Photo credit: Thaiphy Phan-Quang

Let Your Light Shine 

On Monday, West Siders joined with community members from across Saint Paul to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a rally and march in honor of local activists Mel Reeves and Clyde Bellecourt. Participants spoke out against the possibility that the City Council will introduce an ordinance limiting our right to assemble, speak, and protest: 

“How many many elected officials are going to talk about how good of a man Martin Luther King was… but then come up with things like this, talking about how they need to limit when we protest– limit what we can do, where we can go, how loud we can be … Are you trying to tell me Martin Luther King, Jr. wouldn’t be in these streets with us today? … They want us to ‘rest in peace,’ they want us to ‘rest in power,’ but while we are living, they want to make sure we don’t experience any peace, and make sure we do not use our power”  –Brandyn Lee Tulloch (listen to the full speech, here). 

WSCO’s board of directors has contacted Councilmember Rebecca Noecker’s office to voice our concerns and request that her proposed “Special Event Ordinance,” be withdrawn. We will continue to keep our members updated and invite you to get involved by contacting us at [email protected].