On January 7th, Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old prize winning poet and mother of three was murdered in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross. Sarah Jaffe has reported extensively on protests and organising in Minnesota and in today's episode we spoke about the political background to the current situation in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. We talked about the central role of the Somali community in resistance and union organising (and how this has drawn the ire of Donald Trump). And we talked about longer recent history of protest in the region that includes the state's central role in the Black Lives Matter movement. We also spoke about the entwinement of the tech industry, the surveillance state, and the border regime, and how protesters in some US cities have sought to target tech company assets that are believed to be aiding ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

SHOW NOTES:

From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire - Sarah Jaffe

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/from-the-ashes-grief-and-revolution-in-a-world-on-fire/7683592?ean=9781541703490&next=t&affiliate=172

The Most Important Labor Story Right Now Is in Minnesota—It Might Be the Model We All Need:

https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-stpaul-minnesota-unions-labor-strike

Sarah's suggested resources:

The Awood Center: https://www.awoodcenter.org/

UNIDOS-MN https://unidos-mn.org/

New Justice Project: https://www.newjusticeprojectmn.org/

Tending the Soil: https://tendingthesoil.org/

SEIU Local 26: https://www.seiu26.org/

INQUILINXS UNIDXS POR JUSTICIA: https://www.inquilinxsunidxs.org/

UNITE HERE Local 17: https://www.uniteherelocal17.org/

Take Action MN: https://takeactionminnesota.org/