There is a need for dialogue to happen on a larger scale in Minneapolis. We are walking amongst each other with grief, disappointment, and loss in the air here. The tragic murder of George
Floyd has confronted the city with two options: to wait for the next tragedy or to move forward
with a plan to prevent the next tragedy. The events that took place this summer, both the murder
and the reactions to it, exasperated existing inequalities in our communities. Whether there were
tangible losses from local merchants or intangible losses, such as the hope in our justice system,
the need to move forward is more important than ever. The importance of this lies in the fact that
our community does not need to continue facing the same tragedies. It has gotten to a point
where the youth have taken matters into their own hands, and they have been doing so very well.
Youth in Minneapolis have led the most monumental mutual aid efforts the world has seen, and
they have done so very quickly. This is a chance to give them a platform so they can be in
community with each other and have dialogue for each other.
In an effort to bridge the youth in Black, marginalized, and underserved communities, 846s was created. 846s is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 status that was designed in hopes of empowering the youth in these communities and others around the world. The goal is to help them gain the necessary skills and tools to manage their safety, mental health, and life paths. What 846s encourages most is making therapy and other mental health resources more accessible to those in communities where it is not already. With the youth leading the movement, a podcast called 2 Keep it a Buck (read as: keeping it real) was created, to create a safe place for youth to express themselves and discuss what matters to them most.
846s is seeking funding in the amount of $150,000 to financially support a youth-led initiative that has been started with the intention of answering the question, “What’s Next?” in the Twin Cities community. One of the ways this is being tackled is through the creation of a podcast. The podcast hopes to create a platform that helps youth and families in the area become more familiar with their own mental health status and the tools they can access nearby and the quickest. The goal is to do so while empowering them after enduring the turmoil and civil unrest that had occurred summer of 2020. The goal is to reinforce safety and hope amongst our neighbors and also prevent the blow of generational trauma that could come from this. There’s a huge responsibility to step up and lessen the impact of this harm that has occurred in our backyard. A series of three podcasts will be designed to address three main topics including:
Each podcast episode will give the youth the chance to engage their peers to create their own vision of their communities as they see fit. Similarly, each episode will be videotaped, recorded,and an online survey will be designed and administered by the youth to give their peers the chance to have their voices heard.
The transcript of each episode will be collected and analyzed by the youth and presented in May through July during a youth-led festival of ideas. The final project will have a tangible outcome, which might include an exhibition, publication, presentation, policy, or actionable proposal presented in various visual art, literature, and community engaging forms. 846s is looking to collaborate with other like-minded individuals and organizations that have been working on similar projects. The final project will also be presented throughout the community, highlighting George Floyd Square, New Rules (www.newrulesmn.com), Black Table Arts (www.blacktablearts.com), and other Black organizations that we plan to collaborate within the Twin cities. The main collaboration for the events that reimagine what the community should look like will be with the creators of ITSFest (Minneapolis Summer Festival), creative individuals who utilize space design, activities, music, and art to communicate their reimagination of their community.
| February | March | April | May | June-July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accessing mental healthcare delivery services | The use of public spaces | Reimagining public safety | Data collection and interpretation | Festival of Ideas |