MAY 29, 2020 – We live at the center of the Twin Cities, with downtown Minneapolis six miles one way and downtown St. Paul equidistant the opposite way. Yesterday brought more destruction in reaction to the killing of George Floyd. From our back yard amidst bird chatter and spring fragrance we heard the regular wail of sirens. Just three miles south plumes of smoke rose from the fires raging along the main storefront corridor between the twin cities. Through the night we heard more sirens. The Minneapolis police abandoned any hope of control and evacuated, allowing their large precinct building to be consumed by flames of outrage.
The violence spread beyond the centers of conflagration. Yesterday evening our son who lives outside the “hot zones” saw vandalism in his own neighborhood—and later, a gang of 20 up to who knows what. (Wednesday evening he was driving with our four-year old grand-daughter down Lexington Avenue in St. Paul, when a shooter blew holes in their tires!)
This all in the land of “Minnesota Nice.”
This morning I spoke with our son to get his full assessment of what’s going on. He’s not a distant, casual observer. A Korean-born POC, he’s a former leader in the local Black Lives Matter movement and community activist. One of his closest friends, now a candidate for the state legislature, was Philando Castile’s best friend—Philando being the young black man who was shot by police not 800 yards from our “quiet back porch amidst the bird chatter and spring fragrance.” Our son’s been on the front lines for years. Articulate and knowledgeable of “matters on the ground,” he was often the go-to activist for local TV, radio and print reporters.
Now he’s keeping his distance from the streets. “This will not lead to constructive change,” he says. “Blacks are but 11% of the Twin Cities population, and to effect positive change, you have to get other POC on board, along with at least 30% of the white community. You can’t get there by burning down the neighborhood. And Asians, particularly Hmong [who locally form a sizable group], say to blacks, ‘Hey, man, we’re with you, but don’t trash our stores, our properties!’”
But his insights go darker and deeper. They reveal rivalries among self-proclaimed “leaders”; strivings for personal gain at the expense of community improvement; and a serious void of thoughtful, strategic leadership. These realities are hidden from the limelight.
With an outside view many whites—liberal and conservative—without the benefit of our son’s knowledge and insight, seize upon a wide range of conclusions along a continuum of invalid premises. The chasm between white perceptions and black realities and the gulf between black realities and black and white leadership have pushed the nation’s “doomsday clock” closer to midnight.
Now stepping up to the plate are Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, and National Guard Major General Jon Jensen—paragons of black and white leadership. Americans: Take notice, summon hope.
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© 2020 by Eric Nilsson
