Honoring Ed Owens

Dear friends,

It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of MNIPL staff member Ed Owens late last week. Ed was an incredible light in our movement for climate justice. He brought humor and joy to every relationship, and he helped many of us to live into the commitment to link racial and economic justice with climate change.

Ed served as a Solar Outreach Coordinator for Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light and the Co-Chair of the St. Paul NAACP Criminal Justice and Environmental Justice Committees. He was on the Just Solar Coalition and was the recipient of a REAMP participation grant for his work doing listening sessions about climate and equity around the state. Recently he worked with Senator John Marty and others to help craft a carbon pricing bill that would be equitable to all communities. He was also working on a City of Minneapolis contract to do Energy Efficiency work in low income congregations.

Ed suffered from a rare bone marrow disorder, AL Amyloidosis, and died from complications at his home last week.

I hesitate to put words to what he taught us because it will only grow in time, but here is a taste: Ed saw individual people in the midst of struggle. He saw the best, but understood the power of systems to put people down. He believed in the power of climate justice reparation led through spirit and took a chance on coming to work with us at MNIPL. We are all shocked and heartbroken at his passing.

Here is a link to a Go Fund Me page that his daughter has put together to cover the costs of his funeral.

We hope you will join us in honoring Ed’s legacy. He wasn’t done. The spirit has just chosen to live out his dreams through those he touched. Please get ready for an amazing Just Solar People’s Movement Assembly in March of 2019. We’ll be moving beyond conversation and into deep transformation. Ed will be leading us from the sprit world.

May we together carry forth Ed‘s vision for environmental and social justice.

With Sadness,

Julia Nerbonne
Executive Director
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light