Insight News ::: 4.3.12

American Family A comtemporary look at Black identity MORE ON PAGE 5

Petronella Ytsma

L-R: Laura Collins Richardson (Noel Raymond), Jimmy Richardson (Gavin Lawrence), Mary Ellen (Megan Fischer), Narrator (Tracey Maloney)

INSIGHT NEWS April 2 - April 8, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 38 No. 14 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer The press conference in front of the White House was to announce the appointment of Jim Yong Kim as his nominee to head the World Bank. But when Pres. Barack Obama opened the floor to questions, he only took one. It had nothing to do with Mr. Kim or the World Bank. The question was about Trayvon Martin, the 17-yearold Floridian shot and killed by a George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old serial 911 caller.

To the question, the president replied, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

MARTIN TURN TO 7

Letting Go

Daughter Dedra HerronSlack’s intimate account of family’s preparations for Rev. Curtis A. Herron’s transformation

By Dedra Herron-Slack Editor’s note: Zion Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Curtis A. Herron, 80, died in Minneapolis on March 18, 2012. An overflow crowd commemorated his life at services Saturday March 24, 2012, at Zion Baptist Church.

Herron’s daughter Dedra-Herron Slack made one of the many eloquent testimonies at the home going celebration.

HERRON TURN TO 6 Margot Jordan (c) 2012

NNPA Chairman Cloves Campbell and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President at Black Press Week White House briefing

Health care for us

By Valerie Jarrett senior advisor to the President

Michelle Spaise

Connie Beckers’ wealth building strategy guides Goddess of Glass and friends Business Leadership Profile

By Erin Jerabek, Executive Director West Broadway Business Area coalition Connie Beckers, North Minneapolis native owns and operates two exciting Northside ventures, the Goddess of Glass & Friends, a retail shop that features the art of over 85 artists and The Funky Bungalow, a

Suluki Fardan

Connie Beckers glass studio open for classes.

The graduate of Henry Patrick High School took her first glass

Voter ID

Voter ID and the return of Jim Crow

PAGE 2

class in 1995; the Goddess of Glass was born shortly thereafter.

Media

Coverage of Evangelical Christians ignores Blacks and latinos

PAGE 8

Beckers is a highly skilled award winning stain glass artist; yet, some might also call her a goddess of social marketing.

Through Cash Mob Minneapolis on Facebook the Goddess of Glass, Connie Beckers’ Northside retail shop was selected for the March 24th cash mob. Cash mobs are a socially conscience consumer driven marketing phenomenon used to support local businesses with a influx of cash and visibility. Individuals commit to spend $20 at a business on a specific day. Cash Mob

BECKERS TURN TO 7

It has been two years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, and already, the new law is improving the lives of AfricanAmericans.

Since March 2009, more than 2.4 million AfricanAmerican seniors with Medicare have received free preventive services such as diabetes screenings. About 410,000 more AfricanAmerican young adults who would otherwise be uninsured gained coverage due to the law.

In addition, 5.5 million AfricanAmericans with private health insurance now have coverage for preventive services without paying an extra penny at their doctor’s office.

And 10.4 million AfricanAmericans with private insurance coverage no longer face lifetime limits thanks to the new health care law -- in other words, your insurance company can no longer drop your coverage at a time when you need it most.

Book Review

Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing our World

PAGE 11

Behind each of these are statistics are stories of mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, friends and neighbors, who are healthier because of the new law. I know firsthand that the Affordable Care Act is already making a difference in people’s lives. When my daughter, Laura, was between school and a new job, she was able to go on my insurance plan thanks to the new health care law.

The new health care law will also make health care more accessible in the AfricanAmerican communities most in need. Nearly 26 percent of patients served by community health centers in 2010 were African-American, and the Affordable Care Act increases the funding available to those centers in all 50 states. They currently serve more than 19 million patients, and by 2015, because of the health care law, they will be able to serve millions more.

The Affordable Care Act has also helped triple the number of clinicians in the National Health Service Corps since President Obama took office.

HEALTH TURN TO 6

Business

Online payday lenders: Ripping consumers off

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

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Voter ID and the return of Jim Crow

By Senator Jeff Hayden (MN-61) Following Reconstruction, states in the Old Confederacy used poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent Black citizens from voting.

Because the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibited those states from enacting laws that specifically prohibited Blacks from voting, the laws were written cleverly to avoid pairing race and the act of voting, but they had the effect of suppressing Black voters.

By suppressing the vote for the minority, it guaranteed dominance of segregationists in those states who, in turn, enacted the Jim Crow laws that legalized widespread discrimination in many areas outside of voting, such as public accommodation.

Passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended poll taxes and

Senator Jeff Hayden (MN-61) literacy tests and many of the other means of suppressing the vote.

But 47 years since these practices were outlawed, a new front against access to the ballot box. is advancing nationally and here in Minnesota.

This time around, the target is bigger than the African American population; it includes all those who, literally, “don’t vote right.”

Right-wing politicos have been studying voting patterns and have determined that Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, the poor and students aren’t voting GOP very often. Instead of trying to win over these voters through persuasion, they’re trying to make it harder for them to vote.

This year, they are pushing legislation to amend the state’s constitution to require government-issued photo identification to vote. This law would raise barriers to voting in-person, and could end same-day registration and absentee balloting as we know it. The proposal has passed both the House and the Senate, and the minor differences are being worked out in all-GOP conference committee.

Since the GOP has the majority in both the House and the Senate, it will likely pass and be placed on the ballot for voters

this fall. If a simple majority of those voting in the election approve, Minnesota will join Mississippi as the only states that have written Voter ID into their state’s constitutions.

Republicans have been trying to sell Voter ID by spreading exaggerated and downright false stories of widespread voter abuse and fraud. They smear non-profit groups that register voters in low-income areas, and refer to community organizers in terms usually reserved for war criminals.

Unfortunately, lies can have a way of imbedding themselves in people’s minds.

Years of lies, repeated in right-wing media, allow them to claim that that photo ID requirements have popular support – and for now, that may be true.

Many are blessed with stable lives, families, homes and incomes. Born under “normal” circumstances, many got drivers licenses on their 16th birthday, or soon after. For them, a photo ID

in their wallet or purse is such a normal part of life that is almost incomprehensible that anyone could live any other way.

In reality, some people were born in homes or on farms, and never got a birth certificate.

Documents get lost over multiple moves forced by economic or family circumstances. Some don’t drive, either because they can’t afford a license, or had to give it up due to age or handicap.

Many kids growing up in the inner city don’t get a drivers license or ID until they’re 21 because they don’t have access to a vehicle. Some people don’t even own a wallet or purse.

What’s more is that if this proposal becomes law, Minnesota could see the end of same-day registration and absentee balloting. That could prevent thousands of Minnesotans from making their voices heard in our elections, including folks like my 82-year old grandmother, who votes absentee because she can’t leave her home.

The legislative sponsors of voter ID in Minnesota claim that the required identification cards will be “free,” but they are vague about costs. We do know that “free” doesn’t include the costs associated with rounding up the required documents to prove residency and citizenship, missed work, transportation, and other costs that would be imposed in order to comply with the law. The Republican majority voted down amendments in the House and Senate to compensate for those costs.

Think about it. If President Obama has been forced to address ridiculous claims about the authenticity of his birth, think of what might happen to minority voters in some places when they have to present documents to prove who they are.

Like the poll tax and the literacy test, Voter ID has the same effect of suppressing the vote. We must fight to keep it out of our constitution.

Back at the lunch counter again?

Gateway to excellence

By Scott Gray MUL President/CEO We are living in times when progress for communities of color seems to be going in the reverse. Yet, we have come so far -- more of us have advanced degrees and higher paying jobs; more of us own homes and are living in gated communities.

But we seem not to have noticed that our youth are under attack; that there are huge pockets of unemployment and joblessness in our community.

Racial profiling and violence continue to plague us in our neighborhoods, as illustrated by the senseless shooting of young, black and unarmed Trayvon Martin in Florida. Through it all, messages, resources, and programs have become watered down and the plight of our people has been given the cold shoulder.

Now more than ever, our nation is in need of a movement – a force with the visibility and the influence to bring people together. I believe the Urban League is that movement, and I believe our work is more relevant today than ever -- especially as our global society continues to expand.

The 2012 State of Black America Report Recently, I attended the launch of the National Urban League (NUL) 2012 State of Black America (SOBA) report, appropriately named, “Occupy the Vote to Educate, Employ and Empower.” Without question,

2012 finds people of color not only in a struggle to maximize educational opportunities and to access jobs, we now find ourselves battling to retain the right to vote as calls for registration restrictions, voter id, shorter voting hours, curtailing early voting and other penalties restricting the registration process are pending in some 27 states.

Our rights are being threatened all around the country, and Minnesota is no exception.

The Importance of the State of Black America (SOBA) Since 1976, the SOBA has been published annually by the National Urban League. Using facts and research, the SOBA provides a blueprint for solving many of the disparities and life issues faced by communities of color.

The SOBA uses what it calls an Equality Index to compare the progress of Black and Latino Americans to that of White Americans on issues such as income, homeownership, health insurance and education. In light of all the uncertainty, hardship, stress and strife that abound in the lives of African Americans today, the 2012 SOBA is particularly somber.

The 2012 National Urban League Equality Index documents significantly reduced minority voter registration and voter participation in the 2010 mid-term elections. This lost ground in civic engagement is offset by modest gains in education and health. While education can serve as a pathway to economic self-sufficiency and a better life, the 2012 Equality Index suggests that there are barriers along this path for African Americans and Latinos.

For Black America, despite an education index of nearly 80%,

the economic index hovers around 56%. For Hispanic America, the story is similar – the education index is about 76%, while the economic index is only 61%. This data tells us that in our capitalistic society while some educational gains are occurring, wealth accumulation, access to and the maximization of economic opportunity are not so forthcoming.

Sadly, the wage and wealth gaps between people of color and whites in 2012 is mushrooming out of control, impacting what over time has been labeled as the poor, the middle and upper classes. Economic erosions that the Great Recession caused in the employment, housing, and financial sectors are shattering our yester year gains mercilessly.

While documented facts and at times stereotypical fiction were discussed at this year’s launching of the SOBA, a deeper sense of urgency filled the room.

Instead of focusing on progress, it became apparent that we must strategize on how to stop the regress. Will disenfranchisement continue to be state of our community? Can we overcome the alarming gaps?

Has a 21st Century Defining Moment Arrived?

Most compelling was a comment made by panelist Reverend Lennox Yearwood, President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, author of “The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Jim Crow Laws.”

His statement filled the room and still dominates my thoughts today.

“This is our lunch counter moment. If we don’t get it right, it will have catastrophic consequences in the next 10 years,” said Rev. Yearwood.

GRAY TURN TO 6

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

Demand justice Trayvon: A movement

By Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP All of last week, I was in Sanford, Florida, pursuing justice for Trayvon Martin. I listened to community concerns about the Sanford Police Department, and rallied with Trayvon’s parents and 30,000 others in Sanford, a town with only 50,000 residents.

As a son, father, brother and uncle, the loss of another young Black man in an avoidable, violent confrontation hit close to home. I recalled my teen and early adult years, where making it to adulthood was considered an accomplishment among my peers.

I understand the fear that lies in the hearts of millions of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles – the fear that this could happen to their loved one.

Despite the awful truth of February 26, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton have been pillars of courage. Like Mamie Till after the brutal murder of her son Emmett, Tracy and Sybrina have stood and shown the world what hate and violence have done to their child, and the nation and the world have responded. Their leadership has resulted in a global movement for justice for Trayvon and, most recently, in the appointment

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of a special prosecutor to review their son’s case.

The Seminole County branch of the NAACP has played a critical role in igniting this movement for justice in Sanford.

On Thursday – in light of pressure from Seminole County NAACP President Turner Clayton and the branch to step aside – Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee temporarily resigned from his post. Along with

the ongoing Department of Justice investigation, it is heartening to see that the wheels of justice are in motion.

It is clear that the Sanford police badly mishandled the investigation into Trayvon’s death. The routine mishandling of similar cases by police, prosecutors and judges has eroded the Sanford community’s trust and fueled the perception that justice

for our young men and boys is of little consequence to law officials.

It is vitally important that the state’s attorney assigned to this case handles it with passion and an eye for justice.

Trayvon’s family, the Sanford community and the world lost a precious gift in Trayvon.

Unfortunately, he is not the only young person we’ve lost to senseless violence. Trayvon’s

killing and the city’s failure to bring his killer to justice exemplifies patterns of racial profiling and the devaluation of Black men by law enforcement. Across the country, our precious sons and daughters are being sacrificed all too frequently, with justice arriving far too infrequently, if ever.

We won’t let it continue to happen. We will keep speaking out, and we will keep raising our

voices for Trayvon and for all of our precious children. In Sanford, I saw a strong community willing to band together in the face of tragedy and raise its collective voice for justice. We need a continued national commitment to ensure that we fix the Sanford Police Department, and we need to keep the movement rolling to demand justice for Trayvon.

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

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EDUCATION

MPS: Reform working here Building Creative Capital

By Bernadeia H. Johnson MPS Superintendent As leaders of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), we are often surprised but pleased by the number of people who fervently follow the ebbs and flows of teacher contract talks. We need more people paying attention to the critical issues pertaining to public education in our country.

We commend the intelligent public discourse on these issues and we feel it is important that the commitment and enthusiasm people have for this work continue. Now is the time when the systems, the people and the passion are aligned.

Knowledgeable individuals can only help us in our work to make the necessary changes to state and local policies that lead to practices that yield positive outcomes for the city’s youth.

While reading articles, blog posts and editorials, we sometimes wonder if people truly understand the complexities of our work. Education reform: what does that really mean? It is so much more than making adjustments to the teachers’ contract.

In 2007, MPS embarked on a transformational journey with our strategic plan as our

roadmap. The plan clearly laid out many of the core strategies needed to raise every student’s achievement, close the racial and income achievement gaps and deliver on our vision to make every child ready for college and a career. Our plan was aggressive and we knew it would have broad implications for our community, from policymakers at the state to our own staff members to our community at large.

We are very proud of our efforts as a school district to push hard for increasing academic achievement for all our students. This year we approved a new comprehensive academic improvement plan and are working with urgency to close the achievement gap with proven strategies. We have an eight-year trend of improving graduation rates and we have increased postsecondary enrollment rates. Most significantly, for the first time in six years, MPS has made progress in narrowing the achievement gap between students of color and white students. There is no question that we need to get results at a faster pace, but we remain confident that the right plans are in place to achieve our goals.

The teachers’ contract is only one piece of a large, complex puzzle when it comes to reaching our strategic goals. Teacher negotiations get much of the attention, but it is also the reform work that MPS has committed to over the past several years that will drastically improve the academic outcomes of our

students. Reforming schools will require transformational shifts across the school district.

Some might perceive that Minneapolis is lagging behind with aggressive contract negotiations, but we continue to work alongside our teachers’ union on many substantial reforms that will convert MPS into a model urban school district. With the support of the Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Foundation, we are at least two years ahead of most other school districts in implementing a comprehensive teacher evaluation

based on mutual consent of the teacher and the school site.

Through negotiations, we built in protection from layoffs in certain programs like Montessori, immersion, native language literacy and autism. Through negotiations, we increased stability by enabling teachers to make three-year commitments at schools receiving new program status. We will continue to be forward-thinking in negotiating future contracts that advance our institution’s work and support reforms that help yield the greatest outcomes for our

students.

We have many examples of transformational work designed to close the achievement gap in non-traditional ways. We are implementing focused instruction to align what we teach with how we teach and what we assess in a continuous cycle. Our school district is championing a collaborative approach to working with high quality charter and autonomous schools with a deliberate focus on how practices can be replicated to continuously improve our system. We are working to use time in new, different and better ways, increasing time for learners and making sure that our teachers get the necessary time to plan for effective instruction and the adequate training to be successful.

For MPS, reform means transforming a large bureaucracy into a nimble, productive school district that effectively serves our youth. The tireless efforts of our staff make the difference for our students. We have collaborative working relationships with national foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Joyce Foundation that are shaping the work across the country. We have been at the table to help lead the way on reform in our state and we are receiving local and national recognition that validates our efforts. In the last year alone, our team contributed expertise and support in securing early education funding from Race to the Top, as well as Promise Neighborhood funding

for the Northside Achievement Zone and $3 million from The McKnight Foundation to improve early literacy. In May 2011, we received major investments of over $13 million from Target, Cargill, General Mills and Medtronic to help further MPS strategic plan priorities in areas across the pre-K-12 academic continuum. These investments represent the best of what makes Minnesota great – a strong partnership between the private and public sector on behalf of our children’s futures.

There is no silver bullet.

While many in our community are looking for the perfect 100 percent solution, the reality is that the answer to reducing the learning gap is spread among many solutions. The little things we do and the incremental changes we implement make all the difference. This is about putting together many critical components of a plan; changing laws, policies, structures and strategies; and, most of all, having the right people in place – that’s when the magic happens.

The charge of educating our youth at high levels extends beyond our school buildings – it is a collective responsibility of our community. We welcome those who are serious about academic reform to continue to join us in advocacy. Families, faith communities, service organizations, businesses and policy makers: we all can support the achievement of our students.

No matter who you are, you can make a difference.

Percy Chism, Hopkins High School

Jarred Morris, East Ridge High School

Braxton Bakari Haulcy, Minnetonka High School

This collaboratively developed agreement will help accelerate positive academic outcomes for students across the school district.

Collaboration with the teachers’ union over the past several years has enabled our schools to retain instructional staff members who best fit program needs, place uniquely qualified staff in difficult-to-fill positions and create greater stability for programs that need extra support.

Through negotiations, we agreed to eliminate seniority-based realignment and implement a process to place teachers

“The charge of educating our youth at high levels extends beyond our school buildings – it is a collective responsibility of our community.” system that recognizes exemplary teachers and provides specific professional development opportunities for teachers who may need additional support. Our system will be a strong one that we hope will be used as a model for the state and country.

We were pleased to announce that MPS and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) reached a tentative agreement on a new contract on March 22 that strengthens the commitment to providing the city’s youth with excellent educational opportunities.

Rites of Passage addendum On Saturday, March 10, 2012, seventeen, high school seniors experienced a traditional African ceremony that symbolized their transformation from childhood to adulthood. In front of their family, friends and mentors, the

seventeen initiates were presented at the 14th Annual Minneapolis Chapter of Jack and Jill’s Rites of Passage (ROP) ceremony, entitled: Building Strength of Mind and Strength of Character. Pictured are three of the young initiates whose

photos were omitted from the article that was published in the March 19, 2012 edition of Insight News. Read the entire article at www.insightnews.com

andrews-photography.com

Near North affordable housing development plans advance Emerson North earns key endorsement from Rep. Keith Ellison; neighborhood association drafts community benefits agreement with developer The Northside Residents Redevelopment Council will host a meeting regarding the Emerson North housing development Tuesday, April 10, at 6 PM at the

Urban Research and Outreach Center.

NRRC and Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, the developer of Emerson North, have drafted a Community Benefits Agreement regarding the proposed development and seek neighbors’ affirmation of the agreement. The draft reflects design preferences

neighbors requested, sets minority hiring goals and establishes a neighborhood advisory group in exchange for NRRC board support.

New building design options including fewer units than the 48 proposed originally, two roof options featuring lower roof heights facing 18th Avenue and added street-level porches.

Ellison endorses Emerson North as community asset A key endorsement comes from Rep. Keith Ellison, a Near North resident. Ellison told a group Feb. 22 at the Families Moving Forward Day Center that Emerson North is the kind of high-quality affordable housing that will be a community asset by creating jobs, generating customers for local businesses and boosting families’ financial stability.

Families Moving Forward is a program of Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation.

“There are two ways to deconcentrate poverty. One is to disperse poor people, the other is to make them not poor anymore.

How do we break the chain of poverty? Let’s start with housing,” Ellison said.

Emerson North is planned as multi-family workforce housing affordable to households with income between $20,000 and $40,000 a year, with up to 12 units reserved for formerly homeless families transitioning from our Families Moving Forward emergency shelter program. FMF staff will provide support services for them. Application priority will be given to families displaced by last May’s tornado, which damaged 500 homes, many of which remain in disrepair.

The development is being planned in partnership with a neighborhood congregational task force including clergy and representatives from Masjid An Nur, Church of the Ascension, Shiloh Temple International Ministries and Greater Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church.

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

AESTHETICS American Family: A contemporary look at Black identity Park Square Theatre presents American Family, a world premiere commission, produced in association with

Carlyle Brown & Company, now through April 7.

Set in Alabama, in 1964, the play opens on the

playground where Mary Ellen Collins last saw her mother. At just nine years old, Mary Ellen had been taken away by her long-absent father after her mother was deemed unfit for marrying a Black man. Now a young adult, Mary Ellen

has finally read the letters her mother sent to her over the years since that terrible separation. From those letters, she learns about her halfbrother, born after she was taken away, and reaches out to meet him for the first time.

Petronella Ytsma

L-R: Laura Collins Richardson (Noel Raymond), Jimmy Richardson (Gavin Lawrence), Narrator (Tracey Maloney) Sharing their stories, brother and sister begin to heal from the past, with the hope that the family comes back together.

The idea for this commission bubbled up after Park Square’s production of

Othello in 2009. James A. Williams, who was Othello and is featured as the grandfather in American Family, was working with Carlyle Brown in preparation for his role, directed by Richard Cook.

“Richard Cook has been extraordinary,” says Brown.

“He has given me great artistic freedom. It has truly been a collaborative venture, allowing me to bring into the process a constellation of artists that comprise Carlyle Brown & Company, to play roles written with them in mind.”

“I have great respect for Carlyle,” says Cook. “His exploration of what is the American identity tells a story important for our time. I have watched this new work evolve, and I am excited to present it to the community on Park Square’s stage.”

Brown was influenced by seeing the movie One Potato, Two Potato many years ago.

He couldn’t forget the parting scene as the young girl is being driven away, watching her mother running after the car. His play takes up the story where it ended, exploring the years following her separation from her mother.

“This is a new kind of play for me,” says Brown. “I am exploring the American identity from an AfricanAmerican perspective, but the central character is white. And I’ve never written a play with a female central character. My family experience was not combative or dysfunctional.

It was supportive and loving.

There are many negative notions of what Black families are that undermines the power of those families.

I am attracted to this story, where the strength of the Black family reflects my experience.”

American Family features a stellar cast, including Michael Terrell Brown (Tommy Richardson), Megan Fischer (Mary Ellen CollinsRichardson), Gavin Lawrence (Jimmy Richardson), John Middleton (Billy Collins), Tracey Maloney (Narrator), Greta Oglesby (Martha Richardson), Noel Raymond (Laura Collins-Richardson) and James A. Williams (Sonny Richardson).

American Family Now through April 7, 2012 (no performance on Easter) PARK SQUARE THEATRE 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul Box office: 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org

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

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Dedra Herron-Slack

Reverend Curtis A. Herron

Herron From 1 Our father instilled many things of importance in his children: He introduced us to Jesus and prepared us for a spiritual and God filled life . He taught us to study God’s word and deepen our relationship with God. He also believed in the Church both universal and local and

Gray From 2

Courtesy of Dedra Herron-Slack

stressed the importance of church participation and membership.

Some of us were a little slow embracing his love for the church but we all eventually got there.

He believed in Education, and was determined to make sure each of us furthered our education after high school. While in school he helped each of us with our homework and loved helping us with our papers. He never told or suggested a profession for us but was excited for us in all our endeavors. We did not have much money but all of us

had the opportunity to attend College. It was the money he got from weddings and funerals that supplied our monthly allowances of 25.00.

He gave us the gift of humor. He always referred to the documents when we were growing up as if he really had documents that told him certain things. When Brian’s children were little they use to ask Grandpa where the documents were hidden.

He wouldn’t tell them. When my children came along, they would go to the house and look for the

If we as a community don’t get involved in the political process, if we don’t occupy the vote, if we don’t stop the foggy politics of voter id the regression

will continue. As progress in our community continues to be threatened, we know it is time for serious change and yet we have remained lethargic. Where

Michelle Spaise

were doing caring for him. The same week we got that disturbing news, he became unstable on his feet and required assistance. One night as I was helping him in bed he looked at me and said in a quiet voice “ I can’t take care of myself anymore”. I answered him and said no you can’t but it is ok because all of us are going to be right here with you.

One of the great riches of care giving is that it embraces something more than simply a focus on a cure. Care giving carries within it an opportunity for transformation for the one being cared for and the one who cares.

Our greatest gift is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. We could not take daddy’s pain away, or offer him a solution, but we could promise him that we wouldn’t leave him alone and we would hold onto him as long and as well as we could.

During the last week of his life we the children all participated in his care, administering medicine, rubbing his arms, holding his hands, quoting scriptures, praying and singing. We began to understand how sacred this time was for all of us. God was doing some important work in all of our lives as we watched our father struggle to make it through everyday. We witnessed the inward journey as he started pulling away from us. We all knew that our walk with him was coming to an end and He would have to go the rest of the journey alone into God arms.

In this last year of care giving for my father I received as much as I have given. It’s difficult to be unwell and even more difficult to loose independence suddenly. It was in those moments of doing for my father what he could no longer do for himself that God became most present. I will forever be transformed by my month with Dad. On Saturday, Daddy started his journey to his final home. He was no longer speaking or moving much. At that time we each assured him we would be ok, we told him not to worry about mom we would take care of her – He could let go now…

documents because they believed they really existed. In December of this past year, he finally got real documents! He received a book with all of his real documents for estate planning. He called me one morning and said Dedra, I am sitting here looking at my documents tell Paul and Caleb they can come see them. We use to have ignorant contest, he gave us eyeball licks, he said the craziest things and we spent a lot of time laughing at ourselves.

He instilled in us the love of hymns. He loved hymns and use to tell me it is the most theologically sound music there is in the Christian Church. As a result I think all four of us love hymns.

He had the gift of presence.

As a pastor he was a very busy man, but he was never too busy to take us to school or to drive us to choir rehearsal. When I was a cheerleader it was not unusual to see him sitting in the stands supporting me. I had the great privilege of having children last, when he and my mother were less busy and my children have not had one band, theater, poetry or any other performance with out the presence and support of their grandparents. I believe all of us have experienced his presence as we have grown older and spent time with him either on the phone or in person.

He taught us how to graciously accept the will of God. On March 7th when Brian and I went to the oncologist, it was a sobering moment for all of us when the doctor said the cancer had spread and it was a very aggressive disease. He looked my dad square in the eye and let him know it was going to take his life very quickly.

At that point he said you are in the hands of God and told us he would contact hospice. Our hearts were heavy as he left the office that day. By then my dad could hardly walk. We drove home in silence. Brian and I talked with him and Mom when we got home.

It seemed his balloon had been deflated. You see my dad took extra special care of himself, and had planned to live to 100. You could see the surrender in his eyes.

I felt the need to just sit there the rest of the day. Mostly because I was frozen by the news and wondering what the next weeks and months would bring. Little did I know there would be no months and barely any weeks. He told me in the kitchen that he had to wrap his mind around this thing and lean into what God was trying to do with him. It was at that point I figured the rest of us needed to wrap our minds around this news and lean into God also. In his sickness, he was gracious, sweet, kind and always said thank you and told us what a good job we

is the passion, support, anger, frustration, unity…?!

Is this a lunch counter moment? Have circumstances escalated to a point that if we as a community do not collectively respond intentionally and strategically right now, the future for us and next generation becomes bleak? What is it going to take for us as a nation to realize that adequately investing in communities of color strengthens America as a whole?

From my vantage point, this is indeed a lunch counter moment, not just for Black America or Latino America, but for the United States of America.

As international motivator Les Brown says, “each day we must fight for the positive things we want in our lives, for when we do not, the things that we do not want will overtake us.” With that in mind, I say we must harness our diverse skill sets and

intellect, our inventive thinking, replicable solutions, and our collective energies in quest of the greater good.

NUL SOBA: A Barometer; A Catalyst for Human Development Solutions Locally and Nationally The SOBA offers solutions to the challenges that face us as a nation. The truths it uncovers are not sugar-coated, but despite many of its dire conclusions the SOBA should not be viewed as a doom and gloom publication.

In fact, it should be used as a valuable tool by decision makers and advocates in all areas of public policy. It can also help community-based agencies plan their programmatic responses to the needs of the people they serve. The Minneapolis Urban League uses SOBA information to design and execute its program service delivery model for the Twin Cities. A

current innovative strategy under development includes our 13th Grade Initiative, which is designed to equip young adults ages 18 to 26 with the kind of customized vocational and technical upskilling that will prepare them for careers in emerging job sectors.

If we are to reverse the trends that suggest that Black America is regressing instead of progressing, it is imperative that each of us be active, engaged, and knowledgeable participants in the process of change. With so much at stake for our future, the most important thing we can do right now to make change happen is to register for and occupy the vote! The Minneapolis Urban League is at the lunch counter daily serving as a catalyst for change, delivering programs and services that transform lives.

Will you join us there?

Health

to a primary care physician, and less likely to receive high quality care.

Compared to non-Hispanic whites, the average AfricanAmerican child is twice as likely to be hospitalized from asthma, and more than four times as likely to die from it.

The Affordable Care Act takes steps to change all this.

The Department of Health and Human Services has developed and is implementing the first-ever department-wide Action Plan to Reduce Health Disparities. The new health care law is providing new tools and resources to put the plan into action, including upgrading data collection standards to better understand and ultimately

get rid of gaps in the quality of health and health care across groups.

Over the next few years, the health care law will introduce new tools that will make a huge difference in the lives of millions of AfricanAmericans, expanding access to health coverage to 34 million Americans, including nearly seven million AfricanAmericans.

Starting in 2014, Affordable Insurance Exchanges will serve as a one-stop marketplace for Americans, new tax credits will help families buy coverage, and Medicaid will be expanded to cover more low-income Americans.

Of course, we still have a great deal of work to do to make sure every American has access to affordable, quality care -- and eliminating health disparities entirely is a goal that will take a great deal of time to achieve.

But each and every day, we are making progress, and we will continue to do so, until all Americans have the care and security they deserve.

For more on the Affordable Care Act and the AfricanAmerican community, visit whitehouse.gov.

Fact Sheet: The Affordable Care Act and the African American Community http://www.whitehouse. gov/sites/default/files/docs/the_ aca_helps_african_americans_ fact_sheet.pdf Watch Vanessa’s Story: Health Coverage Without Lifetime Limits http://www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2012/03/20/vanessacarehealth-coverage-withoutlifetime-limits

From 1 The Corps is a network of primary care providers serving areas of significant need, and helps medical students pay back their loans in exchange for their service.

Finally, the new health care law is helping to level the playing field and eliminate health disparities -a key priority for the Obama Administration. Today, AfricanAmericans are less likely to have health insurance than Americans as a whole. They are also less likely to have access

insightnews.com

Martin From 1 I don’t have any children, but I have several nephews.

All of them are good kids.

None of them have ever been in trouble with the law. Yet, I am fearful for their safety on a daily basis. I’m fearful because I know they are a suspect in a major investigation. They are Black young men, so it is their birthright that they fit the description of the suspect.

My sister reminded me that on the day Trayvon was murdered, Feb. 26, we were on a family outing celebrating the birthday of my youngest nephew, Taylor. He just turned 15; a couple of years younger than Trayvon. I think of Taylor.

He’s an absolute joy to be around. He’s warm, polite and intelligent – even if he doesn’t apply his intelligence to every situation. He’d make anyone proud. He makes me proud.

But Taylor is a big kid.

At fifteen, he’s taller than me (which is not saying much as I stand only at 5’7”) and he easily outweighs me (and outweighs

Insight News • April 2 - April 8, 2012 • Page 7 Trayvon by nearly 50 pounds).

He’s a fairly-well put together freshman who, like Trayvon, plays football. Taylor likes to dress like his contemporaries.

He likes the baggy, loose-fitting style of clothing. His pants don’t sag because I won’t allow it, but they certainly don’t fit the way I’d want them to fit; that’s for sure. He’s in the gym often, so much of the time he wears sweat suits – with hoods. We call them “hoodies.” I’m sure he has one that looks identical to the one Trayvon had on when he was gunned down – armed with nothing more than a cell phone, an Arizona Iced Tea and a bag of Skittles. On any given day, Taylor could be Trayvon.

He fits the description.

“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

I look like Trayvon. Yes, a much older version with a little less hair and probably far less charming, but Trayvon, none the less. I think back to when I was Trayvon’s age. I think back to well before I was Trayvon’s age. I think back to when I was 5-years-old and was first called a nigger by a white child. We were at church. I was the only Black kid in this particular

church. The little white boy told me, “move nigger!” I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew I didn’t want to be one.

I think back to when I was coming into my teenage years and my grandmother sat me down to have that “birds and the bees” talk. But this wasn’t your average “where do babies come from” lesson. We had gone over that years prior. This was a far more serious, more important talk.

I was a freshman being bussed out to an almost all white high school in St. Louis (MO) County. It was the mid1980s and forced (voluntary on our part, forced on the school districts) desegregation was not welcomed by many.

Later into the school year I began spending time with a white female classmate. We were talking on the phone a lot and from time-to-time we’d steal an occasional kiss.

One day the young lady called my home and my grandmother told her I wasn’t available to talk. I was furious.

“Why can’t I talk to her?” I demanded. That’s when my grandmother sat me down for that birds and bees talk. I

Beckers From 1 Minneapolis has created a Facebook page and allows the public to vote and select where the next cash mob will take place.

According to Beckers, her experience “was incredible because people came from everywhere.” She estimates there were about 150 people that came into her shop on Saturday; most of them hadn’t been to the shop before. Her sales for the day were equivalent to a slow month of total sales. The Lowry Café, next door to the Goddess of Glass also had a fantastic day as new people stopped for a bite to eat before or after their cash mob experience.

The cash mob isn’t the only creative tool Connie has used to create visibility; she also uses local deal sites such as Groupon and Crowd Cut to sell classes at her studio, the Funky Bungalow.

In the past year Beckers has sold over 650 classes. The classes are small enough for students to get individual attention and everyone leaves with a piece of handmade art.

Beckers uses this opportunity to teach her attendees about more than art, “98 percent of the people have never been to North Minneapolis before.

So, I kinda use the power of having a captive audience to give them an education not only on glass fusing but on the community. We are not without our challenges but so is every neighborhood. I think

Suluki Fardan

I am having a little success.”

The proud Northside native chose to raise her family in North Minneapolis because it is an affordable community to purchase a home and an excellent place to raise kids, “a lot of what we see in the media is exaggerated and sensationalized.”

This summer Beckers is offering another unique opportunity for artists and art lovers, NOMI Community Support Art- CSA. Instead of the traditional CSA- Community Supported Agriculture in which customers buy a share in a farm, Beckers has created a program in which art enthusiasts can purchase a “share” of North Minneapolis art and become a NOMI CSA Shareholder.

Through this competitive process ten Northside artists were selected and will be given a stipend to create ten art “shares.”

Shareholders can purchase shares and they will receive three “shares” of art throughout the summer at events hosted by the Goddess

of Glass. Shareholders will have the opportunity to meet the artists. Artists include: Bill Cottman. Angela Davis, David Hoffman, Dan Hylton, Tia Salmela Keobounphang, Valeri Luepke, Michael McGraw, Johnna Morrow, Sarah Ruehmann, and Lucy Yogerst.

Mediums include: photography, sculpture, music, ceramics, poetry and much more.

Beckers has learned that running a business is both rewarding and challenging but building a network of other

remember her tone of worry; of fear. I remember her saying no matter how much the little girl might like me; her parents might not feel the same. I remember her saying how easy it is for Black men to be falsely accused of raping white women.

I remember her telling me the story of Emmett Till, a Black child brutalized and murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman. This was a story to which I later heard directly from Till’s mother, Mamie Till Mobley. Unfortunately, Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton and father, Tracy Martin now have similar warnings to spread.

See, as Black men in America, we are constantly aware of our blackness. We are taught, as I’m sure was Trayvon, “how to be Black.”

We are taught to keep our hands in plain sight at all times as to not give anyone (and let’s be real here, when I say anyone I’m speaking of white people; in particular those of authority – or perceived authority, such as a police officer or dare I say, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain) the excuse of “he was reaching for a weapon.” We

are taught to never make sudden movements. Maybe that’s why when Trayvon was instructed by his girlfriend – to whom he was talking to on the phone – to run while being pursued (hunted) by his eventual killer, he said he’d just walk a little faster.

“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

Yes, we live in a different time than in which my grandmother lived. Yes, we have access and opportunity far beyond that of our parents and grandparents. Yes, we have access to exclusive gated communities in Florida. Yes, we have a president who, if he had a son, would in fact look like Trayvon.

But, we also live in an era where to date the killer of Trayvon Martin has not been arrested; has not been charged.

We live in an era where I am fearful anytime that I drive, I may be pulled over for no other reason than the color of my skin; and that stop may result in the end of my life. We live in an era where I sometimes decide to wear a business suit, not because of business, but because I know the suit makes

me less threatening to whites; thus making it less likely for me to be the random Black suspect.

Oftentimes I want to wear my hoodie, but I think, “Do I want to walk out of the house instantly endangering myself?”

We live in an era where I still feel uncomfortable being alone in an elevator with a white woman; so uncomfortable that I make a conscious effort to get on the far side of the woman and always stand in her plain sight, not making any sudden movements. She could have mace. Like Trayvon’s killer, Zimmerman, she could have a gun. I want her to be as comfortable as possible. I’m a Black male. Regardless of my attire, I fit the profile. I don’t want to die due to the cell phone in my pocket or my bag of Skittles.

President Obama only took one question at the press conference announcing Kim as nominee to head the World Bank. The question was about Trayvon Martin. He answered, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

President Obama, you do have a son. His name is Trayvon Martin.

entrepreneurs and business owners makes the tough days more palatable. Her advice to start up businesses, you need to be “committed to the long run and understand success doesn’t come over night. There are days where you have no sales and you need to prepare for the good and the bad. It is tough…wait for the rewards.”

Becker claims that building her small business network has contributed to her success and she will share her business and social media knowhow with just about anyone, “buy me a cup of coffee and I will tell you anything.”

Apparent in her business model, which includes strict Northside hiring practices and creating opportunities for artist to gain exposure and make money, it is clear that Beckers isn’t only dedicated to the success of her own businesses but increasing wealth and visibility for the entire Northside arts community.

Beckers is currently looking for more Northside Artists interested in selling at her store;

she is specifically looking to further diversify the collection to include more afro-centric and machismo art.

Tel: 612-521-0399

THE GODDESS OF GLASS & FRIENDS unique gifts + fine art + custom framing 2205 Lowry Ave N Minneapolis MN 55411

THE FUNKY BUNGALOW Glass Studio 3243 Girard Ave N Minneapolis MN 55412 Tel: 612-327-0283 Open by appointment and for scheduled classes

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

insightnews.com

Media coverage of Evangelical Christians ignores Blacks and Latinos

By Nadra Kareem Nittle, Maynard Institute for Structural Inequalities With state and national Republicans emphasizing religious wedge issues, such as health coverage for contraception and separation of church and state, the media have frequently reported on the demographic most aroused by these issues evangelical voters. But have the media accurately portrayed these evangelical Christians?

For many, the answer is a resounding “no.”

News reports often leave the impression that all evangelical Christians are white and usually support the most conservative Republican candidates. Totally overlooked is the fact that many African-Americans, Latinos and other people of color are evangelical Christians whose views are rarely cited.

With its narrow coverage of this demographic, the media may have an inadvertent impact on the political process. Evangelical Christians are portrayed as the most committed religious believers in America. Does this give the perception that God

backs their positions on issues including abortion and samesex marriage? Does that give an unfair advantage to candidates aligned with issues supposedly receiving divinesupport?

People of color, a growing segment of the evangelical community, and their positions on issues are rarely seen or heard in the media. Religion scholars and experts say it’s critical that the media quickly adjust coverage to include all evangelical Christians or risk giving an unfair advantage to candidates supported by the largely conservative, white evangelicals.

An example typical of the media coverage appeared last Dec. 18 as the primary election season approached. The Washington Post published a feature-length article suggesting that evangelicals were unsure about which candidate to support for president. All of them interviewed in the piece were white, and “the right to life” predictably surfaced among their top concerns. Such articles fuel the perception that evangelicals are a monolithic group politically and racially.

The Post could not be reached

Nadra Kareem Little for comment.

Lisa Sharon Harper, author of the book “Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican or Democrat” and co-author of “Left, Right & Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics,” says the term “evangelical” has a meaning different than what is portrayed in the mainstream media.

“The media would do well not to call [the religious right] evangelicals,” says Harper, also director of mobilizing for Sojourners, a Christian social justice organization in Washington. “They’re really thinking about a political bloc.

They’re not thinking about theological evangelicals.”

Harper notes that political evangelicals tend to be white, live in suburban or rural areas and have a history of supporting a conservative agenda over the past 30 years. In contrast, she says theological evangelicals have existed for hundreds of years and have challenged the status quo.

She points to William Wilberforce, the evangelical Christian, who led the movement to abolish slavery in Great Britain in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Wilberforce also worked to end poverty and cruelty to animals and to expand educational access.

Harper says contemporary evangelical Christians strive to raise awareness about similar issues. “What you’re finding among theological evangelicals is there’s such a broader spectrum of issues that they care about,” she says. “It won’t just be abortion or same-sex marriage. It will also be the prison industrial complex and how that impacts the Black community and the Latino community. It will be the issue of immigration.”

Ron Sider, founder of

Evangelicals for Social Action in Wynnewood, Pa., and author of “Fixing the Moral Deficit: A Balanced Way to Balance the Budget,” agrees that the media should be more precise when using the term “evangelical.”

Sider notes that evangelicals are a racially diverse group. The Latino evangelical population is growing thanks to rising numbers of Hispanic Pentecostal churches. He says that many African-Americans attend churches that also fall under the evangelical umbrella but that Blacks may not openly identify as such.

“It’s entirely understandable [Blacks] don’t like the term evangelical because for the past couple of decades evangelicals who’ve voted for Republicans don’t seem to be concerned about racial justice issues,” Sider says.

Views of the religious right, as evangelical voters are also known, concern Sider because he doesn’t believe that their agenda is biblical enough. A biblical political agenda would also include economic justice and environmentalism, known in Christian circles as “creation care,” he says.

Sider says he understands, for example, why conservative evangelical voters are concerned about the federal deficit, but he objects to solving the deficit by slashing benefits for the poor, a group for which Christ advocated.

“I say that isn’t biblical.

That’s unjust.”

The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson II, director of public witness for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office, says the media have neglected to explore differences in political ideologies among evangelical Christians because journalists are under pressure to craft stories that will grab attention, a strategy that doesn’t always allow for nuanced coverage.

Nelson says the media have identified the religious right as Christian fundamentalists.

He objects to Christian conservatives being represented exclusively as evangelicals and says political titles detract from pressing issues.

“I think it’s a problem we’re facing, this deep categorization that we’ve bought into at all levels of discourse,” Nelson

MEDIA TURN TO 10

Women’s History Month: We have a good reason to celebrate

By Ron Busby, Sr. President, U.S. Black Chamber, Inc.

As this year’s women’s history month comes to an end, I am reminded of how proud I was to have our history acknowledged every February for Black History

Month. My parents made sure I learned everything possible about our Black heritage, the struggles and obstacles we endured and the importance of African Americans on the history of our nation.

In 1987, our government decided that women also deserved to be honored in the same way. So, while February is Black History Month, March has been designated as Women’s History Month. This is a time to focus on and acknowledge the important roles that women take on in today’s world and the contributions they continue to make to history. This year, the theme of Women’s History Month is the empowerment of women through education.

For many years, women have struggled to obtain the rights so long held by men alone; the right to an education, the right to vote, the right to work, the right to fair wages, and the right to own their own businesses.

Within the last 20 years, there has been a rise in corporate affirmative action programs, meant to help diversify the workplace and make way for more Black entrepreneurs and businesses. It was intended that African Americans and other minorities would find a level playing field in the business world.

Somewhere along the way, women were also categorized as minorities.

This is often seen as a point of frustration for many minorities because while women may own the businesses, in many cases the companies are still being managed by white men, and white men continue to benefit

dailychamber.com

Ron Busby, Sr.

the most. It is believed that for this reason Black businesses have suffered when it comes to all levels of government contract opportunities and access. Federal contracting still does not fall equally between each minority and disadvantaged groups. The U.S. Black Chamber, however, chooses to embrace this point of diversification and celebrate women-owned businesses each day of the year.

African American women have struggled to overcome these disadvantages, and with perseverance they have succeeded. In 2007, there were nearly 912,000 African American women-owned businesses in America. From 1997, that is a 191.4% increase.

Businesses owned by African American men during that same time period increased 93.1%.

Of all African American-owned businesses, 47.4% are owned by women. The U.S. Black Chamber sees this opportunity

to partner with fast growing sector.

When we think of Black women who have been successful entrepreneurs, we often look back at Madame C.J. Walker. She traveled the country, demonstrating her methods for African-American hair care and styling. She was the first Black female to own a business valued at over $1 million dollars.

Fast forward to recent history, we can refer to the success of business women such as self-made billionaire Oprah with her Harpo Productions, Janice Bryant Howroyd founder of Act1-group, the largest minority-owned employment agency in the country and Cathy Hughes, Founder and Chairperson of Radio One, a multi-media company that focuses on African American and other urban consumers across the country, and so many others.

We can also look to the strength and perseverance of our own women, the women of the U.S. Black Chamber that we serve on a daily basis and celebrate all year long. A woman such as the President and CEO of this month’s featured Black Chamber, Natalie Cofield.

Natalie is the CEO of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce in Austin, Texas.

She has brought her extensive skills and knowledge to the chamber in order to help with the economic development on behalf of the African American community in the greater Austin area.

Another shining example of strong female leaders is

the owner of the U.S. Black Chamber’s featured business of the month, Leah Brown, President and CEO of A10 Clinical Solutions, Inc. Ms. Brown has earned the honor of being Inc. Magazine’s Number One African-American-Run Business. Her company is one of the fastest-growing businesses in America.

New York, Georgia and Florida are the three states which have the highest number of businesses owned

by African American women.

The top industry in which African American women own businesses include social assistance and health care (32%).

No matter the industry, African American women have a place to stake a claim. They have the ability and opportunity to become leaders and to make a true difference in their communities. It takes drive, passion, strength and knowledge to get to where these women are today.

Through education and inspiration, we can see a country that is full of businesses that are owned and operated by African American women.

Those businesses cannot help but succeed if we work together and take their dreams for a future company and turn them into reality.

The U.S. Black Chamber takes great pride in celebrating the successes of Blacks and women, not just during a single designated month, but all year long. ron@usblackchamber.org

insightnews.com

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

COMMENTARY Too old to be surprised by the murder of Trayvon Nobody Asked Me

By Fred Easter I am way too old to be surprised by the murder, last month, of young Treyvon Martin, in Sanford, Florida.

When Emmett Till’s murderers were acquitted, back in the fifties, I saw my Mother cry for the first time.

Emmett and I were the same age and she knew I was as likely as Emmett to whistle at

a woman.

I also know that there have been entire decades in this country’s history when a Black man was lynched, somewhere in the South, every day. Yes! EVERY DAY! Over 365 brothers murdered each year, for decades at a time.

Many were murdered for the same reason young Martin lost his life. They were walking while looking suspiciously Black and appearing to have no cares.

However, even my advanced age and knowledge of history are not sufficient to ease the pain and dampen the outrage at seeing another bright Black life snuffed out and listening to pitiful, mealymouthed attempts at cover ups

and spins of the awful truth.

Cogent arguments have been advanced that America owes the descendants of its former slaves a huge debt

put on the light and look in the mirror. Perhaps then, it might be able to acknowledge that the face peering back at it is not the face of the world’s

is reprehensible. Lying to oneself is pathology; deeply rooted sickness.

One encouraging sign is that, these days, with tweets,

“The reality is that there is no “there” anymore.

There is here. It has arrived at our doorstep. We have to answer the doorbell and deal with the caller who is this American society.” that should be quantified and paid. For my purposes here, it would be a useful first step if America would just get up one night, when it’s quiet in the house and go into its bathroom,

steadfast fighter for freedom, fairness and democracy. It might see clearly that some scrubbing is needed on the “home of the brave and land of the free”. Lying to others

blogs and all the social media, heinous acts are known around the country and the world before very long. It is getting harder to lynch someone and suppress the news, as was

done with most of Jim Crow’s victims.

I heard someone say, the other day, that the problem with Alabama and Mississippi was that they were too small to be a nation and too big to be a mental institution. Florida is in that category, as well.

If you watch the nightly news and see the coverage of some local tragedy you will hear people say “I didn’t think this could happen here”.

The reality is that there is no “there” anymore. There is here. It has arrived at our doorstep. We have to answer the doorbell and deal with the caller who is this American society.

Justice demanded in the death of Trayvon Martin

By Marc H. Morial NNPA Columnist “Everybody is outraged. There is no justice in this.” Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin Being a young Black man has been called the hardest job in America. Young Black men are much more likely than white men to be jobless, in jail and labelled “suspicious,” sometimes with deadly consequences. Such was the case on February 26th, when 17-year-old high school student, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by a white neighborhoodwatch vigilante in Sanford, Florida. The shooter, George Zimmerman, a 28-yearold white Hispanic, noticed Trayvon walking through his gated community and called 911 to report a suspicious person. Instead of following

the dispatcher’s instructions and ending his involvement there, Zimmerman continued following Trayvon.

An altercation ensued and Trayvon was shot. Zimmerman claimed self defense and has not been charged with a crime.

Trayvon’s parents are both heartbroken and outraged.

As Benjamin Crump, the family’s lawyer put it, “If Trayvon would have been the triggerman, it’s nothing Trayvon Martin could have said to keep police from arresting him Day 1, Hour 1.”

Of the many unanswered questions in this case, two stand out. First, Trayvon Martin, who had just stopped off at a convenience store, was armed only with a bag of Skittles and a can of ice tea.

George Zimmerman, who weighed over 100 pounds more than the victim, was armed with a 9 millimeter handgun. Even if there was a

Trayvon Martin physical altercation between the two, why was such deadly force necessary?

Second, one of the

reasons the police gave for not immediately arresting Zimmerman was that he had a “squeaky clean” record. A few

days later it was discovered that Zimmerman had been arrested in 2005 for resisting arrest with battery on a police officer. Trayvon Martin, on the other hand, had no criminal record.

These and other troubling facts have led the Central Florida Urban League and others, to call on the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation. Central Florida Urban League president and CEO, Allie Braswell said, “A private citizen taking law enforcement into his own hands cannot be condoned.

If it is found that a crime has been committed, the shooter must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case is now generating national attention and we will be following it closely.

We do not know for sure why George Zimmerman

killed Trayvon Martin. But we do know, according to a 2011 College Board report, that 45 percent of African American high school graduates between the ages of 15 and 24 will end up “unemployed, incarcerated or dead.” We also know that the murder of innocent Black men in the American South is nothing new. Fifty-seven years ago, the white murderers of 14-year old Emmitt Till in the Mississippi Delta were acquitted of the crime in a clear case of racial injustice.

As the father of a 10-year old African American son, I join all African American parents and Americans of conscience everywhere in calling for an end to the war against young Black men and a thorough investigation of the death of Trayvon Martin.

Marc H. Morial is the President and CEO of the National Urban League

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

insightnews.com

FULL CIRCLE The art of effective male-female communication Man Talk

By Timothy Houston We live in the communication age. With more and more information shared via emails and chats, communication issues are on the rise. When it comes to male - female relationships, effective communication has become even more complicated. Effective communication is achieved when a message is clearly transmitted by the sender and clearly understood by the receiver. Here are my 6 key actions that will help improve communication between men and women.

1. Share first. Part of the challenge of effective communicating is determining the reason for the message. Men

Media From 8 says. He contends that how Christians and other groups politically identify depends on circumstances in which they find themselves at a given time.

“Nobody’s conservative or liberal or moderate all of the time,” Nelson says.

He also says that Christian views on issues such as contraception are more

often view a barrage of back-toback questions as an interrogation and not as communication.

When you share your examples, experiences, perspective first, it allows the other person to get a better understanding of the reason for the conversation. Sharing your thoughts first also sets the tone, attitude, and disposition of the sender and the expectation of the receiver.

2. Share at the level of detail that you would like to receive in the response. This is part of the reason of sharing first. If you want a blow-by-blow response, sharing first allows you to give blow-by-blow examples. To ask for details without being willing to share details is not effective communication. Conversation is a process of giving and taking.

It requires openly and willingly sharing at the level of detail that you would like to receive.

3. Confirm the message that was received from the sender.

This is the “what I heard you say” part of communicating. When

a message is shared, it is filtered by the thoughts, experiences, and preconceived ideas of the receiver. What the sender says and what the receiver hears can often be lost in translations.

Confirming the message allows the sender the opportunity to clear up any miscommunication or misunderstanding. This is

complicated than the way they are depicted in the media, that some evangelicals do fight for health coverage for contraception because it may help women treat medical conditions such as endometriosis.

Nelson also cites churches that have distributed condoms in impoverished areas where mothers already struggle to feed children. He says these evangelicals have tried to meet needs of people in their communities.

Edward Gilbreath is editor

of UrbanFaith.com and senior director of digital & consumer media at Urban Ministries Inc., in Chicago. He is also an editor at large for Christianity Today and author of “Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity.”

Gilbreath encourages the media to report more comprehensively on evangelicals. He recalls a time when news networks thought they were representing diverse viewpoints in Christianity by interviewing two prominent

even more critical when emotions are involved. Men need time to process emotional responses so confirming the message allows them time to process.

4. Use body language that supports the message. This is even more important when communicating over the phone.

A smile can be heard through the

telephone. When communicating in person, 55 percent of the message is non-verbal so be mindful of the message your body language is sending.

5. Talk more text less. Texting is a poor form of communication.

The messages are usually abbreviated and do not include punctuations. They also are riddled with acronyms that may be known only to the sender. If the message has the potential to be emotionally charged, pick up the phone and call the other person.

Face-to-face meetings are the most effective, and they should be used whenever possible.

6. Remove any and all distractions. Real communication requires undivided attention. Turn off the cell phone, television, and video games or any other action that require your attention. You cannot communicate effectively when you are engaged in other activities. Some conversation should not be held until the right environment exists. This is the responsibility of both the sender

and the receiver. Choosing the right time to have the conversation improves the likelihood of effective communication.

Men and women struggle at communicating so they must remember that people are more important than feelings and feelings are more important than the events that caused them. This will help to keep things in perspective. Never win the argument at the expense of losing the other person or the relationship. Share openly and honestly and expect the same in return. Following these simple rules can lead to the effective communication necessary to sustain a healthy relationship.

figures: the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who died in 2007.

He says the media operate similarly today, contacting the same sources repeatedly to fill their need for “a quick, predictable voice.” Usually, the voices are those of whites.

When journalists report stories that don’t fit a conventional narrative, Gilbreath says they challenge paradigms.

“It messes with their labels of who evangelicals are, who liberals are, who conservatives

are,” he says.

Gilbreath contends that journalists may hesitate even to take the simple step of including a Black evangelical in a story about evangelical voters because they don’t know how to do so without making the entire story about race. He says journalists must interview a Black evangelical as just another voice in a larger piece about Christian viewpoints.

Gilbreath advises reporters: “Avoid the sort of easy labels and stereotypes and dig deeper

for different voices and different perspectives. Don’t settle on that sort of typecast voice. Try to go beyond that sort of ideologically driven source.”

PhotoXpress

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 or email at tim@tlhouston.com.

Nadra Kareem Nittle writes media critiques for the Maynard Media Center on Structural Inequity, part of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. This project is made possible by a grant from the W K. Kellogg Foundation. For other media critiques, please visit http://mije.org/mmcsi.

insightnews.com

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

Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World identifying the inveterate child advocate as one of her heroes.

Mellody recalls literally bursting into tears during a conversation between them when the altruistic Edelman matter-of-factly stated her only regret, namely, “I haven’t done enough.”

After beginning with Michelle Obama, the balance

Book Review

By Kam Williams kam@insightnews.com “Inspiration allows 30 exceptional people to tell their unique stories. Each of these women takes us on her life journey, describing the people, the teachings and the circumstances that shaped her.

We see the role that family, culture, community and mentorship play, as well as the influence of dreams, ambitions and ideas.

These women have achieved extraordinary success in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances.

Even more important, each one has attributes of character-integrity, courage, energy, commitment, faith, drive-that illustrate how talent and character come together to create a rich and fulfilling life.

The results are astonishing… and I hope you enjoy and find inspiration in their stories.”

-- Excerpted from the Preface (pg. 6) As a journalist, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing a number of the talented trailblazers profiled in this book. But while I might have done a decent job of capturing, say, Laila Ali’s dogged determination, RavenSymone’s admirable maturity, or Soledad O’Brien’s sheer brilliance, those tete-a-tetes still seem to pale in comparison to the emotional depth of the material captured on the pages

of Inspiration.

Perhaps that’s because the author, Crystal McCrary came up with the idea of having her contributors relate their life stories in their own unique voices. Consequently, other than First Lady Michelle Obama’s, the bios in this intimate opus are written in the first person, and each sister sounds ever so authentic whether reflecting upon what really matters most to her or about how she managed to reach the pinnacle of success in her chosen field.

For example, Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman devotes much of her memoir to bemoaning the breakdown of the family.

“The rituals and structure of childhood have been torn asunder,” she says, citing their pivotal importance in terms of teaching values.

“When I was a child,” she continues, “most people didn’t have a whole lot, but they shared what they had.

They valued children, and they valued education… Family members and community elders knew that education was important.”

Coincidentally, Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, pays tribute to Ms. Edelman in her entry,

of Inspiration is arranged alphabetically, with each entry being accompanied by striking photographs of the subject. Among the other icons offering priceless pearls of wisdom are singer Mary J. Blige, environmentalist Majora Carter, prima ballerina Misty Copeland, actress Ruby Dee, comedienne Whoopi

Goldberg, supermodel Iman, choreographer Judith Jamison, ex-Essence editor Susan L. Taylor, and tennis star Venus Williams, to name a few.

An ideal Mother’s Day gift of sufficient substance to continue to grace a coffee table for generations to come.

Inspiration:

Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World by Crystal McCrary with Nathan Hale Williams Photography by Lauri Lyons Stewart, Tabori & Chang Hardcover, $40.00 256 pages, Illustrated ISBN: 978-1-58479-959-7

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

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BUSINESS Online payday lenders: Ripping consumers off

By Lisa Loving of The Skanner News She was desperate to pay a handful of crucial bills, so she went online and researched digital loans.

She read about Internet payday loan companies and how they work – but she found one that seemed better than the others.

“In order to find out if I qualified I had to give them my bank account and social security number like you would for any loan,” she told The Skanner News.

“There was my first stupid thing.”

This Oregon resident -- who has requested anonymity because she hasn’t yet told her family that a $400 loan turned into a $1,000 nightmare -- has helped touch off a national effort by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) to regulate the billion-dollar offshore payday lending industry.

Merkley and Akaka this

month officially requested that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray take action against such payday lenders, who appear to be reaching right into unwary consumers’ bank accounts and siphoning out everything they can get.

Merkley brought the issue to the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association last week in Washington D.C., during Black Press Week.

“Millions of Americans are affected by the abusive and deceptive payday lending practices across our country and over the Internet,” Merkley says. “While Oregon is lucky to have state legislation in place to stop the worse practices, there are still loopholes and offshore websites that are dragging Oregon families into black holes of debt.

“We have to bring order to the Wild West of the lending market.”

Illegal in Oregon The issue of storefront payday Benie Foster, The Skanner News

L-R: Al McFarlane, CEO/owner, Insight News; Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, Nielsen; Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR); John B. Smith, Sr., publisher/CEO, Atlanta Inquirer; Brian Townsend, publisher, Precinct Reporter Group lending caught fire in Oregon’s legislature in 2007, when lawmakers sought to put limits on interest rates, rollover of shortterm loans, and Internet scams entrapping consumers in debt over trivial loan amounts – some with interest rates as high as 500 percent.

Former Gov. Ted Kulongowski in 2007 signed into law a handful of bills bitterly fought by the payday loan industry

which effectively ended their growth in the state – but didn’t end their ability to pull money from desperate borrowers.

Merkley was speaker of the Oregon House that year and was instrumental in the effort.

“Payday and other high-cost, small-dollar loans are marketed as ways to cover short-term credit needs,” Merkley wrote to Cordray last week. “However, the loans are often structured to trap borrowers

in long-term debt.

“These loans have high fees and automatic roll-overs, which, as research by the Consumer Federation of America has shown, combine with other practices to make the effective annual interest rates 400 percent APR or more,” Merkley wrote.

Now that payday lenders have taken their business to the worldwide web, basing their operations in offshore locations such as the Virgin Islands, they are effectively escaping any accountability for unethical transactions – because without federal regulation, it’s all legal.

The Skanner News called up the Everest Cash Advance company Monday afternoon for a comment on this story; the telephone operator, who identified himself as Antonio, abruptly cut the line.

In a second call made Tuesday, Antonio referred the Skanner to another customer service representative named Christopher, who said he would pass on our inquiries to the “relations department.”

Deposit—Followed by Withdrawals Merkley says the Oregon borrower interviewed by The Skanner News

had a typical experience with SCS Processing Limited, doing business as Everest Cash Advance https://www.everestcashadvance. com/index.html .

Once the company had the borrower’s banking information, they were able to freely deposit – and more importantly, withdraw – money from her bank account without any scrutiny or limitations whatsoever, once she had filled out the online form determining her “eligibility” for a loan.

“The very next day – maybe even the same day – I got a notice from them saying, ‘Even though we haven’t been able to reach you to verify your information, we have determined that you are qualified for a loan and the money is already in your account,’” the borrower said.

“So I checked my account and sure enough there was $400 that I hadn’t counted on. And being that I was just so incredibly desperate to pay off a bill that absolutely had to be paid, I went ahead and used it.

“Then two days later I contacted them and said, ‘What’s the interest rate on this loan?’ And

LOANS TURN TO 13

insightnews.com

Insight News • April 2 - April 8, 2012 • Page 13

COMMUNITY

Northside neighborhood beat Harrison The Harrison Neighborhood Association board meeting 7-9pm Monday April 9 at the HNA office 503 Irving Av. N. HNA will also host a Harrison Economic Revitalization Committee, with subject matter regarding committee works to revitalize Glenwood Avenue and

strengthen the neighborhood economy.

The committee oversees a business façade grant program.

For more information; Larry Hiscock 612-374-4849 or info@hnampls.org

Neighborhood Association board meeting 6:30-8pm Tuesday April 10 at 5001 Humboldt Av. N. Creekview Park. For more information; Amy Lusenbrick 763-5611616 or scan@stribmail.com

Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association The Shingle Creek

Job Fair Attend an Application Fair to complete an application, attend

a pre-screening interview and learn about more than 75 available seasonal job openings on Thursday, April 12. Minneapolis Urban League 2100 Plymouth Av. N. For more information Call the Minneapolis Urban League at 612-302-3100 or MPRB 612230-6429.

Cleveland The Cleveland Neighborhood Association board meeting 7-9pm Monday April 16 at Lucey Craft Laney 3333 Penn Av. N. For more information; Debbie Nelson 612-588-1155 or can@ clevelandneighborhood.org

West Broadway Coalition Join WBC for their Annual Meeting from 6-8pm Thursday, April 26 at the Capri Theater 2929 Logan Av. N. All are welcome to attend this event free of cost. Hor d’oeuvres provided and cash bar available. RSVP today!

Internet Balancing Act: Set limits to get results Plan Your Career

By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com Career Coaches can spend half of a good day encouraging people to use the internet for

job searching, and the other half telling them to turn it off. Like Cajun cooking, loud music and sunshine, too much of a good thing is too much.

Once a person knows how to LinkIn, Facebook, Google and navigate a few job boards, what was once intimidating becomes a comfortable bad habit.

Comfortable, so it becomes part of the routine; bad, because it is not especially effective in and of itself. When looking for

new work, for clients to sell to or for ways to get ahead, setting boundaries can be as important as setting goals.

Set a time boundary.

During summer vacation, my dear Grandma Desi takes care of a houseful of grandchildren and has only a few tough rules, including, “No TV until 3:00.”

To a kid, this is agonizing. For about ten minutes. And then, suddenly, there are all kinds of adventures to be had. Setting a

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

Events Student Salon 2012 – Mar. 22 – Apr. 13 Student Salon 2012 features multimedia works produced by Metropolitan State undergraduate students. The exhibit opens with a reception on Thur., Mar. 22, 5–8pm and continues through April 13.

Gallery hours are Mon.–Thur., 11am–7pm, and Fri.–Sat., 11am–4pm. Located in the Library and Learning Center,

645 E. 7th St., St. Paul Summer Seasonal Job Fair – Mar. 28 and Apr. 12 The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will hold job application fairs for summer seasonal positions including include Park Keepers, Mobile Equipment Operators and Park Patrol Agents. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thurs. Mar. 28 and Thursday, Apr. 12 at the Minneapolis Urban League, 2000 Plymouth Ave. N., Mpls. Information sessions about seasonal jobs and working for the Park Board at noon and 5 p.m.. More info: Minneapolis Urban League (612-302-3100 / www.mul.org) or the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (612-2306429 / www.minneapolisparks. org).

time boundary on internet use can lead you to find all kinds of ways to look for work.

Set a purpose boundary. It’s easy to get carried away online.

The internet is a tool, a means to an end. It is an excellent way to discover new jobs and read about organizations, but people rarely receive a job offer, and should never accept one, without meeting the new boss in person. So why wait? Improve your odds

Phone: 612.588.1313

Fax: 612.588.2031

Create A Band Auditions Mar. 26 – Apr. 25 Auditions for solo musicians and singers performing all types of music. Pre-registration is $25.00. To schedule an appointment by/before April 4 and/or April 25 contact Penny Wallace 612.333.6618.

by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with the program and films starting at 5:30 p.m. Free admission, food, and beverages for attendees.

To view the film schedule, speakers, and locations, go to www.sph.umn.edu/filmfest.

High School Career Fairs March through May AchieveMpls Career Fair.

Connect with Minneapolis High School students and represent your career or industry.

Professionals from all sectors are welcome to participate.

Contact Rebecca Noecker at 612.455.1571 or rnoecker@ achievempls.org

Celebrate What’s Right With The World - Apr. 6 Join Women In Transition for an afternoon designed to help women take a fresh look at who and where they are, take the next steps toward reaching their potential and living their dreams out loud. You’ll view an inspiring video and engage in powerful dialogue to embrace an attitude of celebration – personally and professionally.

Join us and discover new ways to lead a happier, healthier, more productive life. Workshop fee is $10 and will be held on Fri., Apr. 6 1–4pm. 6715 Minnetonka Blvd. #212, St. Louis Park, MN. To register call (612) 752-8444, Women In Transition.

Annual Whittier Alliance Neighborhood Association Meeting Tue Apr. 3 Whittier residents, homeowners, businesses, rental and commercial property owners as well as those interested in the outreach and activities of the Whittier Alliance and neighborhood are invited to attend the Whittier Annual Meeting. Meeting attendees must register and must be 18 years old to vote. This event is free and open to the public. 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Whittier International Elementary School 315 W 26th St. For more information contact Jen Wendland 612.871.7756 or jen@whittieralliance.org U of M College of Design presents: Design in 7: 7 Stories, 7 Minutes – Apr. 4 Seven professionals from the fields of architecture, apparel, graphic and interior design, housing, landscape architecture, and retail share their experiences in their field in just 7 min. Wed, April 4, 2012 6:30 – 9:30 pm at U of M Coffman Memorial Union Theater, reception to follow. General admission $20, UMAA member discount $15, Students $5. For more info visit: http://design.umn.edu/designin7 The National Public Health Week Film Festival - Apr. 2 – 6.

Nutrition, human rights, AIDS, end-of-life decisions, and sexual health are the topics of this year’s eighth annual festival, hosted

Loans From 12 they said, ’30 percent.’ And I said wow that’s a lot of money.”

She says by the next day, SCS Processing had taken $130 right out of her bank account.

“Now I assumed – again a lot of this was just real stupidity on my part – that $100 of that was going to the loan and $30 towards interest. Two days later they took out another $130, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, well at least it’s half paid.’

“So I called them and they said, ‘Oh no, that $130 is purely the interest – none of that is going towards principal.’”

No Paper Trail The borrower said that almost all of the conversations she had with

of being hired by regularly meeting people face to face.

Use the scheduled online time to find job fairs and industry events to attend, and to make appointments to meet people.

Set a results boundary, and stretch it. Repeating the same activities day after day will bring you the same results, day after day. No one has to settle for more of the same, so visit a new website, change up a few search words and suddenly new

U of M’s UROC hosts familyfocused Summer Resource Fair - Apr. 7 Summer opportunities for youth of all ages will be showcased at the second annual North Minneapolis Summer Resource Fair from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7 at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and OutreachEngagement Center (UROC), 2001 Plymouth Avenue, North Minneapolis. Visit www.uroc. umn.edu for information.

Walker Art Center Free First Sat family event, Flashback, Sat Apr 7, 10 am – 3 pm.

Families can enjoy live performances, films, gallery adventures, and hands-on artmaking from 10 am-3 pm.

Special guests Kevin Kling and Chris Monroe share their book, Big Little Brother. Activities recommended for ages 6-12.

Gallery admission is free from 10 am-5 pm on Free First Saturday.

opportunities to meet people in person will present themselves.

Stay one step ahead of the competition during your job search by staying focused, staying balanced and keeping the internet in its place.

Julie Desmond is Talent Manager for Lake Region Staffing and Express Employment Professionals. Write to Julie@ lakeregionstaffing.com.

Email: natalie@insightnews.com

Kato Vision and Voice Award Recipient, will talk about issues facing the LGBTI community in Jamaica. Maurice Tomlinson is an attorney-at-law and has been involved in LGBTI and HIV and AIDS activism in Jamaica and the Caribbean for over 12 years. The presentation, followed by a questionand-answer segment, is free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended.

A brief reception starts at 7:00 p.m. Discussion starts at 7:30 pm, in John B. Davis Auditorium at Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue.

For more information or reservations call 305.299.5722 or visit www.jaminnlink.org.

Teatro del Pueblo and Pangea World Theater present The House on Mango Street, Apr. 13 – Apr. 28 A story based on the young adult novel by Sandra Cisneros, chronicling the challenges of a young woman coming-ofage in “El Barrio.” For tickets and more info call 1-800-8383006 or purchase online at brownpapertickets.com For group sales, please call 651-2248806. The Southern Theater is located at 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454.

65th Annual Celebration of Jackie Robinson - Apr. 14 The North Side Committee and Mn Twins Members from the Minnesota Twins are holding their 65th annual celebration of Jackie Robinson. Members from the Minnesota Twins, RBI, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Hospitality House, PAL, North YMCA and Gerry Gambles Boys and Girls Club will be there to promote baseball and softball on the North Side.

Sat. Apr. 14 at North High Community School. For more info, contact 612-282-3018 or Frank.White2@comcast.net

Jamaican Activist to discuss LGBTI issues and homophobia in Jamaica Tue Apr. 10 Maurice Tomlinson, David

Urban Roots Screening at Intermedia Arts - Apr. 14 From the creator of The 11th Hour with Leonardo DiCaprio comes Urban Roots, the next documentary from Tree Media.

Film screenings on Saturday, Apr. 14 at 3pm and 7pm. An expo

SCS were in online chat rooms set up for that purpose – so when she finally started confronting the agents she had connected with, she had no records of what they said or what the terms of the “loan” were.

“You have a dialogue back and forth online, I’m typing and then she’s responding. And her name was, quote, ‘Sophie.’ And I said, ‘That is just not right, that is not going to work, you are not to take any more money out of my account. Period.’ And she said, ‘I’m going to have to refer this to a supervisor.’ And I said, ‘Okay who is the supervisor?’ And she said his name is Kevin.

“So I actually got Kevin on the telephone line, and of course he tried to belligerently bully me.

‘You signed a contract, m’am, you owe us that money. If you don’t pay it we’ll turn it over to the

collection agency. We’ll accept two payments of $272.50, two weeks apart, and that is all we’re willing to do.’

The borrower took her complaint to the Oregon Department of Justice, which quickly determined that neither SCS Processing Limited nor Everest Cash Advance had a current address in the United States.

Soon the borrower realized that every time she called the company the employee she spoke with last time “was no longer with the company.”

“In the meantime they took out another $272.50, completely wiping out my back account, and of course I had some overdraft charges for checks I had written.

“The $400 loan coast me about $1,000; in the meantime I did change my debit card number

of local groups that advocate for urban farming, local food, and food politics awareness precedes both screenings with a panel discussion following the 7:00 pm screening. Tickets $6 advance/$8 door. Intermedia Arts - 2822 Lyndale Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55408.

Tickets are available on-line at: https://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/238028

Graphic Designer Graphic Designer at St. Olaf College. Online applications will only be considered. For a complete job description and to apply visit: https://jobs.stolaf.edu 37-47k a year, DOQ, plus great benefits.

St. Olaf College is located in Northfield, MN, just 35 minutes south of Minneapolis.

Insurance Agent Looking for people with a strong entrepreneurial mindset to own their own insurance agency. The average agent earns over $120,000 a year, with some earning over $500,000.

If you desire financial independence, call 651-204-3131 to set up an appointment.

NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That the personal property described as follows, To-wit: A 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix VIN -- 2G2WP55276123089 Will be sold at a public auction by the Hennepin County Sheriff on the 13th day of April, 2012 at 10:00 AM at T & J Auto, in the City of Brooklyn Park, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, to pay and satisfy a lien, due thereon from the repairs and storage as well as auction advertising plus necessary expenses of making the said sale, in the total amount of $15,452.50; and that the grounds of the said lien are as follows, to-wit: Anthony P. Morgan (Owner) T & J Auto Parts, LLC 3551 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 (763) 315-1179

NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That the personal property described as follows, To-wit: A 2004 BMW X5 VIN -- 5UXFB33593LH48506 Will be sold at a public auction by the Hennepin County Sheriff on the 13th day of April, 2012 at 10:00 AM at T & J Auto, in the City of Brooklyn Park, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, to pay and satisfy a lien, due thereon from the repairs and storage as well as auction advertising plus necessary expenses of making the said sale, in the total amount of $14,402.50; and that the grounds of the said lien are as follows, to-wit: Anthony P. Morgan (Owner) T & J Auto Parts, LLC 3551 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 (763) 315-1179

and put a hold on my checking account,” she said – the only thing that severed her connection to the long arm of SCS Processing.

Merkley and Akaka are calling for: - Requiring greater disclosure for online websites that mask the true identity of the lender and ending abusive practices that provide data to payday lenders and debt collectors that defraud consumers in paying debts they do not owe; -- Closing loopholes and other measures to rein in offshore payday lenders that can drain bank accounts without consumers having the ability to stop them; -- Making sure that all banks and insured depository institutions are supporting healthy banking practices.

For more information go to Sen. Merkley’s website here. http://www.merkley.senate.gov

Page 14 • April 2 - April 8, 2012 • Insight News

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