Tuesday, February 21, 2012

UAO Leadership Workshop this Saturday: ABC of Fundraising II

Participants at the UAO's January Leadership Workshop
The UAO's next Leadership Workshop, on February 25, will continue the discussion on fundraising.

The UAO's African Leadership Development Program is targeted at African community leaders in and around Chicago.

Leadership workshops take place every month and cover a range of topics. The workshops are free BUT you must register in advance to attend. Download the registration form here. Details of the next workshop:

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Time: 9:00am-1:00pm
Venue: 6th Floor, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago IL 60616

Topic: Grant Writing 2

Facilitator: Marcia Lipetz

Marcia Lipetz, PhD, has spent her career in Chicago's philanthropic, nonprofit, and academic communities, primarily in leadership positions. Lipetz is currently consulting with foundations and corporations on grantmaking and community involvement. She was the first full time Executive Director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the founding Executive Director of the WPWR-TV Channel 50 Foundation (now known as the Alphawood Foundation), and the President & CEO of the Executive Service Corps of Chicago. Lipetz is a past Board Chair of the Donors Forum.

E-mail training@uniteafricans.org to register or call (312) 949-9980 for more information.

UAO Film Screening and Talk at Truman College on Feb 29

The UAO has been invited by student group It's Just Us at Truman College to present a documentary, the Neo-African Americans, and to talk about the African immigrant and refugee community in Chicago.

Drop by the event if you are in the area! It is free and open to the public.

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm
Venue: Room 3416, Truman College, 1145 West Wilson, Chicago, IL 60640

Click the poster on the right for more information.

Social Entrepreneurship panel at UChicago tonight

Click for larger image
The African & Caribbean Students' Association at the University of Chicago is hosting a Social Entrepreneurship Panel on Tuesday 21st February 2012 from 8:00pm-9:00pm at the McCormick Lounge in the Reynolds Club (corner of 57th and University in Hyde Park).

Their theme for this year is 'Be Part of the Solution!!' and they will feature three start-up founders in the social sector focusing on Liberia, India and the United States. 

The event is free- register at: www.socialentrepreneurship2012.eventbrite.com. Ethiopian food will be provided.

Monday, February 20, 2012

News round-up: Chicago police violated "sanctuary" ordinance by arresting Cameroonian mother

A number of news articles have appeared over the last few days, focusing on Rose Tchakounte, a 54-year old mother from Cameroon, who police turned over to immigration agents. Immigration activists and groups, including United African Organization, lobbied for Tchakounte to be released. She was released on Friday afternoon but could still risk deportation unless we act now.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Good News: Cameroonian Mother Released...More Action Needed!

Thanks to coordinated action by immigrant leaders, Rose Tchakounte, a 54-year-old asylum seeker and mother from Cameroon, was released this afternoon on an “order of supervision”. This is good news but Rose could still face deportation even though she entered the U.S. legally, was never convicted of a crime, has family in the U.S., and has lived here 11 years.

Please help reverse this injustice now!

Please contact:

Ricardo Wong, Midwest ICE Director 
(312.347.2400)
and
Karen Lundgren, Midwest ICE Prosecutor 
(312.524.8224)

Ask them to exercise prosecutorial discretion, close the case, and stop the deportation of Rose Tchakounte.

This tragedy is a result of our broken federal immigration system and the rogue actions of a Chicago Police Department that violated the 2006 Chicago sanctuary city ordinance.

In addition to helping Rose, we must also make sure that Chicago Police Department never again violates our Sanctuary City status. If you are in the city of Chicago, we ask you to also please call:

Matthew Hynes at the Mayor’s Office of Inter-Governmental Affairs
(312.745.6115)

Ask him to schedule a meeting between ICIRR and Police Superintendent McCarthy in order to ensure that the sanctuary ordinance is being implemented to the full extent of the law.

Let’s work together to make Chicago a global city in which immigrant communities do not fear the Chicago Police Department!

Update: News cameras following Cameroonian Mother Rose T.'s story

Earlier today, Rose’s family, other families affected by CPD cooperation with ICE, Alie Kabba (President of United African Organization) and ICIRR members came together for a press conference. They called on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to "release Rose immediately, apologize to her family, and let it be known that no immigrant should ever have reason to fear the Chicago police force."

WGNTV covered the Press Conferences, and Rose's subsequent move to ICE. Click the link below to view:

Immigrant leaders say Chicago police violated "sanctuary" ordinance

Action Alert: Stop Deportation of Cameroonian Mother!

Immigrant Leaders to Emanuel: This is a Violation of Chicago Sanctuary City Status

Press Conference TODAY
Friday, February 17, 11:00am
ICIRR office: 55 E. Jackson, suite 2075, Chicago
Speakers: Rose’s family, other families affected by CPD cooperation with ICE, Alie Kabba (President of United African Organization)


At the time of this release, a 54 year-old asylum seeker and mother of a U.S. Citizen, Rose T., is being held at the Chicago Police Department station at 18th and State Street – waiting in a jail cell for immigration agents to come and deport her. She was pulled over for allegedly not using her turn signal. CPD contacted ICE to ask that they arrest Rose, in contradiction to the 2006 Chicago City Ordinance which prohibits the cooperation of city agencies with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This ordinance, and the accompanying executive order by then Mayor Richard Daley, were both lauded and re-affirmed by Mayor Emanuel.

Statement of ICIRR Board President and UAO Executive Director Alie Kabba:

Rose’s detention is a stain on Chicago’s record as a global city that welcomes immigrants. We call on Mayor Emanuel to release Rose immediately, apologize to her family, and let it be known that no immigrant should ever have reason to fear our Chicago police force.

Rose is a 54 year-old mother who came to the United States from Cameroon in 2001, seeking asylum. She entered this country legally and went through the proper channels to apply for asylum. She was initially denied asylum, while her son was granted asylum. She then hired a lawyer in hopes of finding a way to stay in this country to raise her son and be with her family. The lawyer took advantage of her and due to his mistake, she missed her subsequent court date – and an order of deportation was issued for her. Rose has never knowingly broken a law in her life, but she spent last night in a Chicago jail cell waiting for ICE officials to come and take her away from her son and extended family. All because a Chicago police officer decided to take immigration law into his own hands. Rose was pulled over for a traffic violation, and rather than issuing a citation, the arresting officer noticed she was wanted by ICE and proceeded to call ICE to pick her up.

The Chicago Police Department has violated the 2006 Chicago “Sanctuary” Ordinance, instilled fear in the immigrant community, and wasted precious taxpayer dollars – all in the name of separating families. Sadly, Rose’s case does not appear to be an isolated incident.

Through ICIRR's Deportations hotline (1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY), ICIRR recently learned of the case of Oscar and Cesar Pelaez, two brothers aged 18 and 19. Like Rose, Oscar was arrested by Chicago Police, not ICE. In contravention of the 2006 ordinance, Oscar was asked whether he was “illegal” and he replied truthfully that he was. Chicago Police issued him a ticket, but the next day ICE agents appeared at his home and proceeded to arrest both Oscar and his brother. Oscar and Cesar are now at the Detention Center in Kenosha, awaiting deportation, unable to afford counsel or bond. Cesar’s first child, a U.S. citizen, is due to be born any day now.

In order for Chicago to remain a global city, new Americans like me must be able to walk down the street without fearing that our friends and family will be targeted for deportation. When local police cooperate with ICE, it sends a chill through our communities. How can we live in a city where we must fear those who are tasked to protect and serve?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Special Film Screenings in Chicago: "London River"


For one week only, the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago will be screening the film London River:

A 2005 terrorist attack brings two worried parents to London--a Guernsey widow (Blethyn) who hasn't heard from her daughter, and an African immigrant (Kouyaté) in search of the son he abandoned long ago. Their paths cross and unexpectedly intertwine as they ride a roller-coaster of hope and dread in search of their lost children. This bittersweet, immensely touching drama showcases two great performances, with the flighty Blethyn (SECRETS AND LIES) and the dignified Kouyaté (DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) counterpointing each other beautifully. 

London River is showing from February 17-23, 2012 at Gene Siskel Film Center - 164 N. State Street, Chicago, IL. Show times at Film Center Website.

Tickets are $11 for general admission, $7 for students, $6 for Film Center members. Tickets can be bought through Ticketmaster.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

UAO shows strong presence at ICIRR recent summit

United African Organization at ICIRR Immigrant Integration Summit
Earlier this month, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) hosted its 2nd annual Immigrant Integration Summit - “One Nation, One Dream”. The Summit included workshops for community leaders and advocates, citizenship clinics, a youth civic leadership academy meeting and a resource fair. United African Organization had a strong presence at the Summit (see above).

More than 1,500 people attended the summit, joined by 50 of Illinois’s most powerful elected officials and dignitaries, including Governor Pat Quinn, US Senator Dick Durbin, US Representatives Luis Gutierrez and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, and Senate Republican Caucus Chair Senator Matt Murphy.

More images and reports are available on the ICIRR website.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Talk on DRC on Feb 15, 4:30pm at UIC


The UIC Department of French and Francophone Studies, in coordination with Congonova, the Center for Research on the Congo and several other UIC Departments, PRESENTS:

"Thresholds of Ideology in Congolese Youth: Afrocentrism, Europhilia, and Nothingness"
Speaker: Emmanuel Bueya, S.J.

Bueyla is a Jesuit priest, Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at Boston College, and a founding member of Congonova, a group of young Congolese intellectuals and activists devoted to the edification of the DRC. Father Emmanuel’s dissertation research is focused on United States Foreign Policy in Congo. 

This is the 5th Lecture in the Year-Long Series THE CONGO: RECLAIMING ITS DESTINY

WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 15th | 4:30 p.m.
Institute for the Humanities
(lower level of Stevenson Hall, 701 S. Morgan St.)
Reception to follow

Film Screening about Somali Refugees Tonight


TONIGHT:

Join Partnership for the Advancement of Refugee Rights (PARR), the African and Caribbean Students Association (ACSA), and Invisible Children at University of Chicago for a screening of "Rain In a Dry Land"!

When: Wednesday, February 8th at 8:30pm
Where: Harper Building, Room 103, 1116 E 59th street, Chicago, IL
Samosas will be served


"In 2004, thirteen thousand Somali refugees realized their dream of coming to America. They are now living in fifty cities across the country, becoming the largest African group from a single minority to settle in the United States at one time. RAIN IN A DRY LAND chronicles two years in the lives of two extended Somali families as they leave Africa to face new challenges in a strange new land. The film begins in January, 2004, at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where our featured families are stunned by what they learn about America in their "Cultural Orientation" class: refrigerators, stoves, bathtubs, elevators, stairs, buildings taller than one storey, schools. How will these families who speak no English manage to survive in America?"

Friday, February 3, 2012

One Africa Campaign - Momentum is Building!



Have you signed our One Africa petition? If so, thank you! If not, click HERE now to take action! Keep the momentum going!

Even if you live outside the US, this campaign affects you. U.S. Foreign Policy affects us all - join us and tell the US State Department loud and clear to make North Africa part of its Bureau of African Affairs!

Alie Kabba chosen among top 100 African American leaders in US!

UAO's Alie Kabba chosen among The Grio's top 100
UAO Executive Director Alie Kabba has been chosen as one of the top African American leaders in the U.S. by MNBC's The Grio. Congratulations Alie! See The Grio's feature on Alie Kabba!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

CAN TV Tonight, 6:30pm CT: UAO and ICIRR's Immigration Integration Summit

Tonight on CAN TV (Channel 21, Cable Television) at 6:30pm (Central Time), UAO Executive Director Alie Kabba will talk to staff from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

ICIRR is hosting its 2nd Annual Immigration Integration Summit on Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 9am-1pm at Malcolm X College, 1900 West Van Buren, Chicago, IL.

Don't miss tonight's show!

For previous show, check out the UAO video channel.