Lake Street East African Worker Recovery Fund

The East African community in Minneapolis has been hit hard by uprisings in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. The economic and cultural center of Lake Street that workers built for 30 years is gone overnight. 

The presence of police violence, military vehicles, sirens and beating of protestors are not only retraumatizing a community who fled wars to seek asylum in the US, the damage has also eliminated jobs that workers rely on to provide for themselves, their children, and their elders - both here and abroad. What’s worse is that many of these workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Further, the entire East African community has lost the center of their public lives and access to basic goods and services hundreds of these workers and businesses provided.

Business owners have raised millions to rebuild, but workers have no recourse until reconstruction. We are raising money to provide aid to hundreds of workers until they can return to their jobs.

Let’s rebuild together. The money you donate will have a direct impact on rebuilding a community and providing for the families who will rebuild it. We hope you visit soon and celebrate with us, the community you helped to save in this historic time of need.

100% of the funds will be distributed to workers who have lost their jobs and divided equally based on the amount of the fund and number of applicants. Eligibility will be determined by proof of loss of employment, impact of events, and ineligible status for unemployment benefits. Funds are managed by The Awood Center , a trusted East African community-led organization worker center founded in 2018 and serving 100,000 recent immigrants and their families.

(Parade photos credit by Fibonacci Blue)