Manuel Pastor and Jody Agius Vallejo on Recent Events in Minneapolis

The most recent killing in the streets of Minneapolis— a 37-year old ICU nurse shot ten times by Border Patrol agents—has roiled America. As with the murder of George Floyd in the same city, video played a crucial role as federal authorities attempt to deny what everyone else believes they see: the unnecessary death of a protester who was protecting others.  

The effort to gaslight the American public is failing and a turning point seems to be upon us. What has been brewing in Minneapolis—and what we have witnessed across Southern California—is not as much political as civic: neighbors protecting neighbors in the face of enforcement practices they see as cruel, indiscriminate, and profoundly unjust.

There is also a growing realization that this is not really about immigration. When federal authorities suggests that they will withdraw from Minnesota if they can gain access to the state’s voter rolls, when the influx of enforcers is accompanied by an attack on Somalians as “garbage,” when masked federal agents seem to be seeking clashes with those who dare to exercise their first amendment right to protest or engage in mutual aid, there is much more afoot and much more at stake for our communities and our nation. These actions reveal a broader assault on democratic norms and human dignity.

At the Equity Research Institute (ERI), we try to combine rigor, relevance, and reach. We are fact-driven, public-facing, and believe deeply in dialogue between sectors. But we also know that staying true to our mission—data and analysis for social change—requires that we mourn the deaths in Minneapolis, reject the attempts to deny evident truths, and acknowledge the ways in which communities across the country are standing up for democracy.

There are reasons and times to be dispassionate – we hope that our own research on environment inequities, economic disparities, and immigrant realities is debated as to its veracity and even-handedness. But there are reasons and times to make clear the values that undergird your work. As the directors of ERI, we hope – and hold fast to the belief– that we as a nation will forge a way from chaos to community, and we are inspired by those organizing every day in communities near and far to make this happen.

–Professors Manuel Pastor and Jody Agius Vallejo 

For ways to support organizers on the ground in Minnesota, see the Stand with Minnesota Donation Directory

Disclaimer: The authors are not speaking on behalf of the University of Southern California or Dornsife College.

Image credits: Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons