Communities on edge from the strokes of a president’s pen
Illustration by Kiya Darden/North News intern
With reporting from Editor David Pierini and North News interns Ta’Khya Carlisle, Manal Bare, Aiyana Kirk and Clarence Ransom
Susanna went to church on a Sunday morning in mid-February, expecting to see a sanctuary full of friends.
The pews were mostly empty.
“It’s always full, but people are afraid,” said the 64-year-old Northsider, who, like many at her church, is an undocumented resident. “I went to the Mercado Central on the weekend, and it was empty. The whole community is in a panic.”
As President Donald Trump signs orders to create his conception of a “Great America,” many communities targeted by his initiatives retreat to the shadows.
Immigrant families are fearful of ICE raids. LGBTQ+ people feel gut-punched by a government bent on eliminating their rights and erasing their identities. Even some schools and non-profits have declined to speak publicly, afraid of calling attention to the vulnerable people they serve and potentially losing the federal funds that feed, house, and educate their communities.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, and corporations, like Target, are bending by rolling back DEI programs.
Trump hopes to reshape democracy and abolish long-established checks on presidential power. He and some of his advisors have openly discussed ignoring judicial orders meant to rein in some of his directives, such as freezing federal spending, dismantling government departments, and slashing federal employees.
Signs of fear
Thousands gathered on Lake Street for a Feb.1 rally in support of immigrants, especially those undocumented who are targeted by President Donald Trump's call for mass deportations. Photo by Samuel Wilbur
The fear of mass deportations of undocumented people is visible with smaller church crowds, quiet businesses usually bustling with Latino families, and, in some cases, school absences. One executive order eliminated a policy that designated schools and churches off-limits to immigration enforcement officers.
In a part of the city where speaking truth to power is as necessary as breathing, many Northsiders are choosing their words carefully.
One local pastor said families are filling out documents to delegate parental authority to someone else in the event they are arrested, detained and separated from their children. He has seen some parents crying as they sign the forms.
“Parents are worried; it’s nerve-wracking,” the pastor said. “There’s a lot of fear. We know what people are going through. We try to give them information. We go out of our way to shake that hand a little harder or give a bigger hug that lets them know they’re not alone.”
Sarah Silva, public policy and civic engagement advisor with the CAPI Immigrant Opportunity Center, said her organization is collaborating with the American Civil Liberties Union on a “freedom firewall response” to pressure state leaders in developing plans to protect Minnesota’s immigrant communities.
She also said the ACLU has filed several lawsuits to prevent many of the new policies coming out of the Trump White House.
“Being an organization that caters to a lot of different immigrant communities, it is hard to understand that our own employees could also be targeted,” Silva said. “How do we keep them safe? How do we keep everyone safe? Given that information, how do we work together in allyship to start changing the narrative to who and what immigrants are and what they contribute to the state, our economy, and the U.S.?”
Mayor Jacob Frey said the city’s Latino shops and restaurants have seen a 40 percent drop in business. Families aren’t shopping, and some are not showing up for work, afraid of a run-in with immigration enforcement officers.
The owner of Colonial Market and Restaurant has had to pause the development of a North Minneapolis store because revenues at his Lake Street store tanked since Trump took office (see story Page 10).
The staff of NorthPoint Health and Wellness, the Northside’s largest health center, has fielded calls from worried clients. According to North Point CEO Kimberly Spate, the staff works to reassure immigrant families that they and their information are safe.
“The thing I’m most concerned about is people not seeking care because they’re afraid of what might happen,” she said. “We want people to feel like this is a safe place, and if they need care, to seek it out.”
Spates said leaders have tried to keep its operations steady and not shift its mission headlines.
The non-profit clinic is funded by the county, private donors, and insurance reimbursements from patients with private coverage. Spates said the medical team should be able to treat low-income patients should new policies impact Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements.
“To the extent that things are happening right now, we can make adjustments,” she said. “I’m more worried about smaller clinics that rely more heavily on federal funding. It’s a little more precarious for them, but no one has had to shut down at this point.”
The Northside could see several impacts if the Trump administration eliminates federal funding of local programs.
With three different executive orders, Trump is threatening to withhold funds for schools that teach what conservatives call an indoctrination curriculum.
The schools that offer culturally inclusive lessons and after-school programming are targets.
One order reinstates his 1776 Commission to promote a “patriotic” education favored by conservatives.
“I can’t speak for what Minneapolis Public Schools will do in the long run, but I would be surprised if they try and bend too much,” said David Tarlton, director of education at PYC Arts and Technology High School, a Northside alternative school with about 104 students. “We’ve got to make sure that our kids see themselves in our history. This is their country, too. It’s important to see history as who we are and what we are.”
Business and community leaders also fear what will happen to small non-profits that receive federal dollars for immigrant resettlement services, affordable housing, and workforce development.
Kristel Porter, executive director of the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition, said the city of Minneapolis receives millions of dollars each from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
“There are all these projects in the pipeline that are expecting that funding,” Porter said. “A lot of those projects are a mixture of affordable housing and retail, and a lot of the (project costs) come from CDBG funding.
“That’s where I get very, very nervous if we want to redevelop West Broadway Avenue.”
Food shelves and the organizations that help stock them say a funding freeze is already impacting access to food.
Zach Rovold, the public affairs director for Second Harvest Heartland, a non-profit food provider that fills several food shelves in North Minneapolis, worries that a food shortage and a rollback on benefits create a “perfect storm.”
Jalilia Brown, executive director of the Shiloh Cares Food Shelf at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, said staff already sees limits to the types of food they can access. However, the number of people needing the food shelf has also increased.
“This freeze is interrupting our team food partners and causing lots of fear and anxiety amongst our BIPOC community in North Minneapolis,” Brown said. “We are adjusting, and we have contacted our elected officials. We believe that we will get through this.”
Stay or go?
Susanna lives with two daughters, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren. All but Susanna were born in the United States, but she has lived in Minnesota for 35 years.
She said she thinks about returning to Mexico rather than risk being deported “like a delinquent.” But her life is here, she said.
Susanna has no criminal record. She continues to go to church because, as she says, “I go where God wants me.” Other than attending church, she limits her trips out of the house.
During an interview, Susanna held her hands in front of her and crossed them at the wrists. She said that should ICE detain her, she would request an interpreter because she would have something to say.
“These hands worked for over 30 years,” she said. “I pay my taxes, I work hard, I’m part of the economy. I am not a criminal.”
‘Sick of having to be so damn resilient’
Northside poet Davi Gray uses poetry as a balm for fear and panic. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor with reporting from Azalea Petry-Towns, North News intern
President Donald Trump signed executive orders that abrade the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. In response, Davi Gray penned something stronger.
Poetry is an act of resistance for the Northside writer. One week after Trump's inauguration, Gray wrote “America” never loved me. One excerpt reads:
“America” never loved me
but I learned love comes from the people. None of those billionaire thugs or duly elected gangsters ever fed me or my kind so much as a flat buttered rock.
Gray routinely reads from stages across the Twin Cities. Their writing is equal parts life support and shield from hate. Still, they feel a bit weary of Trump’s recent orders.
“I know how hard it is hitting other people,” said Gray, whose pronouns are they/she. “It’s especially true of youth and people fresh to themselves, their identities, and the world. It’s really hard to feel resilient. I told my therapist the other day, I’m sick of having to be so damn resilient.”
The executive actions include gender marker restrictions on documents, a reinstated military ban on transgender servicemembers, preventing gender-affirming care, encouraging criminal charges for teachers who affirm and support LGBTQ+ students and prohibiting transgender girls from taking part in school sports.
Legal challenges are underway. Meanwhile, the LGBTQ+ community is feeling uncertainty and panic, said Madeline Gasper, the chief operating officer of the Trans Health Collective, a Minneapolis clinic offering electrolysis and surgery prep for transgender clients.
“There’s some depression and feeling downtrodden because it’s not just one executive order,” Gasper said. “Does it mean I won't be able to get surgery? Does this mean I won't be able to get access to hormones? Does this mean I won't be able to get access to any medical care because my gender identity doesn't match my driver’s license, and now I can't update my documents?”
Gray, whose birth certificate declares X for their gender, wonders whether they can get a passport. Neither declaring male or female is true for them.
“One of the things about movements, whether it's women, Black or queer and trans liberation, these are about identities that other people can’t actually take away from us, no matter what kind of policy they have,” said Sam Graystar, director of STAR MPLS, an LGBTQ+/BIPOC liberation organization in North Minneapolis. “We are uniting with our neighbors, joining together and we’re just gonna love and support each other.”
Gray has grown stronger as she has embraced their true self. It has taken a blend of therapy, writing, performing and a community of like souls.
They said they’ve come to understand how attacks on identity are a sign the instigators are trying to avoid something about themselves.
“Most people distract themselves until death instead of facing the big questions,” Gray said. “If the answer important to you is what other people have in their pants, you’ve got problems you’re not facing.”
Corporations, shoppers and entrepreneurs respond to DEI Cuts
Houston White said his relationship with Target will continue despite the store announcing cutbacks to DEI programs. File photo
By David Pierini, Editor and Manal Bare, North News intern
When Target announced in early February that it would end its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong led a rally downtown and called for a boycott of Target stores.
Northsiders wondered what would become of the clothing line, coffee, and skin care products under the name of Camden entrepreneur Houston White. Target signed with White, whose fashion styles range from chic casual to Sunday-best. There is even a crewneck t-shirt for sale with “Black Excellence” emblazoned across the chest.
Shortly after the call to rally and boycott, White took to Instagram with a video to say his relationship with Target will continue.
“Before passing judgment and making decisions based on headlines and hearsay, I thought it important for you to understand my experience with Target,” White wrote in a post he headlined Deeper than DEI. “Despite popular opinion, behind every corporation, there are REAL people. My people at Target have believed in me, invested in me, and helped me bring forth a brand that celebrates MY heritage.
“I can’t speak to decisions they’ve made on a corporate level because it’s out of my line of sight. I CAN speak to decisions they’ve made with me that have impacted my enterprise and my community in many positive ways over the years. Remember… Human connection is the most powerful force in nature. This partnership will continue because the relationship continues.”
More than 7,000 people viewed the post that weekend, and comments were overwhelmingly supportive.
The Trump administration is working to eliminate public and private DEI policies that address racial justice. Corporations like Target, Amazon, and McDonald’s have scaled back or eliminated initiatives. Universities are being asked to cease DEI programming or face cuts to federal funds. K-12 schools are under pressure to censor discussions of race and gender-based discrimination.
Civil rights groups have sued and say Trump's executive orders on DEI are part of a conservative backlash against systemic racism ignited by the police murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Maya Sullivan, the dean of students at Metro State University, said Black and LGBTQ+ students have knocked on her door asking if their grants and government loans are safe.
“What does it mean if our federal funding is removed if we continue to provide safe spaces?” Sullivan said during a recent DEI panel at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum in North Minneapolis. “Seventy percent of our students receive some sort of federal financial aid. So if 70 percent of our students do not have federal funds to attend school, will they attend? Probably not. Is the school going to be operating?”
Another panelist, Dr. Yohuru Wiliams, professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, said attacking DEI has been a regular part of the conservative agenda.
“DEI has been the policy framework with 1,000 names,” Williams said. “Every 10 years, we go through a cycle of somebody outing it as being somehow fundamentally un-American or problematic only to be rebranded.”
As for retail companies, like Target, that bend to political pressures, a shopping boycott offers a mixed outcome, said Kristel Porter, executive director of the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition.
She said a shopping boycott would hurt Target. It would hurt entrepreneurs like White, who sell their products through Target.
“If we don’t buy Target, we’re messing with a lot of people that worked hard to put their products on the shelves,” Porter said. “If Black people alone stop purchasing from Target for one week, they would lose a billion and half dollars. What could we do if we got together to buy stock in those companies?”
Near-empty stores illustrate the fears of families
Daniel Hernandez hopes to open a Colonial Market in North Minneapolis. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
A building on Penn Avenue near Lowry remains vacant, waiting to be filled with fresh food and customers glad to see the return of a grocery store.
But the opening of a second Colonial Market is on pause. Owner Daniel Hernandez said the first four weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term have cost him $100,000 in revenue.
Hernandez is among hundreds of Latino entrepreneurs in Minneapolis who have seen a sharp drop off in customers and profits after Trump ramped up plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Mayor Jacob Frey said customer traffic at Latino-owned stores is down more than 40 percent. He and Hernandez held a news conference at his Lake Street store on Feb. 18 to urge residents to patronize Latino-run businesses that Saturday.
“I’m working with the city right now, but as it goes, I will need the support of everybody,” said Hernandez, who secured a former Aldi store to develop a market and restaurant. “Anybody who runs a business, we come with our savings, we come with loans but we also count on cash flow. We’re minus $100,000. So I’m not saying I’m not opening, I’m saying I need help.
“I know the people of North Minneapolis are worried, but don’t worry, I’m coming.”
Frey reminded Latino business leaders at the Colonial Market news conference that the city has a separation policy, meaning no city department, including police, will provide any information to immigration enforcement.
He said the city recently received a letter from the Trump administration threatening to withhold federal funds because it’s a separation city.
“There are people who are terrified because of the rhetoric coming out of the White House,” Frey said. “People who have been members of this community far longer than I have are under attack. It’s on every single one of us to stand up for them.”
Viviana Salazar, a Northsider and commissioner for the Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights, said many neighbors have offered to shop for people too afraid to leave their homes.
She helped organize an event in North Minneapolis with an immigration attorney who answered questions about fundamental rights for immigrants.
She tells people to continue their daily lives and stay close to their community.
“If you just stay home and you’re afraid, you’re only going to make yourself feel isolated when you disconnect from that community,” she said.