We are at our best when we come together to take action as a strong community. By Wednesday of this week, Minnesotans for a Fair Economy (MFE), TakeAction Minnesota, and partners had already taken action about 10 times. Longtime activists and newbies alike have taken to the streets together to make change.
For a lot of us, this idea of taking action was scary. People are joining MFE this week from all walks of life. We are healthcare workers, neighborhood people, retirees, grocery store workers, parents, immigrants, students, union workers, and others. On Monday morning many people talked about how they had never done anything like this before. We were always the following the rules types, the don’t stand out types, the quiet types. We can speak our mind when we have a receptive audience. But out in public in front of a crowd, taking risks, that is a different story.
Many of us had never protested or marched before. Many of us had never passed out leaflets. We had never gone chanting into a big corporate office or bank lobby. We had never held open the doors and marched past frustrated security guards to go in somewhere to make our voice heard.
Here is what people said after taking action at four different bank branches on Wednesday morning:
“I was scared out of my mind. But I did it because I knew it would make me a better person. And I feel terrific.”
“I’ve never done anything against the law in my life. And now I’m going into these banks in a group, loud and chanting.”
“When we were in there, it made me mad. As someone who has gone through foreclosure, that’s what keeps coming back for me. That other people are going through it. And it’s not getting any better. It’s getting worse.”
“This was so outside my box. I’m not a protester. I’ve never done this type of thing before.”
“I was standing at the end where the police car drove up on the sidewalk. When the police showed up, I just froze. Are they going to get me? And then I realized if I stay with the group, I am safe. They can’t get me.”
While talking about this I got a little choked up. Even writing this, I am a little teary. Because this is real. This is about people’s lives. About being able to take care of our kids. About being able to stay in our homes. About being able to go to the store and buy the things we need.
Being part of this with all these people in MFE has been an intense experience. It is humbling and inspiring to be standing alongside so many powerful people who are taking risks and going outside our comfort zone to do something about this crisis. These are the people of my community doing this brave thing.
This is about people changing ourselves as we change our community and change the economy. And that is a powerful thing.
Jess Alexander
Jess Alexander is an unemployed electrician and a leader in our work to build a new economy.
