Dear John,

Happy Wednesday! Take a walk around the block and enjoy the sun today. If you can, bring a piece of chalk with you and #chalktheblock with neighborhood love notes, rainbows, hopscotch, or helpful reminders, like our climate organizer Magdalena did:

Alt text: A sidewalk block reading “Chalk the block” in purple on the top and “for earth day” in white on the bottom. A blue and green globe with “Wed April 22” is in the middle.

Tag @TakeActionMN and we might feature you in our #dailyjoy posts. We’re also happy to receive whatever is bringing you joy lately.

In the Moment

Today is Earth Day. We’ve got seven ideas for ways you can honor the earth.

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I’m feeling so much gratitude for the incredible climate activists organizing for a better world for all of us: indigenous water protectors, youth climate justice-seekers, farmers tending to and caring for the land, and frontline workers defending our earth with their bodies worldwide. Read about how Amazon tech and warehouse workers are uniting together, what youth activists are demanding for a sustainable future, and this update from organizers on Stop Line 3 amidst the pandemic.

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Trisha’s (our new communications director: welcome!) blog on reproductive labor really resonated with me. As a caregiver, I’ve felt the cracks in our current care system for a long time. The pandemic offers us all an experience to understand just how much we need paid sick and safe time, paid family & medical leave, affordable child care, long-term care, and health care for everyone - including access to abortion and affordable medicine.

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Need to Know

I’ve been thinking about these posts by Subversive Thread on Instagram every since they came out: [link removed]

To Stop Climate Change, We Must Erase White Supremacy - [link removed]

White Settler Colonialism & Capitalism Are Destroying The Planet, Not Poor BI&POC - [link removed]

They acknowledge how deeply connected the fight for our planet is to the fight against white supremacy and capitalism. This line is particularly striking: “The vast majority of waste is produced by the same institutions who hold power. Fighting for our planet, the health of our land, our food, our homes, our communities, is where the fight against capitalism and white supremacy collide.”

I’m finding comfort in Aurora Levins Morales poem, V’ahavta, and in dreaming of a more joyful, better world.

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Spark Change

Minnesotans don't want to die or risk their lives to get back to work--they want to be able to make ends meet while we navigate this crisis together. We need a government #WhoCaresforUs.

Join us (virtually!) this Saturday from noon - 4:00 p.m. to rise in solidarity with workers giving us life during the pandemic.

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Bright Spot

Here’s Duluth reader, Cindy, snoozing in the sun:

Alt text: An orange, white, and black cat is laying down in the sun with its eyes closed.

Send me what you’re reading, what’s making you smile, or just whatever is catching your interest.

[plant emoji],

LyLy
Organizer

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TakeAction Minnesota
705 Raymond Ave. #100
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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