This Saturday, around 30 residents gathered at Bethel Lutheran Church for a teach-in on #NoCopAcademy. It was a powerful afternoon, where we heard a range of perspectives on why the cop academy in West Garfield Park is a bad idea, but felt unanimous determination to fight it. Gloria, of Jane Addams Senior Caucus, welcomed us to the space and shared why she doesn’t want this facility just two blocks from her home. We heard and responded to powerful spoken word poetry from Arewa of the 411 movement for Pierre Loury, her nephew who was killed by Chicago Police in North Lawndale in April of 2016. And Maria Hernandez of Black Lives Matter Chicago shared the results of a nearly 500 person survey of the 37th ward, asking residents their opinions on the proposed cop academy and how they’d like to see $95 million invested in their neighborhood.
