Capacity Building Updates
Thank you for attending the City of Minneapolis' 6th Annual Trans Equity Summit
The 6th Annual Trans Equity Summit was a gigantic success! We had upwards of 425 attendees, a bustling job and resource fair, and a healing justice space available throughout the day for folks to process their experiences and receive care. We talked about shifting and decolonizing our narratives, leaning into our organizing power, and remembering that trans, gender non-conforming, and gender-expansive people have always been here. A special thanks to our sponsors, our emcee Shimmer, all of our presenters and performers, and everyone else who made this day possible!
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Northside Oral History Voting Process
Thank you to all of you who spread the word and participated in the voting process for the Northside Oral History Project – Phase 2. We are pleased to announce that the following organizations have been selected by those who either live or work in North Minneapolis to implement their projects:
Bully Creative
Charles Caldwell
McFarlane Media
Franklin Middle School
Congrats to all of the organizations that have been selected to this project and much appreciation to each organization for being a part of this process. We cannot wait to see the completed projects!
Join the MN Department of Health and Rebeka Ndosi for a Monthly Mental Well-Being and Resilience Learning
Rebeka Ndosi of Healing Illuminated provides parents, teachers and other caregivers tools to self-regulate are a critical part of a trauma informed organization and community. An example of training includes a cohort of adult educators, youth workers, parents and caregivers who work with students who are labeled as having Educational Behavioral Disorder. Along with practicing mind-body tools for addressing their own stress and trauma, participants engaged in learning about the history of the EBD Special Education category and ways to incorporate simple tools into their lives, their homes, classrooms, offices and organizations in order to create a space of wholeness for themselves and the youth in their lives.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Register to Participate
Learn about how this work has evolved and been implemented in multiple kinds of spaces here.
Policy Work Updates
The City of Minneapolis is Pursuing an Ordinance to Ban the Practice of Conversion Therapy on Youth
“Conversion therapy,” often referred to as “reparative therapy,” “ex-gay therapy,” or “sexual orientation change efforts,” includes a range of dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation, or efforts to change a person’s gender identity or expression. These harmful practices are based on the false claim that being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ) is a mental illness that should be cured. Unfortunately, many LGBTQ Minnesotans are still coerced and subjected to these harmful practices, which put them at risk for serious harms such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide.
We hope to hear from community members who have experienced conversion therapy, know of others who may have experienced conversion therapy, or have been touched by conversion therapy in some way – personally and/or professionally. Feel free to contact Christina Kendrick at the City of Minneapolis, christina.kendrick@minneapolismn.gov, for any need or to provide input on our cities development of this ordinance.
In addition, OutFront Minnesota is conducting a conversion therapy ban survey that can be accessed on their website. Please share this with your networks!
Community Resources
From Timber to Scaffold
In this audio essay, Melissa Olson describes the siting of Scaffold, the sculpture based on the Mankato gallows, at the Walker Art Center campus in the spring of 2017 as an example of settler urban violence. As the controversy unfolded, the siting of Scaffold seemed disconnected from the history of the Dakota-Settler conflict in much the same way histories of Minneapolis remain disconnected from the history of the frontier.
Through interviews with historian Kate Beane and geographer David Hugill, the audio essay interrogates the temporal and geographical breaks between Minneapolis, greater Minnesota, and the surrounding region.
Listen to the audio essay here!
Upcoming Kris Nelson Community Based Research Program
The Kris Nelson Community Based Research Program at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) builds the power and capacity of community-based organizations to create social change through partnerships with the University of Minnesota. The research needs of organizations are matched with students to carry out community-defined and guided projects. The deadline for Spring 2020 projects proposals is October 18, 2019. The projects will run from January 2020 through May 2020.
More details on submitting your proposal:
If you have any questions or would like to discuss a project idea, please feel free to reach out to me at canders@umn.edu or (612) 624-8988 or Vanessa Voller at voll0144@umn.edu.
About the Division of Race & Equity
The Division of Race & Equity is housed in the City Coordinator's Department.
For more information, please email RaceEquity@minneapolismn.gov.
This update was developed [in part] under grant number 1H79SM063520-03 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
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