For immediate release: No M4's Candle light Vigil and report from Weis's closed community visit
press contact: Eliza 773 354 8581
for immediate release:
No M4's Candle light Vigil and report from Weis's closed community visit
5:45-6PM, Monday, December 22, 2008
Start: 6400 S. Kedzie, Amandla Center; End: 6700 S. Kedzie, Marquette Park Field House
Youth to model nonviolent conflict resolution to police superintendent; conduct a ritual 'talking circle'
Teens to lead candle-lit vigil while peer leaders meet with CPD head Jody Weis on the growing demand for 'no More M4s' and open, public hearings on this issue
Chicago – On Monday, December 22nd, at 5 PM, Chicago youth leaders of the Live in Peace Campaign will conduct a talking circle with Superintendent Weis as campaign members and allies screen a video for the public on the campaign then lead a candle-lit vigil to await updates when the circle lets out at 6pm. Per CPD request, media will not be admitted into the talking circle. At 6pm, youth leaders will close the circle with Weis and report back to the public and media.
This follows on December, November and October's police board meetings, where over 300 youth and allies delivered 5,000 signatures supporting an end to the M4 deployment and use of military assault weapons by Chicago cops. The children continue to push for an end to the deployment of the Colt M4 to Chicago's peace officers and open, public, recorded hearings on this issue.
Marquette Park, the site of the talking circle with Weis, is the historic location of Rev Dr Martin Luther King's first civil rights demonstration in the North, where he was met rock-throwing mobs intent on maintaining the neighborhood's notoriously violent racial injustice. Dr King's memory and dedication to nonviolent problem solving continues to motivate the Live In Peace Campaign's work.
Youth argue that guns are not the solution to youth violence or safety issues in Chicago neighborhoods, and that the deployment of M4's to every Chicago cop is unsafe for both officers and Chicago families.
In the spring of 2008, Chicago Mayor Daley and Superintendent Weis announced they would begin equipping all Chicago Police Officers with M4 military assault rifles. Since Labor Day, approximately 200 rifles have been issued throughout the city. The M4 rifle is a semi-automatic military assault rifle used in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It is capable of shooting the distance of six football fields or through brick walls. To date, City officials have cited the need to counter the weapons of criminals and concerns about the possibility of confronting 'low-frequency events' such as a Columbine-style incident to justify the deployment – both rationales the youth dismiss as excuses to expand the use of unnecessary tools of deadly force.
Youth have argued that police will not end violence by instead bringing more deadly weapons onto neighborhood streets, and that funds for lethal armaments should instead be expended on job training and good schools for poor communities. They've collected scores of statements from neighborhood young people expressing their alarm at the City's current M4 strategy, and urging a more peaceful, productive approach to tackling violence on the streets.
The IPRA reported their record of 47 police-involved shootings from Jan-Nov 2008, 21 of them fatal. The US army reports that the M4 is the least dependanble weapon in their arsenal, and the CPD reports that the number of assault weapons recovered from crime scenes was lower in 2007 than 5 years before.
The Live in Peace Campaign is led by Chicago youth from Generation Y, their partners and allies.
for immediate release:
No M4's Candle light Vigil and report from Weis's closed community visit
5:45-6PM, Monday, December 22, 2008
Start: 6400 S. Kedzie, Amandla Center; End: 6700 S. Kedzie, Marquette Park Field House
Youth to model nonviolent conflict resolution to police superintendent; conduct a ritual 'talking circle'
Teens to lead candle-lit vigil while peer leaders meet with CPD head Jody Weis on the growing demand for 'no More M4s' and open, public hearings on this issue
Chicago – On Monday, December 22nd, at 5 PM, Chicago youth leaders of the Live in Peace Campaign will conduct a talking circle with Superintendent Weis as campaign members and allies screen a video for the public on the campaign then lead a candle-lit vigil to await updates when the circle lets out at 6pm. Per CPD request, media will not be admitted into the talking circle. At 6pm, youth leaders will close the circle with Weis and report back to the public and media.
This follows on December, November and October's police board meetings, where over 300 youth and allies delivered 5,000 signatures supporting an end to the M4 deployment and use of military assault weapons by Chicago cops. The children continue to push for an end to the deployment of the Colt M4 to Chicago's peace officers and open, public, recorded hearings on this issue.
Marquette Park, the site of the talking circle with Weis, is the historic location of Rev Dr Martin Luther King's first civil rights demonstration in the North, where he was met rock-throwing mobs intent on maintaining the neighborhood's notoriously violent racial injustice. Dr King's memory and dedication to nonviolent problem solving continues to motivate the Live In Peace Campaign's work.
Youth argue that guns are not the solution to youth violence or safety issues in Chicago neighborhoods, and that the deployment of M4's to every Chicago cop is unsafe for both officers and Chicago families.
In the spring of 2008, Chicago Mayor Daley and Superintendent Weis announced they would begin equipping all Chicago Police Officers with M4 military assault rifles. Since Labor Day, approximately 200 rifles have been issued throughout the city. The M4 rifle is a semi-automatic military assault rifle used in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It is capable of shooting the distance of six football fields or through brick walls. To date, City officials have cited the need to counter the weapons of criminals and concerns about the possibility of confronting 'low-frequency events' such as a Columbine-style incident to justify the deployment – both rationales the youth dismiss as excuses to expand the use of unnecessary tools of deadly force.
Youth have argued that police will not end violence by instead bringing more deadly weapons onto neighborhood streets, and that funds for lethal armaments should instead be expended on job training and good schools for poor communities. They've collected scores of statements from neighborhood young people expressing their alarm at the City's current M4 strategy, and urging a more peaceful, productive approach to tackling violence on the streets.
The IPRA reported their record of 47 police-involved shootings from Jan-Nov 2008, 21 of them fatal. The US army reports that the M4 is the least dependanble weapon in their arsenal, and the CPD reports that the number of assault weapons recovered from crime scenes was lower in 2007 than 5 years before.
The Live in Peace Campaign is led by Chicago youth from Generation Y, their partners and allies.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by carol saffen on -
Crazy automatic unreliable weapons that can shoot six football fields is not what Chicago or any city needs. It will only escalate the type of weapons the community goes for.
The officers can legally have one more damaging weapon than what someone might have with them. If a person has a knofe and the officer feels threatened they can use a gun-so with this eventually it will become a matter of police and citizens trying to keep pace with each other until Chicago and other cities end up looking like a major battle field with lethal weapons in too many hands.
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Permalink Reply by SpiritHouse on -
This is great work by these young people!!! Keep it up!
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The Gathering’s Mission
The mission of The Gathering is to build an Intergenerational, movement, rooted in history, cultures and non-violent direct action to heal communities, build collective strength and generate an environment of hope and opportunity.
Civil rights and social justice organizations have come to understand that collective action on a national basis is required to stop child incarceration and challenge the immoral process which perpetuates an unjust justice system. These groups are working under extremely difficult circumstances and many of them with little or no resources. The Gathering is a national movement that creates a coordinated space to 1) fortify relationships between regional groups, 2) support local endeavors and 3) enhance the ongoing organizing of non-violent direct action training. Central to its mission is strengthening our moral environment.
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"The Gathering" is a project of Tides Center 501c3
Civil rights and social justice organizations have come to understand that collective action on a national basis is required to stop child incarceration and challenge the immoral process which perpetuates an unjust justice system. These groups are working under extremely difficult circumstances and many of them with little or no resources. The Gathering is a national movement that creates a coordinated space to 1) fortify relationships between regional groups, 2) support local endeavors and 3) enhance the ongoing organizing of non-violent direct action training. Central to its mission is strengthening our moral environment.
- “a project of tides center” -
"The Gathering" is a project of Tides Center 501c3
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