Hear Us

Thank you to the planners, the volunteers, the people who honked at us on the bridges and the passersby who joined us for our MN Weekend of Action. On Friday, we made posters and signs for Sunday’s Pro-Choice Bridge Brigade. Saturday, 20 people came out to write postcards to help Flip the MN Senate; more than 700 postcards were created! We enjoyed perfect Fall weather as we door knocked for a phenomenal Pro-Choice candidate, Judy Seeberger (SD41) on Saturday afternoon in Cottage Grove. Sunday morning, 30 plus volunteers held up Vote Pro-Choice signs on three prominent bridges in the Twin Cities before the Vikings game. (Let’s hope their win rubs off on us!)

Some of us attended the live taping of the Island of Discarded Women (IODW) Sunday night. We helped attendees register to vote and sent postcards to select addresses encouraging folks to vote for pro-choice candidates.

At the event, Oogie_Push from the Meskwaki Nation near Tama, Iowa told a story about making calls to encourage voters in her community. They made hundreds of calls - often reaching people they knew. Many decided after the call to vote. In the end, their candidate won by 48 votes. (You can hear more stories once the podcast IOWD broadcasts!)

We make a difference! Know that and please continue to make a difference. It’s going to take all of us!

If you have an event you want us to promote, please send it to us admin@womensmarchmn.com. We have postcards and scripts if you want to send them, again email us and we’ll find a way to get you the supplies. (Like the woman who needs 400+ for her apartment neighbors to fill out!) We will continue to keep our calendar updated.

We can do it together!!

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Join us on Wednesday, May 18th at 6:30 p.m. CT
Register now!

We are excited to hear from Bernadine Joselyn who just spent three weeks at the Polish-Ukrainian border welcoming and processing evacuees fleeing Russia’s war with Ukraine. Bernadine, who is director of Public Policy and Engagement at Blandin Foundation, lived and worked in Russia 20 years ago with the U.S. Foreign Service and other international development organizations, and now lives in Grand Rapids, MN with her Ukrainian husband.

Bernadine heard about the opportunity to help and quickly found herself in the evacuee center at Korcwoza, about 20 kilometers from the actual border

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Last week was Black Maternal Health Week. In its honor, the MN State House Black Maternal Health Caucus hosted the “Expecting Better” roundtable. MN legislators and health advocates addressed Black maternal mortality and morbidity disparities in MN. The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy nations. In the U.S., the rates are higher for people of color, due to structural racism and lack of access to healthcare. In MN, Black people are more than twice as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white people. The participants in the roundtable gave powerful accounts of how racism in healthcare had impacted them personally, as well as other people in their lives.

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A contingency from Women’s March Minnesota (WMM) had a night out with the Island of Discarded Women. The Island is a podcast that is recorded live at the Women’s Club in Minneapolis. The show is hosted by Sue Scott, whose work with the Prairie Home Companion is well known. It features storytelling, music and a conversation with accomplished women who working to make the world better, often by lifting up other women or others in need of lift.

On April 10, Sue was joined by Dr. Artika Tyner, is the director of the Center on Race, Leadership and Social Justice at the University of St. Thomas and the founder of Planting People Growing Justice and musical guest, powerhouse singer/songwriter Rachel Kurtz.

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A group of Women’s March MN members are planning to go see Sue Scott's Island of Discarded Women LIVE Show and Podcast at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis on April 10. It’s an evening of empowering stories, music, and conversation with or without dinner and drinks. The plan is to each get our own tickets from the Island of Discarded Women website – but reply to this email by April 7 if you plan to come and we’ll try to sit all together. (It’s tabled seating.)

Just the facts:

• Show Tickets are $20 (Buy online)

• DATE: Sunday April 10

• TIME: Doors open at 5:30pm for purchasing dinner + drinks at your table (Service continues throughout the show. Menu includes Vegan and GF options.)

• Show from 7:00 to 8:30pm

• PLACE: The Lounge at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove St., Minneapolis, 55403

• COVID PROTOCOLS: Island of Discarded Women will continue to require proof of vaccination, or a negative Covid test. Audience members are encouraged to wear masks except when dining.

Let us know you’re coming, if you want to sit with other WMM members. (Reply to this message or email mailto:admin@womensmarchmn.com)

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To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8), ERA Minnesota (ERAMN) held a press conference to deliver “Minnesotans for Equality” Petition to MN Senate leadership demanding they allow Minnesotans to vote for Equal Rights Amendment in Minnesota on November ballot. (Petition is still open.) We heard from MN Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve, ERAMN executive director Suzann Willhite, ERAMN Founder Betty Folliard and several legislators: Senator Kunesch, Senator Pappas, Senator Dibble, Senator Chuck Wiger and Representative Bahner.

And then delivered the “Minnesotans for Equality” Petition to Senate leadership: Senator Jeremy Miller (R, 28), Senator Warren Limmer (R, 34) and Andrew Mathews (R, 15) Contact them to demand they allow Minnesotans to vote for Equality on November ballot.

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Women's March MN (WMM) hosts ERA Minnesota (ERAMN) on KFAI’s International Women’s Day programming on March 8 from 6-7pm. Please tune in at 90.3fm in the Twin Cities or online around the world.

WMM board member Ann Treacy hosts the conversion on ERA Minnesota and making gender rights part of Minnesota constitution. First joined by MNERA president, Suzann Willhite, we talk about the history and the need for Equal Rights Amendment in Minnesota and in the US. Many people believe the gender is a protected class in the constitution – it is not. And until it is we are not equally represented or protected. We’ll talk about what needs to happen to make it happen and then speak with Representative Hornstein and Representation Bahner about the bills they have introduced to get it done. Finally, we’ll hear from folks on the street (or from a Zoom) on what passing of the ERA would mean to them.

We also hear music from Minnesota musicians: Dessa, Kashimana, Nora Montenez Patterson (borrowed with permission from Sue Scott and the Island of Discarded Women) and Kiss the Tiger.

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In 2021, more than 360 voter suppression bills were introduced in 47 states in the U.S., including in MN. These laws aim to make it harder for people to vote, and they particularly impact communities of color.

Join us next Thursday (MN State Capitol, 6-7pm) on the first anniversary of the Jan 6 failed rightwing coup attempt, to rally in defense of democracy and call on lawmakers to preserve, protect and strengthen our right to vote. Join us as we demand that Congress pass the Freedom to Vote Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Protecting our Democracy Act.

This event is part of a nationwide day of action focused on democracy and is being organized by a number of different MN Indivisible groups.

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Women’s March MN is pleased to join with ERA Minnesota and others to host ERA Rally @ the Capitol on January 31, which is the first day of our 2022 Minnesota state legislative session. We are inviting ERA bill authors and supporters to speak in the Capitol rotunda on why the ERA is foundational to providing equality for all persons. People are invited to participate in the rally and then advocate for equality by meeting with their legislators. We will be following all recommended Covid safety protocols.

Please help build the momentum by saving the date and spreading the word!

• WHAT: Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Rally

• WHEN: January 31, 2022 - 11 am to 12 noon

• WHERE: MN State Capitol Rotunda

• WHY: Organize, educate & activate for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution and support the enactment of the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution

• RSVP: Info@eramn.org

Get more information on finding/contacting your legislators. Remember to wear green!

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The March in Minneapolis was not the only march that happened to lift up Reproductive Freedom in Minnesota this month. There were marches all over Minnesota. If you hosted or attended a March outside of Minneapolis, we’d like to hear from you! We’d love to feature your story and/or pictures here on the website.

We have a couple of questions to get your started, but feel free to send more or less.

• What was the event like? (March/speakers/rally in a park…)

• Time and location please?

• Did you have any speakers, performers, planners or partners you’d like to highlight?

• How many people showed up?

• Anything you’d like us to add?

And feel free to send pictures – just email us at Admin Committee admin@womensmarchmn.com.

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Thank you to our partners UnRestrict Minnesota, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and 11 others, the 200 volunteers, and an estimated 10,000 people who marched with us in Minneapolis Saturday, October 2, 2021 for #BansOffOuBodies: March for Reproductive Freedom. We joined more than 650 marches across the country to demand an end to the dangerous, escalating attacks on reproductive healthcare in this country. The magnitude of the response demonstrates what surveys have already indicated, that 74 percent of Minnesotans support to access abortion without restrictions.
(photo credit Anne Hodson 2021)

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Thank you to the volunteers, speakers, performers, planners, partners and attendees who made the #BansoffourBodies March for Reproductive Justice such a success. If you have photos share please post them on the Women’s March Facebook Page. (Photos below courtesy of Anne Hodson.)

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BansOffOurBodies: A March for Reproductive Freedom is happening on Saturday, October 2 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The planners are pleased to announce performers for the program in Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Loring Park. (Speakers were announced earlier this week.)

• Performers at the Sculpture Garden include Unlawful Assembly and Katy Vernon.

• Performers at Loring Park include Rachel Kurtz, Mae Simpson, Lenora Elaine, Mikko Blaze, Zon Legacy Phoenix and The Insomniac.

The march to Loring Park will begin at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at 11:00; the rally will start around noon when attendees reach Loring Park. BansOffOurBodies: A March for Reproductive Freedom is organized and hosted by Women’s March Minnesota (WMM), Unrestrict Minnesota, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund, and more than 25 other groups. Please register for the event online.

All are welcome to attend and masks are required to keep everyone safe. The 1/2 mile route (map) is fully accessible and there will be a small accessible seating section with chairs in front of the stage in Loring Park.

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In response to the Minnesota Supreme Court recently ruling that Minnesota law doesn’t consider a rape victim “mentally incapacitated” if they consumed alcohol or drugs voluntarily, Madisyn Priestley and Kenna Groschen organized a Women’s Rights protest. Hundreds of young people showed up and told their stories of sexual violence, abuse and harassment. The stories were heartbreaking but the love and support was palpable. I applaud the brave women who shared their stories and their poetry.

One line that struck me, “I only control my body until its inconvenient to some man.” We need to change that. Women can no longer be asked to adhere to certain standards (don’t drink, don’t wear yoga pants in the grade school, don’t wear too much make up…) because men are not asked to adhere to standards like – don’t rape.

Want to see a change? Contact your legislators. Tell them to pass HF707/SF1683.

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