In the Community
2020 Census Mobilization Mini Grants - $750
The State of Minnesota, in partnership with Minnesota Census Mobilization Partnership, Minnesota Council on Foundations, and The Minneapolis Foundation is administering state-funded grants to support Minnesota’s Complete Count Committees, working to achieve a complete and accurate count of Minnesota residents during the 2020 Census. Cities, counties, tribal governments, school districts, colleges and universities, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits that form a 2020 Census Complete Count Committee are all eligible. Deadline is open until 400 grants have been distributed.
BIPOC Consultant Directory from Nexus
“Over the years Nexus has fielded many requests about various types of BIPOC* consultants. This database is our response to the many requests, and we hope it is helpful to both consultants and people/organization seeking knowledge and expertise from BIPOC communities. This being said, please note our disclaimer below. Enjoy!
A special thanks to all of the consultants and organizations who helped inform us about this database, former intern Omar Leal for starting this work and to current intern Keliyah Perkins for getting this live!
*NOTE: We use the term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to recognize the many identities in the community.”
CloseKnit is seeking board members!
CloseKnit (formerly Minnesota Host Home Network) catalyzes systems change for youth facing homelessness by championing lasting relationships with the caring adults already in their lives who are not their service providers. They develop strategies to fortify these life-giving connections and advocate for investing in their transformative power. Interested in learning more? Click here or contact CloseKnit Board Member Aaron Zimmerman.
Various Live Music Events at the Cedar Cultural Center
There’s nothing like live music! Check out all of The Cedar’s upcoming March and April concerts and events on our calendar.
Uprising Presents: Doctor Voynich and Her Children
Now through Saturday, March 21st
Off Leash Art Box: 4200 East 54th Street, Minneapolis
Doctor Rue Voynich and her apprentice Fade travel the American Heartland dispensing herbal medications. Covertly, they perform abortions, which have been illegal since "the Pence days." Fade tries to help local youth Hannah complete her abortion, using knowledge from an ancient manuscript, before her mother and the sheriff can nail them for the "attempted murder of an unborn person."
We Are Still Here MN – Conference and Advocacy Day
March 11th and 12th
InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront: 11 East Kellogg Boulevard in Saint Paul
This conference will offer thought-provoking speakers, interactive breakout sessions and a presentation of Reclaiming Native Truth, the ground-breaking national research on dominate narratives about American Indians in the United States, by Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee) CEO and founder of IllumiNative.
Everyone is welcome to attend! For more info and registration visit:
http://bit.ly/WASH-MN-Conference
Local Native leaders and elected officials will share insights on how we can educate policy leaders about issues of importance to our community with break-out sessions in Dakota and Ojibwe Language Revitalization and Education; Environment and Sacred Sites; Employment, Entrepreneurship and Economic Equity; Housing and Homelessness; Arts and Culture; and Health and Health Care.
Thank you to the East Side Funders Group for their generous sponsorship!
Community Cooks
Various Locations and dates throughout March
Community Cooks workshops bring community members together to cook, eat, learn, and discuss social change. All are welcome and dinner is on us! Bring your friends, neighbors, and family!
Locations switch between Breaking Bread Cafe & New Salem Lutheran Church - check our website for more details!
https://appetiteforchangemn.org/events/
The Artist Talk: BLK Love Exhibition
Thursday, March 12th 6 p.m.
Hennepin Theatre Trust Event Center: 900 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
After such an amazing galley, Black Visions Collective is excited to present The Artist Talk and Community Forum! Join them to dig into the roots of their brilliant cohort’s work and their analysis of what a Black Minnesota means to them and looks like. The audience will also be given space to connect and respond to these questions as well. There will be light refreshments and snacks. Seats are limited, so come on time!
Reimagining Aging Book Club
Saturday, March 14th 9 – 10:30 a.m.
Pierre Bottineau Library, 55 Broadway Street Northeast Minneapolis
Join our discussion of engaging and enlightening books about aging and what it means to live a vital life today. We will reframe the idea of aging as opportunity—the responsibility to reach out to other generations, share wisdom, and learn new ways of living in the world -- how we can grow up and grow old together.
In collaboration with Pierre Bottineau Library. The book: "You Learn by Living" by Eleanor Roosevelt To participate and/or learn more, call 612-787-4086 or email [email protected]
Big View: Claiming Your Power—Our MN Census
Tuesday, March 17th 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Grand Rapids Area Library: 140 NE 2nd Street, Grand Rapids
*Please RSVP to [email protected] or call 218-999-5883*
Every 10 years, the United States counts every person who lives in the country, from newborn babies to the oldest among us. The Constitution requires this decennial Census count to determine representation levels, and federal policies rely on census numbers to allocate funds among states and localities.
Historically, the census has missed large numbers of people of low wealth, Indigenous people, and racial and ethnic minorities. In Minnesota, people of color and Indigenous people face higher poverty rates, lower employment, higher morbidity and mortality, and higher incarceration rates than their white counterparts. Communities in greater Minnesota struggle to gain access to vital resources such as quality health care, transportation, and employment.
By the 2010 Census, the national undercount had dropped to less than 2 percent, due to funding that allowed Census workers to knock on the doors of the millions U.S. residents who didn’t mail back their forms. This budgetary support has been cut for the upcoming 2020 Census.
There is real concern that the Census Bureau’s effort in 2020 won’t be effective in reaching communities of color, rural communities, and low wealth communities. As a result, Minnesota communities are at risk of losing fair representation and their share of the billions of federal funds for health care, education, job training, and community development.
Alice Moren of Our Minnesota Census Campaign and KOOTASCA Community Action will present alongside Peter Alexander, a partnership specialist with the U. S. Census Bureau.
Audience input & discussion follows presentation; pizza will be served.
4th Annual Challenging Islamophobia Conference
Tuesday, March 17th 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Augsburg University: Minneapolis
Presented by CAIR-Minnesota, the 4th Annual Challenging Islamophobia Conference brings together leading national and local experts on Islamophobia.
Topics addressed at this daylong forum, co-sponsored and hosted by Augsburg University, include: Islamophobia and the media, intersections of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and white nationalism/supremacy, impacts of Islamophobia and hate, and Greater Minnesota and learning ways we can challenge Islamophobia in our society.
Breakout sessions will address challenges of Islamophobia-based bullying, responding to hate in Minnesota. This conference aims to inform and equip participants to effectively challenge Islamophobia in their personal lives and work settings.
STAR-Lite Training: Learning Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience
Tuesday, March 19th 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization: 3715 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis
Pay-what-you-can-up-to $40.
STAR-Lite is a single-day, evidence-based training integrating neuropsychology, trauma healing and resilience, restorative justice, nonviolent conflict transformation, and broadly defined spirituality. All are welcome to join us at this training that is partially funded by The Engelsma Family Foundation. Space is limited to 60. Optional 6.5 CEs and 5.5 CLEs available for an additional $35. Details and registration available on Eventbrite.
Sponsored by www.mnpeace.org with our Community Partners.
Resisting Repression: Focus on Immigration
Saturday, March 21st 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location TBD
A day of pop ed workshops focused on immigration. This is an event put on by MN Educators Against ICE. All are welcome to attend. Workshops include: ICE Bystander Training, Impacts of Trauma, Political Context of Immigration, Children's story time and puppetry and more. This event is free, please register via this link:
https://forms.gle/ghPWKekYuPZeVPsE8
We Count! 2020 Census Door Knocking
Saturday, March 21st 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Folwell Park: 1615 Dowling Avenue North, Minneapolis
The Census determines many important resources that directly influence our everyday lives. Resources that would help us fix our roads, update our parks, fund our public schools, making sure our children's bellies are full, and even determining the number of representatives our district will have.
The 2010 Census resulted in a loss of a City Council seat, impacting the power our Northside community has, for the next decade.
Join #WeCountMN 2020 Coalition members on March 21st as we head out across the Northside to make sure our community is counted in the 2020 Census. We need to let our government know that #WeCount, that our communities count, and that we matter.
Freeing the Mind: Mental Health Workshop for Youth
Saturday, March 21st 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Rondo Public Library: 461 Dale Street North, Saint Paul
Asian American Organizing Project's Youth Action Team is a group of high school students who are leading the creation and implementation of action projects related to community and social justice issues.
As a part of our work, we have identified mental health as a crucial issue that impacts high school-aged youth. To address this issue we decided to facilitate a workshop for high school students so that students can connect with each other and learn more about what mental health is, the issues affecting teen mental health, self-care strategies, and resources for support.
Please join us in this workshop so we can share our knowledge and also learn what you want to see change about how your school handles mental health. We hope to bring this input to schools in order to advocate for better mental health practices in the education system. This is a workshop led by youth, for youth. Snacks will be provided.
Please RSVP BEFORE Thursday, March 19th: bit.ly/youthmentalhealthsignup
Tri-County Community Action Happy Hour for a Cause
Thursday, March 26th 5 – 7 p.m.
Cuyuna Brewing Company: 1 East Main Street, Crosby
Give back to your community! Join us at Cuyuna Brewing Company for TCC's Happy Hour for a Cause. For a donation of $15 you will enjoy light appetizers by Iron Range Eatery and beer tasting by Cuyuna Brewing. 100% of the proceeds benefit TCC.
RSVP: [email protected] or call (320) 632-0575.
Interstate: Queer APIAs Talkback
Thursday, March 26th 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Mixed Blood Theatre Company: 1501 South 4th Street, Minneapolis
Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) and Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL), in collaboration with Mixed Blood, will be hosting a talkback on March 26th after the show.
Join us for conversations on themes explored in the show, facilitated by Janet, AAOP's Gender Justice Organizer, and Cam, CAAL's Communications and Network Associate.
INTERSTATE is a Queer Asian-American pop-rock musical about two trans people at different stages of their journeys, navigating love, family, masculinity, and finding community in the era of social media. It charts Dash, a transgender spoken word performer as he goes on a cross-country tour with Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter, as the activist band, Queer Malady, fueled by the allure of fame and a desire to connect with the Queer Asian community. The band’s fiercely political and deeply personal music touches Henry, a transgender teenage blogger living in middle America, who finds solace in their art as he struggles with his own identity and family.
Tickets -->
https://mixedblood.com/product/interstate/
Coupon Code: AAOP20 or CAAL20
Fringe Presents: Welcome Home
Friday, March 27th through Sunday, March 29th at various times
The Crane Theater: 2303 Kennedy Street Northeast, Minneapolis
Fringe Presents: Welcome Home is a curated lineup of artists sharing personal accounts of immigration, finding, and defining home featuring: "Operation Immigration" starring Avi Aharoni by Wandering Jew Productions; "Iraqi Voices: Stories From Our Neighbors" features excerpts from "Birds Sing Differently Here" from the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project; and "This is where/I Begin" by Gabriel Mata/Movements.
CTUL’s Annual Pancake Breakfast
Saturday, March 28th 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church: 2730 East 31st Street, Minneapolis
Join Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) for the Annual Pancake Brunch Fundraiser to sustain their organizing for yet another year!
2019 was a year of strategic thinking, legal wins, and ongoing organizing against wage theft and exploitation at CTUL. We held a subcontractor accountable for trafficking workers on the job site, won a wage theft law at the Minnesota State Legislature, celebrated our Future Fighters committee one-year anniversary, and prepared to scale up even bolder campaigns in 2020. Adelante!
Conferencia Alianza Latinx
Saturday, March 28th 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Metropolitan State University: Saint Paul
Metropolitan State University, Indigenous Roots and Alianza Latinx Presents: 2020 Conferencia Alianza Latinx.
Our goal is to address a variety of topics that has an impact on the Latinx community, specifically for Latinx college students. In the past, students explored themes ranging from cultural awareness to leadership development. The intent is to have students and community leaders create resourceful workshops to develop awareness, sense of urgency, useful knowledge, and a meaningful experience through community collaboration. By having students challenge themselves to lead and share the workshops, it can help motivate others to build a stronger Latinx community. We hope to inspire students to support one another while developing vigorous relationships.
Indigenous Women and Women of Color Student Symposium
West Bank of the University of Minnesota—various locations
Saturday, March 28th
Join us on Saturday, March 28, at the University of Minnesota! This one-day, biennial symposium is a space for indigenous women and women of color students to learn from each other, network, and explore leadership, personal, and professional development. The symposium prioritizes and centers the voices and experiences of indigenous women and women of color students.
This symposium is co-hosted by the Women's Center and the Carlson School of Management, with generous co-sponsorship from: a Campus Climate Micro-Grant; Center for Leadership in Maternal and Child Public Health; CFANS Office for Diversity and Inclusion; Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence; Martin Luther King, Jr. Program; St. Cloud State Women's Center; UMN Morris Commission on Women and Gender Equity.
Asian Minnesotans at the Capitol
Thursday, April 2nd 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
State Office Building 300 N & S; 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Saint Paul
Register NOW:
https://secure.everyaction.com/vuvqZvW3sUmn-FhF0MCeGg2
Join Coalition of Asian American Leaders, India Association of Minnesota, Karen Organization of Minnesota, Minnesota Private College Council, and Philippine Study Group of Minnesota, Release MN8, and The SEAD Project at this year’s Asian Minnesotans at the Capitol. This event is for everyone—whether it is your first time at the State Legislature or 100th, please come advocate and learn about the legislative process.
The day will start with a brief training about how to talk to legislators and go over key priority issues. After the training, you will have the opportunity to meet with your Minnesota State Legislators to discuss issues that matter to you and your communities.
This event is free, but please register early to give the event planners time to both plan and schedule meetings with your legislators. Priority Registration Deadline: Friday, March 13, 2020. Final Registration Deadline: Wednesday, March 25, 2020
If you are interested in volunteering, please see this form: https://secure.everyaction.com/xCigGvJkR0q5oSd63nXBmg2
Lunch and light snacks will be provided. Other accommodations such as childcare, as well as others, can be provided upon request.
If you have any questions or comments please contact KaYing Yang, Director of Programs and Partnerships, at [email protected]
