Join us for the

2017 Luncheon

to learn about the intersectional organizing work of the

Feminist Antimilitarist Network in Colombia

from

Carol Rojas

. The Colombia Peace Accords, while a step toward peace, face many challenges.  There is an urgent need to rebuild the community and collective ties broken by war. Seeking to build historical memory is also a necessary step in constructing a political project to make the transition as a country to a plural, broad, and diverse democracy, where women can be political protagonists and not victims. To construct peace in Colombia in this difficult time, the Network uses popular education to promote demilitarization and the eradication of systems of oppression based on sex, class, and race.

Click

here

for a brief autobiography of Carol Rojas


.

Date: October 24

Time: 12 noon – 2:00pm

Place: Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish Hall, 700 W. Adams, Chicago  60661

Cost: $60 ($54 for members), $25 student/low income, free for Luncheon volunteers (please email

mmckenna@crln.org

to volunteer).

Tickets: Order tickets at

http://bit.ly/crln1024

or by contacting Sharon Hunter-Smith at

shunter-smith@crln.org

and mailing in a check (CRLN, 4750 N. Sheridan Rd., #429, Chicago, IL  60640-5078.

Sponsored by the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America in partnership with the Feminist Antimilitarist Network and Witness for Peace.

Join us! Únase a nosotrxs!

Travel with CRLN to the border, November 10-12!

SOA BORDER CONVERGENCE & ENCUENTRO 2017

CRLN will again take a delegation to Tucson and Sonora, AZ, and Nogales, MX, to participate in the US-Mexico Border Convergence, co-sponsored by SOA Watch. We reserved a block of hotel rooms and will arrange to rent a van for transportation between the cities in which activities will happen.

Scholarships are available!

This border mobilization is one more way to fight for the closure of the School of the Americas, and to work towards a world that is free of suffering and violence. We cannot forget that many of our immigrant brothers, sisters, and siblings are survivors of U.S.-sponsored atrocities in Latin America.

Join us!

Coordinate with CRLN to join or have your community join human rights activists, torture survivors, union workers, veterans, community organizers, migrants, faith communities, students and educators from across the Americas.

Will you go with us this year to call for an end to U.S. militarization, economic exploitation, and political intervention in Latin America and on the border?

Activities include a vigil at Eloy Detention Center, a vigil to close the School of the Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, a march to the border wall, forums and workshops, concerts, and more!

See below for details and a schedule.

To coordinate with us and join CRLN on the border, contact our Immigration Organizer, Cinthya Rodriguez at

crodriguez@crln.org

or 773-964-6252.

Interested in joining in the U.S.-Mexico Border Convergence this year?

REGISTER HERE & JOIN CRLN’S DELEGATION

—

SOA Watch Demands:

• An end to U.S. economic, military and political intervention in Latin America and the closure of the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC)

• Demilitarization and divestment of the borders

• An end to the racist systems of oppression that criminalize and kill migrants, refugees and communities of color

• Respect, dignity, justice and the right to self-determination of communities

• An end to Plan Mérida and the Alliance for Prosperity

Weekend Program:

Friday, November 10 – Tucson, Arizona

8:00am     Welcome &

Registration

11:15am   Community Lunch Gathering

12:30pm   Forums & Workshops

4:00pm     Caravan to Eloy Detention Center

5:00pm     Vigil at Eloy Detention Center

9:00pm     Evening Concert

Saturday, November 11 – Nogales, Sonora/Arizona

8:00am     Welcome &

Registration

8:15am     Gathering for March

9:00am     Veteran-led March to the Border Wall

11:00am   Community Lunch Gathering

12:30pm   Forums & Workshops

5:30pm     Social Gathering

8:00pm     Evening Concert

Sunday, November 12 – Nogales, Sonora/Arizona

8:00am     Blessing

9:00am     Puppetistas!

10:00am   Speakers & Musicians

11:15am

No Más, No More

Litany

11:45am

Presentes

1:00pm     Encuentro Closing

CRLN Fall Events

September 10, 2017, 3pm: Meet Donaldo Zuniga

director of the

COMAL network

, an organization comprised of rural communities in

Honduras

that work to promote fair and sustainable agriculture and marketing. Donaldo is in Chicago to discuss social movements, economic solidarity, food sovereignty and human rights. Click

here

for more information. RSVP to Sharon at the CRLN office, 773-293-2964, 773-293-3680, or

shunter-smith@crln.org

for location, public transportation and parking information.

September 23, 2017, 1-5pm: Pedal for Peace

30

^th

annual bike-a-thon to

raise funds for health, education, legal aid, and community organizing efforts

in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Chicago. For more information, click

here

. To register as an individual or as part of a team, click

here

. Organizing together transnationally, we can cooperate in making healthcare, education, legal aid, and affordable housing available to more people.

October 9-10, 2017: Alex Escobar Prado

activist, educator, and member of the Guatemalan environmental justice organization Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID). Born out of the struggle for community self-determination and resistance to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver mine in southeastern Guatemala, JODVID uses the arts and popular education to mobilize youth in local and regional movements to protect the environment and defend territory. Event times and places are in process of confirmation; information will be posted

here

.

October 24, 2017, 12-2pm: CRLN Annual Luncheon “Constructing Peace in Colombia: A Feminist Vision”

Speaker: Carol Rojas, Feminist Antimilitarist Network

The Colombia Peace Accords, while a step toward peace, face many challenges. Illegally armed groups have escalated attacks against social movement leaders. People displaced by violence lack work, education and healthcare and continue to suffer the psychological effects of war.  To build the peace in Colombia in this difficult time, the Feminist Antimilitarist Network uses popular education to promote demilitarization and the eradication of systems of oppression based on sex, class and race. They believe that this transformation of communities supports the construction of peace. For more information and a link to order tickets, visit our website at

http://bit.ly/CRLNpeace

.

Wednesday, September 27th from 7-9PM @ Hairpins Arts Center in Logan Square.

Come learn about how Chicagoans are enacting our own visions of community care and safety.

The Mayor’s Office “One Chicago” campaign seeks to unify City residents and show support for “immigrant and refugee communities most affected by recent federal policies.” Yet, in Chicago, arrests and policing at the hands of abusive police and immigration agents continue to endanger communities and place immigrants in deportation proceedings. As we continue to hear city officials speak loudly about Chicago as a ‘sanctuary city,’ many community organizations and coalitions have rallied and organized to show that the bar for sanctuary has been set way too low.

Community organizations and coalitions continue to put pressure on the City while expanding Sanctuary from below, desde abajo. Sanctuary spaces are not simply given by the City, but actively organized and defended by the community. This talk will introduce some of these community advocates while familiarizing the audience with the movement of Sancturary from below, desde abajo.

This talk is provided by a partner organization and activated by art. Professional storytellers set the stage for discussion, and artist Juan-Carlos Perez completes each event by leading a group artmaking project to build continuity and connect ideas as the month progresses.

This talk is part of LATINxARTS a four-week long program at Hairpin Arts Center featuring exclusively latino/a/x artists. September 15th – October 15th features “Eye Level” an art exhibition curated by JGV/WAR featuring installations by Andrea Peralas and Jose Resendiz, as well as free workshops, discussions, and performances. All events are free to the public – and all donations made at the door or online will go to the artists involved!

See the full line-up at

www.hairpinartscenter.org

!

CRLN will provide Chicago area venues for the annual NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala) Fall Speaking Tour. This year’s tour features Alex Escobar Prado, activist, educator, and member of the Guatemalan environmental justice organization Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID). Born out of the struggle for community self-determination and resistance to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver mine in southeastern Guatemala, JODVID uses the arts and popular education to mobilize youth in local and regional movements to protect the environment and defend territory. The group was founded in 2015 following the murder of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso, a local artist and vocal opponent to mining activities in the area.

The tour will be a unique opportunity to learn about the essential role that Guatemalan youth play in building movements for social justice and liberation, and to hear firsthand accounts of the environmental and community impacts of mining in Guatemala. The tour will also create an opportunity for direct exchange with youth activists in the U.S. fighting for social justice in their communities.

Here is a schedule of his speaking engagements (all are open to the public):