the chemistry between grief and hope
On June 16, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice found reasonable cause to believe that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department engage in “a pattern or practice of conduct that violates people’s constitutional or federal rights”.
To residents of Minneapolis, these findings are long overdue. And, our insights and experiences with community safety could help inform the future of MPD. Attend a listening session with the Department of Justice to share your experiences and ideas:
Thursday, August 10, 2023 | 6:30-8:00pm CDT
Topic: Discriminatory Policing
Farview Recreation Center
Thursday, August 17, 2023 | 6:30-8:00pm CDT
Topic: Americans with Disabilities Act
Northeast Recreation Center
Week of August 21, 2023 | 6:30-8:00pm CDT
Topic: First Amendment and Use of Force
Location Pending
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 | 6:00-7:30pm CDT
Virtual | Zoom Link Forthcoming
We recognize that bureaucracy is a mode of white supremacy culture. It’s been used to string us along, burn us out, and extract our labor, all while retraumatizing us. And, for our community members with the capacity to engage, it has the potential to be a powerful form of advocacy.
Last month, the Minneapolis City Council passed a motion to stop MPD’s 3rd precinct from being rebuilt at its old site, where protesters burned it down following George Floyd’s murder by an officer of that precinct. Refusing to resurrect this building at the site of community pain and police violence, and refusing to allow our collective memory of the violence that has been done to us to be erased, are victories for the people.
This spring, we collectively jumped through the hoops that bureaucracy demanded of us and relived our trauma to make our voices heard at city-sponsored listening sessions. These listening sessions could have been used to appease us without actually hearing us. However, because of the strong support of leaders elected from our communities, leaders who’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with us, and who remain committed to working with us, this time the will of the people was heard and made law.
The Department of Justice’s listening sessions and this fall’s municipal elections are an opportunity to build our power and momentum, and keep taking action for the change and care we desperately need.
In the midst of taking all this action, we need to take care. We mourn the lives that have been stolen this week.
Ricky Cobb II was shot and killed by Minnesota State Troopers on Sunday night after being pulled over because of a broken tail light.
On Saturday, O’Shae Sibley was killed by a group of men while voguing with his friends at a Brooklyn gas station.
We will mourn them, and we will remember them in the fullness of their lives and the promises of their futures. We will allow ourselves to feel grief and fear and anger. We will take care of and protect each other, and ourselves.
Opportunities for connection, learning, and action:
Support O’Shae Sibley’s family as they cover his funeral expenses
“I do feel that there is an intense chemistry between grief and hope. It’s a sad situation, but it’s good to be hopeful. It’s what we all need. Despair is the enemy. We cannot fall for this trap at all. Despair and desperation. That’s what they want us to live through. We want to be hopeful, we want to give love and we want to do all we can to our people and to our communities.” Learn how Palestinian organizers honor their grief by practicing hope.
In Minneapolis, we’re putting the future we’re organizing towards into practice with nonviolent behavioral crisis response teams. “Since their launch in Dec. 2021, BCR workers have answered more than 8,000 calls, and zero responders or community members have been injured during those responses.”
Relationships Evolving Possibilities (REP) is holding one more information session for BIPOC community members interested in volunteering. Attend on August 8.
Minnesota’s overwhelming Whiteness is neither accidental nor incidental, and racial exclusion’s legacy is very much woven into the state’s contemporary politics, economy, and culture. Learn about our state’s history of exclusion and inequality with the East Side Freedom Library on August 10.