A weekend of police violence, closed bars and federal agents
And a reading on celebrating Blackness
Hi all,
It’s your newsletter crew for the week -- Mikayla, Grace and Cam -- here to present you with some updates from the past week. This past weekend hasn’t been slow for news, and we worked to summarize some of the most pressing stories from the city.
Today, we talk about the continued protests across Chicago, including last Friday’s #DecolonizeZhigaagoong event in Grant Park.
14 East is seeking personal accounts from DePaul University students who attended the protest on Friday for a developing story. If you wish to share your experience, please fill out this Google Form.
You can also send information to 14 East directly via email at 14east.magazine@gmail.com OR send us encrypted messages via Signal at (872) 215-1712.
What’s happening in Chicago?
On Friday, police attacked organizers at a Black and Indigenous solidarity rally in Grant Park. Teen activist and incoming DePaul University freshman Miracle Boyd had her tooth knocked out after a policeman approached her and struck her in the face, which was caught on video by a bystander. Later in the protest, after she had spoken at the initial rally, she began to record on her phone when she saw a protestor being arrested and her friend having an argument with the police.
“The way that I was recording, I think that he tried to smack the phone in my hand and he hit me at the same time, and the phone hit me in the mouth, and it knocked my tooth out and I was bleeding,” Boyd told Block Club Chicago.
The Black and Indigenous solidarity rally called for the Chicago Police Department to be defunded, as well as decolonize Zhigaagoong, a movement to restore Indigenous lands in Chicago. According to The Triibe, Zhigaagoong is a “movement to restore native lands to the Indigenous people who lived in Chicago before they were forcibly removed by the U.S. military in 1833.”
The rally started in Grant Park and moved south towards the Christopher Columbus statue. Some protestors had come ready with gear with the plan to take the statue down. Kelly Garcia, a recent DePaul grad and a freelance reporter who works with The Triibe, told WBEZ today that the rally started peacefully. “As we kept marching toward the statue, it was very peaceful. All the opposition came from the police,” said one attendee. “One cop would be trying to beat on a protestor. Another cop would pull him back,” Patrick Romano, another attendee, said.
Activist Anthony Clark launched a GoFundMe page to help fund Boyd’s mental, dental and medical treatment. After being approved by GoodKids MadCity, the activist group that Boyd is a part of, $84,000 was raised in less than two days. Boyd said she plans to donate any leftover funds to a foundation that helps Black and Brown women who have experienced trauma.
In a tweet on Saturday, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown addressed the violence and said that the police are “obligated to act” when “city property is being damaged ” or “violent acts” are being committed. He continued to say that it is the police’s “oath...to uphold the law.”
This week around 150 federal agents are expected to be deployed to Chicago by Homeland Security. The Chicago Police Department does not currently have a comment on this, according to the Chicago Tribune. This comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in unmarked vans detained protestors in Portland, Oregon, last week. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said today that Chicago does not need agents unlawfully taking people off the streets. President Trump’s recent tweet highlights Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. Earlier, he wrote, “Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help.”
In an effort to reduce the number of new coronavirus cases, Mayor Lightfoot announced today that indoor bars will not be able to serve alcohol starting Friday. Indoor fitness classes will also only be allowed to have 10 people per class. Facials and shaves will also be prohibited because those services require people to take off their masks.
As of today, there are 1,173 new known coronavirus cases, bringing the state total to 162,748 since the start of the outbreak. The state reports six more deaths, with a total of 7,301 deaths from complications of the coronavirus.
Other Headlines In Chicago
The Department of Homeland Security is sending 150 federal agents to Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Jeremy Gorner. The details of agents’ work is unknown, though the Tribune reports that they will assist in “crime-fighting efforts.”
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is once again making headlines; federal prosecutors outlined multiple subpoenas directed at the Speaker and his office regarding purported corruption with various organizations, including energy giant ComEd, AT&T, Walgreens and Rush University Medical Center, according to WBEZ’s Dave McKinney.
Chicago fast food and service industry workers went on strike and marched downtown today during the “Strike for Black Lives.” Those on strike worked to highlight the racial disparities in the workplace during the pandemic, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Abdel Jimenez.
Families on the South Side will be able to receive free diapers this week, thanks to donations from La Rabida Children’s Hospital, according to Block Club Chicago’s Maxwell Evans. Families who need diapers can pick them up midday Wednesday at the True to Life Foundation office in Avalon Park.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers is urging school districts and colleges to stick with remote learning this fall, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Kelli Smith. The union is calling on virtual learning unless in-person teaching is “safe and possible,” noting that the ability to properly social distance and abide by health requirements is “an extremely rare occurrence.”
What’s happening at DePaul?
In response to the altercation between Miracle Boyd and the CPD officer at Friday’s protest, DePaul’s Black Student Union released a statement Saturday evening.
In the statement, the union denounced the violent actions towards Boyd, offered her support and called on DePaul to break all ties with the CPD. The union gave Provost Salma Ghanem 24 hours to respond, which she has not yet done.
BSU President Keith Norward expressed his desire to support Boyd as she prepares to attend DePaul this fall and remarked on how what happened between her and the CPD was a side effect of bigger, more structural issues.
“I think it's more clear than ever, how that the situation with Miracle is a direct result of DePaul not cutting their ties with CPD,” said Norward. “I can't imagine Miracle wanting to come to DePaul knowing that we still have that relationship. Knowing what just happened to her, and knowing that it can possibly happen again, right on her campus, which is supposed to be safe, which is supposed to be a second home.”
BSU is one of the many student organizations that are calling for the university to end its partnership with the Fraternal Order of Police and enact the Ban the Box initiative, which would see university admissions curbing the practice of asking applicants about their criminal record. BSU specifically calls for the university to invest more funds into Black cultural studies and programs.
In response to Norward’s comments and the statement released by BSU, Boyd expressed her thankfulness for the support of the union, and while she is happy to be attending DePaul this fall, she supports students’ demands for the university to cut all ties with CPD.
“There should be no police, in any form of educational presence there is, there should be no police in any educational practice, place, anything like that, because like I said once before, there is no real proof,” said Boyd during a press conference earlier today. “There is no data, there is no numerical data that proves police keep communities safer. We just keep giving money to police.”
This is a developing story. Check back with 14 East’s social media and website for details throughout the week.
If you don’t want to read the news, here’s the headlines to know.
Civil Rights icon, organizer and U.S. Representative John Lewis died on Friday after a fight with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Lewis, who marched alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, and worked to organize the 1963 March on Washington, dedicated his life to nonviolence, racial equity and “good trouble.” Read his obituary in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by Tamar Hallerman.
Protests in Portland have hit a new level as unidentifiable and unmarked federal law enforcement officials flooded the city. Over the weekend, officers have been arresting en masse, tear-gassing and striking protestors with batons, including Navy veteran Christopher David; a recording of him being struck by a baton went viral on Twitter yesterday, according to NPR’s Laurel Wamsley.
“With the federal government, they won’t even identify who they are,” Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland, said in an interview with NPR. “We don’t know why they’re here. We don’t know the circumstances under which they’re making arrests… to the point where even the U.S. attorney here in the state of Oregon is calling for an investigation, wondering, where was the probable cause to pull these people off the streets into unmarked cars?”
A gunman posing as a FedEx delivery driver shot and killed the son of federal judge Esther Salas yesterday at the Salas home in New Jersey. Salas, who was unharmed and in the basement of the home, has sat on numerous high-profile cases, including a recent class-action lawsuit raised against Deutsche Bank, according to Rolling Stone’s Jon Blistein and EJ Dickson.
Florida’s largest teachers union is suing the state of Florida over concerns about back-to-school plans amid the largest spike in COVID-19 cases the state has seen so far. The Florida Education Association (FEA) has named numerous state officials in the lawsuit, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is calling for an end to the current plan of a five-day school week, according to WJXT4’s Ashley Harding, Joe McLean and Travis Gibson.
Your Educational Resource of the Week
Each week we will be using this section to highlight a different educational resource on race. It may come in the form of literature, film, art or anything that Black scholars and activists are centering at this time.
This week’s educational resource is I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown.
In her book, Channing Brown describes the process of learning to love her Blackness in an oppressively white world and what it means to actively deconstruct white narratives and celebrate and value Blackness.
You can find this book online or in person at a branch of the Chicago Public Library or at Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery, an independent Black-owned bookstore in Chicago.
Mental Health Resources
This document is a resource for Black people experiencing racial trauma. This master list includes specific resources as well as protesting tips and donation links.
Here’s 7 virtual mental health resources supporting Black people right now, including Chicago-based community organization Sista Afya’s support groups
Text SHARE to 741741 for free 24/7 crisis counseling by Crisis Text Line
Contact Illinois’ Call4Calm mental health resources. Residents can text TALK for English or HABLAR for Spanish to 552-020 and the state will put them in touch with a counselor
Call 833-626-4244 for the NAMI Chicago Helpline or 833-TURN-123 for the Bright Star Community Outreach to speak to a mental health counselor
If it’s late at night: text HELLO to 741741. Crisis Text Line is a 24-hour hotline that serves anyone, in any type of crisis
And the Trans Lifeline’s Peer Support Hotline is a resource operated by transgender and nonbinary staffers for the trans community: 877-565-8860.
Where to Access Food in Chicago
This spreadsheet highlights businesses and locations providing food. There are also links to donate to these organizations.
Check out the Greater Chicago Food Depository for food banks or donate.
Here’s a list of places to access food in Chicago today.
Free Resources for Non-Black Allies
The NPR podcast “Code Switch” tackles a diverse array of topics centered around racial identities and racism in America.
Vanity Fair released a list of anti-racism movies that are streaming for free right now.
The Oregon-based Basic Rights Education Fund has released an anti-racism toolkit geared towards LGBTQ+ organizations.
Reading guide of texts about race. All PDFs are free.
Here’s a guide to protest safely during the pandemic
Here’s the ACLU’s Right to Protest guide for Illinois
Can’t protest but want to help? Use this social media toolkit by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR)
If you think someone you know has been arrested – call the Chicago Community bail fund at 773-309-1198 to locate them (you need to know their birthdate and full legal name)
Where you can donate
Brave Space Alliance: https://www.bravespacealliance.org/donate
Supports trans and gender non-conforming people of color
Marsha P. Johnson Institute: https://marshap.org/about-mpji/
Supports Black trans individuals
The Okra Project: https://www.theokraproject.com/
Supports the mental health of Black trans individuals
Autistic People of Color Fund: https://autismandrace.com/autistic-people-of-color-fund/
Supports autistic people of color
Circles and Ciphers: http://www.circlesandciphers.org
An art-based restorative justice organization
Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression: https://www.caarpr.org
Supports the push for CPAC, the Civilian Police Accountability Council.
Provides resources to underserved communities
Chicago Torture Justice Center: http://chicagotorturejustice.org
Supports survivors of police torture
A community-based organization representing Chicago’s South Side and South suburbs
E.a.t.: https://www.eatchicago.org
Supports the Black workforce
Liberation Library: https://www.liberationlib.com
Provides books to imprisoned youth
Market box: https://experimentalstation.org/m
Provides fresh produce to low income households
That’s it from us this week. Stay safe, stay healthy, and if you’re interested in sharing your story from July 17, get in touch.
Until next week,
Mikayla, Grace and Cam