Dear John,

It’s been a long week. Today, we’re celebrating the Minneapolis City Council’s unanimous vote to let Minneapolis residents vote to change the City Charter. Next, the amendment will go to the Charter Commission.

It’s a long road ahead, but we’re on the right path. We have the moral responsibility and power to make positive change through our democratic process. Read more in the first article. 

After all we’ve been through the last few years, we will not stop dreaming and believing in a better government that’s by and for the people.

We’re taking the next week off to rest. The news digest will be back July 10^th. As always, thank you for reading and wrestling with us.

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

1. Change the Charter

The MPD is not reformabe. Today, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to let Minneapolis residents vote to change the City Charter. Read the latest.

2. Commentary

Highly recommended piece: “There is no such thing as a ‘White Ally.” Read and share.

3. Qualified Immunity

In D.C., elected officials are debating ending qualified immunity for law enforcement. But what exactly is “qualified immunity”? Watch this TikTok to find out.

4. Cops Out of Schools

The St. Paul Board of Education voted 5-1 this week to sever ties with the St. Paul Police Department and figure out an alternate plan for school safety. Black and brown students organized for this change and won. Read more in the Sahan Journal.  

5. Jamaal Bowman

The former public middle school principal from the Bronx defeated a 31-year incumbent in the primary for New York’s 16^th congressional district. The squad is big and growing. Watch this powerful clip from his election night speech.

6. Spoiled Houseplants

An opera house in Barcelona reopened its doors for a concert this week for the first time in three months, but because of COVID-19, it wasn’t people in the audience. It was plants. Watch this surreal clip on Twitter and read more on NPR.

7. DC Statehood

Right now, more than 700,000 Americans – largely Black and brown folks – are denied voting representation in Congress because they live in Washington D.C. The House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill today to give D.C. votes in Congress, but there is still a long road ahead. Read more in Vox.

8. Keep Fighting

“What I would tell them, and what I tell my girls that call me for advice and stuff, is keep on fighting. Do not give up.”

A reader sent in this story: as Pride Month winds down, Teen Vogue talked with Black trans activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy about Black Lives Matter, 2020, and activism. Read her wisdom here.

9. Lawsuit

ICYMI: Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit this week against Exonn and Koch Industries, holding them accountable for their lies and deceptions around climate change. Check it out and thank you for fighting for us Attorney General Ellison.

10. Taste the Nation

Looking for something to watch? Check out Taste the Nation, hosted by Padma Lakshmi. It centers food prepared by Black, immigrant, and Indigenous chefs, while exploring what American food is. Watch the trailer here and check out an interview with Lakshmi on NPR.

Have a great weekend. That’s a wrap.

 - Kenza Hadj-Moussa and Patrick Burke