HOW WE CAN HELP HEAL AND UPLIFT OUR COMMUNITY

When was the last time you were in Uptown? If it’s been a while, you might not recognize the place anymore. Uptown, downtown and other parts of Minneapolis look more like ghost towns than the thriving business corridors they used to be. That’s what a pandemic and two straight summers of violence will do.
The good news is that this year can be different. But we have to act fast. After the killing of Amir Locke by Minneapolis police on a no-knock warrant, many communities across the city are far beyond a tipping point.
This is a serious moment. People across Minneapolis are in deep suffering and pain. They are angry and hair-trigger ready to take offense and fight. Many of the people who feel this way are young people of color. They know their civil rights history. They know the struggles of civil rights icons like Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. Du Bois and Stokeley Carmichael. They witnessed the sacrifices of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. They know Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were killed fighting for justice.
Ever since the murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis has felt as if it is teetering on the brink of disaster. But violence and destruction are not the solutions. That type of response will only perpetuate more violence and trauma. We need to break this cycle of abuse. We need to help people – especially young people – channel all of their anger and rage into a positive force. We need to help transform our violent culture.
How many more acts of brutality will it take? How many more carjackings, armed robberies and murders? How many more people have to get hurt or die before people wake up and realize what we are doing is not working? This is no way to live. Violence has become normalized, and we have been desensitized to it. People have become hardened by the pain and numb to the trauma.
There have to be consequences for wrongdoing, but we can’t sentence our way out of this. We have to look at the underlying issues and get to the roots of the problems. We need to reframe our approach. The old path is not working. We need a new path forward.
We need a plan that increases funding in community programming to advance public safety and equal rights. We need to give all students and young adults in Minneapolis the tools they need to reduce violence, become leaders in the community and succeed in life.
We need to provide mental health services with culturally competent therapists to help people overcome historical barriers.
We need to show students how to control their emotions, resolve conflicts without violence, break cycles of trauma, build resilience and foster reconciliation.
We need to provide life skills training, including reading, writing, math, money management, cooking, grocery shopping, self-care, gardening, home/car/bike maintenance, parenting.
We need to provide work skills training, job and intern programs, career counseling, youth entrepreneurship opportunities, and workforce development.
We need to provide peacebuilding activities, including arts, music, after-school programs, meditation, sports, mentoring and positive engagement with adults.
We need to provide intergenerational community mentorship from a diverse group of community members with decades of experience across industries.
We need to offer community gathering space, special peacebuilding events, and alternatives and employment to redirect lives.
We need to stand with the demonized so the demonizing will stop.
We need to stop throwing people away.
All of this takes money. Lots of money. And that money is available. Minnesota has a $7.7 billion projected budget surplus, the largest in state history. The state’s legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz will decide where that money goes, and they need to start investing in all people’s aspirations toward wealth and all people’s will to make a better future for their children or community. We are not talking about giving thousands of dollars. We are talking about millions.
People are sick and tired of being sick and tired. The time for talking about reform is over. We need actions that move toward transformation. We need to give the money to people in the community who can make a difference and make real change happen. And we need to start today.
To learn more or get involved, visit bit.ly/mplspublicsafety.