March 15, 2018 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

November 4 - 11, 2015

PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391

— See more Toki Wright on pg. 6

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 March 15-21, 2018

Vol. 84 No. 32 www.spokesman-recorder.com

LESS THAN 1% That’s Black businesses’ share of MN public sector spending

By Charles Hallman Senior Staff Writer

When kids don’t feel safe at school By Keith Schubert Staff Writer First of a two-part story In the weeks following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, there have been at least 21 threats made against Minnesota schools, according to Gov. Mark Dayton’s office. Dayton called these threats and the Parkland shooting a “grim warning” to lawmakers in

Minnesota. In response to the recent violence, Dayton proposed a Safe and Secure Schools Act at a March 7 press conference. The act is intended to protect kids and reduce gun violence. In the same conference, Dayton also urged legislators to work together to pass gun control legislation. During his press conference, Dayton pointed out that gun control doesn’t share the same partisan support that school safety does. Dayton ex-

plained that he wants the two pieces of legislation to be introduced separately, so gun control doesn’t get in the way of school safety. “[Republican legislators] don’t even want to talk about [gun control], much less act on it,” said Dayton. “It’s really shameful, but it’s a reality.”

By Keith Schubert Staff Writer From an early age, Leslie Badue knew she wanted to be an influencer and community activator. Her earliest recollection of questioning injustices was when she was in fourth grade and she asked her grandma who decides if one of her favorite cousins goes to jail. Badue knew her cousin wasn’t supposed to be going to jail. While she didn’t know the terms “War on Drugs” or “schoolto-prison pipeline,” she did know that she was witnessing some sort of injustice. From that moment forward, she says, “I wanted to be the powers that be so that I could change it myself. “I grew up in the generation after the War on Drugs, and so everybody that was

Photo by Keith Schubert being incarcerated looked like me, right? But everybody that was making the decisions didn’t,” Badue says. Now, at age 25, after taking other leadership positions and fighting for social equity on the front lines, Badue has the opportunity to create change as the newest president of the NAACP Minneapolis chapter.

SHOW US THE MONEY!

School safety The Safe and Secure Schools Act would include $15.9 million ■ See SAfe on page 8

Mpls Branch NAACP president aims to change hearts and minds

Leslie Badue

The African American Leadership Forum (AALF) two years ago asked several public entities about their spending with Black-owned businesses. Last weekend, the group released their report showing what at least seven public entities have spent in recent years with Black businesses. The results fell far short of a recommended six percent minimum to reflect the state’s African American population. The State of Minnesota, University of Minnesota, City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, Hennepin

ly filling out the rest of former Branch president Jason Sole’s term. “I have the utmost faith and trust in Badue…” Sole said in a Facebook post. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and governance experience to our Branch and exemplifies the energy, passion, dedication and skill of our next generation of activists.”

Development Group told the majority-Black audience as she moderated the “Show Me The Money” panel discussion on the need for more public spending with Black businesses to advance economic equity. “Many of us have been at these tables for 30 or 40 years…and it’s the same song and dance,” AALF Executive Director Jeff Hassan added. “The numbers are disgusting.” The AALF report discloses the following spending with Black-owned businesses: Hennepin County ($1.8 million), MAC ($1.2 million), State of Minnesota ($724,614), and City of St. Paul (over

Both Sole and LevyPounds only served half of their two-year presidential terms. In a position that has experienced a high turnover rate, Badue says she is there to stay. She will serve her time filling out Sole’s term and, if elected in November, says she has every intention of serving the full two-year term. The organization’s sustainability is one of the things that Badue plans on addressing as president. “The reality of it is that everyone’s a volunteer, so no one’s receiving any type of stipends, no type of income, and people are taking off their jobs,” she explains. “We cannot continue to just run on a voluntary basis, because then you’ll keep seeing the turnover.” Badue moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of St. Thomas, where she had Levy-Pounds as a professor. During Badue’s first year at St. Thomas, Levy-Pounds ran for NAACP chapter president and Badue went to support her. That is

County, Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) reported that they spent a combined total of over $4 billion in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 in contracts and purchasing goods and services, but less than one percent of this went to Black-owned businesses, says the AALF 2017 Public Sector Report. The group released its findings during its scheduled March 10 “Show Me the Money!” forum at the U of M’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. The forum’s title came from a popular line spoken by Cuba Gooding’s character in the movie Jerry Maguire. It was repeated by AALF officials when they met with representatives of the public entities a couple of years ago, Nawal Noor of Noor

$600,000). The group currently is working with Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Paul Public Schools to provide their “disaggregated” spending data as well. Noor described “disaggregation” to the MSR as a breakdown of spending by race. “What we learned in our research [is that] most entities don’t break out data to specifically show [spending on] African Americans,” she explained. Minnesota Department of Administration Assistant Commissioner Alice RobertsDavis said last Saturday that compiling ■ See AALf on page 8

Beer on wheels picks up speed By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer Contrary to an age-old witticism, youth isn’t always wasted on the young. Moses Tut, 24, is a sterling exception to that rule as vice president of Strategic Partnership at Running Tap. The new venture, a boutique distributorship, is a flourishing success that has, in a year and a half, innovated one of the world’s most popular businesses: buying and selling alcoholic beverages. Founded by Moses’ brother Isaac Tut, CEO, and Chris Ho, co-founder, Strategic Partnerships didn’t just build a better mousetrap but remodeled the mechanism ingeniously enough to make competitors wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Running Tap, Minnesota’s first such company and the nation’s second, delivers from breweries direct to homes, offices and events. Via an instantly far-reaching Internet marketplace, the enterprise swiftly evolved into a Midwest entity of consequence. The company is methodically

poised to increase success. What began last June with three breweries and a dozen clients now handles 24 breweries and over 600 clients. Talking over a late breakfast in a South Minneapolis eatery, Tut, stately and soft-spoken, imparted, “My upbringing, very disciplined, [is] where I attribute my success or maybe my positioning and grounding.” His modesty in crediting his parents is a matter of fact, as is his tone throughout the conversation. “Everything is my parents and the foundation they built for myself and my siblings. A mindset that is straightforward.” ■ See Beer on page 8

“These institutions aren’t broken. They weren’t created to be equitable.” “I love Minneapolis, and I love the NAACP and the work they’ve been able to do,” Badue says. “Now it’s the opportunity for me to just build upon what has already been done to leverage the expertise that already exists in the community.” Badue is current-

Badue says she was already planning to run for chapter president in November regardless of Sole’s decision to step down as current president. Before Sole, the Branch president was former mayoral candidate and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy-Pounds.

how she first got introduced to the chapter. The first committee she served on was the criminal justice, which Sole directed. In January of 2016, Badue became the chapter’s education chair. When Levy-Pounds left to ■ See NAACP on page 8

(l-r) Chris Ho, Isaac Tut and Moses Tut

Photo courtesy of LinkedIn

2

March 15-21, 2018

Recognizing our mutual responsibilities A dialogue on personal and community accountability Kevin: Accountability is not an isolated concept, and it can only truly exist if there is buy-in from multiple parties. If the expectation and consequence of personal accountability for individuals for transgressions against the community is prison, then what should the consequence be for society for the transgressions against poor communities and communities of color?

By Vina Kay and Kevin Reese

Kevin: I was startled that she never asked about my crime because prison had etched into my brain that I must approach every encounter with my crime on my sleeve, which years later I realized was sort of like approaching every encounter as threefifths of a human. The lens of most cognitive programs in prison magnifies personal accountability. It is a concept that I understand and believe in. As human beings it is our responsibility to be conscious of how the actions we take not only affect us, but also those around us. Being aware of this responsibility is an inescapable duty that we must all honor.

Vina: I remember the night well. It was December 19, 2014, a Friday night. I had just wrapped up a phone call with my friend and colleague Kevin Reese, who was then in prison at Lino Lakes Correctional Facility. It was a usual phone call for us, reflecting on a recent event we had had at the prison, imagining what we might do next, hearing about how some of the guys I had met on the inside were doing. After we said good-bye, I was sitting quietly and thinking after a long week. But then my phone rang again, the familiar number from Lino Lakes. “Hey, Kev, what’s up?” I answered. “V, I needed to ask you one more thing,” he said. “I want to know why you haven’t ever asked about why I’m here. We’ve been connected for more than a year, and you have never asked me why I’m here, what got me here to prison.”

Vina: I didn’t know what to say and was quiet for a moment. “I just didn’t think it mattered, Kevin. It doesn’t have anything to do with what we are doing together.” “Well, I respect that, and that is why I respect our work together,” he said. “But now I am going to tell you why I am here.” He then told me a story of a night when a marijuana deal went the wrong way. And how so many young guys had guns, how he at 18 years old then had one, too. And how someone died, another young man. “That was 10 years ago tonight, V.” I told him that I was honored that he chose to tell me this story and that I hoped it helped to share it. It seemed important to Kevin to have a way of marking that night 10 years later that ended the life of one man and changed the lives of others forever.

We must ask ourselves this question: Is our society living up to its grandest ideals? The prolific James Baldwin captured this question in the most simple and eloquent fashion when he said, “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”

A monthly column in which various contributors from both sides of prison walls explore common ground for effecting change.

with that night were also sons and brothers and fathers who loved their families. We can forget that grandmothers and mothers raised them with few resources but full hearts. We can forget our own role in the story. When I think of accountability, I have to look at our societal accountability to a system that puts people like Kev-

“We have forgotten how to hold people both in accountability and in love.”

Vina: I meant it when I told Kevin that I hadn’t thought about why he was in prison in all that time. The world we were imagining and the bridge we were building between prison and the community was not so much about the narrative of the past, but a vision for the future. Yet, others had asked me about his crime and were surprised when I said I didn’t know. The public narrative focuses on this question, and it contributes to a story that allows us to be comfortable with the idea of prison. By focusing on the wrongdoing – very real wrongs – we can forget the other truths. We can forget that Kevin and the others he was

in away for such a long time. It is a system of forgetting, and all the more so when it is time for community members to return home. We have forgotten how to hold people both in accountability and in love. Yet by holding the love, we have the chance to heal from the trauma not just of particular crimes, but of the fear and pain that paved the way to that crime. Kevin: I sit in this moment as an incarcerated man in my 13th and final year of a prison sentence. I was sentenced to prison for a very real wrong action, and no words could ever speak to the gravity of the weight that I carry knowing that my actions have affected so many others. That is an inescapable truth. I come from a marginalized and generationally poor community that has always had to scramble to survive from the crumbs off America’s table. This is an inescapable truth as well. We can’t tell one truth with-

out the other. The work that we have been fortunate to be a part of over nearly five years of working together has been what accountability should look like in action. So on that evening call on December 19, 2014 when I asked Vina why she never wondered what I was in prison for, her response showed what accountability should look like from the community. She saw her job as offering the simplest courtesy that one human being can give to another – a chance. Often that is all someone is looking for. And with that chance our work has manifested into some beautiful relationships that have vibrated unquantifiable goodness back into the community. Our relationship is just one small bond, hatched by one small principle of giving someone a chance. If that same courtesy were extended to entire communities, imagine what healing and prosperity we could produce. Personal accountability is not something you say; it is something that you do. Vina Kay, executive director of Voices for Racial Justice, and Kevin Reese are participants in Voices for Racial Justice’s “BRIDGE Partnership.” Vina and Kevin plan to continue their dialogue monthly over the next year, culminating in Kevin’s release in February 2019. Reader responses are welcome to info@voicesforracialjustice.org. To learn more about the organization’s work, visit www. voicesforracialjustice.org.

We already know that poverty is a math problem. So, what else is it? Poverty’s assault on the human spirit can be ‘soul-crushing’

The social aspects of poverty are just as important as the material. Imagine going through life alone — without any support structure, a family and friends to pick you up when you fall, or people you can rely on to ask for advice, encouragement or accountability. Social poverty exacerbates material poverty. What might be a bump in the road to someone with a support structure could be a mountain that derails someone without. – Kathryn Feliciano Poverty, yes, it’s money. But poverty of spirit is worse. When you lose everything you have to give, not only to your family but the universe itself, that’s where the anger comes in. – Arleen Ollie Fifth in a six-part series The previous three installments of this six-part series respectively explored the physical, psychological, and emotional impact that poverty can potentially have on those who live within its grasp. This particular installment will focus on a matter that is perhaps a little more abstract: spirituality. When it comes to the physiological, mental, and even emotional health of Americans, there are a multitude of scientific studies that highlight quantitative and qualitative data on how poverty affects us. But as Robert D. Lupton, author of Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It, notes that “spiritual vitality is harder to measure.” In A Framework for Under-

standing Poverty, educator Ruby K. Payne, when describing the various support systems and resources for low-income individuals and families, defines the spiritual as “believing in divine purpose and guidance.” Now, for full disclosure, as a pastor myself I subscribe to this definition as well. Moreover, it is a pretty standard interpretation of spirituality. Nonetheless, I recognize that not everyone considers themselves a person of faith, or even a spiritual person, if you will. Yet, I maintain that all of us, regardless of our view of religion and related matters, do indeed have a spirit.

up. Another citizen, Debra Carter, who is disabled and living in public housing, stated, “I literally feel like I have a gun to my head, just waiting for the trigger to be pulled. That’s just how I am living.” Octogenarian Richard Chubb shared stories about how Roanoke once had vibrant and prosperous African American neighborhoods, replete with local businesses and community resources. However, under the guise of “urban renewal” and the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, those communities (like the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul) were effectively decimated and, in Chubb’s words, the people’s “hope and trust”

“I literally feel like I have a gun to my head, just waiting for the trigger to be pulled.” For some, that spirit might be defined simply as their personality. The spirit can be the feeling brought on by someone’s smile or the look in their eyes as they express or receive love from another. One’s spirit can be revealed when they are angry or sad. So for the purposes of this essay, I wish to broaden the definition of spirituality beyond the sacred. Last summer in Roanoke, Virginia, where the population is just shy of 100,000 people, the local newspaper (The Roanoke Times) held a series of community meetings to discuss poverty in a city where nearly a quarter of its residents and a third of its children live below the poverty line. In a story titled “Empty pockets, broken spirits: Poverty’s impact reaches far beyond money,” The Roanoke Times featured stories of those attending the meetings, describing in detail the fear, despair, and sense of powerlessness that they face. One woman, Arlene Ollie, declared that poverty is “soulcrushing,” and that the hopes and dreams of children living in Roanoke are often dashed before they are even thought

destroyed. I believe – regardless of our age, race, gender, or anything else – poverty is war against the spirit; it is a destructive force that assaults people’s sense of security, their aspirations, and their belief that a better world is possible. Furthermore, I believe that all of our spirits, whether we are in poverty or not, should be offended by its mere existence. That said, I would like to leave you with this: Poverty can harm our physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual health in a myriad of ways, and far too many of us leave this life without having ever conquered it. And while it can no doubt wound our spirit, let us not forget the resiliency of that spirt as well. As Mr. Chubb of Roanoke reveals, when he was a little boy his father worked several jobs. “We didn’t call it poverty, we called it work.” The fact is that so many low-income citizens – when faced with agonizing decisions and seemingly insurmountable odds – somehow manage to find a way to go on, to survive. They are forced to do more with less and deftly navigate

through the day’s obstacles while stretching their limited resources as far as they possibly can. Now, that’s spirit.

Clarence Hightower is the executive director of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties. Dr. Hightower holds a Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State

University. He welcomes reader responses to 450 Syndicate Street North, St. Paul, MN 55104

March 15-21, 2018

3

Why changing your skin color is a common but dangerous move color is not just for those with light or Caucasian skin. In fact, it is a much bigger problem for persons of color.

T

By Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD here are few things in this world that have caused more controversy, confusion, social challenges, chaos, pain and suffering than skin color. People seem enamored with the desire to change their skin color. Caucasians strive to darken their skin with the “perfect tan.” I see so many patients who are headed to a sunny vacation and proclaim that they are visiting the tanning salon “just to get a little color before I go,” not acknowledging that they are increasing their risk for skin cancer and possible death. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen news reporters innocently, yet irresponsibly comment on how “white” their skin looks in shorts after a long winter without sun exposure. One reporter jokingly commented, “My skin is so pale, it almost glows.” Avoiding skin cancer is nothing to be ashamed of. The problem of altering one’s skin

Why do people have differentcolored skin? Science has made the simple discovery that skin color is a reflection of how close you (your ancestors) lived to the equator. Ultraviolet radiation of the sun is damaging to skin and causes cancer. The close to the equator, the more ultraviolet one is exposed to and the more protection your skin needs. Living farther away from the equator, like in Norway or Sweden, one does not need as much sun protection. Because families and relatives live close together, and people who live close to each other often have children, the skin color can also coordinate with tribes and people who are alike; but the skin color, which is a reflection of only our geography, has been confused and accepted as “race.” Our bodies have employed a standard pigment called melanin to filter out ultraviolet rays and protect us from the sun, much like opening up an umbrella. In fact, melanin production and release is triggered by sun damage. A tan is not a sign of good health, but rather a sign of severe skin damage. In the United States, dark skin color has been looked down upon. Back in the ‘40s and ‘50s, it was not uncommon on college campuses to have “brown paper bag parties” indicating if your skin was darker than a traditional brown paper grocery bag, you would not be allowed in. There was an old, atrocious saying:

“If you are Black, get back; if you are Brown, stick around; if you are White, it’s all right.” All of this ignorant and misguided thinking caused a significant market in products to lighten the skin. Although not as popular in African American culture today as it once was, skin lightening is extraordinarily popular in the Somali community. Skin bleaching or lightening is a prevalent practice in the Somali community. Unfortunately, it is rarely discussed openly, and even worse, many of the products used to bleach the skin can contain toxic levels of heavy metals such as mercury and ultra-potent prescription-strength steroids, causing a multitude of skin problems. Another common ingredient in many lightening creams is hydroquinone. If this ingredient is applied too long to the skin, it actually has a paradoxical effect; that is, it causes dark brown-black stains on the skin! I have seen all of these described complications many times in my dermatology practice in patients who try to bleach or lighten their skin. These products are often sold at cultural stores with little or no regulation, no prescription, and no oversight.

Many of the concepts of skin lightening are related to slavery and social structures and colonization. The attitude that the lighter the skin, the better the person is a poison that has been insidiously embedded into the thinking and beliefs of many cultures and societies and seemingly accepted as true without reflection or challenge. The issue of skin lightening is indeed a global problem. One recent study indicated that over 70 percent of women in Nigeria have used lightening products. Thank goodness, times are changing. Amira Adawe is a public health educator and community activist who hosts a radio show on “Beauty and Wellness” for the Somali community on Saturdays from 2-3 pm, on FM 107.1 KALY radio. She often pulls back the cover on the topic of skin bleaching and discusses the dangers. She, too, admits that even some of her own family members have put pressure on her to lighten her skin. The key is changing attitudes Changing attitudes on skin color is a considerable challenge. Many of the perceptions about skin color have been ingrained for decades and are not easily adjusted. To make the issue even more complex, many women have been programmed, euphemistically, that lightening their skin only cleans and makes their skin look like it has a bright, healthy glow. It has been socially ingrained that very dark skin is not beautiful. Some have drawn an analogy to haircare practices. Chris Rock’s controversial 2009 documentary film Good Hair looks at the

attitudes that, in African American and other cultures, sometimes curly hair is not as accepted or desirable as “Anglo straight hair.” In the 1960’s there was a push for skin color and hair texture acceptance with the politico-social declaration “Black IS Beautiful.” Many men and women wore their hair naturally, like Angela Davis. Many Somali (and other) men admit that it has been engrained in them to prefer women with lighter skin. Sadly, in a National Geographic documentary, many women in Nigeria stated that if two women had identical résumés, they believed that the lighter-skinned candidate would get the job. To break these perverse social attitudes and behaviors will take time and effort on all fronts. We must teach our children that all skin tones are beautiful. Media must portray all skin hues as beautiful. We need more people like Amira Adawe to keep the discussion going and make the truth available about skin lightening products: They are unnecessary and dangerous. Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD is a boardcertified dermatologist and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He also has a private practice in Eagan, MN. He has been selected as one of the top 10 dermatologists in the United States by Black Enterprise magazine and one of the top 21 African American physicians in the U.S. by the Atlanta Post. Dr. Crutchfield is president of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians.

Empowering communities of color with disabilities Canty states, “As a single parent, a Alison Canty and Mai Thor are person with a disability, a person of two of the persons working to incolor, a sexual assault survivor, and crease the awareness of civil rights a woman, I cannot express how imto persons of color with disabiliportant this issue is and how it imties and the general public. Togethpacts everyone. It will help us work er, they have convened a group for towards understanding the compeople of color with disabilities to plexities of being a person of color address the many complicated isAble not with disabilities.” sues our culture faces as a marginDisabled This initiative is the first step in alized community. Our purpose is challenging longstanding systems to bridge communication and build by of oppression and leadership that power among communities of color kenneth have stood in the way of equity and persons with disabilities. Brown inclusion. It is the kind of change This is a great opportunity to that is needed in order to create a serve the growing diversity in our catalyst that can help create policy communities as we look to the future of Minnesota. We have come far with ma- that embraces the successes and contribuny accomplishments throughout Minnesota. tions of people of color with disabilities within community. However, there is more work to do. The systems and leaders of government, Our desire is to illuminate the narrow thinking that constricts our efforts in pro- business and politics continue to not recogmoting full equity, and the total immersed nize people of color with disabilities as leadinclusion of people of color with disabilities. ers and change agents. This results in not Some of that constriction is the lack of af- having a voice that is heard and a lack of recfordable accessible or adaptable housing, underemployment, and lack of employment opportunities. This also includes the lack of accommodations within the workplace as well as the continued violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by building owners not allowing persons with disabilities to freely access their buildings. The federal government recently eliminated provisions in the ADA requiring building owners to meet the accessibili- Alison Canty (l) and Mai Thor ty requirements within the law. Photo by Kenneth Brown The building owners blame lawyers filing lawsuits against them for 27 ognition of our gifts as contributing memyears of ignoring and/or violating the law bers of society. We request your help in addressing these under the premise that the disabled are causissues. Please join us for our monthly meeting an undue hardship for them. There are significant disparities in the ing at the Metropolitan Center for Indepenavailability of support and services among dent Living every third Thursday of the people of color with disabilities. The most im- month from 6:30 to 8 pm at 530 Robert Street, portant and vital of these is adequate quality St. Paul, MN 55101. We provide a safe space and equality health care. We also need ade- for open discussion on matters and issues requate resources for victims of sexual assault lated to being a person of color with disabiland other personally harmful crimes against ities and all that intersects with those identities. members of our culture.

Mental health support group offered in North Minneapolis

The stronger our presence, the louder our voices, the more powerful our action, the more likely our movement will be sustained. For more information, contact Mai Thor at

house_of_solo@hotmail.com or Alison Canty at alison.canty@hotmail.com. Kenneth Brown welcomes reader responses to ablenotdisabled@aol.com.

Party into the sunset with us! presented by

SAVE THE D ATE! AU G U S T 4 T H

SAVE THE DATE for the Legacy Boat Cruise TODAY & join us on the Majestic Star!

A NAMI Connection peer support group for adults recovering from mental illness meets weekly in Minneapolis. The free group is sponsored by NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Trained facilitators who are also in recovery lead NAMI Connection groups. The group meets on Fridays, from 2:30-4:00 pm, at Northside CSP, 1309 Girard Ave. N., in Minneapolis. For more information, contact Don at 651-334-1778. Learn more about NAMI’s free classes and support groups at 651-645-2948.

1st deck : Jazz Lounge • 2 deck : Games Lounge 3rd deck : Q-Bear Lounge • Top Deck : Reggae Lounge

NAMI Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families through its programs of education, support and advocacy.

TICKET INFORMATION AT SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM OR CALL (612) 827-4021

Saturday, August 4, 2018; 5 pm —9 pm St. Croix Boat and Packet - Stillwater, MN

BUS TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE!

February 16-22, 2017

5

4 March 15-21, 2018

Minnesota residents protest PolyMet mine

On

Tuesday, March 6, Minnesota residents gathered to hold large light-up letters over I-94, calling on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to reject the draft permit to mine for PolyMet on the final day of the public review period. Residents held letters reading “Protect water, stop polymet” on the MacKubin Street pedestrian bridge, located at 490 Concordia Ave. in St. Paul. Earlier in the day, a coalition of conservation, clean water, and good government groups delivered 10,000 petition signatures and comments to the Minnesota DNR, urging the agency to reject the draft permit to mine of PolyMet. Coalition groups included Duluth for Clean Water, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest, Izaak Walton League – Minnesota Division, League of Women Voters, Minnesota Center for En-

vironmental Advocacy, MoveOn. org Civic Action, Sierra Club North Star Chapter, and WaterLegacy. The PolyMet mine would be Minnesota’s first sulfide mine, sited at the headwaters of the St. Louis River near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. Sulfide mining has been called “America’s most toxic industry” by the Environmental Protection Agency. Tuesday, March 6, marked the end of the comment period for PolyMet’s draft permit to mine, the most important permit that the company is seeking. —Information provided by the Sierra Club

Photo courtesy of Sierra Club North Star Chapter

PROTECTING WATER FROM SALT AND POLLUTION THIS WINTER

Plan now to grow a bountiful garden and share with the hungry By Melinda Myers Contributing Writer

Photo from Hennepin County Each winter we salt our roads and sidewalks to protect against sliding cars and slippery walks. Doing so is an important safety measure, but it can also pollute our local ecosystems and drinking water resources. But by using a few best management practices we can keep our roads and sidewalks safe while protecting our natural resources. How does salt affect the environment and our local communities? Salt is a serious threat to the environment and public health, but unfortunately the damage it causes is largely invisible. Salt gets washed into local lakes, rivers and streams throughout the winter, and the chloride permanently pollutes the water. Chloride negatively impacts aquatic life in a variety of ways, decreasing the number and diversity of fish and other wildlife. Having too much salt in the water isn’t just an environmental problem; it is also a public health issue because drinking water sources are also susceptible to salt pollution. In Minnesota drinking water comes from both above-ground water sources and groundwater, both of which can become polluted due to excess salt. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found 30 percent of shallow monitoring wells, mostly in urban areas, are polluted by too much salt. The cost of salt should also be considered. When salt is over applied, it needs to be purchased more frequently, and the costs of those purchases add up each winter. Too much salt could also damage your sidewalk, leaving you responsible for repair costs.

How you can make a difference and protect our local water? Though salt pollution in our water is a major issue, it is also an issue that we can all impact by making a few small changes. Those simple changes include: • Always shovel when it snows. Clearing sidewalks of snow can prevent ice from forming later. • Use less salt. The salt needed to get rid of ice is actually pretty small. A 12-ounce coffee cup worth of salt is enough cover 10 sidewalk squares or a 20-foot driveway. • Don’t apply salt when its 15° Fahrenheit or colder, as most salt stops working at 15°F. Consider using sand instead to provide

go green!

•

• •

•

•

traction. It’s easy to sweep up, which further prevents pollution. Remember to slow down and be patient. Salt doesn’t work immediately upon application, so give the salt you have applied time to work before applying more. Be understanding if your local snow maintenance crews are using less salt this year. Sweep up extra salt or sand to prevent it from getting washed away later. Any visible salt left after the ice has melted isn’t doing any more work and can be reused later. Work with your local community groups to reduce salt use in your neighborhood. A big difference can be made when neighbors work together! Educate friends and neighbors about what you’re doing to reduce salt use and encourage them to do the same!

By taking small actions we can all make a big difference in protecting our local water from salt pollution. By doing so our ecosystems will stay healthy, our drinking water will be protected, and money will be saved! Learn more about how salt pollutes our water and what you can do by visiting the following websites: • Clean Water MN: www.cleanwatermn. org/using-sidewalk-salt-responsibly • MPCA: www.pca.state.mn.us/news/10smart-salting-tips-protect-minnesotawaters-0 • MWMO: http://mwmo.org/learn/ stormwater-101/what-you-can-do/snowice-removal

Do you always squeeze in an extra tomato plant, another row of beans or hill of zucchini? It seems like a good idea at the time until they all start to produce all at once, and your family, friends, and co-workers start to hide as you try to pawn off yet another bag of zucchini or tomatoes. Here is a solution that satisfies your gardening obsession and feeds the hungry in your community. Designate some growing space to a Giving Garden and donate the harvest to your local food pantry. Feeding America reports that 41 million Americans struggle with hunger. And many are children and seniors. Food pantries were surveyed to find out what types of fruits and veggies people most enjoy eating, and those that store well. You’ll find a simple Giving Garden plan for beets, carrots, cabbage, Swiss chard, kale and winter squash on their website at gardeners.com. Best of all, these late maturing vegetables will be ready for harvest all at about the same time so that you can make your donation in just one trip. Don’t let a lack of space stop you from participating. Plant a row or container of one or more

of these vegetables to share; join forces with a neighbor who may have the space, but only limited time to garden; or gather a few friends and rent a community garden plot. Together you can grow fresh produce and memories to share. Get the children in your life involved in growing and giving. Gardening increases focus decreases stress and elevates children’s moods. Giving helps children grow into caring, wellrounded adults. Plus, if they grow the vegetables, they are more likely to eat them! Be sure to capture a few photographs of your donation to inspire others to follow your lead. Starting in August, you can enter Gardener’s Supply’s online “Show what you share,” photo contest for a chance to win

a prize for you and your local food pantry. With the “Garden to Give,” program, everyone who participates is a winner. The real prize is making a difference while doing something you love. Once you’ve experienced the benefits of sharing fresh produce with the hungry in your community, you are likely to find yourself making regular donations of garden fresh fruits and veggies to those in need and feeling great about it, too. Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. For more info go to www.gardeners.com/how-to/ garden-to-give.

! i l e D Fresh

This information was provided by Hennepin County Environment and Energy, Environmental Education, www.hennepin.us/environmentaleducation. This article originally ran the winter of 2017.

317 E. 38th St., Minneapolis & 2823 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis

www.seward.coop

THIS MSR GO GREEN! PAGE IS SPONSORED BY:

March 15-21, 2018

5

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) welcomes and values commentary and feedback from the community. The articles found here are edited for clarity and/or space, but the opinions are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the MSR.

Arming teachers would put Black and Latino kids in danger By Stacey Patton Contributing Commentator President Trump wants to arm teachers to prevent or reduce the carnage from future school shootings like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida this month. “A teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what had happened,” Trump said last week about the attacker in Florida. He’s not the only one who thinks this is a good idea: Several states are already considering legislation to allow guns to be carried into schools, ostensibly

Through My Eyes

The Minneapolis Story Continues

In the matter of Mohamed Noor: A misinterpretation of the Minnesota constitution By Ron Edwards Contributing Commentator Mohamed Noor, a Minneapolis police officer and a person of color, awaits determination by the Hennepin County Grand Jury of his fate whether he will be charged or not charged in the July 15, 2018, shooting death of Justine Damon. According to the Minnesota state constitution, whether to indict or not indict is the purview of the grand jury, once empaneled, not the county attorney. As such, we wonder why Hennepin County Mike Freeman has stated on three different occasions this month, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, that he will hear the evidence and, as overseer of all county prosecutors, will himself make the determination whether to indict or not. This is a constitutional misinterpretation by Freeman of both his and the grand jury’s prerogatives, and a violation of Officer Noor’s constitutional rights. Again, constitutional language, both federal and state, states that once given the case, the grand jury will then vote to indict or not to indict, not the county attorney. All of this raises some questions: 1. Why the silence of the Minnesota Supreme Court failing to remind the county attorney of his constitutional obligations of equal protection under the law?

2. What was the fiancé of Justine Damond told by unauthorized individuals who presented themselves as investigators in the death of Justine Damon? 3. What were the Australian parents of Justine Damon told about the American process of investigation and determination? 4. What was the Australian government, and particularly Australia’s prime minister, told about the tragedy of Justine Damon’s July 15, 2017, death? 5. What is the county attorney looking for with 40 witnesses, when only three others were in that alley the night Justine Damond was shot: Officer Noor, his partner, and a witness on a bicycle. 6. Is there a surprising testimony anticipated by possibly two of the many witnesses before the grand journey that they had heard Officer Noor make anti-Christian and anti-White statements before that night? 7. Why have so many purposefully forgotten that grand jury testimony is secret and only by court action can transcripts or testimony be asked for and reviewed? Newspapers and other reports revealed that more than 40 individuals were being called to give testimony. Officer Noor, on counsel’s advice, has chosen to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent. This column agrees with the Police Federation’s President Bob Crow that something is not right in

LETTER TO THE EDITOR POLICY The MSR welcomes letters to the editors. Letters should be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point font and must be signed. Anonymous letters will not be printed. A telephone number or email address must be included for verification. Letters of 250 words or less are more likely to be published. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for length.

SEND LETTERS TO: Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder- Letters to the Editor P.O. Box 8558 * Minneapolis, MN * 55408-0558 Or email your letters/commentary to jhence@spokesman-recorder.com

READER SERVICE • Circulation Department/Billing Department If you have any questions regarding your invoice or subscription, call 612-827-4021. 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Thursday. • News Department To report a news event, call 612-827-4021 or email to jhence@spokesman-recorder.com • Advertising Department To reach our advertising departments call 612-827-4021 or email to: display@spokesman-recorder.com

CORRECTION POLICY If we make an error, we want to correct it. If you believe that an error has been made email jhence@spokesman-recorder.com. If a correction is warranted, it will be printed the next week.

the way the legal process is being applied in this particular case. We refer our readers to the three weeks following the death of Justine Damon, when so-called anonymous sources identified Officer Noor as an unqualified Black foreigner, Islamic sympathizer, and affirmative action candidate at the police academy. These statements have also been attributed to Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and to the family of Justine Damon. These very inflammable and prejudicial statements came to them from “anonymous” sources with “first hand” knowledge of Officer Noor’s history, and of the training protocol of the Minneapolis Police Department. Thus, the possibility is high that one or more witnesses, in secret testimony, will say that Officer Noor is not a patriotic American, but rather hates and despises White Christians and White Americans. The county attorney seems to feel that in this election year, he must satisfy his political and racial base, not his constitutional mandate to serve Lady Justice. State and federal law make it clear that the grand jury makes the determination. Once empaneled, the grand jury is the sole authority to decide to indict or not. Stay tuned. Ron Edwards is an author and he hosts radio and TV shows.

Call us, write us, email us - your stories Send story ideas, news tips and opinions to Judith Hence at jhence@spokesmanrecorder.com. Send sports, community news, and health stories to Jerry Freeman: jfreeman@spokesman-recorder.com. Send entertainment stories, events you want posted, and notices exclusively for our website to Paige Elliott: pelliott@ spokesman-recorder.com.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD THROUGH THE MSR.

to protect kids. But putting guns into the hands of schoolteachers would be extraordinarily dangerous for Black and Latino students, who are already often forced to try to learn in hostile environments where they’re treated as threats. How long would it be if Trump’s plan became a reality before a teacher shoots a Black student and then invokes the “I feared for my life” defense we continually hear from police officers who misinterpret young Black people’s behavior with deadly consequences? A mountain of data on persistent racial biases and

disparities in education and on police presence in schools — as well as a recent increase in racial harassment in schools — makes it clear that kids of color won’t be safe if their teachers are carrying weapons. Stacey Patton is an assistant professor of multimedia journalism at Morgan State University and the author of Spare The Kids: Why whupping children won’t save Black America. This commentary is an excerpt from the full article in the NNPA Every student succeeds act in the Field, March 8, 2018.

RemembeRing memphis By Norman Hill Contributing Commentator Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, Tennessee, a unionization attempt by public sector workers that drew support from civil and labor rights leaders across the nation. Martin Luther King, Jr., in town to organize a march in support of those strikers, was assassinated on April 4th of that year. This post commemorates these anniversaries and the historic links between civil rights and worker rights, especially at a time when the right of public sector workers to unionize is being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Even as a young man, A. Philip Randolph understood that the economic well-being of workers and the political rights of African Americans were inextricably linked. It is one of the reasons why, in the 1920s, he agreed to organize and operate the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Blackled labor union to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor. It was his recognition of this coalescence of Black economic and political interests that led him to threaten the first March on Washington in the 1940s, which was only preempted when President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to issue Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination in Civil Service and World War II defense industries. And it was why he named the iconic 1963 March on Washington, which he organized and led, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The complete title wasn’t an accident. Randolph understood that the economic component was essential in obtaining freedom and equality for Black people. At the 1961 AFL-CIO convention, King warned that Black people should be skeptical of anti-union forces, noting that the “labor-hater and race-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other.” On February 11, 1968, a group of 1,300 almost exclusively Black sanitation workers walked off of their jobs. For years, they had suffered through low pay and horrendously dangerous, racially tainted working conditions. When two sanitation workers were crushed to death by a malfunctioning garbage truck that month, the workers had enough. They launched boycotts and protests with placards that are preserved in the Smithsonian Institution, declaring “I Am A Man.” Mayor Henry Loeb had refused to speak with the workers, calling their strike illegal. In the meantime, thousands of tons of garbage piled up on the streets of Memphis — despite scab workers who crossed the picket lines. Then, on March 18 (against the counsel of his inner circle), Dr. King arrived in Memphis to offer his support to the strikers. That evening, he addressed an enormous gathering of 25,000 strike supporters. Ten days later, he led a demonstration that went terribly wrong when some protesters turned to violence, smashing store windows, looting and inviting city police to respond with billy clubs and tear gas. A Black 16-year-old, Larry Payne, was shot and killed by police during the melee. City officials estimated that more than 20,000 students skipped school that day. That march started at a Black church, the Clayborn Temple at Hernando Street and Pontotoc Avenue. Dr. King was at the head of the march, and I was close behind him. As we marched through the Black community, we could see people lining the streets in support. The White people we saw at that

time seemed neutral to our cause. Then suddenly I smelled tear gas. I could see young Black men throwing stones at the storefronts we were passing. At first, the police seemed to be focused on these violent youth. But in short order, they were spraying tear gas indiscriminately at all of us. We passed out leaflets supporting the new march wherever we knew Black people gathered, like supermarkets and barbershops. We were also able to enlist the support of the Black members of the Memphis City Council. On April 3, Dr. King returned to the city. Despite the fact that he was not feeling well, he got out of bed to speak to a gathering at Clayborn Temple. And while history remembers well that this would be his last public speech, the one in which he spoke of reaching “the mountaintop” and being able to see “the Promised Land,” he would not be allowed to reach it. He also spoke directly to the striking sanitation workers: “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end,” he said. “Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through.” In fewer than two weeks the strike was over. The second march, with Bayard Rustin playing a role in its coordination, did take place on April 8. In the wake of Dr. King’s assassination, the march played a dual role, becoming a memorial to the monumental man as well as a show of continued support for the striking sanitation workers. Some 40,000 people participated, including Dr. King’s brave widow, Coretta Scott King. There were no incidents. While Loeb continued to oppose the unionization of the sanitation workers, in the end, his opposition was overridden by the city council that felt the pressure from mounting constituent complaints about tons of garbage reeking in their streets. Success. On the 50th anniversary of the Memphis sanitation workers strike, organized labor faces new and powerful challenges. For example, the case of Janus v. AFSCME, which the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up, questions whether unions have the fundamental right to expect public workers they represent to pay union dues. The matter is likely to be decided this year. The implications of a decision, for obvious reasons, could be profound regarding public sector unions like, for instance, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers, affecting millions of workers. In response to a White House and far right that appears determined to not only turn back the clock — but break it — regarding organized labor in America, arises a new necessity. We must, following the example of Randolph and Dr. King, harness an emerging coalition of progressive forces that today must include not only traditional civil rights and labor groups, but also Black Lives Matter, and the #MeToo and related women’s movements. At the same time, demonstrations of this collective power must be felt at the ballot box nationwide, especially as midterm elections draw near. Randolph left us an indelible blueprint for action when he said: “At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything, and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.” Norm Hill is an author and president emeritus of the A Philip Randolph Institute.

6

March 15-21, 2018

Shut up and listen: T’Challa vs. Killmonger Why Black men relate to both the protagonist and “villain” in Black Panther ery Black man is part T’Challa and part Killmonger and that’s not a bad thing. You may know Battle. He’s a St. Paul native who grew up in the Twin Cities but currently resides in Los Angeles. For 10 years, he’s been the co-host of the Mom & Michael Hour with his mother Jearlyn Steele on WCCO Radio. He’s a film and television producer, talent manager and magician. You may remember his handsome face from Dragon Fly TV, a PBS children’s show that aired on Twin Cities Public Television. I’m gone shut up and listen to Mi-

cer, you have to decide in that moment which version of the Black king you want to be. Do you want to be the T’Challa version and take a more peaceful approach or do you want to be Killmonger version who is going to approach the situation with a heightened level of intensity? SB: Word? It’s like that? MB: That’s what we experience every single day especially when someone is seemingly attacking your family or your home or the things you love most. Anger is in everyone. But when it’s com-

(l-r) Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) raise interesting questions as antagonist/protagonist in Black Panther. Courtesy of Marvel/Disney By Sheletta Brundidge Contributing Writer Sheletta Brundidge has made a living talking — from TV, radio and as a standup comedian, you name it, she’s done it. But after being blown away by Black Panther, Brundidge decided to enlist other voices in the community to unpack the power and reach of the blockbuster film — hence, she must shut up and listen. Third of a four-part series

It

was the summer of 2015 and my only daughter Cameron was just a little toddler. Our family was out to dinner one night at a neighborhood dive that had lots of big screen TVs covering college sports. My husband Shawn and I were playing around with our kids, eating and being silly when out of nowhere everyone started screaming and clapping wildly. Now, we didn’t know what was causing all the ruckus, ‘cause the Brundidges were face-deep in burgers and fries. But all the hoopla startled my baby girl and she started to cry uncontrollably. You see, she’s been diagnosed with autism and loud noises scare her to no end. I began trying to comfort little Cameron and get her back to a peaceful place, but before I could calm down my child, an angry sports fan from across the room yelled, “Shut that Black baby up!” I couldn’t turn around fast enough before my husband Shawn got up to go “lay hands” on the rascal who said it, and not in the Biblical sense. When my man left his seat, he looked at me, and I saw something in his eyes. Something I had never seen before. He

was not just mad, he was angry, with a purpose and ready to protect his family. Now let me tell you, this is my husband: Tailor-Made-Suit-Wearing Shawn Brundidge. He is cooler than a polar bear’s toenails. This man never raises his voice for any reason. I’ve been with him 17 years now and I ain’t never heard him fuss, not even at the kids. My husband graduated from medical school; fighting and starting trouble ain’t in his DNA. But at that moment in that restaurant in that instance, he went from Mr. Cool to Tupac Shakur. I wanted to raise up his shirt to see if he had “Thug Life” tattooed on his chest. I jumped up, grabbed my baby’s daddy and pulled him outside. I knew if my man had gotten ahold of that disrespectful racist, he would have wound up being away from us for at least 10-15 years. And I ain’t ‘bout that single life. When I watched the Black Panther movie, I realized that as much as my husband reminds me of noble, good-

"Every Black man I know has both of those characters within himself. " hearted King T’Challa, he has a little Erik Killmonger in him, too. Killmonger was the antagonist in the movie, a mercenary who sought revenge for a family wrong. Needless to say, Poppa Brundidge don’t take no mess when it comes to his family. And according to Michael Battle, ev-

Shawn Brundidge and daughter Cameron chael, a Marvel movie aficionado, explain how many Black men straddle personas on any given day. SB: Were the roles of the two lead male characters in Black Panther real for you? MB: I felt like when I was watching Black Panther, I was watching the narrative of the daily experience of Black men in America play out between the protagonist and antagonist. Unlike most of these relationships we see in films, both of these characters are Black and have honorable intentions. You don’t dislike Killmonger. Michael Battle You don’t like what he’s doing, but you understand why he’s do- ing from a White face, and it’s said in a ing it. I see myself in this character ev- way that’s patronizing and antagonistic, ery now and then in many of the days in a way that might be rooted in race, it makes the Killmonger in us all jump out of my life. You have to decide when walking in- that much faster. And again, I love him as an examto a meeting at work where you have a confrontation with someone…who ple of what it really is — it isn’t the andoesn’t look like you or have your val- gry Black man that we’ve seen so often ues or beliefs, or more specifically when in film and television. It is the educated, you’re being pulled over by a police offi- highly successful and amazingly pow-

erful Black man who is making the best choices for him. It’s not just blind anger. SB: But shouldn’t you choose to be the noble, peaceful king who doesn’t fight and isn’t aggressive to be successful? MB: Killmonger can be just as successful as T’Challa. I don’t want the implications of my comments to seem as if being T’Challa is the overall better options because sometimes he’s not. Every Black man I know has both of those characters within himself. It’s not saying that some half of us are bad. You have to find the balance between the two. I think success is found when [you have] access [to] both entities in their full power when you need them. Sometimes you have to be wholeheartedly aggressive and that’s not specific to Black men. For any human being, acting in social situations to protect what you love, you have to be the more aggressive version of yourself. But again, smartly aggressive. Pointedly aggressive. SB: How do you decide though? When is it okay to unleash your inner Killmonger? MB: There are moments when you have to choose. Am I going to jump off? If I turn into Killmonger when a cop pulls me over, the consequence of that is, I might be shot. But that doesn’t mean you can’t go march somewhere as a reaction to mistreatment... I think it’s an ongoing deeply complex conversation that starts when we’re young men, when we’re speaking to our Black parents, and it continues through adolescence and adulthood. SB: Did you get the same sense of pride I felt after watching the movie? MB: I walked out of that theater beaming with pride. Just completely enveloped in this warmth of joy that I had seen Black people on screen replicated in a way that was beautiful and honorable and that showed us, us being Black people, in the way that we feel on the inside very often but we never get to see [on the big-screen]. It was such a positive representation of people who look like myself and those in my family. Next up: The conclusion of the fourpart series will focus on dialogue between African and African American communities in light of Black Panther. Sheletta Brundidge welcomes reader responses to shelettab@gmail.com. Photos courtesy of subjects.

Toki Wright aims to educate and engage on The Current's new hip hop show The show will also discuss other musical genres such as “lo-fi production, dancehall, classic soul, reggae, Afrobeat, R&B, electronic and more,” said Wright in a pre-launch press release. The North Minneapolis native recently spoke to the MSR by phone prior to the show’s premiere last month. “I’m always about shining the light on the community,” Wright stressed. “If this opens the door for an upcoming artist to be able to add to the community,” he’s committed to it, he said. Wright joined The Current in November 2017. “With Toki’s experience not only as a radio host but also as a recording artist and community leader, it makes him ideally suited to host and lead The Current’s hip hop programming,” Program Director Jim McGuinn said in a press release. Wright will help “us discover the next artists we can share with our audience,” he noted. “My goals and objectives are to get people accustomed to…[hip hop music] Toki Wright Photo courtesy of The Current from here, but also around the world,” Wright pledged. He also wants listeners to also gain a better understanding of the ways that By Charles Hallman hip hop and other genres such as classic R&B inSenior Staff Writer tersect. The Emmy Award-winning artist whose works Throughout his illustrious career, Toki Wright has educated many on the history of hip hop. Now has topped MTV and iTunes charts over the years, he’s using the public radio airways as his class- has worked with local youth organizations and helped coordinated the Twin Cities Celebration of room. “Wright About Now with Toki Wright” pre- Hip Hop Festival, among other similar efforts. “I miered February 28 and now airs Wednesdays at got involved in youth work early, probably at age 10 pm Central time on Minnesota Public Radio’s 13,” Wright confirmed. Wright remembered growing up on the North(MPR) The Current — 89.3 FM in the Twin Cities, 88.7 in Rochester, and 90.9 in Duluth and across side attending “talent shows,” but he and others he grew up with seemed isolated from the larger muMinnesota. Wright calls his 60-minute program “A conver- sical events staged in the area for whatever reason. sation about culture,” as the show will primarily “Nobody handed us a flyer,” he recalled. As a result, “We started putting on [our own] focus on local, national and international hip hop music, as well as explore the styles and stories that shows” at local coffee shops and other small venues, Wright said. “We had to make it because it emanate from it.

wasn’t there.” Later after attending a hip hop festival elsewhere, Wright saw the need to have something similar in the Cities, which led to his involvement with the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip Hop Festival held each year. “A lot of this [is because] it’s me observing what’s happening in the community and seeing what’s left out. I didn’t see shows with our faces,” said Wright. Besides the music and scheduled guests, each week “Wright About Now” features an audience

participation “question of the week,” Wright explained. “I want to open up the floor to have those kinds of dialogue.” The Current offers the ideal platform to do this, Wright said. His show aims to allow listeners a chance “to go deeper into our music,” said Wright. “It’s really about getting an understanding of the culture.” Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

BLACK EXCELLENCE:

THE HBCU EXPERIENCE SATURDAY

APR

7

12-4 ONLY

$5

BRING A SISTA!

Join us at Sister Spokesman to hear from some of Minnesota’s own HBCU Alumni on their experiences and find out if a historically black college or university is the right choice for you

NORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE 2123 WEST BROADWAY AVE.,MPLS, MN 55411 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 612-827-4021

GET CONNECTED! www.facebook.com/sisterspokesman • @SisterSpokesman

March 15-21, 2018

7

Teen Tech Center bridging the tech divide

Teen Tech students at work

Photo courtesy of Best Buy

By Brandi Phillips Contributing Writer

“I

am excited to see all the possibilities and different career paths that our children would not even think existed.” These are the words of Hope Community’s executive director, Shannon Smith Jones, talking about the

community-related programming. Andrew “Dhop” Hopkins, director of Family and Community Engagement at Hope Community, explains why the Teen Tech Center is so important for our children. “We start recognizing that technology is becoming another divide. Our kids use technology for fun and games, which is cool, but we are trying to get our

potential of the New Best Buy Teen Tech Center that opened in January at Hope Community. Technology is the way of operating optimally in this world. From phones to computers, to computerized cars, we cannot escape the firm grip of the technical world. With stores located across the country, Best Buy has been working diligently to integrate more

kids to start looking back at the rich history of our people. We were always producers. Now we are basically consumers. We don’t [usually] build anything anymore. We don’t invent anything anymore.” Continuing, Hopkins said, “I used to love when [Black History Month] rolled around. That [was] when we had the space to celebrate the great things we as a people invented by our great scientists. Part of my thing is, how do we get our young people turned around. They have to know that the bar is high, and we have to do some work. At the end, they will be able to see themselves as their own change agents in their communities. They can see themselves going into jobs that break cycles of poverty. They can see themselves participating in this global world now. We are not just local now. Technology is making things closer. We are using certification models, because all students may not go to college. But, they can be prepared to work in a technical field.” “The Phillips Community is a very diverse community, said Jones. “It almost looks like a pie-chart, if you were to divide it up into the different folks living in the community. Many of those people are people of color. We know there is a technology divide with our kids. One thing I wish I could do was bottle up the energy that was at the grand opening of the Teen Tech Cen-

ter. It was community coming together. Not just the Phillips Community, but the community at large — funders, community members, youth leaders. People were talking to people that they may not always talk to.” According to the Hope Community website, the “Teen Tech Center will house state-of-the-art technology, engaging teens aged 13–18 in leveraging technology for learning, creativity, and career-path development.” Teens can challenge themselves in several different areas of technology including: • graphic design • sound and video production • digital photography • filmmaking • scratch visual programming • coding and much more! The Best Buy Teen Tech Center in Hope Community, 611 East Franklin, will be a safe, interactive space for teens to explore the latest technology and multimedia tools with support from peers and adult mentors. The center’s hours are 3-7 pm. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 9 am – 5 pm on Saturdays. For more information see www.hopecommunity.org. Brandi Phillips welcomes reader responses to bphillips@spokesmanrecorder.com

Homebuyer readiness coaching will help buyers prepare to become homeowners Workshops and advising sessions are offered at two locations: Saint Paul: NeighborWorks Home Partners, 533 Dale Street N., St. Paul MN 55103 Minneapolis: City of Lakes Community Land Trust, 1930 Glenwood Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55405 Registration for classes and advising sessions is online at http://nwhomepartners.org/ get-ready

By Amanda Welliver Contributing Writer NeighborWorks Home Partners (NWHP) is encouraging would-be homebuyers to prepare for the spring buying season by getting familiar with the homebuying process and cleaning up credit scores. Two programs at NWHP help buyers reach their homeownership goals. HomeOwnership Pathways is a homebuyer readiness program that includes one-onone advising sessions and financial education with HUD-certified counselors. Advising sessions cover the basics of buying a home, qualifying for a mortgage, what types of mortgages are available, and how personal credit affects buying a home. Sessions also include a credit report review, goal setting, and budgeting, and help customers create an action plan to correct credit report errors and take steps to improve credit scores. There is no charge for the advising sessions, but it is recommended that participants receive a soft-pull credit report, at a fee of $22 for individuals or $44 for couples. For more in-depth homebuying information, buyers are encouraged to attend a Home Stretch workshop. In these workshops, experts from around the real estate industry teach about what happens at each stage of the homebuying process. Attendees have an opportunity to ask questions and get answers directly from Realtors, loan officers, home inspectors, and insurance agents.

Spring Workshop Dates March 10 March 17 March 24 April 7

Saint Paul Minneapolis Saint Paul Minneapolis (HMONG LANGUAGE) Saint Paul Minneapolis Saint Paul (HMONG LANGUAGE) Minneapolis Saint Paul

April 14 April 21 May 5 May 12 May 19

”We help homebuyers look at the big financial picture,” said Nick Yang, a housing counselor with NWHP. ”How does your credit score affect the mortgage you get? What steps should you take before getting pre-approved for a mortgage? In our advising appointments, we help buyers understand all of their options, and come up with an action plan so they can reach their goals.” “Our number one goal is to empower buyers

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER 3744 4th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55409

■

Phone: 612-827-4021

■

Fax: 612-827-0577

so they can have a successful homebuying and homeowning experience, Yang continued. “The thing I hear again and again from our workshop participants is that they wish they’d taken the class earlier in the buying process. So my advice now is, ‘Don’t wait! Register for a workshop before you start to look at homes.’” NeighborWorks Home Partners is a community based nonprofit organization located in Saint Paul and is a member of the national NeighborWorks America network. Specializing in homebuyer education and preparation, including credit repair, home improvement loans,

down payment assistance and foreclosure prevention, NWHP serves the seven-county metro area with special program emphasis in the city of Saint Paul. The organization currently provides services in English and Hmong. More information is available at nwhomepartners. org/get-ready

TraCey williams-DillarD Publisher/CEO

CeCil e. NewmaN Founder-Publisher 1934-1976

lauNa Q. NewmaN CEO/Publisher 1976-2000

Senior Editor

Senior Staff Writer

Editor in Chief

Staff Writer

Online Editor

Contributing Writers

Jerry Freeman Judith Hence Paige Elliott

Desktop Publishers Bob Keller Laura Poehlman

Administrative Assistant Dalia Taha

Cartoonist Bob Keller

Account Representatives Monisha Washington Carlene Williams Cecilia Viel

wallaCe (JaCk) JaCkmaN Norma JeaN williams Co-Publisher Emeritus

Charles Hallman Keith Schubert

Kenneth Brown Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III Dr. Deirdre Golden Dr. Clarence Hightower Dwight Hobbes Brandon Jones Issa A. Mansaray Tammy McIntyre Juliet Mitchell Khymyle Mims Ivan Phifer Brandi Phillips Nicole Pillow James L. Stroud, Jr. Julia Toles

Vice President Emeritus

Sports Writers

Larry Fitzgerald Charles Hallman Dr. Mitchell P. McDonald

Opinion Writers

Myrle Cooper Ron Edwards Frank Erikson Booker T. Hodges Rev. Irene Monroe Mel Reeves Lucky Rosenbloom

Contributing Photographers Onika Nichole Craven Olivia Crutchfield Steve Floyd Chris Juhn Sophia Hantzes Lou Michaels

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS Minnesota Newspaper Association • Independent Press Association • National Newspaper Publishers Association

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

Publications are published every Thursday by the Spokesman-Recorder Publishing Co., Inc.

• Editorial/Business office is at 3744 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55409

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, P.O. Box 8558, Minneapolis, MN 55408

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER Subscription Rates: In-state $35 yearly • Outside Minnesota $40 yearly All subscriptions payable in advance.

Worship Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

Bethesda Baptist Church

Rev. Arthur Agnew, Pastor

Rev. Billy G. Russell, Sr. Pastor 2600 E. 38th Street. Mpls., MN 55408 612-827-7928 fax: 612-827-3587 www.greatfriend.org Sunday Morning Worship: 8 am Sunday School: 9 am Morning Worship: 10:40 am N.B.C.: 5:30 pm Evening Worship: 7pm (1st Sunday) www.greatfriend.org The Friendly Church Where Everybody Is Somebody

Rev. James C. Thomas, Pastor 451 West Central St. Paul, MN 55103 651-227-4444 Church School 9:30 am Morning Worship 8 & 10:45 am Prayer Service: Wednesday 7 pm

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Doctor Charles Gill 732 W. Central Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104

Dr. Willa Lee Grant Battle, Pastor 1908 Fourth Ave. So. Mpls., MN 24 Hour Dial-A-Prayer: 612-870-4695 www.gtdci.org Sunday School 9:30 am Sunday Worship 11:30 am Prayer Daily 7 pm Evangelistic Service: Wednesday & Friday 8 pm

Sunday Worship Service: 9:45 AM Sunday School: 8:45 AM

"Welcome to Mt. Olivet Baptist Church" Grace Temple Deliverance Center

At the Old Landmark 1118 So. 8th Street Mpls., MN 55404 612-332-5904

www.bethesdamnonline.com email:bethesdamn@prodigy.net

Service Times: Sunday School 10 am Sunday Worship 11:30 am Wednesday Prayer Meeting, 6 pm Adult Bible Class 7 pm Children's Bible Class 7 pm

Advertise your weekly service, directory or listing!

CALL 612-827-4021

8

March 15-21, 2018

“This is a real small sliver of our State spending”

AALF Continued from page 1

spending data by race wasn’t easy, but it was nonetheless necessary. She was joined as a panelist by MEDA President Gary Cunningham, New Salem Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Jerry McAfee, and Ravi Norman, Thor Construction CEO. “What we found was embarrassing,” Roberts-Davis admitted on the State’s spending with Black-owned firms. “We knew we had to focus on Black businesses in the Black community.” She added that since last July the State has spent an estimated $1.3 million with Black businesses. “This is a real small sliver of our State spending,” she acknowledged. McAfee, a longtime economic equity proponent, criticized State officials and others for not being more transparent in their spending with Black businesses. He also challenged as unacceptable those entities’ claim that it is too difficult for them to provide the disaggregated data. “It’s urgency. We got to get into a faster mode,” McAfee stressed.

NAACP Continued from page 1

Roberts-Davis later told the MSR, “It’s not the first time people have been disenchanted with the results and what’s happening at the State. What we have to do is continue the work we are doing and push forward and prove that this is serious.” She told the audience that more Black businesses must get certified by the State in order to qualify to business with State agencies. “Why not? It’s free,” Roberts-Davis said of the new on-line application process her office introduced March 1. “Certification is a very important part,” she pointed out. The public should know how and where their tax dollars are being spent by public entities, Noor noted. Blacks and other ethnic groups in Minnesota contribute an estimated $500 million per year in state and local taxes, according to the AALF report. She suggested that at least six percent of annual public entity spending be done with Black businesses. “The African American community represents about six percent of the state’s population. The spending should be similar or close to that percentage – that’s the minimum,” Noor told the MSR.

treasurer of the student government. After high school, she moved to Miami to attend Barry University, where she majored in political science and minored in African studies. While at Barry she served as the student body president. She came to St. Thomas in 2015 to pursue a JD-MBA (Business and Law Degree). However, one month before graduation she decided to withdraw her consent from St. Thomas because she didn’t feel that as an institution it aligned with herself or with people of color as a whole. “These institutions aren’t broken; they are actually functioning in the way they were created,” Badue says. But “they weren’t created to be equitable. They weren’t created for people of color to thrive in.” Badue knows the degree will always be there if she wants it, but to stay true to her path now has meant withdrawing from St. Thomas and academia. “I don’t need anybody’s acknowledgment in my greatness. I don’t need any degrees to make me a human being.”

run for mayor and Sole stepped in as president, he asked Badue to come on as his vice president. Now she is president. Given her experience with education, Badue wants to bring it to the forefront of the chapter. “A lot of time we focus on criminal justice, but you can’t talk about criminal justice without talking about education,” Badue says. In addition to education and sustainability, Badue wants to implement her three C’s of success: communication, collaboration and compassion. She knows that historically America has focused on changing laws and policies, and she recognizes the importance of that, but she says one of her biggest priorities is to change people’s hearts, minds, and the way they think. “What I want is to see everybody coming together to activate this community ecosystem that’s built on a foundation of those three C’s,” Badue exKeith Schubert welcomes plains. reader responses to kschubert@ She grew up in inner-city spokesman-recorder.com. Washington, D.C. where she attended Watkins Elementary and McKinley Technical High School. In high school, she served in multiple leadership roles including secretary and

SAFe Continued from page 1

in school funding, an increase of $18 per student, as well an additional $5 million for mental health services. The money would come from the projected $329 million surplus for the remainder of the state’s budget cycle. The $15.9 million would be spread across all school districts in Minneapolis, while the $5 million for mental health would be distributed on an application basis. Eva Goldfarb, a junior at St. Louis Park High School, spoke at the press conference with Dayton. Goldfarb is among hundreds of teens from across Minnesota who have voiced their support for safer schools and sensible gun control legislation. “This movement we have created is one of determination and passion but also of frustration,” Goldfarb said. “It’s been heartbreaking seeing that hard work wasted in the hands of adults.” The act would include intervention and support for expelled students, new resources for school building safety, like bulletproof glass and secured entrances, and would provide students with more access to

Nawal Noor

Jeff Hassan

Rev. Jerry McAfee

Gary Cunningham

Black businesses help provide community vitality, Cunningham pointed out. “If we build businesses within our community, we can transform our own conditions… We wouldn’t have to be dependent on anyone else.” Roberts-Davis emphasized the importance of working cooperatively with the AALF and other Black organizations in creating better

Beer Continued from page 1

Tut recounted his father and mother escaping war-ravaged South Sudan. “Our parents getting us out. Basically fleeing for their lives for about 10 years, going from refugee camps to refugee camps [in Ethiopia, then Kenya], trying to find a safe place, really built that resiliency.” He noted that only one percent of refugee families manage to relocate, some spending their entire lives in camps. In 1999, the United Nations Commission on Refugees granted the Tut’s entry to America. “I would say that’s when our journey began.” Their journey, it turned out, completely reversed their fates from refugee status to entrepreneurial prosperity. Before Running Tap, Moses Tut had established himself as a presence of consequence. Since 2013, he has presented or performed at over 100 educational institutions, conferences, and forums, speaking on cultural competency. He currently advises a program that facilitates admission of South Sudanese students to colleges and universities around the world.

mental health services. Dayton noted, “I’m willing to try anything” to keep our students safe. Not listed in the act was a stance on arming school teachers. Dayton pointed out that principals in Min-

opportunities for Black businesses. “What we need is a partnership and not an adversarial relationship,” she said. “Our number-one priority is to find the data” on public spending with Black-owned businesses, Noor said. “You can’t work on the problem if you don’t have the information. “Our goal for [AALF’s next year’s report] is for that number to increase

He also created the Sioux Falls Youth Initiative, a nonprofit providing extracurricular athletic programs infused with educational and life skills. In 2016, Tut addressed the OTA Bismarck Conference representing the tri-state region of Minnesota, North

Ravi Norman Photos by Charles Hallman to 21” public entities reporting their disaggregated spending data, she said. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesmanrecorder.com. Graphic courtesy of MGNOnline.

low drinkers. Placing a credit card order, you purchase from partner Minnesota breweries — no markup — paying for convenient, prompt delivery service, Tuesday to Sunday, within 20 miles of the company’s downtown Minneapolis site. Plan ahead. This takes more or less a couple hours, for a good reason: It arrives at your door after a short trip directly from the brewery, which means the beer is fresher than what you get at the store or, for that matter, bellying up to the bar for what’s on tap. There usually are excluWhat prompted him to adopt this attitude to being sive deals on bundles, just a businessman? “You have check the website’s sales colto turn on the lights, pay the lection. Simply have I.D. bills.” Hence, his experience ready when the driver shows and acumen are brought to up. Then, go back to watching the game while crackbear at Running Tap. Here’s how wetting your ing open a few, returning to whistle this way works: The the party or whatever it was Running Tap website is as you were doing that called for important to product as it is special delivery of suds. Furto presentation — in fact, it’s ther, there’s the option of savparamount in merchandising, ing time and a delivery fee by since consumers do judge a placing your order and then book by its cover. The website swinging by the Running Tap is state of the art from hand- Offices to pick it up. some layouts to vital, practiFor more informacal information and, for good measure, a PSA. There you’ll tion, email info@running-tap. see exactly what they offer com with any and all questions. Dwight Hobbes welcomes your taste buds – brews that are critically acclaimed, me- reader responses to P.O. Box daled in competition, or high- 50357, Minneapolis, MN 55403 ly rated by the public, your felmost people [of] my generation don’t.” He added, “I listen...to everybody’s perspective before giving my own. Respecting elders. Respecting different ethnicities, cultures. Just having that mutual regard I think is first and foremost.”

“I listen to everybody’s perspective before giving my own. That mutual regard I think is first and foremost.” Dakota, and South Dakota. He moved to Minneapolis to get Running Tap on its feet and joined the Global Shapers Minneapolis hub, a network composed of dynamic leaders under 30 who want to develop their leadership potential towards serving society. With more than 3,500 Shapers in over 450 hubs worldwide, this unprecedented initiative unites an extraordinary array of young decision-makers to effect change. Inevitably, he does take a certain amount of credit. After all, discipline can’t explain everything he’s accomplished. “I’ve heard many times that it’s almost like I have a wise spirit or [an] old spirit in a young body. Because I perceive things in a certain way that

ships. “For a majority of the school shootings, there were opportunities where relationships could have derailed the situation,” he said. Matlock recognized there is a delicate balance between a school be-

concerned the person poses a threat. One thing Dayton did not come out in support of was a statewide ban on the sale of assault weapons, something that has been a hot topic of legislation at all levels of government and is supported by local governmental officials in Minneapolis. Hundreds of Minneapolis high school students walked out of class on February 21 and marched to city hall on behalf of stricter gun laws. In response to the student’s demands, the Minneapolis City Council added a resolution to its legislative agenda encouraging state and federal lawmakers to ban assault weapons, silencers, bump stocks and extended magazines. “We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle here. We’re talking about guns that were designed and manufactured to take the lives of people,” Frey said in support of a statewide ban on the sale of assault rifles. Councilmember Steve Fletcher, who co-authored the resolution with Councilmember Jeremy Schroeder, said the high schoolers’ actions were very effective. Fletcher told MSR, “If more politicians had to look a group of students in the eye like we had in Minneapolis, I think it would be much harder to continue defending

“We don’t feel safe as it is, and [arming teachers] would only exacerbate our fears.” nesota already have discretion over allowing teachers and other staff to bring firearms into schools. When asked if he would sign a bill regarding arming teachers, he said, “I’m not going to comment on hypothetical legislation.” But, he did note that having guns in schools is not conducive to learning or feeling safe. “We don’t feel safe as it is, and [arming teachers] would only exacerbate our fears,” Goldfarb said. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told MSR, “Arming teachers is opposed by students, it’s opposed by police officers, it’s opposed by anybody that’s thought about it for half of a second.” Jason Matlock, director of operational and security services for Minneapolis Public Schools, told MSR the focus shouldn’t be on arming teachers, bulletproof glass or banning assault weapons, but rather on relation-

Alice Roberts-Davis

ing as safe as possible and also welcoming. “It does feel insane to have to steel-coat our buildings,” he said. “But from a security standpoint, there is some logic to these things.” Frey called all of the talk about hardening schools ridiculous. “Bulletproof glass doesn’t do a whole lot of good if the guns [are] already in the school,” he said. Gun control After talking about the Safe and Secure Schools Act, Dayton provided a list of gun control legislation he would support. It included things like expanding criminal background checks and raising the legal age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. Dayton also came out in support of a “red flag” law that would let family members and law enforcement ask a judge to temporarily suspend a person’s access to firearms if they’re

the right to own assault weapons.” The momentum around gun control right now is coming from the students, said Frey, and he wants to amplify their voice. “It’s going to take a grassroots push to make it happen,” he said. Although at press time Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) didn’t have an official stance on banning assault weapons, Matlock pointed out it doesn’t take an assault weapon to kill someone. “The weapon of choice isn’t as important as what we’re doing to make sure that we reach those kids,” he said. “If they pass the ban, they pass the ban; we still need to have things in place to keep our children safe.” Both Matlock and Frey have met with students from MPS, and the students have expressed a pretty singular accord: They don’t feel safe at school, and going forward that needs to change. Next week: Gun debate divides state, cities Keith Schubert welcomes reader responses to kschubert@spokesmanrecorder.com and to follow him on twitter @keithsch94. Graphic courtesy of MGNOnline.

March 15-21, 2018

Legals

9

Employment

STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF HENNEPIN

DISTRICT COURT FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT PROBATE DIVISION Court File No.: 27-PA-PR-18-249

In Re: Estate of Grace Perkins Chavers, a/k/a Grace Mae Chavers, Deceased.

NOTICE OF INFORMAL APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS: Notice is hereby given that an application for informal probate of the above-named Decedent’s last will dated September 26, 2006, (“Will”), has been filed with the Registrar herein, and the application has been granted informally probating such will. Any objections may be filed in the above, and the same will be heard by the Court upon notice of hearing fixed for such purpose. Notice is hereby given that the s informal appointment of Sandra Denise Mack-Miller, whose address is: 3926 Colfax Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55412 as personal representative of the Estate of the above-named decedent has been made. Any heir, devisee or other interested person may be entitled to appointment as personal representative or may object to the appointment of the personal representative and the personal representative are empowered to fully administer the estate including, after 30 days from the date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate. . Unless objections are filed with the Court (pursuant to Minn. Stat. 524.3-607) and the Court otherwise orders, the personal representative has full power to administer the Estate including, after 30 days from the date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate, unless objections thereto are filed with the Court (pursuant to Section 524.3-607) and the Court otherwise orders. Notice is also given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representative or to the Probate Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred Dated: February 27, 2018 ALONNA J. WARNS Registrar SARAH LINDAHL PFIEFER Deputy Court Administrator MN Spokesman-Recorder, March 8 & 15, 2018 CASE TYPE: DOMESTIC ABUSE DISTRICT COURT SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT CASE NO: 14-FA-18-751

STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF CLAY In the Matter of: Christopher Bedeau and OBO Minor Children, Petitioner vs. Elverna Marie Bedeau, Respondent

NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION

TO RESPONDENT NAMED ABOVE: An order has been issued directing you to appear at Clay County Court Administration, 807 11th St. N., Moorhead, MN 56560 on March 16, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. and explain why the relief sought in the Petition for the Order of Protection should not be granted. You may obtain a copy of the Petition and any order issued from the court from the Clay County Court Administator’s Office. If you do not appear at the scheduled hearing,the Petitioner’s request may be granted as a default matter. Failure to appear will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court’s Order Dated: March 9, 2018 Signed By: Crystal Nelson, Court Administrator, Deputy MN Spokesman-Recorder, March 15, 2018

Minnesota Spokesman Recorder March 15 , 22 & 29, 2018

Continued from page 10 respond in a meaningful way,” concurred Drexel Sports Management Professor Ellen Staurowsky. She once authored a landmark study on college athletic scholarship shortfalls and was a witness in Ed O’Bannon’s class action suit against the NCAA. “I think these things are troubling, but they definitely aren’t surprising.” Staurowsky added, “It is equally troubling to me that African American men could be going to jail for behaviors that may or may not be criminal.” Did the coaches break NCAA rules, which isn’t criminal? Or does involvement of the feds make it criminal? “If there’s any criminal conduct, we should be turning to college sport officials and not to the specific coaches and players,” the professor stressed. “We need to draw our attention to the leadership structure,

Engineering Program Manager Engineering Program Manager: Medtronic, Inc., Fridley, MN. Req. Bachelor’s/Electrical or Electronics Eng. & 5 yrs. exp. with engineering pgm. mgmt. Must 5 yrs. exp. with new prod. dev. (hardware and software application) in cross functional teams within matrix organizations; Proj. Mgmt., Schedule Mgmt., Work Breakdown plans, & Responsibility Matrix (RACI); managing and navigating Onsite & Offshore delivery teams; pgm. mgmt. functional continuous improvement & optimization techs., proj. status reports, financial budget mgmt. & Proj. Risk mgmt.; proj. mgmt. tools such as WBS Pro, Swimlane Timeline view in MS Visio, MS Project, JIRA, Version One, & Confluence; & PMP Waterfall and Agile dev. life cycle methodologies to incl. Scrum. Must have certification - Certified Scrum Master (CSM). To apply, visit www.medtronic.com/careers, select Req. #17000OVX. No agencies or phone calls please. Medtronic is an equal opportunity employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. All individuals are encouraged to apply.

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, March 1,8,15 & 22, 2018

Professor Ellen Staurowsky MSR file photos

strongly believes the commission’s hidden agenda is simply maintaining the status quo. “Anything to get around paying the athletes,” Shuck says of this ever-present elephant-in-the-room issue. The NCAA will “keep spin-

The Community Engagement Supervisor works directly with all people in ways that are equitable and inclusive, requiring skills and approaches that reflect a strong social inclusion perspective. This position supervises and collaborates to support communitybased projects, develop opportunities for involvement, and connect people to activity throughout the neighborhoods of Hopkins Public Schools. Engage residents, service providers, and institutional stakeholders living and working in the community. Engage youth, families, and individuals through a variety of arts opportunities. Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Attention to detail. Experience with diverse populations; racially, culturally, socio-economically and GLBTQ. Creativity and initiative in program development. Good oral and written communication skills. BA/BS degree in Youth work, Community Organizing, Education, Recreation, or related degree preferred. Spanish or Somali language proficiency preferred. 3-years related work experience required. For a full job description of duties and requirements please visit: https://www.hopkinsschools.org/servicesdepartments/ human-resources/career-opportunities

ATTORNEY:

Continued from page 10

Green’s importance to his club. “He passes, defends and rebounds, a tremendous all-around player.” Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s loss, Green refused to make excuses, such as the Warriors playing without two key players – Curry (a tweaked right ankle) and Andre Iguoda- Golden State Coach la (sprained left wrist) – as Steve Kerr well as a poor shooting afPhotos by Charles Hallman ternoon by Thompson (8for-22). “They [the Wolves] made more plays down the Green said, “I try to be an stretch than we did,” he sim- all-around player.” ply said. “It’s tough when you Charles Hallman welcomes are missing so many key reader responses to challman@ guys,” Green did point out. spokesman-recorder.com. “I think those guys will get back in time for us to find the rhythm we need [for the playoffs]. We are trying to win games and get better no matter who’s on the floor.” As the two Spartan alums and Michigan natives fist-bumped each other, Continued from page 10

MN Disability Law Ctr. For more info go to: www.mylegalaid.org/jobs.

Fitz

“Anything to get around paying the athletes.” which is primarily White.” Shuck pointed out that greed ultimately is too often missing from the changing college sport conversation. But she

Community Engagement Supervisor Hopkins Public School District /FT

Equal Opportunity Employer

SOE

State of Minnesota Case Type: Dissolution Without Children County of Hennepin District Court With Real Estate Fourth Judicial Court CASE NO: 27-FA-18-1414 ORDER FOR SERVICE BY ALTERNATIVE MEANS In Re the Marriage of: Kulah Dixon Jarry, Petitioner and Alfred Sakor Jarry, Respondent THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENT: WARNING: YOUR SPOUSE (HUSBAND OR WIFE) HAS FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU FOR DISSOLUTION OF YOUR MARRIAGE. A COPY OF THE PAPERWORK REGARDING THE LAWSUIT IS SERVED ON YOU WITH THIS SUMMONS. THIS SUMMONS IS AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT FROM THE COURT THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. READ THIS SUMMONS CAREFULLY. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT, CONTACT AN ATTORNEY FOR LEGAL ADVICE. 1. The Petitioner, (your spouse) has filed a lawsuit against you asking for dissolution of your marriage (divorce). A copy of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is attached to this Summons. 2. You must serve upon Petitioner and file with the Court a written Answer to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, and you must pay the required filing fee. Answer forms are available from the Family Law Facilitator Program, Family Court Self Help Center located in the Family Justice Center, 110 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401. You must serve your Answer upon Petitioner within thirty (30) days of the date you were served with this Summons, not counting the day of service. If you do not serve and file your Answer, the Court may give your spouse everything he or she is asking for in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. 3. This proceeding involves, affects, or brings into question the real property located at the following address 8533 Cherokee Dr. N., Brooklyn Park in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota, with the following legal description: Lot 3, Block 4, Cherokee Highland Addition. n NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING PROVISIONS: Under Minnesota law, service of this summons makes the following requirements apply to both parties to the action, unless they are modified by the Court or the proceeding is dismissed: (1) Neither party may dispose of any assets except (A) for the necessities of life or for the necessary generation of income or preservation of assets, (B) by an agreement of the parties in writing, or (C) for retaining counsel to carry on or to contest this proceeding. (2) Neither party may harass the other party. (3) All currently available insurance coverage must be maintained and continued without change in coverage or beneficiary designation. (4) Parties to a marriage dissolution proceeding are encouraged to attempt alternative dispute resolution pursuant to Minnesota law. Alternative dispute resolution includes mediation, arbitration and other processes as set forth in the district court rules. You may contact the Court Administrator about resources in your area. If you cannot pay for mediation or alternative dispute resolution, in some counties, assistance may be available to you through a nonprofit provider of a court program. If you are a victim of domestic abuse or threats as defined in Minnesota statutes, Chapter 518B, you are not required to try mediation and you will not be penalized by the Court in later proceedings. IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF THESE PROVISIONS, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS BY THE COURT. Date: 03/05/2018 Signed: Kulah D. Jarry

ViEw

NOTICE OF JUDICIAL SALE Pursuant to an Order of Sale entered in United States vs. Cynthia Aldrich, Individually and in the Capacity as Personal Representative for the Estate of Don C. Aldrich, deceased, et al., Civil Action No. 0:16-CV-00387-JNE-SER, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, the United States will offer for sale at public auction, to the highest bidder, according to law and pursuant to the terms and conditions set in herein, the property described below: Date:March 28, 2018 Time:10:00AM Sale Location:1146 14th Avenue, S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414. Title Offered:The property shall be offered for sale at public auction, free and clear of all liens and interests of the parties to this action. Description of Property:Single Family Residence with approximately 3 bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Property has an attic and an unfinished basement. Property address is 1146 14th Avenue, S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414. Property May Be Inspected at:Open House on March 27 from 1:00 to 4:00PM and on date of sale from 8:30 until 10:00AM Legal Description:Lots 22 and South ½ of 23, Block 2, Elwell’s Second Addition to Minneapolis. Minimum Bid:$80,000 Information about the sale:Please call Sara Wright at 865-274-7349 The Terms of Payment:See Below Form of Payment:All payments must be by Certified or Cashier’s Check made payable to the United States District Court of Minnesota. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE: No bid (except for bids made by the United States) shall be accepted by the IRS, unless the same is accompanied by a certified check or cashier’s check, in the minimum amount of $16,000.00 made payable to the United States District Court of Minnesota. Before being permitted to bid at the sale, all bidders shall display to the IRS proof that they are able comply with this requirement. No bids will be received from any person who has not presented proof that, if he or she is the successful bidder, he or she can make the deposit required by the Order. The successful bidder shall tender the balance of the purchase price, in certified funds payable to the United States District Court, at the office of the IRS on or before May 28, 2018. In the event the successful bidder defaults on any of the terms contained in the Order, the deposit shall be forfeited and retained by the IRS as part of the proceeds of sale, and the real property shall again be offered for sale, without further permission of the Court, under the terms and conditions of the Order, or, in the alternative the real property shall be sold to the second highest bidder. The United States may bid as a creditor against its judgments without tender of cash. The sale of the real property shall be subject to confirmation by the Court. Upon confirmation of the sale and receipt of the entire purchase price, the Court shall issue and the IRS shall deliver to the purchaser, a deed conveying the real property to the purchaser. Upon confirmation of the sale, all interests in, liens against, or claims to, the real property that are or may be asserted by any of the parties to this action are discharged and extinguished. The United States reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to withdraw the property from sale. ***IMPORTANT INFORMATION*** This is not an advertisement of a sale of administratively seized property. This is an information notice only regarding a sale being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service as a result of the foreclosure of an Internal Revenue Service Federal Tax Lien by the Department of Justice.

ning its propaganda,” especially during March Madness, Staurowsky stressed. “There will be a reckoning…in creating a 21st Century model for college sport and finally solving the inequities between coaches’ salaries and the value of the student-athlete,” she surmised. Both women predicted that the NCAA’s money-making house of cards built on the players’ backs will eventually come crashing down. “Even if one day they decide to pay the players, a lot of these [Black] kids [still] are not properly taken care of on these White campuses,” Shuck concluded. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

and endless contacts at the University of Minnesota, professionally in the NBA, New York, Chicago, the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings. They have used their devotion to community to grow the system and are being punished unfairly. What surprises me is how our community sits by and does nothing. Not yet a peep out of the Urban League or NAACP or Black Lives Matter. Lewis was placed on administrative leave two and half months ago for no reason and told not to talk publicly about it. He apparently reported that $400 was missing from a recent North sporting event. The virtually all-Caucasian Minneapolis Public Schools Board has used Keith Brooks to undermine the progress of both Lewis and Tucker. What these two men have done since 2014 is nothing short of a miracle. They’ve increased graduation rates for student athletes, increased community partnerships, grants and donations, plus seen to the remodeling of high school fitness centers. In 2015-16, how about 659 of 666 seniors who participated in Minneapolis athletics graduated. Longtime Southwest High School AD Ryan Lamberty was recently also placed on administrative leave. Apparently several Southwest Black students and parents accused him of inappropriate behavior and bias.

To place a classified ad or legal notice call:

612-827-4021

Tucker was not used to walk Lewis out the door. However, he was asked to deal with Lamberty. Tucker, sensing conflicting administration fairness, resigned two weeks ago. I’ve been told that this is the brainchild of two rogue school board members. Rebecca Gagnon and KerryJo Felder, using the delusional Brooks to do the dirty work. So far no due process and no follow-up from the union while the board forces Lewis to remain silent on their gag order. This is no more than a public lynching on the character of a Ph.D. – Dr. Lewis. Tucker left because he could smell a rat. We are being hoodwinked. The public schools system wants to give the appearance of fairness because Lamberty is White and Lewis is Black. The school district is allegedly $33 million in deficit for 2018-19. Seriously? Tucker and Lewis clearly don’t make that kind of money. This is nothing short of bush-league Minnesota Nice again. They are urinating on Lewis and Tucker while telling the public it’s raining. Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, on WDGY-AM 740 Monday-Friday at 12:17 pm and 4:17 pm, and at www.Gamedaygold. com. He also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Follow him on Twitter at FitzBeatSr. Larry welcomes reader responses to info@larry-fitzgerald.com, or visit www.LarryFitzgerald.com.

10

March 15-21, 2018

Controversy alive and well in Mpls Public Schools

T

here are problems in River City, and again, the source as always is education. The Minneapolis Public Schools District in recent years has seen an explosion of success, growth and positivity. Ninety-eight percent of student-athletes in Minneapolis public schools have been graduating. This has been led by the remarkable comeback of success at North High School. With state championships in both football and basketball, North’s student-athletes are beaming with confidence and success. Edison is also domi-

nating, winning girls’ track and field titles three years running. Brent McNeal is doing another solid job as athletic director. Years ago I remember a Black local politician saying, “That North High School should be burned down.” He was not re-elected, thank God. Two of the most successful, driven, educated and passionate people I know are North’s Athletics Director Dr. Leo Lewis and Minneapolis District Director Trent Tucker. Both have become targets of this foundation of abuse, bias and anger by leaders of the Minneapolis Public Schools system. Suddenly they want to change the so-called structure of leadership. Why? Because our kids are graduating and getting scholarships to college thanks to Tucker and Lewis, both educated and armed with athletic backgrounds ■ See Fitz on page 9

Fab Five prep stars of the week This week’s “Fab Five” photos feature five former metro area boys’ basketball players who played well this season in the Minnesota IntercolPreP Scene legiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), one of the top Dr. mitChell Division III leagues in the country. They include a Palmer mCDonalD former Mr. Basketball finalist who played in the MIAC tournament title game (Riley Dearring), a former all-conference performer who led his team to national ranking (Jubie Alade), a state champion who led his team to the MIAC championship (Harry Sonie), a former all-conference player who helped his team qualify for the MIAC tournament (Quinn Johnson), and another former state champion who helped his team reach the MIAC championship game (Bridgeport Tusler). Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mcdeezy05@ gmail.com. (pictured left) Senior guard Riley Dearring (Minnetonka), a Mr. Basketball finalist as a senior in 2013, averaged 11 points per game for Bethel. He played two years at Wisconsin and transferred to California StateFullerton before coming to Bethel.

Needed NCAA reforms appear unlikely soon ANOTHER

VIEW

It

Charles hallman

might be March Madness now, but it’s been non-stop madness for the past 12 months, from assistant coaches getting arrested and charged with bribery in a federal probe to a former team doctor sentenced to quadruple life sentences for sexual assaults against female gymnasts. NCAA President Mark Emmett last fall established a 14-member “Commission of College Basketball,” chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to look into schools’ relationships with apparel companies, the NCAA-NBA relationship, and other pertinent issues. They are expected to present their findings sometime next month. Two longtime advocates for college sport

(pictured above) Sophomore guard Jubie Alade (Robbinsdale Armstrong) averaged 11 points a game this season while leading St. John’s to the regular-season MIAC title and a national ranking and Division III NCAA tournament berth. He was named Sixth Man of the Year in the MIAC.

(pictured above) Junior guard Quinn Johnson (Roseville) started at point guard for Carleton College and led them through a run in the MIAC conference tournament. (pictured above) Senior guard Bridgeport Tusler (Osseo) averaged nine points a game as a point guard for Bethel University. He led his team to the Class 4A boys’ basketball championship as a junior in 2012. He transferred to Bethel from South Dakota State University. All photos by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald

reforms recently told the MSR in separate phone interviews that they aren’t optimistic about Emmett’s latest plan to supposedly clean up things. “The NCAA is the Teflon don. Nothing sticks to the NCAA,” declared Chicagobased Dr. Johari Shuck, who works with high school athletes and their parents in making the right college choices as they are being

■ See View on page 9

Sports odds and ends

Warriors’ sparkplug brings ‘emotional edge’ to team By Charles Hallman Senior Staff Writer Since the Golden State Warriors began their current winning ways in 2013, I try not to miss them whenever they are in town. I love watching the Warriors, the NBA’s assists leader (30.3 apg). They move the ball better than any other pro club. The last team I remember dishing the ball around so selflessly was the New York Knicks of the 1970s. I watch the Warriors not because of Steph Curry, whose stratospheric shooting range made him the first NBA player ever to hit at least 200 three-pointers in six consecutive seasons. Nor do I watch them for Curry’s backcourt mate Klay Thompson, who last week joined Curry with six straight 200 treys seasons. And not for Kevin Durant, who routinely scores 30 points or more.

“I try to be an all-around player.”

(pictured above) Senior guard Harry Sonie (Apple Valley), who led his team to the Class 4A state title in 2013, led Augsburg to the MIAC tourney championship. He was named to the All-MIAC Defensive Team.

Dr. Johari Shuck

recruited. She and Ray Jackson, one of the famed “Fab Five,” are co-hosting a podcast. “We are trying to connect sport with society in our culture using current issues,” she explained. “The NCAA hasn’t talked a whole lot after all these allegations and charges. I really don’t think that there’s going to be any repercussions besides the people who got caught,” Shuck stressed. “I honestly don’t see any widespread changes because of all the money that’s involved, and because of the race issue.” Speaking of race, are the four Black assistant coaches who once worked at Auburn, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Southern California sacrificial lambs for change? “It also seems like that’s the role for assistant coaches, to be scapegoats,” Shuck affirmed as she recalled past scandals at Louisville and Baylor. “You got to have the Black coach to take the heat when something comes down. That’s the blueprint.” “I have little confidence in the NCAA to

No, I watch the Warriors for just one player: Draymond Green, now in his sixth season, all with Golden State. Although a couple of generations apart, we both have similar ties: We both hail from Michigan (Green from Saginaw and this reporter from down south – Detroit). Both also are Michigan State alums. The 6’-7” forward in late February became the secondever NBA player to record the following career numbers: 4,000 points, 3,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists, 600 steals and 400 blocks in 450 or fewer games. Green did it in 449 career games. He led the Warriors in assists (seven) and steals (three) in a six-point loss Sunday against Minnesota, the team’s first defeat this season to the Wolves. Green – not Curry, Thompson or Durant – is the straw that stirs the Warriors. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year reminds me of Dennis Rodman (the Detroit Pistons’ Rodman, not the multi-color-haired, postPistons Rodman), who could guard all five positions – Green can do the same. Both players also can get on their opponents’ last nerves with their on-court antics as well. Many are bothered by Green’s behavior, but not this reporter. Yes, Green gets too many

Draymond Green

technicals (15), but he only has three more than Durant (12) and no one is calling KD too emotional. Some still blame him for the Warriors not winning the 2015-16 title because he sat out game six, having reached the technicals limit,

but few talk about how hard he played in the seventh and deciding game against Cleveland. When a reporter asked him, referring to the 15th technical he got last Friday, if this would make him change, the three-time All-Star promised, “No.” “He gives us our emotional edge,” Golden State Coach Steve Kerr told the MSR on ■ See SOe on page 9