Renee Nicole Good

Greetings from Minneapolis. 

I am writing to you today at one of the epicenters of the federal government’s campaign of terror.

As you doubtless have heard by now, ICE agents murdered a non-violent constitutional observer named Renee Nicole Good at the site of an ICE occupation in South Minneapolis.  As you probably already know, the Federal Government has spouted a fire hose of lies about this incident, despite it being captured on video from multiple angles disputing every single one of their claims.  On the day of the murder, the FBI agreed to allow the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension to partner with them on the investigation of the crime.  Yesterday, they withdrew from that agreement at the behest of the person in the Oval Office.  What does this mean?  This means a systematic coverup, and an expectation that we will all believe fiction over our own eyes, ears, and hearts.  

The Twin Cities is my home, and right now it is literally crawling with agents, abducting people at bus stops, the back entrances of restaurants, in schools, along highways, everywhere.  It’s scary and upsetting and outrageous.  

But here’s the thing:  Being scared and upset and outraged in front of a computer screen makes no one safer.  

Women and children, as usual, are disproportionately affected by this organized terror.  Sometimes it’s because their family’s primary breadwinner is taken; sometimes it’s because they are their family’s primary breadwinner. Children are being left alone as parents are taken.  Families are unable to pay rent and grocery bills. Elders who receive care from their daughters, sisters, wives are left vulnerable.  The list goes on.  

Our faith reminds us that love is a verb.  We can’t believe in the inherent dignity of all living things without protecting, upholding, and fighting for the inherent dignity of all living things.  None of our principles are passive–each one calls us to act for justice in the world.  Here.  Now.  

In Minneapolis, we’re grieving, but we are not bending to fear and despair.  People are continuing constitutionally legal work to observe and document ICE activity, which is our right as citizens and can help ensure due process.  It can also enable us to more quickly support people who are detained.  

• Even if you are not in a state currently occupied, all indications are that you will be soon.  We’ve learned from Chicago and other places who were occupied before us, and we learn every day new tactics and ways to protect our communities’ safety.  Here are some things you can do to prepare: 
  
  • Get trained as a constitutional observer.  The ACLU in your state is a good place to find out who is offering trainings, or to request that they begin to do so.  Training will equip you to be the eyes and ears of justice effectively, consistently, nonviolently, and within the boundaries of our constitution.
    
  •  Build relationships with targeted communities.  The best way to find out how to keep people safe is to ask them directly what they need in order to be safe, and you can’t do that if they don’t trust you. 
    
  • Assess your comfort level of risk. We each have different considerations in our lives that determine how much risk we can tolerate. Honor those limits and choose your activity involvement accordingly. We all have roles to play. Many critical elements of organizing are not exciting or flashy or visible, but without them, organizing cannot be sustained long-term–and this situation is long-term.
    
  • Importantly, make no mistake: ICE takes US citizens. They take law abiding residents.  They take anyone they want at any time. It doesn’t matter what your status is or where you were born.  Most abductions are based on the color of your skin.  Secondary considerations are how much of a thorn you are in ICE’s side.  
    
  • Build mutual aid networks.  People will need food drops if they can’t leave their homes, accompaniment for their children at bus stops so that they are not abducted in front of their children, rides to and from work, support at shift changes at businesses, help moving their car in snow emergencies (yes, if you are in a snowy state, snow plowing requirements are opportunities for ICE to exploit, and they will).  These needs will vary community to community, which is why building relationships now is critical.  
    
  • Ensure safe data practices. This is something you should be doing anyway–the Broligarcy is watching.  Don’t use Facebook and other unencrypted apps and be vigilant–even encrypted groups can be infiltrated, as our friend Pete Hegseth so openly demonstrated.   
    

Our commitment to love and justice cannot succumb to hopelessness, fear, and despondence.  As Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote:  

“…One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires … causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both — are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.”

Get out there and shine, friends.  

—Ann Wiesner, UUWF Director