Decarcerate Now: A Virtual Quilt Project
Photo of the virtual quilt portraits on top of 8 caskets during a vigil outside the offices of the Sheriff, Chief Judge, and State's Attorney. Courtesy of CCBF.
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9/16/2020: Video of the Coalition to End Money Bond, who held vigil outside the offices of the Sheriff, Chief Judge, & State's Attorney with caskets for the 8 people who died from COVID19 in Cook County Jail.
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Why a Virtual Quilt Project
On April 8, 2020, Cook County Jail was named by the New York Times as the "top hot spot" in the nation's pandemic. Over 300 people incarcerated there have tested positive for COVID-19, and the rate of infection has climbed to 68 out of every 1,000 people.
As artists and cultural workers, we know that mainstream media narrative consistently dehumanizes the lives lost within the state’s walls, often providing very little more than a duplication of their arrest report or criminal histories. We believe no one’s life is disposable, and any death from COVID-19 that happens in custody was absolutely a preventable death.
We also grapple with the reality that some of the people we are memorializing in this project have caused harm to people in our communities, and in no way aim to erase that actuality. We want to recognize survivors while also believing that carceral punishment, and death by incarceration, is not the solution to combating physical, sexual and domestic violence in our communities.
Click the names to see an artist's portrait in remembrance, in addition to CCBF's statement on their death.
On April 8, 2020, Cook County Jail was named by the New York Times as the "top hot spot" in the nation's pandemic. Over 300 people incarcerated there have tested positive for COVID-19, and the rate of infection has climbed to 68 out of every 1,000 people.
As artists and cultural workers, we know that mainstream media narrative consistently dehumanizes the lives lost within the state’s walls, often providing very little more than a duplication of their arrest report or criminal histories. We believe no one’s life is disposable, and any death from COVID-19 that happens in custody was absolutely a preventable death.
We also grapple with the reality that some of the people we are memorializing in this project have caused harm to people in our communities, and in no way aim to erase that actuality. We want to recognize survivors while also believing that carceral punishment, and death by incarceration, is not the solution to combating physical, sexual and domestic violence in our communities.
Click the names to see an artist's portrait in remembrance, in addition to CCBF's statement on their death.
In Memory Of...
This quilt was last updated on December 13, 2020
If you would like to get involved by creating a portrait, contact us at forthepeopleartists at gmail dot com.
Take Action:
Please take a few minutes today to call and/or email Cook County elected officials and ask them to act now to save lives!
Visit CCBF's blog for elected official targets, phone numbers, email addresses, and call/email scripts.
Visit CCBF's blog for elected official targets, phone numbers, email addresses, and call/email scripts.
The Artists:
Monica Trinidad, Grae Rosa, Danbee Kim, Naimah Thomas, Julie Yunhee Moon, Cori Lin, darien r. wendell.
Recommended Readings:
- Flo’s Call to Action: Release People From Jail to Protect Public Health via Chicago Community Bond Fund’s website
- As Coronavirus Spreads Through Prisons, States are Failing Incarcerated People via Truthout
- Activists are Rushing to Pay Bail for Inmates Amid Coronavirus Threat via CBS News
- Chicago Community Organizer Works to Reduce Prison Population at America’s Single Largest Jail Site Amid Coronavirus Outbreak via Newsweek
- Locking People Up Won’t Help Combat Sexual Violence via Ann Russo/Transform Harm
- Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind via Rachel Kushner/Transform Harm
- As Coronavirus Spreads Through Prisons, States are Failing Incarcerated People via Truthout
- Activists are Rushing to Pay Bail for Inmates Amid Coronavirus Threat via CBS News
- Chicago Community Organizer Works to Reduce Prison Population at America’s Single Largest Jail Site Amid Coronavirus Outbreak via Newsweek
- Locking People Up Won’t Help Combat Sexual Violence via Ann Russo/Transform Harm
- Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind via Rachel Kushner/Transform Harm
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This virtual quilt project is inspired by Rachel Wallis' Gone But Not Forgotten quilt project, in which she created a collaborative memorial quilt for individuals killed by the Chicago Police Department or while in police custody since 2006.
This virtual quilt project is inspired by Rachel Wallis' Gone But Not Forgotten quilt project, in which she created a collaborative memorial quilt for individuals killed by the Chicago Police Department or while in police custody since 2006.