Updates

Asian American activists denounced the City of Chicago’s proposed $95 million dollars for a police training facility in one of the biggest celebrations in the Asian American community.

Asian American community activists are marching in the annual Lunar New Year Parade demanding the City of Chicago (“the City”) allocate its planned $95 million funding for a police training facility to instead fund schools. The Lunar New Year Parade is one of the biggest celebrations in many Asian American communities.

“We are here to talk to Chinatown residents about how our City is spending $95 million on a police academy while many of our neighborhoods need schools,” says i2i Core Leader Kristina Tendilla, “All over the city communities are asking to keep their high schools or for the city to build new ones. Instead of competing with each other for funding, we need to look at how the city is prioritizing money and insist that they invest in our communities,” she stated.

Sunday, February 25, 2018, at 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade, Wentworth Ave, Chicago, Illinois

Over several years, residents in the Chinatown community have advocated for a high school that serves students in Chinatown, Bridgeport, Armour Square, and the surrounding neighborhoods with an expanding Asian American community. However, in the last year the City, the Chicago Public School (“CPS”), and the Chicago Board of Education (“BOE”) have caused tension between communities with a proposal to shut down the New Teacher Academy (“NTA”), a successful elementary school, to convert the school into a South Loop High School to serve a small part of Chinatown.

Parents and students in Chinatown and its surrounding areas are unwilling to support a proposal to close NTA, which will displace hundreds of elementary school students. Meanwhile, the City, CPS, and the BOE have claimed limited resources preventing them from sufficiently funding all schools, including plans to shut down high schools in Englewood. Advocates point to the contradiction of the lack of funds for these efforts while the city spends $95 million on a police academy.
WHO: Asian American community activists, including Invisible to Invincible (“i2i”): Asian/Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago, DOPE Asian American Pacific Islanders (“DOPE AAPI”), and Asian American residents in Chinatown and Uptown, and supporters of the #NoCopAcademy campaign.

When a collective member of the Chicago BTGNC Collective, and endorsing organization in the #NoCopAcademy campaign, spotted Alderman James Cappleman on the redline train, they decided to take that opportunity to engage them around the critical issues.  Alderman Cappleman represents the Uptown area, and has been responsible for evicting a tent city encampment, and has refused to support #NoCopAcademy.

Watch this video, take notes, share it and consider how you might engage with [hostile] City Council members, if you unexpectedly encounter them.

 

Bonus – don’t know what you’re alderperson looks like?  Look them up here!  And send an e-mail to them about #NoCopAcademy while you’re at it.

Thanks to amazing volunteers, there are many simple ways to bring #NoCopAcademy into the classroom.  Check out the math bellringers here, and the 30 minute reading comprehension assignments here.

Let us know if you use them, and share them with any educators you know!

SAMPLE:

And as a reminder – if you haven’t signed up yet to bring #NoCopAcademy youth organizers to your school, sign up today!  http://bit.do/RequestNCA

Bring #NoCopAcademy youth organizers to your school by requesting a workshop today!

Throughout the months of January and February, youth organizers with the #NoCopAcademy campaign will be doing a tour of workshops at schools across Chicago, and especially the Westside.

Fill out this form if you want us to come to your school for an after-school workshop where we’ll talk about the campaign so far and how young peoplecan get involved.

Workshops are free!  Food provided!

Please share this e-mail with any teachers or students you know who may be interested.  The schedule is filling up fast!

Got questions?  Hit us up at nocopacademy@gmail.com

This Holiday season, let’s remind City Council that the fight is not over, and there’s still time to get off the naughty list. The proposal for the $95 million Cop Academy will return to City Council for a vote on the RFP in March.

Download & Print these template cards, or design your own card to send to your Alderpeople.

Sample:

They print two to a page, and fold so that the snowpeople are on the front of the card, and the spread seen above is the inside of the card.  Download them by clicking HERE.

Be sure to add the Alderman’s name, sign it with your own name, address and contact info, and add your personal reasons you hope they’ll support the #NoCopAcademy effort.

Once you’re done, you can look up your Alderperson’s mailing address here:
https://chicago.legistar.com/People.aspx

(Not sure who your Alderperson is?  Look them up using this tool!)  

Have a class or community group you want to make cards with?  Fantastic!  Take a picture of your card writing party and share it on social media, or let us know if you make your own designs.