As the cameras left the scenes of protests and the grounds of George Floyd Square at Chicago Avenue and 38th Street, University of Minnesota students and community members have continued to show their support for equality and people in need.

People who may not normally be vocal about social unrest across Minnesota have attended rallies and demonstrations. Various forms of social media activism and in-person rallies proliferated mainstream white culture during the statewide lockdown, while some took direct action with citywide mutual aid projects to offer a hand to communities needing assistance.

While mutual aid and protesting are both forms of activism, the main objective of mutual aid projects is to offer resources to marginalized individuals, particularly Black people, Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC) who are low-income or homeless. It often comes in the form of creating networks for food distribution, housing assistance and providing other resources.

The Daily talked to University students about what showing community support has looked like for them.

Bri Sislo-Schutta, third-year double major in political science and strategic communication

Bri Sislo-Schutta moved back to her hometown of Shoreview after University students were sent home last spring due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sislo-Schutta said her identity as a Black woman guides her to be strong in her activism, and living in a predominantly white suburb that has “never been anti-racist,” said she found herself faced with performative activism on social media after police killed George Floyd. She said she was left wondering: Why do people care now?

Sislo-Schutta first took action by writing a letter with her fellow graduates of color to her old high school, informing the school of their failures to people of color. The third-year University student said there was a lack of discussion around race and representation of Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color within their education.

From there, she organized protests across the suburbs surrounding Shoreview, including Roseville, Arden Hills and New Brighton. She said she felt a sense of empowerment as more than 1,500 people turned out to support equality and denounce police brutality.

“Communities like the one that I grew up in need to divest from this individualistic attitude,” Sislo-Schutta said. “I’m hoping that this summer and this movement prompted all of us to think more out of the idea of a culture of care … and less about structures and hierarchy and individual pride.”

Sislo-Schutta said her goal was to paint a picture of the Black experience to her predominantly white community. In June, Sislo-Schutta started the North Suburbs Youth Coalition for Justice, a Black-led group centered in the suburbs and comprised of young adults and students. The group has already started a book club focused on providing free literature, discussion and guest speakers for Black students.

“I just want to create space where people know that they’re taken care of … especially Black students and Black youth … [a] space for authenticity and vulnerability,” Sislo-Schutta said.

As a Black woman, she said the goal of creating a community for Black students keeps her moving forward — despite the struggles that come with balancing life as a University student.

“I don’t have all of the answers by any means and I’m still doing so much learning and unlearning,” Sislo-Schutta said.

But with the help of her community and a commitment to bettering the lives of Black youth, she said she is ready to take it on.

Jacob Walling, second-year medical student, White Coats for Black Lives member

Jacob Walling first became aware of disparities in the medical system when working as a scribe in a St. Cloud emergency room. The Maple Grove native tended to the large Somali population and saw firsthand the struggles many of them faced, from language barriers to confusion about the complex healthcare system.

“The system wasn’t set up to serve them as well,” Walling said.

Since coming to the University of Minnesota, his concern for people of color in need of medical attention has solidified.

Now one year into his medical school education, Walling is a member of the University’s chapter of White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), a group made up of members of the medical community advocating against racism in medicine. He said he joined because he, like many others, felt that race and social determinants of health were dismissed too quickly in their classes.

After a University medical student defaced George Floyd’s mural in George Floyd Square in August, medical students were quick to work on mending the relationship between the school and the community through mutual aid projects.

Walling notes that oftentimes, as a white medical student, it feels as though it is mostly other white students telling people of color how to feel. He said he hopes that white students instead listen and let Black students lead conversations.

WC4BL applies this same principle to the mutual aid they assist with at George Floyd Square. The volunteers in the community space are preparing for winter, ready to clear snow and ice to maintain a safe space for visitors and community members to pay their respects.

Along with participating in mutual aid relief, University medical students have been pushing for curriculum changes within the medical school. The University of Minnesota’s Medical Education Student Reform Coalition formed in June aiming to create a more accurate curriculum that considers how race can impact healthcare and health outcomes.

They have been meeting with University faculty to discuss the group’s demands for changes on campus.

Many issues that have arisen surrounding racism within medicine “wouldn’t have been known until a [person of color] said something about it,” Walling said. “My role is to be united and [do] what I can so the entirety of the workload isn’t falling on their shoulders.”

Walling said racism results in societal problems that impact access to healthcare or exposure to pollutants.

“Race is not a risk factor,” Walling said. ”But racism is.”

Fanta Diallo, 2020 graduate of marketing and strategic communication, Students for a Democratic Society member

Fanta Diallo grew up just three blocks away from where police killed George Floyd. She was there 30 minutes after he died.

Floyd’s death hit hard for Diallo, but her anger and sadness were not anything that she was not used to, she said. Diallo said she has been constantly worried that she or her younger brother would be the next target of police brutality.

“I’m so far beyond the point of being scared … people need to start waking up,” Diallo said.

A self-described activist her whole life, the 2020 University graduate used her community connections within the school to help empower and assist Black youth in Minnesota.

Diallo partnered with Students for Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Student Action Committee this summer and started the petition to create the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship and specifically designate it for students of color.

Diallo said that at the beginning of the pandemic and start of the uprisings in her community, it was hard to balance her mental health and drive to be a leading activist.

“I was consumed by it all, not sleeping,” Diallo said. “I was in the epicenter of everything.”

Diallo and SDS are still working on finalizing the language of the scholarship to better fit their message of resilience and justice for Floyd. In their attempt to stop the “watering down” of the language used in the scholarship, Diallo hopes to shed light into the reality of police brutality and its effect on a community.

Jimmy Cooper, third-year cultural studies and comparative literature major

Jimmy Cooper thinks that the term “activism” is losing its significance. During Minnesota’s lockdown last spring, Cooper said there was an overabundance of social media posts flashing educational infographics concerning systemic racism and how to assist protests in Minneapolis.

Cooper, a white person, said they are trying to steer away from being a “white savior” and make sure not to co-opt the movement by assisting in a self-serving way.

“I’m not valiantly standing up for others in an act of white saviorism … I’m standing as an accomplice to someone else’s struggle,” they said.

Last summer, Cooper worked with the Minneapolis Sanctuary Hotel that opened up in the wake of the protests for George Floyd.

After the city-mandated curfew in late May was put in place, and national guard troops advanced on Hiawatha Avenue, an encampment of people experiencing homelessness found refuge in a former Sheraton hotel near Lake Street and Chicago Avenue. The south Minneapolis hotel was transformed into a sanctuary for unsheltered people in the memory of George Floyd, who was a former shelter worker. The project lasted two weeks before closing down.

As a person who uses “they/them” pronouns, Cooper recognizes their space as a marginalized person who still carries white privilege.

“I need to be aware of myself and the space that I am holding mostly as a white person,” Cooper said. “Ultimately, it’s not about me.”

Quinn Morris, fourth-year in the Nursing program, University of Minnesota Chapter President of Women for Political Change

Women for Political Change (WFPC) has played a crucial role in mutual aid funding since the Minneapolis protests this summer. The Minneapolis organization, which started at the University, opened up the Frontlines Funds on May 30, raising more than $94,000 from community members and supporters. Proceeds have been focused towards Black people, Indigenous people and people of color, transgender and nonbinary young people and businesses led by them.

The WFPC website details that The Frontlines Funds were opened up after organizers buying and distributing supplies received so many personal donations via online payment platforms that their accounts were locked. The funds were distributed through microgrants, ranging from $500 for individuals and $5,000 for groups. $32,000 has been disbursed to 64 individuals and $18,000 has gone out to groups, according to the WFPC website.

At the WFPC University chapter, president Quinn Morris said the student group focused on education and creating a space for learning and growth for the group’s members and local communities. Starting this summer, WFPC held a book club exclusively featuring books by Black authors.

The group read books like “Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis and “All About Love” by bell hooks.

From a variety of age ranges and colleges from the University, the online discussions were centered around Black perspectives. Considering the University’s predominantly white status, Morris noted that white voices need to be secondary in order to create a space for healing and the acknowledgment of white privilege.

After the summer book club, Morris said the participants were much more aware of their learning and education. She described the WFPC board as being majority white and realized how hard it is for people of color at the University to find an inclusive space.

WFPC is extending its book club into the fall, focusing on the topic of love.

To find more information about Twin Cities mutual aid projects, go to tcmap.org.

Protesters gathered Thursday night for a second round of demonstrations in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, following the bail release of former police officer Derek Chauvin.

Chauvin, whose bail was posted Wednesday, was charged with murder and manslaughter after kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, all while Floyd was handcuffed and cried out that he could not breathe.

Community outrage quickly followed his bail release. Demonstrators peacefully protested on both Wednesday and Thursday, calling for Chauvin’s conviction, the firing of police union President Bob Kroll and police and bail bond reform.

Cintya Canales, a friend of George Floyd, danced with her children and other members of Indigenous community groups during a traditional Aztec dance ceremony to open the protest and honor Floyd.

“There’s a lot of people in the community that are hurting … There’s a lot of anger,” Canales said. She added that offering these traditional dances to the community is a way of promoting peace, just like marching or speaking out.

Several community organizations banded together to organize the protests in Government Plaza in downtown Minneapolis Thursday night, including Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Blue Lies Matter, Native Lives Matter, Communities United Against Police Brutality and several others.

Despite the fact that police arrested 51 protesters Wednesday night, hundreds showed up in front of the Hennepin County Government Center to honor George Floyd and others killed in police custody. Cortez Rice, George Floyd’s “nephew by loyalty,” said that they are “not asking anymore.”

University of Minnesota first-year roommates Bella Carpentier and Arthi Jegraj attended the demonstration because of the racial disparities they have seen in Minneapolis. Jegraj, an Indian woman from San Francisco, said she does not see racial diversity on campus and does not feel as safe as she did back home.

“I’m here because it personally affects me as a person of color, and it’s something that I wasn’t able to do under my parent’s roof. And now that I’m out on my own, it’s a cause that I can openly support,” Jegraj said.

Meanwhile, in Saint Paul, around 150 demonstrators calling themselves “The Secret March,” made their way from the State Capitol down University Avenue. Police and other law enforcement were present, many donning riot gear as they surrounded the state’s capitol building, blocked off side street access to University Avenue and followed the march.

Many community organizers expressed confusion as to how Chauvin, who the Minneapolis Police Department fired on May 26, could afford to cover his $1 million bail.

Black Lives Matter Minnesota’s lead organizer and lifetime resident of St. Paul Trahern Crews described Chauvin as a “flight risk” who should not have been able to post bail.

“… We’d like to know where the money came from,” Crews said. “We think that the fraternal order of police, if they did raise money for him, should stop raising money for killer cops.”

Court documents show a non-cash bond posted for Chauvin by an unknown benefactor through A-Affordable Bail Bonds in Brainerd, Minnesota. Chauvin was released from a state high-security prison in Oak Park Heights on the same day. The bail system requires that only 10%, in this case $100,000, be paid to a bail bond company in order for bail to be posted.

Chauvin must follow several judge-ruled conditions until his court date in March 2021.

A bail fund was posted on Give, Send, Go, which labels itself as the “#1 Free Christian Crowdfunding Site,” for Chauvin. While the fund organizers only raised $5,580 of their $125,000 goal as of Oct. 9, an update on the site said any donations will now be used for Chauvin’s living expenses.

Many organizers said the bail system does not favor Black people the way it helped Chauvin and other officers.

“A lot of reasons why Black people are killed by the police and why they’re able to get away with it is because of economics,” Crews said. “They say there’s underlying issues that make a person get COVID-19, and there’s also underlying issues that lead up to police terror, and it deals with poverty.”

The University of Minnesota’s UROC has spent a decade bridging the gap between the campus and North Minneapolis from its office within the community.

In its ten years, the University’s Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) has been a space for community members to collaborate and conduct research across landscapes ranging from youth outreach to trauma recovery. This fall, UROC published a new research agenda to set a vision for the team to help support the North Minneapolis community in the era of the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest.

The research agenda is centered around addressing the three core themes of UROC: community healing, equity and financial well-being, as part of tackling issues of systemic racism.

In 2019, UROC’s research team, led by the community and supported by local officials, identified topics to guide the focus of its efforts throughout the coming years. UROC is now taking proposals from University faculty.

Makeda Zulu-Gillespie, a longtime resident of North Minneapolis who was named executive director of UROC last fall, said the demand to address issues of racism came as no surprise. She said these issues have been built into the system for decades.

“Of course, we have individual actors, but the individual actors don’t have as much power if there aren’t systems that support the behaviors or the actions,” Zulu-Gillespie said.

Redrawing the lines

Housing laws have cornered Black residents into North Minneapolis, and Zulu-Gillespie said these community members have faced prejudice for decades.

She finds that people within her community, specifically people of color, feel powerless from this cycle of self-defeat and systemic oppression. Zulu-Gillespie said many of the Northside residents she talks to feel ignored by local policy makers and politicians, especially on issues that directly impact their day to day.

Being overlooked and unheard in turn affects community members’ confidence, which can make them feel powerless to join in on new discussions or advocacy work. One of her goals with UROC is to break that cycle.

“You have this circle of people not turning out to vote because they think their vote doesn’t matter when it really does … it’s something that is deeply entrenched,” Zulu-Gillespie said. “You need the documentation [and research] to actually change the system.”

Following the police killing of George Floyd and ongoing violence in Minneapolis, UROC has specifically focused on responding to community trauma. The work has revolved around traumas caused by gun violence, drug use, mass imprisonment, mental health issues, domestic violence and more.

Shaunassey Johnson, a third-year anthropology student at the University and North Minneapolis resident, worked as a youth researcher and facilitator within UROC this past summer through its youth-focused group, YoUthROC. The group aims to act as a voice for young people during stakeholder meetings and address important issues that North Minneapolis youth face. Eight other members of color, ages 16-24 and from the University and Northside, comprise the team.

Following the protests and riots this summer, YoUthROC hosted a Northside cleanup where the team and a group of volunteers sought to restore the area and “foster community healing,” Johnson said. The group also participated in donating to food shelves in the area and participated in sit-ins and protests to fight police brutality.

Amplifying expression

George Roberts, another Northside resident and former teacher, is on UROC’s stakeholder’s committee. He is one of many who helps connect the office to the community.

Years ago, Roberts said he saw that a rundown convenience store on Plymouth Avenue North had become a place where adults sold cigarettes and liquor to children. He knew he had to do something.

Roberts and his wife purchased the building and opened up Homewood Studios, a community art center and gallery. The space is home to art workshops and exhibitions of local creators to help support their passions.

“We wanted to create something in thanks to this community for letting us raise our children here,” Roberts said.

Homewood Studios hosted a UROC-sponsored exhibit, “Art is My Weapon,” centered around sparking a conversation about gun violence in urban communities. The pieces were made from retired guns from a gun buyback program from the Minneapolis Police Department.

After seeing the positive impact that holding a space for artists had on his community, he asked for UROC’s help for another proposal. The old Lincoln Community School’s playground was in shambles, and Roberts has been working with UROC to try to rehabilitate the park for kids and neighbors. They are still working to bring that vision to reality.
“UROC has been important in fostering that vision and using the power of University research to give us the tools,” Roberts said.

Resilience

Last week, UROC faculty members and volunteers finished up a day of service projects by dancing in the parking lot of the UROC building and enjoying the warm weather together.

Brett Buckner, managing director of One Minnesota, a racially diverse coalition geared toward policy engagement, described the scene as “surreal” as COVID-19 and social unrest has made it difficult to maintain some type of normalcy.

Buckner, who graduated from Minneapolis’ North High School, partnered with UROC and other local organizations to start up Seeds to Harvest Service Coalition, a community-based service group.

Seeds to Harvest coordinated events that happened throughout July of this summer, including neighborhood cleanups, food and mask distribution, gardening projects, voter registration and census outreach.

Through recent challenges, Buckner said a group like UROC is invaluable to “let people know that it’s going to be okay and that we’re going to make it through it.”

The Lincoln School playground project and Seeds to Harvest are just a few of many community initiatives that UROC will continue to work on in the coming years.

Buckner said Zulu-Gillespie’s approach to her new position leading UROC is turning the office into a community-driven center for success rather than just an institution.

Zulu-Gillespie hopes the team will help create a “thriving urban core” in its future, which she defines as a place where people feel supported and valued as individuals while striving for further education.

She added that everybody is a part of undoing systemic racism, and her work as the head of this community-based research team is a key part of that undoing. She said while she values protesting, she takes a different approach to creating change.

“My way will be working with the research and residents and community organizations to impact the institutions in that way, and that’s also valuable,” Zulu-Gillespie said.