Reparations Won

“The torture and other abuse committed by Burge and officers under his command are a disgrace to the City and to the hard-working men and women of the Chicago Police Department. To remind the City of the injustices that occurred and to ensure that they are not repeated, the City will acknowledge and educate the public about this dark chapter in Chicago’s history.”

- “Reparations for Burge Torture Victims," Memorandum of Understanding

Reparations Won Mandate

Beginning in the 1970s and continuing until the early 1990s, Commander Jon Burge and other officers of the Chicago Police Department systematically tortured African American men in police custody on the city’s Southeast Side. In 2015 a reparations package was passed through the city government that included a $5.5 million fund distributed to survivors, the opening the torture justice center in Englewood, the creation of a permanent memorial recognizing the victims, and ensured that 8th & 10th-grade students attending Chicago Public Schools would be taught about the Burge case and its legacy in their social science classes.

A copy of the City Council Resolution and more information can be found on the City of Chicago website.

Reparations Won Curriculum

The curriculum, “Reparations Won: A Case Study in Police Torture, Racism, and the Movement for Justice in Chicago,” provides for instruction in 8th-grade and 10th-grade social science classrooms.

Chicago Public Schools, with support from community advocates and the Chicago Teachers Union, developed two educational units for teachers and students, as part of Skyline Social Science. Both units of study are included in the 8th & 10th Grade Skyline Social Science curriculum on Safari Montage, and Spanish Translations for student-facing materials are available on Skyline.

Middle School Unit

High School Unit

Reparations Won PD

While Professional Development is not mandatory to access the Reparations Won unit, it is highly recommended that teachers attend professional learning sessions to prepare them to implement the unit.

The CPS Social Science Department’s Reparations Won Professional Learning series supports 8th & 10th grade teachers with preparing for thoughtful facilitation of this critical unit.

We also recommend staff members that will support the implementation of this unit (i.e., Assistant Principals, Counselors, SECAs) attend the Professional Development as well.

During Professional Development, participants:

Build community and belonging with other educators
Reflect on how our identity affects who we are and the choices we make as educators
Deepen their understanding of our city’s history, systems and structures, including structural racism that led to the development of unit
Honor the experiences and legacies of the survivors by hearing from a survivor
Experience core components of the curriculum that support social emotional learning, culturally responsive, and aligned to the Illinois Social Science Learning Standards

100% of participants report that the Rep Won PD meets their expectations

98% of participants report feeling prepared to apply learning from the Rep Won PD into their facilitation of the unit

97% of participants reported feeling satisfied with the session

Additional Supports

City Ordinance SR2015-256

SR2015-256 mandates that 8th and 10th-grade students attending Chicago Public Schools would be taught about the Burge case and its legacy in their social science classes.

Citywide Partners for Reparations Won

The Chicago Torture Justice Center seeks to address the traumas of police violence and institutionalized racism through access to healing and wellness services, trauma-informed resources, and community connection. The Center is a part of and supports a movement to end all forms of police violence. This center was involved in the development of the curriculum and they support teachers with planning to bring a Torture survivor to their classrooms.
The Invisible Institute is a nonprofit journalism production on the southside of Chicago. Their archives contain videos of survivors sharing their stories as well as relevant texts for continuous learning on criminal justice and human rights for our community.
The Chicago Teachers Union was involved in the development of the curriculum. The CTU also provides professional learning on social emotional learning, anti-racist education, and culturally responsive teaching that can support teachers pedagogy and facilitation of this unit.

Invite Torture Survivors to Speak with Your Students

The Department of Social Science partners with the Chicago Torture Justice Center to support teachers in bringing survivors of torture to speak to classrooms across CPS. We strongly encourage teachers to enrich student study of the Reparations Won unit through in-class discussion with survivors, organizers, and activists that are part of the injustice and continuous movement building for healing and justices. We also strongly encourage schools to invest in this powerful learning. Please see below for steps on how to invite a torture survivor to your school.
Torture Survivors - The Chicago Torture Justice Center (CTJC) will work with you to organize a class visit with a survivor.
To request a speaker please complete this form. CTJC will provide additional information regarding the logistics of payment once you fill out the form.

There is a $200 honorarium to compensate survivors for their time.

The Department of Social Science will provide grants to schools that are in need of financial assistance. *Please note: funding is limited and available on a first come first serve basis therefore, let CTJC know if your school is in need of assistance.

Resources

Reparations Won One Pager
Reparations Won Letter to Parents | English & Spanish
Reparations Won Tip Sheet

Contact Information

If you have questions, please email one of the following members of the CPS Social Science Department:

Questions related to the city content mandate: Yamali Rodriguez-Gruger, Social Science Director, yarodriguez@cps.edu
Questions related to the professional learning design: Alayna Washington, 6-12 Social Science Manager, apwashington2@cps.edu
Questions related to the implementation of the unit in High School: Steven Rosemen, 10th Grade HS Social Science Specialist, smroseman@cps.edu
Questions related to the implementation of the unit in Middle School: Nicole Smith-Franklin, 8th Grade MS Social Science Specialist, nsmith-fran@cps.edu

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