To say my first six months living in Minnesota was not going well was an understatement. The third party Presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy was over within 2 months after I arrived in town. There wasnt too much to do in the campaign as it stood and I only got to see him once after my move before he left for his other home in Virginia.
A brief attempt at a reconciliation with my wife failed and soon I'd be dealing with the painful process of divorce and child support to pay.
In my four years in Alaska despite experiencing temperatures of -60 I had never gotten frostbite. It took one walk around Lake Calhoun (now Bde Maka Ska) in temps barely below zero for my toes to be bitten.
To top it off I had no friends in Minnesota and my attempts at finding activities or people I'd be interested in connecting with could at best be described as comic relief.
I took on a job door to door canvassing for the enviornmental group Clean Water Action. I didnt last long there but two good things emerged from that brief time there..a short romance with a co worker who after my firing told me the Greenpeace Action canvass might be a better fit for me.
I did not want to canvas again. I had experienced going door to door working on political campaigns and I knew from those times that for every receptive door one could expect a significant share of doors slamming in one's face and other various forms of rejection. I had now learned from my short time at Clean Water Action that in some Minnesota locales a black face was a rare sight.
At the same time funds were running low. I did not have the luxury of waiting for a more suitable job.When first arriving in Minnesota I'd see advertisements in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for Greenpeace in the want ads. I was aware of Greenpeace's enviornmental and anti war positions and I knew I could wholeheartly support its missions. At the same time from my short history at Clean Water Action and with other jobs that I had held over the years that involved any type of sales I was aware this wasnt my strong suit.
I went to the Greenpeace Action interview with the attitude of "Yeah right..black man walking the streets of suburban Minnesota asking for money..but if I can last 2 weeks that's 2 weeks of a paycheck I dont have now"
The moment I walked into the Greenpeace Action office in South Minneapolis I knew why my friend over at Clean Water Action said it would be a better fit for me. The office felt like some hippie hangout spot with papers covering both desks and posters all over walls.There were cats running around in the office The office had a smoking area as well as a "Jamaican smoking area" (hint hint) and the music of the band R.E.M. was playing in the background. My interview was rather informal. I was basically told that with my awareness of Greenpeace and willingness to go door to door tha job was mine.
The deal was one was required to bring in $100 minimum every night and after training one was given three days to bring in $100 and thus get hired.
The first two days on my own things looked as if it was going to go the route of any soliciting job I had ever held. "If things didnt go well" I said to myself "they wont have to fire me I'll just quit" I didnt want to waste their time or money and I needed to move on and figure out my life..then it happened. In the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park I made "Quota" I was now on the staff at Greenpeace Action and what I thought might be a 2 week stay turned into 2 years.
Canvassing for Greenpeace gave me an education and insight on life in Minnesota as we took our campaigns not only in Twin Cities neighborhoods but in areas outside of the Cities. Being successful meant getting a feel as to the general mindset of the neighborhood and adapting one's pitch to that particular area. In some neighborhoods the words "Greenpeace" was barely out of my month and folks were writing checks. In Blaine Minnesota at one household I approached Greenpeace was mistaken for being a lawn care company. In the affluent suburb of Edina I had more than one occasion where the person took the clipboard I was carrying to see who in the neighborhood had given and how much. They would then write a check for a larger amount.
Some of the memorable moments included : Canvassing the house of Minnesota Vikings linebacker Keith Millard and telling him to his face "The Vikings Suck" He towered over me and asked me to repeat what I said. I repeated "The Vikings Suck" He gave me money anyway
We were canvassing in a Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood on the day when the First Gulf War broke out. It wasnt much of a day to be asking for money. Instead I sat in the household of a Navy veteran who is describing to me the horrors of military life as he's watching the news reports. He was compelling I had to listen. That was a far cry from when a few days later canvassing in Maple Grove where all people needed to see was Greenpeace's antiwar newsletter as an excuse to be yelled at and in some cases chased off of yards.
In a South Minneapolis neighborhood I gave my spiel to one man playing reggae music in the background. He noticed the red gold and green Marley button I was wearing. After my spiel he asked "How much money do you need to make your quota? I was $20 short at that point. He gave me $30 and we smoked a joint aftterwards.
As a black canvasser canvassing in largely white Minnesota suburbs there were three obstacles I needed to clear. The first two were mainly around in different ways showing that I wasnt there to scope your house out to rob or to date your daughter. I think the fact that I canvassed for two years attested to my ability to do jump those hurdles.. The third one I many cases wasnt able to clear. In the winter I'd hear glowing reports in the winter from some canvasser how someone would let them into theit house and serve hot chocolate to them before sending them on their way..Not for me! I'd still be standing in the cold even as they'd be writing out a check for me. I had incidents like that and worse as I'd have the cops called on me
The first such incident occured in New Hope Minnesota. When the cop approached me I calmly explained to him what I was doing. His response to me? "If you were to come to my house I'd punch you in the face!" I reported the incident to my manager
This wasnt the first time I had faced police harassment in my life but it was the first time of having anyone standing up for me when faced with such. My managers reported the incident to the New York police department and received an apology. That one gesture made me double my determination to stick around.
By the time I left Greenpeace I could count on having an incident with the cops every 3-4 months.The further out from the Twin Cities the more likely it was to happen
Memorable incident occurred in Wayzata Minnesota where I was stopped picked up and driven around town by cops after someone in the neighborhood called on me. I explained to them and showed them all the material I was carrying with me. It seemed as if although they cleared me of any wrongdoing they were determined not to let me continue with my canvassing duties. I showed the cops the map I had as to where I was to be picked up. They drove me to that spot. As we arrived to my pickup spot another cop car was there talking with my field manager John. I left the cop car without incident but John was given a ticket for using turnsignals improperly. He was cited with the ticket after he assured the officers that they didnt have to worry about the other canvassers "because they're all white"
As I said earlier my first attemps in Minneapolis to find things to do could be described as comic relief. That changed immediately once I was connected at Greenpeace. First of all I've never seen such a collection of interesting collection of individuals in one workspace in my life. There was everyone from Annie the wolf activist who spent time living in Alaska to "Uncle Pink" the man who loved his beer and the gatherings at his apartment to watch the Minnesota Vikings lose. Ken later ran for Governor of Minnesota. John had a band called Vinnie and the Stardusters https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tKgi2WlZIbaici1AmPUcM It was easy to make friends with this group of people.
I learned about places to go. I found there were interesting places to spend time in just within walking distance of Greenpeace's office. There was the Black Forest Inn for quiet conversations after the canvas was done at night and Porter's the neighborhood dive. Saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall on the televisions at Porters. Within walking distance was the CC Club where on any given night you might see members of or close friends of folks in the alternative music scene of Minneapolis.(Replacements,Babes in Toyland, Soul Asylum) On a street halfway between the location of the Black Forest and the CC Club was a house we fondly called "The Halfway House" it was occupied by a collection of former and present Greenpeace canvassers. It was also a house mostly inhabited by followers of the Grateful Dead. Many a great party held at the Halfway House. One perk of working for Greenpeace is that if you were on staff at one office in the country one was permitted to work out of any other Greenpeace office around the country. Halfway House residents would coordinate working at other Greenpeace offices with Dead Tours.
My first visit to the famed music venue First Avenue came as a result of co workers having extra comp tickets for a show there. First show at First Ave? Reggae star Jimmy Cliff opening for Afrobeat legend Fela. Little would I have imagined that in a few years I'd be performing on that same First Avenue stage.
Then there was Mayday..the annual parade and festival in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood in Minneapolis. Mayday became an event I would never miss even after I moved away from Minneapolis. I have many stories from many years of attending Mayday. Greenpeace marched in the Free Speech section of the parade but in that first year of attending my most vivid memory is that of co worker Brian pulling me aside lighting a joint handing it to me and saying to me "I think you're going to like what's coming up next. What came up next was an electric performance by a local reggae band called the Maroons. I was immediately hooked and soon found myself regularly attending Maroons shows held mostly on the West Bank Neighborhood in Minneapolis..
The Weekend Love Forecast
At Greenpeace prior to going out to canvass there would be daily briefings at the office keeping us up to date on the latest enviornmental news. Depressing news about whale killings oil spills and nuclear testing would be balanced with news of some Greenpeace Action around the globe helping to stop thesr atrocities. On Fridays however there came time for lighter moments and on Fridays the briefings would end with a reading of the Star Tribune's horoscope. Initially the paper was passed around with everyone in the office having an opportunity to read a segment from the horoscope.When the paper came to me the section left for me to read was the love forecast for the weekend. Maybe it was because of the way I read it or the style in which I read it people seemed to enjoy the way I read it Soon it became my job to read the weekend love forecast and shortly afterwards the Friday reading of the horoscope was replaced by my reading of the Weekend Love Forecast.
Readings of the Weekend Love Forecast developed into a mini production and performance on Fridays. Lights would be turned off and incense would be burned prior to its reading. Music would accompany the readings The music could range from soft jazz to the sensual sounds of Barry White and even some TV show theme songs. I would describe the readings as where the clarivoyant Jeane Dixon would meet the Saturday Night Live newscast. On some Fridays the readings would come off as some New Age spoof other times it was be as crude as if Hunter S. Thompson took charge of the readings himself. The office loved and looked forward to the Weekend Love Forecast and I loved and looked forward to performing it.
2 years is a long time to survive at a job such as that of canvassing sooner or later burnout begins to set in and the signs become evident that its time to move on. Through the recommendation of my roommate a former Greenpeace canvasser I landed a job at the worker owned worker run New Riverside Cafe in the counterculture hub of Minneapolis the West Bank neighborhood. I announced the news of my quitting Greenpeace through a performance of the Weekend Love Forecast. It was a performance complete with a top hat and tight black pants and it brought tears to those in the office as well as myself.
Soon performances of the Weekend Love Forecast were replaced by community theater performances which eventually led to the creation of the Reggae Theatre Ensemble The life largely lived today fully began to blossom on the West Bank
It's roots however began with the canvas..
No comments:
Post a Comment