Black Lives Matter activist will use fellowship to explore history, leadership, organic farming

Trahern Crews said he’s long been driven to community action.

First, he was a member of the Green Party. Then he joined the NAACP. But he became frustrated with a lack of community action after the police shooting of Marcus Golden in 2015 and helped found Black Lives Matter-Minnesota. The graduate of St. Paul Central High School has since led numerous protests.

Now, the 49-year-old father of four said, he wants to lead in other ways. One of four 2024 Bush Foundation fellows from St. Paul, Crews is exploring everything from leading reparations efforts to learning and teaching organic farming.

Over the past few years, Eye On St. Paul has focused on Bush fellows from St. Paul and recently sat down with Crews to learn more about his plans. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why was it necessary for you to become part of Black Lives Matter?

A: I had joined the NAACP, and [several of us] were getting kind of frustrated with some of the responses to police brutality, and so Rashad Turner suggested a direct action at the church on Summit where they were “love the police.” And we were like, “Well, we should love the community instead of the police.” Rashad did the action, but then he wasn’t available for the press conference. I stepped in and did the press conference.

Q: Why do you think Black Lives Matter was needed here?

A: Before 2015 I had never been to a police brutality protest in St. Paul. People were being killed by the police and it was kind of being swept under the rug. Proper attention was not being brought to the issues. Not just police brutality. Basically, racism in St. Paul. Disparities, too. People started talking about education. People started talking about the housing gap. The Black Lives Matter movement addressed police brutality, but then it also addressed the larger issues that were happening in society when it was around race.

Q: You have mentioned other cases where police killed Black men. But it was George Floyd’s murder that prompted the most change. Why?

A: It was the nature of it. And we were all watching it together. So, I think it traumatized Black people and just people in general, collectively. COVID had happened, so everybody was inside the house. Everybody was watching TV. Everybody was paying attention. And to see Derek Chauvin put his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 10 terrorizing minutes sent shockwaves, not just through the state of Minnesota, but eventually the whole world.

Then there were all these mutual aid things happening. The community came together, after the riots. People were giving away diapers. Giving away food. I think that’s one of the biggest things about it was the brutality of it — but then the response that was filled with love.

Q: Tell me about your fellowship. Is it for two years?

A: Yes. I took two years to make sure I get to everything.

Q: What are you hoping to do?

A: I’ve prided myself on being grassroots and getting things done without a degree. So, I’m going to start working towards a degree and taking certain classes to improve myself. I’ve also been involved in urban farming, urban gardening. I want to take it to the next level. I want to start with visiting some other spots, like Detroit and down South. Learn organic farming techniques, so we can bring that back here. We’re doing a farm project right now at New Hope Baptist Church with growing food for the community.

Q: It seems you’ve moved way beyond protesting.

A: In the [Bush] fellowship, we have learning experiences. My first learning experience is going to be the organic farming and being able to bring those skills back into the community, which I think should have more healthy food options. Then my second learning experience is going to be taking classes in restorative justice. I wanted to go to Bethel [University]. But they’ve eliminated the program. I’m going to work with a person who started the program.

Q: Restorative justice and organic farming seem worlds apart.

A: A little bit. But I think with organic farmers in places like Detroit, they talk about how it reduces gun violence, stops recidivism. I know being able to put my hands in the dirt and being able to watch things grow is taking care of things and trying to make sure that it stays alive. Stopping police brutality, we don’t want to just come after somebody’s dead. We want to prevent it from happening in the first place.

If you can teach these kids over here, you can get them on the farm and reconnect them back to soil. If we can do that, we can be a part of the food supply. Now, we’re dealing with food deserts and health disparities and things like that. It’s all connected.

For the third learning experience, I want to go on a tour of the South and start visiting plantations like the Whitney Plantation, or Monticello. Learn a little bit more about U.S. chattel slavery. A lot of people want to go to Africa, but I really need to go to Mississippi. I need to learn from the people that are there, whose ancestors experienced slavery here in the United States.