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
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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
(952) 563-4895
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.
My pictures from the demonstration at the Mall of America today. Amazing, well-organized event. Also fuck you, MOA management, for both trying to stop a peaceful protest and having your hired security only "randomly" check the bags of Black people. #blacklivesmatter #nojusticenopeace
So I live in Minnesota and I wish I'd known about the protest at MOA today
My dad and step-mom are going to pick up my little sister in the cities and I had to stay home to watch the dogs. They are at a mall in St. Cloud and were actually upset that they couldn't go to the Mall of America to go shopping because of the protest. They seem annoyed by it but I'm really glad there's that big of a #BlackLivesMatter protest at MOA, the largest mall in America.
