Coalition of Community Organizations to March in Mayor Jacob Frey’s Neighborhood

Coalition of Community Organizations to March in Mayor Jacob Frey’s Neighborhood Protesting DFL Endorsement Maneuvers, Demanding Stricter Enforcement on Sanctuary for Immigrants, and a Fair Deal for Roof Depot Purchase

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A coalition of local activist organizations will march through Mayor Jacob Frey’s Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood on the evening of Thursday, August 28th, highlighting what they see as the Mayor’s history of opposition to popular demands.

The protest was first called by the Climate Justice Committee (CJC), a local activist group focused on fighting urban pollution and environmental racism in the Twin Cities, who have been active in the East Phillips neighborhood’s campaign to turn the old Roof Depot into an urban farm and community center. After public outrage over the DFL’s withdrawal of its official endorsement to opposition candidate Omar Fateh, the scope of the rally has grown significantly, with more than a dozen local organizations now signing on to the call for protest.

“Frey’s moves last week need to be seen for what they are: blatantly corrupt, and fundamentally anti-democratic,” said Charlie Berg, a member of the Climate Justice Committee. “We were already going to be here to demand justice for East Phillips as they try to close the deal on purchasing the Roof Depot, but now it’s become clear that this needs to go bigger [...] Every organizer I know, whether they’re focused on police accountability, Palestine, immigrants rights, or anything else, has had Frey stand in the way of their efforts.”

Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) member Maggie Murphy criticized Frey’s lack of follow-through on his pledge to make Minneapolis a Sanctuary City for immigrants, saying, “real sanctuary means no cooperation, for any reason, under any circumstance. We will settle for nothing less. MIRAC specifically calls on Mayor Frey to support a real sanctuary city. After his blatant lies and endless excuses about the June 3rd federal raid, Frey owes it to the immigrants of Minneapolis to take a stand - we demand he tell ICE they are never welcome in our city. Mayors and governors from other cities and states have proven this is possible. Frey needs to either step up or step out of the way so we can elect a mayor who will fight with us.”