BCA mobilizes in support of immigration, racial justice

BERWYN – Berwyn Community Action, a group of Berwyn residents concerned about immigration and racial justice, is looking to do its part to help the city maintain an environment of stability, safety and diversity.

The group’s recent campaign against racial profiling led the city of Berwyn and the police department to issue statements to address residents’ concerns.

Luz Chavez, a BCA member and Berwyn resident, said the group initially identified the issue after the release of the April 2019 Berwyn Watch newsletter, which has since been retracted.

“We saw people were really angry about it,” said Anna Marin, who founded the group.

Marin said the newsletter encouraged neighbors to racially profile their neighbors.

Specifically, the newsletter article discussed crime in the community, such as burglaries, and noted that they are often committed by career criminals who are transients.

“The appearance of a transient criminal can generally be described as medium to dark complexioned Caucasians, who are often mistaken as Hispanic,” the article said. “Dark hair and eyes are common characteristics.”

Around the time the newsletter was published, Berwyn Community Action started examining statistics made available in the Illinois Traffic Stop Study, which is published by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“We saw that there’s definitely a disproportional rate of how often people of color are pulled over, searched and cited,” Chavez said.

Established in 2017, Berwyn Community Action was formed to advocate for equity and justice for all Berwyn residents.

Past initiatives undertaken by the group resulted in the city creating a Welcoming City ordinance, which discourages any collaboration between Berwyn and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and opting into Cook County’s $15 minimum wage law, which helps promote economic equality.

Membership to Berwyn Community Action has grown over the years.

“The folks who have wanted to do more are folks that have had negative experiences of being discriminated against and that’s why they want to get involved in creating some positive change and positive diversity in Berwyn,” Chavez said.

She added that the organization is gaining traction in the community.

“With the racial profiling campaign, we’ve gotten a lot more likes on Facebook,” she said. “We have more people showing up to our meetings, and people [are] reaching out wanting to find out how to get involved.”

Berwyn Community Action regularly holds meetings to determine how to move forward with its racial profiling campaign.

For information about the organization, visit Facebook and search for “Berwyn Community Action.”