In this moment we ask ourselves: how do we best show up for one another?

The answer: active radical care and love.  What does that look like?  For us that means standing firmly with our community; listening deeply and working in solidarity.  Our centers and programs are open. Today we are working hard to meet the ever-increasing needs of our neighbors while facing the same threats ourselves. While we are not new to crisis, this manufactured chaos and lawless assault feels different. Here are some of the ways we are activating care and love: 

On Saturday, January 17, a small group of anti-Muslim agitators and aggressors have planned an action in Minneapolis.  We will be following the guidance of our partners in Cedar Riverside about how to support within the neighborhood where our beloved Brian Coyle Center stands as a second home to so many.  We encourage our friends and allies to do the same. 

Beginning on Tuesday, January 20, we will be collecting donations of food and provisions at North Market Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM-9:30 AM to help facilitate and disseminate support across our networks.  This rapid response is one of many strategies we are using to help get food for people who are too afraid to leave their homes. 

On Friday, January 23rd, labor unions, immigrant rights organizations, community groups and faith leaders across Minnesota are calling for a “Day of Truth and Freedom” — a statewide economic blackout with the call of no work, no school, no shopping to stand against federal immigration enforcement and honor the life of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by a federal ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. We will be closed in solidarity to support and hope you will join us. 

Lastly, we are setting up a Rapid Response Fund. This fund will allow us to continue to provide food, space for legal representation, personal care items, community connection and critical services and resources for our community as we navigate this terror with care and love. We will continue to show up for our community in these ways because that is what being a loving and caring neighbor looks like. 

Please stay connected and support one another during this moment of collective action.  

In Solidarity,

Anthony Washington
President & CEO