The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,900 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.
By Chicago Girl Talk Collective Member Kayla:
Being exposed to the environment at JTDC has increased my awareness of the need for programs such as Girl Talk. JTDC is a controlled environment which restricts many of the girl’s freedoms. Girl Talk provides the young women in JTDC an opportunity to be just that, young women. As much as can be expected while in confinement, the girls are able to be themselves. Rather than try to control the young women’s feelings, the Girl Talk collective encourages the girls to be open and creative within a safe space. As a member of the Girl Talk collective, I have been awarded the opportunity to spend time with the young women at JTDC in a relaxed setting. Growing up in the inner-city of Chicago, I am familiar with many of the experiences these young women are challenged with daily and this allows me to see the young women as something other than “delinquent”. These young women are resilient and strong and given different circumstances, and perhaps a different system to handle “delinquency”, these girls are very much capable of great things. I am grateful to be part of the Girl Talk collective and I can only hope to encourage the development of additional services, like Girl Talk, for the girls at JTDC.
Quennect 4 Gallery presents:
E.M.P.A.C.T.
(Everyone’s Music Politics Activist Community Throwdown)
a fundraising event for
GIRL TALK!
July 20, 2013
9p – ??
Q4/Multkulti
1000 N. Milwaukee Ave., 4th floor, Chicago IL
Girl Talk is a volunteer supported program for girls, ages 12-17, who are detained in the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center (JTDC). A survey of the girls, conducted by CFJC, found that they faced serious concerns on a daily basis, including sexual assault and other forms of violence, relationship and conflict resolution, education and employment, legal rights, and a wide range of health issues. Programming and services related to these issues were almost non-existent through the detention center.
Girl talk provides the girls in the detention center a space to be free from the jail they find themselves in.
HOSTED BY THE ONE AND ONLY: LUIS TUBENS!!
LIVE MUSIC BY
SPOKEN WORD AND POETRY BY
JEWELRY BY
RAFFLE PRIZES BY
Visual artists:
**** Donation’s accepted for Girl Talk ****
_________________________________________________________
ART SUPPLY DRIVE FOR GIRL TALK:
Feel free to bring:
Liquid Glue, Glitter Pens/Glue, Paints(fabric and wood), Stickers, Colored Pencils, Poster Boards, Decorative Ribbon, Decorative Feathers, Decorative flowers, Butcher Paper, Beads, Craft Wood, Markers (non toxic). White T-Shirts, Plain Blue Denim Jeans
************************************************************************************
Quennect 4 Gallery Chicago is a collaborative effort to maintain a dedicated cultural and activist center focused on community involvement through arts and grassroots actions.
We are an independently-run alternative multi use art space that supports the intersection of social, political, economical and geographic communities. It focuses on diversity and giving back to the community and its very existence is a testament to the necessity of a multilateral vision in the process of cultural (r)evolution.
Located in Wicker Park and head quartered at Multikulti Chicago we have been working to create and foster the community connections to our city through diverse and innovative arts and culture events and benefits.
For more information or press please contact: theq4tribe@gmail.com
RACE. JUSTICE. POWER:
THROUGH THE LENS OF THE TRAYVON MARTIN CASE AND ITS RELEVANCE TO CHICAGO
The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Black Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, has ignited protests and triggered debates about the nature of race, class, gender, violence and power in this country. There have been a flood of emotions surrounding this case, all of which is understandable, but this teach-in is an opportunity to delve into the underlying issues that surround this case and what it represents. It is a point of departure for a discussion of a whole range of pressing issues. We will also explore the implications of the Martin murder and Zimmerman acquittal in light of the ongoing crises of violence, school closings and deteriorating life chances for Black and Brown youth in Chicago.
Speakers included:
Two of a number of speakers include: Gary Younge, author and writer for The Guardian, Malcolm X College Professor Abra Johnson, Truth n’ Trauma organizer and activist Danton Floyd, as well as Chicago youth organizers.
This will be an interactive teach in format with resources and information provided in multiple forms.
“Without struggle there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
LOGAN CENTER for the ARTS
915 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2013. 7:00 P.M. – 9:30 P.M.
Co-conveners: Prudence Browne, Charity Tolliver, Lisa Brock, Tracye Matthews, Cathy Cohen, Jasson Perez, David Stovall, Barbara Ransby, Danton Floyd, Mia Henry, Asha Ransby-Sporn, Mariame Kaba, FM Supreme, Alice Kim, Rev. Janette Wilson, Kevin Coval, Isis Ferguson, Lisa Yun Lee, Touissaint Losier, Deana Lewis, Lynette Jackson, James Thindwa, Martha Biondi, Fresco Steez.
Welcome to our blog! Girl Talk is continuing to grow stronger to better support the young women detained at the JTDC. We will be updating our blog and tweeting more info soon!
In the meantime, here are some campaigns and organizations:
Of course, there are many other wonderful groups doing amazing work. Look in our blogroll for more!
The Girl Talk Collective is planning our second Self Care Day at IYC-Warrenville on January 12, 2013. After another great Self Care Day at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, we are looking for volunteers to join us at IYC-Warrenville.
To make the day a success, we are looking for
Volunteers
If you are a bodywork therapist (massage, reflexology, etc…), please volunteer your time and skills.
If you can offer manicures and/or pedicures to the young women, please volunteer.
Do you teach yoga, relaxation and anti-stress techniques? Then please join us.
We are asking for volunteers who identify as women. If you are interested contact us at chicagogirltalk@gmail.com or 773-392-5165.
We are asking volunteers to let us know about their availability by December 30th. We are going to give a list of all volunteers who will be participating to the prison so that we can clear everyone in advance.
Warrenville volunteers:
We will confirm the time with you, but please plan to volunteer from 1p-5:30p plus driving time.
All volunteers:
We will set up carpools so if you have a car and can drive some folks, let us know.
Supplies
We need several supplies for the day and also for the gift bags that we would like to give to the young women at the end of the day.
Lotions (any size)
Hair Care Products (appropriate for young women of color)
Bath Gels
Aromatherapy Oils (Peppermint, Lavender, Orange, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Rosemary, etc…)
Nail Tools (emery boards, cuticle pushers, toe separators, Nail polish dryer aerosol, pumice stones)
Gift bags
Rubbing alcohol
Hand sanitizer
Hair Brushes
Cotton pads
Hand towels January 7th. You can mail items to: Project NIA c/o RPCC, 1530 West Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626. If you want to drop off your items, you can do so at the same address however please call Mariame at 773-392-5165 to make sure that someone will be there to receive the items from you. Finally, if you prefer to contribute money (which we would gladly accept), you can make your check payable to Project NIA (write Girl Talk on the memo line) and mail to the address listed above. We will be shopping after January 7th for all of the items that we did not get donated.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!
Important Note: We very much believe that ALL incarcerated youth deserve many “self-care” days. Our capacity only allows us to work with the young women at JTDC and IYC-Warrenville. If a group of men would like to organize similar events for young men at the JTDC, please contact Mariame so that she can connect you to the appropriate staff at the jail.
On Saturday December 15th, Girl Talk will be hosting a “Pamper Yourself” Self-Care Day for the young women who are incarcerated at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. We are organizing this event with no money and so we will be heavily relying on our supporters to make this day a success.
On Saturday January 12th, 2013, we will coordinate a similar event for the young women who are incarcerated at IYC-Warrenville.
To make both days a success, here is what we need:
Volunteers
If you are a bodywork therapist (massage, reflexology, etc…), please volunteer your time and skills.
If you can offer manicures and/or pedicures to the young women, please volunteer.
Do you teach yoga, relaxation and anti-stress techniques? Then please join us.
We are asking for volunteers who identify as women. If you are interested contact Mariame at projectnia@hotmail.com or 773-392-5165 to sign up for a shift at the jail or at Warrenville. We are asking volunteers to let us know about their availability by November 21st. We are going to give a list of all volunteers who will be participating to both the jail and the prison so that we can clear everyone in advance.
JTDC volunteers:
Please be available from 12p – 5:30p.
For volunteers at the JTDC, we will meet at UIC before going into the jail to have a snack and discuss expectations and more.
Warrenville volunteers:
We will confirm the time with you, but please plan to volunteer from 1p-5:30p plus driving time.
All volunteers:
We will set up carpools so if you have a car and can drive some folks, let us know.
Supplies
We need several supplies for the day and also for the gift baskets that we would like to give to the young women at the end of the day.
Lotions (any size)
Hair Care Products (appropriate for young women of color)
Bath Salts
Bath Soaps
Bath Gels
Bath Milks
Sugar Scrubs
Aromatherapy Oils (Peppermint, Lavender, Orange, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Rosemary, etc…)
Nail Polish (we need different colors)
Nail Polish Remover
Cotton Balls
Nail Tools
Foot Cremes
Eye Pillows
Soft and Fuzzy Socks
Baskets
All donations and items must be received by December 9th. You can mail items to: Project NIA c/o RPCC, 1530 West Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626. If you want to drop off your items, you can do so at the same address however please call Mariame at 773-392-5165 to make sure that someone will be there to receive the items from you. Finally, if you prefer to contribute money (which we would gladly accept), you can make your check payable to Project NIA (write Girl Talk on the memo line) and mail to the address listed above. We will be shopping after December 9th for all of the items that we did not get donated.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!
Important Note: We very much believe that ALL incarcerated youth deserve many “self-care” days. Our capacity only allows us to work with the young women at JTDC and IYC-Warrenville. If a group of men would like to organize similar events for young men at the JTDC, please contact Mariame so that she can connect you to the appropriate staff at the jail.
Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls and Young Women
Conference on Violence in the Lives of Girls
The Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women is hosting a conference about Violence in the Lives of Girls on September 14 and 15, 2012.
The purpose of the conference is to re-inject the voices of girls and young women into the conversations about violence in Chicago. Discussions about violence in the lives of Chicago youth are mostly focused on boys and largely address lethal and public violence. Within this context, girls and young women are generally silenced, and their experiences of violence are minimized and overlooked.
This gathering is divided into two days. On September 14th, adult allies who work with and support young women will share innovative intervention ideas and re-frame the discussion about violence in girls’ lives. On September 15th, several groups of young women representing Global Girls, the Illinois Caucus on Adolescent Health, and A Long Walk Home are planning and organizing their own conference.
Agenda for Friday September 14
9-9:30 a.m. Registration
9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Workshops: 1) Reconceptualizing Relationship Violence by Centering Young Women of Color
2) Healing Justice12-1 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:15-3:45 p.m. Workshops: 1) Baby College for All
2) Strategy Session for Collective Responses to Teen Dating Violence
Conference Location: Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave, Room 300
Information: Space is very limited and Pre-Registration is REQUIRED. You can register HERE – Registration will close once we reach our capacity.
Note:
The conference is being offered at no cost to participants but it doesn’t mean that there are no costs associated with organizing it. We are grateful to the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation for providing the space for the conference, special thanks to all of the facilitators who are donating their time, and finally a huge amount of appreciation to all of the conference planners.
Please also keep in mind that we anticipate that many people will want to attend this gathering. Space is however limited so that we can have engaged conversation and discussion. With this in mind, we ask that you DO NOT register if you are not certain that you will attend. We want to insure that those who are able to attend are not turned away. So we ask that you not register unless you are certain that you will attend the event. We really mean this. Thanks in advance for your consideration.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
9:30 to 12:00 p.m.
Title: Healing Justice
Facilitators: Stacy Erenberg (Young Women’s Empowerment Project), Tanuja Jagernauth (YWEP, Sage), Sangeetha Ravichandran (A Long Walk Home)
Wondering how you can incorporate Self Care and Healing Justice into your work with youth? Then look no further! Join Sangeetha Ravichandran (A Long Walk Home), Stacy Erenberg (Young Women’s Empowerment Project, Sage Community Health Collective), and Tanuja Jagernauth (YWEP, Sage) for an interactive and popular education-style Arts-and-Body-Based Exploration of Self Care and Healing Justice. Participants will collectively define Self Care and Healing Justice and adapt an example curriculum to weave in Self Care and Healing Justice activities. Expect to have fun and walk away with tools you can use to create your own Self Care and Healing Justice curriculum for young people.
Title: Reconceptualizing Relationship Violence by Centering Young Women of Color
Facilitator: Mariame Kaba (Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Project NIA)
Over the past 20 years, several teen dating violence and date rape curricula have been developed to educate youth about the warning signs and dynamics of abuse. This seems to be a good time for adult allies, youth workers, and educators to assess whether these curricula are relevant to the current lived realities particularly of young women of color. How should relationship violence prevention programs and curricula be re-conceptualized to meet the specific needs of young women of color in Chicago? Participants in this workshop will discuss the strengths and limitations of current teen dating violence and date rape curricula and programs. They will leave with specific ideas for how to more effectively intervene particularly with young women of color who are experiencing violence in their lives and relationships.
1:15 to 3:45 p.m.
Title: Baby College for All
Facilitators: Katy Groves (Youth Service Project) and Chez Rumpf (Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University and Project NIA)
This workshop seeks to shift the framework around teen pregnancy and parenting. Pregnant and parenting teen girls often are pathologized as deviant young people who have become pregnant as a result of their personal deficiencies and problems. As such, services targeting these young women often attempt to “fix” or “reform” them through individual-level interventions. This workshop will engage participants in imagining ways to de-stigmatize teen pregnancy and parenting. Rather than frame teen pregnancy as a life-ending event that shoulders young women with insurmountable barriers, we will consider how to create structural supports for young mothers and how to cultivate a culture that places a high value on children.
Using a popular education approach, facilitators will lead participants through an activity to identify the current stigma and pathologizing discourse about teen pregnancy and to investigate the causes and consequences of this stigma. Through another activity, facilitators and participants will explore the historical evolution of this stigma. The workshop will close with a visioning exercise to develop concrete strategies to foster a sense of communal responsibility for children.
At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with:
• an understanding of the historical development of current discourses about teen pregnancy
• a critical assessment of these discourses
• ideas about how to create supportive environments for teen parents and their children
Title: Strategy Session for Collective Responses to Teen Dating Violence — Healing, Intervention, Accountability and Prevention/Transformation
Facilitator: Ann Russo, Building Communities, Ending Violence.
This workshop will offer the experience of a collective strategy session to show how community members might work together to effectively respond to teen relationship. The workshop will provide a structure for people to imagine collective responses that do not rely on the police or external authorities, and, if time, a chance to practice some of the skills it might take to implement them.
Stay tuned for information about the Youth-Led Girls’ and Young Women’s Conference that will take place on September 15th! We will be sharing information here on the blog about how young women can register to attend.
GIRL TALK is working on a new curriculum and we need your help!
We are looking for people to help us create the 3rd cycle of our curriculum. We are currently screening movies and brainstorming activities to do with the girls at the JTDC. We would love to have some “fresh eyes” and new perspectives.
If you are interested in joining us – NO experience necessary! – please email deana at chicagogirltalk@gmail.com. Our next meeting is Saturday, July 28th. Email us for more details!
Join Girl Talk, Depaul University Ministry, Depaul Community Service Association, and the Women’s Center/Depaul University on Thursday, June 21st from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. as we welcome Dr. Beth Richie who will speak about her new book, Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America's Prison Nation.
Dr. Richie is Professor of African American Studies and Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her scholarly and activist work focuses on the experiences of African American battered women and sexual assault survivors, and emphasizes how race/ethnicity and social position affect women’s experience of violence and incarceration. Dr. Richie is a qualitative researcher and the author of numerous articles concerning Black feminism and gender violence, race and criminal justice policy, and the social dynamics around issues of sexuality, families, and grassroots organizations in African American communities. Her book, Compelled to Crime: the Gender Entrapment of Black Battered Women, is taught in many college courses and is cited in the popular press for its original arguments concerning race, gender and crime. Her current book, Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and America’s Prison Nation, chronicles the evolution of the contemporary anti-violence movement during a period of mass incarceration in the United States.
Dr. Richie is also working on an ethnographic project documenting the conditions of confinement in women’s prisons. Her work has been supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Institute for Justice, and the National Institute of Corrections. Among others, she has been awarded the Audre Lorde Legacy Award from the Union Institute, the Advocacy Award from the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Visionary Award from the Violence Intervention Project. Dr. Richie is a board member of the Woods Fund of Chicago, the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African Community, and the Center for Fathers’ Families and Public Policy, and she is a founding member of INCITE!: Women of Color Against Violence. She is currently the Director of the The Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Girl Talk is thrilled that Dr. Richie will be sharing her insights and experience with us. You will also learn about Girl Talk and how you can support our work.
When: Thursday, June 21st
Time: 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Depaul University Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave, Room 324
RSVP by June 18: chicagogirltalk@gmail.com
Info: This event is at no cost to participants but you MUST RSVP by June 18th to attend.
Chicago Girl Talk 