PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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Celebrating 90 years of Black journalistic excellence.
September 26 - October 2, 2024
Read about Stevie Wonder on page 6.
Vol. 91
No. 9
Can more be done to find missing women of color? First in a series
By Al Brown Assignment Editor
Former State Rep. Ruth Richardson
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
n Minnesota’s history, there lies a recurring and tragic thread of neglect: the missing voices and faces of Black and Indigenous women. Joanne Rulford, a 24-year-old African American mother, embodies this enduring mystery and heartache. Her story is emblematic of larger systemic issues that plague minority communities in the state and across the nation. It was Nov. 1, 1988, a day that started like any other after the annual Halloween festivities. Rulford, a resident of her North Minneapolis community, hosted a Halloween party the night before. The following morning, she sent her children off to school Photo by Al Brown
from her DuPont Ave. home. But when her children returned, they found their mother gone without a trace. Hours turned into days, months, and then decades, with no sign of Rulford. Her case has become one of Minneapolis’ oldest cold cases, a haunting reminder that justice remains elusive for many families. The investigation eventually reached a dead end, with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) seemingly at a standstill. Calls to the BCA about Rulford’s case were redirected to the MPD, which has yet to return a call. The lack of communication raises pressing questions: When did the leads on Joanne Rulford’s disappearance go cold, and why did the MPD halt their search efforts?
Black Storyteller Alliance celebrates 34th annual festival in Minneapolis By Vickie Evans-Nash Contributing Writer
ing to national storytelling events every year until she finally convinced her husband lack Storyteller Al- to attend in 1995. “I was in awe and amazed by liance (BSA) was founded in 1971 by the power and the beauty of Vusumuzi Zulu and his late stories that were being told by wife, Nothando Zulu. They the master storytellers,” says are an affiliate of the National Zulu. “I said, ‘We just have to Association of Black Storytell- do this in Minnesota because ers, which presents an annual most Minnesotans have never festival for storytellers. This is been a part of anything like the 34th year BSA has held a this.” As a result, the Black Thefestival in the Twin Cities. “It was our attempt to be ater Alliance became BSA. able to share the art of sto- They held their first event the rytelling from an African and following year in 1996; Black African American perspective master storytellers nationwide with folks in the Twin Cities were invited to share their talmetro area,” Zulu explains. ents. Nothando Zulu majored in “We made it free, which theater in college. As a mem- meant that we used our monber of the local arts commu- ey,” explains Zulu. “Later on, nity, she gravitated to story- we were able to secure some telling. She was friends with grants to help to pay for it.” For the past 33 years, they Minnesota’s first Black storyhave held festivals. “We tell teller, Mattie Clark. Clark, Nothando Zulu, and Black folklore, myths, fables, other local Black theater com- and those [stories derived munity members formed the from] lived experiences,” exBlack Theater Alliance, where plains Zulu. “Sometimes folks they performed impromptu think that storytelling is just theater in Minneapolis parks. for kids. Well, no. It’s not.” Nothando Zulu had been goZulu says audience mem-
One individual who has been at the forefront of addressing these critical lapses is former State Rep. Ruth Richardson. In 2019, Richardson introduced legislation aimed at establishing a dedicated agency for missing Black women and girls. After years of advocacy, the law was finally enacted in 2023. However, as Richardson points out, the implementation has been painstakingly slow. “The creation of this agency was a monumental step, yet we’re met with the reality that it still has only one staff member,” she notes. “The new director faces the daunting task of building a functioning team.” Richardson identifies numerous factors contributing to the disparities in how these cases are handled. She attributes the prolonged periods
during which Black and Indigenous women remain missing to systemic issues within both media and law enforcement agencies. “There is a chilling apathy from these institutions, often rooted in racism or harmful stereotypes,” Richardson asserts. This indifference perpetuates a cycle where media coverage is scant, and investigative efforts are lackluster when the victims are women of color. The implications of this apathy are profound. It not only exacerbates the trauma experienced by the families but also emboldens potential offenders. Richardson cites instances where perpetrators have confessed to targeting Black women, convinced that their ■ See MISSING WOMEN on page 5
Cub employee speaks out about Brooklyn Park store’s impending closure By Delane Cleveland ver a hundred people work at the Brooklyn Park Cub along West Broadway and Brooklyn Boulevard. Come Nov. 16, all those employees will have to find work elsewhere. However, the union representing those workers is trying to help make that transition as seamless as possible. “It could happen anywhere. Unfortunately, it happened to us,” said Muhammed Shayan, a Cub employee. Shayan works as an e-commerce associate at the Brook-
lyn Park Cub, fulfilling online orders and bringing groceries to people’s vehicles. He says officials from UFCW Local 663 have been in constant contact with him and his coworkers about options and next steps since learning of the store’s impending closure on Sept. 16. While Shayan has only worked at Cub a short time, he says some of his colleagues have been here for decades, and this week’s news came as a surprise. “They were pretty sad because I was here for seven ■ See CUB on page 5
Vusumuzi Zulu and his late wife, Nothando Zulu Submitted photo
bers will find the interactive element most entertaining. Audience members may be asked to participate: “Come on up, I need Brother Rabbit,” the storyteller may ask. “It’s more of the African style,” says Zulu. “People are
invited into the story while the story is being told. If you are familiar with going to many Black churches, you’ll know there is call and response. We tell a full range of stories.” This 34th annual event’s ■ See BSA on page 5
Muhammad Shayan has worked for Cub Foods for the last seven months. Courtesy of CCX Media
$900: Is that rent or back-to-school costs?
This year marks the largest per-family back-to-school spending in history By Aziah Siid otebooks, binders, pencils, a laptop computer, new clothes, a new backpack, maybe a fresh pair of kicks—the shopping list for back-to-school items is typically exciting for kids, a sure sign that summer is over and a new year is at hand. But for parents, the list can stir up other feelings: anxiety, dread, and sticker shock at the escalating price tag. Just ask Martika Simon, a
New York City resident, pastry chef, and mother of two, recovering from sticker shock after a shopping trip for her toddler, who is headed to preschool. “I literally spent over $500 on a 3-year-old to start school,” says Simon, 33. That includes food for her daughter’s lunchbox “because my child is picky, so she’s not eating the school lunch.” Once a fun and annual tradition for K-12 students and their families, back-to-school
shopping has become more of a financial burden on teachers and families. Inflation and retail supply-chain problems— coupled with school districts that stopped providing what teachers say are classroom necessities—have driven the average price tag to a total that’s closer to a mortgage payment than a yearly expense. With the list of necessities expanding every year, some families and teachers have turned to crowdfunding on
■ See SCHOOL on page 5