ST. PAUL, Minnesota — The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in the Midwestern state of Minnesota are known to the outside world for little other than a quirky accent and being often mistaken for part of Canada. Yet in the last week, the cities have erupted in protest and flames following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25.
As a third-year college student studying politics and media, I’ve seen my studies come to life in what has become the epicenter of yet another reincarnation of the Black Lives Matter movement. While news of the event has reached as far as Ukraine, the people on the ground are experiencing the situation in a very different way than what is being reported on television.
I have seen friends and classmates tear-gassed, arrested, and even assaulted by police — the very people put in place to protect us. And while many around the world are horrified by how American police have treated their citizens, it is the everyday reality of people of color in this country.
Regardless of mainstream media’s interpretation of events, the majority of protests in the Twin Cities have been peaceful. Innocent people have been tear-gassed in front of my eyes while calmly sitting on the side of the road with arms raised.
For those part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul community, it is clear who mourns the loss of momentary comfort in the closing of their local convenience store over the death of an innocent black man. And the community has not been gentle on those individuals. Never before have I seen so much noise created on social media. So much noise, in fact, that it has caused a total blackout of non-Black Lives Matter content. Users have made it socially unacceptable to not post about the issue; those that don’t are effectively called out and even shunned.
Social media is the driving force in this movement; it has allowed the individual voice to have authority over news and information. Beyond accessibility, this is because people have lost trust in media sources.
When what used to be trusted news outlets have been seen staging peaceful police interactions only to allow police to get back to violent action after cameras stop rolling, social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and even Tik Tok have led the way in shaping the narrative of what is happening on the ground.
More importantly, it has called people to action.
The Minneapolis- St. Paul community has made supporting black rights — not just quietly, to oneself, but vocally, paired with action — the new normal. For that, no matter the damage that is done to my city, I am incredibly proud.
Without downplaying the outright horror the black community faces daily, the revolution that has ignited in the last week positively shows just how many are willing to fight for the rights of their neighbors.
Yes, what is happening is scary. It is chaotic. But it is also unifying. It gives hope that something will change and the system will break.
At Floyd’s funeral in Minneapolis on June 4, Mel Reeves, a journalist and activist, told the crowd, “We are going to keep him alive. We plan on making this system choke on the name of George Floyd.”
That pressure has been felt by the police, the leadership, and those that deny the existence of a racial divide in this country. That pressure is only increasing.
While this story is about my experience living in Minneapolis-St. Paul during this time, as a white person, my experience does not matter. This is a time for black voices to be heard, not mine.
This week, I’ve learned more about systematic racism and oppression than I have in my years of schooling, conversations, and observations.
I’ve learned just how tired my black peers are.
As a white person who moved to the Twin Cities from the West Coast of the U.S. known for its diversity and liberal values, I was initially shocked by how inclusive and progressive this Midwestern city was. Yet, again, as a white person that moved here to attend an elite liberal arts college in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the cities, the inequalities that were exposed to the nation and the world in the last week were conveniently hidden from me in plain sight. It took the death of yet another innocent black man, the destruction of Minneapolis-St. Paul, and millions around the country risking their lives in the streets for something that is so obvious to so many to finally start to be understood by the non-black population.
What I want people to understand, specifically those outside the United States, is that this is not a sudden event. It stems not only from the centuries of oppression of black communities and communities of color in the Twin Cities and the country, but also from the blatant neglect of the U.S. government to take care of its people during a pandemic and subsequent financial crisis. If people weren’t unemployed, lacking adequate access to health care, and struggling to meet their basic needs while dealing with racial violence, maybe this week would have looked different.
Even though this may be the worst thing that has happened to our city in recent history, it has also unveiled a tremendous amount of strength that people usually characterized as calm, quiet Midwesterners possess.
In roughly one week we’ve achieved the arrest and charge of the four officers involved, raised millions in donations for Black Lives Matter and related organizations, terminated Minneapolis Public Schools’ contract with the police department, and commenced the first steps towards a community-based approach to a police free future. Most importantly, we’ve garnered the attention of the world in just how deep of an issue racial inequality is in a country perceived to be a global leader in human rights.
This is truly the beginning of the revolution.
Maya Sobchuk, a student of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a Kyiv Post intern in the summer of 2020.
