#chargemetoo

[faithfulwitnessmedia]

ReclaimMLK march in St. Paul Minnesota.

Words + Pictures by P.

[faithfulwitnessmedia]

ReclaimMLK march in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Words + Pictures by P.

[faithfulwitnessmedia]

A curious young boy, at the window watches MLK demonstrators pass by.

ReclaimMLK demonstration in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Words + Pictures by P.

[faithfulwitnessmedia]

Reclaim MLK march in St. Paul Minnesota.

Words+ Pictures by P.

[boatcats]

I went to a protest over the weekend. It was peaceful, powerful, and attended by people from all walks of life. Just being there, standing with them, was uplifting.

Now some of us might be charged with crimes for peacefully mourning and asserting that #blacklivesmatter. Please help make sure that doesn't happen. You DO have the power to make a difference, and your voice matters. Your voice matters to me and to the people I was proud to stand beside on Saturday.

There are some ways to help under the cut. As always with donation posts, please only donate if you have the money to spare and feel called to do so! Most of the ways to help don't involve donating and are so important!

Young Leaders of Color Under Attack from MOA and Bloomington Attorney:

The Mall of America and Bloomington Police decided to shut down stores during a peaceful gathering on Saturday where 3000 community members sang carols and chants dedicated to black youth slain by the police.

City of Bloomington attorney Sandra Johnson says she will seek restitution for “loss of profits” and police resources from young people of color she claims to identify as organizers. These carols honoring Black youths Tamir Rice and Mike Brown should have been welcomed with same the warmth and spirit of generosity as the 7,000+ gathering to sing in honor of a young white man who lost his life to cancer. Instead Saturday’s group was met with riot gear.

As a community, we are saddened by Mall of America and attorney Johnson’s decision to misdirect public resources to protect corporate profits instead of supporting justice for Black people at this critical time in our nation’s history.

It’s clear that the Bloomington City government, at the behest of one of the largest centers of commerce in the country, hopes to set a precedent that will stifle dissent and instill fear into young people of color and allies who refuse to watch their brothers and sisters get gunned down in the streets with no consequences.

We also must be clear: ‪#‎BlackXmas‬ was not organized by any individual or small group, but was a collective response and effort by the 3,000 community members and families in attendance who can no longer remain silent to the injustices perpetrated upon their communities.

-Black Lives Matter Minneapolis

**********

3 Ways to support:

1) We ask that supporters urge the following contacts not to pursue charges, wasting more public money protecting profit over people:

Sandra Johnson: Bloomington City Attorney [phone] Email: [email protected]

Tom Rabiola - Director of Operations Email: [email protected] work: 952.883.8898 twitter: @rablabb

Dan Jasper - Vice President of Public Relations Email: [email protected] work: 952.883.8829

2) Please donate to support our Legal Defense here: www.bit.ly/BlackLives

3) You can also tweet ‪#‎ChargeMeToo‬ @MallOfAmerica and @Bloomington_MN to support the “protest organizers” threatened with charges.