What’s next for Cafe SouthSide’s founders Roxanne Anderson and Anna Meyer

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For years, 3405 Chicago Ave was a radical community hub. The building housed three interconnected pillars of South Minneapolis: the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition, RARE Productions and Cafe SouthSide. The Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition came first, as a nonprofit dedicated to securing healthcare for trans and gender non-conforming people. A community of marginalized people who were seeking support, connections and belonging developed around The Coalition. Two leaders of that community, Rochelle A. James and Roxanne E. Anderson, subsequently created RARE Productions, an arts and entertainment production company centering queer and trans artists of color. Continue Reading

Best of Neighborhood News 12/19: Asian Pacific Caucus to form in Minnesota Legislature

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Asian Pacific Caucus to form in Minnesota Legislature

As of 2019, there will be four more Asian American state senators and representatives in the Minnesota Legislature, bringing the total to six. They believe that there is a critical mass and that it’s important to caucus on issues relevant to the AP community in Minnesota. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the Unites States, with Minnesota’s Asian Pacific population being 4.8 percent of the state’s overall population, compared to 6 percent in the nation. On Dec. 18 an announcement was made in Capitol Press Conference Room about the formation of the first Minnesota Asian Pacific Caucus. Continue Reading

Poet Adina Burke on how the queer and disabled communities have more in common than not

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Minneapolis poet Adina Burke, who identifies as a bisexual woman with Cerebral Palsy, has heard it all when it comes to how folks react to her identities. Some of the worst responses have come from folks she’s dated and even outsiders who comment about her relationships. “My partner who is a cis male, gets high fives and thumbs up for doing things a normal loving boyfriend would do like help me with my coat and ex-girlfriends have gotten praise from their peers because of how inclusive they are being by dating me,” Burke says. “But I’m not a Mitzvah project.” While Burke’s partners are lauded for performing basic relationship duties, she has found that she frequently asks herself, “What do I have to offer?” and worries that she is burdening her partner with her disability. “I’m a person with a lot of great qualities, and I’d like to live in a society one day that views my partner as lucky as I am to have them,” she says. Continue Reading

Community Voices: Why choosing ‘with respect to’ instead of ‘regardless of’ can change underlying meaning

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I have to admit that I don’t like the use of “regardless of” when it comes to talking about resources, opportunities and all those things that people should have just and equitable access to. What I mean are statements like “everyone should have access to employment regardless of their race, gender, ability, etc.” “Regardless of,” in those instances, seems to perpetuate that sort of colorblind/genderblind/blind-to-whatever state of mind. I mean, the phrase is literally saying that people’s identities, experiences, etc, should not be regarded when thinking of how resources, opportunities and whatnot are allocated – that everyone is “treated the same.” The thing is – and I’m only about the millionth person to say this – people’s needs and desires aren’t all uniform. Continue Reading

No cops, no racists, no phobias: QTPOCI claim their own Twin Cities nightlife scene

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After fights broke out in Chicago during the 2012 Pride Festival, Phillipe Cunningham approached a police officer to ask about a safe route to walk home. At the time, Cunningham had recently transitioned and noticed during this interaction a different type of aggression and animosity directed at him. “The more Black and masculine I began to look at first glance, that’s when the aggression had an uptick,” Cunningham said. “That was my first experience interacting with cops as a Black man. It shook me.”

Cunningham, a queer, transgender Black man running for Minneapolis City Council in Ward Four, said many queer and trans people of color and Indigenous folks (QTPOCI) have stories like this – times when they were trying to have fun, ask for directions or simply occupy public space – and a police officer responded with hostility. Continue Reading