Last summer, the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd. Then, they brutalized and traumatized our communities as we peacefully took to the streets to demand justice and accountability in a movement that echoed across our country and around the world.
While we organized food pantries and fire brigades, MPD let armed white supremacists terrorize us – even as they violated the same curfews that we were cited for breaking as we supported and protected our neighbors. Rather than taking accountability, MPD reaffirmed what we already knew: it has no interest in serving or protecting our communities, and its institutional white supremacy is beyond reform.
Now, it’s time for Derek Chauvin to receive the fair trial that George Floyd was never allowed. We know that this will be a long process. And we know that whatever our legal system determines, this trial’s outcome cannot be considered “justice” for our communities, and certainly not justice for George Floyd.
In preparation for Chauvin’s trial, the city of Minneapolis has chosen to militarize itself, spending millions of dollars to protect property rather than people, and proactively addressing peaceful protest by effectively criminalizing it. In this time of pain and trauma for our Black communities, there is a gaping need for healing and genuine public safety that many of our elected officials have chosen to ignore.
TakeAction Minnesota is committed to working with community to address those needs, and we are available to anyone seeking support in the coming weeks and months. We have power in care and community. Take time to care for yourself, and your loved ones – especially the Black people and people of color in your life. Take time to remember George Floyd and his life.
We know that the Minneapolis Police Department will keep killing us until we do something to stop them. Now is the time to take action to help create a safer future for all Minneapolis residents. Our communities have shown time and time again that we know how to take care of each other – and that MPD does not. Now, it’s time for our elected officials to invest in us and our futures in ways that create real safety. We deserve to live in a world where everyone has access to support in mental health crises, and where we and our families have enough to pay for essentials like food and rent. We deserve to walk down the street without being criminalized for the color of our skin. We know that we can’t save lives by investing in police – but we can save lives by investing in community.
The Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign gives us the option to have a say in the future of public safety, and it needs your support. We need to collect 20,000 in-person signatures by the end of this month. Commit to signing the petition and spreading the word to your loved ones. Stop by Moon Palace Books any day of the week from 1:00-6:00 p.m., or at the intersection of Central and Lowry in Northeast on the weekends, and sign the Yes 4 Minneapolis people’s petition to give Minneapolis residents the option to vote on a new Department of Safety in November.
