Juneteenth Declared an Official City of St Paul Holiday!
Happy Pride Month!
 It's Pride month! A time of year when we honor the continuing history of queer liberation, and celebrate our own identities across gender, sexuality and partnerships, as they intersect with race, ability, class, ethnicity, age, and so much more.
This week, City Council passed a resolution honoring the 52nd Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, and celebrating Pride.
The Stonewall uprising in 1969 marked a turning point in American LGBTQ history when Black trans women and trans people of color in New York led the fight back against police who arrested LGBTQ people for their sexual orientation and gender expression. This moment launched a renewed resistance centered on the dignity and rights of genderqueer people of color in the face of state violence and disenfranchisement.
In 2013, Minnesotans, legislators, and Governor Dayton passed same-sex marriage, writing into law the right for us to marry who we love.
In 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry, and that states are legally required to acknowledge and protect marriages regardless of where they were licensed.
In 2020, the Supreme Court voted to protect LGBTQ people from workplace discrimination under Title VII of Civil Rights Act. Also in 2020, Saint Paul banned conversion therapy (a practice involving the use of torture to "change" people's sexual orientation). No child should endure this harmful practice.
Despite continued progress, the transgender community continues to fight for needed safety, justice, and acceptance. Members of the LGBTQ community continue to face discrimination in health care, housing, education, and more. Just this year, thirty three states have introduced over 100 new legislative bills to restrict the rights of transgender youth.
I stand united with you, in the face of oppression. We will continue the fight for LGBTQ rights, for these are human rights. We will work to ensure justice, community wholeness and acceptance.
Read the full resolution here.
Honoring Nia Black by declaring June 13th 2021 as Community Gun Violence Awareness Day
This week, we remember Nia Black--proud Aveda alumnus, founder and owner of Brooklyn Black, LLC and Project Brooklyn, valued member of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association. Nia highlighted the talent of local Twin Cities’ artists, served as an outlet for beauty industry professionals and had the vision to take the models Nationwide.
On June 13, 2020, at 23 years old, Nia Black was at a Saint Paul bar where over 60 gunshots were directed at patrons in the parking lot. Nia was tragically shot and killed.
Gun violence is a systemic issue in our city. Black Americans are over ten times more likely to be murdered by firearm than their white counterparts, over the past decade (2010-2019), 71,994 Black Americans died by firearm homicide.
The trauma of community gun violence extends beyond those who are directly injured by shootings to those in the community who are exposed indirectly as witnesses, those indirectly and directly impacted by community gun violence experience lasting effects on health and wellbeing. This is one of the many reasons the Saint Paul City Council in partnership with Mayor Melvin Carter, has initiated a Community First Public Safety program to address root causes of crime and violence.
Saint Paul City Council declares Sunday, June 13, 2021 as Community Gun Violence Awareness Day honoring Nia Black. To help honor Nia Black, as well as the 27 other people whose lives were cut short by gun violence in St Paul in 2020 and the countless survivors who are injured by gun violence, Nia’s mother, LaTanya Black founded Mothers Against Community Gun Violence (MACGV) a national organization to fight community gun violence and support families affected by and living with the loss of a loved one through homicide. MACGV will conduct their second annual Community Peace Walk in Saint Paul, calling on community members to place Not On My Block signs in their windows and yards symbolizing the value of human life and that they are a community member invested in their neighborhood’s safety, called "Communities Keepers".
The walk will take place this weekend, on June 13, 2021, to help raise awareness about community gun violence, honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors, and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands, to encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our children and communities safe. Please visit the Mothers Against Community Gun Violence website for details and to join in this walk.
COVID-19 Vaccinations Available
If you know a loved one or community member who has been struggling to get information on the vaccines, or who is unsure of where they can get one, please help them out!
Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health COVID-19 vaccination clinic links are open to the public. Walk-ins available up to 15 minutes before end of day.
- Wednesday’s from 1:30am-5:30pm | New Brighton Community Center | Pfizer (Ages: 12+)
- Saturday’s from 12-6pm or 12-4pm | Oxford Community Center | Moderna (Ages: 18+)
- Sunday’s from 12-4pm | Arlington Hills Community Center | Pfizer (Ages: 12+)
**Make an appointment by calling 651-266-1198 for registration and details. Interpreters & transportation available. Or, visit: https://www.ramseycounty.us/covid-19-info/covid-19-vaccine#1 to self-register.
Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health is also hosting several pop-up clinics. Dates, times & locations vary – click here for more information. Available for walk-in’s. No appointment needed. For questions, please call: 651-266-1198 (Monday-Friday from 8am-4:30pm) – Interpreters available.
- June 12th from 1-5pm | Lake Phalen Beach House | Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson
- June 13th from 9:30am-2:30pm | First Baptist Church | Pfizer and Moderna
- June 18th from 12-5pm | Oromo Community of Minnesota | Pfizer and Moderna
- June 23rd from 4-7pm | Allianz Field | Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson
- June 25th from 11am-3:30pm | Darul Uloom Islamic Center | Pfizer and Moderna
- July 9th from 12-5pm | Oromo Community of Minnesota | Pfizer
- July 15th from 6-9pm | White Bear Lake Marketfest | Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson
**Reminder: Pfizer is available for 12+ (2-doses); Moderna is available for 18+ (2-doses);
Johnson & Johnson is available for 18+ (1-dose).
Arlington Hills Community Center (1200 Payne Ave, St Paul, MN 55130) will be offering free vaccines every Sunday in June (--no cost, no insurance needed). Sign up here!
Walgreens, CVS, M Health Fairview, and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium are offering appointments with walk-ins available. For hours, locations, and to schedule an appointment visit the Vaccine Connector site.
Vaccine Incentives
 
The State of MN is now offering bonus rewards for folks who get their vaccination in the month of June! You can also sign up to receive a reward by calling (833) 431-2053 Monday through Friday 9a - 7p and Saturday 10a - 6p.
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