Neighborhoods Organizing for Change gets its voice heard

Two weeks ago, members of the group Neighborhoods Organizing for Change teamed up with Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari for a meaty discussion about the economic gaps between whites and people of color in Minnesota.

It was an unusual meeting between a high profile banker and a group known more for demonstrations, but it won praise from Kashkari.

"This is the beginning of a partnership. This is not a one-time event," he told the gathering, adding that he'd agreed to spend a day with a NOC member to experience what it's like to live on a low income.

On the same day as that cordial meeting with power, NOC and other activist groups shouted down members of the Minneapolis City Council after they voted to keep a proposed $15 an hour minimum wage charter amendment off the ballot.

Tonight, it hosts a community forum with Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, although group leaders say the forum is not an endorsement and note they hosted a similar forum with then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Overall, the Minneapolis-based nonprofit has used a variety of strategies in recent years as it's taken on racial and economic disparities in Minnesota. It's raised its own profile in the process, although its leaders say the mission — better living and working conditions for low-income people and communities of color — hasn't changed.

"We know we can get a meeting with most elected officials in the state," said NOC executive director Anthony Newby. "But we're not confused by that being the same as moving the needle on some of these racial gaps. We're also not confused that the real power in this organization and in this movement is real people in the street."

Since 2010 NOC, has led or joined with other kindred organizations to successfully advocate for the elimination of lurking and spitting laws in Minneapolis. It also played a role in pushing city leaders to enact an ordinance that makes it possible for part-time workers to earn paid sick time.

In 2014, the group took center stage in a strange drama after one of its canvassers, Navell Gordon, was photographed with Mayor Betsy Hodges as they pointed their index fingers at each other. A local TV news station reported the picture had angered police officials who said the gestures were gang signs. The flap became known as "pointergate."

The controversy didn't hurt them, said Steven Belton, CEO of the Minneapolis Urban League.

Belton's group joined forces with NOC this spring in an initiative called the United Black Legislative Agenda.

It includes a list of legislative reforms to end the state's enduring racial disparities, from changes in drug sentencing to new startup money for black-owned businesses. Gov. Mark Dayton later signed off on a $35 million spending package meant to address some of the issues raised by the group.

NOC's strength is its ability to organize people to rally and demonstrate around specific issues, he added.

"We serve the same people, but we serve them in different ways," Belton said. "They have strengths as an organization that we don't have. And we have strengths that they don't have. And there's no reason that we ought to be seeing each other as competitors."