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Can We Talk?
A panel, dinner, and community discussion about the past, present, and future of I-94
April 16 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Moderated by Saint Paul Reparations Commissioner and 2024 Bush Fellow Trahern Crews, “Can We Talk? A panel, dinner, and community discussion about the past, present, and future of I-94” will convene community members, residents, advocates, and reparations activists for a focused and values-driven conversation about “the problem of I-94.”
Immediately following the panel, participants will gather together in small groups to: share personal experiences around past and present harms of the highway and imagine a future for I-94 that centers those who were, are, and will be most impacted by the highway or its potential alternatives.
The findings and feedback gathered during the discussion will be shared with participants and with Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) officials for inclusion in their Rethinking I-94 engagement efforts. The feedback will also inform Our Streets’ continued advocacy work alongside community members. A free community dinner will be provided at the event. To help ensure we have plenty of food for all, RSVPs are encouraged, but all community members are welcome to attend.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
About the Moderator & Panelists
Trahern Crews
Moderator
Trahern Crews is a Saint Paul native from the Rondo community whose ancestors descend from U.S. Chattel Slavery. Trahern is the former Chair of the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission. He is a Trustee with Restorative Actions. He also recently served as a member on the Black MN Foundation and helped disperse over $1 million to Black Individuals and organizations in Minnesota last quarter. Trahern is the Co-founder and lead organizer with Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Trahern was a co-convenor of the Saint Paul Recovery Act Legislative Advisory Committee. Trahern Crews taught Black history and Urban Agriculture at Truth Academy and has mentored Black youth at New Lens, Gladiator Records and operates an urban farming project at New Hope Baptist Church in Saint Paul MN. A recent Facing Race Award Winner and is currently a 2024 Bush Fellow.
Khulia Pringle
Panelist
Khulia Pringle is a grassroots advocate who works side by side with families navigating and challenging unjust school systems. Her work is grounded in the legacy of Frogtown and the historic Rondo community, where Black families have organized for generations in the face of displacement and harm. She centers the voices of those most impacted and pushes for reparations that are real, tangible, and led by the community.
Adrian Perrymann
Panelist
Born and raised in St. Paul, Adrian Perrymann is a proud and engaged member of the community. His career includes college access work, higher ed student support, community organizing, and DJ entertainment.
He lives in St. Paul’s Hamline Midway neighborhood with his wife and cats, LC and Nicholas Scratch, where they do various DIY renovations. In his spare time he enjoys cosplay, comic conventions, and be out in the community.
Adrian is one of the organizers of the annual Central Honors Philando Celebration and the Rondo Block Party. He is a past board member at Hallie Q Brown, St Paul Youth Services, the Union Park District Council, and the St Paul Planning Commission.
Kyrstle D’Alencar
Panelist
Krystle D’Alencar is an environmental engineering student who resides in their home through the Rondo Land Trust in North End, Saint Paul. They have been an organizer in labor, environmental justice work, and active in mutual aid and political education spaces for over 10 years.
Jeremie English
Panelist
Native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Jeremie is an original member of the Saint Paul Recovery Act Steering committee to get the Reparations Resolution 21-77 passed. He is also an original member of the Saint Paul Reparations Book Club and was a 2021 Reparations panel member with Hamline Mitchell Law School. He is currently a Mental Health Program Assistant with in the Twin Cities Regional area. He has mentored and coached youth of all ages and created a documentary working with a program called” Teen Power”. Jeremie was introduced to the concept of Reparations in the late 1990s while studying the work of legendary lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
Tish Jones
Panelist
Founder & Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks, an arts & culture organization in Saint Paul, MN. Tish Jones is a poet, cultural strategist, and educator the Historic Rondo Neighborhood in
Saint Paul, MN, with a deep and resounding love for Black people, arts & culture, youth development, and civic engagement. With over 20 years of experience in the classroom as a teaching artist, Jones is passionate about the arts as a tool for education, community building, personal and professional development, and social impact.A current Sally Award winner, Jones is grateful to have been supported through grants, fellowships, and awards from The Intercultural Leadership Institute, The Pohlad Foundation, Frogtown Neighborhood Association and 825 Arts, and more. The generous support that she has received over the years has allowed her to excavate the kind of stories that chart new worlds—she is eternally grateful.
About Twin Cities Boulevard
The most responsible option for the future of the Rethinking I-94 project is a multi-modal boulevard that returns the surrounding land to neighborhoods and fulfills calls for reparative justice along the corridor. The Twin Cities Boulevard will create healthier air, much-needed economic opportunity, and accessible, affordable, and sustainable transportation access to places all along the corridor.