Last week, READI Chicago staff, participants, and partners from across the city gathered in North Lawndale for a Day of Solidarity to amplify the voices of those most impacted by the Chicago 2020 Riots and COVID-19.
Following weeks of protests pushing for national transformation following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other violent acts perpetrated against black people, READI Chicago participants expressed that they need to have a strong voice, assume a leadership role in their communities, and begin to help those communities recover. The neighborhoods READI Chicago works in, many of which are still recovering from riots in 1968 after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were hit especially hard by the recent riots, and participants were eager to come together to help their communities begin to heal.
“We asked our participant advisory committee what they thought the City should do to help their neighborhoods, and they responded by asking what they could do themselves to help,” said READI Chicago’s Kimeco Roberson, who organized the Day of Solidarity. “The participants came up with this idea and really took the lead.”
The day began at UCAN with a restorative justice circle that included participants from the West and South Sides, as well as community members including Rev. Marvin Hunter, great-uncle of Laquan McDonald, and his wife; North Lawndale Employment Network Executive Director Brenda Palms-Barber; 24th Ward Alderman Michael Scott; and two Chicago Police Department officers from the 11th District.
Members of the morning’s restorative justice circle joined with members of the broader community that afternoon for a walk of solidarity through North Lawndale and a balloon release honoring READI Chicago participants whom we have lost this year.
“The impact of seeing the officers and the participants lead the walk together really drove home the values of real love, real hope, and real talk,” Kimeco said. “The community received us so well. People were honking their horns, joining the march, and cheering their support.”
The Day of Solidarity was a part of READI Chicago’s broader efforts to support black communities throughout our city and country in the wake of weeks of protests and riots. READI Chicago’s Englewood Outreach team hit the streets immediately after the city’s first protests to help businesses and community members clean up and recover, and the team even sent a group of outreach workers and participants to Minneapolis to provide protesters there with food and essentials.
