NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021
"I Am Change": An Interview with Arewa Karen Winters
Arewa Karen Winters is a catalyst for liberation in her community. This month, she and her family continue to honor her nephew Pierre Loury, who was murdered by Chicago Police on April 11, 2016. Pierre was only 16 years old at the time of his death. An organizer and artist who originally connected with the Chicago Torture Justice Center through her local work with Black Lives Matter, Arewa continues to bring her fighting spirit to all she does. Today, she works with CTJC's Justice For Families group and offers community leadership in Chicago's enforcement of the Consent Decree. Arewa uses her powerful voice to speak truth to the reality of how police violence impacts us all. CTJC: How did you connect with the Chicago Torture Justice Center? AKW: Trauma therapy was offered, and I wanted to take advantage of those services. After my nephew was killed, I couldn’t sleep. It was replaying over in my head and so I started with the therapy. Then there came the Freedom Songbook, the wraparound care, and connecting to CTJC families impacted by Photo courtesy of Arewa Karen Winters. police violence. CTJC: As we continue to fight for change, how does your work give you a seat in the room with CPD? How can we impact the cycles of violence and racism we are dealing with in policing? AKW: The campaigns we see, like the movement for defunding the police, we know that Black and Brown communities could benefit from the reallocation of funds, however we have to demand more of the Mayor, political officials, and CPD. We are dealing with a political construct. Chicago is considered a politically corrupt city. The city does not think about the people—they think about the construct. But [the conviction of the officer in the murder of] Laquan McDonald was a victory, reparations for Jon Burge Torture Survivors was a victory. Things are happening, not fast enough and maybe not large enough, but small things will create the big changes and I will remain optimistic. I get to see what they [CPD] do and how they plan on training the new incoming trainees in the police academy. 2021 policies are coming, and we want to see those changes in those streets. I stand by what I say. I am change and the Deputy Chief needs to shift in what he sees because I will be there to question it. We know that White Supremacy is a foundational part of the culture of policing. Yet this is the conversation that needs to be had. However it is muted and the louder discussion being focused on misconduct, abuse and accountability. As the first Cochair of the Use of Force Working Group, it was easy for me to serve along with Deputy Chief Ernest Cato, III. My fear was that I would have been paired with someone impossible to work with, that it would have become a Black Lives Matter versus Blue Lives Matter agenda, which would have been a very difficult challenge for me. We respected each other's viewpoints, we valued each others opinions and although it was a hard space to sit in, what he heard from the community members has been transformational for him and will impact his work.
(Interview continued on next page)
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