OFFICIAL
Hello Niles community!
This is our last newsletter for 2023 and instead of a recap we are holding the tension of current events and the urgency that brings. Please read on for how your support is so crucial at this time.
Justice for Teachers!
The negative blowback from anti-racist awareness cultivated in the Black Lives Matter 2020 uprising is now affecting the marginalized of our communities most. As white people abandon their fleeting solidarity of collective liberation, the agitation from that now puts targets on the people most vulnerable. As we’ve seen with the attack on our public library, public schools are now under attack. And again, it’s the backbone of these public institutions, the workers, who are targeted.
We were proud to rise in solidarity with the Abolition Coalition in Skokie as they fought for racial justice in our schools. Now, one of our most beloved partners in that effort is facing harsh punishment from these racist systems. Jasmine Sebaggala is a Black school teacher who is facing a right-wing campaign against her valiant efforts. This is your opportunity to help *directly* to fight this fight.
Please donate generously with this GoFundMe: Support Black IL Teacher Targeted By Moms4Liberty
Read more about this attack here: Stephen Miller comes to Skokie.
Watch the press conference: Dec 29 Press Conference with Jasmine Sebaggala and Supporters
Justice for Journalists!
Chicago Tribune journalists have done some great work investigating and reporting upon many local issues in and around Niles. Without their support, the awareness of local struggles would have been limited.
Please support these workers by writing a letter to the Tribune company officials and telling them how valuable their efforts are to our community. Here a tool you can use: Save the Tribune: Tell the company why you value its journalists
Life During Genocide
It’s surreal to go through life business as usual while our government sponsors and supports ongoing apartheid and genocide carried out by the state of Israel. In our last newsletter we wrote about the direct connection in Niles with genocide through Woodward Inc.
In the summer of 2022 we showed up in solidarity with USPCN for D219 school board trustee Jill Manrique when she was attacked for supporting Palestinian students.
Now it is time to continue our solidarity and show up for our partners in USPCN and the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine. USPCN has been constantly organizing actions across the country and all over Chicagoland. Read more about their incredible efforts here: Stop the U.S.-sponsored Israeli genocide, and fight for the liberation of Palestine!
Keep an eye on USPCN’s Instagram for opportunities to show up to local actions in support of Palestine and against genocide!
Liberate the Libraries!
As our #SaveNilesLiabrary campaign sunsets, we anxiously look to the future. As we’ve seen, our Niles-Maine District Library wasn’t saved by a new board afterall. It was the workers who persevered and struggled for *years* to make that happen. We have been building relationships with workers and organizers across the country. We are huge fans of Libraries for the People who have an explicit leftist mission in strengthening and expanding public libraries. In just one year they accomplished so much. Read about that here: Year One of For The People Leftist Library Project (and be sure to subscribe to their newsletter.)
What can Libraries for the People look like for Niles?
SIGNING OFF
Happy and safe holidays to all and we look forward to a 2024 where we can harvest the fruits of justice through the many years of cultivation by the connected justice movements.
