The Echo Staff

This year’s editing staff of The Echo realizes what this election means for communities who face marginalization, such as those of us who are BIPOC, working-class, queer and trans-identified, and disabled (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list). We realize that tonight, police and military will target protestors, white militias will be active and unreliable information will circulate.

Due to our staff’s commitment of supporting communities of color, we are not endorsing any presidential candidates in this year’s election. This is because both major-party candidates have committed to denouncing the Green New Deal, reinvesting money into the police-state and limiting paths to citizenship. Moreover, their policies and actions historically have negatively impacted communities who are marginalized inside and outside our borders. The Echo will not endorse either candidate as neither uphold our values as an organization. However, this is not an anti-voting statement; we encourage people to vote as they are able, because policies implemented at the local and state level immediately impact our day to day lives.

At the same time, our staff doesn’t think it’s The Echo’s place to assign blame when people facing oppression decide to vote or not to vote as a means of liberating their communities. In an effort to help shift campus discourse away from voter-shaming, we are deciding to endorse direct action as a viable and effective alternative. Direct action for our Augsburg community means being involved in local mutual aid efforts, taking care of our neighbors at the Minneapolis and St. Paul homeless encampments and committing to educating one’s self on the politics of our time. It also means those with dominant identities must actively redistribute their material resources in order to sustain and grow the power of communities who are BIPOC, disabled, working-class, queer and trans identified, and do not have access to the electoral system. Check out our Instagram version of this statement for resources on how to get involved in direct action in the Twin Cities. https://www.instagram.com/p/CHI1zWvBf4a/