Commentary: Thoughts From a Transplant to Minnesota

Olivia Worcester, Minnesota Women’s Press staff member

By now, Renee Nicole Macklin Good is a name known nationwide. She was murdered last Wednesday, January 7, in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis by a federal ICE agent. This agent was not under threat from Renee, nor were any of the surrounding agents in danger. Multiple videos and eyewitness accounts show Renee talking peacefully, and trying to remove herself and her vehicle from the situation safely. And yet, he fatally shot her three times in broad daylight, in front of her wife and her neighbors. 

At a news conference I attended this past Saturday for Minnesota Women’s Press, Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura remarked on the pictures of Renee’s car, describing them as “clearly the car of a mom.” The aftermath of her cold-blooded killing was punctuated by her six-year old’s stuffed animals and assorted toys spilling out of the glove box. There is nothing that can wipe those horrific images and videos from my mind. Unquestionably, this was an act of violence against a law-abiding citizen, whose children and other loved ones now have lives irrevocably altered because (again) one angry man had a gun. 

Like Good, I am not originally from Minneapolis. I grew up in Dallas, raised by two loving parents who themselves were transplants from the New England area. I credit their empathy and strength as people, and as educators, for my own character today. With their help and support, I was accepted to and graduated from my top-choice school: Macalester College in Saint Paul.   

In the first few months of my freshman year in college, I fell in love with the Twin Cities. After graduating, I stayed because I discovered a beautiful, diverse, and welcoming place to call home. Here I have met people I call my best friends, I now work for this civically minded publication, and I know how to walk on icy sidewalks.

Many Texans I’ve spoken with always balk when I tell them I live in Minnesota, exclaiming, “How could you live there? It’s so cold!”

My answer for them is: I can live here because, despite the frigid temperatures in winter, the warmth I’ve experienced from neighbors, colleagues, community members, even strangers I pass on the street, sustains me. ‘Minnesota Nice’ is a genuine phenomenon; for any rude person I encounter here, I interact with 20 kind souls in return.

I grew up surrounded by ‘Southern hospitality,’ and I would never dream of disparaging the place I called home for 18 years, but there is something about Minnesotan kindness that has resonated with me more than anything else. Passing smiles from strangers on the street, jokes exchanged at the grocery store, or the local willingness to help me when I’m in a bind are the most genuine display of human compassion I have ever witnessed. 

That is why it breaks my heart to see the staggering tragedies the Twin Cities has experienced in recent months, now in the form of thousands of federal enforcement troops terrorizing my community. People are living in fear of getting abducted off the street. Colleagues are carpooling or staying home from work altogether; parents with whistles are on ICE watch outside of their children’s schools; restaurants have shuttered their doors to keep employees safe.

This is surviving, not living. 

What motivates and uplifts me is the way Minnesotans, and countless others across the country, have mobilized and shown up. I saw this from afar when George Floyd was murdered in 2020, watching videos online as the Twin Cities demanded accountability, police reform, and the preservation of his legacy. 

The same is now being done for Renee Good: large-scale marches throughout  neighborhoods, local art made in her honor, protesters at hotels who refuse to let ICE agents sleep. 

I encourage everyone who can to visit Renee’s memorial site in the Powderhorn neighborhood, at the intersection of 34th Street and Portland Avenue. It can feel overwhelming there, but I saw consistent groups of people walk up to pay their respects in the freezing cold, while others passed out hot coffee and hand warmers. It was proof enough that people care deeply about one another during times of tragedy.

A bit of good news amidst the ice and gloom is that within hours $1.5 million had been raised from a fundraiser set up for Renee Good’s family, originally established to raise $50,000.

Also important is showing up for community in whatever form you have the bandwidth for. I covered a mayoral forum this past fall, where Senator Omar Fateh remarked that Minnesota is “the land of 10,000 nonprofits.” Our resources in the form of nonprofits and local advocacy groups are vast, and this is the time to utilize and support them.

Donate what you can — whether that’s time, energy or money — to the work they are doing. See some of the ideas at the mutual aid list below. Take an upstander training from Monarca, so you know what to do when you encounter ICE. Support immigrant businesses. Watch out for your neighbors. Take care of yourself.

History is cyclical, and we are enduring it together. 

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