My name is Sarah Nemetz, an intern with TakeAction’s Justice 4 All Program. When I was being trained for the first door knock I would be participating in for Erin Maye Quade running for state representative in Apple Valley, I heard stories from Justice 4 All leaders, Tommy and Will, who are both men of color. Stories of rude people who would see them coming up the way and pretend not to be home, just generally be hostile, or would even spout racial slurs. They were essentially trying to mentally prepare me to be disrespected or ignored, which I readily accepted, and I set out ready to get some doors slammed in my face. When I got out there, however, I was surprised by how nice people were to me. Everyone who saw me in the doorway opened it, usually with a smile on their face. They listened to me as I talked about the candidate and thanked me for coming to talk to them.
As I walked the street, wondering why I hadn’t been pushed away yet, it made me think about representation, and the way I was perceived by these suburban households. I’m aware of what I look like: a small white girl with a young-looking face. I posed no sort of “threat” to these residents. But Tommy and Will, are seen as a threat because of the color of their skin. And it goes deeper than that.
I believe many people at the doors are actually afraid of engaging in a conversation about the many issues within Minnesota’s systems that they spend their energy trying to avoid, because they believe it does not affect them. It’s being forced to face these issues by someone who experiences them day-to-day that they’re threatened by.
Issues like the many present in our criminal justice system, that at this point, most people are aware of due to social media, the movement for Black Lives Matter. As a white women, I would argue that many white people do not consider themselves affected or connected to these issues.. And many would love for it to stay that way. But I’m not buying it and neither should any of us. It’s this mindset that’s so dangerous to the mission at J4A and what makes it so important to get as many people involved: to prove to Minnesotans that our liberation is bound to each other, that we are all connected to these issues whether we want to acknowledge it or not, and that addressing them will only benefit all of us.
It’s time to stop hiding from the issues we know are out there, no matter how uncomfortable we are that we may have contributed to perpetuating them. The problems in Minnesota’s systems are people-made, yes, but that means that they can be solved by people. We will only do this by uniting as a community in Minnesota and pulling for the candidates that are not going to hide, but are going to work their butts off for the people in this state–all of them. This work doesn’t and can’t discriminate–we all must be the face of these issues and show up to elect these candidates in a big way.
JOIN US in the final days to the election as we door-knock and make calls for bold progressive candidates fighting to make Minnesota more equitable in ways that reflect our values.
