February 1st, 2025, 11am – 1pm, Corner of Summit Ave and Snelling Ave, St. Paul, MN

Join us for a National Day of Action on Saturday, February 1st, where we will rally locally in coordination with dozens of other SURJ communities across the US who have all asked local power holders to sign the Pledge to Protect and Resist. Here in the Twin Cities, we are asking Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to sign the pledge. 

This pledge and action are designed to find our allies in power and ask them to pledge to protect our communities and resist Trump’s anti-democratic and immoral orders. Then we can hold them accountable in the months and years to follow. 

Be part of the resistance and underlying movement to move us forward, together, while centering racial justice, equality and collective liberation.

Join us: https://actionnetwork.org/events/surj-national-day-of-action-2

Take a moment to pledge to protect your neighbors and resist Trump’s immoral and antidemocratic agenda.  There are over 900 signatures across the country already.

“I PLEDGE to show up to protect the rights, safety and dignity of people in my community and resist Trump’s antidemocratic and immoral agenda consistent with the principles of nonviolence.”

Sign the Pledge: https://www.mobilize.us/surj/event/749102/

We have asked Gov Walz and Lt Gov Flanagan via their online contact form to sign our pledge but we haven’t heard back yet. Since we know there’s power in numbers, please reach out to them by calling or posting something on threads/bluesky if you feel inclined! 

Phone number: 651-201-3400 (email showingupforracialjusticemn@gmail.com for a sample script)

Example bluesky/threads blurb:

Community leaders, elected officials, faith communities, local groups, institutions and organizations across the country are signing on to the Pledge to Protect & Resist to signal their commitment to show up for targeted communities and refuse MAGA’s authoritarian agenda. We are asking @govenorwalz.mn.gov @mngovernor and @ltgovflanagan.mn.gov @ltgovflanagan to sign the pledge to show up to protect the rights, safety and dignity of people in our community and resist Trump’s antidemocratic and immoral agenda consistent with the principles of nonviolence. https://www.protectandresist.com/

We had a fabulous chapter meeting with 62 attendees from around the Twin Cities. Together we planned our Day of Action on February 1st in St. Paul. We narrowed a list of people in power in the Twin Cities who we will invite to sign the pledge to protect the rights, safety and dignity of people in our community and resist Trump’s antidemocratic and immoral agenda consistent with the principles of nonviolence.

Update on Federal Consent Decree and a MN Court Enforceable Agreement for MPD

On January 5th the Minneapolis City Council accepted the Federal Consent Decree drafted by the US Department of Justice! The full document is 171 pages–here are some key points:

• The Council voted 12-0 in favor. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristin Clarke traveled to Minneapolis for the announcement, which included Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. 

• The MN Department of Human Rights had already levied a Court Enforceable Agreement on the MPD in July 2023. This means we have two government agencies, both dedicated to justice, simultaneously instructing the MPD on how to come into compliance. Neither or both of these by themselves will solve the many problems MPD makes for the people of Minneapolis. Community engagement, and truth-telling, will be needed. Both agencies say they intend to solicit that input.

• Fox News provided a surprisingly useful summary of the situation, including two videos–one with activist Michelle Gross–at their website (!) 

Here are excerpts from their reporting:

“…The consent decree will have the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) instituting both a Force Investigation Team to review use of force in the department, and a Force Review Board. 

“MPD will also be implementing strategies to help further collaboration between police and community members. The department will also receive additional training on behavioral health responses… 

“…The department will adopt policies related to the First Amendment, to help community members and journalists to exercise their First Amendment rights while also maintaining public safety.”

When Ward 9 Council Member Jason Chavez offered a new proposal for the future of George Floyd Square on December 5th, it was narrowly voted in!

The existing Community Visions Council (CVC) has been meeting monthly in a couple different ways for years. We are up for the job!  We are entrusted to shape a community-powered vision by June 2025. This group is facilitated and guided by Square Keeper elders who have tended to GFS from day one.

Basic principles of the group include: 

• No displacement of current residents

• Reparations for legacy residents who were forced out by higher taxes and disruption

• Knock on doors, organize the residents of Ward 8 & 9 (which share GFS geographically) to bring us together around this opportunity

• Draw up a plan for an accessible, vibrant, welcoming George Floyd Square

• Honor the sacredness of the site

On Saturday, January 18, the existing group was bolstered with new folks who are buoyed by this news. About 35 people split into 3 working groups: Residents [close to the Square], Businesses [in and around the Square], Physical Design of and Placement in the Square . 

Several SURJ-TC members have attended these meetings, and will continue. Feel free to email surjtc.members@gmail.com if you are thinking of putting time into the CVC.

As reported in our email at the end of October, the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission meets monthly in open session, to advise the City Council on ways to move forward with reparations to historical harms to communities and families affected by chattel enslavement.  The 2025 schedule anticipates meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month from 6 to 8 pm (until November, when they move to Monday nights to avoid holidays).  All meetings will be at the Rondo Community Library except that in February, which will be at the Frogtown Community Center, 230 Como Avenue.

In addition, community listening sessions will be starting soon.  These will be in neighborhoods where lots of descendants of chattel enslavement live.  The commissioners want to hear from those people about their own hopes and desires for reparations.  Anyone can come to these listening sessions, including people of European descent, although we should be prepared to listen more than speak!  The dates and locations of these listening sessions will be posted on the Reparation Commission’s website when they’re confirmed.

The commission will compile a report on the harms caused by the City of St. Paul to communities and families affected by chattel enslavement.  

SURJ-TC is a local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice, a national organization organizing white people to build the political will to end white supremacy. White people have been told for years by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) that we need to educate and organize our own people. So that’s what we try to do. Learn more at www.surjtc.org. SURJ-TC is one of 150 chapters and affiliates nationwide. Learn about SURJ National at surj.org.

Our work is local and so are our volunteers. Within this volunteer-driven culture, we strive always to make our work as transparent and non-hierarchical as we know how while holding ourselves accountable to our mission of ending white supremacy and implementing our theory of change (i.e., self-education, action, and calling in more white people).

We welcome volunteers in our working groups and teams and can offer a variety of tasks and areas of interest. If you’d like to find out more or are interested in other ways to get involved, email showingupforracialjusticemn@gmail.com.

SURJ-TC is now able to accept online donations via PayPal! Visit our donate page and click the “donate” button to set up your one-time or recurring donation!

How will your donation be used? We are an all-volunteer group, and your donations will be put to good use, to help our chapter cover things like:

• Compensating BIPOC partners for their time reviewing SURJ-TC curriculums
• Supplies and shipping costs for movement projects
• Occasional chapter program costs
• Basic monthly operating costs such as Zoom, our database, e-newsletters and action reminders, and our website.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

In solidarity,

Your friends at SURJ-TC