Frank Chapman and Catlyn Savado may be from two very different generations, but they’re both fighting for Black liberation in Chicago and beyond.
Chapman, 82, is a longtime activist and executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). Recently, he sat down with 17-year-old youth organizer Catlyn Savado. They’d never been in conversation before; however, their respective work has been critical in transforming politics in Chicago.
Click play to watch the conversation between Frank Chapman and Catlyn Savado
Chapman is one of the leading organizers that was part of the decades-long push for police accountability. Chapman was part of the coalition that advocated for the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) which created an elected civilian oversight board of Chicago residents to oversee the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).
In 2022, as a 9th grader, Savado led a district wide Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student walkout to protest the exclusion of student voices surrounding the return to in-person learning during the pandemic.
The TRiiBE facilitated a discussion between the two, centering the future of the Black liberation movement and the role of young people in it.
Together, they underscore the need for practical and ongoing action, community control of police, holding elected officials accountable and rejecting revisionist single-leader narratives in the movement.
This intergenerational conversation is a reminder that our liberation is a collective fight, driven by both the wisdom of our elders and the vision of our youth.
The post In conversation: A Gen Z organizer talks Black liberation with Frank Chapman appeared first on The TRiiBE.
