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Community Corner

Southwest Citizen: Betty Tisel

Look around at any neighborhood meeting, political event or arts fundraiser and you'll see Betty Tisel. The lifelong Southwest Minneapolis resident, activist and self-avowed "peacenik" sat down with us to talk about her passion for giving back.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch:  Many people know you as a neighborhood activist. Is that what you call yourself?

Betty Tisel: It’s really hard to know what to call myself. I’ve always been involved in neighborhood stuff, but as far as my main work goes right now, I’d say I’m shifting more from non-profit or political work to arts administration. But I never know what to say on forms when they ask for ‘occupation,’ so I usually put parent, volunteer and activist. How’s that?

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: Your Southwest neighbors have come to rely on you for help with everything from politics to painters. How did you become a “go-to” person?

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Tisel: Well, my mom, who passed away in early January, used to work at the Linden Hills and Washburn libraries. I also worked there during college from about 1977 to 1981, and found that I just really liked helping people find information. So I think my interest in helping others got honed in my college years at the library. Mostly I shelved books, but I really enjoyed helping people.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: What causes are you most passionate about, and how did you find your way to them?

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Tisel: Well, I’m not totally sure what made me a peacenik, but for about 10 years I volunteered for WAMM--Women Against Military Madness. I did their financial management and some other things before I became a parent. As for my interest in politics, that’s just in my blood. My grandma, who lived up in Virginia, Minnesota on the Iron Range, was always volunteering for candidates.

Then, when my partner Sarah and I had kids and made our family in a place where we can’t get married, it really got me interested in LGBT family issues. So I came on as a volunteer with Rainbow Families in the early 90s and was sort of the de facto communications director. I really loved that work—helping support LGBT families and working on the issues that matter to us. I’ve been very, very fortunate in my life. So I say, when you have a lot, you need to give a lot, whether its time or money.

Southwest Minneapolis: What do you think are the most important community initiatives going on in Southwest right now?

Tisel: I can think of a couple of things. First, sustainability projects like the farmer’s markets, locally grown products and the small business movement—that’s really big and will continue to be important.

The other thing that comes to mind is the neighborhood issue of Martin Luther King Park. It started as a discussion about a potential dog park, but now it has really broadened into the question, ‘why is it so hard for neighbors to understand each other, and why are we fighting?’ So I’ve been part of a group that has met at four facilitated meetings to talk about race. At the same time, there’s been a group meeting at MLK Park to brainstorm about ways to make the park more recognizable as a place that’s dedicated to King’s memory. There are all kinds of ideas on the table right now. Then there’s the local history. MLK Park is a perfect example of a place where local history has had a repeated impact on the community. A lot of times changes happen without people feeling like they’re part of the process. I think it started with the building of I-35W, which became a sort of ‘Berlin Wall’ in terms of race. Then the tennis bubbles were built, and I think some programs ended that people were attached to. So when I think of the local history piece, it gives me a sense of empathy for people who don’t want certain changes at the park.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: Recently you helped found an organization called Minnesota Community Sings. What’s the story?

Tisel: Over the last few years, a couple of musician friends and I have hosted living room sings where about 15 or 20 people get together and sing a whole bunch of songs a cappella just for the fun of it. It really fills you up. Those friends also played a lot in churches, and wanted to do something secular. Then one day someone walked up to Brett Hesla, one of the leaders of the sings, and showed him a book called ‘Minneapolis Parks: A History,’ by Theodore Wirth. There were a couple of pages in the book that talked about community singing in the Minneapolis parks from 1919 until the late ‘50s. Every summer there were dozens of these sings that were competitions, and thousands of people would come and sing and compete against other parks. It really got a lot of people from the neighborhoods out to the parks. We thought this was all really interesting and did a lot of research on it. But we also know you don’t need 10,000 people to have fun singing together, and you don’t have to be a choir. The main thing is to get everyone to open up their mouths and sing.

We’ve had three events so far, and have three more on the books this year. On April 9th at the Neighborhood Sustainability Conference we’re singing at 3:30 pm. It’s a free event at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis. Our website is www.mnsings.com

Southwest Minneapolis Patch:  At election time, you send friends your “Betty’s Picks,” a list of who you’re voting for and why. What inspired you to share your voting choices?

Tisel: I enjoy researching candidates before elections. It’s really fun to delve into the ballot and then share that with people I know. I really love helping people get to the bottom of the ballot so they don’t go into the voting booth and find something they didn’t know was going to be on there. 

Southwest Minneapolis Patch: So why South Minneapolis?

Tisel: I’ve had four phone numbers my whole life and they were all 612. I’ve lived on Logan, Emerson, Colfax, Girard and now Garfield Avenue. So maybe I’m just stuck? [laughs]

There’s just so many great people here. Plus I love the lakes. I’m not in love with all the snow, and I’m not in love with the heat and humidity in the summer, but I don’t see any reason to leave. Actually, I think I was just lucky to be born in a fabulous city. 

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