I join in call for ICE out of Minneapolis

As far as I can tell the writing of this column started the last Friday of December. I was approaching the front door of Turtle Bread intent on participating in Elder Voices (Telling Our Stories/Sharing Our Journeys), when I noticed a sign on the door. The following words jumped out at me – ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE. On Dec. 29, I was in the adult emergency room at M Health Fairview Riverside. While I was in the waiting room, I saw a sign outlining Do’s and Don’ts if ICE shows up. This solidified for me that ICE was present in my beloved south Minneapolis. More recently I was riding along Lake Street near Mercado Central in a Metro Mobility bus when I saw a woman step outside of a business and start blowing a whistle. I’m seeing more and more businesses and residences posting ICE Is Not Welcome Here or ICE Out signs.
With my deadline approaching, the presence of ICE has become even more real with the shooting and killing of Renee Good at 34th and Portland Ave by an ICE agent. We’re seeing ICE commit all kinds of crimes while carrying out their operations, and it doesn’t matter when there is a U.S. government exercising unchecked authoritarian power. This column is turning into my ICE OUT column as I start to process what is happening in my beloved South Minneapolis with a deadline approaching. It is my ICE OUT column since I can’t physically make it to protests. I am advocating for a permanent Renee Good Memorial to be created at 34th and Portland Ave. so that we remember what happened to our south Minneapolis neighbor.

CHANGE BY FORCE. MIGHT MAKES RIGHT. COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EARS.
Jan. 6, 2025. In the background of my living room. A brief part of an interview with Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and architect of ICE policy by Jake Tapper of CNN. That’s how you achieve change, according to Steven Miller. The exercise of might and dominance. All of a sudden the dots start to connect. That’s why you send 3,000 ICE agents into the Twin Cities to traumatize and instill fear because change happens by force and might makes right. Forget the rule of law, the Constitution and established democratic norms. Change by force keeps playing over and over again in my head. That’s the reality I have been seeing play out in my beloved South Minneapolis. Change by force scoops you up and throws you in a van without the reading of rights or any semblance of due process.
And if you have read this far you have definitely taken the plunge into the river(flow) of life experiences which is Stories and Journeys. And I ask you dear reader what, if any, have been your experiences as what I now call change by force agents force their way through our city and our beloved south Minneapolis? Tell yourself, tell others or tell me in writing via tesha@tmcpub.com.

WHAT AM I WEARING? BEANIE OR STOCKING CAP
Now it’s time for me to get this off my chest. What is the difference between a beanie and a stocking cap? The staff at the Wellness Center where I go for massage therapy once a month are selling head wear called beanies. I bought one. It’s keeping me warm. In my world, this is not a beanie. It is a stocking cap. What say you dear reader? Do your research. Stop into the Wellness Center. (4201-E.54th St.) Try one on. Maybe buy one while you are there.
There are some milestones I feel compelled to mention. Jan. 21 would have been my deceased brother’s 79th birthday. Dec. 26 marks the start of my tenth year of retirement. And, of course, Jan. 19 was Martin Luther King, Jr holiday.

ELDER VOICES (TELLING OUR STORIES/SHARING OUR JOURNEYS)
We're scheduled to meet Friday, Jan. 30, officially 10-11a.m. at Turtle Bread(4205-E. 34th Street) Look for the Elder Voices sign. I suspect ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE sign will still be on the front door.
Stay safe.
Donald L. Hammen is a longtime south Minneapolis resident, and serves on the All Elders United for Justice Board of Directors.