One week after Renee Macklin Good's death, community holds vigil
Randy Staats of Minneapolis holds a sign at the memorial for Renee Good a week after she was killed by an ICE agent on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News
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Audio transcript
[THEME MUSIC] NINA MOINI: It's been one week since an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Macklin Good in south Minneapolis. Community members are keeping a growing memorial at the intersection of Portland Avenue South and 34th Street. Local activists and faith leaders met there this morning for a three-hour vigil.
Estelle Timar-Wilcox was there and joins me now. Thanks for being here, Estelle.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: So a three-hour vigil seems like it went on for a while there. What was going on at the site of the memorial today?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Well, I was there for the start of that vigil. It was led by some local advocates and faith leaders from places of worship around the cities. And they gathered there to pray starting at 9:37 AM. That's commemorating the exact time, one week ago when Macklin Good was killed. Some neighbors came out to listen and add to that growing memorial on the curb. There's lots of flowers, posters, candles, stuffed animals there honoring Macklin Good.
This vigil was organized by community advocate Sheletta Brundidge. She said it's a way for people to come together and call for peace in the city.
SHELETTA BRUNDIDGE: Our entire state is under siege right now. People are scared. Children have anxiety. Parents are in hiding. Our immigrant community is hurting. And Renee Nicole Good is no longer here to care for her three children. They are without their mother. I am a mother of four children and so I can't even imagine not coming home to my children.
NINA MOINI: So a week ago, Estelle, that scene, that area that they were at this morning was chaotic. Lots of law enforcement and protesters. What's been going on with this area since?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Well, like I said, the memorial has grown. It stretches past the front of a few houses now on this residential street. And it's been the site of several gatherings and vigils. Community members had put up makeshift barricades made of wood pallets and furniture in the days after the killing, and city staff took those down a couple days later and reopened the streets to traffic. But the memorial is still there and people are still using this as a gathering space.
It's been mostly peaceful. I saw a couple of MPD cars out there this morning keeping an eye on it. But there is a lot of activity and tension in the neighborhood around the site as federal agents patrol. While I was there on the scene this morning, a couple of what appeared to be federal agents drove by in unmarked cars. You could see they had face coverings on and these camo vests that we've seen them wear. And some community members were tailing them, honking their horns, blowing whistles. And that sort of thing has really become a norm in this neighborhood and across several areas in and around the Twin Cities.
We've seen lots of instances of agents setting off chemical agents against community observers and protesters. DHS spokespeople have told us they're facing backlash from activists. But at the vigil this morning, at the site itself, it was relatively quiet.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, and thank you for covering all the different ways that people are still gathering and processing now, a week later. I understand there's also a student protest. We've seen a lot of student actions in the last week, Estelle, but another protest planned at the State Capitol this afternoon?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Organizers say students from Saint Paul high schools and some other schools in the Twin Cities will be walking out. That's set to start right about now. And they're converging at the Capitol for a rally early this afternoon. They're demanding an end to the ICE immigration crackdown. Organizers say that there are students who are missing classes because they don't feel safe leaving their homes. So these organizers plan to speak out on their behalf.
And that's the latest in a series of student protests that we've seen protesting the actions of ICE. On Monday, hundreds of high schoolers from Roseville, Maple Grove, and other schools walked out of classes, too.
NINA MOINI: All right, Estelle, thanks for your reporting.
Estelle Timar-Wilcox was there and joins me now. Thanks for being here, Estelle.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: So a three-hour vigil seems like it went on for a while there. What was going on at the site of the memorial today?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Well, I was there for the start of that vigil. It was led by some local advocates and faith leaders from places of worship around the cities. And they gathered there to pray starting at 9:37 AM. That's commemorating the exact time, one week ago when Macklin Good was killed. Some neighbors came out to listen and add to that growing memorial on the curb. There's lots of flowers, posters, candles, stuffed animals there honoring Macklin Good.
This vigil was organized by community advocate Sheletta Brundidge. She said it's a way for people to come together and call for peace in the city.
SHELETTA BRUNDIDGE: Our entire state is under siege right now. People are scared. Children have anxiety. Parents are in hiding. Our immigrant community is hurting. And Renee Nicole Good is no longer here to care for her three children. They are without their mother. I am a mother of four children and so I can't even imagine not coming home to my children.
NINA MOINI: So a week ago, Estelle, that scene, that area that they were at this morning was chaotic. Lots of law enforcement and protesters. What's been going on with this area since?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Well, like I said, the memorial has grown. It stretches past the front of a few houses now on this residential street. And it's been the site of several gatherings and vigils. Community members had put up makeshift barricades made of wood pallets and furniture in the days after the killing, and city staff took those down a couple days later and reopened the streets to traffic. But the memorial is still there and people are still using this as a gathering space.
It's been mostly peaceful. I saw a couple of MPD cars out there this morning keeping an eye on it. But there is a lot of activity and tension in the neighborhood around the site as federal agents patrol. While I was there on the scene this morning, a couple of what appeared to be federal agents drove by in unmarked cars. You could see they had face coverings on and these camo vests that we've seen them wear. And some community members were tailing them, honking their horns, blowing whistles. And that sort of thing has really become a norm in this neighborhood and across several areas in and around the Twin Cities.
We've seen lots of instances of agents setting off chemical agents against community observers and protesters. DHS spokespeople have told us they're facing backlash from activists. But at the vigil this morning, at the site itself, it was relatively quiet.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, and thank you for covering all the different ways that people are still gathering and processing now, a week later. I understand there's also a student protest. We've seen a lot of student actions in the last week, Estelle, but another protest planned at the State Capitol this afternoon?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Organizers say students from Saint Paul high schools and some other schools in the Twin Cities will be walking out. That's set to start right about now. And they're converging at the Capitol for a rally early this afternoon. They're demanding an end to the ICE immigration crackdown. Organizers say that there are students who are missing classes because they don't feel safe leaving their homes. So these organizers plan to speak out on their behalf.
And that's the latest in a series of student protests that we've seen protesting the actions of ICE. On Monday, hundreds of high schoolers from Roseville, Maple Grove, and other schools walked out of classes, too.
NINA MOINI: All right, Estelle, thanks for your reporting.
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