Cicero Independiente’s Efforts to Document Our History Recognized Nationally

Audio interviews by: Irene Romulo
Produced by April Alonso and edited by Jesus J. Montero

This week, Cicero Independiente won the Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism and the Breaking Barriers Award from the Institute for Nonprofit News for our series Unrest in Cicero How One Day Shook a Town. Our team published the 11 part series in English and Spanish and distributed a print edition throughout Cicero and Berwyn in August 2020. The print edition will be a part of the historical archives at the Cicero Public Library. 

Last year, as people protested for racial justice all over the world, we witnessed a different kind of uprising in Cicero and Berwyn. 

Cicero and Berwyn are both formerly sun-down towns where the deeply rooted anti-Black racism of the past still exists. 

Our team used extensive on-the-ground reporting, FOIAs, in-depth interviews, social media posts, publicly available videos, community contributions, many of them from high school students, and hours of police scanner recordings to document the vigilante violence, inadequate government response and the organizing movements that emerged in June 2020. 

The series took a mainly volunteer team weeks to put together. Unlike other newsrooms that came and went on the day of the unrest, we carefully documented an entire week in Cicero history. The series is a hard reminder that history will repeat itself unless interrupted by people who courageously speak up and are willing to disrupt violence. It is an ugly look inside the anti-Black racism that resides in Latinx communities. The series also highlights the residents and groups who mobilized community-wide solidarity efforts after June 1st and offers tools for people who want to take action and ensure this does not happen again. Last year, we asked readers what they thought about the series. This is some of what they said: 

I was hearing a lot about [what happened] in the news that didn’t come off the right way but the articles captured what happened accurately. 

What stood out is how we would finally get more details of why the events on June 1st happened and the aftermath. I myself thought that there were people breaking into houses and going into negocios until I found out that it was overexaggerated on the most part, and that the police could have done more to prevent conflict from happening. 

The one on Victor. It could’ve been me. It was written with heart for heart. Very emotional.

I loved the article about the history of racism in Cicero and how June 1st was a reminder of the work that has yet to be done.

Being able to so closely gain more clarity into what our community went through that day

Learning about Victor felt meaningful and important to commemorate his life and recognize the complexities he found himself in on that terrible day

I liked how different perspectives were documented and heard from resident's directly.

Since that week in June 2020, numerous groups have emerged in Cicero and Berwyn to host anti-racism study circles, healing sessions, hold elected officials accountable, build community and demand space for Black residents. 

In June of this year, we hosted a virtual community session to learn more about what people have been up to since last year. The event was gut-wrenching as speakers recounted their experiences from the year prior. But it was also hopeful. They all extended invitations for us to engage in transformative local efforts. 

Many in our community, as well as our journalists, are still dealing with the intense emotional and psychological effects of that week. But we’re hopeful that change is happening. 

A deep thank you to all those who trusted us with their stories. 

Consider making a donation to our newsroom so that we can continue bringing you important local news. You can do so here. 

Cicero Independiente team: 

April Alonso

Abel Rodriguez

Ankur Singh

Irene Romulo

Jesus J. Montero 

Luis Velazquez

Translators: 

Elida Ortiz

Jayre Vazquez

Leslie Hurtado 

Timeline design:

Bea Malsky 

Layout design of print edition: 

Haley Tweedell 

Illustrators and photographers: 

Jonathan Aguilar

Alyha Khalil 

Adelaida Montero

MoneyPhotography

Community contributors: 

Shapearl Faulkner-Wells

Rodrigo Anzures-Oyorzabal

Gerardo Nava 

Angel Sanders

Emily Reynoso  

Brenda Rodriguez