Photograph by Rebecca Slater
Alex West Steinman
Alex West Steinman
We spoke to Alex West Steinman, co-founder of The Coven, about becoming a hub for donation distribution, the importance of listening to community organizers, and what to learn from neighbors protecting themselves without police.
Thursday we were trying to listen to the community about what they needed. When things first happened, it was encouraging folks to go out and protest or raise their voice and call the governor, Mike Freeman's office, the AG's office, or direct actions things like that. The night the fires started, we tried to figure out what we needed to do more of and help with. Shortly after, I got a call from the Women for Political Change, a local group of mostly BIPOC women who are committed to training and educating new leaders and policy, who reached out to us to see if we would be willing to host a supply drive for the protesters, because the protests had gotten a little violent on the police end. We immediately said yes, dove in and opened up. We first focused on the protestors in need of safety equipment while on the front lines, and eventually opened it up to any families that might need more support because as the days went on, more grocery stores and essential businesses kept burning in North and South Minneapolis, and Midway.
One thing that we've been doing is really listening to what the community needs by trying to understand the respective needs of each site based on neighborhood. For instance, sourcing culturally-appropriate food and/or hair products. We’re a little more organized now that we've had some time to understand how everything works. Each day this week from 12-4 P.M. we've stood as a collection site for donations, where people can drive up and drop it off, and we sort it. Then, our drivers distribute out to the respective sites and in the right hands. We're not actually a distribution site or a food shelter that people can come shop at, but, for many, we're an easier spot, as we're centrally located right off of the highway in North Loop. We're so lucky to have folks who are willing to come out and just help. Right now, in a chaotic time, there isn't a lot of direction, right? So, all we can do is listen to what's needed on the ground and respond directly to that. I think so often organizations want to create something—or have an idea—for what the community needs, without asking. For us, being so connected to community organizers on the ground has been really helpful, allowing us to respond directly to their needs.
What The Coven is doing is such a small part of the larger ecosystem. And, you know, we think that if everybody can do their part we can make a real difference. We've activated our community in the best way that we know how. Once we find out that's not enough, we'll do more. So, I just want to acknowledge that we can amplify, support and do as much as we can, but we really get our intel and direction directly from the community and its organizers and leaders (while trying to be on the ground as much as we can). I think if everybody else can do their part to do that type of work, it would make this a lot easier and things would move a lot quicker. Also, I would just say, if your organization is looking to do something, ask the community what they need and be okay with just giving the money without having your name attached to it.
I also think listening is important. I think we need to make sure the businesses that have been affected are either able to rebuild, or we're able to replace them with community-owned and operated businesses. I don't want to see a luxury condo in the middle of Lake Street. So, how do we build? Part of addressing the systemic issues here is building wealth within the community and healing a lot of the trauma that has happened over generations. It's looking at reinvesting our dollars and time towards community resources that aren't rooted in policing, and think about safety in a new way.
What I think is really interesting–and I hope this story gets told–is how the different communities right now are responding to the white supremacists trolling their neighborhoods. They're keeping their areas safe—but without police around. Take North Minneapolis in the middle of the night, for example–the police aren't there. Instead, it's neighbors who are taking care of each other, putting fires out, and making sure they're documenting who's walking through their streets. So, I think when people say "a world without police can’t exist," well, we're doing it right now in some of our neighborhoods, where community safety looks a lot different than what it looked like before Tuesday. Building long-term sustainability here involves listening to community leaders, reinvesting our dollars in community efforts and supporting and making sure that we're building generational wealth in BIPOC communities, particularly Black ones that are often just left behind.
I think, in some ways, government leadership—or what would be deemed more traditional leadership—has failed to believe in a world that could be—one that the community wants to build. In turn, this leads to more investment in the police, as opposed to funding more community-safety efforts. I think what it comes down to is when you invest in those things (i.e. community safety), you have to divest from other things. I think that's when people get really protective or weird about not wanting to divest from the police, because then what would happen? Then we wouldn't have police and that's how it always has been. It's kind of like, well, it doesn't have to continue to be that way. In fact, it's dangerous and life threatening to many of us if it does continue to be that way. That type of realization is what needs to happen. That's the kind of thinking we need from our leaders, and they're failing to believe in a world that truly could be.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
