Get facetime with Mpls Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison

The son of former Congressman and current Attorney General Keith Ellison, Jeremiah Ellison has struck out and made a name for himself.

He first appeared in the Twin Cities political sphere as an activist. The then-long-dreaded mural artist with a locally famous name joined protesters demanding answers following the shooting and killing of Jamar Clark by Minneapolis Police in 2015.

Given his recognizable name, Ellison soon found himself speaking before and leading protests, many of which were directed at the Minneapolis City Council.

In the same way,​ ​Ellison was elevated as a leader in local activism, he was seen in the same circles as a natural​ ​candidate for the council. In 2017, he ran and won the Fifth Ward seat, and at age 29 became the youngest councilmember.

Since being elected, Ellison has made himself accessible to constituents and anybody else by holding a​ ​weekly open meeting. Every Saturday between 10 am and noon at Sammy’s Avenue Eatery community members are invited to “CoffeeW/Jeremiah,” described billed as “Ward 5 open office hours.”

“No issue is too big or small for coffee,” Ellison says in the detail for the recurring event on Facebook.

A pressing issue recently that’s inflamed the black activist circles that Ellison comes from is the $200,000​ ​settlement between the City of Minneapolis and Clark’s family for his death at the hands of Minneapolis​ ​Police.

The settlement for Clark’s family members who are black falls incredibly short of the $20 million settlement​ ​awarded to the white family of Justin Ruszcyk who was also shot and killed by Minneapolis Police. This issue and others are possible discussion topics at CoffeeW/Jeremiah.

For more information, call 612-673-2205 or email ward5@minneapolis.gov.