Joe Eichele

North Market 5-year Anniversary

After half a decade of service, the people of North Minneapolis came together for a celebration of food, health, and community. The North Market 5-year anniversary was held on August 19th in the parking lot just outside of the store. Dozens of people were in attendance and partook in the festivities. 

Market-goers at the event were given a free tote bag, yard sign, and meal ticket for a Quince Mpls Mkt breakfast burrito or Wendy’s House of Soul roll. Alongside these attractions was a host of numerous local businesses selling their wares. Books, jewelry, and artwork filled the lot as more and people roamed from tent to tent. Twin Cities Skaters also set up camp and lent out free roller skates to anyone looking to ride. 

The morning wrapped up with a live dance fitness Afrokaribe class hosted by North Market’s Coach Val. Val and her class enjoyed the sun as their music and dance spread an infectious jitterbug to all those around. Her’s, along with a number of other classes and programs are held each week inside North Market’s Community Room and Conference Room. 

The support of the shoppers, class students, and donors helped make North Market’s first five years so special. The anniversary celebration showcased that they continue to support a non-profit that puts priority on neighborhood needs, provides great food and services for fair prices, and continues to be there for the community of North Minneapolis.

Becca Tripp

PUC’s Jovita Morales on the long fight to get Driver’s Licenses for All

Jovita holding a mic at an event.

Jovita Francisco Morales, an Indigenous Mazahua immigrant from Mexico, has organized Latine community members out of our Waite House Community Center in East Phillips for more than 15 years. “Waite House is kind of like my house. So much is accessible here,” she said.  

After years of fighting, she was one of the leading forces that secured Driver’s Licenses for All in Minnesota during this year’s legislative session. At the end of March and the end of a sabbatical she took to focus on advocacy for the Driver’s Licenses bill with her organization Minnesota Immigrant Movement, she spoke with the Pillsbury United communications team about that recent victory, food access as an organizing tool, and the power of Indigenous women. 

Tell us about your relationship with Pillsbury United. How long have you worked here?
I started volunteering in 2002. In 2005, I started work as a regular employee at Waite House. My first job was smoking cessation work. Then I worked at the front desk as a receptionist. Then I worked in the food shelf. And then I started community organizing during our produce giveaway. 60-100 people were showing up to presentations on produce day. We [eventually] organized those people to fight for municipal IDs and Driver’s Licenses for All. It became statewide.  

Why have driver’s licenses for all Minnesotans regardless of immigration status been such an important issue to you?
I have been working for so many years at Waite House, and I see community every single day that is in need of food. To have no hunger in the community, we have to look at the policy that makes people vulnerable. Having licenses will let people work; they will have money to bring food to their tables and there will be less trauma; this has caused trauma for 20 years.  The system has forced people to take risks and made it hard to take care of themselves by removing their right to a license. There’s a lot you can do with a state ID, like rent housing. The economy will be better because of this. 

You’ve been a leader in the movement since the beginning. How did you get involved?
From 2008-2009, collective tables began to form to lead this initiative. At Waite House, we started as Latinas Creativas which became Mujeres en Liderazga and then Mesa Latina, and then Minnesota Immigrant Movement. We wanted Waite House to do training and development to do something in community. That led us to develop the Driver’s Licenses for All bill and to work on getting municipal IDs in the City of Minneapolis, beginning in 2009. 

Tell us about the process of working for more than ten years to get the bill passed.
We asked many legislators to carry our bill in the beginning and they said no, but former Representative Karen Clark said yes right away. She recommended Scott Dibble in the Senate who passed it to Bobby Joe Champion. Clark and Champion became our fighters. Our first bill was introduced in the state of MN in 2010. We weren’t successful. In 2012, the bill passed the Senate but not the House. Then we passed it three times in the Senate but not in the House. We did work all over the state promoting the need for it. We had so many meetings. We did hunger strikes twice. We were camping every legislative session outside of the Capitol. The weather was so cold. We were also sleeping inside the Capitol at times. Governor Dayton said he wouldn’t support the bill, so we went to all his election events. We did a lot of rallies and marches. At one point Republican Rod Hamilton became the house author. He tried to bring other members, but he couldn’t. Finally, Senator Zaynab Mohamed and Representative Aisha Gomez carried it in the end joined by Senator Bobby Joe Champion and Representative Maria Isa Perez Vega. Most of the work being done was women. We started with women and ended with women. 

Tell us more about the work and power of women in this movement.
I come from an Indigenous community where machismo is still there, adopted from colonialism. Women were minimized and forced to do things. This movement proves that women can do so much, even without degrees. I didn’t have the opportunity to finish high school or go to college but have built so much political connection and power. This movement shows the resources we have—they come from the grassroots community members. When you work with your heart, everything you harvest will be love. 

Now that the law is passed, there’s still quite a bit of work to be done to implement it. What is that looking like?
This month we’ve re-visited ten cities around Minnesota doing education and consciousness work. We’re telling people we won; showing them that this is what happens when you don’t give up and you resist. We talk about what the law means, the story of how we got here, and then the bill itself. We want to prepare people to meet the requirements to get a license. We’re talking about responsibility and driving safely. We want people to take care of Minnesota like they’re taking care of their own lives. 

Do you have other dreams for Minnesota? What are they?
If I had more money, I’d create more programs, especially housing. Especially in rural MN, we can do a lot to use the food system to organize people and change policy. I also want to see paternalistic systems dismantled. If we say we want justice for everybody, or if we say we want to empower community, what does that really mean to us? My experience is that organizations minimize us or take credit for the work that community has done. How do we recognize all the good work without territorialism?  

What are your dreams personally and professionally?
I have been asking myself that. One of my dreams is just to be happy and see people happy. When you see a family that has a lot of love, it’s partly because they are ok. Better jobs and better housing create love and harmony in the family. Need gets in the way of love. We have to share resources and remove barriers in order to live equitably. 

samd@pillsburyunited.org

2020 Election: Our Future Depends on Driving Safe Turnout

For many of us, this fall’s election will be the most consequential of our lifetime. The heath, safety, education, and opportunity in our communities look to be shaped for generations to come by the outcomes.

We know that justice for the most marginalized among us requires making all our voices heard in our political system. Our democracy cannot become truly representative until the demographics of voters and elected officials are reflective of all the people who live and work in our communities.

Because so much is at stake, Pillsbury United Communities is working to make voting as easy and safe as possible this year for our staff and the people we serve.

We will be closed on election day so staff can focus on casting their ballots and getting out the vote. We have also launched an aggressive, inclusive, non-partisan campaign to educate and assist voters in making a safe plan to vote between now and Nov. 3. Big thanks to our funders CAPI, Hennepin County, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits for making this work possible.

Want to help us drive safe turnout during this election? Here are a few ways you can support our work.

  • Make sure your family, friends, neighbors, and other community members have a plan to vote safely. Voting options this year include:
    • Voting by mail/absentee: The CDC recommends voting by mail because of the pandemic. Offer to support folks in signing up for, completing and submitting their absentee ballots (by mail or by dropping them off at a ballot dropsite). FYI, you may only drop off three ballots in addition to your own in one election, according to state law.
    • Vote early at an early voting center between Sept. 18 and Nov. 2. Offer to drive people to the center if that’s possible for you. Early voting is 8am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday, with some weekend hours as the election gets closer.
    • Vote at your polling place on voting day. Offer to drive people to the polls on voting day. Look up a person’s polling place here. Polling places are open 7am-8pm. As long as you are in line by 8pm, you cannot be turned away.
  • Sign up for a non-partisan phone-banking shift with us and encourage others in your network to do the same. These are organized by CAPI and run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm-8pm. Be sure to note you were referred by PUC when you sign up here.
  • We have hired seven outreach specialists to do non-partisan GOTV work in our communities between now and Nov. 3. They speak English, Spanish, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong. If you’d like a specialist to attend an event or other safe gathering of people you are involved with, email KenzieO@pillsburyunited.org.
  • Share GOTV information from your personal social media accounts. PUC has hired two community-based artists to create a multi-lingual, visual GOTV campaign for us. We will distribute digital and physical assets by email and to our centers and enterprises as soon as they are ready.
  • Donate to Pillsbury United’s GOTV efforts here.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

Census 2020: how to get involved

This past week, a diverse group of nearly 50 community members and leaders came together at our Waite House community center for We Count: Immigrants and Refugees, an event held in collaboration with the City of Minneapolis to raise awareness on the significance of counting everyone in Minnesota. With billions of dollars and political power on the table—and knowing that the most vulnerable communities are historically undercounted—the stakes are high. To ensure a complete and accurate count, one thing became clear: It’ll take all of us.

When there’s fear—about what the government will do with peoples’ information, or if landlords will have access to the data, or about who will be knocking on our doors—it’ll take all of us. 

When there’s a barrier—like not being able to fill out the form in your language, not having access to technology, or not understanding the importance of being counted—it’ll take all of us. 

When there’s confusion—about which box to check to identify yourself, what information is required in order to participate, or when misinformation is being spread amongst our communities—it’ll take all of us. 

It’ll take all of us. It’ll take YOU. Sharing accurate, relevant, and reliable information. Having this conversation in our neighborhoods, around our block. In our children’s schools, faith groups, and workplaces. With our families, friends, and colleagues. From trusted voices. 

“Text somebody. Share the information. Post on social media. Maybe host an event. Host a dinner on your block. Bring people together and talk about these issues because in this time when we’re being divided, when we’re being pit against each other, we need to do the opposite. We need to bring more people in,” said Minneapolis city council-member Alondra Cano, one of the evening’s panelists. 

What else can you do? 

Work for the census. Positions are flexible, include weekly paychecks with competitive wages, and are a sure way to ensure your neighbors are counted.  

Form a complete count committee. Grants are currently available for nonprofits, neighborhood groups, churches, schools, or anyone working with a fiscal agent to do census work.  

Sign up to volunteer with us. Door-knock or phone-bank to spread information about the census or even assist others in our computer labs as they fill out their form.  

Collaborate. Don’t underestimate the importance of connecting with each other, building relationships, and sharing best practices on how to move this work forward. Panelist Monica Hurtado, Racial Justice and Health Equity Organizer for Voices for Racial Justice, said, “The census can be a tool for our liberation. And I think that’s key—how we are all in this together…It’s about the Latino community, about the Somali community, about the Asian community, about people experiencing homelessness, about kids who are at high risk of being undercounted. So how do we use this to sit around the table and to be together and to be united and understand that the census is in 2020, but the impact of those numbers is going to last for 10 more years?”  

We have a big challenge ahead of us. And to ensure that we are visible, that we are not erased, and that we are all counted, it’ll take all of us.

meghanm@pillsburyunited.org

Gearing up for Census 2020: We all count

Census 2020: Waite House staff holding "We Count" signs

Medicaid. SNAP. Housing assistance. School meal programs. Child care assistance. Employment and transit services. Head Start. Health and unemployment insurance. The list goes on and on for programs and services that receive federal funding based off of census data. For Minnesota, it’s estimated that the state will lose $28,000 per person over a decade for not counting just one person. So, it’s no surprise that oftentimes it’s the historically undercounted communities that have been historically under-resourced as well.

The census is much more than just a count of who lives here. In addition to it serving as a significant determinant of the allocation of resources to our communities, it also impacts local, state, and national political representation. For this census coming up next year, Minnesota is at risk of losing a congressional seat. And—following the 2010 census results, North Minneapolis actually lost a councilmember. Though the population might actually stay the same (or even increase!), the impacts of not being counted have significant repercussions.

So, what all does this have to do with us? Everything. When resources are underestimated and communities are underrepresented, the opportunity to flourish and thrive diminishes. As an agency who has deep roots in these undercounted communities in Minneapolis—immigrants and refugees, those experiencing homelessness, indigenous communities, low-income households, renters, and more—we have a natural role and responsibility in taking part in census efforts to ensure a complete and accurate count.

We launched our efforts by hosting a census hiring fair at Brian Coyle Center in Cedar Riverside, with hopes to recruit census staff who represent the very communities they have a hard time reaching. As a registered Complete Count Committee with the Census Bureau, we plan to continue our efforts by engaging in culturally relevant outreach and engagement via our direct service programs, community events and info sessions, awareness through our media outlets North News and KRSM Radio, door-knocking, and more. With this being the first census where online participation is encouraged, we also plan to host open computer lab times to assist community members with this task, recognizing the very real digital divide in our community when it comes to technology access and literacy. Not only that, but with the census collecting responses in only 13 languages (none of which are Somali or Oromo), it’s imperative that our staff, who collectively speak 19 languages, are equipped to assist in these efforts.

Lastly, engaging with our communities to help participate and take leadership roles in these outreach efforts will be key. We want to provide the tools and support needed for folks to be part of the systems and solutions that impact their lives, recognizing it’s important that those who are doing much of the outreach reflect the communities they’re trying to reach. Especially with fear of government entities so prevalent, it’s trust and connection that will effectively get the message across.

Ultimately, the Census means more resources coming into our communities and fair representation, political power. But it also just means – you exist. We exist. We count. We are here and this is our home.

Want to volunteer or partner with us in our census efforts? Contact Meghan: MeghanM@pillsburyunited.org, 612-455-0388.

Kim Pepper

Serving with a smile at People Serving People

EPIC program participants volunteering with People Serving People

Every Tuesday, volunteers from our Employing Partners in Community (EPIC) Program are at People Serving People to assist with building beautification. This is a partnership that has been in place since 2010. Its just one of the many places where program participants and staff volunteer each week.

The EPIC Program, based at the Pillsbury House, is all about skill building, involvement in our community and making memories. Volunteering is practice that provides program participants a chance to gain and strengthen work skills while also helping others and integrating in the community.  At People Serving People, EPIC helps with the janitorial services and that’s a big job. There are seven floors and a long list of housekeeping tasks that need to be done on each floor. Tasks include sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and cleaning windows. After the work is completed, People Serving People kindly provides a hot meal in exchange for the work. Some of the volunteers favorites are beef nachos, tacos, and smothered chicken.

Kim Pepper

Sisterhood Boutique celebrates diversity with style

Models at the Sisterhood Boutique fashion show

On March 5, 2019 Sisterhood Boutique celebrated its fifth anniversary with a fashion show. The boutique was started by Somali and east African girls as safe space to learn skills like financial literacy, leadership and sewing by running their own business selling secondhand clothes.

“We do a lot of things and the fashion show is a way to show the community what we’ve been doing. We’ve had over 200 people go through the process,” said store manager Amal Muse.

The fashion show is part birthday party, part fundraiser and features models of all shapes and sizes wearing looks designed by students from the University of St. Catherine’s Advanced Construction Class to reflect the diversity found in the West Bank neighborhood where the boutique is located.

“We have women wearing traditional hijabs and burkas; there’s everything. It really runs the gamut of what you would see walking around in a very fashionable Minneapolis,” said Julie Graves, Director of Career & Future Readiness.

For some of the girls involved with store, the show is a chance to strike a pose, while for others, it’s one more example that the Sisterhood Boutique lives up to its name.

“It’s very family-like. You feel like you are part of a sister family. I don’t have sisters, so I gained sisters,” Ali said.

Kim Pepper

Plays on the political divide, by and for women at Pillsbury House Theatre

Performance at Pillsbury House + Theatre

Every year since the spring of 2017, Pillsbury House Theatre has produced a series of new 10-minute plays called The Great Divide. Featuring five brand-new 10-minute plays by local playwrights, The Great Divide is a response to the deeply partisan political climate that has become our new normal.

For this year’s installment, titled She Persists: The Great Divide III, Pillsbury House Theatre focused on women’s stories, commissioning plays from local playwrights Cristina Florencia Castro, Casey Llewellyn, Oya Mae Duchess-Davis, Philana Omorotionmwan and Aamera Siddiqui. In addition to the playwrighting cohort, She Persists also featured an all-woman production team and cast, starring Ashawnti Sakina Ford, Audrey Park, Nora Montañez & Sara Richardson.

“These are really politically driven shows, and a few of them deal with the future,” said actress Nora Montañez. “These women, these playwrights took in the theme, and then they went with it, and it’s absolutely gorgeous how different each of these plays are, and how it affects the audience seeing what currently is happening and what could possibly happen in the future.”

Written and performed by and for women, She Persists was a powerful, intersectional look at the place where womanhood and politics collide. To learn about Pillsbury House Theatre’s current season, visit http://pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org/mainstage/

meghanm@pillsburyunited.org

A special space for women at the Cedar Riverside ‘Women’s Night Out’

East African cultural event at Brian Coyle Center

Brian Coyle Center’s Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Program hosted their 13th annual ‘Cedar Riverside Women’s Night Out’ on March 23rd. It was another beautiful event celebrating the women and multiculturalism of the Cedar Riverside community. As always, the event provided dinner, entertainment, resources and more for women as they network and learn about opportunities in the Twin Cities.

This year, guest speakers included world-renowned Somali sister Pop/R& B music duo FAARROW and Dr. Farhiya Farah from Saint Mary’s University. We even had a surprise guest speaker—Minnesota’s First Lady Gwen Walz! Following dinner, community members had a chance to proudly show off their traditional clothing. Without a doubt, the most popular part of the night was when the women gathered in a circle to dance buraanbur. It was an energizing expression of cultural pride and unity amongst a diverse gathering of women.

Thanks to our dedicated planning partners and sponsors: Augsburg University, The Cedar Cultural Center, Mixed Blood Theatre Company, The University of Minnesota, City of Minneapolis Government, Sisterhood Boutique, Urban Hub: Interfaith Partners in Cedar-Riverside, West Bank Community Development Corporation, & Minneapolis Police Department

meghanm@pillsburyunited.org

Celebrating multiculturalism in Cedar Riverside

Multicultural dinner at Brian Coyle Center

For over 20 years, the Cedar Riverside Multicultural Dinner hosted by our Brian Coyle Center has stood as a joyful reminder that differences should be celebrated; that even if we look, talk, or worship differently—we are all part of one greater community. This is a unique opportunity for all those connected to the Cedar Riverside community to enjoy international cuisine from local restaurants, watch live performances, and most importantly connect with each other.

“The purpose,” says Brian Coyle Center Director, Amano Dube, “is to bring all the multicultural community groups—residents, business owners, institutions, elected officials, and other service providers—who are living, learning, and working in the Cedar Riverside community to come together and share a delicious meal, stories, and overall just to get to know each other. It is truly a place where everyone belongs.”

This year, about 400 people enjoyed performances by Nigerian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter Carolyne Naomi, dances by the Oromo Student Union (U of M), and spoken word artists. This event is planned in partnership with Mixed Blood Theatre, Augsburg University, University of Minnesota, Urban HUB, the City of Minneapolis, and the Cedar Cultural Center, and is made possible thanks to over 15 sponsors.

meghanm@pillsburyunited.org

Waite House Harvest Dinner connects and celebrates

Thanksgiving celebration at Waite House

Waite House Community Center in the Phillips Community of South Minneapolis is one of the most diverse communities in the state and arguably, the country. Our annual Harvest Dinners are a way to celebrate all the various cultures that are alive in that community, as well as a vibrant opportunity to just simply bring people together. It all begins with connection. By connecting, we can begin to change the things that we want to be changed.

This year on November 15th, we saw about 400 community members, partners, neighbors, and friends attend our event. Guests enjoyed performances by Ecuadorian dance group Away Runakuna, the Michael Norcross Drum Group, and Chinelos San Pablo Apóstol de Axochiapan, Morelos (Mexico). We also hosted kids activities, a pretty popular photo booth, backpack giveaway, and a delectable menu from our in-house Executive Chef Jose featuring buffalo and vegetable tamales, llapingachos (potato cakes), veggies from the Waite House and Mashkiikii Gigitan gardens as well as fall squash desserts. Overall, it was an evening of great food, amazing performers, fun activities, and most importantly—community.

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