2020 was one of the most challenging years every for the citizens of South Minneapolis. This spoken word piece opened our 2020 fall event, recapping the year’s events, and demonstrating the resilience of our community.

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Lyrics

This is OUR city

OUR home, OUR place, OUR life is here

Among rivers and lakes

Though sometimes I fear, it gives less than it takes

The disease is invisible, silent and deadly

COVID-19, the country wasn’t ready

Thousands dead, but the numbers still ain’t steady

Our calendars are empty, full of crossed out dreams

Birthdays, graduations, we’ve lost out celebrations

Lost occupations, and now, we’re losing patience

Mask on, shape shifter

Gotta change my face

Trying hard not let my culture be erased

There’s nothing social about the distance

Hidden in our homes

Cause whether it’s the violence or the virus, something’s in the air trying to kill us

Home of the brave, land of the free

Does that statement apply to me?

On my knees praying ‘Lord please, there’s more of us dying than the falling leaves’

Marcus, George, Breonna, Jamar

Shouting their names, loud and far

No justice, no peace

And they still ain’t prosecuting police

Charged for the strays, not the people in an early grave

Screaming black power, as we march down Lake

The darkness is growing, though we gotta stay hopeful

Working together, we can make our city better

Might not see it in the media, but Minneapolis is cleaning up

Coming together to help ends meat

We’re cleaning up the debris

Putting our lives back together, piece by piece

Working together to rebuild the block, brick by brick

But the violence may never stop

But, we can build HOPE in these empty lots

Don’t you realize, this is OUR time

With my mentors right beside me

Reaching forward, always climbing, towards a better future

WE are the solution

These words, these people, UV, you and me

We can break the cycle, break free from the institution

And the truth is

Black, Brown, White, TOGETHER

This is OUR fight

This is OUR city, OUR home, OUR place

Connected by the water, rivers and lakes

Just like the Mississippi, we might bend, but we won’t break

We’ll lift our city higher, no matter what it takes