Windows and Mirrors - (Ex) Termination - Florence Sprague - February 2022

How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look wrong, and wrong look right.

—Black Hawk, An Autobiography (quote seen on plaque embedded in the sidewalk in Iowa City)

Many LWVMN and LWV of Roseville Area events now incorporate an acknowledgement that our
communities are located on the ancestral lands of Native Americans, the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples here in
Minnesota. I did not initiate this custom, coming to it after hearing it at several events. We are all aware at
some level that the entire North American continent was totally reallocated, reorganized, and just outright
taken from indigenous peoples by European colonists due to orthogonal understandings of the concept of
property and a massive power differential. The land grants from European kings to early colonies had no
ethical foundation and treaties under which millions of acres of land were ceded in the 1800s were grossly
unfair.

CMAL Livable Communities Presentation - March 19, 2022

All LWV members and the public are invited to attend a Zoom presentation on the multi-million Livable Communities Act grant program, run by the Met Council pursuant to state law. We at CMAL hope that you will join us on Saturday March 19 at 10:00 am for a program about this metro area grant program that deals with affordable housing and brownfield clean-up. You can learn where the grant money comes from, where it goes, and whether it does any good.

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March 2022 Voter

The latest issue of the Voter includes articles about:

  • The upcoming March 15 program Shoot Suffrage to Death: A Short History of Race, Violence, and the Right to Vote
  • Upwardly Mobile? article by Florence Sprague about the challenges strivers face
  • Plastic Crisis: Recycle What You Can - a helpful informative article
  • Climate Emergency: So Much to Lose as Minnesota cities are passing Climate Emergency resolutions or declarations

February 2022 Voter

In this issue of the Voter you will find articles about:

  • Consensus: Are Our Cities ADA Accessible?
  • A thought-provoking article, (Ex)Termination, by Florence Sprague
  • A recap of the January "Conversations with Constituents"
  • What is The Plastic Crisis Challenge for this month?

Windows and Mirrors -Two Signs - Florence Sprague - January 2022

Perhaps you saw it—an editorial page cartoon by Steve Sack in the Star Tribune in the summer of 2020—two houses, two neighbors chatting over the fence, and two signs in one yard. The signs say “Black Lives Matter” and “We Support Our Local Police.” One man is saying to the other man “If you think they conflict maybe it’s you with the problem.” It struck a chord.

I can see why they are so often thought to be orthogonal today. It needn’t be the case.

Perhaps the crux of the conflict comes in the intent behind “support.” For me, support means willingly paying taxes; endorsing a respectful, living wage for all public employees; backing good training for all public safety employees, both before and throughout employment; treating those public safety employees with whom I come into contact with respect, courtesy, and thanks as the situation warrants; and acknowledging the value of the job and the risks it entails.

January 2022 Voter

The Voter is attached with upcoming programs and articles on:

  • Conversations with Constituents, January 20, with our city mayors/council member
  • Two Signs by Florence Sprague
  • Learning about the consensus opportunities coming up for members
  • The Plastics Crisis Challenge
  • Dipping your toes into Minnesota legislative waters – see Action/Advocacy

CMAL Quarterly Meeting January 15, 2022

All LWV members are invited to Council of Metropolitan Area Leagues of Women Voters (CMAL) January 15 Quarterly Meeting where Mindy Greiling will present the report from the hard working study committee on county government. Proposed consensus questions will be reviewed at this meeting, adjusting them where appropriate. (Don’t be dissuaded by the length. The gist of the study is less than ten pages.) The report includes the proposed consensus questions and can be view here.

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Conversations with Constituents - January 20, 2022

Representation in City Governance.  The changing demographics of our communities means that elected and appointed leaders are provided with great opportunities and also some challenges. Join the League of Women Voters Roseville Area (LWVRA) on Thursday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. as we continue our focus on diversity in local governance in conversations with the mayors of Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Maplewood and Roseville.

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