EPL student represents people of Twin Cities in receiving John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award

Education policy and leadership (EPL) student Zena Stenvik recently represented the people of the Twin Cities, Minnesota, in accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston. The people of the Twin Cities were recognized for this honor for "risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented federal law enforcement operation, peacefully defending the human rights and values that serve as the foundation of our Constitutional democracy" per jfklibrary.org: 

"The people of the Twin Cities responded with extraordinary courage and resolve. Tens of thousands took to the streets to peacefully protest federal overreach and threats to immigrant families and constitutional protections, while others documented enforcement activity and alerted neighbors to federal agents’ presence. Faith leaders organized demonstrations, community groups built rapid-response networks, labor leaders and small business defended workers, and volunteers provided critical support and resources. Across religious, racial, and political lines, a broad coalition of residents of the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs united in peaceful resistance despite violent confrontation and real personal risk, defending their neighbors’ rights and strengthening the national movement to protect American democracy."

Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, joined Imam Yusuf Abdulle (Somali American Leadership Table and Islamic Association of North America), Natalie Ehret (Haven Watch), and Carolina Ortiz (Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action, or COPAL) in receiving the award on behalf of the people of the Twin Cities.