcase ended I asked DPA facilitator Delandis Adams to sum up what the showcase accomplished. He said "We produced a showcase that paid homage to the cultural contributions of Latino people world wide. We also added some comedy to address the low morale that prison officials acknowledge is a problem here in Dixon C.C.. Write to us: Chicago Torture Justice Center attn: Gilary Valenzuela 6337 S. Woodlawn Avenue Chicago, IL 60637
Can you help us with our Love-a-thon gallery? Our annual Love-a-thon is our end-of-year fundraiser, and it’s right around the corner! Last year, we raised over $70,000 to go toward the cost of renovating and moving into our new building. The CTJC team has been working in and using the new space in Woodlawn since May, and it is truly starting to feel like the Center we envisioned. We still have dreams of building out a computer lab, pantry, community closet, and laundry room for survivors and those navigating reentry.
We want to invite you to participate in the Love-a-thon by contributing to our Love-a-thon gallery! Do you have any words, poems, or artwork to share with our community and supporters? We want them to be able to see the strong and brilliant community that we have inside.
This year, our goal is to raise $50,000 so that we can start working toward those dreams in the next year. The Love-a-thon is also for all of you. Although we can’t physically be together, we want you to know that you are always at the forefront of our minds and our work. 6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG