“What are they doing?” my 7-year-old daughter asked as we drove by the Albert Lea hospital early Monday evening.

A group of a couple dozen people stood with signs in the air as they walked up and down the sidewalk. The people were maintenance workers who are members of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, and they were hosting an informational picket to bring awareness to contract negotiations they thought could harm workers, the hospital and the community.

I told my daughter that in America we have the right to voice our opinions — with signs if we choose — on public property if we do so in a respectful manner.

Called freedom of assembly, it’s one of the rights we have of living in this country.

I was impressed to see that the event was peaceful and told her I thought they only planned to be there for a short while longer. We continued on our way to get a few groceries at Walmart and didn’t think much more of it.

I was reminded of it again last night as I read about some other protests happening in the state.

Albert Lea’s picket was in stark contrast to the protests held Monday in response to the officer-involved shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark early Sunday morning.

Minneapolis police said an officer shot Clark during a physical altercation with paramedics. Police said Clark interfered with paramedics’ efforts to treat an assault victim.

Protestors said Clark, who is black, was unarmed and handcuffed when he was shot. The shooting has reignited the ongoing national debate about race and police use of force.

People camped outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct early Monday, and there was a march of solidarity in the afternoon.

But it was the protest Monday night on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis that is drawing particular attention. That protest resulted in the arrest of 51 people — 43 adults and eight juveniles — and closed the interstate for two hours. Police said those who were arrested will likely be cited for unlawful assembly and being pedestrians on the freeway.

I haven’t talked to my daughter about the protests outside of Albert Lea yet. She was asleep for the night by the time I started digging around on my phone to see what was going on.

I’ll get the chance sometime, I’m sure, to explain those protests to my daughter as well, but for now I will take comfort in knowing that things are relatively calm in Albert Lea compared to our neighbors to the north. Let’s keep them in our thoughts and prayers that this will not result in any violence.

 

Sarah Stultz is the Tribune’s managing editor. Her column appears every Tuesday.