April 13, 2021

A Reckoning in Minneapolis

April 13, 2021

Less than a year after the world watched George Floyd plead for his life from under the weight of a white police officer’s knee, that officer, Derek Chauvin, is being tried for murder.

It’s painful to relive Floyd’s death as a viral spectacle, it’s painful to have to wonder if Chauvin will be held criminally accountable for his actions, it’s painful to reflect on the deadly nature of institutionalized anti-Black racism.

If you’re Black, here are some self-care resources from NAMI Minnesota. Mental health experts recommend boundary-setting to prevent secondary trauma related to the trial; feel free to give yourself a break on this MCW.

All eyes on amazon

April 2, 2021

Kristina Jeffers

Last week, 5,800 employees at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama held a vote on whether to form a union. At press time, the votes are still being counted, but if the vote to unionize passes, the Bessemer employees will be the first Amazon employees ever to unionize.

Guns kill people

March 26, 2021

Kristina Jeffers

Photo by Fibonacci Blue on Creative Commons

Mass shootings have left 18 people dead in Atlanta and Boulder; across the country, others have been injured and killed in smaller-scale attacks. We’ve been through this cycle before: a gunman takes lives, new regulations are considered, NRA-backed Republicans say no, and nothing happens.

But there is reason to keep pushing. Washington Post reporter Sean Sullivan observes that even though the majority of Americans favor implementing common-sense gun safety laws, “people who oppose these new restrictions are very, very passionate... in many cases, they tend to be more passionate than the people who favor the new restrictions.” The filibuster may stand in the way of Congressional legislation, but showing our passion in saying “enough is enough!” can motivate the White House and state legislatures to act.