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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
December 1 - 7, 2022
Vol. 89
Phone: 612-827-4021
No. 18
Rep. Omar blasts GOP leader for fueling a ‘constant stream of hate’ By Niara Savage Contributing Writer
Buffalo mass shooter gets life in prison Social media condemned for inciting his hate
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ep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) renewed threat to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee an attempt to “gin up fear and hate against Somali-Americans” in a statement this week. McCarthy vowed during an appearance on Fox News last year to kick Omar off the committee if Republicans won the majority in the House. He doubled down on that promise on Twitter over the weekend. “Last year, I promised that when I became Speaker, I would remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee based on her repeated anti-Semitic and antiAmerican remarks,” McCarthy wrote in a tweet. “I’m keeping that promise.” Omar said McCarthy’s preoccupation with removing her from the committee doesn’t address the issues most important to voters. “McCarthy’s effort to repeatedly single
www.spokesman-recorder.com
By Stacy M. Brown
A
White man who traveled to a Buffalo grocery store in May and killed 10 African Americans, including Black Press writer Katherine Massey, pled guilty to 25 criminal counts on Monday, Nov. 28, and will spend the
Rep. Ilhan Omar me out for scorn and hatred— including threatening to strip me from my committee—does nothing to address the issues our constituents deal with. It does nothing to address inflation, health care, or solve the climate crisis,” she said. While Republicans gained control of the House during the midterm elections and McCarthy won the party’s nomination to become the next House speaker, his ascension to the role remains uncertain.
Photo by Chris Juhn
Victims of the Buffalo shooting massacre
rest of his life in prison. A grand jury previously indicted Payton Gendron, 19, on domestic terrorism, firstdegree murder, attempted murder, hate crimes, and weapons possession. A single domestic terrorism motivated by hate charge carries an automatic life sentence upon conviction. Prosecutors said Gendron acknowledged that he com-
mitted the heinous crimes “for the future of the White race.” A lawyer for the victims indicated relief that the state’s case didn’t go to trial. “It avoids a lengthy trial that they believe would be very difficult for the families,” said Terrence Connors, an attorney representing the victims’ families. “I think it was pretty clear they had no real defense.” ■ See BUFFALO on page 7
McCarthy will need to win a majority vote when the new members take office and hold a deciding vote in January. No Democrats are expected to back McCarthy, so he can afford to lose just a small number of Republican votes. At least four GOP members have already signaled their opposition to McCarthy’s bid for speaker. Even if McCarthy does become the next House speaker, his plan to strip Omar from ■ See OMAR on page 7
Proposed rail merger would ramp up environmental injustice News Analysis
which are disproportionately close to the relevant rail lines in places like Houston—face a host of negative environmental impacts if the By Hazel Trice Edney merger is approved. Contributing Writer This case sets a precedent that could affect how such reviews are handled around the Now that the midterm elections have drawn to a close, the nation is gradually shifting its nation, according to leading environmental focus from polls and partisanship back to day- activists. to-day issues that shape the future of our communities at a local level—things like permitting, zoning, city council meetings, regulatory hearings, and more. And while such matters don’t drive flashy national headlines and animate talking heads on CNN or Fox News, they weigh every bit as heavily on the lives of Americans. Take for example, the ongoing review by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board of a proposed mega-merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads. While regulatory review of a rail merger may seem mundane to casual observers in comparison to a midterm election, the fact of the matter is that this merger has massive implications to communities near the rail routes impacted by the merger—especially communities of color. “The federal government should take every In September, the Trice Edney News Wire wrote at length about the environmental jus- opportunity to establish equity between Afritice concerns related to this proposed merger. can Americans and those companies that do As is so often the case, minority communities— business in our communities. Specifically, the
State’s new election districts produced no upsets By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer
Additionally, both the Minnesota House and Senate in January will be controlled by the DFL A special five-judge panel for the first time since 2013, as released new Minnesota con- well as the governor’s office. gressional and legislative maps in February that many believe will set the state and national political playing field for the next 10 years. With such redistricting leading to heated controversy and court challenges around the country, how have Minnesota’s new election boundaries fared so far? According to the APM Research Lab, a non-partisan team of researchers, the newly The MSR recently asked redrawn boundaries would not drastically change election APM Research Lab Managoutcomes. The 2022 midterms ing Director Craig Helmstetelections results ultimately bore ter to shed some light on the oft-mentioned “red state, blue this out. All key state offices that were state, purple state” references up for election did not change in mainstream media accounts hands as all Minnesota Demo- leading up to the November crat incumbents won reelection. elections.
“When people talked about districts being red or blue,” explained Helmstetter, “it’s simply based on past voting records. If the Republican usually wins by, let’s say, 85% or more, they consider that a solid red or solid Republican district.” APM Research Lab pointed out the new Minnesota district boundaries in the following manner: • Democrat if the district favored Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020 • Republican if the district favored Trump in both 2016 and 2020 • Split if the district favored Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020 Election results data comes from the Minnesota Secretary of State office, Helmstetter explained. “They released data down to the precinct level that ■ See REDISTRICT on page 7
National Newspaper Publishers Association, the Black Press of America. With more freight trains rolling through Black communities and other communities of color, residents can expect more emissions, dirtier air, slower emergency response times due to lengthy waits at rail crossings, and more. Given the challenges already looming over Black communities, from higher rates of asthma in children to lagging access to public services, the Canadian Pacific merger represents another drop in an ever-filling bucket of environmental injustice. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has an important role to play in mitigating such concerns – a role they recognize. In their own words, the “STB has a clear role in advancing environmental justice for minority and lowincome communities, and the Board administers that role as part of its environmental review process.” Our last story on this subject pointed to the STB’s failure to live up to this mandate given, MGN among other things, the original plan to host the only public hearings on the merger in a historically merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas White area, Vidor, as opposed to more representaCity Southern railroads, the racial impact on our tive locations in Harris County or even Houston communities should be given the highest pri- itself. These equity concerns must be meaningfully ■ See RAIL on page 7 ority,” says Chavis, now president/CEO of the
U.S. Department of Transportation should assure that equity is the guiding principle for attaining environmental and climate justice,” says Dr. Ben Chavis, who coined the term “environmental racism” nearly 40 years ago as chair of the United Church of Christ’s Commission on Racial Justice. “Before a decision is made concerning the
Thanksgiving meal also signed up new voters By Al Brown Contributing Writer
gaps in the market on Thanks- Nanny’s front door they found a giving Day, wanting to give voter’s registration form at the disenfranchised people in our counter. Part of the protocol Thanksgiving Day brought community an opportunity to was to register to vote, if unregthe anticipation of home- feel included and be a part of istered, before receiving your cooked hot meals to many something, know that they are hot Thanksgiving meal consistresidents of St. Paul’s East loved, and have an extended ing of turkey, dressing, greens, Side. This year, the food was family and community,” said and mac & cheese. However, no one registered or not was served at Nanny’s Jamaican Bourne. As the crowd moved through Kitchen on Rice Street and pre■ See VOTERS on page 7 sented by the Minnesota Rapid Response Coalition (MRRC), marking the fifth year of offering hot meals to members of the community. Coalition founder Alexander Bourne, an East St. Paul native and former Ward 6 City Council candidate, started the event, called “Alexander Bourne’s Annual Thanksgiving Dinner to Go,” to find a way to give back to his community because as a youth he didn’t recall seeing these types of charitable outings around the holiday. “I was trying to fill service Community members registering to vote. Photo by Al Brown