Dismantling Racism Team (DRT)

On a beautiful afternoon in November, a group of approximately 50 Northfielders participated in a prayer walk at Viking Terrace. Pastor Rachel organized the event, which she described as, “putting our feet where our hearts are.” In addition to a number of our own congregants, attendees included members of several local churches—Emmaus, 1st UCC, St. John’s, Bethel, St. Dominic’s, and Cannon Valley Friends—as well as park residents and a group of young activists who brought signs of support.

The actual walk around the park was silent; participants were instructed to pray silently for whatever they noticed. The walkers split into three groups, each one led by a clergy member—Inger Hanson, senior pastor at Bethel, Abe Johnson, senior pastor at Emmaus, and Schuyler Vogel, Carleton College Chaplain. After making a short loop, the walkers gathered back at the park entrance to lift up quick, one-word, “popcorn prayers,” recite the Lord’s Prayer together, and sing a short song.

Attendees also had the opportunity to hear an update on legal proceedings from retired attorney Gina Washburn and to add their names to a letter being sent by the Viking Terrace Homeowner’s Association to the corporate landlord, Lakeshore Management, asking them to sell the park to the residents. The timing of the walk was chosen because of the recent filing by the Minneapolis law firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen, P.L.L.P., of a class action complaint against Lakeshore Management. Several other companies are also named in the complaint, which accuses them of conspiracy to fix manufactured home lot rental prices in violation of a federal law known as the Sherman Act. The lawsuit will likely take years to resolve, with the hoped-for outcome being regulatory gains for the residents of manufactured home parks around the country.