TakeAction Minnesota draws attention for political victories
When Minnesotans last fall rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required voters to present photo identification at the polls, it represented a huge victory for liberal groups that had fought to oppose it.
On the front lines of that effort was TakeAction Minnesota, which over the last decade has become a powerful advocate for liberal causes. Since then, the group has played crucial role in several state and local campaigns, including the race for mayor in Minneapolis.
Take Action Minnesota emerged from the 2006 merger of two other groups — Progressive Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action.
The group’s supporters are “movement builders” — ready to spring to action during petition drives and elections, said Dan McGrath, executive director of TakeAction Minnesota.
“At any given moment we’re in the streets protesting something,” McGrath said. “We’re a people’s organization. Every day we are knocking on doors, making phone calls, talking to people in the community — people who are often low-income, people who are on the margins, people of color, the elderly, students.”
McGrath said those communities set TakeAction Minnesota’s agenda, which has a lot to do with improving conditions for minorities in Minnesota. With an annual budget of more than $3 million, 31 full-time employees and an email list of more than 40,000 supporters, the group can devote considerable energy to its work.
“We decided we wanted to take on the most urgent issues that the state was facing, and that’s really the issues around racial disparity,” McGrath said. “Whether it’s in health, employment or voting, there is just a vast difference between how white people and people of color experience Minnesota.”
