Dear John,

Our collective grief is palpable.

Hours before we heard about Daunte Wright, TakeAction members from around the state were gathered online at our annual meeting speaking about the movement to defend Black lives, about George Floyd and Philando Castile, and the grassroots work happening right now to re-imagine public safety in Minneapolis.

The week has been a whirlwind.

On Wednesday, Sizi Goyah, a TakeAction leader from Brooklyn Center and high school math teacher spoke at a press conference with leaders in the DFL Senate People of Color & Indigenous caucus. His words and message to Governor Walz – speaking teacher to teacher - have been ringing in my ears all week. Hear Sizi speak 32 minutes into this Kare 11 video.

Yesterday, TakeAction joined dozens of organizations calling on Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, Mayor Carter, and Sheriff Hutchinson to stop ‘Operation Safety Net.’ Add your voice to this petition. 

On a personal note, I’ve been thinking a lot about the abolition movement. Years ago, I studied at a small Quaker college in North Carolina. Many Quakers were early abolitionists. I keep remembering my 20-year-old self, wandering campus thinking about the land I was on and the history of the area, part of the underground railroad. I remember imagining what it must have been like for those southern Quaker abolitionists who were hundreds of years before their times. Their lesson to me was that it’s never too early to be fighting for real, bold, unapologetic change. There are visionaries among us: will we be quiet enough to listen to them?

If you’re among the people whose first reaction to the piece So you’re thinking about becoming an abolitionist is to scoff at it—I sincerely urge you to read it this weekend. Let me know what you think and what you’re wrestling with.

Lastly, who is in elected office matters. We can go forward, or we can move backward. TakeAction Minnesota endorsed a slate of candidates for Minneapolis City Council who align with our values, and who support re-imagining community safety and a restructuring of our values. As Sizi said, we cannot continue to say we value Black lives while upholding the systems that are taking them.

We do have power in this moment. If you live in Minneapolis, we urge you to sign up to caucus and be a delegate for local elections by April 30. Send an email if you have questions. Learn more with our Busy Voters Guide to Caucuses and Conventions.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:

1. Daunte Wright

Our collective grief is at a breaking point. Justice isn’t sending ex-police officers to jail. It is re-building our systems and society to defend, value, and celebrate Black lives. Justice is repairing past harms through reparations and investing in community. It is delivering a society our communities deserve. Read TakeAction’s statement. Read this coverage in the NYTimes that includes a video of Daunte Wright’s family speaking.

2. Preparing for Daycare

The words of this Facebook post by a David Gray, a Black father in Austin, TX went viral on Instagram. Read it on Facebook or IG.

3. Essay

Read every word of this essay: You. Are. Not. Welcome. Here: Being Black in Minnesota by Michael Kieber-Diggs. Read and share. 

4. Adam Toledo

He was goofy. He had a big imagination and loved zombies, animals, and Taco Bell. He was 13 years old. He was murdered by police. Body camera footage was released this week. We are reeling. His mom shared what Adam was like in this piece in the Chicago Sun Times.

5. Samira's Story

Thousands of people have followed 20-year-old Samira Hassan’s story in Brooklyn Center. One moment she was being interviewed by the Minnesota Reformer in her bathrobe, sharing her fears, frustration, and that she had recently been pulled over by Brooklyn Center police for having an air freshener in her call. Minutes later she and her brother were violently arrested for “probable cause of rioting.” Read her story.

6. Stop "Operation Safety Net"

We join nearly 50 organizations calling on executive leaders to stop Operation Safety Net immediately. Read the story in the Star Tribune. Add your voice to this petition and read our full statement.

7. Restructuring Society

“When you see people call themselves revolutionary always talking about destroying, destroying, destroying but never talking about building or creating, they’re not revolutionary. They do not understand the first thing about revolution. It’s creating.” Read, bookmark, and share this piece called So you’re thinking about becoming an abolitionist.

8. Podcast

Excellent podcast by leaders in Central Minnesota about why we need paid time to care. Listen on iTunes.

9. Climate Refugees

How does the Midwest of the U.S. prepare for climate refugees? Watch this Project Planet piece that takes viewers to Duluth.

10. Big Veggies

LyLy shared this delightful article about the 72 year old British retiree who grows big vegetables and is famous on the Internet. Enjoy these photos and his interview.

That’s a wrap. Send me what you're reading.
- Kenza Hadj-Moussa