PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
November 10 - 16, 2022
Vol. 89
No. 15
Phone: 612-827-4021
www.spokesman-recorder.com
Twin Cities usher in new police chiefs O’Hara becomes the new Minneapolis police chief
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By MSR News Service
O’Hara joined the Newark Police Department in 2001 as a police officer, rising through the ranks to become a captain in 2016. In 2021, he was appointed as the public safety director for Newark overseeing more than 1,960 employees comprising 996 sworn police officers, 611 firefighters and 346 civilian employees and a budget that exceeded $200 million. In that role, O’Hara enhanced the collaborative working relationships among federal, state and local partners. As former captain of the Newark Police Department’s Consent Decree & Planning Division (2017-2020), O’Hara has worked extensively with the Department of Justice on the 2016 consent decree between the U.S. and the City ■ See O’HARA on page 5 Photo by Henry Pan
in on Monday, November 7 as the new Minneapolis police ollowing the Min- chief. O’Hara joins the City neapolis City Coun- after serving as deputy mayor cil’s approval on of Newark, New Jersey in November 3, Brian charge of overseeing strategic O’Hara was sworn public safety initiatives.
Brian O’Hara
Mayor Carter taps Axel Henry for St. Paul police chief By Henry Pan Contributing Writer
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fter a monthslong search, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter selected Cmdr. Axel Henry from a pool of five finalists to be the next chief of St. Paul Police. “I’m confident that Chief Axel Henry will uphold the highest level of service our community has come to expect as we work to move our capital city forward,” said Mayor Carter at a Nov. 1 press conference that took place in the lobby of St. Paul City Hall. Henry has a long, decorated history with the department. He started in 1998 and has experience leading two precincts, as well as units addressing the pandemic
response, family and sexual violence, and most recently narcotics, finance, and human trafficking. He is also a socalled use-of-force expert and a field training officer who persuaded the department to
adopt body-worn cameras. On how he accomplished this, Henry said, “There’s a difference between transactional leadership and transformational leadership. It’s ■ See HENRY on page 5
Photo by Henry Pan Axel Henry
Are you hopeful about the new police chiefs in Twin Cities? By Nikki Love Contributing Writer The MSR once again took to the street, including the Souls to the Polls block party last weekend in North Minneapolis, to ask community members about the most pressing issues of the day. We asked community members: Are you hopeful about the new police chiefs in Minneapolis and St. Paul? Why or why not?
I hope we see some remarkable changes in how the police department deals with people of color, especially Black youth. Black youth is the most marginalized group of people, and they experience the largest amount of discrimination among any sub-demographic of people. I hope we can see changes in how the police interact with Black youth. Get out and vote! If you want to see down to the next generation. We have because of his background and the changes in the community the biggest the resources, the people, and the con- fact that he comes from St. Paul. thing you can do is cast your ballot. nections. Now is the time to not be He’s been doing the work in St. Paul incrementalist but assure we achieve Police Department for 20-plus years. the results that are long overdue. Because he’s part of the community, I’m hoping that he’s going to do a great job and that Mayor Melvin Carter and the team made the right choice in picking someone who is going to move St. Paul forward, and really work with our youth—the things that are going on in terms of violence and crime—and make changes that are needed to better our community.
Tomme Beevas, owner of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen & Rum Bar I am hopeful because without hope we have nothing. They are being called Submitted photo to a higher service and we are here to hold them accountable. We have learned to be sufficient as to how to Monisha Richard, The Linc Consulting hold them accountable because now I am hopeful for both Minneapolis is the time for liberation. and St. Paul to have police chiefs that They will be held accountable until are really connected to and hear the we receive full liberation. Now is our voices in the community with all the moment and time. Nothing can stop things that we’ve been through followus, and we will not let nothing stop ing George Floyd and other incidents. us—not anyone, not us, not here or I am from St. Paul so I’m more in nowhere; we did our diligence. tune with what’s going on in there. Marcus Hamilton, director of We do not want to hand these issues Regarding Chief Henry, I’m hopeful operations at Encouraging Leaders
Senator Bobby Joe Champion I am hopeful. I think the City [of Minneapolis] did a good job by throwing in different candidates. It appears the candidates came into the communities and spoke to a cross-section of people. From my standpoint, the new chief deserves our support, and we should do everything we can to rally around the new chief. It looks like the new chief also has relationships with other communities or organizations around the city. It is important
for us to work together in order to make our desired outcomes a reality. We want to make sure we have a safe place to live, work and play. I mean the same statement for both Minneapolis and St. Paul police chiefs. I was specifically speaking on the chief in Minneapolis. What we can do is continue to work with the police department and the police work with us in order to make sure we have lasting sustainable relationships that are built on trust and good policing. We want to make sure that we do our best and be optimistic, not always going into everything pessimistic. Believe that there are possibilities—the only way good things happen is when we work together. Teamwork makes a dream work!
Jovonta Patton, gospel artist I am hopeful about the new police chief [in Minneapolis]. According to statistics, gun violence has gone down significantly. I am excited to ■ See WOS on page 5
Expo encouraged Black authors, promoted literacy By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer Dozens of authors and literary fans gathered last month to support Black authorship at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis. Books served as centerpieces at each table and each conversation as authors and community members shared food and drinks through the night of panel discussions, performances, and excerpt readings from several books. The event served as part (l-r) Lissa Jones, Brian Gilmore, Dara Beevas, and emcee/host Camrin King
of the 6th Annual Minnesota Black Authors Expo (MBAE), an event founded by DeVonna Pittman and Jasmine Tane’t Boudah. The first expo was held in 2017 and was launched with the mission to “improve literacy and educational outcomes in areas with disproportionate educational disparities,” as the organization’s website states. Dorothy Nins has served as the expo’s executive director for the past three ■ See EXPO on page 5 Photos courtesy of MBAE