Statement on Racist Comments by Minneapolis Councilmember Rainville
On July 8, Minneapolis Councilmember Michael Rainville made racist and Islamophobic comments stating that Somali youth perpetrate an overwhelming majority of crime in our community, without any evidence supporting this harmful claim. He then made a subsequent trip to a mosque in Northeast Minneapolis to tell Muslim leaders that their children must stop this behavior, which is especially discriminatory to me since none of the individuals arrested the night he referenced were from Northeast Minneapolis.
Today, I join numerous elected officials and community leaders in fully condemning the Councilmember’s disturbing and damaging remarks. Statements like his lead to the further criminalization of already over-policed communities. Further, in a time when we are witnessing increased incidents of hate crimes against marginalized communities both across the nation and here in Minnesota, his divisive comments encourage fear and resentment towards our Somali neighbors and create a permission structure for individuals predisposed to racist violence to act out.
Councilmember Rainville and I have a shared jurisdiction (we both serve Minneapolis Ward 3 precincts 1-3, 5, and 6), and additionally I am the commissioner who represents Northeast Minneapolis. Many of our shared constituents and impacted residents have expressed concern and horror to me over his comments.
Since early last week, I have sent several formal communications to Councilmember Rainville for the purpose of:
communicating the harm he had caused to community members,
expressing that his comments were out of line with my values and leadership commitments,
encouraging him to remove himself from entities where his discriminatory views will negatively impact efforts to foster equitable community safety, including the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee that he and I both serve on, and
stating that until he took specific actions to remedy the harm he caused, I would be unable to work with him or his office because his discriminatory views prevent collaboration and partnership (specifically holding a public meeting to allow community members to share the impact of his comments as was requested by his Muslim colleagues).
Councilmember Rainville initially responded saying that he was working with the elders of the mosque he had visited to host a community discussion. However, he then backtracked and demonstrated that he had not been communicating with me in good faith. It became clear that he was not planning to hold a public community meeting as demanded by his Muslim colleagues, and that his communications with me had been an effort to stop me from speaking publicly on this issue.
I prioritized a one-on-one approach before making a public statement to encourage him to receive feedback and hold a public meeting as requested by our shared constituents. But it is clear, from his meager apology and his approach to my emails, that Councilmember Rainville does not understand how horrendous his comments were. It is important that he does — and I intend for this statement to show him how seriously his fellow elected leaders are taking the incident and his words.
I fully support efforts by Councilmember Rainville’s city council colleagues to take formal and public accountability measures to condemn his racist remarks and hold him accountable. His behavior is far outside of the expectations we should have for elected officials, and I will not work with his office until he takes the corrective actions outlined by his colleagues. We must hold electeds accountable for their actions. And to the residents who have shared their experiences of harm, I thank you for stepping forward and I will continue working diligently to ensure everyone in our communities feels safe.
If you have further questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to Constituent Services & Policy Aide Bill Emory at bill.emory@hennepin.us