15 Ways To Support Social Justice In The Twin Cities

Aiming for accountability in Minnesota's racial reckoning.

In the wake of uprisings against police brutality, the Twin Cities is having a racial reckoning.

Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Derek Chauvin has been convicted, but disparities in law enforcement, housing, and education are far from over; Minnesota remains second in the country in terms of the Black-White wealth gap. The Twin Cities area is also home to large Brown and Black immigrant communities, many of them refugees struggling to adjust to life in the U.S. and hit harder by systemic inequities.

Grassroots organizations are key in the Twin Cities fight against systemic inequality.

“Try to send money to people, not just organizations. It’s always better to give money to trusted individuals than large organizations, because you can ensure more accountability," says Minneapolis-raised public housing advocate Kaaha Kaahiye. Here are some grassroots, community-led organizations you can support:

1. Documenting MN

Documenting MN / Via instagram.com

Documenting MN is a completely youth-led effort inviting the Black MN community to document, report, and interact with the Derek Chauvin trial. The goal of Documenting MN is to give Black Minnesotans a voice by collecting and broadcasting independent pictures, videos, and information through other mediums. Documenting MN posts updates on the trial on their Instagram and Twitter accounts, and their Twitter mission statement is: "Real, authentic news without white media misrepresentations and harmful stories. When interacting with non-Black media, they tend to use our rightful anger to justify the mistreatment of Black folks for the justification for Black death."

Along with community submissions, Documenting MN is hiring 8 dedicated youth at a pay of $15 an hour, for 4 hours a week, 9 weeks in total. All funds donated go to the maintenance of youth reporters.

2. Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition

Defend Glendale / Via instagram.com

Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition is a grassroots, resident-led campaign organizing to fight the privatization of public housing in Minneapolis. The goal to is to prevent systematic gentrification, eliminate displacements, protect and build more public housing, and make Minneapolis and Hennepin County more racially equitable.

The campaign was founded in 2014 by Glendale Townhomes residents when they discovered plans to tear their homes down to build condos, and quickly spread to most of the public housing projects in Minneapolis.

“As public housing residents, we know the value of public housing," says resident Kaaha Kaahiye.

Residents fight to stop MPHA's plans to privatize public housing and protect their communities of families, which encompass thousands of low-income families of color, refugees, Black and Brown Muslim communities, East Africans, elders/seniors, and people with disabilities.

3. Holistic Heaux

Holistic Heaux / Via instagram.com

Sisters Zora and Zedé founded Holistic Heaux on the concept that "the concept of mutual aid does not only need to be in response to emergencies. Following the murder of George Floyd, the organization expanded their reach to become a resource for the Twin Cities Black and Brown community by developing the Rebellion Relief Fund. The mutual aid fund goes towards food, necessities, sexual health products, and clothing to families and mothers in the Twin Cities, which volunteers drop off. All donations are documented and directly go towards transportation and supplies for distribution.

"I was a teenager when I created Holistic Heaux. Recovering an intense eating disorder and deep into learning about what healing looks like in the Black community. Our traumas and sicknesses are so complex, but the healing is not impossible. With Holistic Heaux, my intention is to not only expand and redistribute knowledge and resources, but to ensure we are connected long term. Healing is a life long process. I want my people to know that you have support in doing so” - Zedé

“I decided to be co-owner of HH due to my passion to aid in the medicinal, physical and spiritual healing of folks in my community. For now, I am mostly behind the logistics, stats, and financials of the company, however I will soon be contributing other consumer products to enhance the beauty, health, and education for my people” - Zora

4. Isuroon

Isuroon / Via instagram.com

Since its inception more than a decade ago, Isuroon has led the charge in the Twin Cities connecting East African and Somali immigrant women and refugee communities with key resources and services. The majority of the East African and Somali community in the Twin Cities is under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, with many families consisting of single mothers and extended family. Isuroon focuses on helping members of the African immigrant community navigate bureaucratic systems and overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Isuroon offers programs in mental and behavioral health, education, and youth engagement along with the case management and direct services they provide.

5. Community Emergency Assistance Programs (Brooklyn Park)

CEAP / Via ceap.org

Founded in 1970, CEAP (Community Emergency Assistance Program) started out as a food shelf for residents of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where Daunte Wright was shot. CEAP shares abundance, mobilizes resources, and feeds the community by letting neighbors help neighbors. CEAP offers free groceries via curbside pickup, along with housing assistance funding from the federal CARES Act through Hennepin County to assist renters who have been impacted by COVID-19 financially.

6. Karen Organization Of Minnesota

Karen Organization of Minnesota / Via instagram.com

The Karen Organization of Minnesota boasts the honor of being the first social services agency in the U.S. founded by Karen refugees from Burma. The Karen people are a Burmese ethnic minority forced to flee their country due to government persecution. Minnesota is home to 17,000 Karen people, the largest population in the country, along with over 2,000 refugees from other Burmese ethnic groups like the Mon and Karenni.

The organization provides a variety of programs to help refugees achieve their goals while transitioning to their life in a new country. They also offer resources to educate other organizations on working with this growing community. KOM helps more than 5,000 refugees every year achieve their goals through programs designed by Burmese refugee community members who best understand the goals and needs of the community they serve.

7. Black Immigrant Collective

Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune / Via Facebook: BlackImmigrantCollective

The Black Immigrant Collective (BIC) was founded in January 2017 after Donald Trump was elected to office with the goal of voicing Black immigrant concerns on issues like immigration policy and law enforcement. The all-Black collective of immigrant justice advocates, workers' rights organizers, and journalists aim to amplify Black immigrants in intersectional ways that "Build power towards our collective liberation." Other goals include sharing best practices on immigrant-related work in Black immigrant communities, recognizing their collective resilience and community resources as a way of being, and working in solidarity with all Black people along with other indigenous peoples and immigrant communities.

8. Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center

MICWRC / Via instagram.com

Minneapolis houses the third-largest urban American Indian population in the United States, The Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center (MICWRC) is a non-profit social and mental health services organization founded in 1984 dedicated to supporting Native women and their families. MIWRC offers a diverse array of programs targeted towards empowering and educating Native women and their families, along with partnerships with other organizations. MIWRC programs reflect specific Urban Indian needs, and address issues such as affordable housing, family services, mental health care, chemical dependency, cultural healing and resilience, and other issues of community and family.

9. Pimento Relief Service

Pimento Jamaican Kitchen / Via instagram.com

Pimento Jamaican Kitchen doesn't just serve some of the best Jamaican food in Minnesota- it also serves the needs of the community. Pimento Jamaican Kitchen started the Pimento Relief Services (PRS) to respond to the protest and rebellion spurred by George Floyd's brutal murder. PRS aims to actively rebuild and add to the Twin Cities' Black community through convening individuals and organizations actively fighting racism. Their mission statement: "To convene a community coalition to reach our goal of Economic Liberation, Social Liberation, and Political Liberation for all Black people."

10. Du Nord Craft Spirits

Du Nord Craft Spirits / Via instagram.com

Located in the heart of Minneapolis, Du Nord Craft Spirits is America's first Black-owned distillery. Founders Chris and Shanelle Montana believe in promoting equity in every aspect of their business- from the newly established Du Nord Foundation, which supports marginalized business owners to their inclusive hiring practices.

11. CAPI Immigrant Opportunity Center

CAPI / Via instagram.com

The Twin Cities is home to large populations of recent African, SE Asian immigrants, and Latino immigrants, many of whom came over as refugees, The CAPI Immigrant Opportunity Center has locations in Brooklyn Center and South Minneapolis connecting refugees, immigrants, and people of color with necessary resources for happy, established lives. Services range from groceries through their food shelf to health insurance with MNSure assistance. Other services help immigrants and refugees navigate life in a new country, such as assisting with the homebuying process or connecting community members with job skills development and educational opportunities.

12. MN Teen Activists

MN Teen Activists / Via instagram.com

Fridley High School student Aaliyah Murray founded MN Teen Activists just days before George Floyd was murdered by police. The group's six student leaders initially focused on racism in schools, but began to tackle police brutality, criminal justice issues, and societal racism as the Twin Cities became a national hub of uprisings against police brutality. They raised $80,000 last summer for Lake Street businesses damaged in the uprising; along with fundraising, MN Teen Activists offer resources and information across their social media platforms about everything from maximizing safety when protesting to supporting students of color dealing with racism.

13. Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM)

ORAM / Via instagram.com

In almost 70 countries around the world, consensual same-sex relationships are criminalized. This means that millions of individuals are at risk of prosecution, arrest, and imprisonment. In at least six countries, they currently risk the death penalty. While many countries don't specifically target LGBTIQ individuals in their laws, they often are unwilling to protect LGBTIQ citizens.

LGBTIQ individuals can face persecution from many actors, such as their family, community, or state, forcing them to flee their countries of origin for a better and safer life. The Organization for Refuge, Asylum, and Migration (ORAM) offers lasting, vital help to LGBTIQ asylum seekers through global advocacy, livelihood skill-building and on-the-ground programming to help them rebuild their lives in a new country.

14. Face to Face Health & Counseling

Face to Face / Via instagram.com

Face to Face Health & Counseling is the only Ramsey County nonprofit organization directly servicing all youth health needs, from STI & HIV testing, sexual education, and birth control, to general medical care- for free or at very low cost. If further assistance is needed, Face to Face case managers can help youths navigate living issues such as housing, insurance, WIC, etc.

Face to Face focuses on at-risk youth aged 11-24, and has a youth counselor for a broad range of issues like anxiety, depression, school and work, relationships, past or current abuse, or any other issues. The organization runs a SafeZone, where anyone can come in to eat two hot meals a day, take a shower, and collect clothing and personal care items.

15. Hacer

HACER / Via instagram.com

HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment Through Research) is the verb "to do" in Spanish. HACER aims to do many things for the Latino community in the Twin Cities area. As Minnesota's only Latino-focused organization, the group's mission is to address the lack of information regarding Latino issues in Minnesota. HACER partners with community advocates and members to research and inform policy around issues such as public health, immigration, and education.