Remember why you protested
A love letter to the people of Minneapolis
How many of you made a protest sign in the last year? As your Sharpie hovered over the paper, or paint brush over cardboard, how did you decide what you would write? What was it that you needed leaders to hear at that moment? What was it that you needed your neighbors to hear? Do you remember what you felt at that moment? Hold that feeling now, my friends.
In the past year, I was out at demonstrations a lot — on Chicago Avenue after the murder of George Floyd, downtown during Chauvin’s trial, in Brooklyn Center. I saw more Minneapolis people join to protest than I ever have in my lifetime. Thousands of us, side by side in grief and rage and a fierce love for a better world. Kids sat on parents’ shoulders, some with signs they had made themselves. Such young teens, 12, 13, 14 years-old, holding one another’s hands, voices united as we chanted “No justice, no peace.” We listened to mothers, fathers, cousins, sisters who had lost loved ones at the hands, knees, guns of the police.
Now go back again. Remember that feeling when you stopped what you were doing because the thing you had to do in that moment was find the paper, cardboard or canvas and tell our leaders and the world that Minneapolis will not, cannot stay the same. Parents, remember the feeling when you had to tell your kids why, every time they turned on the TV, they saw a Black man with a police officer killing him. What did you tell them?
It’s critical that we remember those feelings because things are really hard now. As in any movement for Civil Rights, from the abolition of slavery to Black civil rights in the 1960’s to Line 3 resistance, the government arrests those who protest (police were actually created in response to those abolishing slavery), jails and lengthy court proceedings tie up resources, all as we continue to live under the compounding impacts of the very conditions we are trying to change — fear that a traffic stop could be deadly, the crushing effects of poverty, trying to pay the rent and keep kids safe on minimum wage jobs, fighting a pandemic that overwhelming impacts working class people, people of color. It all grinds on you, you know?
Take a deep breath. Remember that moment in May. Remember the millions of people (yes, it was actually millions) across the globe who marched in the streets together with us. This is our moment to lead, Minneapolis! To take bold steps away from authoritarian legacies and toward safety that’s built on a proven foundation! I stepped up to run for mayor because I want to help us make the bold changes that protect Black lives and build a city with more safety.
Like the Black Panther Breakfast Program, some of the pathways to building a safe community are straightforward. The John Jay Research Advisory Group on Preventing and Reducing Violence identified five evidence-based strategies to stop violence: 1. Improve the physical environment (think more libraries, well-maintained sidewalks, clean air), 2. Strengthen anti-violence norms and peer relationships (think one-on-one mentorship for people who are at risk of being involved in violence, and support resources for those who need help), 3. Engage and support youth, 4. Decriminalization and treatment, and 5. Mitigate financial stress. We create healthy societies by investing in social systems that make sure everyone is housed and has mental, physical, and social support to live a dignified life, and can safely get help when they need it.
I’m running for mayor because I want investment in safety and prevention at the scale of the need. Mayor Frey released his proposed budget on Friday. He wants to spend an additional $27.6M to the police department that is under state and federal investigation. He includes a paltry additional $7M for affordable housing and only $2.6M for youth violence prevention. MPD spends $3.1M every year on the canine unit alone. I believe that we can do better, that we can breathe life into the city rather than “reigniting” it.
Ella Baker said, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.” I know you are tired and that change is hard. Like those early abolitionists who risked it all to free enslaved Black people, we must keep moving forward with fierce love and bold demands, because human life is worth it. Take a breath, friends. Remember that we can win.
