Longfellow businesses join nation’s anti-hate campaign

Article and photo by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

Danny and Elana Schwartzman, owners of the Uptown coffee shop Common Roots, unintentionally started a national movement when they posted a sign in their front window last December. The sign said: “Hate has no business here. We welcome our Muslim, refugee and immigrant community members. All are welcome here.”

Soon after, members of the small business community across the Twin Cities, and across the country, joined forces in this effort to say, “No!” to the spread of xenophobia – a fancy word for the intense dislike or fear of people from other countries.

The anti-hate sign is being promoted by Main Street Alliance (MSA), a non-profit that works for racial and economic justice. MSA leverages change and growth in communities nationwide by building small business alliances through shared values.

Photo right: Jamie Schwesnedl (left) of Moon Palace Books and Patrick Werle (right) of Peace Coffee in Longfellow. Both businesses posted the “All are Welcome Here” sign in their windows.

“America is a place where people from all nations, races and creeds should feel welcome,” said state director Corrine Horowitz. “When politicians target people in our communities for political gain, when they fan the flames of hatred and fear to further their own cause, we have to stand up and make our values known.”

Jamie and Angela Schwes­nedl co-own Moon Place Books at 2830 E. 33rd St. Jamie said, “We have a real cross-section of the community shopping in our store: people from Africa, Asia, Mexico, South and Central America. Angela and I put the sign up because we didn’t want anyone saying bad things about our customers. We wanted a chance to respond.”

“My Jewish ancestors came from the Belarus,” Jamie said. “There was room for my family and me here because someone else made room for us. America is a country of immigrants.”

The values of Main Street Alliance align seamlessly with the values of this campaign. MSA is grounded in:

• Trust and transparency

• Inclusion and equity

• Leadership—the lifting up of voices

• Sustainability

• Shared responsibility

To download a free copy of the “All are Welcome Here” poster, go to www.mainstreetalliance.org/minnesota, and click on the download button near the top of the page. The poster has appeared in store fronts from Maine to Oregon, but it got its start right here—in the heart of south Minneapolis.