Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) is a branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), a radical-left activist organization that works on issues that it considers to be racist or targeting poor communities. ¹

History

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression was founded in 1973 by the parent organization National United Committees to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, referring to Communist and Black Panther Angela Davis who had been charged with murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy but was later acquitted. ^{1 2 3}

Activities

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression claims that there exists today “police occupation of communities and mass incarceration,” which deprives people of democracy and liberation. The organization describes itself as a “Black-led, left-led organization of working and oppressed people” fighting for the rights of those it believes were wrongfully convicted. ^{1 4}

On its website, CAARPR hosts a calendar listing both its own meetings as well as court dates of racial minorities accused of crimes. CAARPR has also hosted rallies to support people, especially residents of Chicago, whom it asserts were unjustly targeted or harmed by police, including Dexter Reed and Lester Owens. ¹

CAARPR also produces a seasonal newsletter. In its fall 2024 newsletter, the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression promoted what it called a referendum for community power over policing. CAARPR stated in its newsletter that it was attempting to force the Chicago City Council to pass an ordinance to put a community power over policing referendum on the ballot for the March 2026 election, but that the vote lost in the city council rules committee “by a hefty margin.” ^{5 6}

If passed, the referendum would make the Chicago Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability comprised of nine elected and two appointed positions, with the appointed positions being reserved for ex-prisoners and youth, and give the restructure commission the power to negotiate contracts with the Fraternal Order of Police and to set the Chicago Police Department budget. ⁴

During the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August 2024 held in Chicago, CAARPR participated in a series of marches on the DNC, including speaking positively of the Coalition for Justice in Palestine’s march. Following the demonstrations, CAARP stated it would “Stand in unconditional solidarity with our Palestinian comrades […] as they continue to fight to end all US aid to Israel.” Speakers at the march included Merawi Gerima of CAARP, Nazek Sankari of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and Tania Unzueta of Mijente.  ⁷

CAARPR also runs the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Torture (CFIST), a campaign to end what it calls “police torture and wrongful conviction” including the “pardoning of all torture survivors.” According to CAARPR, the Chicago Police Department has “a long history of torturing people into confessions” and that “corrupt judges have made it nearly impossible to convict dirty cops.” ⁸

Additionally, CAARPR hosts a petition calling for the Illinois Department of Corrections to restrict the use of solitary confinement for inmates, calling isolation a “tool of repression to punish those who speak out on their mistreatment within prisons.” As of November 2024, the petition reportedly had 1,106 signers. ⁹

The day after the November 5, 2024, election of Donald Trump as the 47^th President of the United States, CAARPR joined an anti-Trump march in downtown Chicago where members held a banner saying “End the Trump Era. Stop White Supremacy.” ¹⁰

1. “CAARPR.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.caarpr.org/
2. “Angela Davis.” National Museum of African American History and Culture. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://nmaahc.si.edu/angela-davis.
3. “Life Story: Angela Davis (1944 – ).” Women & The American Story. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/feminism-and-the-backlash/angela-davis/.
4. “Referendum for Community Power Over Policing.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://docs.google.com/document/d/145b-9Z5d8VK_3kXepPIn7LSZxMinkgbEiwHldXy1Rd0/edit?emci=25013a90-0485-ef11-8474-6045bda8aae9&emdi=24882858-7f8c-ef11-8474-000d3a98fa6b&ceid=5736453&tab=t.0.
5. “Newsletter.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.caarpr.org/newsletter.
6. “Fall 2024 Newsletter.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024.
7. “Fall 2024 Newsletter.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.caarpr.org/newsletter/fall-2024-newsletter.
8. CFIST.” CAARPR. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.caarpr.org/cfist.
9. “Pass the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act Now.” CAARPR. Accessed November 2024. https://www.caarpr.org/anthony-gay-bill-petition.
10. “Update.” @thestustudio. X.  Tweet on November 6, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2024. https://x.com/thestustustudio/status/1854351421635776680.