CAIR-Chicago Co-Hosts Vigil for Nabra Hassanen & Charleena Lyles

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Yesterday evening CAIR-Chicago co-hosted a candlelight vigil for Nabra Hassanen and Charleena Lyles.

Nabra Hassanen was a 17 year old Egyptian Muslim girl. She and her friends were returning to the Mosque for early morning prayers during Ramadan, when a hateful driver chased and harassed them. They all escaped except Nabra, who was kidnapped, raped, beaten to death, and dropped in a nearby river. Her death was at first attributed to ‘road rage’ to the incredulity of the public. CAIR who was just taken on by Nabra's family as their official legal representation is calling for a full bias motive investigation.

To add salt to the woud, Nabra's memorial was set on fire yesterday morning, and a suspect has been arrested.

Charleena Lyles was a 32 year old Black disabled mother of 4 and expecting when she was murdered by the police on June 18, 2017. She called Seattle Police Department (SPD) out of fear of a possible break-in from her estranged abusive partner. Instead SPD claimed she had a knife and brutally shot and murdered her in front of her children.

We were honored to share space with so many intersections of community members across the city and deeply appreciate all of the words, love, and prayers, and poetry recited and shared in honor of their lives. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out and helped create a beautiful and meaningful space to mourn, heal, and build. We will only continue to fight longer and harder for you.

Photos: Love & Struggle Photos

This event was co-sponsored by: Muslims Organize, Black Lives Matter-Chicago (BLM-Chicago), For the People Artist Collective (FTP), Assatas Daughters, Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD), Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago (AAAJC)