ECLIPSED Danai Gurira’s award-winning play about five women thrown together by the Liberian civil war opens Sept. 17 at the Playwright’s Center Waring Jones Theatre, 2301 East Franklin Ave, Minneapolis. Visit www.franktheatre.org or call (612) 724-3760 for more information.
INSIGHT NEWS August 30 - September 5, 2010 • MN Metro Vol. 36 No. 35 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Grand opening set for Eddie’s Barbershop
In the tradition By Al McFarlane and B.P. Ford, The Editors Eddies’ Barbershop is an institution that grew out of an institution. It is a legacy enterprise that builds on a heritage of self reliance, entrepreneurship, selfconfidence, business-savvy, and the unshakable belief that our people possess the gifts and understand the responsibility of building community. The venerable institution is preparing for a Grand
Opening of its newly restored business location, following two hiatuses that resulted from a demolishing fire that ravished the establishment. “That fire was the lowest point in my life,” said master barber and entrepreneur, Eddie Withers, Jr.. “It seemed like the end, but out of it has come a new beginning that is bigger and better. Looking back now, what was a low point has transformed itself into a high-point in my business career.”
EDDIE’S TURN TO 2
Eddie’s Barbershop
Suluki Fardan
Eddie Withers
Obama signs job bill
CBC: Target Black joblessness By Hazel Trice Edney NNPA Editor-in-Chief
Courtesy Jeremiah Ellis
Joseph and Gwen Ellis
The Ellis family: Legacy of leadership By Maya Beecham Contributing Writer In 1974, a young woman attended a dance at St. Thomas University in Saint Paul. At the dance she met a young man. Six months later they were married. Thirtyfive years later the married couple, Joseph Ellis, a union electrician, and Gwen Ellis, an educator, are an institution representing long-standing Black love, a strong marriage and faith in God. Their legacy is carried on through their five children, Joseph Ellis, senior vice president at Wells Fargo Wealth Management; Jeshua Ellis, concrete
finisher; Josiah Ellis, certified flight instructor; Jeremiah Ellis, recent DFL-endorsed candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives and an advocate for family and community involvement at Maxfield Elementary School in Saint Paul; and Jessica (Ellis) Brooks, audience development coordinator at the Ordway. Beyond their personal and professional accomplishments the Ellis’s are a closely knit familial unit hard wired to serve their community at work, home and in life. Service began with character building in the fundamental stages of the children’s lives by instilling integrity, responsibility,
Business: Advocates restore Flamingo Restaurant
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Courtesy Jeremiah Ellis
Siblings: Josiah, Joseph, Jessica, Jeshua and Jeremiah discipline and Christian values. For Joseph and Gwen, parenthood was a reciprocal
Aesthetics:
Idris Elba: The only barriers are ones we create
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ELLIS TURN TO 6
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – As the Black unemployment rate rose slightly last month, President Obama has signed the long-awaited jobs bill with hopes of turning around employment rates, which for African-Americans still nearly doubles the national average of 9.5 percent. “The Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010 will create jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our economic recovery,” Obama said during a bill signing ceremony at the White House last week. “And that will boost output, support good jobs here at home, and lower prices for American consumers.” Unemployment among Black males – though dropped significantly from its high of 19 percent in March of this year - is still at 16.7 percent, nearly twice the average White rate of 8.6 and White male rate of 8.8 percent. There is contention among some that Obama may need to take specific actions to help quell the disparate economic suffering in the Black community. “Unemployment rates for African-Americans and Latinos remain unacceptably high at 15.6 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, and highlighting the disproportionate impact the recession has had and the need for targeted efforts to address chronic unemployment,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee (D-Calif). in a statement. In the President’s bill-
Lifestyle:
Simple and cheap ways to update your décor
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signing statement, there was no specific mention of the Black unemployment rate at the bill signing Aug. 11. However, earlier this month, Obama acknowledged to thousands at the National Urban League Convention that Black communities had already been hit substantially by the economy before he ever took office. “The African-American unemployment rate was already much higher, the incomes and wealth of African-American families already lower,” he said. “There was less of a cushion. Many minority communities -- whether in big cities or rural towns -- had seen businesses and opportunities vanish for years, stores boarded up, young people hanging out on the street corners without prospects for the future.” He added, “So when we came in to office, we focused not just on rescuing our economy in the short run, but rebuilding our economy for the long run -- creating an economy that lifts up all Americans.” He also told the NUL crowd that certain actions by his administration have been intended to at least respond to the Black unemployment rate, including “making sure civil rights and anti-discrimination laws are enforced.” Meanwhile, the issue that was predicted to be his toughest is measuring up to its expectations, Obama said: “Now, we knew from the beginning that reversing the damage done by the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession in generations would take some time - more time than anyone would like. And we knew that it would require an ongoing effort across all fronts.”
Sports Report:
College football preview
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