Ep. 71 - The Collective Freedom Project, Pt. 1: Chicago & #EraseTheDatabase ft. Xanat Sobrevilla

BrownTown shares virtual space with Xanat Sobrevilla as they
discuss the #EraseTheDatabase campaign to abolish and repair the
harm done by the City's gang database as well as breakdown the
broader connection between local police and ICE.


BrownTown and Xanat set the stage for Chicago as a site with a
longstanding tradition of coalition-building nodding to the
rainbow coalition of the Fred Hampton era all the way to
#NoCopAcademy (1, 2) and of course #EraseTheDatabase. Xanat
explains that coalitions are not just about "diversity" of
organizations but about shared power that are most effective when
the most marginalized people are leading. They contrast that
shared power for liberation to faux progressive politics like
former Mayor Rahm Emanuel outwardly proclaiming Chicago a
"sanctuary city" while still upholding coordination with ICE. The
gang unpacks the stark issues with Chicago's gang database as
well as surveillance of Black and brown communities as a whole,
while zooming out to decades of United States neoliberal policies
that create forced migration in the first place (hear that, Mrs.
VP?).


Through the CFP, SoapBox created a micro-doc on the Erase the
Gang Database coalition and campaign, which you can find among
other cities/regions' videos, podcast episodes, and a plethora of
resources on CollectiveFreedomProject.org/Multimedia.


GUEST
Xanat Sobrevilla is a co-founder of Organized Communities Against
Deportations (OCAD) who started with this work as an undocumented
person in 2011. Xanat leads OCAD’s deportation defense work,
coordinates legal intakes and appointments, manages the
collaboration with the ICIRR hotline, and acts as a liaison with
our network of attorneys. Her input on legal strategy
continuously strengthens our organizing strategy and the
integration of families with deportation proceedings into OCAD’s
network.


THE COLLECTIVE FREEDOM PROJECT
This episode is Part One in the Collective Freedom Project
four-part series with Bourbon 'n BrownTown. The Collective
Freedom Project (CFP) is a movement media and resource hub that
tells the stories of the local and regional efforts where people
— both U.S. citizens and non U.S. citizens — are coming together
to fight unique campaigns against criminalization in their
communities. From Chicago to California, Atlanta to Texas,
activists, organizers, and communities are rising up to fight
against criminalization and violence in varied yet connected
forms.


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Mentioned in episode:


"Gang contracts" in Cicero and Berwyn (Injustice Watch) (1,
2)


Cook County Takes Steps to Erase Its Regional Gang
Database (ProPublica)

Reimagine Chicago Mayoral Forum 2019 (@themediaconnectiontv)
- Part 1, Part 2



Follow the Collective Freedom Project on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube. 


Follow OCAD on their site, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and
Linktr.ee/OCAD. Support the #EraseTheDatabase effort at
EraseTheDatabase.com.


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CREDITS: Intro/outro music by Genta Tamashiro
with excerpts from the Chicago CFP video (1, 2); outro song
Once Upon a Dream by Quinto Imperio. Audio engineered by
Genta Tamashiro and Kiera Battles.


This series is sponsored by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
(ILRC) and the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF).


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