Equity — What Advocates Are Asking of Minnesota Legislators

Our long-time commitment to first-person narratives — hearing directly from those with lived experiences, without the interpretation of a reporter — has led Minnesota Women’s Press to develop a new approach to journalism. We are creating an ongoing series of conversations with statewide members that aims to inform for the purpose of changing long-standing systems that are preventing equity from taking deeper root in Minnesota.

In addition to sharing some clips from these Changemakers Alliance (CALL) conversations — getting some of the most engaged and community-minded people together into the same room — we are bringing people together who care about finding, sharing, and working on solutions that go beyond information. Connections, trust, and solidarity are required of our Minnesota story-sharing.

Naming Equity

Equity is a mindset that our interconnected circles of communities naturally requires us to support everyone. Yet, we have not built our communities that way. The prevailing narratives have been “to the victor go the spoils,” or “profit over people,” or “look like us to be at this table,” which has long led to a king-of-the-hill mentality that supports wealth-building largely for a small number of white men.

With so many people underserved with such an inadequate narratives, it is not surprising that today we have giant issues in addressing the gap between what people need to earn and learn in order to be healthy members of society.

The aim of Changemakers Alliance is to bring people together around the new narrative — we all do better when we all do better — and talk about the solutions that get us there.

Quick Bite to start the discussion

A quick reminder from Sue Watlov Phillips of MICAH about the $7.7 billion Minnesota legislators are considering in 2022.

Sue Phillips, Micah: “Some people call it a $7.7 billion surplus. I think it is important that we reframe that. As long as we have folks that are hungry, homeless, don’t have their basic needs met, have mental health or chemical health issues — and that we’re not taking care of our land — we don’t have a surplus. We have resources that need to go into addressing these immediate needs and to provide that safe place for all of us to live and be, so that we can be all that God has created us to be.”

The Most Common Crisis Reported to 211

Kristen Rosenberger, Greater Twin Cities United Way

Changemakers Alliance Collective Story Idea

How might we share more about the benefits of supportive housing to address fears (and racism) raised by the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) objections in some communities?