Vol. 90
Inside this Edition... Read about Black Renaissance artists on page 7.
THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
October 5 - 11, 2023
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How to revitalize Downtown? The first in a series looking at plans to remake downtown Minneapolis By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer rowing up in Minneapolis, Selena Smith remembered downtown Minneapolis being more family-friendly. Downtown had clothing stores like J.C. Penneys and Howard’s. It also had bathrooms. Today, she dreads going downtown. “There’s no sense stopping through,” said Smith as she rode a Route 18 bus going south on Nicollet one day earlier this summer. “If you go downtown, there aren’t gonna be any bathrooms. The culture has changed. The level of violence has gone up. Humanity has gone down.” For years, the powers that be have tried to remake downtown Minneapolis using bulldozers, fences, promotional events and activities, and even through an enhanced police presence. Yet it never seems city officials are able to achieve their vision, in part because their vision does not seem to be what people want. The pandemic forced many downtown workers to begin working from
people to the former Gateway District to sample cuisine from various food trucks.
home, and many are continuing to do so. Using data from mobile devices, the University of Toronto School of Cities found that Minneapolis is one of the slowest cities in the country to recover its downtown activity, with 40 percent fewer people spending time downtown compared to before the pandemic began. Downtown retailers closed as the pandemic took hold, some before the pandemic (Saks Off Fifth) and some after (Nord-
Struggle to define Downtown Downtown Minneapolis has long been the center of a power struggle between powerful business interests and the working class. The Minneapolis Downtown Council created Aquatennial in the 1940s to distract from annual picnics organized by local unions to commemorate the deadly 1934 General Strike, where two striking workers were killed. In the late 1950s, as corporations like General Mills fled to the suburbs, Still, the city has tried to attract the city bulldozed the Gateway Disstrom Rack and Marshalls). Additionally, a study by com- visitors to downtown. They’ve closed trict. Civic leaders decided downmercial real estate company Avison North 1st Avenue to cars on Friday and town Minneapolis needed to look Young found that at least 21 percent Saturday evenings so food trucks can like a “suburban campus,” according of downtown Minneapolis office park and people can sing karaoke and to what Andy Sturdevant wrote in space was available for lease earlier play lawn games. Those events, which the book “Downtown: Minneapothis spring. And Metro Transit com- last to 3 a.m., are sparsely attended, lis in the 1970s.” Entities like bars, muter express routes are among the even during a recent Twins game. pawnshops, social service agencies, The city has had more success rooming houses that housed migrant slowest in the system to recover: Ridership this past winter was at partnering to host one-off events workers, even a small Chinatown fell 262,737, or 14 percent of ridership such as the “Taste of Minnesota,” an to the wrecking ball. ■ See MINNEAPOLIS on page 5 event that attracted over 100,000 during the same period in 2019.
Black woman beaten in Duluth after dispute
Ramsey County investigation into Yia Xiong case delayed By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
and would not be available until October or November. Xiong was killed by St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) Officer Abdirahman Dahir on Feb. 11, 2023, after 911 calls were made about Xiong holding a knife at a child’s birthday party. Herr says the knife Xiong was holding was a “cuaj puam,” which is a type of traditional Hmong knife that nearly every Hmong family owns and is commonly used for cutting meat, wood, or plants while gardening.
Herr said. “We are doing our best to push this from behind the scenes and on the ground.” Kong Xiong (no relation to Yia Xiong) showed up to show support for Yia Xiong’s family. Kong Xiong believes that the Ramsey County Attorney’s office is delaying its findings to try and thwart the Justice For Yia Xiong Coalition. “They’re trying to intentionally make the family wait,” Kong Xiong said. “And we know this. We’ve seen this before, especially with what
Front (l-r) Snowdon Herr, Michelle Gross and Mai Tong Xiong
Photo by Cole Miska
Dahir and SPPD Officer Noushue Cha attempted to gain access to Xiong’s apartment after arriving on scene. When Xiong, who was hard of hearing and did not have a strong understanding of the English language, emerged from his apartment holding the cuaj puam, Dahir fatally shot Xiong with his rifle. “In the last seven months, we have spoken directly to Mayor Carter, Police Chief Axel Henry, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi,”
they’ve done to the Black community too. We know that this is one of their tactics.” Mai Tong Xiong, Yia Xiong’s daughter, called for the case to be brought before a jury, and spoke of mourning her father’s death. “Instead of counting [Yia’s] birthdays, I’m counting the months, if not years, it will take to get justice,” Mai Tong Xiong said. “Instead of counting to 66, I will be starting at one, counting the anniversaries of his death. A number for ■ See YIA XIONG on page 5
ast month, the Coalition for Justice for Yia Xiong held a press conference at St. Paul City Hall to discuss the progress—or the lack thereof—in the investigation into Xiong’s killing at the hands of law enforcement. The coalition’s chair, Snowdon Herr, expressed frustration with the Ramsey County Attorney’s office for delaying the release of the findings in
Rustic Bar in Duluth, site of the assault
Photos courtesy of Facebook
By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer
portedly separated the two ing those who have informaand proceeded to beat Folson. tion that can help with the The White woman is associ- investigation to contact them. eople in Duluth are crying ated with the two White men. Having reviewed footage of foul after two White men Photos Folson posted on the incident, the organization were cited for beating a social media show her glasses released a statement in late Black woman nearly to death and shirt stained with blood. September calling for those last month at a Duluth bar. Folson told the MSR she was involved in Folson’s beating to Late on the evening of Sep- “not satisfied” with the fact be charged with third degree tember 12, Michelle Folson that the two White men were assault. “We believe that the was brutally beaten at the cited for simple assault by the altercation in conjunction with Rustic Bar, located in the Spirit Duluth city attorney. She was the victim’s recorded injuries Valley neighborhood in south- diagnosed with a traumatic easily meet the state’s stanbrain injury, which can hinder dards for third degree assault western Duluth. Folson and witnesses say cognitive ability. that require ‘substantial bodily Locals said that, according harm,’” said the Duluth NAACP the White men, Scott Rabold and Mylon Griak, both of Dulu- to bar representatives, surveil- on Facebook. The St. Louis County Attorth, stomped and kicked Folson lance cameras at the bar were in the head and face so badly not working. However, rep- ney’s Office reportedly declined that she lost consciousness. resentatives of the Rustic Bar to pursue charges against the Folson said nobody at the bar reportedly turned over foot- two White men, according to called the police or otherwise age of the incident to Duluth the Duluth Police Department. intervened, and that the bar- police two days after they re- The county attorney’s office did not respond to requests for tender on duty at the time had quested it. the blood washed off of the The Duluth NAACP is work- comment by press time. Meanwhile, a rally on the premises before police arrived. ing to support Folson. Her Duluth police say that the daughter, Katasia Khabeer, Sunday after the assault was two men intervened in a con- started a GoFundMe for Folson. organized by two Duluth resifrontation between Folson It has raised $11,070 of the dents and friends of Folson’s and a White woman that “got $50,000 goal as of this writing. daughter, Lily Zontelli and The Duluth NAACP is ask- ■ See DULUTH BAR on page 5 physical.” The White men re-
their investigation into the killing of Xiong. “We met [in the Ramsey County Attorney’s office] on July 20, and we had been told that [investigation results] will be announced sometime in September,” Herr said. “Right now, it’s mid-September,” Herr said at the time. Snowdon said the coalition wrote a letter to Jeffrey Noble, an investigator hired by the Ramsey County Attorney’s office, to request a timeline for when the findings would be available. Herr says Noble replied that findings were delayed