Last week, more than 400 people packed the Capri Theater on the northside of Minneapolis and others watched online in Duluth, Grand Rapids, Virginia, Rochester, Mankato, and beyond.
Why?
To be part of a conversation with Target Corporation about closing our worst-in-the-nation racial jobs gap, and to be there as they made a commitment to be part of the solution.
For more than two years, every day Minnesotans with criminal histories have been asking Target to be a leader in closing our worst-in-the-nation racial jobs gap. People like you made phone calls, stood in Target’s lobby, travelled to Denver for their shareholder meeting, filed complaints with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, and more.
And last Thursday night, they joined the conversation and took some serious steps forward. What did that look like?
At the meeting, Target leadership went on the record and committed to continuing a public discussion, funding a free legal clinic on the north side for people with criminal histories, and supporting hiring practices that remove barriers to employment. In a major step forward, they announced that they’ll be adopting “Ban the Box” (a policy that removes questions about criminal histories from employment applications) for all of their applications nationwide. This will impact over 300,000 applicants. This is the kind of change we are fighting for. Policies that will give people a fair shot at a job. But, this is just a start.
Thursday was not the end or beginning of a campaign.
Since we started this work, Minnesota has won a statewide Ban the Box and made it possible for Target, our state’s 3rd largest employer, to adopt this policy nationwide. Folks in the neighborhood are using the resources available to them and our elected officials are holding workgroups on disparities and policy reform. No, this is not the beginning, this is almost a tipping point.
After the hard work Justice 4 All Leaders and our coalition partners put into last Thursday night, it is time to push much harder. My hope is that today, the workforce agencies are packed with people fighting for a job. I hope that our 19 Fortune 500 companies are looking at how they can join this fight. Today, I hope our elected officials and candidates running for office are putting the racial jobs gap at the center of their campaign.
To the folks who have led the charge, thank you for your help, your passion, your vulnerability. No matter what you’re facing in your personal lives (work, homelessness, unemployment, the death of loved one and so on), you show up to meeting after meeting to make nights like Thursday possible.
This fight belongs to you because you are the people who are impacted by this issue the most. Thank you.
