Booksology A brutal and powerful image that surfaced on social media last week shows 70-year-old comic book retailer Greg Ketter being tear-gassed as he confronts ICE. Here, he is seen yelling at ICE officers for destroying his community and disrupting the lives of his neighbors.
Kettler is the owner of Dreamhaven Books, which was vandalized in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd. That same year, Kettler ran a successful GoFundMe to help restore the store. You can read about it here.
As of this writing, this store’s website is down, likely due to increased traffic and attention. You can find out more on Dreamhaven’s Instagram account. Once our website is back up and running, please consider purchasing a purchase or two to support us. You can also purchase through your eBay account or AbeBooks account.
On Dreamhaven’s Facebook page, Kettler writes about his experience and the increased attention his previous GoFundMe campaign received. he asks people who want to take action not to Instead of donating there, give the money to your local food bank. Here you can combine two actions at once. Support Kettler’s store with your purchase. and Donate money to food banks in the Minneapolis area.
shop at independent bookstores
Consumerism is not the best solution to help during a crisis, but it is a meaningful action when applied to small businesses. Many of Minnesota’s independent bookstores have seen a decline in foot traffic, and many are deeply supportive of anti-ICE efforts, including participation in the general strike.
Some of the stores you can consider purchasing your next reading material include:
+ Birchbark Books, owned and operated by Native author Louise Erdrich
+ The owners of Big Hill Books shared this powerful message about love and care for their Somali neighbors and customers.
+ Moon Palace Books has a giant anti-ICE sign outside their building and is currently helping collect Spanish-language books for a local book drive.
+ Black Garnet Books is owned by queer Black women and focuses on inclusive literature for teens and adults.
+ Planting People, Growing Justice is a new social justice-focused bookstore (which started as a small publishing operation and still exists today), owned and operated by a Black woman, and focuses on a variety of children’s books.
+ Wild Rumpus Books has coordinated several give back campaigns and helped coordinate donation drives to provide local art supplies to children during this difficult time. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for upcoming projects.
Help fund local classrooms
Always a decisive action, choosing to support your local Twin Cities classrooms through DonorsChoose is one way to help educators and their students feel seen during this time. This is not the only time school has been suspended in Minneapolis this year. The school year has been disrupted twice — this school year began with the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.
Here are some current DonorsChoose projects focused on diversity and equity that are worth a few bucks. DonorsChoose projects make sense because teachers choose projects and supplies are sent based on their requests. In other words, they are not set up as centers where you can donate goods and books for free. That quickly becomes a strain on already overworked educators. Instead, teachers can develop a project, list exactly what supplies and materials they need, and use the funds they raise to acquire just those items.
First, check out this map to see what educators across the city are requesting. The darker the blue of the icon, the more the school needs it. Clicking on a school will not only show you the entire requested project; You can also donate money for individual supplies. For example, if you click on “Folwell Community School,” you’ll see the option to purchase a specific type of folder for your teacher. It’s a quick, easy, and budget-friendly way to get immediate results.
+ Full STEAM Ahead will bring STEAM supplies to historically underfunded elementary school classrooms.
+ Caps, Dreams, Memories provides young students with merchandise and books to celebrate graduation season. This is also a historically underfunded classroom, and this will be an important moment in their lives.
+ Classroom Resources provides historically underrepresented and underfunded students with the classroom supplies they need to succeed.
+ Sow the Seeds for the Joy of Reading helps bring new books to elementary school students in school libraries in St. Paul.
Today, one of the best resources to support our work in Minneapolis is a collection, vetting, and verification of organizations and individuals in need. Stand With Minnesota gives you the opportunity to do good and choose where and where you want to do good. And, as I mentioned earlier, this is an opportunity to combine supporting places like independent bookstores with another organization that provides the sometimes unglamorous supplies needed to move work forward.
