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Today 80,000 people attended the No Kings Day of Defiance TC event in St. Paul. We met at St Paul College, marched half a mile to the Capitol and rallied for more than two hours. A team of folks have been planning for about six weeks including Women’s March MN, Indivisible Twin Cities, MN 50501 and AFL-CIO of Minnesota. Today was not the event we planned. Today was the march we needed.

Sadly, a tragic event changed everything in the early morning hours. A shooter, dressed as a police officer went to the home of Senator John Hoffman and shot him and his wife. He also went to the home of Representative Melissa Hortman, where he shot and killed her and her husband. It is 7pm as I write this and the man is still at large. He apparently is targeting pro-choice and pro-abortion folks. It is abhorrent, frightening and unspeakably sad. While I did not know Hoffman, I did have discussion with Hortman on the ERA. She was frank and formidable. She’d get my vote and I was happy she was on our (ERA) side. But I don’t want to dwell, right now, on the tragedy.

Many thought we should stay at home today. The event was planned as an event to drown out Trump and his grandiose visions of being king with a scream of solidarity with 1,600 other marches around the county. The event became a time to give and accept comfort from our neighbors. To show respect for our elected officials who see us, hear us and represent us. To recognize that we need each other and that we are imminently more powerful together than alone.

I was proud to be part of the amazingly talented planning team. I did some scary things, like be interviewed live on the radio and chat on TV. My heart grew bigger to see friends (such as Venus DeMars, Surly Grrly and Kashimana) perform. Well, actually I couldn’t’ see them because I was livestreaming the march from the College as thy performed from the Capitol – but even a quarter mile away I could hear their amazing voices and songs. Speakers were amazing; big thanks to AG Kieth Ellison for showing up and being inspirational.

In the end, more people that we dreamed attended on a summer weekend in Minnesota with terrible road construction, even for Minnesota and advice from public safety to stay home. I saw many people talk to the tables of nonrpfots to learn about what they could do next to help. I saw coalitions form between speakers, volunteers, performers and security. I saw the best of Minnesota and it gave me hope and drive to continue to do what I can do to fight for our rights and freedoms for ourselves, our neighbors and everyone’s kids.

Also special thanks to my friends Monica Nilsson and Mary Magnuson for helping!

The People’s March ended an hour ago. I’m just getting the feeling back in my toes, but my heart is full. The march was hosted by Women’s March Minnesota. We started talking about an event immediately after the election in 2024. We started planning a march in earnest about 10 days later. So that’s two months to play a huge event, with no budget on what could be the coldest day of the year.

Thankfully people stepped up. Really awesome people showed up and brought their skills and enthusiasm. We needed it. The trials and tribulations of planning an event like this deserve an instructive post all its own and hopefully we will do one but for now I’ll just say – freedom of speech takes a lot of time, talent and money – especially if you want to be heard.

It was a cold day, but people still showed up – we’re estimating 4-5,000. In spirit of full disclosure, I suggested we do the event inside once I heard the temperature was forecast to be 5 degrees (-11 windchill). Luckily, I lost that vote. Not that it wasn’t cold, the forecast was 100 percent right – but it was worth it. We marched from St Paul College to the St Paul Capitol, led by native dancers from Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue and Kalpulli Mictlan Tonatiuh. I livestreamed most of the event, so I got a front row seat. The vision of the dancers heading down John Ireland Blvd was priceless.

When we reached Capitol, I was honored and terrified to give a quick welcome. The speeches were inspiring. It was a terrific lineup. My only sadness was that my phone just froze up after 90 minutes in the cold. We had a charging break in the Capitol for 15 minutes and were able to continue. Much as I needed the warmup, I was sad to miss things. (Also big thanks to Mary Magnuson for her help!)

Here are the speakers:

• Emcee Miss Shannan
• Abortion Access Front Chief Creative Officer Lizz Winstead
• Gender Justice Speaker Megan Peterson
• Youth and Transgender Rights Activist, Jayce Wepplo
• Carolina Ortiz from COPAL/ Immigrant Defense Network and Sarah Silva from North STAR Alliance
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Speaker Senator Mary Kunesh
• ACLU Speaker Alicia Granse
• Intergenerational Partnerships & Uplifting Youth Speaker Quincy Powe
• Environmental Justice Speaker Gina Peltier
• Infertility and Healthcare Cuts Miraya Gran

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We ended the day livestreaming a chat with the partners inside. It was a fantastic way to get to learn about what people are doing and hear about how we could help. I won’t detail every conversation – you can watch them in the third video on the playlist below, or you can check out an even more complete list of actions and events where you can follow up on the Women’s March MN website. I encourage you to check it out. I am going to try to make it to a bunch of the special days at the legislature to livestream for Women’s March. You should pick an action too – maybe I’ll see you soon at the Capitol.

Nothing makes me happier than having everyone home for Christmas. Are we crowded? Yes! Will there be fights? Not as many as I expected – yet. Would I change a thing? Nope.

We started Christmas Eve with an Indian meal in the neighborhood. Lots of takeaway happening but we were one of two or three tables on site. We all got what we wanted. We all dressed up. And the restaurant (India House) looks very holiday every day so felt festive-ish. We had planned to see Nosferatu; in fact, Lily had purchased tickets and then at least two of us realized we’d have nightmares if we saw it. So, Lily worked her cinema magic and traded our tickets for 3D Wicked.

I don’t see many movies. I barely remember seeing Wicked on Broadway, but we all enjoyed the show. We talked about it that night and the next day. (Also, when the girls were little, we saw a lot of Wizard of Oz on stage. So nostalgic for all of us!)

Christmas morning – kids still wake me up. (And some early bird sisters waking up the night owl sisters.) Kate had set the stage with decoration and cleaning. Everyone got gifts they really wanted. Gifts they didn’t know they wanted and gifts that made them laugh.

Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for baked pasta from Grandma and banana chocolate chip bread pudding from Uncle Billy. We played the game (like charades but talking instead of acting) and my team skunked the other. We had great conversation, which is just proof that kids are better every year!

We had another great day at the Fair. We might have another one on Monday and, if so, I’ll share more pictures. Today it was Dad, Katie, Uncle Dan, Bridie and her new Freshman roommate, Ava. Also, we made an unexpected friend named Meg.

We loosely followed the scavenger hunt, which is pretty usual. We saw the biggest boar and the fancy new Oink Booth. We ate donuts, bacon, cheese curds, pork chops, French fries and ice cream. We saw the longest lines ever for pickle pizza. Yuck! We saw Mae Simpson play at the KARE 11 Barn and some dancers in front of the Education Building. I chatted with Senator Pappas, who has done great work for ERA MN (and other things).

We checked out the butter queens and saw a few in the flesh. Learned about a few fun events, like the NAMI walk at Minnehaha Falls and Crosby Park After Dark. We judged others and were applauded for it. Finally, we met our friend Meg. She was in line in the Education Building to get a calendar with a picture of her family, but her family never came or at least didn’t come in time, so we offered to fill in. Best picture ever!

It’s true! The Treacy ladies are making the ERA happen in Minnesota – although clearly we’re not doing it alone. But, for the family blog … Aine and I testified at a MN House Committee on a bill to get the Equal Rights Amendment on the ballot in 2024. So that voters can chime in on whether ERA should be added to the Minnesota constitution. It’s nervous work but we did it and the bill passed out of Committee to get one step closer to a vote on the House Floor. Today my mom and I testified to the companion bill in the Senate. The hope was to have me, Aine and my mom testify together but the agenda moved slowly and items were moved around so that eventually she had to go to work. But she gets a nice nod from Senator Latz for being there. And in the end mom and I were persuasive enough to make it happen.

You can see the full videos for the Senate and House committee meetings online or see our aspirational written testimony; we may or may not have stuck to script.

Again, we weren’t working alone – ERA Minnesota is a powerful group that has worked tirelessly for years – founded by former Representative Betty Folliard and led by Suzann Wilhite. And they aren’t working alone either – there’s a great group of folks  – a sea of green you see all over town.

It is nervous work. Often there’s a push to hurry up. You know people are watching and the cameras are on. And by the nature of the topic, most of us have been taught to not believe in ourselves as much as we should. And that’s part of what makes the growing success taste sweeter. Big thanks to the legislators who are moving us forward but introducing bills and getting them heard – Rep Her, Rep Bahner, Sen Pappas and Sen Kunesh. It’s exciting to be so close – a mere 100 years after it was first raised!

One quick observation … civic engagement is hard because for most of us it means taking a day off work, maybe getting a babysitter, getting to St Paul – never mind you have to know who to contact, how and when. Lobbying is easier – you get paid, you’ve probably gone to school to learn what to do and you build relationships with the legislators so less scary and you have time to chat between meetings in case there’s something you’ve forgotten to say in testimony. Technology has helped because you can at least watch meetings remotely but it feels like sometimes the barriers to civic engagement give policymakers a skewed view of what “most people” think – because “most people” they see are lobbyists or people who can afford to take time out to speak up.

When the kids were little, we used to have scavenger hunts at the MN State Fair. It was a good way to see different things and spend less money. In honor of the full-fledged return of the Fair, we did it again. (You can check out the scavenger list if the mood strikes you.)

We had a great time. We ate lots of food. Checked out the biggest boar. Saw subversive seed art. Some went on the Sky Ride. We also saw the longest lines I’ve seen in years. So many people. A reminder that I’m more of a Wednesday afternoon Fair friend than a Saturday night. but Katie was in town Saturday and First Avenue set the stage for music on Saturday.

All was good and then guns were drawn and there were shootings at the Midway, where the rides and games are. We were close enough to see people run but not to see the fear. I talked to a shaken young woman who saw a gun drawn. She had finally found her sister by phone. They had scattered in different directions. She was 28 and just kept talking about how she felt bad for the young kids.

We were not far from the Midway – probably a fine minute walk. We walked through it a few times. The number of cops was staggering and for folks who had spent much of the last two years at protests, a little triggering. We thought about walking around but I wanted to see live music and someone else pointed out – if anything bad was going to happen, it was going to happen there.

Reports say they closed the fair at 10. We left closer to 11 because the fair is huge and lots of us didn’t experience the terror. Things were still open. The sad thing is how normalized the violence has become. Do you give into it? Do you stay at home? Do you carry on?

To graduate Aine needed to do a capstone paper or project. She chose to do a series of three-dimensional works of art, a 30 page paper and a presentation – Depicting the Troubles of Northern Ireland in Art. She has been working on this for months and today she gave her presentation. She did a terrific job.

First – here’s the art:

Bird Cage
Wire bird cage with bird created from paper penal laws, design to restrain the Irish. The cage is broken on purpose. With constraints he bird is living but not flying as it should.

The Red Hand of Ulster:
Taken from the Ulster flag and representing the blood that has been shed

1916 package:
A more literal interpretation of a package full of bullet holes like many you might have seen during the rebellion

Easter Lily:
A memorial to those killed on Bloody Sunday and a message of hope

Phoenix:
A red phoenix made of wore, a representative of the IRA and symbolizing the rise from the ashes

Body Armor:
Warrior’s garb made from actual blanket to represent the Blanket Protest and meant to look like sheep, which are prevalent in Ireland

Toilet Paper Letter:
Bobby Sands communicated (and write a book) by writing it on toilet paper and getting it snuck out of the prison. This is the first chapter of his book.

Bonfire:
The bonfire represents Orangemen’s Day. It demonstrates the impact of icons/art based on your viewpoint. It may feel celebratory to the Protestants but angers and frightens the Catholics.

Second – here’s the story behind the art.

She explained that Irish and British people are not the same, despite the misconception. She started by giving the background of British invasion and occupancy of Ireland – going back to the twelfth century. The Irish and the British have a long contentious relationship, which has manifested greatly based on religion. The British tend to be Protestant; the Irish tend to be Catholics. Laws and discrimination has developed around both political and religious differences.

Aine focused her art on a few more recent segments of activity – or rise ups. She talked about the 1916 Rising, when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) of volunteer (Catholic) soldiers invaded Dublin, centering on the General Post Office (GPO). The GPO still stands in Dublin; the bullet holes remain in the walls. Aine walked by this building a hundred times as a kid.

The 1916 Rising gave birth to Northern Ireland as a separate entity from the Republic of Ireland. It meant the Republic had a great deal of autonomy; while in Northern Ireland, which was more predominantly Protestant, the Irish Catholics suffered.

The Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement bubbled up in the 1970s, buoyed by changes spurred around the world in 1968 (including the US Civil Rights actions). It began as a peaceful push until January 1972, when police killed 13 peaceful protestors. That ignited a flame of violent discontent. On the Catholic side that was the Provisional IRA (Provos); and the Protestant side has the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). These trouble continued through the 1980s and even early 1990s.

The IRA was campaigning to reunite Ireland and/or cease discrimination in Northern Ireland. Many suspected IRA members were arrested and not treated as politic prisoners. There were three major ways that prisoners protested their treatment. The Blanket Protests, where prisoners wore only a blanket. Dirty Protest, where they covered their cells in human excrement and refused to bathe. And the Hunger Strikes, led by Bobby Sands. Many of the hunger strikers died but that effort really caught the attention and ire of the rest of the world.

In 1997, a cease fire was declared and the “Good Friday Agreement” brought political changes and peace to the region. That peace holds today – mostly. Although generations of discrimination have left a mark.

When the kids we little we used to create Peeps Dioramas for the Pioneer Press contest. Aine and I even did one on 2020 – you know due to COVID boredom. Last year I bought Peeps with good intentions but never got around to building. Those Peeps have been in the cupboard laughing at me for more than a year. Today after lunch I realized that the Peeps deadline was 5pm today. Dramatic pause…

It’s not often that the muse visits me with a burning urge but when it does I’ve got to listen. I decided I was going to Peep, dammit. I thought about possible timely topics – pandemic, war, ongoing racism and people dying because of it, oil winning over water, women losing rights like a needle in a haystack, never-ending winter – nothing felt right. Then I remembered something that does feel right – First Avenue!

So I recreated Front and Center at First Ave Peeps Show.

I hiked up to Art Scraps, the best place to go for diorama inspiration. I had a much bigger box in mind. So I have some thimble-drums and other things I may be selling on eBay soon. (Not really – total cost at Art Scraps was $3.27 – I will leave these tiny purchases to guilt me into another art frenzy next year.) Aine helped me find a box and walked up to the shop for glue and I let the magic work through me. I used the purple Peeps because – Prince. I found fairy lights, which make everything better. I created stars based on the Minnesota bands I’ve seen most recently and/or anyone who sent me a super nice note today. (List includes Kiss the Tiger, Golden Smog, Tina and the B Sides, Mae Simpson, Charlie Parr, Bathtub Cig, Mama Rose, Low Rats and Muskellunge.)

This diorama is inspired by First Ave, it is not a replica. I know the named stars aren’t inside the club. It did occur to me that if I had the time next year I would recreate (with liberties) the Clown Lounge in the basement of The Turf Club – but I’d focus on making the Peeps look like the actual bartenders. I might have to up my art skills through – or face retribution pricing for my pints.

In years past, the Pioneer Press would share Peeps submission on social media and folks could vote on winners. That’s no longer the case. So look surprised when you see me win. Actually I have great respect for the amazing artists with skill and time to create amazing art each year. And I appreciate a pastime that draws non-artists like me in too.

(Also I am allowing this terrible picture Aine took for me – because it looks as nerdy as I felt today.)

Today my Mom (Elaine), my eldest daughter (Lily) and I did something important and a little scary. We testified in front of the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee to support House File 726 (HF626): Gender equality provided under law, and constitutional amendment proposed. Big thanks to both Mom and Lily; this isn’t something we do every day but I think it was helpful for the legislators to hear from three generations and to get a glimpse at what has change and what hasn’t in the last 70 some years. And if you listen to the end you’ll hear Chair Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn say this is the first time they have heard from three generations. And thank you to Minnesota ERA for inviting us.

Here’s our portion of the meeting:

And the whole meeting:

I will paste the testimony we planned to read below. It’s pretty close to what we actually read. We thought this was important because gender is not currently protected in the Minnesota constitution. Most people think it is; most people think it should be. They had wonderful people testifying – some even more qualified than we are. In the end it was moved to Government Finance, which is a step forward. I expect is will pass in the House; not as hopeful for the Senate. (So if you care, find your state senator and ask them to make the ERA a priority.)

The sticky wicket seems to be the term gender versus sex. Detractors seem to think that including all genders means we somehow risk losing something. However, if we’re striving for equality for all, that means everyone – who cares what gender? It’s couched in a lot of different ways but in the end I feel like some folks feel we need someone to be less equal to make themselves feel more equal. I’d rather be on a team of all winners and we have the power (at least here) to do make everyone a winner.

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