Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

2010-11 Lutheran Volunteer Corps Volunteer

Corinthian Davis joined the CRLN staff in mid-August as our latest volunteer from the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC)!  She comes to us from Washignton D.C. where she has been a law clerk, working with the Department of Justice on Hurricane Katrina related litigation.  She grew up in the DC-area and graduated from George Washington University and the West Virginia University College of Law.  

As a Lutheran Volunteer, Corinthian will serve with CRLN for the next year, coordinating legislative advocacy efforts, communicating with the Illinois congressional staffs, and organizing CRLN's participation in the Vigil to Close the SOA,  Ecumenical Advocacy Days and the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia.   She replaces Erin Armstrong, who finished her year of service with LVC.  For more information about the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, please visit  http://www.lutheranvolunteercorps.org/template/index.cfm

 

Bike-a-Thon Sunday, September 26th at 1 pm

Join with friends to bike Chicago's beautiful lakefront and raise funds to support people-to-people projects in Latin America!  Choose between 12 and 24 mile loops, starting on both the north and south sides.  Bikers with $50 or more in pledges receive free Pedal for Peace t-shirts!

 

Registration fees are $10 for student/senior/low-income, $20 for individuals, and children 12 and under are free.  For more information, download the attachements at the bottom of this web article:  a Pedal for Peace poster, an info and pledge form, and a map of the bike route.  Gather at 1 pm at either the Waveland Clock Tower at Lake Shore Drive and Addison on the northside or at the Dog Water Station at 55th Street and the lake on the southside. 

 

For more information, contact us at 773-293-2964 or shunter-smith@crln.org 

Join the CRLN Delegation to Fort Benning Georgia Nov. 19 - 21, 2010

Please join with thousands of others at the gates of the SOA/WHINSEC at Fort Benning for the vigil to commemorate the thousands of lives lost as a consequence of this military training program. The weekend of events at the gates include music, speakers, protests, and a somber liturgical procession and remembrance of those killed in Latin America by militaries and para-militaries trained at the SOA. Some participants also choose to engage in civil disobedience by entering the base and being arrested.

If you would like more information or would like to participate, send us a note by clicking here. Or call us at 773-293-2964.

Tuesday, September 14,  7 pm at the Sulzer Branch of the Chicago Public Library

CRLN is hosting Juarez human rights defender Cipriana Jurada and her family in Chicago for six months.  Meet her and hear her remarkable story at an event hosted by the Chicago Public Library.  To learn more about Cipriana, follow this link http://www.crln.org/Cipriana

 

The Conrad Sulzer Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library is at 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue.  For more information, contact Erica Spilde at espilde@crln.org

 

 

MARCHA! Latino Chicago and the Immigrant Rights Movement

Tuesday September 14, 3 - 5:30 pm; 

The Latin American and Latino Studies Program at the University of Illinois at a Chicago and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with MeSA's ESCUCHA MI GRITO Conference, Richard J. Daley Library and the University of Illinois Press cordially invite you to a book launching, a photo exhibit and a reception at the Richard J. Daley Library, 1st Floor Reserves, 801 S. Morgan, Chicago.

 

The above photo is on the book's cover and is the work of Jhonathan Gomez, who serves on CRLN's Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition's organizing committee.  Congratulations to Jhonathan!  

Human Rights Defender Seeks Temporary Refuge in Chicago

CRLN welcomes human rights defender Cipriana Jurado and her children (Victor and Isabel) to Chicago.  With Luther Memorial Church in Chicago and First United Church of Oak Park, CRLN is hosting the family in Chicago for the next few months.   Cipriana has worked as an advocate for the labor rights of women and for economic and environmental justice for more than 20 years. In the mid-90's, she founded the Center for Information and Solidarity for Working Women (CISO), a non-profit organization.  

 

Cipriana has undertaken investigations of human rights violations committed by Mexico's Army, which has been deployed by President Calderon across Mexico - but especially in Juárez - since 2008 to reduce the flow of drugs into the USA. Because of this work, Cipriana received death threats and one of her colleagues was killed.  In January 2010, Amnesty International released an alert asking the international community to protect Cipriana and other human rights defenders in Juárez from intimidation and death threats. She has come to Chicago seeking temporary refuge from these threats.

Immersion Education for Religious Leaders of All Faiths: October  17-19, 2010

This BorderLinks delegation is a two-day immersion experience, connecting clergy and leaders of all faiths with the daily realities and stories of their immigrant neighbors.  The delegation will assist religious leaders in understanding the immigrant experience in Chicago and the surrounding area.  Participants will return home with practical resources and insights to engage their congregants around the divisive issue of immigration.  Intentional reflection time will focus on appropriate and caring ways to accompany a congregation confronting this timely issue.

We've been doing everything we can--pulling out all the stops, as they say--to restore freedom to travel to Cuba. That's why we've come to you time and time again (and time and time again), asking you to make one more email or one more phone call to your congressperson; but our partners have also been mobilizing new advocates and as-of-yet untapped networks throughout the country to give us the best chance of getting the job done this year, in this Congress.

Earlier this month, the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) partnered with Change.org, an increasingly respected voice in change-making circles, to email 100,000 people in the congressional districts where we need to make a BIG impact. They asked Change.org members to sign a petition, which was then sent via the Internet to their congressperson. The response was overwhelming. In a matter of hours, 6,000 people who had never before taken action for freedom to travel to Cuba signed the petition and joined our movement, which is gathering speed and energy every day.

We want to invite you to sign our petition on Change.org, too; you can do that here: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/tell_congress_restore_the_right_to_travel_to_cuba.

 Yesterday, 21 undocumented students were arrested in Washington, DC protesting for the passage of the DREAM Act. Nine are members of the Chicago-based Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL). This action was one in a series of coast-to-coast protests students have organized the last few months, demanding that the DREAM Act be passed.

The DREAM Act would enact two major changes in current law:

• Permit certain immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S. to apply for temporary legal status and to eventually obtain permanent status and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college; and
• Eliminate a federal provision that penalizes states that provide in-state tuition without regard to immigration status.

CRLN and its project, the Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition (CNSC), have partnered with IYJL and are currently working for the passage of the DREAM Act as a step toward comprehensive immigration reform.

Please read the below Press Release from IYJL and articles on the action in DC. And then click here to find out how you can call Congress and demand the DREAM Act be passed this year!