On the night of May 30th of this year, we found ourselves stuck in the middle of a police riot against the crowd of queer & trans folks in Chicago, which has left us now in a very sensitive situation. In short, while in Chicago for a queer & trans activist convergence, we were part of an approximately 100 queer and trans folk-crowd walking in Boystown, or, the ‘gay nightclub district.’ Police showed up, and without rhyme, reason, or warning, hit people in the crowd with patrol cars. More cops ran into the crowd and grabbed queers, seemingly at random, and proceeded to beat them with batons and extendable asps. What followed can only be described as bedlam and a bloody evening.
Dear Cornell students, staff, faculty, and alumni bisexies, transfolks, two spirits, queers, genderqueers, lesbians, gays, anomolies, friends, family, allies, and distant relatives, etc.,
We hope this letter finds you all well, but unfortunately it does not contain the best of news. This is a follow up to the update sent out a month ago about Cornell queers who were bashed by the police in Chicago.
Our names are Rye (Aly) and Kristin. Some of you may know of us through various queer/anti-racist/sexual violence social justice organizing/actions/workshops, general rabble-rousing, or through our house: Watermargin Co-op. Rye has organized and co-facilitated workshops, shows, and events with the Women’s Resource Center, Direct Action to Stop Heterosexism (DASH), and worked with an anti-discrimination coalition of Cornell students in attempts to safeguard resources for marginalized groups. Kristin took a leave from Cornell the past school year, moving to Minneapolis where she worked on legal support and media strategy against immigration raids & RNC prosecutions; and gained valuable experience learning & participating in sexual assault community restorative justice processes. While in Ithaca, she organizes with the Campus Anti-War Network, Iraq/Afghanistan Vets Against the War & the Sexual Violence Resistance Network; having edited a zine for the latter.
On the night of May 30th of this year, we found ourselves stuck in the middle of a police riot against the crowd of queer & trans folks in Chicago, which has left us now in a very sensitive situation. In short, while in Chicago for a queer & trans activist convergence, we were part of an approximately 100 queer and trans folk-crowd walking in Boystown, or, the ‘gay nightclub district.’ Police showed up, and without rhyme, reason, or warning, hit people in the crowd with patrol cars. More cops ran into the crowd and grabbed queers, seemingly at random, and proceeded to beat them with batons and extendable asps. What followed can only be described as bedlam and a bloody evening.
In short personal summary, Kristin was thrown to the ground and beaten with batons by cops, and came out of the night with many abrasions and bruised ribs which developed into pneumonia. Rye (Aly) was thrown by the police onto the hood of a car, beaten from behind, and then thrown on top of a fence, and beaten again. (Both Rye and Kristin sought medical treatment in the ER). Rye was also one of the 4 arrested after being beaten bloody. The 4 arrestees spent the remainder of the night being harassed and tormented in police custody. Please visit http://www.chicagofabfour.blogspot.com/ for a more detailed account of the Fab4′s abuse while in police custody.
As a result of these events, there are now heavy, bogus charges levied against the Fab4: 2 felonies & 6 misdemeanors, collectively. We are in a very tight position, and are working hard to find a free/affordable lawyer. To fight these charges in court, we must raise the majority of the funds to cover the legal fees at hand, as we absolutely cannot afford to pay for this otherwise (not to mention the need to cover travel expenses for the arrestees who cannot even afford to travel to Chicago for our court date, and medical expenses that have consequently arisen from the events of 5-30). It is because of this troubling course of events that we are in great need of direct community support and solidarity.
If any of you are able to contribute financially towards covering the costs that the involved parties are now facing, any amount large or small would be immensely appreciated and go directly to mitigating the costs that have arisen and towards defending Rye and the Fab4 from serious charges. If you have lawyer contacts in the Chicago area, please pass those along to us! If you have some time to organize a show/dinner/workshop benefit, or to do legal support, get in touch! Our top priority is to keep the Fab4 OUT OF JAIL!
Police repression of the LGBTQ community is nothing new, with LGBTQ people of color often bearing the brunt of abuse. Chicago’s Boystown is not an exception, with a long record of police brutality against LGBTQ people of color intertwined with a gentrification process which erases diverse working class and LGBTQ neighborhoods.
More generally, we ask that you stand up for queer & trans rights on a daily basis, both with your actions and materially when our greater communities are faced with bogus charges such as these. A lot of people contributing small amounts really adds up. Regardless of how your solidarity manifests, please spread word of what happened in Chicago and do what you can.
For more info & how to make a secure Paypal donation online, check our website at http://www.chicagofabfour.blogspot.com/ If you feel uncomfortable/are unable to make an online donation, please email us for further info on other $ options.
Lastly, THANK YOU to those of you who have expressed your support and also who have donated already. We appreciate every ounce solidarity and compassion that you’ve shown, and have really felt the community’s presence in incredible ways thus far. Please feel free to contact us, any time! Keep up the good fight!
In Solidarity,
Rye (Aly) Blum
One of the Chicago Fabulous Four,
Cornell University ’09
atb33-at-cornell-dot-edu
Kristin Herbeck
Littlejohn68-at-gmail-dot-com
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