Nonviolence training in Chicago

Hey there, apologies for not posting for ages. At the end of December I was finishing up my job at New Philanthropy Capital, then on the day after Christmas I hopped on the plane to Chicago, where I'm training with Christian Peacemaker Teams for a month, with a view to joining their team in Iraq if this is possible. The training is very intense but I'm doing it with an incredible bunch of people. I've even found a little time to experience local traditions such as deep pan pizza, gunpoint mugging and racism in the police department.

I've been stunned by the segregation here, which I didn't expect in the North. We are sleeping in the First Church of the Brethren, which was one of only two churches in Chicago to open their pulpits to Martin Luther King in 1968. In almost a month of walking 3 miles every day from the church to CPT's offices the only white faces I've seen have been cops (who tend to pull up and ask me, very politely, if I'm lost or need help). After my mugging I was far more shocked by the attitude of the policeman who pulled up when he saw us looking upset and said "these coloured kids are subhuman". Since the mugging I've made a point of greeting people I walk past in the street at night to prevent myself from dehumanising them and assuming they are threats.