Lughnasa College Moon
Door-knocking is a rite of passage for many activists, first encountered often in a political campaign or in service of a group focused on some sort of organizing. Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (N.O.C.) is the latter, in this instance engaged in an organizing drive in North Minneapolis. It’s lead organizer and most of its door-knockers are people of color, not a surprise given the demographics of the North Side.
Lead organizer Wintana Melekin was at the American Votes table this morning representing N.O.C. If you recall, I’m there representing the Sierra Club. Wintana had some time on the agenda to report on an incident that happened to one of her organizers, then, in a cascade, to a crowd of onlookers and finally herself.
The organizer, a young man, was gathering signatures for a petition at a Cubs Food Store when a policeman confronted and arrested him. (Star-Tribune article) When a crowd gathered, the policeman threatened to shoot them. When Wintana showed up (having been called), to ask what was going on, she was arrested, too.
Melekin’s presentation this morning was brief, thoughtful and important. We must, she said, change the narrative about police interactions with black persons. Even more important we must ensure the right of people of all colors to enact their democratic rights to assemble and represent themselves in the political process. We know what resistance to this kind of work looks like: Lester Maddox and his ax; George Wallace at the Alabama Statehouse; Bull Connor and his firehoses.
Yet we are not talking about the deep south, but the far north. We are talking about this very white state and its racist assumptions. (The policeman, Tyrone Barze, Jr., is black.) Institutional white racism does not need white actors to enforce its views.
