What is the solidarity picnic?

The Twin Cities Solidarity Picnic is a coalition-building family-friendly event meant to celebrate and showcase the collective power of our community. The solidarity picnic is a picnic – there will be hotdogs on the grill that you can come and eat outside. But it is also a celebration of our ability to take care of each other's needs and respond to authoritarianism. We also want to offer this space for people to further building out our network of alternatives to the status quo. The picnic has expanded beyond just food and fellowship to be about mutual aid, solidarity, and coalition-building. We hope attendees are able to use it as a jumping off point for future organizing between like-minded groups.

It’s also a connection between what we did to keep each other safe during Operation Metro Surge (or as we like to call it, the Battle of Minneapolis), and what our comrades did nearly 100 years ago…

…On July 20, 1934, police gunned down two non-violent strikers, Henry Ness and John Belor, and injured 67 others in the process. This tragedy drew 100,000 enraged Minnesotans into the streets (sound familiar?) and sparked a nationwide series of strikes and labor victories—ultimately earning thousands of people higher wages and improved working conditions. For years, these wins were commemorated with "victory picnics" on or around July 20. Our friends at Remember 1934 still observe the weekend every year.

…On May 1, the Worker's Assembly coalition of labor unions and activist orgs organized a strike and march to coincide with International Workers’ Day (aka May Day). As many of us were discussing “what’s next”, we learned that Aquatennial was (nearly) cancelled this year! We leapt at the chance bring back the victory picnics the obviously corporately-sponsored Aquatennial was specifically created to squash. As in 1934, our communities took an injury to one as an injury to all, fought back, and through it all, became a model of resilience and solidarity for the rest of the nation. This picnic is the perfect time to build on that legacy with new mutual aid networks, coalitions, and friendships. We would be honored to have you join us.

Why a picnic?

First of all, why not?

Second, a picnic is a unique kind of shared meal that meets the moment for us as a community.

…A picnic requires free time and the ability to leave your home. Historically, an elegant pleasure outing such as this was only available to those in power. But today, thanks to those who came before us, the common people have the chance to “pique-nique” the way only the French aristocracy did before the revolution.

…A picnic can also be a political act of unity. In 1989, the Pan-European picnic allowed more than 600 East German refugees to cross the Iron Curtain in one day and was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.

Come eat a meal outside, play a silly game, and have fun with your neighbors as an act of resistance!