It’s an ‘everyday decision’ to lead
Mearra Allen, a mother of six and a community health worker, stood in the marbled halls of the Minnesota Capitol. A single printed page in hand, wearing a United 4 Youth shirt, Allen took time off work to be there.
Outside of the Minnesota House chambers, Allen waited to talk to key representatives to build support for bill HF1660, which would direct a study on the demand gaps, and recommend funding for statewide youth programming. Legislators began to funnel out of the heavy wooden double doors.
Allen felt a mixture of excitement, nervousness and courage start to swell. She knew this was her chance.
One conversation with Representative Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley (DFL) ended in enthusiastic support, including a picture of her holding up the United 4 Youth shirt. Another with Representative Danny Nadeau (R) ended in an apparent change of heart. Initially against it, Nadeau moved to consider it.
Momentum was building.
From launch to legislative momentum
United 4 Youth, an ISAIAH campaign to raise public funding for afterschool and youth programs across Minnesota, launched earlier this year and has moved quickly at the legislative session.
The campaign began after listening sessions among community members and leaders with the Muslim Coalition of ISAIAH (MCI) and the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative (BBCC). Parents, aunties, “hooyos” (referring to moms in Somali), kids and grandparents shared what they wanted for their families and neighborhoods. Dreams. Concerns. Hopes. Frustrations.
A lack of options and funding for youth programs outside school hours came up again and again. Park facilities and staffing suffer. Programs are scarce. Together, there was a feeling that we have been letting our kids down collectively by not making them more of a central focus in our public dollars.
Since the campaign launch, leaders like Mearra Allen met to figure out how to make the legislation a reality. We drafted a bill, propositioned legislators, planned lobby visits, showed up to committee hearings to testify, and built a network of partners interested in raising youth programming revenue.
More people in the ‘People’s House’
At the beginning of the year, leaders with BBCC went on a self-guided tour of the Minnesota Capitol. For many, it was their first time. We went into the House and Senate chambers. Our kids sat where legislators would soon sit to debate policies that would directly impact our families. We got to know our house.
When we demystify how statewide policies come to be, most BBCC leaders are surprised to learn how possible — even bland — the process is. You need an agenda, bill language, legislative champions, and people who will sustain pressure on lawmakers. You need a power analysis. You need support and votes.
It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s not simple. Nothing is guaranteed. But my point is that it is possible. What would our families and kids’ futures look like if more of our people — not just paid corporate lobbyists — were at the Capitol, talking to representatives to push for what they want?
What is the cost if we forfeit our power and voices? What more do we lose if we continue to let others speak for us?
Power suffers no lone wolves
Even wanting something badly only goes so far. The main case I made in a previous story was the agency and power of everyday people to effect change, so long as we take responsibility to exercise it. I want to build on that: Power suffers no lone wolves.
Mearra Allen has been crucial in the study bill for youth funding. She’s been on her own leadership path, learning and taking risks. But she’s one of many people with stories in this work. Nothing hangs solely on one person’s shoulders, but we’re all responsible for our role.
If you’re looking to move something you care about, do it. But don’t do it alone. Find your people. Connect to an organization focused on building power that you can contribute to. BBCC and MCI leaders are at the center of this work, supported by policy-minded people, narrative strategists, and partnerships with aligned groups like Kids Count On Us.
Organizing hope for the long haul
It remains to be seen if our bill will become law this year. We’re holding on to hope and finishing strong at a final blitz at the Capitol. Lawmakers passed it in the Senate but not in the House. A version could still pass as bills are reconciled.
We want a win, but I’m proud of what folks have accomplished. For some perspective, it took a coalition of 70 groups about a decade to pass statewide paid family and medical leave in 2023. Some things take time. It’s important to start the clock now by taking that initial step forward
It’s an everyday decision to lead
In the face of federal dynamics that are as alarming as they are exhausting, people in Minnesota have an opportunity to decide what to protect and push for. One antidote to our social ills is people from all walks of life stepping into civic life. I’m not just talking about voting. I’m talking about what happens between elections — how we engage with officials and how we build a mandate of what we want.
I think about Mearra, who decided years ago to be a leader — not because it was easy or fun, but because she, her kids, and her community are worth fighting for. Mearra is bold and courageous, but she’s no superhero. She’s part of a growing group of Black folks in Minnesota — among whom I count myself — who have made an everyday decision to lead.
I write all this to encourage you to see yourself in that story too and decide how you can take that first step today.
ISAIAH is a multi-racial, state-wide, nonpartisan coalition of faith communities, Black barber shops, childcare centers, and other community based constituencies fighting for racial and economic justice in Minnesota. Brian Fullman is a lead organizer at ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota. He organizes the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative, a coalition of Black congregations and barbershops in Minnesota who are advancing a more just Minnesota for their communities. For more information, visit isaiahmn.org