PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
March 2 - 8, 2023
Vol. 89
Phone: 612-827-4021
No. 31
Communities of color hardest hit by opioid epidemic New funding targets Black and Native communities for prevention, treatment
www.spokesman-recorder.com
is going to groups primarily serving Native, Black, and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic. The grants will support culturally specific practices, including primary prevention and overdose prevention, workforce development and training, and expansion and enhancement of care. In addition, the funding includes $1 million for services focused on the East African population.
Over-the-counter naloxone In mid-February, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended that naloxone, an anti-opioid overdose drug, be made available over the counter. The panel voted 19-0 to make the treatment, which is currently available by preawarding $5.7 million in grants percent from 2020 to 2021. experiencing the opioid epiBy Niara Savage demic more critically and with American Indians are seven to 12 organizations—including scription and at certain access Contributing Writer times more likely to die from Neighborhood Health Source, points in Minnesota, more deadlier consequences. a drug overdose than Whites, Pillsbury United, Hennepin accessible. According to the Minnehe number of opioid The FDA is expected to overdose deaths in sota Department of Human while Blacks are twice as likely Health, RS Eden, and Wayside Recovery—to expand the make a final decision about Minnesota has risen Services, the number of opi- to die from a drug overdose. On February 24, the Min- services available for people the treatment by late March. sharply since 2018. oid-involved deaths reached In Minnesota, Ameri- 924 in 2021, up from 343 nesota Department of Human suffering from opioid addic- If approved, naloxone could can Indians and Blacks are in 2018, increasing by 44 Services announced it is tion. Nearly all of the funding be available for purchase
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POLICING the police
New chief of MPD oversight is well-traveled in law enforcement By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer
W
hen John Jefferson was tapped to lead the Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR), he saw the role as an opportunity to continue his commitment to justice in a new form. Much like the mayor’s other law enforcement appointments—
global attention fixated on Minneapolis as the world awaits to see how the city approaches public safety following the civil unrest that was sparked by Floyd’s killing. He shared his hopes of gaining the community’s trust in this role and ensured that he would take an active role in addressing police conduct. “When I saw this position, I thought that maybe I could use my talent and my years of
The price of slavery St. Paul joins a national movement to explore reparations for America’s original sin
By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer
pay…,” according to a statement released on February 13. It is the result of the city ast month, the Saint council’s Ordinance 22-52 Paul City Council January vote establishing the launched the appli- commission. The reparations debate has cation process for the Recovery Act a longstanding history, beginCommunity Reparations Commission. Part of a racial reckoning movement among U.S. cities, towns and institutions, St. Paul is creating a commission that will explore reparations to local Black people and communities for slavery and other institutional racism. When the commission is finally formed later this year, the 11-member group will serve as an advisory body to the St. Paul mayor and the city ning with the 1865 Special council “on matters related to Field Order No. 15 by Union damage caused by public and General William T. Sherman, private systemic racism in which promised 40 acres and a the City of Saint Paul which mule to the formerly enslaved resulted in racial dispari- Black people. A 2019 NAACP ties in generational wealth, resolution on reparations asked homeownership, health care, for a national apology and land education, employment and grants “to every descendant of
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experience, not only from law enforcement but as a Black man in law enforcement, also as a Black man being raised in the late 1960s during the civil rights era,” he said. “As I was conducting the interview for this job, one of the things they did bring up is this review board, and the way it sits right now it’s a little bit unbalanced.” While he would like to see some education for the civilian members of the commission ahead of their review process, Jefferson stated that he believes that this new model will give the community a chance to take back some power. Law enforcement career After stepping away from a ■ See OPCR on page 5
In St. Paul, a limited-term Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee met from July 2021 through June 2022. Last spring, virtual sessions were co-hosted by East Side Freedom Library (April 7 and April 29), as well as two in-person sessions held at Dayton’s Bluff Recreation Center (April 14), and at Rondo Library (April 21). A committee report recommended that St. Paul use federal funds from the City’s American Rescue Plan, sales tax revenue, land sale proceeds, and philanthropic contributions for reparations. The St. Paul City Council later passed Ordinance 22-52 to to establish reparations for establish the reparations comBlack residents after its city mission. council passed a resolution in According to community 2019 to set aside $10 million activist Trahern Crews, the of the city’s cannabis tax rev- top two reparations recomenues over 10 years to sup- mendations are direct cash port housing and economic payments and educational development programs for its opportunities. He told the Black residents. ■ See REPARATIONS on page 5
an enslaved African American and Black person [or] a descendant of those living in the United States including during American slavery until the Jim Crow era.” Last March, Evanston, Illinois became the first U.S. city
Roof Depot demolition averted—for now
New Minneapolis OPCR Director John Jefferson Photo by Abdi Mohamed a commissioner for community safety and the new MPD chief—he is new to Minneapolis. In addition, he has taken on the role during a time in which the City is set to introduce a new system of police oversight. Last December, the Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance that would expand the Community Commission on Police Oversight (CCPO) to 15 members, 13 of whom would be appointed by the city council, along with two mayoral appointees. Of those 15, there will be three review panels that will review complaints filed against officers in Minneapolis. The change is set to take effect in mid-April. In taking this role, Jefferson is aware that there is
at convenience stores and supermarkets. Over-the-counter access to naloxone would be a step toward advancing the fight against the opioid crisis, said Allie Carey, director of programs with the Steve Rummler HOPE Network. But she said it isn’t a magic bullet. Naloxone reverses the deadly respiratory depression associated with opioid overdoses. It comes in a nasal spray and an injection form, and is highly effective even when administered by people who are not medical professionals. “It won’t be a universal solution,” said Carey. “An over-thecounter medication doesn’t necessarily take away some of the barriers that people might still face.” Founded in 2011, the St. Paul-based Steve Rummler HOPE Network educates the public about the opioid crisis, provides training on naloxone administration, and distributes the life-saving drug via Naloxone Access Points across the state. ■ See OPIOID on page 5
Confrontations escalate over city council’s plans for East Phillips site
Photo by H. Jiahong Pan By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer A Hennepin County judge issued an injunction on Friday, Feb. 24, preventing the demolition of the Roof Depot on East 28th St. and Longfellow Ave. in East Phillips while the decision is being appealed. The injunction comes after new support from some of the Native American community’s most powerful leaders, an
occupation of the Roof Depot site, and a caravan to City Hall on Thursday, when the city council failed to cancel a demolition contract with the approved vendor. The injunction, granted by Judge Edward Wahl, is conditioned on the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) raising a $10,000 bond for the City to pay the costs of maintaining the building, which it is not permitted to
demolish during the appeal. and neighborhood activists EPNI has two weeks to raise are concerned that the projthe bond, which may increase ect, which involves demolishif “the appeals process gets ing the abandoned warehouse drawn out” and “if [the City’s] and expanding a facility that expenses get out of hand,” will see an increase in dieselsaid Wahl in making the ruling. fueled vehicle traffic, will Judge Wahl also requested harm the community. The project, which has been that EPNI try to get the Court of Appeals to expedite its rul- planned for the site since ing, while acknowledging the 2015, remains a Superfund City has done its due diligence site. Neighbors and activists in ensuring the project won’t harm the community. EPNI ■ See ROOF DEPOT on page 5