Standing in the streets for justice

St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen (center), with Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro, was among speakers at The People vs. Derek Chauvin Rally for Justice in Minneapolis on March 8. “I know we’re a long way from actually gaining our rights,” said Allen. “That’s why we’re standing in the streets.” The week before, Allen called attention to a proposed St. Paul ordinance that would have defined any gathering of five or more as a public assembly that needed a permit, and would “create unrealistic, unsafe, and unfair rules about what kinds of objects protesters can bring to protests, without restricting police violence or reining in law enforcement’s frequent use of tactics that escalate conflict.” The city council withdrew the ordinance on March 2 for additional study. It came at the same time that Hennepin County hung up posters at the government center with strict restrictions on protests that they replaced a few days later. (Photo by Jill Boogren)

Kimberly Handy-Jones, whose son Cordale Q. Handy was shot and killed by St. Paul police in 2017, drove from Illinois to speak at a March 8 rally in downtown Minneapolis. “I see justice comin’,” she said. “There is enough of just us to get justice. We just have to keep our boots on the ground.” (Photo by Jill Boogren)