In Minnesota we know that we pull through by pulling together. From Minneapolis to Moorhead, no matter what we look like or where we come from, we want the best for one another and our families and we pitch in for each other to leave things better off for our kids.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the mass protests following the recent murders of fellow Minnesotan, George Floyd and other Black Americans by police, are rapidly transforming our lives. The injustices that the powerful few have unleashed since our founding have become more and more visible, opening up the possibility for a radical realignment in our politics in a pivotal election year. Minnesotan progressives have the opportunity to focus public attention on creating a state where everyone is safe and free, with a care system and economy that works for all of us. 

But we must also contend with the race-baiting and fear mongering by a handful of politicians. The powerful few seek to hold onto power by unleashing new horrors to distract and divide us based on what we look like, how we pray, or where we come from. They pick and choose who is deserving and try to dictate who gets to be Minnesotan and who gets left to fend for themselves. They fuel hardship by laying off Minnesotans by the hundred thousands, denying healthcare in a pandemic, pitting the cities against the suburbs against greater Minnesota, and equipping police with military gear to target Black people and terrorize those demanding liberty and justice for all. 

Most Minnesotans have a clear vision for a better future: by coming together to rewrite the rules and making the wealthiest few pay their fair share, we can ensure that everyone — Black, white and brown, native and newcomer — can earn a good living and have a life worthy of our humanity; we can resource our schools so that every child can pursue their dreams; and we can provide families with the care we all need to get and stay well. 

To succeed in this moment, we must combat the cynicism and (understandable) despair that undermines desire for sustained participation from our base. We must cut through the sense of isolation and inevitability our opposition has built that the way things are now reflects how they will always be.

The truth is that our state has only been able to sustain because of us, our commitment to one another and our willingness to care for each other.  Our future is the sum of the changes we demand, the courage we display, and how we stand with and for each other. The truth is that we make Minnesota vibrant, thrive, grow, safe, caring and strong. No longer can a few chip away at what we’re creating. We Make Minnesota.  

We Make Minnesota is a pop up brand to express our winning narrative with a Minnesota flavor. It is a narrative companion to the popular Greater Than Fear. The WMM brand and this messaging guide are based on rigorous research into perception and persuasion, and provide specific recommendations to engage our base and persuade the middle. The core of this work is the Race Class Narrative, an approach that weaves together economic empowerment, racial justice and gender equity, using language proven to work to mobilize and persuade voters.Through this messaging guide and WMM website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, we offer content that can be adapted for different contexts. Everything contained here is available open source for use by progressive organizations, campaigners and volunteers.By activating a shared brand no matter what particular campaign we’re conducting, we reinforce our overarching narrative and our shared values. Research has demonstrated that consistently repeating phrases and visual marks increases the credibility and appeal of those words and images. As a choir, we want to repeat the same notes to be heard through the political noise.We Make Minnesota was developed and co-created with dozens of Minnesotan organizations and with the help of Race Class Narrative

How to Use We Make Minnesota

The core narratives in this guide can be used in many ways: in conversations on a canvass or among friends; in public statements, letters, and op-eds; in interviews and speeches; on social media and more. While they can be memorized like a script, they can also be adapted to your particular needs and circumstances.

This is a unique brand, with versatility that allows you to communicate the ways in which WE make Minnesota be the state it is and WE determine the state it will be.  It allows us both an acknowledgement of our positive contributions to grant us to be resilient in today’s world and what we are creating for future generations. 

This is about building the bigger and more collective “we”.

You can either use the brand as #WeMakeMN on its own, or customize the last word/phrase of the phrase, as in “We Make Minnesota [insert your word/phrase here]”The possibilities are almost endless! Do you work on transit? “We Make Minnesota Move.” Immigrant rights issues? “We Make Minnesota Welcoming.” Banning conversion therapy? “We Make Minnesota Cherish Queer Kids.”

The following examples show how you can use the core messages and narrative structure in different formats, using “thrive,” “vibrant,” “caring,” and “Deliver Black Dreams.”  

On Social Media

For more social media examples, visit our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

We Make Minnesota Thrive
We refuse to go back to business as usual. We’ll elect leaders who care for us, who will #FundOurLives, and who know that together, #WeMakeMN thrive. 

We are coming together to demand that liberty and justice be for all and that our elected officials respect our rights - no matter our race, accent or zip code. #WeMakeMN thrive

We Make Minnesota Vibrant
No matter where we're from or our color, we work hard for our families. But our economic rules favor the rich at the expense of the rest. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our work, our culture, our existence makes us worthy agents of change. #WeMakeMN vibrant.

No matter where we were born, or the money our families have, we treat one another how we want to be treated. That means every Minnesotan should have a fair shot at basic things like healthcare,  livable wages and a driver’s license. #WeMakeMN vibrant. 

We Make Minnesota Caring
We care for one another, Black & white, rural & urban. If a handful of politicians & their wealthy friends think that they can divide or silence us, they have another thing coming. Minnesotans are #GreaterThanFear and #WeMakeMinnesota. 

Minnesotans care for one another. From childcare providers, to home healthcare workers, to nurses, we’ve been essential to our state’s wellbeing. A few politicians won’t tell us we don’t deserve what we need to care for each other. #WeMakeMN and we’re better off together. 

Our own health depends on the health of the person next to us, and the person next to them. Ensuring others can access care is how #WeMakeMN and take care of each other.

We Make Minnesota Deliver Black Dreams 
Minnesotans are voters at record numbers. We won’t be silenced by those who stoke fear and division. This summer we marched to #DefendBlackLives. Today we are voters to #DeliverBlackDreams. #WeMakeMN

Whatever our race or region, we all want to live in community w/o fearing for our lives or loved ones. A few electeds use "law & order" dog whistles to pit us against one another. We won't stop fighting for equal justice for ALL. #WeMakeMN #DeliverBlackDreams

Minnesotans of every race and region are standing together for a future we all deserve. While a greedy few move the marker for the American Dream farther away, we know together it’s possible when we #DeliverBlackDreams #WeMakeMN

On Phones

“I think that no matter what you look like or where you were born, most of us have faced a struggle where we needed a helping hand. Do you agree? Together, working people like us make Minnesota. If we hold greedy corporations responsible for making it impossible for us to get the care we need and blocking our efforts for paid time to recover so they can rake in obscene profits, working people like you and me could go to the doctor, get quality care, and take the paid time we need to recover and care for our families when sick.”

“Around here, most of us treat others the way we’d like to be treated. And that goes for everyone, no matter what you look like or where you grew up. But then a handful of politicians try to divide us against each other – hoping that if we fear our neighbor – we might look the other way while they undermine our public schools, take away our healthcare and threaten our Social Security. We make Minnesota, and by joining together, we can rewrite the rules and make this a place that works for all of us.”

“Whether we’re white, Black or brown, we want pretty similar things for our families. We want to do right by our elders and provide our kids with the love, care and opportunities they need. But right now, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists are putting our children’s future at risk and leaving our elders in dangerous and disgraceful conditions while they shame and blame Black people, new immigrants or those struggling to make ends meet for our problems. We will not let them continue to divide us, distracting us from what really matters to all our families. Together, we make Minnesota, and we have the power to pick politicians who will do right by all of us.  By joining together across racial differences, we can make this a place where every one of us has what we need to live healthy, fulfilled lives.”

The basic structure of a We Make Minnesota message can be adapted for any number of progressive issues, as demonstrated in the following sections:

COVID

All of us, no matter our skin color or money in our pocket, want to live happy healthy lives.

Yet a handful of politicians have blocked our ability to care for one another and ourselves, then point the finger at us amid a pandemic they’ve neglected to protect us from. While they try to feed us lies to distract us and make us afraid, we know it’s because they have nothing else to offer.

We make Minnesota and we’re better off together. It is together that we will swear in leaders who care for us and our families, both in a crisis and in our thriving future that we make possible together. 

No matter what we look like, where we live, or what's in our wallets, getting sick reminds us that at our core, we’re all human. 

But for too long, a powerful few have divided us to pad their own profits by making life and health a product for sale and blocking our efforts to ensure paid time to recover from illness and care for our loved ones. We make Minnesota the caring and family centered state it is.

We make our future by ensuring everyone can access the care that we need without fearing we’ll go bankrupt to do it. This is a moment that we must stand with and for each other across our differences and against anything and anyone who seeks to divide us.

We pull through by pulling together, like we have done in the past. This means going all in for all of us to demand the care and paid time to recover everyone needs. 

We stand united against a handful of politicians and corporate insurance and pharma industries that would use this crisis to generate profits and keep us from getting the testing, vaccines and treatments we need to get and stay well. 

We make Minnesota, and we can see through those who feed us lies. They want to keep us divided because they know if we come together, we will demand proven solutions like healthcare for all, paid time to recover and care for our loved ones, and protections that keep us in our homes and ensure we make ends meet.

For more guidance on talking about COVID, check out Race Class Narrative Action’s National COVID-19 Messaging Guide.

Restore The Vote

Most of us believe every Minnesotan adult ought to have a say through our vote, whether we're Black or white, young or old, woman or man.
 
But today, a handful of people in power have passed laws to deny certain Minnesotans their rights to participate in our democracy. They want to divide us from each other based on what we look like, how much money we have, or what we have done in our past even when we've made restitution.

We make Minnesota, which means we can make it a place where equality under the law and the chance to have your voice heard is for everyone, no exceptions. 

Minnesotans know that the only way for democracy to work for all of us is if democracy includes us all. The principle of one person one vote extends to all voters — Black, brown, or white, from Rondo to the Range, from Red Lake to Red Wing, from St. Cloud to St. Paul and everywhere in between. Right now, our outdated voter rules block tens of thousands of us from having our voices heard on election day. Lobbyists and powerful interests prop up the outdated system to divide and exclude us from casting our ballots and perpetually punishing past mistakes. 

This election season, we can vote in a government that honors our democracy and restores voting rights to those who’ve had it taken so that everyone in our state can make our voices heard in Election seasons to come. We make Minnesota, and when we are all in for Minnesota voters, we can make the best choices for our families and our state.

COVID and Incarceration

We all need quality healthcare for ourselves and our loved ones, no matter what we look like or where we call home. This is true every day, especially during a global pandemic. 

But today, some of the most medically compromised people in our society are incarcerated in close quarters, unable to protect themselves or access the care they need. Certain politicians are putting the health and safety of our loved ones in jails and prisons at risk. 

Holding millions of people in life-threatening conditions is a choice we don’t have to keep making. We urge our electeds to immediately address the dangers of these facilities -- and release people with health vulnerabilities, people over the age of 60, people with six months or less remaining on their sentence, and people serving for technical, and drug related offenses. 

We make Minnesota and our future by ensuring justice, safety, and liberty prevail for all of our loved ones. 

COVID and Racial Justice

When any one of us is barred from being able to prevent, detect, treat and recover from this illness, all of us are at risk. 
Today, a handful of our elected leaders are picking and choosing who will live and who will die from this virus based on age-old color-coded barriers to getting necessary care. Allowing COVID-19 to destroy Black, brown, and Indigenous communities is a choice we don’t need to keep making. 
We must come together to demand information about how this virus is impacting each community and implement proven strategies that ensure every one of us,from North Minneapolis to North Mankato, from Red Wing to Red Lake, from St. Cloud to St. Paul, gets the care and treatment that we need.
For more guidance on talking about COVID-19 and racial justice, check out Race Class Narrative Action’s Justice in Healing Guide.

Housing

In Minnesota, we define ourselves by who we are and how we treat others, not by what we look like or what’s in our wallets.But today, certain politicians and greedy lobbyists are trying to divide us by making it impossible for many of us to afford any place to live. Meanwhile, a handful of corporate developers rig the rules to jack up our rents, build only for the wealthiest few, and hoard even more profits for themselves.When we go all in for every one of us, we can win commonsense solutions that ensure we all make rent while having enough to care for our families, no exceptions.

Together, we make Minnesota, and we will ensure all of us have a home to raise our kids, pursue our dreams, and make our memories.

Home. The place where we lay our heads, hug our loved ones, make our memories. 

But today, this most basic of human needs – shelter – is put out of our reach to turn a quick profit for the wealthiest 1%. A handful of lawmakers and the real estate speculators, corporate developers and landlords that fund their campaigns have handed themselves kickbacks while jacking up rents, peddling faulty mortgages and destroying affordable options.

We must come together to rewrite the rules, regulate rents, and build options people can actually afford. We make Minnesota and together, we can ensure all of us have a place to call home.

Education

School is a place where childhood happens. Most of us believe that every child, whatever their color, background or zip code, has the right to learn in a supportive environment that respects their humanity, upholds their dignity, and responds fairly to mistakes and missteps. 

But today, certain politicians fuel divisions so they can take resources away from our schools while they let the wealthiest few get away with not paying their fair share. They then blame  parents, teachers and students to distract from these failures. They send police into schools to harm students who are Black,brown, LGBT or disabled for making mistakes that — for wealthy white kids — are deemed part of growing up and learning. 

Our schools must treat every child as equal, especially in situations of conflict. 

We make Minnesota, and by joining together - parents and teachers, Black, white, and brown - we can make every neighborhood public school a place where all children can learn, grow, and thrive.

No matter what we look like, where we live, or what’s in our wallets, most of us want our neighborhood public schools to inspire imagination, cultivate critical thinking, and ensure our children can live fulfilling lives. 

But certain politicians try to divide us, ensuring well-resourced schools with mostly white students have money for computers, teacher training, and parent engagement, while sending police to monitor and punish Black and brown students in schools that have already been deprived for too long. Then, they turn around and point the finger at Black, brown and Native families for the challenges at our neighborhood public schools, while letting the wealthiest few refuse to pay their fair share. 

We make Minnesota, and by joining together across race and zip code, we can rewrite the rules to ensure every school has the materials, up-to-date strategies, healthy meals, after-school programs, and emotional support to set kids up to be all that they dream.

Raise Revenue and Tax the Rich

No matter what we look like, where we come from, or how we make a living, Minnesotans work hard for our families.But today, massive corporations like United Health, Target and Amazon rake in record profits, while they refuse to contribute to the schools, roads and community services all of us rely on. Then they pit communities against each other, reaping profits off us while refusing to contribute to the basics every business, community and family needs. Joining together to rewrite the rules, we can make sure that corporations who have done well in Minnesota do right by Minnesota.

We make Minnesota, and we can ensure we have the resources to truly educate all of our kids and the services to truly support all of our families. 

No matter what we look like or where we come from most of us pitch in for each other and hope to leave things better off for those to come. But today a handful of corporations undermine all of us. They divide us against each other, hoping we’ll look the other way so they can continue to reap the benefits of our contributions while refusing to put in their share.When we go all in for all of us, we can make this a place we’re proud to call home with the world-class schools, affordable healthcare and community services our families need. When we join together across racial differences to rewrite the rules, we create our future. We make Minnesota. 

Wages, Work and Unions

No matter where we come from, what our color, or what we do for a living, Minnesotans work hard for our familiesBut today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt everyone by handing kickbacks to the rich, defunding our schools, and threatening seniors with cuts to Medicare and Social Security. They try to divide us from each other at work and in our communities because they know we all do better when we’re all in for all of us. We need to join together in union to demand that people who work for a living can earn a good living, just like we won safer workplaces and civil rights in our past. Together, we make Minnesota a place where we all get a fair return on our work.  

Whether we’re white, Black or brown, here we value our freedom. Working people deserve the same freedom CEOs have: the freedom to negotiate a fair return on our work. But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists divide us from each other based on what we look like or where we come from, hoping we look the other way while they take away the freedoms people in unions have won for all of us. Real freedom is about more than making a living; it’s about living a life - having time to take a loved one to the doctor, attend a parent-teacher conference or retire in dignity.We must protect our freedom to join together in union. Standing together, we make Minnesota and secure our freedom to prosper.

Census 

 No matter what we look like, how long we’ve been here, or what’s in our wallets, we all want to live in the best places for our families.  But today, a handful of politicians are trying to take resources away from our communities by spreading fear, because they know that when all of us are counted in the census, we get the resources and political representation we’re due. By making sure each and every one of us is counted — whether Black or white, native or newcomer, Latino or Asian — we make Minnesota. When the census accurately counts all of us, we get our fair share of funding for community services and ensure that our future gets defined by and for all of us. 

Climate and Environment 

No matter what we look like, where we come from, or what’s in our wallets, we want to make things better for generations to come.
But today, we use fuels that pollute the air in our kids’ lungs and the water in their cups. We are damaging our climate and, with it, many things we depend upon for our future. When we go all in for the health of our land, air and water, we’re truly all better off together, no matter what certain politicians and their dirty fuel lobbyists say to distract us from their failures.
By joining together, we can demand safe, clean, locally-made energy from the wind and sun that will ensure our well-being for generations to come. 
By picking leaders who believe in smart solutions for us all, we make Minnesota’s future better for those to come.

Whether we’re white or Black, rich or poor, Indigenous or newcomer, we all want to leave future generations a healthy and beautiful Minnesota.
But today, a handful of dirty fuel lobbyists and the legislators they've paid for are trying to silence our voices and deny us our freedom to have a say over what happens to the land, air and water we all depend upon. They seek to divide us and undermine our rights so they can make backroom deals to pad their own profits, no matter how it harms us. 

By joining together, from our farms to our cities, we can protect our rights to gather and speak collectively in order to ensure our well-being for generations to come. 

By protecting our right to have a say about our future, we can ensure that rules made about our air, water and land serve our best interests. 

Immigrant Rights

No matter where we come from, what our color, or how we worship, most of us work hard for our families.
But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt everyone by handing kickbacks to the rich, defunding our schools, and threatening seniors with cuts to Medicare and Social Security. They then turn around and point the finger for our hard times at new immigrants.
Minnesotans coming together, no matter our immigration status, can re-write the rules so that fairness, justice and freedom can be for all. 
We make Minnesota, and together, we can make this a place that honors all families, no exceptions.
--
People with the courage and tenacity to move for a better life help make our country the "land of the free, home of the brave." But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt all of our families by defunding schools, blocking healthcare, and denying us a fair return on our work -- all while pocketing the profits. Then they turn around and point the finger for our hard times at new immigrants, even detaining and tearing families apart and abusing children. We make Minnesota, and together, we can create fair rules that uphold our values to make this a place of liberty and justice for all - no exceptions. 

Healthcare

Whether we’re white, Black or brown, when it comes to our health, we all want to make sure we can prevent, treat or recover from illness or injury without fearing we’ll go bankrupt. 

But today certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists have sold off our health to the highest bidder, letting insurance corporations, hospital chains and pharma lobbyists rake in record profits, all while they deny us the quality affordable care people around the world take as given.  They divide us against each other based on what we look like, where we come from or how much money we have so we don’t join together to demand proven solutions through a public system that can ensure the care all of us need. 

We make Minnesota, and we have the power to pick politicians who will prioritize our health and the health of our loved ones. 
By joining together, we can make this a place where all of our families can get the care we need at a price we can afford. 

Drug Policy, Addiction and Overdose

Many of us know all too well the pain of seeing a loved one struggle with addiction. 

But today, a powerful few use the same old tactics to fuel fear among us based on what we look like, where we come from, or the struggles we face. And while we’re working to make ends meet, afford healthcare, or recover from addiction, they rake in record profits pushing painkillers and putting treatment out of our reach. 

By joining together, we can ensure our loved ones have access to healthcare, the chance to receive treatment, and safeguard against lethal overdose so our families can get and stay well. We make Minnesota, and we can make this a place where we all have the support we need.

Protests and Policing

No matter what we look like or where we live, we want our families to be whole and our communities to be vibrant. But the people entrusted to serve and protect our communities target, detain and even kill Black people like George Floyd, Tony McDade and Breonna Taylor, among too many others. All the while, a handful of politicians throw out lies to divide us. They think that if we’re made to fear each other, we’ll ignore it when police officers meant to uphold the law harm our communities. And they hope we’ll look the other way when politicians elected to govern in our name hand millions to corporations to militarize law enforcement and deny resources for the schools and healthcare we actually need. 

Together - from cities to suburbs to towns - we make Minnesota. And we can demand that our elected leaders fund our lives, creating the schools, services and care we all need, so that our communities are safe for every one of us.

For more guidance on talking about protests and policing, check out Race Class Narrative Action’s guide Messaging This Moment: Mobilizing our Base and Persuading the Middle on Policing, Protest, and Racial Injustice. 

Voter Registration, Vote By Mail and GOTV 

Most of us believe that, no matter what we look like or where we live, we should all have an equal say in our democracy. 
But today, a powerful few try to divide us by race and by place so we won’t join together to demand what all of our families need. 

We are long overdue to rewrite the rules and create the promise of a multiracial democracy. It is only by showing that the many are willing to stand up to the money that we have the power to get the care and respect every one of us deserves.

Together, we make Minnesota. Join us by being a voter to ensure we elect leaders who govern for all of us. 

Millions of us, young and old, from cities to suburbs, across race and place of origin, have just signed up to vote by mail -- joining millions of others in states like Colorado, Oregon and Utah who have been voting by mail for years. 
While a powerful few make false claims about mail-in voting to try keep us from making our voices heard so they can stay in power, we know better. 
We make Minnesota by joining together as voters. Request your mail-in ballot, delivered right to your door, here: mnvotes.org  

Whatever our color, origin or zip code, our vote is our power. Being a voter by mail is how we exercise that power. 
While a powerful few and the wealthy CEOs who fund them try to block us from being voters, we turned up in record numbers - even in a pandemic! Both they and we know that we can turn our outrage and energy into change by electing leaders who reject the politics of division and who will govern for every one of us, whether we’re young or old, Black or white, native or newcomer. 
Together, as voters, we make Minnesota. 

No matter what we look like or where we’re from, we all want our families to be safe, our voices to be heard, and our rights to be respected. 
But a few politicians are trying to divide and scare us into silence by trying to make us afraid of our own neighbors. With the election coming up, they’re trying to distract us from their failure to provide the care, security, and support we need during this pandemic. 
By joining together, Black, white, and brown, we will vote in record numbers and raise our voices in the streets to swear in a government of, by, and for the people.

No matter where we come from or what our color, most of us believe that our elected leaders should reflect the very best of every kind of Minnesotan and govern for all of us, no exceptions. But today, certain politicians and the greedy few have rigged the rules to silence our voices and hold onto power. They fuel divisions hoping we’ll blame new immigrants, Black people, or people struggling to make ends meet for the damage their policies have caused us all. We can defeat their attempts to undo the will of the people. By joining together as voters, we make Minnesota. We will build a democracy and create a future that works for all of us - no exceptions.