1. Queer folks and the media will sometimes talk about the needs of “the queer community”, “the LGBTQ community” or “the trans community”.
But LGBTQ folks, like any identity group, don’t all want the same things.
But LGBTQ folks, like any identity group, don’t all want the same things.
2. The more radical are happy to call out others for not queering appropriately by their standards.
3. This is how you get a group of queer activists barring Minneapolis city councillor Andrea Jenkins from leaving the Taking Back Pride march for 2 hours until she signed their demands.
minnesotareformer.com/briefs/protest…
minnesotareformer.com/briefs/protest…
4. Jenkins, a Democrat who was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 2018, is the first openly trans black woman to be elected to public office in the US. She’s also the VP of the city council.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Je…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Je…
5. This was year 5 of Taking Back Pride, a smaller more radical pride event that seems to envision itself as carrying the torch of the 1969 Stonewall riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City.
1: mprnews.org/story/2021/06/…
2, 3, 4: archive.ph/wQ3BU
1: mprnews.org/story/2021/06/…
2, 3, 4: archive.ph/wQ3BU
6. An activist accused Jenkins of showing up to Taking Back Pride “for a photo-op”. She was among hundreds of people who attended.
mprnews.org/story/2021/06/…
mprnews.org/story/2021/06/…
7. After being stuck in her car for 2 hours, unable to leave Loring Park where the march had ended, …
8. … Jenkins signed a handwritten list of 6 demands titled “THE PEOPLE’S DEMANDS”.
1) CPAC — Community Police Accountability Commission
2) Reopen ALL the cases of murders (Kobe Heisler, Brian Q, etc)
3) Drop the charges for all 656 protesters & other protesters from 2020
1) CPAC — Community Police Accountability Commission
2) Reopen ALL the cases of murders (Kobe Heisler, Brian Q, etc)
3) Drop the charges for all 656 protesters & other protesters from 2020
9.
4) Make all information on the murder of Winston Smith available
5) Jacob Frey’s immediate resignation
6) Leave George Floyd Square alone PERIOD
archive.ph/MOs50
The Minnesota Reformer noted that Jenkins has “no control over” some of these demands.
4) Make all information on the murder of Winston Smith available
5) Jacob Frey’s immediate resignation
6) Leave George Floyd Square alone PERIOD
archive.ph/MOs50
The Minnesota Reformer noted that Jenkins has “no control over” some of these demands.
10. What “people” do these activists represent and how many of them are residents near the intersection of 38th & Chicago (aka George Floyd Square)?
11. Jenkins represents Ward 8, one of two wards that George Floyd Square is in. (The other is Ward 9, represented by Alondra Cano.)
https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1400567386785390599
12. As Jenkins noted, business owners and residents want the intersection to be open. Some of the business owners are black and have suffered because of the year-long street closures and the pandemic.
https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1408253313812996096
14. This was a performance—an exercise in power. Right now it looks like a symbolic victory that just pissed Jenkins off and didn’t result in any actual change. The Minnesota Reformer noted that Jenkins has “no control over” some of these demands.
15.
“I ain’t never ran from none of this shit,” Jenkins said, clearly antagonized. “I ran to represent people. That’s what I did.” She challenged the activists to do the same.”
“I ain’t never ran from none of this shit,” Jenkins said, clearly antagonized. “I ran to represent people. That’s what I did.” She challenged the activists to do the same.”
16. The above quote reminded me of this clip of Whoopi Goldberg:
Source: Season 2, episode 6 of “The Shop: Uninterrupted” on HBO.
Source: Season 2, episode 6 of “The Shop: Uninterrupted” on HBO.
https://twitter.com/iamchanteezy/status/1409207686248468484
17.
”We’ve been doing all that work that all the 5-year-olds say “Well y’all haven’t been doin’ it.”—BULLSHIT!”
”We’ve been doing all that work that all the 5-year-olds say “Well y’all haven’t been doin’ it.”—BULLSHIT!”
18.
"Nobody does everything the way you want 'em to do it but goddamn, DO NOT put down the people whose SHOULDERS you’re standing on. You are STANDING on our shoulders & we are HOLDING the line & for people to say “you’re uninspire”—FUCK YOU—uninspiring. What are you inspiring?"
"Nobody does everything the way you want 'em to do it but goddamn, DO NOT put down the people whose SHOULDERS you’re standing on. You are STANDING on our shoulders & we are HOLDING the line & for people to say “you’re uninspire”—FUCK YOU—uninspiring. What are you inspiring?"
19. This incident is reminiscent of the July 2016 blockade of the Toronto Pride Parade by members of Black Lives Matter Toronto. Executive director of Pride Toronto, Mathieu Chantelois, also signed their list of demands.
cp24.com/news/pride-org…
cp24.com/news/pride-org…
21. Chantelois later told CP24 that he had only agreed to have a conversation at a later date, not to the list of demands and that he’d signed the document to keep the parade moving.
22.
“My priority yesterday was to make the parade move. We had a million people waiting, including people from marginalized communities. The show and the parade had to go on by respect for all these people.”
“My priority yesterday was to make the parade move. We had a million people waiting, including people from marginalized communities. The show and the parade had to go on by respect for all these people.”
23. Transcript of CP24 interview with Chantelois.
blmpride.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/cha…
Video & article:
cp24.com/news/pride-org…
blmpride.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/cha…
Video & article:
cp24.com/news/pride-org…
24. Chantelois told CP24 he thought most of the requests were “reasonable”. “Frankly they could have send me an email and I would agree to all these things. "
25. But Chantelois said that the community needed to decide on “Removal of police floats/booths in all Pride marches/parades/community spaces."
26.
“Frankly, Black Life Matters [sic] is not gonna tell us that there’s no more floats anymore in the parade. I will not tell you that there’s no more float in the parade, because Pride is bigger than Black Live Matters. It’s definitely bigger than me and my committee.”
“Frankly, Black Life Matters [sic] is not gonna tell us that there’s no more floats anymore in the parade. I will not tell you that there’s no more float in the parade, because Pride is bigger than Black Live Matters. It’s definitely bigger than me and my committee.”
27.
“So yesterday we agree to have a conversation about this. We agree that we will bring this to the community and to the membership, but, at the end of the day, if my membership says “No way we want the police to have floats,” they decide.”
“So yesterday we agree to have a conversation about this. We agree that we will bring this to the community and to the membership, but, at the end of the day, if my membership says “No way we want the police to have floats,” they decide.”
28. By August Chantelois was out. He resigned after staff accused him of making “racist, sexist and transphobic comments, sexual harassment, and personal attacks” as well as exposing staff "to controlled substances that he physically left in the office”.
globalnews.ca/news/2875763/p…
globalnews.ca/news/2875763/p…
29. I can’t find any follow up on these allegations in the media since initial August 2016.
30. In January 2017 at Pride Toronto’s annual general meeting, "members voted in support of demands from Black Lives Matter Toronto, including the removal of police floats from future parades."
cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
31. Jenkins is up for re-election this year but so far she’s running unopposed. The filing deadline to run is 8/10/21.
wedgelive.com/whos-running-i…
wedgelive.com/whos-running-i…
32. Jenkins will again be supported by the non-partisan* Victory Fund, the largest LGBTQ political action committee in the US.
* (They have in the past supported GOP candidates but I can’t figure out if any of their current candidates are Republicans.)
victoryfund.org/candidate/jenk…
* (They have in the past supported GOP candidates but I can’t figure out if any of their current candidates are Republicans.)
victoryfund.org/candidate/jenk…
33. Thank you to the Minneapolis follower who brought The Reformer story to my attention.
34. I forgot to include this:
"Chantelois told Global News Wednesday he had not seen the letter and was not aware of its existence prior to being contacted, but denied all allegations purportedly made by Pride Toronto staff."
"Chantelois told Global News Wednesday he had not seen the letter and was not aware of its existence prior to being contacted, but denied all allegations purportedly made by Pride Toronto staff."
https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1410073078642757633
35.
"Pride Toronto spokeswoman Victoria Schwarzl declined to confirm or deny the validity of the email, or the allegations made therein. Global News has not been able to independently verify any of the allegations made in the email.”
"Pride Toronto spokeswoman Victoria Schwarzl declined to confirm or deny the validity of the email, or the allegations made therein. Global News has not been able to independently verify any of the allegations made in the email.”
36. Since there doesn’t appear to be any media or legal follow up it’s unclear if this was an attempted smear against Chantelois by people in the community who didn’t like him and/or there is some truth to the allegations.
37. Officially Chantelois parted ways with Pride Toronto for a new job.
38. Just found this statement from Pride Toronto’s Board of Directors acknowledging "serious allegations against the Executive Director.”
reddit.com/r/toronto/comm…
thestar.com/news/gta/2016/…
reddit.com/r/toronto/comm…
thestar.com/news/gta/2016/…
39. After receiving the letter with the allegations, the board hired a law firm to conduct an investigation but "Rather than complete the investigation, Mathieu Chantelois chose to submit his resignation. The Board accepted his resignation."
40. Update:
Other black leaders in Minneapolis are not at all impressed with protesters’ treatment of Andrea Jenkins after the Take Back Pride march. They called it “unproductive”, “violent”, and “Neanderthal”.
Other black leaders in Minneapolis are not at all impressed with protesters’ treatment of Andrea Jenkins after the Take Back Pride march. They called it “unproductive”, “violent”, and “Neanderthal”.
41. Peace activist, founder of A Mothers Love, & former MPD police sergeant Lisa Clemons:
"It was Neanderthal, it was intimidation tactics, it was beneath anything that I've ever seen."
amothersloveinitiative.org/our-team
"It was Neanderthal, it was intimidation tactics, it was beneath anything that I've ever seen."
amothersloveinitiative.org/our-team
42. Clemons:
"You hold somebody hostage for nearly two hours—force them—coerce them into signing a bogus document that is worth nothing but the paper it's written on and you believe you've got your voice heard? Absolutely not."
"You hold somebody hostage for nearly two hours—force them—coerce them into signing a bogus document that is worth nothing but the paper it's written on and you believe you've got your voice heard? Absolutely not."
43. Carmen Means, pastor and executive director of the Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization who is also running for city council in Ward 9:
"Cuz there was a way to be heard, and that was not the way."
thecentralneighborhood.com/our-team
carmenforward9.com/about
"Cuz there was a way to be heard, and that was not the way."
thecentralneighborhood.com/our-team
carmenforward9.com/about
44. Means:
"They have a right to be enraged, they have a right to be suspicious—to operate with a healthy suspicion—but what you don't have a right to do is be violent and that what we seen on that video—my opinion—was very violent.”
There are no reports of physical violence.
"They have a right to be enraged, they have a right to be suspicious—to operate with a healthy suspicion—but what you don't have a right to do is be violent and that what we seen on that video—my opinion—was very violent.”
There are no reports of physical violence.
45. Means:
"I think in that video we seen a lack of care of care of humanity, we seen a lack of care of a black trans woman that is responsible for some of the liberations that our trans community are able to enjoy up to now.”
"I think in that video we seen a lack of care of care of humanity, we seen a lack of care of a black trans woman that is responsible for some of the liberations that our trans community are able to enjoy up to now.”
56. Phillipe Cunningham, city council member for Ward 4 who is a black trans man said that he was “distressed by this unproductive direct action against her."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillipe_…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillipe_…
57. WCCO said that Jenkins had tried to "defuse a disagreement with an activist by walking away" but then protesters surrounded her car. She said "she was traumatized by the group for 90 minutes".
(In tweet #3 I wrote “2 hours” because that’s what The Reformer reported.”)
(In tweet #3 I wrote “2 hours” because that’s what The Reformer reported.”)
58. Jenkins is shown in a video telling the protesters around her car: "Police violence is bad, community violence is just as bad. I'm being violated right now.”
I haven’t found any reports of physical violence or property damage during the incident.
I haven’t found any reports of physical violence or property damage during the incident.
59. Donald Hooker Jr., one of the protesters who held Jenkins hostage and who livestreamed the incident said it was because “As a politician, she needs to take accountability [sic] for what she's done in the last year. …
60.
…And the fact that city council has not passed any legislation like community control of the police, city council is just giving them more money…”
(Interview clip is cut mid sentence.)
…And the fact that city council has not passed any legislation like community control of the police, city council is just giving them more money…”
(Interview clip is cut mid sentence.)
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