[ACTION ALERT] Define America: Empower Immigrant Voices in the Elections

States across the country are making it harder for low-income people and people of color to vote in the upcoming elections (watch Sarah Silverman’s related new video: “Let My People Vote” – Warning: contains explicit language).

Join JCUA in a local non-partisan effort that crosses ethnic, racial and religious lines, transforming community relationships and advancing a social justice agenda. It is time for us to raise our voices together for immigrant justice and empower immigrant voices in these elections.

Take Action! Upcoming Opportunities:

•  Voter Registration- Sunday, Sept. 30, 1-5 pm, Highwood Public Library, 102 Highwood Ave, Highwood, IL.
• Get Out The Vote- Sunday, Oct. 14, 1-5 pm, Wheeling, IL. Exact Location TBA. 
• Get Out The Vote- Sunday, Oct. 28, 1-5 pm, Wheeling, IL. Exact Location TBA. 

 Please contact Rebecca at rebecca@jcua.org or 312-663-0960, ext. 124 to participate. 

Getting out the immigrant vote: Or Tzedek’s Summer 2012 Reunion

By Hannah Lynch

The following in a blog post by Hannah Lynch, Or Tzedek Summer 2012 participant. Hannah is a sophomore at Chicagoland Jewish High School. During the 2012 summer reunion, Hannah showed herself to be a dedicated canvasser with a ferocious drive to register people to vote! 

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Or Tzedek members – Hannah, Shani and Joel – canvassing to register immigrant voters in Highwood, IL.

As a follow up to our Or Tzedek experience, the three 2012 summer session participants reunited in Highwood, IL to empower immigrant voices in this election. We spent the day canvassing. We divided into small groups and went from house to house, talking to people about registering to vote and getting involved in the upcoming elections.

Because Highwood has a large  immigrant population, it was a fitting place to begin spreading the word about the elections and get young people and adults involved in the process. Voting in elections gives citizens the chance to speak up and support what is important to them. However, in order to do this, they must be registered voters. While there are qualifications to register to vote, namely, being a citizen and eighteen years old by Election Day, everyone has the capability to get involved. Other Or Tzedek participants and I set out to do just that; to inform people on the ways they can be civically involved, whether or not they can vote.

JCUA Supports Affordable Housing Proposal in Humboldt Park

Over the summer JCUA’s teen activists interned at Latin United Community Housing Organization (LUCHA) (see blog post on that).

Recently, LUCHA has reached out to JCUA to endorse the organization’s proposal for an affordable housing development project in Humboldt Park, a predominantly Latino community on Chicago’s west side.

JCUA proudly supports this proposal, and has expressed this support in a letter to Alderman Roberto Maldonado (26th Ward). Click here to read JCUA’s letter to Alderman Roberto Maldonado. This letter will be part of the file LUCHA submits with its proposal. Now this proposal includes a Jewish voice for more affordable housing in a community that needs it.

Take Action: Join JCUA Members (Teens and Older) Who Are Getting Out the Immigrant Vote

JCUA and it’s members are already mobilizing to amplify immigrant voices in the upcoming election, and to get out the immigrant vote. Read about how JCUA’s teens are already making a difference, and see below how Jews of all ages can join the team…

By Emily Zucker Burns, Director of Organizing
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs

JCUA’s Or Tzedek teens registering voters, August, 2012

Armed with clipboards and dressed in garbage bags to guard against the drizzle, youth activists from JCUA’s Or Tzedek program went door-to-door in Highland Park on a rainy August afternoon to register eligible people to vote and to engage voters about immigration issues, such as a pending legislation to grant undocumented immigrants the right to drive in Illinois.

The canvass came after a day full of learning about the power of voting to move forward social justice campaigns and amplify the voices of underrepresented communities and immigration issues. In the morning, Ilya Sheyman, a community organizer at MoveOn.org, trained Or Tzedek in the critical organizing skill of power mapping and JCUA’s Director of Organizing, Emily Zucker Burns, lead a workshop on the evolution of immigration policy. Following the trainings, the teens met with current 10th District Democratic candidate for Congress and his campaign manager (the Republican candidate declined to respond to the repeated invitations to speak with the teens) to discuss the importance of youth engagement in the elections and provide an inside look at a campaign. From there, the group was trained in non-partisan election work, and teams of teens and staff went out into the community to canvass.

Or Tzedek’s Winter Leadership Retreat

Last week, 15 amazing high school and college students came together as a community to visit community partner organizations, learn leadership and organizing skills, explore Chicago, and take action. These youth leaders, activists and organizers gathered for the first annual Winter Leadership Retreat, created by Or Tzedek, JCUA’s Jewish teen institute for social justice. 

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Workshops, actions and fun, oh my!

By Rebecca Katz
Winter Leadership Retreat Program Director  

What’s in a mission?

Or Tzedek leadership member Sophie Leff planned our first workshop of the retreat. To get to the bottom of what it means to be a part of JCUA’s Jewish teen institute for social justice, Sophie guided us in the deconstruction of the words that comprise the organization’s name. Using Post-it notes, we wrote our own definitions for “Jewish,” “Council,” “Urban,” and “Affairs.” Through this exercise, we spoke about JCUA’s mission: to combat poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with Chicago’s diverse communities.

2011 Recap: JCUA’s Year in Review

A year’s work for JCUA, “the Jewish Conscience of Chicago”

JCUA provided a zero-interest loan through our Community Ventures LLC to help Breaking Ground rehab 75 foreclosed homes in North Lawndale over three years.  Learn more about Community Ventures.

JCUA assisted public housing residents at Lathrop Homes to avoid displacement. Learn more about Lathrop Homes.

JCUA joined forces with community partners to form the Multifaith Foreclosure Reclamation Initiative, working to secure properties in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood and planning for more. Learn more about the work on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

JCUA leaders were instrumental in passing the Illinois DREAM Act, putting Illinois at the forefront in recognizing that we all benefit when immigrant students have opportunities for higher education. Learn more about JCUA’s involvement in the DREAM Act.

JCUA marked Black History Month with the “Garment of Destiny” multi-media project, an online campaign to combat racism. Watch and read the “Garment of Destiny” project.

JCUA, in meetings with the White House, advocated for comprehensive immigration reform and the creation of additional affordable housing to meet the critical needs of very low income families and individuals. Learn more about JCUA’s advocacy work in the White House.

JCUA’s Or Tzedek Teen program developed a cadre of 75 Jewish social justice leaders who have taken action on the most pressing social justice issues in Chicago. Learn more about Or Tzedek, a Teen Institute for Social Justice.

JCUA brought together more than 1,000 Jews and Muslims, helping to create a more open, embracing society. Watch and read about “Iftar in the Synagogue.”

Or Tzedek News: Tashlich at Lathrop

Or Tzedek teens will be gathering on Oct. 2, 3-5 pm, at Lathrop Homes, one of Chicago’s oldest public housing developments, to observe Tashlich.

“In Tashlich,” says Rebecca Katz, JCUA’s teen programs coordinator, “we are encouraged to go to a large body of flowing water (like an ocean, lake or river) to reflect upon what we would like to dispose of in our behavior or way of ‘being’ in the past year, as part of our commitment to improve ourselves in the coming year. For a social justice twist on this Jewish ritual, we will cast stones in the water representing the unjust laws and obstacles to social justice, as well as changes we want to make in our personal lives.”

Find out more about this unusual observance, along with news about Or Tzedek’s upcoming blog and the “Shavua-Ton” for new teen leaders, in the newest edition of the Or Tzedek newsletter.

 

Introducing Rebecca Katz, New Or Tzedek Teen Programs Coordinator

Rebecca Katz

Hello Or Tzedek activists!

My name is Rebecca and I‘d like to introduce myself as the new teen programs coordinator for Or Tzedek. I am very excited to take on this incredible opportunity and help the program grow.

Teens have ability to create concrete change and inspire mobilization in Chicago’s diverse communities and I cannot wait to collaborate with you on projects for social justice. By using practical steps to become involved in Chicago’s social justice organizations, Or Tzedek activists are the antidote to the myth of uncaring modern youth.

Or Tzedek Teens Lead an Interfaith Vigil

By Eve Carne
Communications Intern

On a cold, Friday morning, bright and early, nine teenagers gave up sleeping in to pray for those impacted by our broken immigration system.  The teens, who were participating in JCUA’s week-long Or Tzedek program, helped lead a prayer service for immigrants that were about to be deported.

The interfaith service took place outside of the detention center where immigrants are being held.  Services used to be held at the Broadview detention center, but are now being held downtown as the Broadview center is temporarily closed for remodeling.

This vigil tradition was started by Sister Jo Anne Persch and Sister Pat Murphy,  two nuns from the Chicago Sisters of Mercy dedicated to keeping families together.  The Or Tzedek teens read Hebrew prayers along with prayers they wrote themselves.  The Sisters and others present at the vigil said they were excited to see teenagers actively involved in such an important issue.

If you’re interested in attending a vigil they take place every Friday morning from 7:15-7:45 am in front of the detention center located on 101 West Congress.

Or Tzedek: Jewish Teens Working for Justice

Or Tzedek helps teens strengthen their Jewish identity and commitment to social justice.

As part of the program teens: work in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods; explore Jewish approaches to social justice; develop leadership skills; examine urban issues and their impact; live in Chicago and enjoy the city in the summer; and earn 30-40 community service credit hours.

There’s still time to register for a summer session:

Advanced Session
June 19-26

Regular Session #1
July 10-17

Regular Session #2
July 31-Aug. 7