One of the beautiful things that often happens in communities facing struggle is how they come together in times of tragedy to support one another. Though this happens quite regularly, these are things that almost never make the mainstream news. It is much more preferable for the media and conservative political pundits to pathologize communities (specifically communities of color) than it is to acknowledge the work they may be doing internally to curb cycles of violence, poverty and oppression. Despite popular misconceptions, the very communities that are experiencing racialized police violence are working hard to support those in need and are turning tragedy into a reason to do good for others.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, where Philando Castile was murdered last year, this is certainly the case. A memorial fund in Castile’s name was set up to help cover the cost of student lunch debt. The fund recently raised enough money to cover student lunch debt across St. Paul for an entire year.
The Philando Feeds The Children Fund was started by Pam Fergus, a local community college professor who was inspired by stories of Castile having helped pay for student’s lunches with his own money.
“We just had this little idea that we were going to help do Mr. Phil’s job and make sure you guys have good lunch to eat every day,” Fergus told students, according to a WCCO report.
In total, more than 2000 donors helped the fund raise over $72,000—well above the initial $5,000 goal—which was presented to officials at [J.J. Hill Montessori School where Castile worked] on Friday by Castile’s mother Valerie.
This is an admirable thing but also critically important. Hunger is a huge problem among America’s public school children. Most public school teachers (around 75 percent) report that their students regularly come to school hungry and that this has a significant impact on student performance. While this should concern all of us, it doesn’t bother the political party in power one bit. Republicans have been trying to cut free and reduced school lunches for years under the guise of giving more flexibility and authority to states. All this really means is that they don’t care if poor students are going to school and unable to eat. That is shameful and inhumane. In a country with as many resources as this one, it should be impossible for poor families to actually go into debt for school lunches. We can pay for everything under the sun when we want to (especially military weaponry) but we have no desire to feed poor kids.
According to St. Paul Public Schools’ nutrition services director, Stacy Koppen, around 900 students started this school year owing money for school lunches—a number that typically grows to approximately 2,000 students by year’s end.
This is why efforts like the Philando Feeds the Children Fund are so important. What the government refuses to do, the community will step in and do. Community organizing and grassroots efforts like this are one of our only hopes—especially in the Trump era where the government seems hellbent on doing what it can to actively harm its citizens. The good news is that in St. Paul, they haven’t stopped at feeding kids. A separate scholarship of $5,000 was set up in Castile’s name by his high school classmates to go to a “African American male or to a member of another underrepresented demographic in education.” And a local mechanic has stepped in to offer services as well.
“We will be replacing tailight and license plate bulbs indefinitely FOR FREE,” Unity Autoworks, a Twin Cities car repair and customization shop, explained. “A defective bulb should never be a reason to be murdered.”
Never underestimate the power of the people to do what needs to be done. It’s only a shame that it took the death of Philando Castile for people to do it.