Over the last few years, I have watched Minneapolis change right before my eyes. I have felt the heartache and pain of justice not being served and families not feeling safe in their own neighborhood. I have witnessed homeless people being abused by the authorities. After the city of Minneapolis closed most of the homeless shelters down during the pandemic, my fellow neighbors felt like they were prisoners in their own home because the city allowed the utility companies to rip up sidewalks and streets for months at a time. Leaving our most vulnerable neighbors with no access to get medical treatment or access to get something to eat. 

As an activist, I needed to stand up and help my fellow neighbors, so I added my name to the 2025 ballot. Malcolm X once said, “A man who stands for nothing, will fall for anything. “I want to stand with my neighbors with my head up high, because silence is not an option for me. I was here when they called our city “Murderapolis, I was here in 2006 when they changed the name of ward 9 to Midtown. I was even in the streets in 2020 when they tried to burn our city down, and I will be in these same streets when we turn this area back around! 

I know this will be a challenge for all of us. But I insist, if you are a believer like me, we can see the diamond in the rough.