On Sunday, June 27, 2021, eleven people were victims of a mass shooting in the southside neighborhood, Chicago Lawn. Many were a part of our family and loved ones. Several families are left shaken, as one of the victims lost their life and others suffered critical and life-threatening injuries. We stand with our communities in mourning and struggling to heal in the wake of this tragedy.
No person should ever have to feel the impact of losing a loved one to gun violence. While we collectively pray for healing, we know that families need active and broad support for funeral expenses, hospital bills, and repair as a result of the shooting. As we do the work to transform our communities and end intra-community harm and state violence once and for all, we humbly ask for your support. All contributions, no matter the size, are greatly appreciated.
Specific Help needed:
- Expenses to help cover funeral costs for Nyoka “Yogi” Bowie
- Caretaker for a victim who is now paralyzed
- Caretaker for a victim who is healing from being shot near the heart cavity
- Caretaker for a pregnant victim who was shot 8 times, including in the foot and with a fractured other foot which means she cannot walk
- Expenses to help cover income for a victim who is a dancer and now has a shattered hip
- Wheelchair ramps, wheelchairs, walkers, wheelchair-accessible portable toilets, etc
Everyone will have long-term care needs. We are striving to form a community of care that can help short term and long term.
Currently, some people have had major surgeries and have been discharged from the hospital with little to no assistance to care needs. A now paralyzed victim is acting as caretaker to another shooting victim who is recovering from surgery. This is the reality for what US healthcare amounts to for Black people.
All donations are tax-deductible thanks to our fiscal sponsor Black Roots Alliance.
FAQ’s
Don’t you have millions?
We are a member of #BLM10. We are not part of the global network. Read our statement here: https://www.blmchapterstatement.com/. We do not have millions. Never have.
What about (the racist pathology of ) Black on Black crime?
Intracommunal violence in the Black community is created by multiple factors and cannot be disentangled from the larger societal dynamics that create poverty, mass incarceration, divestment. Study after study prove that in societies with increasing gaps between the rich and poor, greater levels of violence are resultant. Chicago is the most segregated big city in the country with increasing gaps between rich and poor crystallized by massive investments in downtown and abandonment on the South and West sides. Chicago conducted the largest public school closing in history. Chicago closed half of its mental health clinics. Chicago police kill more children than any other police force in the country. Chicago is the false confession capital of the country. During the pandemic, Black unemployment increased threefold. The causes of intracommunal violence are direct results of all of these factors. The racialized nature is a result of slavery and its modern-day vestiges: policing, incarceration, racialized capitalism, etc.
Mass shootings?
The United States is one of the most violent countries in the world which in part is crystallized by the increasing frequency of mass shootings. The cause of this phenomenon which exists uniquely in the United States is a result of many factors including the upside-down prioritizing of military, policing, and incarceration instead of a public healthcare system, public education including college, housing, etc.
Why don’t you do fundraisers for every family?
We fundraise for families we are in direct relationship with only if they ask us to, however, we strive to share out fundraisers for others as we receive them.
Sources:
https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/05/news/economy/chicago-segregated/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chicago-the-false-confession-capital/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/05/24/chicago-promised-that-closing-nearly-50-schools-would-help-kids-in-2013-a-new-report-says-it-didnt/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-met-lori-lightfoot-chicago-mental-health-clinics-20190524-story.html
https://www.insider.com/chicago-police-department-has-killed-more-children-than-any-other-local-law-enforcement-agency-per-data
https://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/24/stanford-historian-uncovers-grim-correlation-violence-inequality-millennia/
About BLMChi
Black Lives Matter Chicago is an intersectional vehicle that values Black people and our right to self-determination.
We fight for justice with families most impacted, while working to create just and equitable systems.
We work to end state violence and criminalization of Black communities by deconstructing white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy.
Black Roots Alliance is our fiscal sponsor.
About Blackroots Alliance
Our mission is to be an organization/network committed to the safety and liberation of all Black people, promoting Black leadership and Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build social and economic power, heal our communities and fundamentally transform our society. Our aim is to accomplish Black Liberation and shift society towards greater expressions of justice by dedicating ourselves to moving through organizing, political, philanthropic, and personal spaces with honor, accountability, and an unshakeable, unapologetic love for Black people. We believe that by building critical, cross-sector relationships between individuals and institutions who share our vision for Black liberation, we can engage in forward-thinking public policy campaigns that expand our collective social justice analysis and build the critical mass necessary to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice.