We keep us safe

Every day our neighbors (both known and unknown) are being brutalized, threatened, kidnapped and killed by law enforcement. The brutalization of communities by law enforcement is one of the truest American values and one that is worthy of actively resisting against at every turn.

Communities who have been recently harassed by law enforcement in Minnesota have created a wealth of resources to document what they have learned while under siege and we wanted to share just a few of them here. If you think “it couldn’t happen here” it could - and we implore you to educate yourself and connect to your community to organize alongside your neighbors. We keep us safe.

• “Dispatch, Please Advise”: Tactics for Fighting the Federal Occupation of Minnesota by ICE A collective statement from Red-Winged Blackbird

• Winter Prep Info Sheet by Jacob Cochrane

• Lessons and Resources from Minneapolis

If you’re able, consider assembling whistle kits to share with your neighbors and print/distribute Know Your Rights cards throughout your community. Include flyers to direct folks to use the SALUTE protocol and contacts for your local ICEWATCH community.

And if you’re interested in more expanded resources beyond immigration defense, here are some resources for imagining and working toward an abolitionist future that we are inspired by and learn from:

• Transform Harm: A treasure trove of writing, videos, toolkits and guidance on reimagining justice and accountability in communities

• Get in Formation - A Community Safety Toolkit by Vision Change Win: We revisit this tool routinely for our work and how we consider what it means to gather safely.

• Critical Resistance is present in both NYC and PDX and works actively toward the end of policing in communities. They’re a great org to tap in to and a great resource to learn from (here’s one of our favorite resources of theirs - A World Without Walls)