Page 2 • August 5 - August 11, 2013 • Insight News
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Progressive Church creates connections at job fair By Ray Richardson Bringing a job fair to faithbased communities turned out to be a unique, yet successful combination. And based on the results and feedback, there will likely be more such collaborations to help fight unemployment among African-Americans in the Twin Cities. An estimated 300 people from diverse communities and ages attended the job and career fair on July 23 at Progressive Baptist Church in St. Paul – a debut event that attracted 24 employers, schools and agencies around the Twin Cities. Several participants landed jobs on the spot or were scheduled for immediate follow-up interviews. “When we founded Progressive 21 years ago, we founded it with the desire to not just be a traditional Baptist church,” said the Rev. Earl Miller, senior pastor at Progressive. “Our goal was to make a difference in the lives of our people and address major issues. Unemployment and education are major issues in our community, and as a predominantly AfricanAmerican church, we need to be involved in dealing with those concerns.” Miller said when the idea of a job and career fair at his church was presented to him,
Courtesy of Progressive Community Job and Career Fair, Photographer Ozzie Johnson.
he and his staff was very receptive and “jumped at it.” The job and career fair was developed by Deborah Watts, a member of Progressive Church and cofounder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation (ETLF). ETLF, along with members of Progressive, Ramsey County Commissioners Toni Carter and Jim McDonough, community leaders and faithbased organizations, partnered with several agencies to coordinate the job and career fair, including Ramsey County, Twin Cities RISE! and the St. Paul chapter of the NAACP.
Among the employers that participated in the fair were Wells Fargo, Health Partners, Ramsey County, City of St. Paul, Assurant, Minnesota Department of Corrections, HMS Host , Summit Academy OIC, UCare, St. Paul Public Schools and Job Connect. “Kudos to Progressive Baptist Church for their proactive stance in combating joblessness in our community,” said Carter. “The job fair is a significant step toward building a new community network, activated by people of faith. We need to help people find their way to, or back to work.”
The response from job seekers and employers has led to discussions of more similar job and career fairs in the future. Jeff Martin, president of the NAACP St. Paul branch, said he welcomes a move to rotate a fair to different churches in Minneapolis and St. Paul, perhaps on a quarterly basis. “There’s been talk of doing another one in late fall,” said Martin. “There’s nothing wrong with getting more people into church. Sometimes people feel more uncomfortable talking to employers at other venues. In a church, there’s less pressure.
It seems like there should be a common link between the church and business community.” Making things even more comfortable for job seekers at Progressive was the presence of what Martin called a “triage” to help with appearance or grooming needs. A “dress for success” suite was set up in the church to assist participants who needed to enhance their appearances with clothing items such as dress shirts, ties, blouses, dresses and other accessories. Sherrie Pugh, a local business owner with a clothing line, discussed with job seekers examples of professional attire that can be worn for work or to an interview. Members of various organizations donated clothing items for participants to wear. Progressive member Lenora Braxton, a licensed cosmetologist and educator, provided hair and makeup services for those in need of such services. “I felt it was extremely valuable for a church to get involved in helping remove the unemployment gap in our community,” said Shereese Turner, director of recruitment and internships for Twin Cities RISE, a career development agency in Minneapolis and St. Paul. “With Progressive hosting this fair, it definitely impacted their congregation and the community in a
positive way. I look forward to participating and supporting more of these events in the future.” Statistics indicate that job and career fairs geared toward African-Americans, whether in the church or other venues, are a vital option to battle unemployment concerns. Based on reports in the Quarterly Economic Pulse, Minnesota Compass and Economic Policy Institute released at the end of 2012, African-Americans represented 25.4 percent of the unemployment rate in Minnesota – compared to a combined 6.6 percent of all other nationalities in the state. The percentage of unemployed AfricanAmericans in Minnesota at the end of 2012 was higher than Michigan (22.0 percent) and California (20.4 percent). “It is proof that when we pull our resources together, we can make a difference,” Watts said. “Some job seekers walked out with second interviews, good leads and actual jobs. We are confident in knowing that the answers to most of our problems are not beyond our reach. My hope is that we continue to confront the challenges we face in employment, the achievement gap in education, health disparities, violence in our communities and other issues together.”
Cherryhomes: SWLRT route doesn’t meet standards, values Mayoral Candidate Jackie Cherryhomes is asking the Metropolitan Council to reexamine the route for the Southwest Light Rail transit (SWLRT). “The current SWLRT alignment has numerous unresolved issues, including cost and neighborhood impacts, and is a plan that does not meet the standards and values we share in Minneapolis,” said Cherryhomes. The candidate finds many other problems with the project. According to Cherryhomes, the route runs through urban greenways with very limited transit oriented development opportunities; and it could potentially destroy
Police From 1 African-Americans. MPD officers Brian Thole and Shawn Powell also spoke disparagingly of the department’s chief, Janeé Harteau, who is openly gay. The incident, which just recently came to light, took place outside of a Green Bay bar on June 29. According to the 40-page Green Bay Police Department report and various police surveillance videos, Thole and Powell refer to the group of African-Americans they confronted as “n******” and said the men were “doing their little monkey thing.” Powell admitted to striking one of the African-American men and admitted that he was the first to
Rights From 1 of adverse tactics being used to undermine the right to vote, if we do our job we will make sure that people maintain access to the ballot.” Reed said that he plans to work with mayors across the nation to form partnerships with
Science From 1 Officials with the charter school maintained it lived up it its payment agreement and it was the state that did not make payment. According to those with the Minnesota School of Science, the school was only required to pay 10 percent of the total lease and the state was to pick up the remaining 90 percent, but the state never made good on its end of the deal. “We paid our 10 percent,” said Dr. Rosilyn Carroll, Minnesota School of Science board member. “The lease says
highly valued green-space by co-locating freight, light rail and bike trails into a narrow right-of-way. Cherryhomes has been involved with the SWLRT project for the past five years,
working with neighborhoods affected by the SWLRT to advance alternative routes for the project. Though her suggested routes were determined to be too costly, Cherryhomes believes that the costs for resolving the light rail’s current issues should make the city reexamine alternative routes. “Since this project was conceived, the federal framework for the definition of success has shifted,” said Cherryhomes. “Systems are now not judged by their ontime accuracy, but instead on their number of passengers. The project should be focused in an area of density.” The mayoral candidate believes
that the City Council should withhold municipal consent until all the issues of the neighborhoods are addressed. Cherryhomes also opposes efforts by the city to take over utility services such as electricity and gas. “Leadership is focusing time and money on the issues that matter most to residents of Minneapolis,” said Cherryhomes. “The debate over the Municipalization of utilities is an example of politics over logic. Buying the Xcel and CenterPoint infrastructure would cost us billions of dollars.” Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy currently own the electricity and
natural gas utilities within Minneapolis, and are subject to the regulatory control of the Public Utilities Commission. The companies’ contracts to serve the city are expected to expire in 2014. The City Council is considering whether to place a ballot initiative before voters asking them whether the City should run its own gas and electric utilities when the contracts expire. In other Cherryhomes news, former Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton has officially endorsed Jackie Cherryhomes for Mayor. “I’ve been mayor and I know Jackie has the ability and the will to make the toughest decisions and unite
our city,” Sayles Belton told Cherryhomes supporters in a June 5 email sent out to by the campaign. During her eight years in the city’s top spot, Sayles Belton worked closely with Cherryhomes, who served as Minneapolis City Council president during the same time. “We fought a lot of battles together,” Cherryhomes said of Sayles Belton. “She’s a remarkable leader and I learned a great deal from her. I am honored to have her endorsement in this race.” Sayles Belton was elected Council President in 1990 and served as the city’s first African-American mayor from 1994 to 2001.
throw a punch. According to the Green Bay report, the two Minneapolis officers, who are members of the Minneapolis SWAT unit, repeatedly used the N word and said the Green Bay department was “too n***** friendly.” Thole and Powell were not arrested in the incident, but the Green Bay Police Department contacted the MPD and the two were placed on leave pending a MPD internal investigation. This incident is not the first sign of trouble for the two. Powell has already cost MPD $235,000 as a result of a settlement in the 2010 videotaped beating of motorist Derryl Jenkins, and a wrongful death suit is pending stemming from a suspect death in a 2009 stolen vehicle chase. Powell was not disciplined for either incident
and was commended for his actions in the vehicle chase. Thole was arrested in 2006 for a DWI and was suspended from the department for 10 days. Conversely, he was twice honored as “SWAT Officer of the Month.” Though Harteau is not speaking about the incident citing the officers’ appeals of their suspensions and data privacy laws, she did issue a statement voicing her displeasure over the officers’ conduct, but she stopped short of fully addressing the racial slurs the pair was heard to have made. “What I saw and heard on the video posted on several news websites involving these two officers is appalling and goes against everything we stand for,” said Chief Harteau. “The type of behavior exhibited on the public
video significantly damages public trust. Every member of this department and community deserves better. I would also like to extend my apologies to the community and the Green Bay Police Department.” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak also released a statement condemning Thole and Powell’s behavior. “I was appalled and disgusted by the behavior of two Minneapolis police officers that I saw on the video from Green Bay,” said Rybak. “The actions, language and behavior I saw in no way reflect the values of a department paid to protect and serve our community. I will await the results of the internal investigation and I am confident that Chief Harteau will take all appropriate action.” Some in the African-
American community beg to differ with the mayor and feel the officers’ actions in Green Bay are indicative of a department-wide culture of racism, harassment and intimidation. Zachary King knows firsthand the sometimes heavy-handed tactics of some members of Minneapolis Police Department. King was the victim of a vicious beating by Minneapolis police that landed him in the hospital. The June 2012 beating King received came after he was confronted by an officer in downtown Minneapolis and asked about a “bulge” in his pants. According to King, he notified the officer he has a legal conceal and carry handgun permit and the officer yelled “Gun” and several officers slammed King on the concrete and punched and kicked King.
King was charged with obstruction of legal process, but those charges were eventually dropped and King is suing the department. The 2012 incident was documented in a previous Insight News article. “Of course they (MSP) have it out for us (African-Americans),” said King. “I experienced it with what I went through, what I’ve seen other Black people go through – innocent people.” According to King, the only way the culture in the department will change is through greater media attention. “I think they need to be exposed. That’s the only way things will change,” said King, who said he now suffers migraine headaches, stutters and has anxiety attacks as a result of his beating.
civil rights organizations to assist in voter engagement and education. Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said that voters must “be particularly vigilant on proposals in state legislatures when they happen, not when they gain momentum, but when they happen.” Arnwine said that her group will be looking at all the states and plans to conduct hearings
nationwide to assist Congress in obtaining the data that will be necessary to create a new voting map. “[President Obama] is committed to making sure that the right to vote is secure and strong and that he’s also calling on people to do everything they can to protect their right to vote,” said Arnwine. “Ultimately, it’s about what the citizens will do.” Arnwine’s group is part of a larger coalition formed to assist
embattled voters around the nation (The Election Protection Website is www.866ourvote.org; telephone, 866/OURVOTE). Melanie L. Campbell, president and CEO of The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said that young voters have increased their civic engagement, rallying around recent Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. “Our young people are
connecting the dots,” said Campbell. “They connect the Stand Your Ground law to the voting rights law, so part of what’s going to happen during the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, you will see young people coming here for training and teach-ins, because they understand that the rights that need protecting all center around the Voting Rights Act.” The commemorative march in Washington will be on Saturday,
Aug. 24. “The Supreme Court decision has had a catalyzing effect. The Trayvon Martin tragedy combined with the Supreme Court decision [in Shelby v. Holder] really has energized people,” said Morial. “You’ve got Moral Mondays in North Carolina the Dream Defenders in Florida. The great thing about the Dream Defenders is seeing young people that are engaging and they’re not looking for permission.”
90 percent was to be paid by the state. The state is the one who hasn’t paid. We’ve paid more than $70,000 in just building maintenance (in addition to the 10 percent lease).” Carroll said if the school is forced to close for good she fears for the success of the current charter school students. “Minneapolis Public Schools is trying to stop us from having our children succeed – especially children who look like me,” said Carroll, who is African-American. Eighty-five percent of the students at Minnesota School of Science are African-American. “The children deserve better than what Minneapolis Public Schools is offering.” Arlene Rush, who has three
children enrolled at Minnesota School of Science said she too fears for her children’s education if they are unable to continue with the charter school. “I want to keep the school in north Minneapolis and to continue to provide the excellent education my kids are receiving,” said Rush, who has a 2nd grader, 1st grader and kindergartener enrolled with Minnesota School of Science. “My fear would be taking them into a new environment where they may not have the same advantages. Here teachers have an honest dedication to providing quality education to the children.” Rush said prior to enrolling her children in Minnesota School of Science one of her sons had a speech impediment and public
school officials suggested he be placed in special education classes, but he has flourished at the charter school. “They told me he needed to be in special education classes, but that’s clearly not the case,” said Rush. “He’s really engaged in reading and I’m amazed Minnesota School of Science was able to do that.” Officials with Minneapolis Public Schools said they had little choice but to evict the charter school from its property. “As MPS stated to the court, it is unfair to expect Minneapolis students and taxpayers to subsidize the operations of a charter school,” said the district in a statement released to Insight News. “No one could reasonably expect to
stay in a building for two years without paying the costs of the building’s operation. Throughout the proceeding, MPS gave MSS (Minnesota School of Science) every chance to stay in the Cityview building, provided they pay for the amount they owe and agree to a fair rent for the coming year.” Following the ruling, Minnesota School of Science released a statement voicing displeasure with the court decision. The statement read, “Like the families and students we serve, we are absolutely devastated. In just two years we have transformed the lives of hundreds of north Minneapolis students who, prior to MSS,
had little or no viable options for quality education. It is a sad day when the political agendas of adults trump the fundamental right of a child’s education. For now, we are considering what options might be left to us to continue educating our children and their families. We hold their needs as our top priority.” District officials said they are committed to working with parents of students in the charter school to find alternative schools within the district. The district had hoped to have programming inside the Cityview location but citing the lengthy litigation, the district will wait until the 2014-15 school year to initiate programming inside the building.
Jackie Cherryhomes