Jacobin Radio The Dig: Minneapolis Fight Back w/ Emilia González Avalos, Greg Nammacher, and JaNaé Bates Imari
Jan 31, 2026
JaNaé Bates Imari, faith organizer who mobilizes congregations for racial and economic justice. Greg Nammacher, longtime labor leader for janitorial and service workers. Emilia González Avalos, immigrant-rights organizer and voter mobilizer. They recount how long-term organizing, faith-based tactics, union power, mutual aid, and disciplined mass mobilization combined to confront a federal occupation and pull off a citywide shutdown.
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From Specialty Group To Core Coalition Member
- Immigrant organizing shifted from a 'specialty' lane into the state's core progressive coalition.
- That transition created popular-front on-ramps like constitutional observers who then escalated into broader action.
Make Relationship The Organizing Compass
- Prioritize relationship-building over ideological tests to expand a 'big we' for mass action.
- Listen first and lower the cost of participation to normalize resistance for ordinary people.
Deep Alignment Beats Big Tent Coalitions
- Deep alignment (not broad tent) of risk-ready organizations produced fast, coordinated action.
- Alignment meant being 'underneath each other's hoods' with mutual critique and shared stakes.