Prison Culture

Feb 23 2013

F.L.Y Youth & Allies Demand A Southside Trauma Center (with photos)

by Sarah Jane Rhee

I missed today’s protest by F.L.Y. Youth and their allies demanding that the University of Chicago drop charges against protesters and open a trauma center that can serve everyone on the Southside. Here are some of the youth speaking for themselves:

CBS News described the protest:

Around 70 protesters marched on the University of Chicago Medical Center demanding the school provide a Level 1 trauma center to the surrounding South Side neighborhoods.

Veronica Morris-Moore said the university and Chicago Police have both been hostile to the group’s demands.

“We were here four weeks ago to do a sit-in at the $700 million research building and we were basically
attacked and brutalized by the police when we came here. So yeah, we have gotten some response but not the response we are looking for,” said Morris-Moore.

Currently, trauma victims on the South Side are taken miles away to hospitals in other parts of the city. The University of Chicago closed its adult trauma center back in 1988, calling it a drain on the school’s finances.

Once again, my friend, the super talented Sarah Jane Rhee was at the protest and took some amazing photographs. She describes the events below:

On Saturday, Feb. 23rd, led by the youth of F.L.Y. (Fearless Leading by the Youth), protesters marched on the U of C Medical Center demanding that all charges against the 4 protesters violently arrested by UCPD a few weeks ago be dropped and that trauma care be expanded at the UCMC to help reduce the suffering caused by the violence in the community. The march continued to the home of U of C’s president, where protesters symbolically covered their mouths with stickers labeled with phrases such as “Drop the Charges,” “Free Speech,” “Community First,” and “Healthcare for Everyone.”