This afternoon Jason Van Dyke was found guilty in the murder of Laquan McDonald. Nearly three years after the city released dashcam footage of the horrific killing of a seventeen year old boy at the hands of an enraged and brutal cop, communities most impacted by police violence are now witnessing a rare glimpse at justice.
Dear Comrades and Allies,
This afternoon Jason Van Dyke was found guilty in the murder of Laquan McDonald. Nearly three years after the city released dashcam footage of the horrific killing of a seventeen year old boy at the hands of an enraged and brutal cop, communities most impacted by police violence are now witnessing a rare glimpse at justice. In the context of a racially prejudiced law enforcement system, which has for decades allowed officers to brutalize, reign terror and commit murder against black and brown bodies with impunity, this verdict represents an unprecedented step towards police accountability.
Today’s hard-earned victory was delivered not by the merits of local law enforcement and court systems, but rather in spite of their profound structural failures. This glimmer of justice was won by the courage and resolve of community members who gathered on Michigan Avenue, at city hall and at the court building demanding restitution for Laquan McDonald and for every life touched by police violence. Despite obstruction on the part of the Mayor, City Council and the State’s Attorney, the power of the people prevailed in forcing the state to hold itself accountable to communities of color.
Justice for Laquan begins today and culminates only when we dismantle the structural racism, brutality and corruption endemic to Chicago’s law enforcement system. Justice for Laquan means representative, democratically-elected community control over the police and an end to the officer code of silence. Justice for Laquan means a systematic divestment of mass policing and surveillance of Black residents and a reinvestment in schools, jobs, childcare and programs that restore equity. Justice for Laquan means universal safety and liberation for Black Chicagoans.
WCRJ is committed to continuing the fight to end racialized police violence. Please contact us for more information on how you can get involved in our work.
In Solidarity,
The Workers Center for Racial Justice
Just months after passing a $1.2 trillion tax plan, which secured generous breaks for America’s wealthiest individuals and corporations, Congress is now taking swift action to implement harsh austerity measures that would deny basic food access to the nation’s most under-resourced households.
Just months after passing a $1.2 trillion tax plan, which secured generous breaks for America’s wealthiest individuals and corporations, Congress is now taking swift action to implement harsh austerity measures that would deny basic food access to the nation’s most under-resourced households.Proposing a set of radical new restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), House Republicans have taken direct aim at low income families, communities facing elevated rates of unemployment and individuals impacted by incarceration. This latest assault on low income households is a familiar right-wing maneuver which aims to divert public dollars away from critical human services as a means to finance tax schemes that fund the hyper-rich. It’s time to send a clear message that communities will not stand by as the government proceeds to take food off our tables in order to line the pockets of the rich.
Before adjourning for the summer recess, House Republicans voted unanimously to adopt a series of amendments to the US Farm Bill which would obliterate the nation’s already threadbare food assistance program. The House version of the bill would drastically limit SNAP eligibility for low income families and issue lifetime service bans for a significant number of formerly incarcerated community members, as well as for their families. Despite the overly restrictive work requirements currently imposed on SNAP recipients, the bill also proposes new mandates that would disqualify vulnerable applicants who are unable to work due to disability, lack of affordable childcare or an absence of local job opportunities. As a direct result, an additional two million people facing food scarcity in the U.S would go hungry.
In recent years, conservative interest groups have mounted a measured assault against the nation's low income community service programs.Funded by billionaire power brokers, such lobbying initiatives advocate for disinvestment of programs that benefit communities, while proposing ever deeper cuts to the corporate tax rate. In order to secure public approval for inhumane policies that harm low income families, lawmakers on the right have invoked the longstanding, racially coded myth of the undeserving welfare recipient, who is both criminally oriented and disinclined to work. Such rhetoric lies at the very root of Republicans’ latest attempt to ban formerly incarcerated SNAP recipients and impose overly stringent program work requirements.
Republicans' dog whistling claims that public assistance breeds criminality and unemployment are both dangerous and patently unfounded. Food insecurity represents one of the many challenges individuals face when returning from incarceration and research shows that access to SNAP benefits reduces rates of recidivism. In Illinois, 80% percent of SNAP households with children are headed by a working parent, and studies demonstrate that SNAP services boost employment and earnings rates among recipients. Chronic unemployment experienced by the vast minority of SNAP participants stems from external factors such as disability, disinvestment in area job markets and an absence of affordable childcare. SNAP work requirements would only serve to ensure that the most under resourced applicants go hungry.
Call your Senator and Representative today and demand that they oppose any measure in the Farm Bill that would impose new restrictions on SNAP access.
On Tuesday, the Workers Center for Racial Justice (WCRJ) hosted the 2018 Forum for Safety and Liberation in collaboration with the Center for Racial and Gender Equity (CRGE) and Black PAC.
On Tuesday, the Workers Center for Racial Justice (WCRJ) hosted the 2018 Forum for Safety and Liberation in collaboration with the Center for Racial and Gender Equity (CRGE) and Black PAC. We were joined by nearly one hundred local residents for a public dialogue on how communities can build safe and free neighborhoods by dismantling anti-Black systems of police occupation and mass incarceration, and investing in initiatives that promote equity and liberation for people of color. During the forum, grassroots leaders shared community-level perspectives on key issues related to racialized disparities in public safety, and called upon prominent local figures, including State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Chicago Police Commander Boyd, as well as mayoral candidates Lori Lightfoot and Troy LaRaviere, to support a community defined platform for Black safety and liberation.
Through storytelling, members of WCRJ and our comrades at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) described the devastating impacts that decades of racially targeted law enforcement and detention practices have had on communities of color. Speaking truth to power, grassroots leadership articulated a new vision of community safety rooted in racial equity, justice and political power.
In response to community concerns, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx outlined a set of initiatives her office will implement in order to promote fairness within the law enforcement system, including bail reform, data transparency, restorative justice, and prosecutorial diversion programs. Mayoral candidates voiced their commitments to equitable investment in public schools, affordable housing, and living wage jobs for all Chicagoans.
In the coming weeks, as we continue our fight for safe and free neighborhoods, WCRJ will deepen its engagement with community members for input and leadership. Through base building, political education and legislative advocacy, WCRJ will be on frontlines in the struggle for safety and liberation. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about how you can get involved in our campaigns.