Dear John,

I’m Jessie (she/her), and I’m so excited to be in touch with you as I author the News Digest for the next couple of months. It’s so important to our movements to share stories of success and solidarity, imagination and experimentation, and hard stuff that we need to name clearly and get through together.

Most of my life has been immersed in the internet, and I am also old enough to remember a glimmer of time before it. It feels weird to be 27 and already nostalgic for a different era, but I spend a lot of time wondering what we’re collectively losing through our hyper-curated algorithms and “For You” pages on TikTok. I love platforms like the News Digest because it offers us an opportunity to be on the same page, and reminds us that we are all living in the same story. 

Before we dive into this week’s news, a little introduction from me. I live in South Minneapolis with my cats (Ponyo and Bean). I am a former TakeAction staff member, and am so grateful to call this organization one of my first political homes. I’m interested in stories that offer spaces for hard contradictions and that make room for hope, because to me that’s what movement work is all about. We are building worlds that don’t exist yet, and it will be messy. 

P.S. Something else about me: I’m a nerd for local politics, and early voting for local elections (including Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth) starts today! You can vote early through Monday, November 6.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week.

1. The new American Climate Corps

The Biden administration has announced a New Deal-style American Climate Corps. This pilot initiative will “employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.” This is a huge win. The Climate Corps has been one of the biggest demands of the Sunrise Movement since 2020 – and through the power of young people organizing, it’s gone from a big vision to a reality. Apply on the White House website.

2. Final Line 3 charges dropped

Some of the final charges against water protectors who fought to stop Line 3 have been dropped by a Minnesota judge. The dismissal of their cases is a strong indictment of the criminalization, surveillance, and violence that defined law enforcement’s responses to the movement to stop Line 3.

3. Reparations in St. Paul

This week, the first grantee of St. Paul's Inheritance Fund, 22-year-old Anthony Bradford, bought a home. St. Paul’s Inheritance Fund is a first step in closing the racial wealth gap in housing inequality, and ameliorating the harm and displacement caused by the construction of I-94 through the historically Black Rondo neighborhood.

4. Illinois is the first state to abolish cash bail

This week, Illinois abolished cash bail, a victory that has taken years of organizing. In 2018, this piece explored the Chicago-based organizing efforts to end cash bail. “Fighting for bail reform together with organizing for higher wages and a fair state budget gave The People’s Lobby an opportunity to highlight the inseparability of racism and capitalism and gave Chicagoans opportunities to organize against both together.”

5. White supremacy in Minnesota

A public gathering of white supremacists in Wayzata last weekend is a harsh, necessary reminder of the reality of white supremacist organizations in Minnesota. And, the Minnesota Reformer also flags it as a reminder that “there are few things more pathetic than a Wayzata white supremacist.” True. 

6. How much discomfort is the whole world worth?

Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes explore the practice of deep listening in movement spaces that are fractured by ideological differences. “Even if we never develop a sense of mutual respect and understanding, or even come to like the people we’re working with, we can still build power with them. In many cases, we must. After all, the whole world is at stake.”

7. Deep listening in practice

It’s easy to talk about deep listening and bridging ideological gaps, and can be hard to imagine what that looks like in practice. Deep canvassing is one, really powerful, answer.

8. AOC's student loan guide

As the fight for student loan debt cancellation continues, Rep. AOC is also helping us navigate the resumption of loan payments, which begin on October 1st. Check out her six-part series on student loans on Instagram.

9. Mourning Henry Boucha

We mourn and celebrate the life of Henry Boucha, who was a legend as both a star hockey player and as a lifelong advocate for Native people in Minnesota. 

10. Barbie's feminism falls short

I’m so glad that we’re finally talking about the ways in which the Barbie movie was actually… not so feminist. This excerpt from Ellen Bravo’s article is especially resonant to me: “Despite the multiracial Barbies and Kens in Barbieland, the “real world” in this film is devoid of racism and class boundaries … In the real “real world,” gender inequality is deeply entwined with all forms of oppression. We can’t tackle one without tackling them all.”

And that’s a wrap!

Send us what you’re reading, watching and listening to.

In care and solidarity,

Jessie Lee-Bauder (she/her)