Nekima Levy Armstrong Closes 40th Anniversary Celebration With Power

Tonight is a testament of the power of women — the women who thought of the Minnesota Women’s Press, the women who helped birth that vision, and Mikki and her team for [continuing] this immense responsibility. This was one of the first publications that I read regularly when I moved to Minnesota in 2003. It helped me get grounded here in terms of understanding there were voices of people who were willing to call out different issues and circumstances that we were experiencing, who were willing to tell stories that aren’t often part of the mainstream — stories that mattered. It’s been an important part of my journey, to be connected to this publication.

We are living in times that many people feel are uncertain. We’ve experienced so much anxiety, turmoil and trauma. And for some of you, that’s been since January 20, 2025. But for many of us, it’s been since we arrived. That’s why you see the reaction in some people who don’t know what to do. Then you have the reaction of other people who are thinking about the long game — understanding the things that we have been through historically, and how this is yet another chapter in that unfolding story.

That is the lens that I choose to look through at this moment, in order to help me stay grounded, in order to tap into the power of my ancestors and those who came before me, in order to harness the energy of those who refuse to be refused — those who are saying, ‘I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and allow these things to happen to me.’

We do have a lot of work to do. But we knew that, before January 20 — when we look at the data and the statistics around issues that affect people of color, rural white Minnesotans, our youth. Many of us knew that we were in what could be a combustible situation. I think the last four years, to some degree, allowed many of us to take a step back and to feel safe and comfortable.

As Nancy said, as Emilia said, nobody is coming to save us. So what are we doing to save us in the midst of the uncertainty? For me personally, I have been resting to some degree because of a medical issue I experienced in 2022; I needed to take some time and regroup and heal. So that was very purposeful and intentional. But at the start of this year, I felt ready to go.

If you’ve been watching what’s unfolding with Target, you know that we as Black folks, as allies, took a stand. No offense if there’s anyone here who still shops there; that is your prerogative. But the point was — seeing a company beloved in Minnesota, that gave to the community, that built this model of of diversity and equity, making the decision to cower to the Administration within one week of them taking office — in my spirit as a Black woman, as a mother, as someone who has shopped there, I said, ‘Enough is enough. We have to take a stand. We have to use our voices.’

We have to understand the power that we have, particularly as women, because we are the ones who keep the doors open to many of these companies. We are the ones who control the shopping that happens within our families. We’re the ones who use the discretionary spending and decide where we are going to utilize those dollars. So regardless of how society tries to shrink the power and the voices of women, we need to understand that the power of women is what makes this world go around. It’s what makes these companies,; without us, they wouldn’t exist.

As a woman, tapping into that feminine energy and that power, and thinking about what people went through before I got here, I knew that it was important to take a stand. So many allies have also taken a stand against many companies that have decided to put profits and politics ahead of people. Notice how much of what is in the news now is about the economy. We decided to take a stand right here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and it has had ripple effects throughout the nation and throughout the world. People are saying, ‘I’m not going to cower. I’m not going to proactively agree to something that feels diabolical to my spirit. I’m going to use the power that I have, and for many of us, that’s the power of the purse.’

We also have to make sure that we are organizing in our community. We’re hearing stories like the one Emilia told about the issues that her community in particular is experiencing — things that people don’t feel comfortable talking about publicly, because who knows who’s going to walk through that door and  try to kidnap someone because of what’s happening with ICE and the federal government. It is a privilege to hear those kinds of stories.

What are we going to do with the energy that is being brought forward tonight? How are we going to leverage that energy? How are we going to leverage that power? How are we going to leverage our voices? How are we going to leverage our networks, our family members, our community and our children, to rise up with us and take a stand?

There are so many fights going on right now. Choose one. If Target is not interesting, then find another fight. There are so many battles for us to choose from, and we have no excuse for sitting on the sidelines. The people who came before us — think about what they had to endure. Women didn’t even have the right to vote for so many years in this country. I think about the Black women who came before me, like Harriet Tubman, who couldn’t read or write, didn’t have transportation, didn’t have access to the internet, didn’t have the luxuries that we have — but in her heart, mind, and spirit, she made a decision to be free. She not only freed herself, but she went back into slavery dozens of times to free hundreds, if not thousands of others. If she can do it, we can do it.

What about Rosa Parks? Many of us have learned that on December 1, 1955, she was riding on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and she was already sitting at the back of the bus. She wasn’t trying to create friction. She was on the bus trying to get home. But in that moment, [when a white man wanted her to give up her seat] she said, ‘Enough is enough.’ Her act of courage landed her in jail, but it also helped spark a movement. The primary organizers of that movement were women, boots on the ground, organizing people in churches, cooking the meals.

When the Montgomery bus boycott started, they were helping to organize rides and helping to raise up a young leader that we all know of: Reverend Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. It was women who did that. We have to know that there have been so many women who have come before us, who have tapped into that power, who have fought back every step of the way.

I will close with this: I’m thinking about a young woman who has been growing up alongside of all of us, here in Minnesota. Walking through her neighborhood, on May 25, 2020, with her little cousin, she saw the Minneapolis police pulling over a Black man, putting pressure on his neck and body. She heard the man say, ‘I can’t breathe.’ She could have easily done what society tries to tell us to do: ‘Keep walking. Keep your head down and look the other way. It’s not your business. Don’t get involved.’

But this 17-year-old girl decided to pick up her phone and document what was happening in that moment. Had she not — not even a full woman — made that decision, there would not have been accountability for the murder of George Floyd. Here we are, five years later, and many want to move on as if it didn’t happen, but this girl, in that moment, knew she had to do her part. For her, that part was documenting something atrocious and egregious, but that is now a part of our history.

Because of her act of courage, we saw those four officers charged and convicted. We sent a message, not only in Minnesota, but around the nation and around the world, that the power of the people is what matters.

So don’t get discouraged in this moment, even though there is discouraging news. Sometimes you have to turn off the news and start organizing. There are reasons to be discouraged, but read stories of people who came before us — who in the midst of unjust laws, unjust policies, uncertainty, brutality, murder, and lynchings found the resolve to stand up, to rise up, to speak up and to refuse to be refused. That is the real hour that we’re in. We’re in the place of our power. So let’s walk in it. God bless you.