Heart Out to Minneapolis/ Chinga la Migra
There is a resource list at the end of this post. Please scroll down recipe blog style if that’s what you’re after. 🦋
A red and white poster in the style of a road sign depicting a snow plow with the words “I.C.E. OUT OF MINNEAPOLIS” in all caps and images related to military personnel poking out of the snow. A person stands behind the sign holding it up with only their hands and lower torso visible. They stand in front of a black wall covered in graffiti.
As you can imagine, this isn’t the New Year blog I had planned. It’s certainly not the one I want to write. But once again, the call comes from another direction.
For those who don’t know, I spent the formative part of my adulthood in Minneapolis. It’s a place I call home, where I have many friends, family, and a deeply loved community. Minneapolis is a core catalyst for who I am today, how I move through the world, and the way I do my work, coincidentally, in large part through my work in immigrant rights organizing.
As I’ve been checking in on my loved ones in Minneapolis this week they say, “It’s dangerous and scary, but I’m more safe and less scared than some of my neighbors.” The neighborhood where I used to live and some of my favorite places have been targeted. The streets I walked daily, my favorite hangs, blocks from my best friends’ homes. I keep hearing that it’s even worse than it seems.
I worry about them constantly, every single person in Minnesota, and especially those most directly targeted. My heart is shattered for the immigrants and refugees who came to Minnesota to seek safety when they couldn’t find it at home, to now find themselves repeating traumas. And for the Indigenous people who have been dealing with this for way too long, who are being targeted once again on their own land. It is clear that this actually has nothing to do with immigration at all.
And still, there is so much energy, and support, and dare I say hope. Some are in the streets, some are sheltering, but pretty much everyone I know is doing what they can to support their community. Sharing resources, skills, time and energy. El pueblo unido.
There’s so so much more I want to say. These ramblings might make a little less sense than usual. There’s so much in my heart right now and I'm writing this peeking out from week 2 of a massive migraine flare. I definitely could have just sent out the resource list without commentary. But it feels important to talk about what's going on, to have real, uncurated feelings, to build connections even if they're a little awkward.
And yea, this is why I do what I do. This is what ASCC is all about. I've built my style of evaluation, and my company, around principles of community-building, resource sharing, meaningful reflection, and finding practical, accessible ways to keep moving the work forward. Somehow, it’s all connected.
Below is a list of vetted resources received from folks in Minneapolis. Please support where able. I will continue to add in new resources and update as new information comes in.
Minneapolis labor unions and organizing groups are calling for a general strike Friday 1/23.
In solidarity and big feelings,
Alli