Find out what we've been up to and ways to get involved with AFSC Chicago Peacebuilding this May.
Dear Jon,
We kicked off this month with a week of action to #FreeThemAll, from May Day to Mother's Day. And we have plenty of ways for you to join us to continue to build safety beyond policing and incarceration. Scroll through to see some of our latest, and as always, we're grateful for your support!
Next month, we'll share more about our new #DefundPolice interns, and our ongoing work to support community based efforts to get the City of Chicago to divest from policing and invest in Black youth and communities.
And if you don't already, follow us on social media! We're on facebook and twitter, and always eager to connect.
-Mary & Debbie
Community Safety Beyond Policing
Join our webinar series that brings together grassroots organizers from across the country to discuss strategies and campaigns that work to reduce the role and power of police in our society.
AFSC's Peniel Ibe and Mary Zerkel discuss federal legislation on policing including the BREATHE Act and the Justice in Policing Act in this blog post.
Surveillance Ain't Safety!
View the recording of our April webinar! Policing and surveillance criminalize and target communities— hear how people are resisting. With Muhammad Sankari from Arab American Action Network- Chicago, Amira Al Subaey from Muslim Justice League - Boston, Theo Thompson from Eye on Surveillance - New Orleans, and Brian Hofer from Secure Justice - Oakland.
WATCH HERE
#FreeThemAll
Mother's Day Action to Set our Loved ones Free!
On Friday May 7th, as part of AFSC's national week of action to #FreeThemAll, we organized the delivery of a giant mother's day card to Governor JB Pritzker's doorstep! Together with Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity (MAMAS), Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration, and the End the IL Lockdown Coalition, we gathered for powerful testimonies in Chicago's wealthy gold coast neighborhood, before a brief march and delivering the card to his doorstep.
We were demanding that he restore contact visits in Illinois prisons, sign clemencies on his desk to reunited families this mother's day, and stop the construction of a new youth prison in Lincoln, IL - to end the cycles of violent incarceration across the state.
Read about the action in Truthout or the Sun Times or watch a recap video by our friends Soapbox Productions and Organizing!
It's never to late to love on moms and caregivers! Download and print this #FreeThemAll Mother's Day Card and send to someone in your life today!
To learn more about AFSC's national effort to #FreeThemAll, check out our landing page full of reading materials, resources and more.
Community Partner Shoutouts!
Rogers Park Free Store
The Rogers Park Free Store is a mutual aid hub that for the community, providing roughly $5000 of household necessities to neighbors in need every week—food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, diapers, and more.
AFSC has been partnering with the Free Store to train 100+ volunteers in the commitment to avoid calling the police, and basic abolitionist safety protocols.
The Free store is entirely run and funded by neighbors and members from PO Box Collective, Rogers Park Community Response Team and Rogers Park Food Not Bombs. We encourage you to contribute to their Go Fund Me, or purchase some items on their Target Registry.
AFSC
637 S Dearborn St # 3
3rd floor
Chicago, IL 60605
United States
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