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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934 March 5 - 11, 2026
HIGHLIGHTS
Vol. 92
“It feels like they are just coming after anyone who dares open their mouth,”
Rent Strike
HEALTH: Heart risks screening
Leaders from the Association of Black Cardiologists say Black Americans still die from heart disease at higher rates despite national declines, citing disparities in hypertension and access to care, and are expanding screenings and outreach to close the gap.
ARTS:
With Se’Anna Johnson
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
More arrests made in Cities Church demonstration; federal agents accused of excessive force
METRO:
As evictions surge in Minneapolis, residents are demanding a moratorium and threatening a rent strike, while some advocates warn that without rental aid, a pause could worsen debt.
No. 31
By Clint Combs Contributing Writer
ederal agents forced a Black English teacher to appear in federal court Feb. 27 wearing only his boxers after arresting him in North Minneapolis before dawn. This is one of several allegations of violent force from federal agents that emerged as Attorney General Pam Bondi announced new charges against 39 people under a law designed to protect abortion clinics. “Drew is an African American man, and they had him looking like he was escaping from a plantation, which is absolutely absurd,” said civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. Andrew Edwards, an English teacher, speaks to protesters Andrew Edwards, an Engoutside the Federal Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 27. lish teacher, told reporters he Clint Combs/MSR was given no opportunity to
dress before agents hauled him out of his home. “I heard some things outside of my window. So I approached the window, and I seen the officer’s gun, and the brother told me go to the door,” said Edwards. “They took me outside, and the brother started to pull out his Taser, like he was about to tase me.” Edwards was one of 19 people who appeared in court that Friday following early morning arrests. Detailed accounts of aggressive agents didn’t stop there. Armstrong and other defendants said federal agents rammed their vehicle of Thomas Tier twice during his arrest at 4:30 in the morning. “So one vehicle rammed his car from the front, one vehicle rammed his car from the back,” said Armstrong.
Agents also kicked in the doors of both Edwards and David Okar, a reporter who covers protests under the name Brixton Hughes. Armstrong said a neighbor repaired Okar’s door after the arrest. Okar is now the fourth journalist charged in the case, joining Georgia Fort, Don Lemon, and producer Jerome Richardson. Outside the courthouse, a jarring scene unfolded when Zak X arrived outside the St. Paul Courthouse Friday with mace. He was charged in December after photos emerged showing Zak wearing tactical gloves and punching protesters outside the Whipple Federal Building. Defendant Emily Phillips said she pleaded over her megaphone for federal agents inside the courthouse to intervene. ■ See ARREST on page 5
From slavery to ICE: How money shapes Minnesota’s moral battles By Damenica Ellis Staff Writer
of enslavers and enslaved people since the construction of Fort Snelling in the 1820s,” In 1860, Eliza Winston was said Dr. Christopher Lehman, freed from Mississippi slave a professor of social sciences owner Richard Christmas in at St. Cloud State University. a Minneapolis court after the “At this time, the U.S. Army alChristmases brought Winston lowed officers from Missouri on their vacation to Minneso- to bring one or two enslaved ta. According to the Library of people with them to the miliEconomics and Liberty, many tary installation.” “At the same time, residents white residents in the state were pro-slavery because of were conditioned to accept their economic benefit, even money from slaveholders,” though it was illegal. Winston’s Lehman said. Fur trading posts owned by case is one historical example of how economic arguments enslavers in St. Louis, Missouri, have long been used to deter- were linked economically to mine who is deemed worthy of Minnesota. The people who rights, from slavery in Minne- ran these fur trading posts, sota to contemporary deporta- including Henry Sibley, the first governor of Minnesota, tion enforcement. “Minnesotans were condi- and Henry Mower Rice, one tioned to accept the presence of the state’s first U.S. sena-
Meet Charlotte Ray, first licensed African American woman lawyer By Alex Nellis
ing injustice. They were active in the Underground Railroad, uring the 19th opening their home to African century, it was un- Americans escaping slavery. heard of for a Black Her father, a minister, devoted woman to become a his life to helping others. He worked with businesses lawyer. Charlotte Ray refused to let this stop her. In 1872, she be- and other ministers to assist came the first African American citizens affected by the New woman to be a licensed lawyer, York Draft Riots in 1863. Abrabreaking through countless bar- ham Lincoln had just signed riers. At the time, Black women the Emancipation Proclamawere usually not allowed to tion, freeing enslaved African attend college, most did not Americans. Many workinghave jobs, and no women were class white Americans feared permitted to take the bar exam. losing jobs to Black workers, Charlotte defied all these limi- sparking riots that killed thoutations, and her legacy contin- sands and displaced families. The empathy and courage ues to inspire today. Charlotte witnessed in her faCharlotte Ray, the first li- Charlotte’s interest in law ther inspired her commitment censed female African AmeriAs a child, Charlotte’s par- to justice. can lawyer. Charlotte’s parents also ents were passionate about African American Registry ending slavery and challeng- ■ See CHARLOTTE on page 5
tors, were paid by slaveholders for their work. In essence, the region’s early economy was intertwined with the institution of slavery, even as Minnesota itself was a free territory. In the 1850s, steamboat travel on the Mississippi River became increasingly popular. Because of this, residents in riverside towns of Minnesota began to make significant money from tourism. “In order to make southerners feel welcome, they have this unspoken arrangement at first, which is that whatever enslaved people the tourists bring with them, Minnesotans won’t pressure them to set them free,” Lehman said. “Even though Minnesota’s a free territory at first.” ■ See FIRST on page 5
Eliza Winston was freed in a Minneapolis courtroom in 1860 after being brought to Minnesota by her Mississippi enslaver. An early example of how economic interests shaped moral decisions in the state. Open Rivers Journal
“Unbought and Unbossed:” Shiley Chisholm’s legacy of courage and change By Alex Mason Analysis ome leaders wait for the right moment to step forward; Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm spent her life creating those moments herself. Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born in Brooklyn in 1924, the daughter of CaribbeShirley Chisholm (1924–2005) an immigrants from Barbados was the first Black woman and Guyana. Much of her childelected to Congress and the first hood was spent in Barbados woman and Black candidate for with her grandmother, where a major-party presidential nomi- she experienced a strict educanation. Her slogan, “Unbought tion system that emphasized and Unbossed,” reflected a life- discipline, grammar, and public time of breaking barriers and speaking. She later said those speaking truth to power. early years shaped her confiPublic Domain dence more than anything else.
When she returned to New York, she attended public schools and quickly stood out as a strong debater and speaker. She earned a degree from Brooklyn College in 1946 and later completed a master’s degree in early childhood education at Columbia University. Before entering politics, she worked as a nursery school teacher, an education consultant, and the director of several childcare centers. This work gave her an inside look at the ways American institutions functioned, knowledge that would serve her well in her future political career. Chisholm got into politics through community organizing ■ See SHIRLEY on page 5