Friday, January 23, 10 a.m., Minneapolis airport, -36 degrees Farenheit wind chill
Every 12 hours another military plane leaves. Each victim uprooted by this fascistic terror is a human being who was loved, a human being who is loved. The unnatural trauma of their absence ripples violently through our communities.
Frostbite sets in within 30 minutes in this bitter cold. Still, nearly a hundred faith leaders practiced civil disobedience in opposition to the federal occupation, the abduction of at least 3,000 of our neighbors, and the violence unleashed on those of moral conscience. Supported by socialists, organized labor and community groups, they knelt arm in arm, prayed, grieved and sang together as they were arrested and loaded onto school buses.
Just hours later, in similarly inhuman conditions, 50,000 workers descended on the center of Minneapolis to air their grievances with the occupation and terror, chanting in defense of immigrants, in support of the observers like Renee Good, and demanding the expulsion and abolition of ICE.
The joy and power felt by the workers taking to the streets Friday faded quickly Saturday morning. The nightmare of occupation sharpened in our minds as we witnessed Alex Pretti’s execution by fascists employed by the federal government on Nicollet Avenue at 9 a.m. CST, Saturday, January 24.
Pretti lived and died a hero, but the people of Minneapolis didn’t have to know who he was before we moved into action. Hundreds then thousands of neighbors prepared themselves with whatever they could to express their righteous anger, and provide what care they could for each other.
Respirators were distributed, barricades erected, trays of sloppy joe’s, sambusas, and hand warmers offered to the masses who stood defiant. Immigrant owned bakeries and mercados became medical triage centers. Coffee shops on Lyndale became warming hubs and device charging stations. ICE’s actions force everyday people to confront the conflict before them, and we are prepared to give whatever we can for one another.
The breadth and depth of our struggle, our solidarity, is a model for the country, and a model for the world. When they came for our immigrant neighbors, we fought back, and will continue to fight back.
We won’t forget the experience of an empire turned inward, when it turns outward. We stand for the liberation of working people everywhere.