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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934 June 25 - July 1, 2026
Vol. 92
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
No. 47
Elders reflect on struggle, survival and hope at Juneteenth brunch By Jasmine McBride Editor n Juneteenth, June 19, Black Lives Matter Minnesota gathered elders, advocates and community members for a morning brunch to honor those who have carried the movement, and to hear what they have seen, survived and still hope for. Among those honored was Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer in 2016. She received the “Celebrating Revolutionary Sistas” award and accepted it with characteristic directness. “I want to accept the award in honor of my son, because if he hadn’t been murdered, I don’t think I would be doing this
work,” Castile said. “He started of danger. “We have to do like our ancestors did,” she said. something that I continue.” Ten years after her son’s “We have to figure some stuff death, Castile has paid out out. No one is going to save roughly $350,000 toward us. We have to save ourselves.” Also honored was Jewschool lunch debt through her Philando Feeds the Children eliean Jackson, who received program, continuing the work the Juneteenth Legacy Award Philando did quietly every day as a founding mother of Juneas a school cafeteria worker, teenth in Minnesota. Jackson, learning every child’s name, who came to the state as one knowing every allergy, making of the first Black stewardesses at Northwest Airlines and is sure no child went hungry. “I didn’t know anything about approaching her 80th birthday, him paying for students’ lunch has spent decades as an eduout of his own pockets,” she cator and community builder, said. “But I felt like it was impor- and carries the title of Lifetime tant to continue that, because National Miss Kwanzaa. “I’ve been in the trenches our future is with our children.” Castile used her platform to for a long time, and I’m not sound an alarm about looming used to being recognized,” federal funding cuts she said Jackson said. “That’s not why will devastate community or- I do it, but when it comes, it ganizations that keep Black feels very good.” From left: Trahern Crews, Jeweliean Jackson, Valerie Castile, Toshira Garraway, Chauntyll Allen youth off the streets and out ■ See ELDER on page 5 Photo courtesy of Jasmine McBride/MSR
Minneapolis City Council votes on three measures affecting George Floyd Square
Black Men Teach celebrates fellows, calls for investment in Black male educators By Jasmine McBride Editor n June 20, Black Men Teach gathered educators, fellows, supporters and community members at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis for its annual Gold Star Gala.
An evening celebrating the Black male teachers working to transform Twin Cities classrooms and the young men being prepared to join them. The event raised funds for scholarships, home down payment assistance, student loan forgiveness support and professional development for
Photo courtesy of Izzy Canizares/MSR By Ella Stern Contributing Writer
unanimously to deny the special assessment for the street reconstruction at the interhe Minneapolis section. The change saves City Council voted community members from June 11 on three paying steep sums. Minneapolis city policy dicmeasures affecting George Floyd Square. The in- tates that whenever streets tersection of 38th Street and are reconstructed, property Chicago Avenue, renamed af- owners adjacent to the work ter police murdered George pay a tax known as a special Floyd there six years ago, is assessment. This money, paid undergoing construction and either at once or over 20 reimagining. Given its effect years, covers 4% of the projon an area of high emotional ect budget. Some homeowners near significance, the process has brought up a volley of debates. George Floyd Square told The council first voted Council Member Soren Ste-
venson that they had received a bill for around $6,500; some businesses were facing payments of over $40,000. “This is not a small chunk of change for the homeowner,” Stevenson said. “And it was really not a small chunk of change for the small, Blackowned businesses on 38th and Chicago that have been struggling for years as is. “This is a project that was billed as: ‘this is what the city is doing for the community to invest in a community after the murder of George Floyd,’” ■ See GEORGE on page 5 Markus Flynn, CEO
Photo courtesy of Black Men Teach
fellows pursuing careers in education. But beyond the fundraising, the gala was a statement about what is possible when Black men are supported, celebrated and given room to lead. “There’s no program, policy, or practice more influential to a Black student’s outcome than having a Black teacher,” said Markus Flynn, CEO of Black Men Teach. “Debating the benefit of Black teachers is like debating gravity. There’s no way you cannot.” Flynn pointed to research showing that Black students with Black teachers are more likely to go to college, less likely to drop out of high school, more likely to be identified for gifted programs and less likely to be suspended or expelled. For Flynn, the mission runs deeper than data. “I want to see Black boys grow into men,” he said. “I want them to have agency. I want to see them be in a position where they can be their whole selves and live full lives.” Among those celebrated at the gala were Keon Lewis and ■ See BLACK MEN on page 5
Stigma, misogynoir, and the burden of “going high” stand firmly on their own. But the attacks against her, especially the most recent demeaning smear from UFC fighter Josh Hokit, demand that we speak up because they are not isolated incidents. They are part of a longstanding pattern of stigma and misogynoir that Black women Sharon M. Holder, PhD have been forced to navigate Courtesy for generations. Let’s be clear: when Former By Sharon M. Holder, First Lady Michelle Obama PhD., MPhil., MSc., MSW is targeted, the harm does not land on her alone. It is a ormer First Lady Mi- wound felt by Black women chelle Obama does everywhere, because she emnot need defend- bodies so much of what we ing. Her brilliance, are told we cannot be: brilliant, her humanity, and her legacy visible, self-possessed, and Michelle Obama
unapologetically ourselves. An attack on her womanhood is an attack on ours, echoing the lifelong struggle to navigate a world where Black women are subjected to scrutiny, stigma and misogynoir. These assaults reverberate through our lives, reinforcing the constant questioning, the relentless demands and the added burdens we are expected to carry simply for daring to exist in spaces that were never designed for us. I have never met Former First Lady Michelle Obama. But as a Black woman and a behavioral health researcher who studies stigma, I recogRise First nize exactly what is happen-
ing here. What makes it even more troubling is that these attacks persist regardless of her extraordinary accomplishments: a lawyer, a leader in higher education and healthcare, a bestselling author, and the 44th first lady of the United States. The first African American woman to hold that role. Racism, discrimination and stigma are not just social slights; they are powerful mechanisms that mark certain groups as “less than,” “other,” or “unworthy.” They shape how people are treated, how institutions respond, and how individuals internalize the messages they receive. For ■ See STIGMA on page 5