In the wake of the 2016 police killing of Philando Castille, concerned Twin Cities residents formed the community organization Blexit founded by Me’Lea Connelly to cultivate the practice of economic civil resistance. Over the course of several community meetings, Blexit members prioritized a campaign focusing on Black banking which led to conducting invest/divest banking actions. In late 2016, Blexit formed the Association for Black Economic Power (ABEP) to execute one of the banking strategies and to act as a firewall between the financial institution and the community activist organization. In partnership with a local founder, ABEP is organizing the project to establish a federally chartered Black-led credit union by 2019.

Our Team