This is a hybrid event. To join the event virtually, register HERE. To join the event in-person, register HERE.

This past fall incarcerated students in McCormick’s Solidarity Building Initiative for Liberative Carceral Education, a program of higher education in jail, co-created their version of protest songs in the “Through These Bars” workshop, using Resmaa Menakem’s concept of compassionate agitation as a way to practice and teach the art of disruptive healing. In “My Grandmother’s Hands”, Resmaa states “Just as the human body creates inflammation to heal, wise social activism creates the social and cultural disruptions needed to help heal and grow up. These disruptions might be called compassionate agitation.”

The “Through These Bars” listening party is the public's first look into the protest songs created by the students.

Join us on December 13th from 6-7PM CT as we write prayers in community for our annual Prayer Collective publication. This 1 hour high-level public workshop on lament and prayer will give an overview on the practice of lament and give space to write our own prayers of lament in unity.

Register HERE!

You can view previous publications here: https://sbimccormick.org/prayer-collective.

Thank you to everyone who has been listening to the Abolition as Resurrection podcast. We are so thankful for your input, and your questions, and to see your growth. We’ve had a few people who are interested in processing what they’re learning in community. We have decided to build a learning community. We are intentionally sing the language of “building” because the goal of our learning community is to create a no-cost learning space for people to share takeaways, connect with other abolitionists, and find their Pod People.

Register HERE.

Our final social justice advocacy public education conversation will highlight Freedom to Learn.

The Freedom to Learn Campaign of Illinois (FTL) calls for clear and fair statewide policies that allow higher ed in prison programs (or college-in-prison programs) to operate free from undue interference or interruption of their students’ academic and intellectual pursuits. FTL endeavors to center the needs and voices of prison instructors, incarcerated students, alumni, and families.

Join us Wednesday, December 8th at 6:30pm CST as we wrap up with our Social Justice Advocacy Public Ed Series.

Join us on Facebook Live or via Zoom!

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ao3BFQ63Tua9hWXUt5RG3Q

The Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice brings directly impacted individuals, advocates, and service providers working on reentry in Illinois together to collectively create alternatives to incarceration, reduce recidivism, and end mass incarceration.

Join us Wednesday, November 3rd at 6:30pm CST as we continue with our Social Justice Advocacy Public Ed Series.

Join us on Facebook Live or via Zoom!

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yDwMB7jQRtm9JimvSS8uyQ

The Fully Free Campaign works to dismantle the laws and regulations that govern permanent punishments, which are the barriers that deny or restrict rights and opportunities for people with a record -- long after their involvement with the criminal legal system is over.

Join us to learn more about how to get involved in ending permanent punishments in Illinois.

Join us on Facebook Live or via Zoom!

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9G9vAjJ8Q76O75Pp_3nkJA

The Chicago Community Bond Fund (CCBF) pays bond for people charged with crimes in Cook County, Illinois. Through a revolving fund, CCBF supports individuals whose communities cannot afford to pay the bonds themselves and who have been impacted by structural violence.

Join us Wednesday, October 6th at 6:30pm CST as we kick off our Social Justice Advocacy Public Ed Series. On the first and third Wednesday of October and November we will host various guests to learn about how we can get involved in various initiatives through Chicago and Illinois. 

October 6th, we will be hosting Briana Payton from the Chicago Community Bond Fund to learn more about ending pretrial detention in Illinois. 

Join us on Facebook Live or via zoom! Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BDhZbezxTAik2CsReOMzmA