Insight News ::: 1.2.12

Happy New Year!

With gratitude and appreciation, the Insight News family thanks its loyal readers for the continued support.

We look forward to providing you with 52 more weeks of information, inspiration and instruction in 2012.

INSIGHT NEWS January 2 - January 8, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 38 No. 1 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

Excerpts from a Conversations with Al McFarlane broadcast interview on KFAI FM 90.3, Tuesday, December 6. 2011. Sondra Samuels is Chief Executive Officer of Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), a project recently awarded a multi-year federal grant for $28 million to create better education outcomes for children in a 18 by 13 block area of North Minneapolis. The interview included Hennepin County Attorney, Michael Freeman and manager of the county’s Be at School program, Tamiko Thomas, and St. Paul City Council Member Melvin Carter III. The Freeman/ Thomas interview appears in Insight News next week, followed by the Melvin Carter interview in two weeks. The entire interview is available immediately online at www.insightnews.com.

I

am tired of burying our babies, putting them in jail. We have the cradle-to-prison pipeline that is a real pipeline in too many cities across the country. It is really about Brown and Black boys. If you line up three African American boys born after 2001, one will go to jail in his lifetime. And if you look at the educational attainment, education is all wrapped up in there, you will find that it is very poor.

The cradle-to-case load pipeline is really about Brown and Black girls. If you line up two Black girls who are teenagers in a home that is receiving welfare, one of the two will go on welfare in her lifetime, statistics show.

But we know the answer.

There is a solution.

Pictured: NAZ CEO Sondra Samuels with a NAZ baby at Family Academy graduation

The Promise

PROMISE TURN TO 3 Photo: Northside Achievement Zone

GOP Representative offensive in rant against First Lady’s Healthy Food Initiative Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper First Lady Michelle Obama’s physical dimensions were the target of criticism by a Wisconsin Republican recently who criticized the First Lady’s Healthy Food Initiative as unwarranted government intrusion.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) issued an apology to the First Lady Dec. 22 in a handwritten note.

The congressman’s spokeswoman declined to detail what the note said.

Sensenbrenner was apologizing for saying Obama has a “big butt” Dec. 10 at a Wisconsin church bazaar, then repeating the reference to her posterior in a cellphone conversation that was overheard in a Washington area airport.

“I regret my inappropriate comment and I have sent a personal note to the First Lady apologizing,” Sensenbrenner said in a statement Dec. 22.

“She lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself,” Sensenbrenner was heard to say Dec. 21 in a Ronald Reagan-National Airport

First Lady Michelle Obama

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)

passenger lounge in what was described in FishBowlDC as a “very loud” cellphone conversation.

At the church bazaar the outspoken GOP lawmaker, speaking to a group of church members, criticized her initiative on healthy food and exercise, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

He railed against the First Lady’s healthy foods initiative when talking about projects by other First Ladies. “And Michelle Obama, her project is obesity. And look at her big butt,” one female church member who was present during

the apparently spontaneous comments told the JournalSentinel.

He said it is hypocritical of the First Lady to push healthy eating and exercise at the same time hamburgers and fries are served at the White House.

Sensenbrenner’s rant echoes commentary by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh who singled out the First Lady’s physical dimensions in criticizing her for traveling the country with her message about healthy eating, encouraging grocers to locate in

OBAMA TURN TO 6

Black consumers top technology purchasers Dissecting Diversity

By Cheryl Pearson-McNeil The countdown is on. As we welcome a brand new shiny year, I’ve already been

pouring through the magazine articles that promise me, “A New Year, A New You!” Here we go – again. Last year I was convinced that if Jennifer Hudson could lose weight through Weight Watchers, then I could too. And of course, there was an “app” to help me with that. I am not alone in my quest to find a quick way to a new and improved way of life – via my smartphone, according to a recent Nielsen

study.

The State of the Media: The Mobile Media Report, the latest of Nielsen’s ongoing smartphone analytics research, tells us nearly half of all American mobile consumers (44%) now own a smartphone.

Plus, Nielsen’s recently released State of the AfricanAmerican Consumer Report, confirms 44% of all new mobile phones purchased by Blacks are smartphones, so

that now 33%, or a whopping 14 million, of us own one.

Smartphones are those handheld mobile devices that allow us to make and receive phone calls, emails, surf the web and perform a host of other activities, depending on just how “smart” of a model you own. Regardless of the model you choose, Nielsen knows that more Blacks prefer an Android (37%) or RIM Blackberry (30%) than

Hickman championed quality of life Twin Cities celebrated the life and legacy of Patricia Ellen Frazier Hickman, December 17 in funeral services at Emmanuel Tabernacle, Church of God-InChrist, in Minneapolis.

In a ceremony themed, “We’ve still got so much work to do,” it was suggest that Hickman’s true cause of death might have been “heartbreak” over the level of disintegration and dysfunction that threatens our community, seeking to cripple the warrior spirit that

Courtesy of the family

Patricia Ellen Hickman

Education

Culturally specific educational programming works for Black children

PAGE 4

has been the cornerstone of our survival and advancement.

Patricia Hickman was born on January 16, 1941 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Her parents Arthur and Jean Frazier had seven children. She was the only daughter. The Frazier family relocated to Minneapolis in 1942, establishing residences over the years in both North Minneapolis and South Minneapolis. At age 16 Hickman moved to Chicago to

Aesthetics Tonia Hughes sparkles in Cinderella

PAGE 5

the 16% of us who choose an Apple iOS, otherwise known as the iPhone. Regardless of the model, we can download diet plans and fitness apps with virtual trainers for practically pennies. Apps are also available to help with other popular resolutions (and pretty much anything else that might tickle your fancy) like getting organized, spending less to save more, learning something new, etc.

And since my quest to be slim like Jennifer did not make it past February 1 in 2011, I decided to get a head start on things this year. Like a zealot on a mission, I spent the entire day after Christmas downloading new and improved apps in preparation for 2012. I have my “to-do list” app all ready to go and my “new goals” app is synced

TECH TURN TO 6

Dora C. Buckner February 24, 1937 – December 18, 2011

care for her mother.

Upon returning to Minneapolis, Hickman studied textile and visual arts, while modeling for the Horst Institute. She became a master seamstress. An active member of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, she also became one of the first from our community to serve as Minneapolis Aquatennial

Dora Cuff Buckner, 74, a lifelong resident of North Minneapolis, died December 18 2011.

A scholarship fund in her name has been established for college-bound North High School students. Checks should be sent to the Dora C. Buckner Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Friends of North Foundation, 1500 James Ave N Minneapolis, Minnesota 55411 Courtesy of the family

HICKMAN TURN TO 12

Dora C. Buckner

The Voices of Our Time

2012 Minnesota African American Heritage Calendar

PAGE 8

BUCKNER TURN TO 12

Full Circle

All things begin and end with you

PAGE 9

Page 2 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

COMMENTARY

Remembering a poor baby Child Watch

By Marian Wright Edelman When Britany Lewis was born, no trumpets and glad tidings or even balloons and baby showers greeted her arrival. She was just another poor baby. Britany never knew her father, and for the first six years of her life lived in virtual squalor with five siblings and a mother addicted to drugs who eventually went to prison. Britany barely remembers her, though there are some details of her early childhood that do stand out—like the maggots everywhere in their run-down house, even in the

refrigerator.

When Britany was six, her then nineteen-year-old sister was awarded custody of her young siblings. But her sister was hardly prepared to be a parent or provider for her younger sisters and brothers, and the family was forced to live for over a year in a two-door Honda Prelude. The deplorable living conditions and lack of parental guidance caused Britany to miss an entire year of school. No one cared enough to notice or do anything about it. Her sister also began a destructive pattern of physical abuse toward Britany that would last for several years. Once, she dealt a devastating blow that forced Britany to miss two days of school while she nursed a black eye. Britany remembers that the physical pain paled in comparison to the disappointment of tarnishing the perfect attendance record

she’d built up and determinedly maintained for several years in a row in the midst of the chaos at home. By then, school had become a refuge.

While millions of children have found safe harbor with relatives, Britany did not until she was 16. Her sister kicked her out and left her then in the care of her grandparents. In this current home Britany has finally found the love, support, and guidance she needs and deserves. Despite the abandonment, homelessness, and physical abuse that permeated her childhood, Britany managed to stand tall against the odds that constantly threatened to destroy her dreams. Now a high school senior, she has a 3.94 GPA and is, according to her guidance counselor, “a proven force” on her high school campus. Britany serves as Associated Student Body President and is a vigilant

community leader in programs such as the Youth CommissionCity of Lancaster, California and the Teen Builders Community Service Club. Selected as a “Future Leader” by the Valley Press Newspaper, Brittany believes “I overcame the things from my past because I refuse to let them hold me back. My plan is to continue to do my best in school and help others along the way.”

Britany is now also one of the newest winners of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Beat the Odds® awards program, which recognizes outstanding high school students who have overcome incredible adversity to excel in school and display incredible self-determination and a drive toward achievement through the common thread of hard work, academic excellence, and service to their communities.

On December 1, celebrities and child advocates joined CDF’s California office at an awards gala honoring Britany and four other extraordinary high school students from the Los Angeles area. Each of them will receive a $10,000 college scholarship and support services including rigorous SAT prep, one-on-one college counseling, state-wide college tours, internship opportunities, educational and life-skills workshops, and guidance and mentoring throughout the high school and college years.

I am so proud of Britany Lewis and the other youths recognized in Beat the Odds awards programs in eight cities this year. But how many more of America’s 16.4 million poor children will never beat the odds stacked against them and grow up to reach their full potential the way she has? How many millions of Britanys have

we already lost? How many poor babies were born today who will never win any awards and whose names we’ll never know—but who will instead grow up hungry, homeless, poorly educated, and unloved on the outskirts of the American dream?

In the afterglow of Christmas when Christians celebrate the birth of the most famous poor baby in history—the miracle of the incarnation and the belief that God actually came to live among us as a poor, homeless child—I hope we can honor this holy baby in our lives today by raising a mighty voice for justice and protection for all the poor babies and children made in God’s image still left behind in poverty and hopelessness.

hand in extending tax cuts and unemployment insurance for two more months. Boehner and his Tea Party colleagues were insisting on a one-year deal, but the Senate had passed a two month deal because they could only identify enough funds to pay for two months of extension. Senate Democrats and Republicans had agreed to come back and find money for the rest of the year, but the House drew a hard line that they eventually had to soften. Bottom line – President Obama went to Hawaii to celebrate Christmas with a victory under his belt. House Speaker John Boehner went home with a lump of coal in his stocking.

I am not gloating on the President’s behalf. When folks come back in January, there will be a rough row to hoe. Boehner is probably angry, and he is

certainly embarrassed, and that won’t incent him to compromise as Congress grapples with ways to keep the extension alive. At the same time, so many are so critical of President Obama that I want to pause to give due where due is due. In other words, all of the people who have talked about ways he has betrayed the working class should just stop for a minute and say, “he pulled this one through”.

The stakes were high. 160 million people would have seen their January paychecks drop.

For some $40 or so might not make much of a difference. For others, it is a matter of survival.

Additionally, some whose unemployment benefits were expiring wouldn’t see a check at all come February. Now, they are protected, at least for a couple of

months. President Obama was right to stand firm. And he ought to be celebrated for it.

Too often, to be sure, our President has seemed to choose compromise over principle. With so many Americans out of work, and with us not quite out of the woods on the recession (we desperately need people to spend money to make our economy hum), this time he simply stuck to principle. It’s a good thing, and it is something to celebrate. As the stalemate between Congress and the President went on, we say the American people saying the same thing. President Obama’s approval ratings began to tick up, while Congress had an approval rating of something under 10 percent.

The visuals were also telling.

Congressional Republicans ran

out of Washington like rats leaving a sinking ship. They were going home for Christmas, resolution or not. They left Boehner and a handful of aides to try to work something out. There was an interesting pictorial contrast – at the beginning of last week, there stood Boehner, surrounded by a coterie of Congressional representatives, sounding and seeming firm and saying they would not compromise.

At the end of the week, there was Boehner, all alone at the mike, surrounded by no one, conceding to President Obama.

While Republicans were racing home, President Obama said he would not leave Washington until there was a deal. He sent his family to Hawaii ahead of him. He hunkered down.

And he won.

To be sure, this is a small victory. There ought not be dancing in the streets, nor firecrackers at dawn. But it is an opportunity to give due where due is due, to hope that President Obama’s New Year’s resolution is “more of the same”. Despite the data that suggest that we are creating more jobs, and the data that suggest that recovery is around the corner, the reality is that millions are stuck in the economic periphery and even two months of relief will help them.

Now, the challenge will be to make these extensions last a full year.

Marian Wright Edelman is the President of the Children’s Defense Fund

Due where due is due Opinion

By Julianne Malveaux I had an elderly relative who used to say, “We have to give due where due is due”. Of course she meant “credit where credit is due”, but she was so old and so engaging, that instead of ever correcting her, I often imitated her mangled remark. I thought of her last week when President Obama, standing firm, backed House Speaker John Boehner (R-xxx) into a corner and essentially forced his

Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

insightnews.com

Insight News • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Page 3

Legacy institutions collaborate Turning Point and African American Family Services (AAFS) recently announced the agencies are partnering in response to the Department of Human Services (DHS) Alcohol and Drug Abuse’s (ADAD) Request for Proposal to provide culturally based chemical dependency early intervention and recovery

support services.

“The collaboration makes it convenient, easy for our agencies to give our clients every thing they need to get well,” said T.J. Ticey, Interim Executive Director, AAFS. “Our clients wll have the chance to go to one place to get all the services they need. “ “This is a ‘Yes, We Can,’

moment for our community and our families,” Ticey said.

Community elders praised the announcement saying the collaboration is consistent with the legacy of leadership, service and innovation Turning Point and African American Family Services represent.

Together, the two agencies represent over 70

years of principled, bestpractices driven services to African American families and individuals. Observers say while White community owned and led social service organizations are finally beginning to hire African American professionals , presumably to go after what they may see as “growth

Promise From 1 We can create an alternative pipeline. It is the cradle-tocollege-to-career pipeline that can be done, that is being done.

And if there is any place that can do it really well, it is Minnesota and it is Minneapolis and Saint Paul. So I am excited about the work that is being done.

With the Northside Achievement Zone, we have been doing this holistic, collaborative approach. About 50 organizations and schools came together about three years ago and heard about the Harlem Children’s Zone and called the question: Could we have this place-based approach in which families, communities, schools and policy makers, all come together around our children? Could we do it on our watch and change the trajectory?

African American and kids of color are the canaries in the mine.

If we talk about our students overall in America compared internationally not doing well, then drill down and disaggregate the data, kids of color are really not doing well.

We are made whole when we adults in the community do our job. So what we have done is establish 18 x 13 block area in North Minneapolis where 50–60 organizations and schools have said children in this area will have a culture of achievement and will graduate high school college-ready.

We have NAZ connectors “Northside Achievement Zone” connectors who are adults from the community who partner with families. They are not saving families. They are not service providers on steroids. They are

Photos: Northside Achievement Zone

Avis and her dad, Greg, enjoy a storyteller at the Family Night Holiday Party partnering with families who themselves have a vision and a dream for their children. They work with the families to create achievement plans. Then, based on those achievement plans, the whole family is connected with partner resources. We actually have placed about 15 families in housing who would otherwise be homeless, so that they can focus on their children’s education.

We help them develop career and financial pathways that lead to jobs and financial literacy… so they can qualify for some of the housing. We are identifying impediments to families doing what they actually want to do for their children. So we are bundling housing, career financial pathways, behavioral and mental health access and other resources

that support families in creating achievement plans, tapping into an education pipeline that is all the way from womb to work.

Early childhood providers have come together and they have formed a NAZ action team.

Our goal is that every child has high quality education because the achievement gap is really a bunch of gaps in one. It is a preparation gap, it is a teaching gap.

W. E. B. Du Bois talked about the “Talented Tenth” and what they needed to give back to the community. I subscribe to the “Talented Tenth” in that those of us who are already believers have to hold the dream for those who don’t yet believe and kind of usher in that era where our whole community believes that

BAP computer centers put the power of the Internet to work for you Free computer centers • Comfortable and friendly • 12 Twin Cities locations University of Minnesota Broadband Access Project (BAP) computer centers offer free computer training in comfortable and friendly settings.

Beginners can learn computer basics as well as how to access the Internet for job search, medical records, and everyday needs... plus use email and social media, build web sites, and create documents.

If you already have computer experience, BAP offers state-of-the-art equipment and free computer access—with no time limit.

Call 612-625-BAP1 to find a center near you or visit www.bap.umn.edu/centers.

BAP partners: Asian Community Technology Center | Centro | Hmong American Partnership Lifetrack Resources | Minneapolis Public Housing Glendale | Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center | Patchwork Quilt | Phyllis Wheatley Community Center Project for Pride in Living Sabathani Community Center | U of M UROC | YWCA Saint Paul The Broadband Access Project is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium, and 11 community partners to bridge the digital divide in underserved urban communities. Based at the University's Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, the BAP operates 12 computer centers in federally designated poverty zones across the Twin Cities. The BAP is funded in part by a $2.9M stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce (Award #27-42-B10003) through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. More information: www.bap.umn.edu.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

absolutely every single one of our children can and will graduate from college.

I am really seeing that in the zone in North Minneapolis right now. We have about a 140 families that if you talked to them today they would say we are “Northside Achievement Zone” families. We have a NAZ connector who works with me weekly. We are being directed to opportunities and services within the zone. We are getting help with engaging with our children’s schools. We are getting all that we need.

The way it started was that we door-knocked the whole zone of 18 x 13 blocks, 5000 households.

What we were asking everybody is, “Do you want your child to do better than you have?”

markets, “ hiring a Black staff person alone does not equal cultural competency.

The Turning Point/ AAFS collaboration reflects a long-standing relationship between these agencies that encompasses several decades of service by their founders, Dr. Peter Hayden and Peter Bell. The proposed

collaboration seeks to combine limited resources to address the disparities in treatment options that African Americans face in Minnesota. The collaboration will address the unique cultural needs of African Americans.

This will be a true . we intend to get the money.

Who does it better..tp will incorporate the circkle.

Unequivocally they said “Yes.” We asked, “Could you use someone to have your back to make that happen?” They all said, “Yes.” I mean guys that we were talking to Al, you would probably think that you might have to call the cops on them later. But not only did many of them say yes, we finally have our system in place. It has taken us a year and a half to really get solid and we are still flying the plane while we are building it. But now we have 140 families who are showing up. We have something called Family Academy, an early childhood program. It is a parenting education program. Minneapolis currently has an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) program for example and we know that part of the achievement gap is the preparation gap. Our children disproportionately are not showing up at kindergarten ready to learn.

Minneapolis offers ECFE free to residents but so often you don’t see indigenous African American, low income, residents attending those programs. So with Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, who is a great superintendent with foresight, we all came together and created NAZ Family Academy. So it is a partnership of Northside Achievement Zone, Minneapolis Public Schools and Youth Coordinating Board.

Our staff of six full-time NAZ connectors is all African American, with half being males who are talking to other brothers about coming to support their children in the early childhood program right. The men come to receive training 12 weekends in a row. We are about to have our 3rd graduating class. They get just $200 for the whole program. So

that is less than $10 a week for getting up Saturday morning and coming out in the snow to 4 hour classes where they learn about brain development, positive discipline, the importance of reading to your child.

Our NAZ connectors, young brothers, can talk to the other young fathers. I have a 16-yearold father right now Al who for 10 weeks has been showing up to find out how to be a good father to his baby because his father wasn’t there. So we get there and the guys are looking cool, but they learn the importance of “doing hokey pokey” and how to play with their child to connect those brain synapses. They do it and they do it week after week after week and then they say ‘okay what is next?’ And this is the thing about holding their belief for them. So we said could you use somebody having your back, we are guaranteeing that if you stick with us and you stay in our pipeline that there is no way your child can fail because you have a viral village behind you.

They can’t fail.

So what we do with the babies is we put stickers on them every week, not just their names but the year they are graduating, the year they are graduating college. Our youngest will graduate in 2035.

So every week they are coming and they are known as Darryl 2035, and Janai 2034, the year they will be graduating from college. The parents are talking that way now.

Next week: Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Be At School manager, Tamiko Thomas talk about the County’s role in reducing truancy so kids stay in classrooms where they can learn.

Page 4 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

EDUCATION Culturally specific educational programming works for Black children Something most African Americans who have children in school, ages 5-18, know, is the term, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The reason they should know this phrase is because most public schools across the nation, who educate African American youth do not reach it. AYP is the method the federal government uses to measure accountability for each school’s attempt to educate its students through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. NCLB is a federal law that says public school students, which include charter schools, must be 100 percent competent in reading and mathematics by 2014. In Minnesota, the test that determines children’s success or failure is the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment or

Students at WE WIN Institute

Courtesy of WE WIN Insititute

MCA. For schools that do not make AYP, families have the right to ask for additional support for their child by getting a tutor.

Families must be low income to qualify for NCLB services, which is determined through free and reduced lunch.

In the ten years since the NCLB Act was enacted, it has been plagued with problems; most noted, the charge that it causes school districts to “teach to the test,” rather than real learning going on. Yet throughout the ups and downs of NCLB, the shining star has been its tutoring component. For the African American communities, it has allowed high quality culturally specific programs such as Network for the Development of Children of African Descent

(NdCAD), WE WIN Institute, and the YWCA of St. Paul, to assist in raising test scores while simultaneously teaching African American children about their rich culture and history. All 3 organizations have proven overwhelmingly that through culturally specific programming, Black children can and will succeed. Their culturally specific programming approach includes teaching children about their rich African and African American history, and demonstrating that African people have been in the leadership of success for humanity including leading the world in education, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, science,

CULTURE TURN TO 11

The perils of leadership in higher education Commentary

By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor

For the last few months, we have been inundated by scandals at universities that range from allegations of child abuse and molestation to deadly hazing rituals. In each case, the president of the institution has come under tremendous criticism and fire for failing to act, even when it’s not clear that they were aware of the incidents. In two instances, the president has been terminated

(Penn State) or asked to resign or “step aside” (FAMU). And while it is true that the buck literally stops with the president of a college or university, the circumstances are not nearly as black and white as they are sometimes portrayed.

As the former president of a university, I would like to suggest a little “presidential compassion” in the face of these erupting scandals for those who are leading

institutions that can range in size from several hundred students to several thousand, and who are responsible for staffs of a few hundred up to over a thousand.

In such organizational giants, a university president relies upon competent staff to be responsible for their units and keep them informed.

However, if you don’t get to choose those staffs, you’re stuck with the “X” factor

or unknown quantities—and too often when we take these leadership positions, there are individuals with whom we are saddled that come with what I call a “Board of Trustee immunity card;” we are not permitted to terminate them—regardless of their competencies or the professional chemistry between these individuals and the sitting CEO.

Presidents also rely upon members of its Board of Trustees to keep them fully informed, and to disclose any information (preferably before the contract is signed) that may pose potential harm to the institution or embarrassment to the new president. Yet, too often, some BOT members are gatekeepers

LEADERSHIP TURN TO 12

Redefined high school for pregnant and parenting mothers What’s happening at the Longfellow School Site?

August has come and gone and the doors are once again open at the Longfellow Building at 3017 East 31st Street in South Minneapolis.

Presently housed in this unique and lovely complex is a growing and wonderful program for pregnant and parenting mothers. These female high school students are earning credit while continuing to balance motherhood, study and often

work.

As young mothers they are motivated to learn and problem solve as well as balance the every day challenges in their and their children’s lives.

Now that this creative alternative high school is redefined and housed in the Longfellow building, the staff and students have been in discussion about having a new name to title the program.

The Longfellow building name would not be changed

Opal Ehalt, TOSA/IF

(Left-right) Tatianna Carpenter, Darryanna Williams, Jocelyn Gums, and Larencia Bigbear

but the High School program within would.

The staff and students have come up with some initial ideas that mostly focus on honoring women in history.

The school is asking for community input in the renaming of the program.

In recent years the program was housed at the Broadway site in north Minneapolis, and for a brief year at North High. In the early years the high school took on the name of Broadway High School because of its location. The school is now

looking to have a unique name that represents their endeavors while not being described under a specific buildings name, such as Broadway, North or Longfellow.

If you have suggestions or would like to get engaged in the discussion on what to name this fantastic program, please call directly to the school office at 612668-4700. Feel free to give them your ideas or you could support them by volunteering your time for a roundtable discussion.

insightnews.com

Insight News • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Page 5

AESTHETICS Tonia Hughes sparkles in Cinderella

By Alaina L. Lewis Contributing Writer If it is in fact how we react to life’s most challenging experiences that make us who we are, than singer/actress Tonia Hughes is definitely one of the rarest of diamonds. Hughes, who can currently be seen performing as the Fairy Godmother in the Ordway Theater’s production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” (December 13, 2011 – January 1, 2012) has always been center stage in life, but she wasn’t always viewing it through the veil of the proverbial fairytale.

Her past is quilted in both love and loss; she’s endured some very difficult challenges. But through it all, Hughes can truly say that she’s coursed through every hour triumphantly— all thanks to God. In 1995 when Hughes first touched down in Minneapolis, she was determined to put her love for singing in motion; she quickly joined a local gospel group. She found success within this venture, but it wasn’t long before she would experience one of her biggest challenges. In 2001 she lost her husband, David Hughes to a medical condition called cardiomyopathy. She found herself widowed with children, and no idea how to get through tomorrow, yet she remained faithful in God and continued to believe in his promise.

“Losing my husband was hard. The hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” Hughes says. “I could’ve done nothing with my life after that, but I believe that in order to move forward you have to get control of your mindset.

You really have to know that your past doesn’t define who you are.

You need to keep the faith in God and have tenacity. With him you can make it through anything.”

Keeping tight to her faith is exactly what she did.

In 2003, Hughes received a

Tonia Hughes call from the well respected actor T Mychael Rambo who asked her to audition for a role in his Penumbra Theater’s production of Black Nativity. Hughes landed a part in the ensemble for the holiday show, which quickly lead her to participate in other theatrical productions thereafter, one of which was in the Guthrie Theater’s “Caroline or Change.”

During this time period, she also branched out into a solo career as a singer and has since put out two albums.

Seeing the steady progression in her career has allowed Hughes to measure how far her faith continues to carry her. In a million years I’m sure she never expected to play a black Fairy

Ryan Jones

Godmother in a production of Cinderella, but here she is, performing in the biggest show of her life.

“It’s so amazing being at the Ordway. This is the biggest production I’ve ever done and when I found out I’d gotten the part, I was in awe. When I think about the fact that I’m playing an African American Fairy Godmother, it’s almost surreal.”

Hughes shares. “This particular production started in the 1950’s – Rodgers and Hammerstein developed this. Back then it was an all white production and an all white cast. Years ago, we didn’t have these opportunities to play in these shows, so to be at the Ordway as apart of

this production and in this role, I’m honored. I believe this was definitely a divine appointment from God. I believe that God is enlarging my territory as well as my audience from primarily reaching the African American community, to having the opportunity to reach everyone.”

Hughes’ journey through life, music, and theater is definitely one to be admired and offers a rewarding angle to everyone who meets their fears and challenges head on. Although she plays the Fairy Godmother in the production, you can easily see that Hughes can also wedge her journey into the glass slippers of Cinderella’s story too; a story she thinks women all of the world can relate too.

“Yes I play the Fairy Godmother, and that actually does mirror my life in many ways, but the actual love story of Cinderella mirrors my love story now. My husband, Brian Kendrick— there’s no words to express the kind of man that he is.

He’s a great father, husband, and we have so much in common. We both love God and our families.

God sent him. A lot of people say that I’m lucky because God sent me two wonderful husbands, and he definitely did. But Brian has been such a tremendous part of who I am now. So that love story of Cinderella definitely does remind me of me and my boo.”

Hughes states. “But this story doesn’t have to only be mine.

In order to find the Cinderella in all of us, we have to face and get over our fears. Fear can and will paralyze you. One thing I do every night before I go on stage is quote one of my favorite scriptures. I have to do it in order to face the 2,000 + people that come to the show every night. ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.’ I’m facing this obstacle that wants to keep me bound and paralyze me.

Saying this helps me get over everything.”

For more information on

Tonia Hughes please visit: www.ToniaHughes.com For more information on the Ordway Theaters presents

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, please visit: www. ordway.org

Page 6 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Decisions create a “prisoner class” of our young folks Nobody Asked Me

By Fred Easter Nobody asked me, but, if they had, I wouldn’t have been able to offer a sensible rationale for The United Way’s decision to withdraw support for youth

recreation in our communities.

I have seen what opportunities exist in suburban communities; for kids of all ages. They’ve gone over the top for their own.

I have four grandchildren who live in Eden Prairie.

They are twin boys, 14, and girls 12 and 8. The youngest girl competes in baseball, basketball and swimming.

The eldest girl plays baseball, volleyball and basketball. The twins have played football, basketball, baseball and track.

“... the way to healthy, engaged youth is through athletics and physical activity.”

Imagine, two to three coaches per football team from 3rd grade to High School.

Game officials decked out like NFL refs. Some games are

even played under the lights.

Imagine track meets with timing devices for each lane.

Imagine 2nd graders coached to perfect four strokes for

swimming competitions.

Is it any surprise that Black youngsters are 3 times more likely to die from drowning than their white counterparts?

Some key benefits of youth competition are: 1.

The opportunity youngsters would have to develop a positive self image without a gun in their belt.

2. The opportunity young folk would have to develop a respect for rules, teamwork, and properly channeled aggression.

3. The opportunity our community would have to expose our youth to a wide variety of positive mentors.

I am convinced that the way to healthy, engaged youth is through athletics and physical activity. Sports, dance and other performing arts have the capacity to motivate and inspire young people and build a community’s self esteem as well. Defunding these activities was the first step in creating a “prisoner class” of our young folk.

Bringing joy and success into 2012 Joy and Success

By Oshana Himot The end of the year is a wonderful time to plan for the New Year. Starting now, we

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests.

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Vice President of Sales & Marketing Selene White Culture and Education Editor Irma McClaurin Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Andrew Notsch Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Contributing Writers Maya Beecham Brenda Colston Julie Desmond Fred Easter S. Himie Oshana Himot Timothy Houston Marcia Humphrey Alaina L. Lewis Lydia Schwartz Stacey Taylor Photography Suluki Fardan Tobechi Tobechukwu Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55411.

add momentum to our goals.

Here are a few simple ways to bring joy and success into 2012.

Create An Ideal Statement An Ideal Statement describes that which you would like to accomplish in its ideal form.

For example, let’s take a business goal to increase your revenue in the New Year. Your Ideal Statement could read: “The income in my business

grows from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 by marketing to new groups of people who purchase and benefit from our products.”

Once you have the Ideal Statement, you can write down specific action steps to achieve this goal. An Ideal Statement can be written for every area of your life and work.

Create Momentum Once you have written Ideal

Statements, divide the New Year into quarters and write down the areas of your life and work you will focus on during each quarter. Create action steps for each project and refine them daily. This creates momentum because it enables you to be consistent in achieving your goals.

Develop Joy Developing joy assists you to accomplish your goals because

when you are happy, it is easier to make positive decisions for your life and work. Joy also fosters healthy relationships and a state of wellbeing. Here are a few ideas to assist you in creating more joy in your life and work.

Make a list of the activities in your life and work that bring you the greatest joy. Ask yourself these questions: Which of these would I like to develop in the New Year?

What will I change or organize differently to accomplish this?

Which of these will I develop in the first quarter of the year?

How will I begin?

The month of December is a perfect time to begin to create joy and success for the New Year. Begin working on your goals and action steps now and

Obama From 1 underserved communities--http:// www.afro.com/sections/news/ health/story.htm?storyid=71901-and urging the reversal of the nation’s growing obesity problem in Let’s Move!huH, an exercise program aimed at children.

“The problem is, and dare I say this, it doesn’t look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice...I’m trying to say that our First Lady

Tech From 1 with my Outlook calendar and this time I’m entering the year of new possibilities armed with a “personal trainer” app and even a “101 Ways to Be Healthy” app! Couple those with the apps I have to stay abreast of my financial situation and those that keep my wardrobe organized, and my home redecorating projects coordinated for a total of 49 apps (including those that come with the phone). According to Nielsen, I’m over-indexing on the apps things, since most smartphone app downloaders report having an average of 33 apps on their mobile phone (Apple iPhone app downloaders have an average of 44 apps, while those with Android smartphones have an average of 32). But hey, you can’t say I’m not ready!

No end-of-the-year column is complete without a year in review right? So here’s a smartphone recap for 2011: Most of the 18% of mobile subscribers who had smartphones two years ago were more likely to be male. In 2011, more than half (51%) of

enjoy the new opportunities that come into your life and work. © 2011 Oshana Himot Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Oshana Himot, MBA, CHT, is an author and business and life coach/consultant.

She works with entrepreneurs and companies by assisting them to create joy and success. Oshana has two Masters of Business Administration degrees from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California and is a member of the Institute of Executive Development. She is the author of four digital books and is currently writing a book about joy and success.

Oshana can be reached at: oshanaben@yahoo.com.

does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you,” Limbaugh said during one show.

The congressman, who is a fan of shrimp and the cheeseflavored salty snack Cheetos, was referring to the first lady’s healthy food initiative in his remarks, the spokeswoman said. “He doesn’t think the government should be telling Americans what to eat,” a spokeswoman for Sensenbrenner told MailOnline.co/uk.

the 44% who own smartphones are female.

Younger consumers still led in smartphone penetration.

64% of 25-35 year olds and 53% of 18-24 year olds owned smartphones.

In 2009, RIM’s Blackberry smartphone was the device of choice (even still the choice of President Obama). In 2011, Blackberrys were used by 17% of the smartphone market.

Apple was the top smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. with 28.6 percent of the market, and Android was the most favored operating system by manufacturers, with 44% of the market.

The number of smartphone subscribers using the mobile Internet has grown 45% since 2010.

Whether you’re a smartphone user or New Year’s Resolution maker or not, on behalf of Nielsen I wish you a safe and Happy New Year. I look forward to sharing more exciting information with you in 2012, because – say it with me – knowledge is power!

Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies go to www.nielsenwire.com

insightnews.com

Insight News • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Page 7

BUSINESS

This year, resolve to deliver Plan Your Career

By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com 2012. It’s here.

Malleable, uncluttered and amenable to

our whims and wishes, 2012 was delivered to each of us at precisely that point in time when we expected it to arrive.

What if every transaction was so flawless?

I challenge you, and myself, to make this the year we deliver.

Whether the transformation is freaky fast or slow good, dedicating a year to improving your delivery can change your career and your outlook long

after 2012 is taken away from us.

Resolve to deliver on your promises.

And resolve to recognize a promise when you make one. A commitment on a contract and a casual, I’ll pick that up while I’m out, are equal on the promise scale. If you say you will do it, do it. That’s delivering.

Resolve to improve your delivery, as in your presentation

and communications skills. This can be as simple as improving your vocabulary, which is as simple as learning one new word per day. Seek out opportunities to speak to groups, to lead projects, to read at worship services.

These innocuous experiences can develop into lifelong public speaking skills and an ability to deliver your message effectively when you need to.

Resolve to deliver your attitude. When you remove the negatives from your vocabulary, your entire perspective can change. For example, the printer isn’t broken, but it might be inkchallenged. Your boss is not a jerk; your boss has an alternate viewpoint. This takes practice, but can become a part of who you are and how you see the world.

Resolve to deliver your time,

talents and treasure where they are needed. Unlike the pizza place down the street, you might not want to wait until the phone rings to make this delivery. Seek out those who need what you have to offer. Then deliver.

Julie Desmond is Talent Manager with Lake Region Staffing. Write to julie@insightnews.com or julie@lakeregionstaffing.com.

Hang joins Minneapolis Fed Board of Directors MayKao Y. Hang, president and CEO, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Hang was named president and CEO of the Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human service agency, in 2010 and was formerly its director of Children and Family Services, having spent most of her career working to improve the lives of those who are disadvantaged. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota.

She also serves on the boards of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Twin

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation

MayKao Hang

Cities LISC and Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. She received the Ann Bancroft Dream Maker Award in 2009 for supporting women and girls and was a MinneapolisSt. Paul Business Journal 40

under 40 honoree in 2010.

The Minneapolis Fed has a nine-member board of directors. Three directors represent the interests of banking in the district and are elected by banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. The other six represent the general public, which includes business, agriculture, labor and consumers. Of these, three are elected by member banks and three are appointed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. Hang was appointed to the Minneapolis board by the Board of Governors.

The responsibilities of directors are broad, ranging from overseeing the general operations of the Minneapolis

Fed to reporting on district economic conditions. This information helps prepare the Minneapolis Fed president for participation in Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where decisions are made about monetary policy.

As one of the 12 Federal Reserve banks, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis contributes to a variety of Federal Reserve System functions, including operation of a nationwide payments system, distribution of the nation’s currency and coin, supervision and regulation of member banks and bank holding companies, and serving as a fiscal agent for the U.S. Treasury.

Additionally, the president of the Minneapolis Fed serves

as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking arm of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Together with its branch in Helena, Mont., the Minneapolis Fed serves

the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Page 8 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Clyde Turner, Director of Sabathani Community Center Inc.

Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya.

Ph. D., L.P.

Tracey WilliamsDillard, Owner, Minnesota SpokesmanRecorder Newspaper

Jeffry Martin, J. D. President of St. Paul NAACP

Larry Fitzgerald, SR, Sports News Reporter

Otis Zanders, Retired Department of Correction Chief Executive Officer Supervisor Correctional

DELIVERANCE FOR YOUTH of Minneapolis

Vanne O Hayes, Former Dean of Students at the U of M Law School

Kevin Lindsey, Ravi Norman, President Commissioner, MN of Thor Construction Department Human Rights

Mary MackBee, Principal of St. Paul Central High School

Kelvin Quarles, CEO, KMOJ Radio

Pete Jr. and Kimberly Rhodes, Founder of the Black Music Award

The Minnesotan African-American Heritage Calendar Committee presents 2012 honorees For the Sixth year, the Minnesota African American Heritage Calendar Award Committee apart of PROCEED Foundation has produced The Minnesota African

American Heritage Calendar - 2012 to showcase the accomplishments of African Americans with roots in Minnesota. PROCEED Foundation recognizes twelve

individuals for letting their voices be heard for the shaping of future plans for our community and state.

These individuals represent various systems of informational and educational practices to enlighten or inspire others to greatness. This year’s theme is “Voices of Our Times”. This recognition is for their service for setting the tone and facilitating the message for the expectations, hopes and dreams for

citizens of African descent along with additional Minnesotan.

Exhibiting the same spirit as the previous Classes of Honorees 2006- 2011, these individuals exemplify their dedication of service to the well being of all citizens of Minnesota. The 2012 calendar features twelve accomplished honorees; each with a unique story to tell.

The PROCEED Foundation

also has new campaign to place the Minnesota African American Heritage Calendars in Minnesota school classroom and libraries called “ADOPT A SCHOOL” Campaign. The purpose is to use the honorees stories to generate continuous dialog among teachers and the student body about African American History. Your participation and support of this effort by donating calendars to school(s) of your choice is greatly

appreciated. The cost of the calendar is $12 each.

To obtain 2012 MAAHC Calendar contact: Kim White at 651-263-5679/ email wh6k@aol.com or Mail: P.O. Box 16315; St. Paul, MN, 55116; Brenda Dean at plotpixel@ hotmail.com or Joann Clark at 651238-7900; Clark_parkridge@msn. com or PROCEED Foundation/ Progressive Baptist Church at 651774-5503.

insightnews.com

Insight News • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Page 9

FULL CIRCLE All things begin and end with you Man Talk

By Timothy Houston I am the master of my fate; I am captain of my soul (William Ernest Henley) This week, I would like to share some insight from chapter two of my book: Men are Dirt.

The title of this chapter is “All things begin and end with you.”

This chapter reminds us that we are the principle part of our relationships and that all things begin and end with us. Before you can be true to others, you must first be true to yourself.

You serve as the numerator in your relationship equation and the people in your life serve as the denominator. When others bring spiritual, emotional, and

financial value equal to yours, the relationship becomes one or whole. On the other hand, when they bring emotional, financial, and spiritual baggage that is greater than you and your resources, the relationship becomes a fraction of what it should be. Because there is so much as stake, it is necessary to take ownership of your relationships.

I still can recall my personal paradigm shift. Although it has been over 30 years, I remember as a young man reading women’s magazines trying to get insight on how women thought men should behave. I was pretty convinced that none of their writers were men, but despite this conviction, over time, I begin to model the image they projected. In the process, I hid the real me. I later realized the error of my ways, and I begin to look inward for my change. Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “To thy own self be true.” The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so he becomes.” These were profound statements that

I took to heart. Self knowledge changes you. It is the vehicle

of your core being, and you will always be at the center of your

“To thy own self be true.”

The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so he becomes.” that allows you to redirect your course in life. The people in your life will always be on the fringes

change. This self-awareness gives new perspective thereby giving a new point-of view. You

have the most power to change your situation.

Although, life constantly adds and takes away from you, it is never wise to measure your life’s worth by any single period in it. William Ernest Henley wrote the poem “Invictus” from his hospital bed. Although he had survived tuberculosis at age twelve, in the process, he had one foot amputated. He later resisted the doctor’s assurance that the only way to save his life was to amputate the other leg; as a result, Henley was discharged from the hospital in 1835 with one foot intact. Because he was able to encourage himself, Henley went on to live an active life for thirty years, despite his disability. The things you think and say about yourself will always supersede the words spoken by others. This is the type of self confidence that produces true greatness.

Greatness in life requires personal responsibility. No one can truly make another person happy. If a person is

not content within themselves, changing everything around them still will not make them happy. Individually, we must take responsibility for our lives. Your life will be different because you are different. This year, as you reflect on your life and the people in it, ask yourself the question, “Are they adding value to me?” If not, it is time to make some changes. William Henley knew that he was the master of his fate and the captain of his soul. Each of us must learn this lesson for ourselves.

To live your best life today, you must take responsibility for the success and failure in your life and live out the principle that all things begin and end with you!

Timothy Houston is an author, minister, and motivational speaker who is committed to guiding positive life changes in families and communities.

For questions, comments or more information, go to www. tlhouston.com.

Resolve to stay connected to friends and family in the new year gather all your loved ones together for a party at your house. There will be time enough to make meaningful conversation, and complete your duties as host.

• For the really important milestones like birth announcements and engagements, you’ll want to

PhotoXpress

(StatePoint) Despite round-theclock access to text messaging, email and social networking sites, meaningful connections sometimes seem harder to come by than ever these days.

While it is easy to let all your friends and family know about your new promotion or engagement with a status update online, don’t forget

the importance of personal correspondence in today’s digital age.

This year, resolve to connect better with your close friends and family. Here are some tips to help you keep in touch: • Start the year off right by wishing your loved ones health and happiness with New Year cards. Consider personalizing

the cards with photos of you and your family.

• Make appointments for important phone calls that are easy to put off. If you have an actual appointment, you can’t and won’t forget to give Mom and Dad a call. Better yet, make it a standing weekly ritual you will all look forward to each week.

• Want to tell a friend what’s new? Send a note on personalized stationery. “You will really brighten the day of your recipient with a card sent in the mail,” advises Mariam Naficy, CEO of Minted.com, an online stationery store.

• Throw a party. Nothing beats good old fashioned faceto-face communication. So

let your friends hear about it directly from you. Sites like www.minted.com have the tools you’ll need to personalize your announcements.

Life is short. So whether you want to create or improve your connections with family and friends, there is no better time than the present to get started.

Page 10 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

C OM M U N IT Y COMMUNIT

North Minneapolis Neighborhood beat...

By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer Victory The Victory Neighborhood Association will host a board meeting 7-9pm Wednesday, January 4 at 2200 44th Ave. N. For more information: Debbie Nelson, 612-529-9558 or info@ victoryneighborhood.org Lind-Bohanon The Lind-Bohanon Neighborhood Association will hold a board meeting Thursday January 5 at Shingle Creek Commons 4600 Humboldt Ave. N. For more information, Amy Luesebrink 763561-1616 or LindBohanonNA@aol. com GED Classes Sumner Library, located at 611 Van White Memorial Blvd. is now accepting enrollment for GED classes. A ten-dollar registration fee is required for material expense. All classes however are free. The classes are held mornings from 10:00amnoon and evenings from 6:30-8:30pm Monday through Thursday. For more information: 612-377-5399.

Hawthorne The monthly Hawthorne Huddle meeting will be held 7:30-8:45 Thursday January 5 at Farview Park 601 29th Ave. N. For more information: Sophie_winter@ genmills.com

Jordan The Jordan Area Community Council will host a housing and committee meeting 6:00pm-8:30pm Tuesday January 10 at Plymouth Christian Youth Center 2210 Oliver Ave. N. A board meeting will take place 6:30-8:30pm Wednesday Jan 11th at St Anne’s senior housing 2323 26th Ave. N. For more information: Joe Horan 612-673-5144 or jhoran@ mpls.org Capri Theater: “Speak Low When You Speak Love” The Capri Theater presents their “Legends” series featuring four outstanding Twin Cities performers: Sanford Moore, Dennis Spears, Julius Collins and Dennis Oglesby.

The concerts are at 7p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, and 3 p.m. Sunday, February 12, 2012. Tickets are $25, and $20 for groups of 10 or more.

Classifieds/Calendar Events

Send Community Calendar information to us by: email, andrew@insightnews. com, by fax: 612-588-2031, by phone: (612) 588-1313 or by mail: 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411, Attn: Andrew Notsch. Free or low cost events preferred.

Advocate MN Disability Law Ctr seeks FT advocate thru 9/30/12 to assist persons with disabilities on job issues. More info: www.mylegalaid.org/jobs

RENTALS Remodeled duplex units in East St. Paul. Two, three and four bdrms available. Income Restricted, EHO 651-430-1888 or www.applegateproperties.com

President/CEO Twin Cities Community Land Bank seeks a dynamic, results-oriented President/ CEO. Contact Shana at 612-238-8212 or shana.wenger@tcclandbank.org for application information. Applications must be received by 1/20/12.

**Farmington Family Townhomes** Newer 2 and 3BR townhomes available for immediate occupancy in the heart Farmington.

Townhomes feature attached garages, in-unit W/D, play area, and on-site staff.

Income guidelines apply. Please contact Teressa at (651)460-3686. Professionally managed

by Hornig Companies, Inc. www.hornigcompanies.com

Copyright Notice Copyright notice: All rights Reserved re commonlaw copyright of trade – name/trademark, VINCENT EDWARD PAYNE as well as any and all derivatives and variations in the spelling of said trade-name/trademark – copyright ©1981 by Vincent Edward Payne, said trade-name/trademark, VINCENT EDWARD PAYNE© may neither be used, nor reproduced, neither in whole or in part, nor in any other manner, whatsoever, without the prior, express written consent and acknowledgement of Vincent Edward Payne, subscribed with the blue or red ink signature of Vincent Edward Payne, herein-after “Secured Party,” for full copy of terms and conditions, send SASE to Vincent Payne, Secured Party C/O P.O. Box 29001, Brooklyn Park, MN 55429. No objection raised within 30 days after this public notice, all are estopped from violating and infringing on common-law copyright so in noted record, owner; Vincent Edward Payne, autograph commonlaw copyright ©1963.=

Open Mic Xpressions The Freedom of Xpression open mic sessions, hosted by Crystal “Azteca” Ruiz, at the Capri are free and open to the public the first Monday of every month with the exception of this coming month. Due to the New Year’s holiday we are moving the January open mic to Monday, Jan. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the theater will be open for tech rehearsals and workshops between 6 and 7 p.m.

Artists wanting to perform on stage are required to sign up between 5:30 and 7 p.m. the night of the event. For more information, contact Crystal at cruiz@pcyc-mpls.org.

Folwell The Folwell Neighborhood Association will have a board meeting 6:30-8pm Monday January 9 at the Folwell Neighborhood office 1206 37th Ave. N. For more information: Roberta Englund 612521-2100 or info@folwell.org Shingle Creek The Shingle Creek will have a board meeting 6:30-8pm Tuesday January 10 at Creekview Park 5001 Ave. N. For more information: Amy Luesenbrick 763-516-1616 or scan@stribmail.com

PHONE: 612.588.1313

UCare for Seniors Medicare Advantage plan - Jan UCare is holding informational meetings about its UCare for Seniors Medicare Advantage plan. Members of UCare’s sales staff will discuss the 2012 UCare for Seniors Classic, Value Plus, Standard D, and Value plans. For dates and times, to register for a meeting or for more information, call 1-877-5231518 (toll free).

Bottineau Transitway Open Houses - Jan The public is invited to attend a series of open houses in January 2012, involving the Bottineau Transitway.

The project is in what is called the “scoping phase” and is soliciting public comment through Feb. 17, 2012, on its scoping booklet. The public meetings are hosted by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and are taking place the Insurance Agent following dates: Looking for people • Mon., Jan. 23, with a strong entre4:30–6:30pm, preneurial mindset to Theodore Wirth own their own insurance agency. The Chalet, 1301 average agent earns Theodore Wirth over $120,000 a year, Pkwy, Mpls with some earning over $500,000. If you • Tue., Jan. 24, desire financial inde6–8pm, Brooklyn pendence, call 651Park City Hall, 204-3131 to set up an appointment.

5200 85th Ave. N.,

Program Assistant I The City of Brooklyn Park is seeking applicants for a part-time Program Assistant I to provide routine administrative and clerical support services to the Administration Department. Flexible 20/hour week schedule; salary range: $15.85 - $20.09/hour; anticipated hiring wage: $15.85/hour. City and supplemental application forms and job posting with additional information and required qualifications available on City web site or address below. Closing date: 5 p.m., January 20, 2012.

City of Brooklyn Park 5200 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 Phone: 763-424-8000 Fax: 763-493-8391 www.brooklynpark.org Equal Opportunity Employer

West Broadway Coalition 2012 West Broadway Farmers Market Planning West Broadway Farmers Market planning has begun. Bring your ideas and input so we can plan for and implement them next season.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, 2012. For more information: Alicia - alicia@ westbroadway.org or 612-353-5178.

Webber-Camden The Webber Camden Neighborhood Organization will host a Webber Park Master’s Plan meeting 6:308:30pm Tuesday January 10 at Webber Park 4400 Dupont Ave. N. For more information: Roberta Englund 612-521-2100 or info@ folwell.org Business Committee Meeting The Hawthorne Business Committee and WBC Business Committee have merged to become the Northside Business Committee.

The first meeting is 8:30am Friday, January 27th at McDonalds 916 W. Broadway.

Business committee meetings occur every other month, quarterly happy hours, and business lunches business lunches are open to all. For more information: Alicia - alicia@ westbroadway.org or 612-353-5178.

Loan Program Lind-Bohanon Neighborhood Association has partnered with the Center for Energy and Environment to administer home improvement programs. LBNA loans create opportunities for more home loans and other neighborhood activities. The loan has a 4% fixed rate financing, $15,000 maximum loan with no maximum income limit. For more information: Amy Lusenbrink 763-561-1616 or LindBohanonNA@aol.com Get Paid Helping Northside Seniors & Disabled Adults The Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP) and the Neighborhood Involvement Program (NIP) serve North Minneapolis as two senior chore service agencies. Both agencies have opportunities for individuals to earn $15 an hour doing snow removal and responsibilities as independent contractors. Programs require individuals to be 18 or older and go through a criminal background check. Participants must also have their own shovel, or snow blower and provide own transportation to job sites. For more information: Jon Burkhow at 612374-3322.

FAX: 612.588.2031

Brooklyn Park • Wed., Jan. 25, 5:30–7:30pm, Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center (UROC), 2001 Plymouth Ave. N., Mpls • Tue., Jan. 31, 6–8pm, Robbinsdale City Hall, 4100 Lakeview Ave. N., Robbinsdale The Family Life Centre Holiday Services - Jan 1 - Jan 28 The Family Life Centre, formerly known as Holding Forth the Word of Life Ministries, now moved forward with the same vision for “family restoration God’s way”. FLC expanded its capacity to serve families in the Metro Area with its new site while furthering outreach to the community through the AGAPE 24-hour Child Development Centers and the OASIS of Love Crisis Intervention programs and ongoing church-based ministries.

Holiday Services: • Annual 21-day fasting commences from 6AM-6PM starting on Monday, January 2, 2012. See the church website for fasting instructions and prayer guidelines. Submit prayer requests online at www.hftwol.org • January 28th -- 2012 Women’s Prayer Brunch hosted by Dr. Diane Thibodeaux, invites women from all over to gather at FLC from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. RSVP by January 23rd. Women’s groups and/or individual reservations welcomed. Call FLC or RSVP online at www.hftwol.org Contact FLC for more details at 612-522-5807.

Winter Trails Day Event - Jan 7 Get outside to celebrate and enjoy winter!

Activities include: snowshoeing, cross country skiing, geocaching, naturalist lead hikes, ice fishing, learn to keep warm outside in winter, making globe ice luminaries, cold weather camping information, learn to build a quinzee, skijoring & dogsledding information, and much more! We’ll provide hot cocoa and a big bonfire to warm you up. Bring the family out to celebrate winter in Minnesota! @ Fort Snelling

Camden North United Methodist Church (NUMC) has a Church Clothes Closet 9am-Noon the first Saturday of each month and 6-8 pm the first Monday of each month at 4350 Fremont Ave. N. Donations are accepted. For further information: 612-522-4497.

Folwell The Folwell Neighborhood Organization will hold a board meeting 6:30-8pm Monday January 9 at 1206 37th Ave. N. For more information: Roberta Englund 612521-2100 or info@folwell.org Weight loss classes Weight loss classes for Black men take place every Friday from 6:308:30pm at Kwanzaa Church 2200 Emerson Ave. N. The class is a 12week course for Black men who live with obesity, type II diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension.

The cost ranges from $100 to $300 depending on training materials.

Space is limited to the first 10 qualified participants. For more information: Kwasi Nate Russell 612-359-0077 or Kwasinate. russell009@gmail.com

EMAIL: andrew@insightnews.com

State Park Picnic Shelter A - 5401 Post Rd. St. Paul, MN 55111‎ - Sat., Jan. 7, 11 am–3pm.

The Blake School Admissions Information Meetings - Jan 9&12 Blake is a co-educational, independent, Pre-K–12 school enrolling nearly 1,400 students from about 56 Twin Cities-area communities. Blake provides a rigorous academic program with exceptional opportunities for each child in academics, the arts, athletics and more.

Administrators, faculty, current parents and students will be present to discuss school life, curriculum and activities.

Grades 9–12 Information Meeting for Parents and Students - Mon. Jan 0 7-9pm @ Upper School, Northrop Campus, 511 Kenwood Parkway. Prekindergarten–Grade 8 Information Meeting - Thur. Jan 12 6:45-9pm @ Blake Campus, 110 Blake Road South, Hopkins.

Find Bargains Galore - Jan 14-16 For three days, beginning Sat., Jan. 14, prices are cut in half at all four Arc’s Value Village stores. Find great deals on winter clothing and accessories for the whole family, plus household items, dishes, glassware, games and toys, collectibles, books, CDs, craft items and more. For locations and other info, visit: www.arcsvaluevillage.org 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Holiday Celebration - Jan 16 • Rally: 9:30-10:30am @ Saint Paul Central High School Auditorium 275 N. Lexington Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104. The Rally kicks off the days festivities with Rally Keynote T. A. Watson.

• March: 10:35am From Central High School 275 N. Lexington Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104, to Concordia University, 235 Hamline on the corner of Hamline & Marshall Ave. • Main Program: 11am-1pm @ Concordia University Gangelhoff Arena - Keynote Speaker Bishop William Watson, III & St. John’s Boy Choir.

• Education/Cultural Fair: 1-3pm @ Concordia University Gangelhoff Arena (behind the stage). ASL Interpreted.

Contact mlkingholiday@gmail.

com with any questions. Or go online at www.mnstatewidemlkingholiday.com to retrieve sponsorship form and/or Essay/ Poster/Spoken-word Contest form 3rd Annual HBCU College Fair - Jan 16 High school students and families are invited to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and explore college options on Mon., Jan. 16 at St. Peter’s AME Church - 401 E 41st Street, Mpls.

Mon. Jan. 16 3-6pm. Over 20 HBCU representatives will be on hand to provide information on HBCU schools, admission requirements, campus life and scholarship resources. Students can also SKYPE with other HBCU admissions officers and students around the country. This free event features food, entertainment, door prizes and a keynote speech by Bishop Gregory Ingram of the 10th Episcopal District of the AME Church, a dynamic preacher and lecturer.

Healthy Life Expo - Jan 21-22 Nutrition, Fitness, and Longevity - It’s all here! Explore up to 200 exhibitors offering everything for health, balance and success in all areas of life. 3 - Stages of on-going speaker presentations, demonstrations and live entertainment.

Product sampling, hourly drawings and free health information. The Smart place to get the free tips information to start living a healthier life. Minneapolis Convention Center Ballroom - 1302 2nd St., Mpls, MN 55403.

Dr. Wendy Mogel - Jan 26 The Blake School will be welcoming New York Times bestselling author and parenting expert Dr. Wendy Mogel to our school the evening of Thur., Jan. 26. An internationally acclaimed clinical psychologist, parenting expert and the author of the New York Times bestselling parenting book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee. Her new book, The Blessing of a B Minus, is about raising teenagers. Free and open to the public.

Books will be available for purchase and signing. 7-8pm. Juliet Nelson Auditorium, The Blake Upper School 511 Kenwood Pkwy, Mpls. MN 55403.

insightnews.com

Insight News • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Page 11

More Minnesotans to receive energy assistance with additional LIHEAP funding The state will receive an additional $14.1 million in federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds for the Minnesota Energy Assistance Program (EAP) announced Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman.

“This is welcome news Minnesota families as we head into the Holiday weekend,” said Commissioner Rothman. These funds came through at a crucial time for thousands of seniors,

Culture From 4 writing, and even the invention of the GPS system, was created by people of African descent.

African American children must learn about the accomplishments of their ancestors, and know that their people have a long history of accomplishments. They need to know that there are people who look like them who have not only shown their intellectual know how, but have sacrificed their all to make lives better for them. Through culturally specific programming, African American children receive many examples of the achievements of their ancestors. Black children learn that they too can be the next George Washington Carver, who created 500 ways to use the peanut, or Dr. Mae Jamison who was the first African American female in space and is a leader in science and technology. Through culturally specific programming, Black children learn through their hard work, with the assistance of trusting adults; that they too can be the next Black president of the United States.

NdCAD, WE WIN and the YWCA St. Paul, have proven without dispute, when children have an understanding of their rich African and African American history and culture that they will excel in everything they do. For example, during its first year of contracting with the state of Minnesota for Supplementary Education Services (SES) WE WIN served 41 children through SES. 39 made more than one year academic growth in reading

disabled Minnesotans, and lowincome families with children who are struggling to pay their heating bills this winter.”

The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources (DER) reported it would serve approximately 128,000 households with an initial $73.5 million in funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

DER has already received more than 140,000 applications

from households requesting assistance this winter, with funding running out this month.

The additional $14.1 million released to Minnesota today may help serve approximately 19,000 additional Minnesota households this winter.

“The average household income of families enrolled in this program is around $16,000 per year,” said Rothman. “For many low-income families, Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program is a financial lifeline

through these cold winter months. And in this economy, the need is greater than ever.”

EAP applications have increased 2.2 percent this year compared to the same time last year, and have increased 9 percent compared to the same time two years ago. The program helps low-income households pay their heating bills through grant money paid directly to the utility company on behalf of the customer. DER allocates these funds to 36 local

service providers who work with households to distribute the funds.

Last year, Minnesota served 172,065 households with $152 million in federal funds.

This year the average grant per household is about $400.

Customers with 50 percent or less of the state median income ($43,050 for a family of four) may qualify. Households with seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children are especially encouraged to apply.

Qualifying families must apply for assistance at the local service provider in their area. Funding is limited and is administered on a first-comefirst-serve basis.

A list of local service providers and more information about the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program can be found at www.staywarm. mn.gov by clicking on “Finding Financial Assistance” or by calling 651-296-5175 or toll free in Minnesota 1-800-657-3710.

and writing, one made a half year growth and one stayed the same for (2010-2011) school year.

Also at WE WIN, 100 percent of the children made cultural accomplishments, including mastering information about African and African American leaders, writing their name in hieroglyphics, gaining an understanding about the Africa’s contributions to the United States and the world, and learning Swahili words, which is an African language. Local heroes and she-roes such as Professor Mahmoud El Kati, Senator Jeff Hayden, Dr. Josie Johnson and Master Storyteller Nothando Zulu came to WE WIN and shared with the children the stories of their culture and history. It strengthened children’s understanding of themselves and helped them to feel good about themselves and assisted them in learning that there are many examples of African greatness that lives amongst them. WE WIN students also learn about major African American celebrations such as Kwanzaa and Black History Month. They create performances and share them with organizations and groups throughout the Twin Cities communities including senior high rises.

At YWCA St. Paul, over 80% of students made gains in one or more discrete reading skill. Over 75% made gains in one or more discrete math skill. In addition to increasing and improving core reading and math skills, students at YWCA St. Paul participate in activities and projects designed to increase their cultural awareness of self, their community and

their history. AYP guides youth on a journey of self-exploration as they develop character and discover what their skills and interests are. AYP encourages the exploration of youth’s cultures, and the cultures of others, through structured program components focusing on history, art, music and cultural traditions. This fosters a sense of pride and self-worth in the youth served, who often struggle with low self-esteem.

Together with individualized tutoring methods, male students

support learning both during and outside of school. Such learning translates into higher scores on tests like the MCA, and provides benefits that children gain from increased cultural identity and improved self image.

Strong on collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, across its programs, NdCAD has demonstrated a commitment to providing high quality programs that meet both the academic and cultural needs of African American children.

For example, the organization’s

grade level when they began the program, upon completion, nearly two-thirds (65%) of them met or exceeded their expected reading levels for their grade and 100% of them made gains in specific reading skills like phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. Most significantly, students expressed an understanding of how reading helps them learn about who they are. NdCAD’s programs were also found to: increase parent involvement in the cultural and academic education of their children, increase literacy and cultural activities in homes, and improve self-confidence and esteem in both children and parents.

There seems to be a national agreement that NCLB uses unreasonable standards for measuring student proficiency.

In Minnesota for example, 1,056 out of 2,255 schools in the state did not make the AYP. As a result of the outcry from various segments of the community including educators, school districts and politicians, President Barack Obama and Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, have given states the ability to apply for a waiver relieving their schools of the consequences of failing to meet AYP. The state of Minnesota applied for the waiver in August 2011.

Whether the state of Minnesota receives a waiver on No Child Left Behind or not, it is imperative that an instrument is put in place that insures that Black children have access to culturally specific academic support. The

tremendous academic success of Harvest Prep Charter school in north Minneapolis credits their incredible success to their culturally specific programming.

WE WIN, NdCAD and the YWCA have demonstrated that children who have consistently participated in their SES programs make unlimited strides academically, which includes their cultural understanding.

These programs are in place to assist struggling schools. With the low achievement of Black children in Minnesota schools, it is vital that schools utilize organizations that have a proven track record of success with those of our students who are having the greatest difficulties succeeding in school. When at least 60 percent of African American youth in schools in Minnesota are at least two years behind in reading, writing and computations; schools need assistance from these programs more than ever.

No matter what happens with No Child Left Behind, let’s not throw our children out with the bath water. Tutoring has been an overall success for struggling students. NCLB has given African American children an opportunity for quality tutoring services that most have never received before. Rather than being eliminated, it should be increased. If Minnesota truly has a commitment for all children to be successful academically, it is imperative to utilize the expertise of quality culturally specific organizations to work side by side with school districts to assure that No Child is Left Behind!

“No matter what happens with No Child Left Behind, let’s not throw our children out with the bath water. ” have researched, written and publicly presented on notable Black male figures in history.

Female students have participated in Journeys, a collaborative effort between several organizations that provides girls who are at a critical juncture in their lives with the knowledge, tools and confidence that will prepare them to take their place in the community and beyond.

Students have written, performed and recorded their own rap on a socially relevant topic of their choosing. Through these and other activities, students are gaining confidence and reinforcing academic skills that

Sankofa Reading Tutorial and Parent Power programs have recently been evaluated by independent research/ evaluation organizations such as GrayHall, Wilder Foundation on behalf of St. Paul Children’s Collaborative, and Ramsey County on behalf of Ramsey County Workforce Solutions.

The programs have been found to produce positive outcomes and have a significant positive impact on students and families.

From 2004 to April of 2010, 333 students completed NdCAD’s Sankofa Reading Program. A significant number of these students were reading below

Page 12 • January 2 - January 8, 2012 • Insight News

Leadership From 4 of significant information and dirty details that remain hidden from the president, or in which they are complicit, and so fail to disclose to protect themselves.

In addition to conflict-of-interest forms, BOT members should be asked to complete a “significant information disclosure” form, in which they attest that they are not hiding secrets that could harm the institution or jeopardize the president’s leadership. Failure to disclose would mean their immediate removal with no possibility of every serving on the Board again—I wish.

As someone who has negotiated athletic contracts and observed the uncomfortably close relationship between Board members and coaching staff, it is difficult for me to believe that members of Penn State’s or Syracuse’s Board of Trustees had no knowledge of the allegations of sexual abuse. Yet they are not being held accountable in the same way that the presidents’ are; I’ve seen no evidence of any Board member resigning or coming under scrutiny—nor are they being asked the challenging question of “what did they know and when did they know it?”

Collegiate sports are the bane of every university president’s existence. We are held accountable for every infraction and rely upon our Athletic Directors, Coaches and Compliance Officers to speak the

Hickman From 1 royalty.

She married Robert Hickman, moved to St. Paul, where they created a family with five children; Robin, Kellie, Robert Jr., Arthur (Kedar) and Aaron.

Hickman was an award winning licensed childcare provider for 35 years, teaching and nurturing neighborhood children she cared for.. She developed strong bonds with her daycare children and kept in touch with many of them into adulthood, often caring for

insightnews.com

truth to us. Too often, for the sake of the sports, coupled with alumni and BOT pressure, or because the Athletic staff— who thinks they are “special”— mistakenly believe they can “handle” any situation, presidents may be the last to know about these incidents until they are media fodder. But in the end, it is the president who must take the heat and accept responsibility for any actions that occur at the institution on their watch.

In the short time that I was president, I learned that institutions of higher education often are broken or (in counseling nomenclature) “dysfunctional” systems. By that, I mean they are all too frequently committed to maintaining the status quo—even if it doesn’t work, and resistant to change. Operations don’t occur with any level of consistency, if at all, because too many people are invested in protecting their small piece of turf or saving themselves from any accountability, and so they perform dances of “mischievous obedience” to the vision and will of the current leader, while simultaneously covering up problems, scandals and issues that eventually explode in the president’s face.

As a new president, you don’t know what you don’t know until it sideswipes you off the road.

During my tenure, I encountered staff, similar to the film character Dr. Strangelove, invested with so much power to approve or disapprove purchases that they had everyone terrorized.

People were fearful that if they complained, their needs would

go to the bottom of the pit and stay there. I even found as president that one person actually had the authority to approve or disapprove my expenditures— though theoretically, my approval should have superseded anyone else’s. I learned the hard way that dysfunctional systems have built in numerous ways to undermine presidential power and authority.

Along these same lines, Boards of Trustees can also contribute to this undermining.

I am convinced that an intense ethnographic study of BOTs would produce some interesting and revealing insights.

Far too often, BOTs of colleges and universities are laden with alumni who have very bad cases of nostalgia (when I was a student…..), are acting out their frustrations as wannabe presidents or are simply powerhungry tyrants who use the Board to manipulate their own interests.

In the end, BOTs can be more of a hindrance than as a help, and when institutions have serious leadership turn over, someone needs to scrutinize the Board.

Nonetheless, the president must press on trying to lead the institution with hands sometimes tied or with over-intrusive Trustees who want to have the final say in how the institution is to be run on a daily basis— though that is NOT their job.

Traveling the conference circuits designed to acclimate new presidents to the culture of leadership in higher education, the stories I encountered were too numerous and reoccurring of Boards that interfere, don’t

understand the need for separation between the President’s/CEO’s role to oversee day-to-day operations and personnel with all the authority that such requires and the BOT’s role as policy makers. It is the rare president who is blessed with a supportive Board of Trustees. And I am not suggesting they don’t exist, but that they are far too rare. Ongoing training for Boards is the obvious solution, but it’s rather difficult to convince someone who thinks they know everything to submit to training. And the longer they have been on the Board, the less likely they are to understand the need for a refresher course in Board behavior.

And when it comes to athletics, let’s just say that this tends to be many Board members’ blindside. They are living out fantasies of being a coach, and too often facilitate a culture in which athletic coaches come to think they are special (and thus immune from reprimands or reprisals by the president) because the BOT gives them direct access, and too often interferes in contract negotiations by making promises, which presidents’ must find a way to fund, or treating coaches like privileged prima dons.

This is not to excuse presidents. When we sign on for such a large leadership role, we are accepting the whole shebang (known or unknown), which too often includes skeletons from the past, the current issues that no one wanted to worry us about until they erupt like a volcano (such as allegations of child abuse, sexual harassment, etc.) and financial

problems that have been buried for far too long.

In my case, I used to comment too often that I felt as if “I have skeletons in the closet, dust balls in the corners, and ghosts of Presidents’ past all around me.”

It was a challenge to operate strategically and creatively in an environment filled with that much hidden baggage.

And of course, staffs that have been around a long time are in classic denial while newer ones simply announce that everything occurred before they came on board. Thus, it is up to the president to begin an excavation early on for the archaeological remains of possible scandals and hold everyone accountable for the truth.

Being a college or university president is not always a pleasant job, but someone has to do it.

And the belief that you can actually make a difference, create a better organizational structure, bring order to financial chaos, support the production of new knowledge, foster innovation and creativity, contribute to the public good and change students’ lives as a result is an elixir that is difficult to resist.

In the end, sometimes we and the public forget that colleges and universities are not big businesses—though too frequently we adopt that language to describe them and sometimes put in place a poor imitation of the bureaucratic structures and automated thinking that we think accompany corporate structures—which, by the way, successful corporations

their children also.

Hickman was an impassioned advocate and activist. She led and fostered civic engagement and policy advocacy in early child development, quality education, health, and human rights on local, state, and national levels. Lawmakers described her work as principled and courageous.

Hickman was active in local and national organizations, including the National Black Child Development Institute, The Institute (of African Learning), Limited Thirties, Continental Society, The Way, National Black Women’s Health Network, Summit University Daycare Alliance,

PTA, National Wolf Center, and Holcombe Circle Garden Club.

She was a founding member of the Benjamin E. Mays School Steering Committee.

In early November Hickman was hospitalized and spent one month in and out of intensive care before returning home to be with her family in her final days.

Surrounded by immediate and extended family members Hickman departed this life on the evening of Sunday, December 11, at the age of 70.

Patty joined loved ones who preceded her in death, including: grandparents Frazier Minnie and Frank Frazier, parents Arthur and Jean Frazier; brothers

Roger, Neil, Frank and Thomas Frazier; sisters-inlaw Meredith, Joan, Beverly Hickman; and mother-in-law Lillian Parks-Thomas.

The family is also mourning the recent loss of Frances Frazier, brother Frank’s wife, who died Dec. 15, 2011.

Hickman is survived by her brothers and sisters-in law; Arthur Jr. (Wanda), Michael, Jeanette, and Gennie; children: Robin, Kellie, Robert Jr., Arthur (Kedar), and Aaron; five grandchildren: Hassan, Shaheed, Freeman, Zuri, and Adia. She also leaves a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Hickman was a wellspring of wisdom and a guardian of

our cultural legacy. She would introduce herself saying, “I’m a proud 4th generation Black Minnesotan!”

She would teach, admonishing listeners to “Be humble, and know your worth. Work to build a quality of life.”

“We have to think critically,” Patty Hickman Frazier said. “Take your rightful place. Don’t go without your song being sung.”

Still in the struggle, her courage and commitment now guide us from a higher place.

Funeral services were provided by Estes Funeral Chapel. The Reverend Mark Frazier, Pastor of Emmanuel Tabernacle, officiated.

abandoned decades ago; that’s the memo higher education didn’t get.

Too often, as presidents we are mired in surviving financial problems or trying to solicit the “big gift” that will enshrine us in the institutional hall of fame.

Like the Kenyan proverb says “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers,” we forget that colleges and universities are supposed to be nurturing environments where we have a social contract (and a moral responsibility as In loco parentis ) to educate our students to become civic leaders, responsible citizens, good and knowledgeable parents, exceptional artists and scientists and just a good neighbor and friend. The president is the enforcer of that social contract and must remind the community of their moral responsibility.

Sometimes the educational mission (and the social and moral contract) gets lost in the skeletons, scandals and terminations that comprise the perils facing today’s leaders in higher education. More scrutiny is certainly needed to ensure the safety of the students and other youth who associate with our institutions. But a small cup of sympathy, I’m sure, would be welcomed right about now. © 2011 McClaurin Solutions Irma McClaurin, PhD is the Culture and Education Editor.

She is an anthropologist and writer living in Raleigh, NC and former President of Shaw University. (www.irmamcclaurin. com) (@mcclaurintweets)

Buckner From 1 Visitation and services were Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at Estes Funeral Chapel. Interment was at Crystal Lake Cemetery in North Minneapolis.

Buckner was preceded in death by her parents, Juanita and Dayton Cuff, her sisters Juanda Cuff (Henry) Botts, Louise Cuff Jones, Jacqueline Cuff, and her aunt Rose Dealahay and cousin Ruby Barber.

Buckner is survived by her son Brett Buckner, her sister Donna (Jack) Rainey, cousin Clentell (Katherine) Jackson, and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.