On the Ground in Minnesota

In Monday’s edition of the Movement Voter Project newsletter, executive director Billy Wimsatt, on behalf of the MVP team, laid out the extraordinary collection of peaceful actions taking place in Minnesota in response to the invasion of ICE.

We celebrate and support the remarkable, massive, coordinated efforts organized by MVP’s network of on-the-ground partner organizations, grassroots allies, and residents in response to the chaos and cruelty of ongoing ICE actions. Their work is an inspiring example of participatory democracy and reflects the legacy of MLK – “creative, strategic, and nonviolent civil disobedience…grounded in spiritual discipline [and] centered in their moral clarity.”

Some of the approaches they imagine Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr would advise are being implemented in Minnesota. These include:

1. Observe and record hostile action
2. Continue public protest
3. Pressure corporations to forgo providing hotel and other services for ICE employees and cease allowing ICE to conduct searches and detain workers on their properties
4. Network with other organizers
5. Share knowledge of illegal ICE activities with partner organizations in other states

The MVP newsletter also includes suggestions on how we might get involved and otherwise support MVP and the on-the-ground organizers in Minnesota and make use of the tools they have employed in our own communities. MVP has also set up a rapid response fund for those who are able to contribute.

The work of the organizations and networks involved, supported by MVP for over a decade, sheds some light on why Minnesotans are being targeted by the Trump administration: they’ve learned how to organize – and it works! By listening to the people and building community, they have achieved extraordinary progress with elections, people-supported legislation, and, as we see today, response to crises. (See “The Minnesota Miracle.”)

Please read the entire newsletter, including the p.s., to learn more about the Movement Voter Project, which has inspired, supported, and helped lead and organize year-round grassroots movements in Minnesota and beyond.

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Cheers – on the American Independent Business Association’s 25th Anniversary! 

We’re celebrating AMIBA for “transforming ripples into waves” of the Local Economy Movement. For 25 years, “AMIBA has been at the forefront of a national grassroots campaign to ‘Buy Local’ and value their community’s uniqueness…building strong local, equitable, and sustainable economies.”

Read their lastest newsletter HERE, where they feature David as their ‘local legend’ of the month.

Thank you, AMIBA, for the callout and for your important work to build healthy eco-nomics for all. Best wishes for another 25 years!

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For more of David’s Newsletter Essays, visit HERE… 

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