March 18, 2016

Election victory in Chicago

In a great election victory, "Embattled Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez was ousted in the Democratic primary Tuesday night by challenger Kim Foxx (D), who now eyes a November bid for the role of top prosecutor of the nation’s second-largest county."

 
graphic from ColorOfChange.org mailing ("changing the color of democracy")

Quote above and following from: "Black Lives Matter Notches Major Win in Chicago Race" Huffington Post, 3.13.16 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5988?t=4&akid=5522.83207.QcqCEU

  ..."Foxx, 43, triumphed thanks to a wave of support and heavy organization from anti-discrimination and anti-police brutality groups in Chicago, many of which are affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement." ...
..."'Sixteen shots and a cover-up' became a rallying cry from both Chicago residents and community leaders who called for the jobs of both Alvarez and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel..."

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See also: >#ByeAnita: Black Women Led the Movement to Oust Prosecutors In Cleveland & Chicago by Britni Danielle

"On Tuesday, Black women activists engineered a huge victory in Chicago and Cleveland, but you may not know it from watching the national news.

As pundits droned on about which presidential candidates came out on top in Tuesday’s primaries, Black women, some of whom are queer and trans, were at the forefront of the movements that led to the ouster of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Cleveland’s top prosecutor Tim McGinty."   more

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Please see also powerful 18 min. video, linked in the Huffington Post article: '16 shots And A cover up' by Marcus Robinson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XJZyvRjqoI that links photos from "protests that broke out in Chicago for two weeks after the release of the Laquan McDonald tape showing a white officer shooting the 17 year African American Teen 16 times killing him" (October 20 2014), with a dramatic sound track of two of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s major speeches.

"Yesterday, the people of Chicago ousted Anita Alvarez from her seat as State’s Attorney,¹ ending nearly a decade of corruption and over-prosecution in our communities. As Chicago’s lead prosecutor, Alvarez covered up police shootings; she over-charged thousands of youth, some as young as 10 years old; and she failed to prosecute corrupt cops for their misconduct. She held the video that showed Laquan McDonald's killing for over a year and ruined the case against the officer who killed Rekia Boyd.

We applaud the endless work of grassroots organizers who led the efforts that culminated in tonight's victory. Black organizing groups have lead the way in galvanizing the community in opposition to Alvarez. Black youth organizers from Black Youth Project 100, Assata's Daughters, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Fearless Leading by the Youth and more taught a master class with a blend of cultural, electoral and direct action tactics that built momentum and brought attention to the race.

We are also blown away by the work of groups like SOUL Chicago, The Workers Center for Racial Justice, Center for Racial & Gender Equity, Action Now, Chicago Votes Action Fund, United Working Families, The People's Lobby, and Reclaim Chicago to engage hundreds of thousands of voters who overwhelming chose to hold Anita Alvarez responsible.

We are proud to have supported the organizers in Chicago. Thank you to the tens of thousands of ColorOfChange members who took action to push Anita Alvarez out of office."...