blackandpinkchicago

[blackandpinkchicago]

Stop Solitary Zine

Check out this Stop Solitary printable zine here!

 (print 2-sided/ landscape/ short-edge)

[blackandpinkchicago]

A bill that would significantly limit solitary confinement is back in the Illinois legislature and will be heard by the Restorative Justice Committee this Thursday, Feb 9th! Tell legislators that they must pass this common sense bill to end torture in our state.

Fill out a witness slip as a PROPONENT of HB259: The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act: http://tinyurl.com/solitaryIL

Spread the word! Tell your friends to fill out a witness by the end of the day Wednesday, February 8th.

[blackandpinkchicago]

Just around the corner!!

[blackandpinkchicago]

#NoDAPL

There are some things that don’t seem to change.. #Hate it!

[blackandpinkchicago]

Free Oscar Lopez Rivera!

[blackandpinkchicago]

Support Ms. Afrika!

Click Here to Support!

Over the past six months, since leaving prison, Afrika has been welcomed home into the Chicago community by her friends and supporters.  Though she remains legally homeless, she has been able to find short-term places to stay from month to month.  The money we fundraised through the support committee before she got out has been essential in keeping her safe and able to meet her basic needs.  We are renewing a fundraising effort now, to make sure she is able to continue to stay housed, safe, and supported for the next six months. She is on several waitlists for subsidized housing through social services in Chicago, but in the meantime this money will help ensure that she can stay housed in the meantime, access CTA transit, and take care of her needs that are not able to be met by seriously lacking resources from the state, city, and social services.   Who is Afrika? Afrika is a self-described transgender, African woman. She was born in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa and came to Chicago after being adopted by a family here during her adolescence. She has fond memories of South Africa and misses her homeland. Afrika has spent many years in and out of bars. While on the outside, she’s lived mostly on the northside of Chicago between Lakeview and Rogers Park. She fondly remembers the LGBTQ Pride Parade through Lakeview and has a deep love for what she calls her “Rainbow family”. She signs most of her letters “Love to my Rainbow family!” and enjoys writing poetry about, and to, her community. Before getting connected to her penpal Afrika wasn’t in contact with anyone on the outside. Afrika has been an incarcerated member of the Black & Pink family for several years, which is where she connected with her penpal and several other members of Black & Pink’s Chicago chapter. Her adoptive mother died soon after her most recent incarceration and she has had very limited contact from other family members for quite some time. Those that know Afrika through letters or from serving time with her describe her as a very warm and caring person. She always remembers to send birthday cards and ask about how our loved ones are doing. Being a trans woman in a men’s facility, Afrika has repeatedly had to fight for her safety and that of other trans women in the IDOC. Last year, she succeeded in getting necessary hormones after many years of demanding the healthcare she should have received all along. She believes it is her duty to stick up for herself and others. Since getting out of prison in Feb. 2016, she has become a dear friend to many and contributed much to a number of social justice efforts.  Here are some highlights: - In April she celebrated her 50th birthday!!! - Later that month, she traveled to LA to participate in the “Black Love Beyond Borders” gathering organized by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration - where she is featured in a video! - She traveled to Springfield to lobby for an end to long-term Solitary Confinement in Illinois.   - She has spoken at numerous events as a member of Black and Pink Chicago, including a conference at Loyola University and the recent letter-writing event with Love & Protect. - She has participated in Black Lives Matter protests and events.

A donation of $120 will cover one week of safe housing. A donation of $20 will cover one day’s rent. A few dollars will cover her transit to interviews and appointments. Any contribution, of any size, will make a big difference during this uncertain period in which she is focusing her energy and time on building relationships and dealing with the logistics of reentering society.  She is looking forward to telling her story and becoming a mentor for younger people.  She is also looking forward to gyros! We need help covering basic expenses for: -housing -trans-inclusive healthcare -a phone -CTA pass -clothing and winter wear -toiletries -food Thank you so much for your time, consideration, and generosity. Warmly, #TeamAfrika

https://www.gofundme.com/2n6ykyqk

[blackandpinkchicago]

September 9th March!

On September 9th, 2016, 45 years after the Attica prison uprising, prisoners across North America will go on strike. This is gearing up to be the largest prison strike in history and we want to make sure those on the inside know we have their backs! We will march in solidarity because we recognize that prison labor echoes slavery and is protected as such in the 13th Amendment. As stated by prisoners from IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC): "On September 9th of 1971 prisoners took over and shut down Attica, New York State’s most notorious prison. On September 9th of 2016, we will begin an action to shut down prisons all across this country. We will not only demand the end to prison slavery, we will end it ourselves by ceasing to be slaves.” This action [is organized by the Stop Solitary Coalition (a coalition of individuals and organizations seeking to abolish the use of solitary confinement)] and will bring together many individuals and organizations from different backgrounds who agree that the prison system in North America is abhorrent and something needs to change. Join us in honoring the Sept. 9th Nationally Coordinated Prisoner Workstoppage on the 45th anniversary of the Attica Uprising. We'll be lifting up demands of currently and formerly incarcerated people in Illinois, including an end to solitary confinement in all its forms. We will meet in front of the Thompson Center at 1pm and march to MCC (Metropolitan Correctional Center/ Federal Bureau of Prisons). For more info: www.SupportPrisonerResistance.net

[blackandpinkchicago]

Join us this Sunday!

If you’ve ever wanted to get involved with Black & Pink Chicago, now is the time! Join us this Sunday at Chicago Freedom School! Learn about the various working groups in the Chicago chapter and how to best plug in. We need you. <3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10107544848724539&set=a.10101224658406599.3199041.6824333&type=3&theater

[blackandpinkchicago]

Friends,

Black & Pink is having a fundraiser this SUNDAY at the Dojo in Pilsen from 6-9! $1-5 suggested donation at the door, no one turned away for lack of funds. We will be raffling off these lovely items + more. Funds will specifically support incarcerated LGBTQ folks who have requested money for items important for overall health and safety (i.e.: fans, socks, underwear, shoes, toiletries, stamps, envelopes, art supplies, etc).

At 7pm we will screen Out In the Night!  (http://www.outinthenight.com/)

Hope to see you there!!! Message melodychangsnyder@gmail.com for the address. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1618995528391776/

[blackandpinkchicago]

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/thebluestlie-rescind-the-blues-lives-chicago-ordinance?clear_id=true

Sign the petition if you haven’t already!

[blackandpinkchicago]

12 insanely horrifying things we learned from the Justice Department’s report on Baltimore’s police

The Department of Justice published a report on Wednesday commenting on the common constitutional violations by the Baltimore Police Department.

There are some shocking details people have to be aware of:

1. Hundreds of black residents were stopped by police at least 10 times between 2010 and 2015, in stops that often have no constitutional grounds. Seven black men were stopped over 30 times during this time period.

The investigators added that “No person of any other race was stopped more than 12 times.”

2. Over 11,000 unconstitutional arrests happened over that time period due to these tactics.

“Countless individuals—including Freddie Gray—were stopped multiple times in the same week without being charged with a crime,” the DOJ report reads.

3. A BPD sergeant ordered an unconstitutional stop while on a ride-along with Department of Justice investigators.

4. Black residents are stopped at highly disproportionate rates, even as data shows that black residents are far more likely to not have illegal contraband when being searched.

“These results are statistically significant,” reads the report. “It suggests that officers’ search decisions are biased against African Americans.”

5. The department routinely roughs up and detains residents who were unconstitutionally stopped, while neglecting to charge them with any crimes. In some cases, this behavior has even been rewarded by superiors.

6. The Baltimore Police Department “frequently” performs illegal and degrading strip searches of residents on the side of the street.

7. Black residents far outpace other groups when it comes to being charged with misdemeanor offenses that are used as a pretense for unconstitutional harassment.

“The large racial differences in the proportion of dismissed charges for misdemeanor street offenses demonstrate that, where officers have wider discretion to make arrests, they exercise it in a discriminatory manner.”

8. One arrest template for the charge of “trespassing” had the words “black male” automatically included in the arrest description.

9. The BPD uses extremely “significant resources” to enforce low level crimes.

Black residents make up 99% of arrests for gaming.

10. Some of the city’s most vulnerable residents–those with serious mental illnesses–often receive “unreasonable force” by city officers whose mandate is to protect them.

The report notes that this behavior by the BPD might constitute “discrimination in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.”

11.  The department’s record on how it investigates sexual violence is particularly horrible.

“Only 17 percent of BPD’s rape cases in 2015 were closed by arrest– a rate less than half the national average.”

12. Officers are largely “reluctant to report misconduct.”

Numerous stories describe retaliation against residents who question or challenge police actions — and against other officers who attempt to speak up for victims. Complaints against individual officers’ misconduct were ignored, sometimes for years.

Source

Here you can find the full report.

!!!!!!!!!!This is very important! Please, BOOST!!!!!!!!!!!

#PoliceDepartment #StayWoke #StopPoliceBrutality

[blackandpinkchicago]

You are invited to:

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ Queer Reels: A Black & Pink Fundraiser Sunday, August 21, 6-9pm $1-5 suggested donation *we won't turn anyone away for not donating, we want yall to be there & work towards abolishing prisons with us :)* ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ at 7pm, we'll show Out In The Night http://www.outinthenight.com/ & have a short conversation about it afterwards! (❛‿❛✿̶̥̥) There will be an art raffle, Solidarity Not Solitary shirts available, a card writing station to write to some of our members who are incarcerated, vegetarian food aaaand a PHOTO ٩(●̮̮̃•)۶ BOOTH. Oh dang! This fundraiser is specifically for inside members who have requested money from us due to outrageously priced commissary items. These are important for their overall health & safety (ie fans, socks/underwear/shoes/toiletries, stamps to continue writing us, art supplies, etc.) ☜♡☞ ☜♡☞ this is a DRY event to note: there is a stoop at the entrance, but we are currently in search of a ramp to make this more accessible & will keep you all updated if/when this is acquired. ☜♡☞ ☜♡☞ Black & Pink is an open family of LGBTQ prisoners and “free world” allies who support each other. Our work toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex is rooted in the experience of currently and formerly incarcerated people. ----reminder----- The dojo is a safe space and platform for experienced and inexperienced artists willing to share their work, stories, experiences, voice, and energy with others. Please respect each other and the space. (there is no defeat in this dojo) --Message for Address--

[blackandpinkchicago]

Seeking someone to officiate a wedding at Rushville!

Hello friends!

We have received a request from one of our inside members at Rushville Correctional Center seeking to marry his partner also incarcerated at Rushville. They are looking for a pastor, preacher, or marriage officiant.

Rushville CC is located about an hour NW of Springfield, IL and about a four hour drive from Chicago. If anyone knows someone potentially willing to officiate located in Springfield, please reach out to them!

Shoot us an e-mail at blackandpinkchicago@gmail.com if you are ordained OR interested in getting ordained and presiding over this wedding. (You can become ordained through a fairly simple process online. This one is free---- https://theamm.org/.)

Let’s show this couple some love and support. <3

[blackandpinkchicago]

Fam Mail seeking volunteers!

Hello friends! If you've been thinking about volunteering with Black and Pink, now is the time! We're a bit behind on processing mail from our inside members and we would love your help. Come share a meal, eat snacks, check out our impressive stamp collection, and write to our incarcerated LGBTQ fam. ALSO, if you are interested in becoming a pen pal to an LGBTQ-identified person in prison we will be doing penpal matching! We will be meeting Monday, June 20th, 6-9pm at 656 W Barry, Second Unitarian Church in the basement. Hope to see you there!

[blackandpinkchicago]

Support an incarcerated member’s creative writing!

Hello friends!!! 

We have a request from an inside member, Joseph, a writer of erotic fiction and poetry. Joseph has already edited their work but needs someone to type everything up, since they don’t have access to a computer or typewriter. Joseph has very beautiful, clear handwriting. :) 

The first piece is called “Pleasure’s Diary,” about 170 pages cover to cover. The second piece is called “Bedroom Poetry,” about 30 pages.

Support an incarcerated member’s creative writing! Please email blackandpinkchicago@gmail.com if you’d like to get involved and help Joseph out!

[blackandpinkchicago]

To everyone on the outside: let's help nearly 6,000 people get out of Seg aka solitary confinement! Today, we're targeting the three legislators below to ask them to support HB5417, a bill that would significantly reduce the amount of time people could be kept in solitary in Illinois prisons, jails, and any intergovernmental agency (ie: ICE).

Please give them a call and please tag anyone you know in the suburbs below. These legislators need to hear that their own constituents want them to end indefinite solitary confinement now!

1. Scott Drury (217) 782-0902 Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Knollwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Northbrook, North Chicago and Riverwoods

2. Sandack (217) 782-6578 Downers Grove, Westmont, Darien, Woodridge, Naperville, Lisle, Bolingbrook

3. Rita Mayfield (217) 558-1012 Waukegan, North Chicago, Gurnee

For more info, including a sample script of what to say to legislators see:https://www.facebook.com/events/1007532449336920/