On justice and Mike Freeman’s decision

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For me, the issue is justice, and justice was not served by Mike Freeman’s decision. Other articulate people chose words very well: “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” In saying this, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds me about the role of power (at its best). In Mr. Freeman’s decision, we had the power, but in service of an abusive and oppressive system. Mahatma Gandhi had this to say: “There is a higher court than courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts.” Conscience says that killing an unarmed person is wrong—period! Continue Reading

toxic stress

“I’m ready to die” Jamar Clark, school violence and toxic stress

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What does it say when, within a minute of the police arriving, a young black man speaks those words? And when, within 61 seconds, that young black man lies dead? What does it say when teachers who are worried about their (and their students’) safety are labeled racist? What does it say when the vast majority of our children who grow up in worlds of “toxic stress” are low-income students and students of color? It says a lot about us, about our disregard for our children, particularly the most vulnerable. Continue Reading

A prominent anti-feminist visited my school. Here’s what I learned.

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I’m not going to say his name. He’s a media personality, so Voldemorting him only works in his favor. Basically, a conservative student organization brought this anti-feminism guy to campus for a talk titled “CALM DOWN!! Restoring Common Sense to Feminism.” You can probably tell from the casual sexism and double exclamation points that the speakers weren’t exactly titans of scholarship. Continue Reading

APIs4BlackLivesMN

On police abuse and Black Lives Matter: Talking Asian to Asian in North Minneapolis

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APIs4BlackLives-MN is a coalition of Minnesota Asian and Pacific Islander (API) individuals and organizations that work for social justice in solidarity with Black Lives Matter (BLM) – Minneapolis and St. Paul. Our coalition seeks to address anti-Blackness in Asian communities, advance cross-community collaboration, and increase API participation in political and racial justice issues. Volunteers with APIs4BlackLives-MN talked with Asian residents in North Minneapolis neighborhoods on the weekends of Dec. 7 and Dec. Continue Reading