Tag: Chicago Peace Fellow

On July 16, the Peace Fellows met with one of Chicago’s most influential elected officials, Alderman Walter Burnett of the 27th Ward. Fellows Jacquelyn Moore, Pamela Butts, Jeanette Coleman, Gloria Smith and Adi Lerner as well as Goldin Institute Executive Director Travis Rejman and Coordinator Burrell Poe met with Ald. Burnett in his City Hall… Continue reading Alderman Walter Burnett Advises Peace Fellows at City Hall

On Friday, June 14, Chicago Peace Fellow Maria Velazquez invited her peers to the Telpochcalli Elementary School, an institution in the Little Village neighborhood that the community organization she leads, called the Telpochcalli Community Education Project, helped to create. Maria hosted a street festival for members of the community to enjoy time together to start… Continue reading Peace Fellows Visit Telpochcalli in Little Village

How has Gather informed the work that you do? Have you made any meaningful connections between Gather and your work? These past few weeks, I’ve been reading “Winners Take All,” by Anand Giridharadas. This book, a sort of “emperor’s new clothes” take on how social innovation projects are packaged in the modern context of wealth,… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Robin Cline

What are some important updates in your current work? The Black Star Project is a multifaceted initiative known for its actions with programs on education, culture, economic and workforce development, mentoring, tutoring and youth development, public policy and advocacy and violence prevention. Our programs encourage a holistic, intergenerational approach to community building. Phillip Jackson, our… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Gloria Smith

How has Gather informed the work that you do? Have you made any meaningful connections between Gather and your work? I am grateful to the Chicago Peace Fellows for not only increasing my personal capacity as a leader but also increasing the Chicago Alternatives to Incarceration’s Collaborative organizational capacity as well. The skills I have… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Pastor Robert Biekman

The part of the South Shore community that I represent has a large number of multi-unit apartment buildings with a very transient population. The need for family services was explored by our late pastor, Dr. Ronald J. Behm, who instituted day care services at both the church and our community center. With the increase in… Continue reading UNSUNG HEROES: Becoming a Chicago Peace Fellow

I have enjoyed my first few weeks as a GATHER Peace Fellow. There are many reasons for that statement! One, it provides such an opportunity for place making. By that, I mean our collective action could help define how Peace is achieved in a City so challenged by violence! The second reason is that I… Continue reading Chicago Peace Fellows Update from Dr. Sokoni Karanja

When artist and educator Cecil McDonald Jr. began working with children in the Chicago Public Schools some years ago, he heard something that disturbed him. The children were enjoying themselves in the playground and appeared to be carefree, but when Cecil interviewed them, he heard them “repeating the grand narratives of violence and pain,” a… Continue reading Illuminating Perspectives: Art and Social Justice