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Dear Friends,
We deserve safe streets and thriving communities where people can easily get around—not just by car, but by walking, biking, rolling, and transit. I hope you’ll join me in supporting a bold, community-led vision in Near North Minneapolis that prioritizes reparative justice and racial equity.
If that’s all you need to hear, please make a $5 contribution to Our Streets as they work on an amazing project to create safe streets for all. Otherwise, please continue reading!
Support the Vision!
Right now, Our Streets—a local transportation justice organization—is working with Near North residents to bring back 6th Avenue North and reclaim highway land that has polluted and divided the neighborhood for generations.
Once called the “Beale Street of Minneapolis,” this area was a thriving Black and Jewish community until it was destroyed in 1939 to make way for Olson Highway—a highway to nowhere, built through the heart of a vibrant neighborhood.
Olson Highway sees less traffic than narrower roadways like Broadway Avenue. Yet its intersections are the most dangerous in Minneapolis.
That’s why Our Streets is leading the Bring Back 6th campaign: to remove the highway, restore the historic street grid, reconnect communities, and build a safer, more equitable future. And they have the unanimous support of the Minneapolis City Council.
But here’s the challenge: The $1.6 million federal grant for this work is now at risk.
Due to Trump’s executive orders, the agency overseeing their grant has been gutted. Now, more than $2 billion in Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhood Access and Equity grants are at risk, including two right here in Minnesota. This uncertainty puts serious financial strain on Our Streets and threatens delays — or even stoppage — to this historic work. These potential cuts, currently being debated in the federal budget reconciliation bill, would derail critical efforts across the country to repair past transportation harms and reconnect communities.
This devastating decision cuts off future opportunities for communities like Near North to access federal support for reparative infrastructure projects, making this work more urgent than ever.
Bringing back 6th could provide immense economic benefits, housing opportunities, reconnection and safer streets, alternative transportation options, and improved public health.
So please: Make a donation of $5 to help ensure that Our Streets’ Bring Back 6th efforts and the community’s vision don’t get stalled by bureaucratic chaos. Your support allows us to keep building momentum through public events, community outreach, and continued pressure on decision-makers.
Donate here today!
After decades of disinvestment, Near North Minneapolis deserves a street that reflects the needs and dreams of its community—not outdated, dangerous infrastructure. Let’s Bring Back 6th. Let’s get this done.
In Service,
Ilhan Omar
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