Events

Love & Protect and PNAP: #FreeThemAll Seed Quilt Event

July 13, 2022 – An evening of art making and community healing. With visioning, leadership, and guidance from activists Tewkunzi Green, Moni Cosby, Jonice Robinson, Sandra Brown, Alisha “Lili” Walker, and Erika Ray, this art piece is a naturally dyed handmade quilt in which native flower seeds will be embedded. The quilt will be installed outside Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, IL. Over time, the quilt will germinate its seeds and transform into a native flower garden, welcoming home people when they are released from Logan and greeting loved ones coming to visit.
We will be engaging in sashiko embroidery, paper making, sewing seeds and writing messages on the quilt. No prior art making skills necessary. This was an outdoor event caped at 100 people. RSVP was required due to COVID safety precautions.
Event by Prison and Neighborhood Arts/Education Project and Love & Protect

Photos of the event by Love & Struggle Photos

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Reading and Writing for Criminalized Survivors

June 10, 2022 – Join the amazing Sandra Brown as she reads from her new book, “Odyssey in Progress.” We will also share the stories of criminalized survivors. While Sandra shares from her book, we will have cards and other supplies to send to incarcerated survivors. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Bring yourself and a few friends for a moving evening. We ask all participants to wear masks when not eating or drinking.
Event by The Women’s Justice Institute – WJI, co-sponsored by Chicago Books to Women in Prison and Love & Protect

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YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DEFEATED

April 30, 2022 – Please join us to hear from Sanaa Seif, an Egyptian feminist filmmaker, producer and political activist. She has been imprisoned three times under the Sisi regime for her activism. She was released in December and is now here to speak about her imprisoned brother, Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s, newly published book, “You Have Not Yet Been Defeated.” She will be joined in conversation by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, with Atef Said as moderator.
The event is presented in partnership with the Arab American Cultural Center at UIC, the Middle East and Muslim Societies cluster at UIC, MAMAS Collective, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, Black Lives Matter Chicago, and Love & Protect.

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#FrEEChrystulKizer Letter-Writing Event

April 24, 2022 – April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. There was a virtual teach-in about the history of criminalizing sexual assault survivors and letter writing to support survivors currently fighting for their freedom from incarceration.
Event by #FreeChrystulKizer and Love & Protect
#SAAM #sexualassaultawarenessmonth #FreeBernina #FreeChrystul #FreeDeBraca #FreeThemAll

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From #FreeBernina to #FreeThemAll: Why Clemency Matters

April 13, 2022 – Join the Bernina Mata Freedom Team on April 13 for an event, followed by a day of action, to save clemency, one of the few mechanisms that criminalized survivors have for release! We will discuss the importance of clemency, how Illinois legislators are blocking clemency and parole by attacking the IL Prison Review Board, and what you can do to push back.
April 14 would have been Bernina Mata’s clemency hearing. We refuse to let this day go by unrecognized, so we invite you to attend the event on April 13, and commit to taking action on April 14 with us to help ensure our legislators hear from us that they #CantCancelClemency. More information on how to participate will be provided at the event!
Come out and support Bernina’s right to seek clemency. Let Illinois legislators know that they #CantCancelClemency!