PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
To Subscribe Scan Here
M
M
U
L
T
I
M
E
D
I
U
L
T
I
M
E
D
I
A
A
THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
September 11 - 17, 2025
Vol. 92
No. 6
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
Families demand justice Students push lawmakers on gun control at Stolen Lives March
By Clint Combs Contributing Writer
police shootings. Along University Avenue, two Black men raised their fists outside aton Rouge rapper UnBank, joining hundreds of Boosie’s defiant lyr- demonstrators chanting in ics blared through unison: “Cities, f*** ‘em! Narcotics, speakers outside the St. Paul Police Depart- f*** ‘em! Feds, f*** ‘em! DAs, ment last weekend, serving f*** ‘em!” as a rallying cry for protesters who marched three miles in “You have no idea the pouring rain to the Minwhat we go through nesota State Capitol. as families behind The annual Stolen Lives March, organized by Families the scenes, when Supporting Families Against they take your Police Violence, brought toloved one’s life.” gether relatives of Amir Locke, Ricky Cobb II, Mychel StowFor many families, the ers, Brandon Keys, George Floyd, and others lost to march was both painful and
empowering. “This was amazing. My first time walking,” said Tamica Lankfard, mother of 36-yearold Mychel Stowers, who was fatally shot by St. Paul officers Eric Jaworski and Matthew Foy in 2023. “It won’t be my last, and I enjoyed each and every one of you guys walking.” Angela Harrelson, aunt of George Floyd, reminded families to seek strength through collective power. “We need to start owning our own systems, our own economic wealth, our own community,” said Harrelson, a registered nurse and military veteran. “Own that power. So ■ See STOLEN on page 5
Students hold up photos of lives lost to gun violence at the Minnesota Youth United for Gun Violence Prevent Rally held at the capitol on September 1. More than a hundred students joined together to demand a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and the creation of a statewide Office of Violence Intervention. Photo courtesy of Clint Combs/MSR By Clint Combs Contributing Writer
Founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Brutality (FSFAPB), Toshira Garroway (far right), leads the crowd through its annual Stolen Lives March to the state capitol. Photo courtesy of Chris Juhn/MSR
can legally purchase a deadly with clarity and urgency. “We are unhappy with the arsenal. At Annunciation Catholic Church, where 8-year-old status quo,” said Samia Moll Lakeville High Fletcher Merkel and 10-year- jamud, a senior at Kennedy School student old Harper Moyski were killed High School and member of Harper Jensen and 18 others injured August Students Demand Action. really wants are 27, law enforcement found an “We are unhappy that kids are Taylor Swift tickets. But snag- AR-15, a semi-automatic pis- dying in schools because they ging those tickets can be a tol, a 12-gauge shotgun, and admire their Second Amendment more than they do chilchallenge: waiting in long four empty rifle magazines. On Labor Day, Jensen dren’s lives.” Ticketmaster queues, praying The broader statistics make the site doesn’t crash mid- joined more than 100 other purchase, hoping verified fan students rallying at the Min- the stakes painfully clear. In codes actually work before nesota State Capitol demand- 2023, nearly 47,000 people ing a ban on semiautomatic died from gun-related injuries they sell out. Meanwhile, someone with guns and high-capacity maga- in the U.S., the third-highest an affinity for mass shootings zines. Their voices echoed ■ See STUDENTS on page 5
Sabri stands firm in defense of private encampment By Carl Spencer real estate developer has allowed dozens of people to stay on an empty lot that he owns in Minneapolis’ Longfellow neighborhood, racking up at least $15,000 in fines for public health citations. But unless he’s presented with a court order, Hamoudi Sabri said there’s nothing the city can do to make him close off his property from people who need a place to sleep. Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to brief city council members on possible legal action Monday morning, August 8, in a special closed-door meeting, which could be followed by a
public vote on how best to proceed. Frey’s special meeting was initially planned for three days after the charter school next to Sabri’s property started classes, but was rescheduled due to the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. “The reason they’re here is they’ve been kicked around a lot,” Sabri said of those staying in the space, after city workers came in late August to clean up trash that had accumulated around the perimeter of the encampment. Sabri was billed for that. “Now they’re here as a hub. It’s easy for people to find them, to feed them, to help them,” he said. “So what is
the city doing? They just keep moving them around.” Sabri said he would be open to working more with the city if the mayor came to the encampment and engaged with the people living there, offering more than temporary shelter, which is often full.
“The reason they’re here is they’ve been kicked around a lot.”
The Minneapolis Health Department had tracked the presence of drug needles, solid waste, lack of sanitation facilities, and other hazardous debris since the encampment formed in early July. Sabri was first issued a public health nuisance letter July 21, and Minneapolis tried but failed to take down the encampment a few days later. “It’s a multipronged approach,” said Enrique Velázquez, the city’s director of regulatory services that houses the homeless response team. “We need to address the humanity. And every single person in the encampment, as well as all those who aren’t in the encampment — the school next door, all the other Property owner Hamoudi Sabri (l) talks with Enrique neighbors, every single one of Velázquez, director of regulatory services for Minneapolis, them — are affected by what’s happening here.” near the encampment Aug. 26.
The city has an anti-camping ordinance. Velázquez said allowing encampments is “basically saying we fail. We give up.” However, he said the city and Sabri agreed to help Sabri get portable toilets and hand washing stations, which Sabri would pay for, and would look into providing trash cans. Two weeks later, a city spokesperson said they’re “still working on getting all the connections made.”
boost affordable housing de- initiative in Duluth. Delaney said any legal acvelopment and homeownership, as well as $1 million for tion would be hypocritical, since she knows of other enemergency shelter response. campments on city property not provided with trash conAdvocates push back Sheila Delaney has previ- tainers and hand-washing staously contracted with the Frey tions. “If public health was the administration for addressing unsheltered homelessness litmus test, then frankly the and helped establish Avivo city should sue itself,” she Village in the North Loop, an said. “No one wants anyone indoor tiny home shelter that in encampments, [but] movis less restrictive than many ing them around from place to traditional shelter models. place is not a pathway out of She’s also an advocate for safe homelessness. It’s a revolving outdoor spaces, where people door of trauma.” can camp outside in a way Ally Peters, spokesperson that would be managed and for the mayor’s office, said cleaned by the city, and allow the city has been on site most for social services at the site days, offering shelter and ser-
Outreach workers with Avivo visit residents at the encampment near 28th Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis Aug. 26. Photos courtesy Ben Hovland | MPR News The mayor’s recommended budget for next year cuts more than $212,000 for contracts that would have gone toward handwashing stations, portable toilets and storage for unsheltered people. It also invests millions into efforts to
to help people transition out. Several city council members have been working on pursuing that idea in Minneapolis, including looking into a model for allowing people to park their cars in established areas to sleep, similar to a new
vices to those living there, but said many did not accept the offers “and the situation has now escalated into a health and safety risk.” She said the city has been approaching it “with an eye for both compassion ■ See ENCAMPMENT on page 5