Tag: Violence Prevention

On Saturday, September 7, the Chicago Peace Fellows gathered in Cooper Park in the West Pullman community on the Far South Side to spread peace. Hosted by Pastor Robert Biekman, this event was the second of the Passport 2 Peace series, one of the Chicago Peace Fellows’ summer projects. Each event in the series is being… Continue reading Passport to Peace Draws Together 200 Neighbors

On Friday, August 30, the Chicago Peace Fellows toured the University of Chicago Urban Labs to learn more about the work of the Crime Lab, hosted by Kimberly Smith, associate director of criminal justice initiatives. Kim talked about how the Crime Lab started with the idea to leverage the intellectual capital of the University of… Continue reading Peace Fellows Tour University of Chicago Crime Lab

In his book, “Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance,” Edgar Villanueva makes a strong and needed critique of traditional philanthropy. In many ways, his analysis is similar to that made by my late brother, Phillip Jackson, who was the founding director of the Black Star Project. Phillip was an important inspiration… Continue reading Peace Fellows Explore Decolonizing Philanthropy with Edgar Villanueva

On July 24, a delegation of Chicago Peace Fellows presented their work together thus far to a large meeting of 2019 grantees as well as the funders of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, a coalition of more than 40 Chicago philanthropies and donors who have provided grants to community groups trying to reduce… Continue reading Peace Fellows Present to Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities

On Tuesday, July 23rd, Chicago Peace Fellow Robert Beikman and his organization, Alternatives to Incarceration Collaborative, took a group of youths involved in his restorative justice program to Indianapolis to learn about the 10 Point Coalition and the work they do to tackle the issue of violence in their city. The day started with a… Continue reading Peace Fellows visit 10 Point Coalition in Indianapolis

How has Gather informed the work that you do? Have you made any meaningful connections between Gather and your work? These past few weeks, I’ve been reading “Winners Take All,” by Anand Giridharadas. This book, a sort of “emperor’s new clothes” take on how social innovation projects are packaged in the modern context of wealth,… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Robin Cline

Warm greetings from Uganda! On Saturday, April 20, Youth Leadership for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) organized a community dialogue, called a ‘Kabake,’ where the community was granted a platform to share their experiences and derive solutions. The dialogue was attended by, among others, local council leaders, the police, child rights activists, business men and women,… Continue reading Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

How has Gather informed the work that you do? Have you made any meaningful connections between Gather and your work? I am grateful to the Chicago Peace Fellows for not only increasing my personal capacity as a leader but also increasing the Chicago Alternatives to Incarceration’s Collaborative organizational capacity as well. The skills I have… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Pastor Robert Biekman

Advisors to the Goldin Institute’s Chicago Peace Fellows initiative came together over dinner April 30 to hear updates about the Fellows and discuss the implications of their work in a context of the city’s ongoing crisis of violence. Over plates of pasta at a restaurant across the street from City Hall, Goldin Institute Executive Director… Continue reading Advisors Meet to Discuss the Chicago Peace Fellows Progress

The part of the South Shore community that I represent has a large number of multi-unit apartment buildings with a very transient population. The need for family services was explored by our late pastor, Dr. Ronald J. Behm, who instituted day care services at both the church and our community center. With the increase in… Continue reading UNSUNG HEROES: Becoming a Chicago Peace Fellow