News
On April 30, 2021, the Business Resource Collective sent the following letter to key leaders outlining the essential components necessary in the state omnibus bill to support small, BIPOC-owned businesses. Download the letter here. Dear Chair Pratt, Chair Noor, and Committee Members, As over twenty cultural and place-based business associations, arts organizations, chambers of commerce,…
This op-ed, co-authored by the Alliance, was published in the Star Tribune on April 25, 2021. There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the deep racial inequities in Minnesota, including disproportionate job loss and inability to pay rent. But this crisis also elevated our collective instinct to care for our neighbors and underscored the…
This piece is co-authored by Frogtown Neighborhood Association For years, the proposal for Lexington Station Apartments at the Wilder Foundation site has intensified discussion about housing development in St. Paul — and made painfully clear how the culture and norms of white supremacy in our public dialogue, city planning, community engagement and governance have silenced…
Photo: Mural on Lake Street painted by Alliance organizer Ricardo Perez and others during the George Floyd uprising in 2020 After weeks of anxiety and dread that an act of blatant and unmistakable police violence would escape meaningful consequence, the conviction of Derek Chauvin on all charges in the murder of George Floyd provided public recognition…
Congratulations to Asad Aliweyd (New American Development Center), Sunny Chanthanouvong (Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota) and Malik Holt Shabazz (At-Large) on their re-election to the Alliance board. And congratulations and welcome to Ivory Taylor (HOME Line) as Alliance’s newest board member. Thank you to Jim Erkel (At-Large Board Member, formerly Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy)…
Download the coloring sheets here! From housing to public health, community safety to democracy defense, 2020 was an intense and unrelenting year for organizing across every issue. And, with the attack on the US Capitol, the start of the Derek Chauvin trial and the year anniversary of the COVID pandemic, 2021 has continued to call…
On March 11, the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County introduced new Blue Line Extension LRT route options. The Blue Line Coalition — a coalition of community-based organizations representing marginalized populations along the proposed corridor — released the following statement in response to this announcement. Less than a year ago, in the wake of George Floyd’s…
We know that households of color have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID pandemic. For instance, over the course of the pandemic, 50% of Black workers and 60% of Indigenous workers in Minnesota have filed for unemployment. By mid-January 2021, this economic crisis had led to 30% of Black, Latinx and Asian households saying they…
From housing to public health, community safety to democracy defense, 2020 was an intense and unrelenting year for organizing across every issue in the Twin Cities. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, it was a year of unprecedented challenges that brought into sharp focus the deep and dangerous…
Since its inception, the Alliance and its member organizations and partners have recognized the important role of the state legislature and state leadership in how resources are allocated or withheld from our communities, and how policies uphold or remove barriers of structural racism and exclusion. From the eviction moratorium to business relief, 2020 made even…