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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934 April 16 - 22, 2026
Vol. 92
No. 37
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
Judge dismisses charges against activist arrested outside Cities Church on Easter
By Clint Combs Contributing Writer
Phillips stood outside the Ramsey County Courthouse and described the escalating mily Phillips, 33, verbal standoff she had with spent Easter Sunday St. Paul officers. “There’s an officer who just behind bars after being arrested across really was unhappy about the the street from Cities Church, protest, and he was kind of only to have Ramsey County the officer in charge,” Phillips Judge Maria Mitchell dis- said. “At one point he told me, miss all charges the following ‘I would have already arrested morning after finding no prob- you if it was up to me.’” able cause. Phillips was charged with committing offensive, ob"At one point he scene or noisy behavior and told me, 'I would interrupting a religious service. During the protest, Philhave already lips could be heard shouting arrested you if slogans such as “Love thy it was up to me.'" neighbor… require paperwork for Jesus.” The first protest at Cities St. Paul Police Department Church on Jan. 18 resulted in nearly 40 arrests after activ- spokesperson Alyssa Arcand ists learned that St. Paul ICE told the Minnesota SpokesField Director David Easter- man-Recorder that officers rewood served as a pastor there. sponded to a noise complaint Federal prosecutors under at 8:35 a.m. “The protesters were using President Donald Trump have since charged those protest- a bullhorn and yelling loudly, ers, dubbed the Righteous 39 disrupting the church serand led by ordained ministers vices,” Arcand said. “The proNekima Levy-Armstrong and testers were given numerous Monique Cullars-Doty, un- announcements by officers to der the Freedom of Access stop, or they would be cited to Clinic Entrances Act. Levy- and possibly arrested.” Phillips said the officer was Armstrong is also a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Min- texting back and forth with his sergeant over questions of neapolis.
Emily Phillips is embraced by supporters outside the Ramsey County jail following her release March 6, one day after her Easter Sunday arrest outside Cities Church in St. Paul. Chris Juhn/MSR noise levels, ultimately telling protesters they would be arrested if they could be heard from 50 feet away or from inside Cities Church. “And I was like, well, what’s the decibel level? And he was like, well, there is no decibel level. It’s just what is reasonable,” Phillips said. Someone in the protest group then looked up the city’s actual noise stan-
Minnesota's Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office steps into the light By Jasmine McBride Editor hen Maia Yang's niece Amarie Alowonle was shot at Sanborn Park in Robbinsdale in May 2025, the family was thrust into a grief they had never prepared for. Amarie was 19 years old. She died a week later from her injuries. Nearly a year later, no one has been arrested. In the aftermath, Yang did what many families in crisis do, she searched. She Googled resources, advocates, anyone who could help her
the disproportionate rates at which Black women and girls go missing, are harmed and are killed, and the systemic failures that have allowed those cases to go unresolved and underreported. On April 13, the office hosted its 2026 Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Day on the Hill. A day of action, remembrance, and truth-telling at the Minnesota State Capitol. Tatiana Kilgore, Amarie's mother, was among those who spoke. So was Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, who helped champion the office's creation and addressed the crowd as an Anishinaabe woman, a survivor of domestic violence and a mother. "This work was not created in a vacuum," Flanagan said. "It was born out of love and out of a movement. It was built through the courage of community members who refused to stay silent." For Burkes, the day represented both a milestone and a call to action. "This year's Day on the Hill is focused on awareness, visibility and truth-telling," Burkes said. "We are working to elevate the reality of the violence Black women and ■ See MISSING on page 5 Courtesy
sister Tatiana Kilgore navigate the impossible weight of losing a child to violence. That search led her to the Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls. "I reached out to them," Yang said. "Amarie, she was Black, Native, I was like, wow, this would be perfect for them to step in and know about her story." The office, established by the Minnesota Legislature, is one of the few of its kind in the country. Led by Director Kaleena Burkes and a sixperson team, it was created to address a crisis that has long existed in the shadows:
(L-R) Amarie Alowonle and her mother Tatiana Gilmore
dard. “They’re 65 by the way, by a city board,” Phillips said. Rather than push back, Phillips said she tried to comply with every directive St. Paul police issued. She walked across the street to a grassy median and turned off her megaphone, relying only on her natural voice. “I brought the speaker with me off, and he was like, ‘You
brought the speaker?’” Phillips said. “I was like, ‘It’s not on. It’s my property.’ But he was really upset about that, and he was texting about how I had brought my speaker to the side, even though it was off, and telling me how he already had cause to arrest me.” “The majority of the group complied,” Arcand said. “One person, an adult female, did
not comply and was arrested by officers for interference with religious observance.” Phillips has had numerous run-ins with federal agents, sheriffs and local police. She said Department of Homeland Security agents know her by name. Three months ago, The Young Turks posted a video of Phillips confronting an ICE ■ See EMILY on page 5
The quiet revolt against hustle culture
By Damenica Ellis Staff Writer
ernique Esther’s father died early this year due to complications from heart disease and lung cancer, something she said metastasized because he was not connected to his community. Though estranged, Esther could turn on the TV and see her father with news correspondents speaking on current events as a geopolitical leader in the Republic of Benin. Even with his multiple degrees, books written and other accolades, at the end, Esther found out that there was work he was doing that he never finished. “The achievements and the accolades, there’s always a temptation to get another one,” she said. “But I don’t done professionally. think that we value what it “Being able to find ways to does to our bodies and to move my body and honor my those around us when we commitments to myself have forsake everything for those been huge for me,” she said. aims. It’s literally never worth “I’m still a high achiever … but it.” I think I do it differently. Now, This lesson was key to Es- I slow down when I need to. I ther’s own journey in step- take breaks when I need to. I ping away from hustle culture push the gas when I need to, this year. She has limits on but always being mindful that her week, with work banned this is not something that I’m completely on Sundays. She trying to sustain indefinitely.” goes outside and has taken up Her life feels more honest, skating while still getting tasks she said.
Mizuno K “I’ve learned what actually matters, to strip away the fat and to not just do things because it’s there and available, to not just work a job because of the financial aspect. But what else matters to me? Is it lifestyle? Is it flexibility?” More people are stepping away from hustle culture, redefining what success looks like outside of a workplace. The subtle lifestyle changes are shaping wellness and ■ See HUSTLE on page 5