PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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Read our Women’s History Month profiles on page 6.
THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
March 23 - 29, 2023
Vol. 89
Phone: 612-827-4021
No. 34
‘One Minnesota’ budget could impact Black communities By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer
How equitable is the proposed state budget? By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer Although this current budget proposal has made historic strides to invest in Minnesota’s communities of color by centering equity in its approach, there are some who believe it hasn’t gone far enough.
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ith a revision of the state’s budget proposal being unveiled, members of the Walz administration have underlined their commitment to equity in helping craft the proposal by engaging Black and Brown Minnesotans every step of the way. Last Thursday, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan shared their revised “One Minnesota” budget proposal after releasing a previous version earlier this year. The new proposal includes new investments in the areas of public safety, education, and local projects. According to Governor Walz, the fundamentals of the pro-
www.spokesman-recorder.com
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Gov. Walz getting budget feedback from members of the Black community on February 6. Courtesy of the Office of Governor Tim Walz posal haven’t changed, but new information gained in that time helped the administration
restructure its budget to have the capacity to invest in more areas—most notably in public
safety where there is an increase of over $200 million dollars. ■ See BUDGET on page 5
Hennepin County’s new sheriff brings a lifetime of experience and passion to the job By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer
down interview last week in her corner office in City Hall. “I never pretended to be someawanna Witt is the body else. I am comfortable in first woman and the my skin. “If nothing else, it’s not just first Black person to lead the Hennepin County that I’m a Black woman who’s the first, but I did it by being Sheriff’s Department. Sitting in the department’s me. That’s the message that main reception area, one can’t needs to get to people. You help but notice the picture don’t have to be someone wall with Witt’s color photo else. You don’t have to constanding out amid the array of form to something that is all-White men who previously different from your core values. You can do it being you.” served as county sheriff. Witt defeated Joseph Banks by almost a two-to-one margin last November in a historic elec“If nothing tion that featured two Black else, it’s not candidates running for sherjust that iff. She was sworn into office I’m a Black in January, and the new sheriff woman who’s readily admitted that she hasn’t stopped running since. the first, but “Since day one, it has been I did it by go, go, go,” said Witt. “I want being me.” to make sure that I deliver, because being the first wom“What I’m most proud about an, also the first Black woman is that I never compromised to do this, I know there’s a lot who I was to get on that wall,” of people who have eyes on stressed Witt during our sit- me. There’s some that are sup-
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Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt Courtesy of Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office porting me, and there’s some wanting to see whatever my mistakes are. “I got a lot of work to do, internally and externally,” she stressed. Witt is taking charge of a law enforcement department that has been oft-criticized
in recent years when crime rates have risen, especially during the pandemic and with George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Combating violent crime in the county is a top priority. But the sheriff wants to ensure that her 800-plus ■ See WITT on page 5
fund to support wealth building within communities of color who have been historically excluded from the job and housing markets. Another point of investment Dr. Corrie highlighted in his report was $30 million toward cultural districts and corridors in the Twin Cities and around the state to financially empower entrepreneurs while serving as a culturally enriching experience for all Minnesotans. Though Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan hadn’t come across Dr. Corrie’s report, her response to the criticism that the budget hadn’t gone far enough or was too limited in scope was that this budget proposal was just the start.
r. Bruce Corrie is a professor of economics at Concordia University in St. Paul and has roughly 30 years of experience in the field. Last month he released his analysis of the administration’s budget proposal in relation to African Americans and African immigrants, Latino, Asian, and Native American communities, or ALANA as he refers to them in his analysis. Dr. Corrie stated that while there was plenty of information on how agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) would enforce equity through this budget, there were other departments such as transportation that had little to no information regarding closing the gaps in disparity. He also states that the two-year window that the budget operates on is not enough to fund the initiatives that are needed to uplift ALANA community members and that long“This is just the beginning term investments need to of the work that we have to be made now with the sur- do. I think we have set the tone over the past year of plus still available. “If we don’t do anything community engagement,” now in this historic moment she said. “There’s more that when we have the resource, we can do and we’re eager we’ll never do it,” Dr. Corrie to do it. said. “Now is the moment to “I also know that this is a do things and to do it in an first volley, like every budintelligent, long-term sus- get that the governor and I taining manner so that we put out. Then we look at the can say that when it came legislature to get it done. to us, we rose up to the There’s more opportunity challenge to address the for us to do this work. remedy and the inequalities of the past.” Abdi Mohamed welcomes Part of Dr. Corrie’s pro- reader comments at posal is a $350 million devel- amohamed@spokesmanopment and flexible capital recorder.com.
“This is just the beginning of the work that we have to do. I think we have set the tone over the past year of community engagement.”
Hackers release Minneapolis Public Schools data on the dark web By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
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ast week, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) announced that data from students, staff and community was illegally taken from its servers in what it calls an ‘encryption event,’ and that the information has been leaked on the dark web. The compromised MPS data is now accessible on the dark web—a group of internet sites that are only accessible using a specialized web browser—designed to keep internet activity anonymous and perpetuate cybercrimes. The encryption virus that gathered the data was installed on MPS servers in February by Medusa,
a ransomware group. Medusa demanded a $1 million ransom to not release the stolen data, which includes sensitive information dating back as far as 1995. Since MPS did not pay the ransom, the data was released online on March 17. “We are working with cybersecurity specialists to quickly and securely download the data so that we can conduct an in-depth and comprehensive review to determine the full scope of what personal information was impacted and to whom the information relates,” MPS said in an update on its website. “This will take some time. You will be contacted directly ■ See HACKERS on page 5