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INSIGHT NEWS A love supreme September 10 - September 16, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 39 No. 37 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Michelle Obama said Presidency revealed Barack
F
irst Lady Michelle Obama addressed her speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, September 4. Read excerpts of the speech below. The full speech can be read at www.insightnews.com I have seen it in the incredible kindness and warmth that people have shown me and my family, especially our girls. I’ve seen it in teachers in a near-bankrupt school district who vowed to keep teaching without
pay. I’ve seen it in people who become heroes at a moment’s notice, diving into harm’s way to save others…flying across the country to put out a fire…driving for hours to bail out a flooded town. And I’ve seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families…in wounded warriors who tell me they’re not just going to walk again, they’re going to run, and they’re going to run marathons… in the young man blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan who said,
simply, “…I’d give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done and what I can still do.” While I believed deeply in my husband’s vision for this country…and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President…like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance. Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys…Saturdays at soccer
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First Lady Michelle Obama
Photos: Harry Colbert, Jr.
Eric Hightower displays a bruised face, injuries he says he received at the hands of officers of the St. Paul Police Department
Eric Hightower (far left) stands alongside the Rev. Melvin Miller, St. Paul NAACP President, Jeffry Martin, Tyrone Terrill, chair of the AfricanAmerican Leadership Council, the Rev. Darryl Spence and Bishop Divar Kemp as Hightower’s attorney, Seamus Mahoney addresses the media during a recent press conference regarding the videotaped kicking of Hightower by a St. Paul police officer
Video captures cop kicking unarmed suspect By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer Community leaders are calling on the St. Paul Police Department and its chief to harshly deal with an officer who is seen in a video kicking an unarmed man.
In a video that appeared on the urban website, www. worldstarhiphop.com, and quickly went viral, St. Paul Police Officer Jesse Zilge is seen kicking a man who lay in the street, seemingly gasping and posing no visible threat to the officer. The man, Eric
Hightower, 30, was spotted walking near Lewis Park in St. Paul when Zilge approached Hightower regarding an outstanding warrant. The incident occurred on Aug. 28. The video surfaced on the Web the next day. The video begins with
Hightower already on the ground and Zilge standing over him. Approximately 75 seconds into the taping, Zilge turns to Hightower, who is gasping and spitting on the ground, and kicks Hightower in the chest. Following the kick, other officers arrived, picked
Hightower off the ground and Zilge and another unidentified officer slammed Hightower on the hood of a squad car. Hightower was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking and making terroristic threats against an ex-girlfriend, which was the reason for the stop.
“No individual deserves this type of treatment,” said Bishop Divar Kemp, senior pastor of Life Changes Church. “This can never, ever happen again.”
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Race: The most fallacious and dangerous idea Notes on the struggle By Mahmoud El -Kati
The idea of “race” may be the most fallacious and dangerous idea in the history of myth and human imagination. In the early 1940s, Dr. Ashley Montagu, the eminent cultural anthropologist at Princeton University, titled his book “Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race.” It is
Business
North Minneapolis farmer hopes to see more mushrooms at dinner tables
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a work, which both objectively critiques and morally attacks the false notion of “race” as an indicator of individual ability and cultural achievement. In many ways and by many years, Dr. Montagu presaged the emerging narrative on “race.” In contemporary American life,
Aesthetics
Compilation release honors the work of funk, soul pioneers
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more and more, we hear voices from a cross-section of thought leaders viewing “race” as a “social construction,” with no biological reality. And so “the cat,” somewhat, is finally “out of the bag,” e.g. there are no super humans! This fanciful belief that we,
the human species, belong to separate and discrete aggregates has proved to be unscientific; that is to say, inconsistent with scientific truth, and therefore a gross distortion of who we are as human beings. Modern science, e.g., anthropology, repudiates the notion that to be Black,
Lifestyle
Fun family baking
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white, yellow, real or otherwise, does not inherently connect to one’s native intelligence, morality, or sensibilities. When we say “race,” it begins with a focus on physical traits, e.g., skin color, hair form,
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Full Circle The way to a man’s heart
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Page 2 • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Insight News
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The nuding of Michelle Obama— art or insult? Artspeak
By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor Karine Percheron-Daniels’ seemingly photo-shopped painting of First Lady Michelle Obama is embroiled in controversy (http:// fineartamerica.com/featured/ first-lady-karine-percherondaniels.html). With the exception of the face and the insertion of the American flag, PercheronDaniels’ portrait is an exact replica of Portrait d’une négresse painted by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist and exhibited in Paris in 1800 at the Salon. According to Art historian Hugh Honour, author of The Image of the Black in Western Art IV: From the American Revolution to World War I, originally published by Harvard University Press in 1989, what made the Portrait d’une négresse distinctive was her clothing and her gaze. Honour suggests that the painter Benoist was attempting to disrupt the traditional representations of Blacks, who were often painted in clothing of servitude and who rarely had a gaze that suggested anything other than subservience. Writes Honour, …the sitter was probably a servant brought back from the Antilles by the artist’s sailor brother-in-law. But there is not the least suggestion of servitude in the painting. The black woman is completely at her ease in this warmly humane and noble image. With perfect poise and selfconfidence she looks at us with a gaze of reciprocal equality (p. 7). Honour goes on to complement Benoist’s ability to project “visual sensitivity” in how the white clothing sets off the subject’s black skin. He also notes that the portrait was done in the period between 1794
Above: The Magazine de Fuera de Serie cover Below: Portrait d’une négresse (1800) by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist.
and 1802, “…when a black citoyenne[citizen] was ‘free and equal,’ that is to say as free and equal as any French woman” (p. 7). Honour concludes that the painter, Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist, intended the portrait as a tribute to Black emancipation and to a regal representation of Black womanhood. “There are traces of feminism in the history of the abolitionist movement in which women played a notable part” (p. 7). Art Hurts! The real question on the table is whether Percheron-Daniels can lay claim to conveying liberation and dignity in her portrait of a partially nude Michelle Obama entitled “First Lady.” On her website, the artist has posted a statement in response to the criticism she has received. It reads in part: If any of you have found this piece of art insulting I would like to say that my GENIUNE intention was never to chock [sic] or upset anyone. In my eyes, the picture I created here is of a beautiful woman with a beautiful message: The first Lady of America in the first time in history is a black woman who proudly and confidently displays her WOMANHOOD (the nude) her ROOTS (the slave) and her POWER (the First Lady of America embraced by the American flag). This picture, is a celebration of achievement and in my opinion is not a racist slur (http://fineartamerica.com/ profiles/karine-percherondaniels. html ). It must be noted that Percheron-Daniels has done portraits of other famous figures. She may paint them but they look like photo shopped images in which the face of a famous painting is replaced with that of a contemporary figure. It reminds you of the old carnival photo booths where you stood behind a cardboard image of Superman or Wonder Woman, with your
face peering through. PercheronDaniels also has images of President Barack Obama in the nude (which interestingly no one has mentioned) as well as Prince Williams of England. The Queen of England also appears seminude, though neither of her breasts is showing. So what’s the big deal about a nude First Lady? The first contrast between the original portrait and that of the First Lady is the gaze. In the original portrait, the Black model is looking directly at the painter in a non-smiling pose. She has dignity, even though one of her breasts is revealed. Her clothing is not that of a tattered slave, but in fact is suggestive of a woman of means. Thus, the French painter Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist may have been playing with contradictions and disrupting the social expectations of her time about how people expected Blacks to be depicted. By that I mean that slaves rarely looked at whites directly. They were expected to lower their gaze in the presence of whites as an acknowledgement of their subservient status. The moment at which Benoist completes this portrait is a historical anomaly in which the French government has abolished slavery, though the institution is reinstated a few years later. An examination of PercheronDaniels’ First Lady portrait and the original reveal some interesting differences. The first is the gaze— we are not treated to a direct look. The eyes of the First Lady portrait are turned away from the viewer, slightly downcast. Such a look can be traced back to the Victorian age in which “a proper lady” never looked directly at people, especially when she was interested. Instead, she struck a demure or coy demeanor—a way to be indirectly flirtatious. In not having the image of the First Lady face the artist and
OBAMA TURN TO 4
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 3
BUSINESS North Minneapolis farmer hopes to see mushrooms at more dinner tables By Shaina Brassard and Erin Jerabek, West Broadway Business and Area Coalition Continuing our look into access to healthy foods and those working to improve quality of life in North Minneapolis, we sat down with popular West Broadway Farmers Market vendor and Northside native, Ian Silver-Ramp, owner of
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Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests. Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Vice President of Sales & Marketing Selene White Culture and Education Editor Irma McClaurin Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Natalie Benz Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Insight Intern Abeni Hill Contributing Writers Cordie Aziz Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Oshana Himot Timothy Houston Alaina L. Lewis Lydia Schwartz Photography Suluki Fardan Tobechi Tobechukwu Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55411.
Mississippi Mushrooms. Mississippi Mushrooms is an urban agricultural business specializing in the production of delicious and hard-to-find gourmet mushrooms. Since June, Silver-Ramp has been producing King Oyster and other varieties of 100-percent safe to eat mushrooms. As shown on his website, www. mississippimushrooms.com, the fungi are grown in a sterile, temperature-controlled space using pressure-sterilized sawdust, coffee grounds and spent brewer’s grain food waste that would otherwise be thrown out. As the name of his business suggests, Mississippi Mushrooms is about as local as you can get. Not only are the mushrooms grown mere blocks from the farmers market where Silver-Ramp sells his wares every Friday; the substrate, or what the mushrooms feed on, comes from spent brewers grain from Boom Island Brewing on North 2nd Street and coffee grounds from West Broadway’s Avenue Eatery. Silver-Ramp
Ian Silver-Ramp
The eyes have it Plan Your Career By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com “How are you today?” The cashier’s friendly voice caused me to look up from my overstocked shopping cart. The warm fuzzy faded fast, however, when I realized she was speaking not to me but to my purchases, already scanning and bagging while repeating the greeting she’d been trained to give each customer, without actually caring at all how I feel today. Not that she should; we’re strangers, after all. But my purchasing experience – and her day – might have been more pleasant if her nonverbal cues hadn’t sent her words flying out the window. People are strongly influenced by nonverbal behavior. Want to insult someone? Poke your index finger at his chest. Want to gain a customer’s loyalty and respect? Make eye contact. Eye contact is such a critical game changer that a science, Oculesics, has been developed to study it. Oculesics confirms what we know instinctively: eye contact can influence everything from purchasing decisions to criminal judgments to marriage proposals. To build trust, connect with a person’s eyes. Not the whites, but the color, blue, brown or green. In the time it takes to register the eye color in your mind, you will have connected on other levels, as well. Looking into someone’s eyes affirms your respect for that person, and shows your curiosity. If my cashier had looked my way when she asked the obligatory question, I would have caught her eye and smiled. She would have smiled back, automatically (this response is difficult to avoid) and her blood pressure would have gone down while feel-good endorphins started swimming through her system, giving her a slightly happier sensation for the moment. Instead, lack of eye contact left me feeling ignored and her feeling slightly bored with her job. To convey power, stare. Remember staring contests? Two kids look into each other’s eyes until one laughs or looks away. Staring generally is creepy; normal eye communication involves looking away sometimes. However, if someone is threatening you, a powerful move is to look directly into their eyes, again looking for the color. This is aggressive, but conveys a message of courage and confidence that you might not be feeling emotionally. To convey interest, work your pupils. Studies show that when someone is genuinely interested, their pupils expand. Try asking a friend about a favorite sports team or hobby, and see their eyes “light up.” Now change the subject to housework and note the change in their eyes. Because it is driven by emotions, controlling pupil size is not easy. In a job interview, client meeting or conversation with your spouse, perhaps you’ve frequently repeated a story or are even a little jaded about the widgets under discussion. Creatively find some aspect of widgets that appeals to
you. The financial reward when you close the sale might be enough to bring you emotionally into the conversation. With this thought, your pupils expand and your client notices that “light” in your eyes. Without a day of oculesics, she knows instinctively that you are invested in the conversation. My cashier might have looked at me, asked the question, but in her mind thought, One more hour until my shift is over. No one minds this little trick. I would have seen her eyes, I would have smiled, and she would have smiled back. Julie Desmond is IT Recruiting Manager with George Konik Associates. Send job search and career planning questions to julie@lakeregionstaffing.com.
then sends his mushrooms back into the community at the West Broadway Farmers
Raya Esmaeili
Market and at Local D’Lish, a neighborhood, local foods grocery store located at 208 N
1st Street. Silver-Ramp, who studied agriculture at the University of Minnesota after graduating from North Minneapolis’ Patrick Henry High School, will talk a person’s ear off about the wonders of mushrooms. He’ll tell how mushrooms and other fungi are an essential component in the cycle of life and death, that mushrooms are known to have medicinal properties and produce a significant amount of protein. But the real root of SilverRamp’s excitement about mushrooms is the possibility of the no-environmental impact, local, urban, and year round production of a highly nutritious food. “Mushrooms are kind of unique because, you can’t raise corn or soybeans in the city,” said Silver-Ramp. Compared to hydroponic farming, which is energy-intensive because it requires lighting, Mississippi Mushrooms’ energy use is low. Right now the King Oyster
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Page 4 • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Insight News
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AESTHETICS Compilation release honors the works of soul, funk pioneers Dom’s Music Beat Dom Minor Insight News Music Critic A local record company founded on revealing amazing, underrepresented music, has possibly found its greatest gem yet with the upcoming release of “Twin Cities Funk and Soul: Lost R&B Grooves from Minneapolis/ Saint Paul 1964-1979.” On Sept. 25, Secret Stash Records will release the 21-track compilation of tremendous funk and sugary soul. The album will be available in CD and vinyl formats; and is already
available for download via www. secretstashrecords.com. The project’s creators spent the better part of a year researching music, interviewing local radio DJs, musicians and writers of the time to develop the compilation of amazing Minnesota musical talent. Why has it taken so long for something like this to occur? Well to be frank, AfricanAmerican musicians were simply not presented with the same opportunities to flourish in the industry as their counterparts during the time the music was being made. Much like Jackie Robinson had to be a representation of his race in the major leagues, few AfricanAmerican musicians were allowed to really push through the narrow holes that existed due to racism of the time. It wasn’t the music that was the issue; it was the musicians
(whether or not the music itself faced its own adversity during the era is another story). Top R&B, as well as funk, became accepted nationwide as a genre, however area Black artists were left without much choice but to play wherever they could manage. The music of the era reflected the changing times. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. This was during the times of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Although the music made signaled a great change, clubs and radio stations
were not allowing for a smooth transition. In the majority of Minnesota venues, it was rare for African-American music to be played. This music was pre-punk, pre-rap, pre-pop. All aspects of the music that moves you today drew inspiration from the music these people made. Even the lyrics reflect issues of the time. “You can’t fight it if you’re undecided,” sang local pioneers, Prophets of Peace as they harmoniously preached to the people. “You can be what you
wanna be/you can make life better/got to get ya head together.” Bands such as Prophets were willing to put forth their opinions on subjects such as civil rights through a medium that was capable of reaching thousands. Music was more powerful than ever before. Rather than succumb to intimidation, certain clubs and radio stations still found a way to push the magical music forward. Eric Foss is the founder of Secret Stash. When discussing some of what got him to take it upon himself to unearth some of the funk and soul gems he noted that many bands with white musician have received attention and credit for the music they’ve made, but it wasn’t the same for African-Americans. “There’s a reason why Black music hasn’t been chronicled here,” said Foss. “It’s not right.” King Solomon’s Mines was one of the few downtown clubs willing to book African-American bands on a regular basis. “It’s funny because one of the first clubs that would book Black bands regularly had ties to the Jewish mafia,” said Foss. “They only cared about one color, not white or black, just green.” KUXL was the only radio station that featured AfricanAmerican programming. Part of the challenge for Secret Stash has been finding the artists – some who have not surfaced for more than 20 years. On top of that, finding musicians from the time who were still willing to reunite and put aside their former glory for a new collective. Many of the artists featured
on the album still perform today. Jimmy Wallace, sax player from the Prophets of Peace, plays in several groups and is part of the newly-formed Twin Cities Funk & Soul All Stars, a collective of funk, R&B, soul and jazz. To celebrate the album release, Secret Stash is hosting a party on Sept. 22. The event takes place at the Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, and begins at 7 p.m. The Twin Cities Funk & Soul All Stars will be performing at the album release party. The evening also includes performances by Wanda Davis, members of the Prophets of Peace, The Champions, Willie and The Bees, The Valdons, Willie Walker and The Exciters. It will surely be a delight for any music head. Tickets are available via the Secret Stash website, as well as Cedar Cultural Center’s website. For those who wish to continue the spirit of the night, the official Twin Cities Funk & Soul After Party will be at the Nomad World Pub, 501 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, starting at 10 p.m. The album is not only a oneof- a-kind compilation of pivotal soul music; it will also shine light on the rich history of Minnesota music, showing that we did get funky before Prince. This is a chance to commemorate those local artists who really paved the way for the sound of Minneapolis. Chronicling all aspects of AfricanAmerican music – R&B, funk, soul, and jazz – should have been done sooner, but we can make up for lost time with the proper attention, appreciation and acceptance of these local heroes. This is history in the remaking.
Obama
website have pointed out, how is it that the artist settled upon slavery as the beginning point of the First Lady’s identity? Why not make her an African Queen? In using slavery as a starting point, the artist reifies the idea that prior to slavery Blacks had no existence, or that the institution of slavery was so powerful, it erased that prior history and culture. This was the thesis advanced by Stanley Elkins, a historian in his 1959 book, Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life, later condemned by historians such as John Bracey and John Blassingame. A behaviorist in his analysis, Elkins concluded that the behaviors slaves exhibited were a reflection of who they were internally. Out of this approach was born his controversial thesis: “Elkins’ second argument was that the experience of slavery was psychologically infantilizing to slaves, making them follow what he controversially called the “Sambo” model.” (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_ Elkins; accessed 9/4/2012) If one follows Elkins’ thesis, what is Percheron-Daniels trying to reveal about the First Lady. She claims in her statement of defense that her intent was to celebrate and honor First Lady Michelle Obama. But we all know that intent is not impact, as a good coach once reminded me. Percheron-Daniels has the privilege as a white foreigner to be unaware of the debates that have circulated historically around the appropriation, representation, and use/misuse of Black women’s bodies. Percheron-Daniels shouldn’t be so ignorant, however, since one of the most famous appropriations and inhumane displays of a Black woman’s body occurred in Paris at the Musée de l’Homme—that of a South African Khoikhoi woman called Sarah Baartman and referred to scientific circles and popularly as the “Hottentot Venus.” She is the only person known to us to have been dissected and her skeleton and genitalia put on display for “scientific” reasons. Writes anthropologist Angela M. Gilliam in her essay, A Black Feminist Perspective on the Sexual Commodification of Women in the New Global Culture, “…What kind of ideas of the times in which Sarah Baartman lived made it normal to dissect the body of a human being, make a plaster mold of it, remove the brains, and slice off the genitals for exhibit into the twentieth century?” (1). Gilliam’s question is also relevant to the 21st Century. What kind of ideas do we have about Black women’s bodies that draws the attention of someone like Percheron-Daniels and the media? First Lady Michelle Obama has had her body become the site of much discussion—her derriere,
From 2 the viewer directly, PercheronDaniels has robbed her portrait of the original’s power. In Benoist’s original painting of d’une négresse, the contrast of the figure being nude yet staring directly at the audience gives the painting power and dignity— there is a quality of defiantness in the Black woman’s gaze. By having the image of the First Lady look away, Percheron-Daniels has made her appear more an object-somewhat docile and perhaps too ashamed to face the viewer. The First Lady’s cheekbones have been softened in PercheronDaniels’ portrait, taking away the sharpness of First Lady Michelle Obama’s features that give her presence, and there is a poutiness to her mouth that is suggestive of a seductive smile. The seriousness and strength that exude from the face of Benoist’s original painting is clearly missing in PercheronDaniel’s copy. The second difference in the two paintings is PercheronDaniels use of the American flag. Benoist in her painting could have used symbols of the French nation but did not. Thus, her painting is about the woman figure and not about France. By including the American flag as the backdrop to her nude, or as partial cover, Percheron-Daniels creates a tension between the image and viewers who might feel that such a draping is an insult to this national symbol. Finally, as some of the comments on Percheron-Daniels’
2012
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OBAMA TURN TO 13
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 5
EDUCATION BACK TO SCHOOL PART III
Busara: Practical wisdom for healthy development Murua (Swahili for ‘Respect’) By Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, Ph.D., L.P. Kids do not go to school just to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. They also go to school to learn how to be socially well by getting along with others. Just think of it. There are a lot of smart people who lose jobs simply because they do not know how to work well with others. Just as an adult’s vocational success may be impaired by their interpersonal relationships, so can a child’s academic success be impaired by her social skills and interpersonal relationships. This article will briefly explore the challenges of normal child development and what parents and educators can do to assist youth in making appropriate gains in this area. Erikson’s Stages of Development. Many psychologists refer to the work of Erik Erikson whose model of school-aged child development proposed that they have different skills or tasks that must be gained as they grow up. While his model spans the lifespan from birth to death, our focus in this article will be on pre-school aged children (ages 3 to 5), schoolaged children (ages 6-11), and adolescents (ages 12-18). In his model, Erikson believed that the main task of pre-school children was to learn how to assert control and power over their environment. Their
primary challenge in order to successfully master this stage is to explore or “test out their limits.” Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose so that children who try to exert too much initiative and power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. Thus, at this early stage children began to clarify their understanding of boundaries-where they stop and others begin. As you may guess, this lesson provides a necessary foundation for healthy interpersonal and socio-
information or experiences. This stage often forms the foundations for future attempts at healthy risk-taking and the development of self-confidence in later life. As children approach adolescents, we all know that their bodies began to change. Their perceptions of who they know themselves to be are challenged. Thus, a perfectly loving, thoughtful and respectful 9 year old girl suddenly appears to start talking back and getting inconsiderate and self-
Early childhood is recognized as a key stage in the development of aggressive violent behaviors because during this stage, the development of self-regulation appears to be important.
cultural relationships. As the child moves to school-age, her challenges shift from primarily exploring her environment to understanding how to be in school. Children at this age have a new-found need to cope with both social and academic demands. Their success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. Therefore, the ability to feel good about knowing how to do new and different things competes with their feelings of shame, incompetence and inferiority when they can not master new
absorbed. The challenge at this stage shifts from focusing on mastery of school to mastering social relationships. Teens at this age have a need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. They are not grown, but they are not little children. They struggle with issues of identity versus role confusion. At this stage, Erikson concludes that success leads to an ability to stay true to themselves while failure leads to a weak sense of who they are based on confusion about their roles and who they should be. African-American
youth and other youth of color are particularly impacted by peers, their environments and the development of a sense of belonging and fitting in. Depending on their home and school environments, African American youth may find it difficult to organize and claim their Black identities. When it comes to violence prevention, educators have posed that children encounter four major stages during their developmental years that impact their attitudes about aggression. In each of these stages there are key violence-related tasks that must be addressed. The first stage is Early Childhood (ages 2-5). Early childhood is recognized as a key stage in the development of aggressive violent behaviors because during this stage, the development of selfregulation appears to be important. Caregiver-to-child ratios and the quality of these adult/child interactions are key environmental influences in the development of selfregulation. Adults model and teach children to learn prosocial skills such as sharing and playing fairly. Thus, two key tasks for children in this stage involve learning how to help and share with others. Conversely, another key task is learning not to give in to impulsive behaviors such as hitting, kicking, punching, pushing or spitting on others. Being able to modulate one’s impulses is causally linked to other processes that lead to aggressive-violent behavior. The second stage occurs in Middle Childhood (ages 6-11). It is during this period that key
SCHOOL TURN TO 6
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OPINION
Marriage amendment will hurt many in our community By Sarah Walker Board Member, Minnesotans United for All Families This November Minnesota voters will be looking at one of the most divisive ballots in our state’s history. We face many choices that will either make us stronger as a state or if we fail to turnout at the polls our state will take a step backwards. One of the issues on this ballot is the marriage amendment. There are many LGBT people in the African-American community who would be hurt by this amendment - we must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters for justice and to be able to marry and form a family with who they want.
I have been working on racial, social and economic justice for my entire professional career – working to make Minnesota and the nation a more fundamentally just and equitable place. I am the founder of the MN Second Chance Coalition, which fights to ensure that individuals who have made mistakes have an opportunity to redeem themselves. I am also the President of the Coalition for Impartial Justice, fighting to ensure that our judicial system remains fair and impartial – free from partisan and corporate interests. And, I am here to tell you that defeating this amendment that singles out certain Minnesotans and excludes them from the freedom to marry – just because they are gay – matters. This Amendment is too much government
intrusion – it is a fundamental threat to Freedom. Many in our beloved community are fighting hard to make sure that our families and our communities are treated with respect and dignity. And that is why, as a proud member of the African American community who knows that struggle for respect and dignity, I am fighting to defeat this amendment. In my work I have watched as the criminal justice system has damaged family bonds and I have fought to ensure that our systems of justice don’t create limitations on individuals, families and communities. I have also watched as too many state policies damage, rather than strengthen, family bonds. I have watched as our social service policies focus on weaknesses rather than the strengths of
family, and how they have failed to acknowledge that all families have strengths and that we need a broader encompassing view of family. I’ve fought to ensure policies focus on strengthening families, and I’ve fought against all of these intrusions and judgments that have limited our institutions. And, now, I am fighting to ensure our state doesn’t limit the institution of marriage. The ideal society in which we all want to live is one where we treat others the way we would want to be treated. Many of us have learned this lesson through faith and family. This is a value that makes our communities stronger and neighborhoods safer. Marriage has always been and always will be about love, commitment, and responsibility. Defeating this amendment
would preserve fairness for all families. We have been told before who we can and cannot marry, and we know that no one wants to be told it is illegal to marry the person you love. The role of the constitution is to protect freedoms, not take them away. Often times our elected officials get stuck in the bubble of government and miss what is really happening in cities and neighborhoods across Minnesota. This is a waste of time given the state of our economy, the lack of jobs in our community, the achievement gap, and other important issues. Voting NO on this hurtful amendment will send a message to the politicians to get back to work on the issues that matter and directly impact all Minnesotans. God’s currency is through
relationship and through the development of human and social capital. This currency is weakened, not strengthened, by the proposed amendment. Over the next two months, I urge you to take some time to discuss the marriage amendment with your family, friends, and faith leaders. These conversations will shed light on how this amendment is a distraction from the issues that matter and need our immediate attention. Stand up for love and fairness and vote no on November 6. Sarah Walker Founder, MN Second Chance Coalition Chief Administrative Officer, 180 Degrees, Inc. Board Member, Minnesotans United for All Families
Turning a dream into reality By Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Director of the NAACP Economic Department and Jimmy Zhang, NAACP Economic Department Research Assistant Last week, we celebrated the 49th anniversary of the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs. This historic march on Washington was the beginning of Dr. King’s focus on national economic inequality. Sadly while progress has been made in the last half-century to advance economic and racial justice, the need for affordable housing and greater economic equality are still obstacles in the path of realizing Dr. King’s dream. In the months leading up to his assassination in 1968, Dr. King began planning another march to the capital in hopes of advancing economic equality
and affordable housing for the poor. Dr. King understood that breaking down economic barriers was the key to addressing racial inequality and saw the ghettoization of urban centers as a challenge to any progress made in greater civil rights. Today gentrification is now the major issue facing so many urban communities. Historically, poorer communities from inner cities were racially segregated and lacked significant access to resources. Now, cities throughout the country are adopting models of urban development that dislocate rather than concentrate lowincome residents. We often hear of neighborhood revitalization projects that are touted as ways to improve the community for all residents. The projects regularly include high end markets, boutique stores and other luxuries for the
Dedrick Muhammad new upper-income residents. Unfortunately, this type of economic revitalization comes at the expense of low to moderate income residents. Today, as we continue to struggle to make Dr. King’s dream a reality,
Jimmy Zhang
Photos: NAACP
we as a nation must embrace successful alternative models of development that focus on developing low to moderate income communities in urban centers instead of displacing them. In South Korea, affordable housing is a huge concern. In 1998, South Korea experienced an economic meltdown that left their affordable housing in shambles. In response, a government sponsored National Public Rental Housing program was created that provided
50,000 affordable housing units within four years. At the same time, the government implemented rent control, preferential interest rates, loan allocations, a five-year rent-to-ownership program, and community hearings or Residential Environment Improvements (REI’s) to effectively address regional issues. These efforts prevented community displacement and resource conflicts, while mitigating any potential tensions between groups.
School
are “old enough” to make their own decisions. Setting up opportunities for youth to engage in supervised, prosocial (positive) behaviors that involve trusted adults, parents and positive peer influences. It is not good enough to send your child to church, the library or the Girls and Boys club if you have not made arrangements for adult supervision and positive role-models (including you) to be present. During this phase at school, encouraging youth to join teams, activities or clubs that highlight their strengths and abilities will assist youth in their developing pro-social (versus gangster) relationships. The final stage of violence prevention involves Middleto-Late Adolescence (ages 15-18). During this phase of adolescence, school demands require that young people learn to include the practice of changing classes with their homeroom class and being instructed in a smaller, more personalized classroom. Here, they learn that in the face of their new found independence, they have to learn to focus on setting boundaries in interpersonal relationships (stop talking and go to class). They also learn that they have to negotiate conflict with an increased number of people with whom they have more contact throughout the day. Another key task of this stage is the formation and consolidation of an identity, including a personal identity (e.g. Who am I and what do I want out of life? What does it mean to be a young man or woman? What do I want out of school?) and racial ethnic identity (e.g. What does it mean to be African American)? As youth struggle through these stages, parents and teachers alike must learn to listen, support, nurture, correct and guide their youth. Kids must learn to trust they we have the ability to help them make good judgments. For example, the kids I see in my clinic often complain that they can not rely on the adults in their lives to
From 5 tasks include the development of children’s normative beliefs about aggression and the development of children’s interpersonal negotiation skills. Therefore, at this stage children begin to understand social beliefs about conditions when aggression occurs and how to avoid them. They learn lessons such as “Don’t hit younger kids” and “Boys should never hit girls.” They also learn that it is better to talk things out than to “box or fight.” Key school factors that can influence development at the middle childhood stage are: interpersonal relations with peers and classmates, teachers’ perceptions of children’s aggression, and the probability of exposure to antisocial youth. If children are not perceived by teachers as being “bad, mean, dangerous or violent,” they will most likely be treated with increased humanity and receive greater considerations when their misbehaviors do occur. Sadly, researchers have noted that African Americans are often seen as “less than human,” by members from the majority culture, consequently assuming that Black youth (especially boys) are more “animalistic and brutish” in their behaviors that leads to more punitive outcomes for their misbehaviors. The third stage of violence prevention occurs when youth are in Early Adolescence (ages 12-14). A key task of early adolescence is the development of a stable peer group. What determines whether a youngster does well during this phase or not is whether that stable peer group is primarily pro-social or antisocial in orientation. If your child get “in with the wrong crowd” it will significantly affect the probability of aggressive and violent behavior. Consequently, it is critical during this stage that parents and teachers avoid feeling like children
Cooperatives (co-ops) are another innovative model of affordable housing that doesn’t decrease property value. In New York City, specifically in neighborhoods like Queens, cooperatives have kept mixincome neighborhoods intact allowing property values to stabilize and costs of living to vary. South Korea and Queens, NY are just two examples of how private and public partnerships can transform underdeveloped communities into prosperous multi-income neighborhoods. If we have the courage, we can use these models to rethink how we approach urban development and address the needs of lowincome neighborhoods. Nearly 50 years after the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs and as the nation continues to struggle to move past the Great Recession, it is as important as ever that we revitalize our urban centers and communities in a manner that ensures low and moderate income residents participate in this revitalization. Getting past the racial inequality of the past does not have to be just a dream.
keep them safe or to teach them how to make good choices. Let’s say, for example, that a group of girls threaten to beat up your daughter. Instead of helping your daughter rely on adults to come to her aid, perhaps you are the type of parent that argues that “the fight was not fair,” rather than arguing that the fight should not have occurred in the first place. Perhaps you are the type of teacher that would tell the girl to “just ignore” the threats or bullying. In any event, neither remedy is an acceptable way of keeping a student out of trouble. In other words, if we (as adults) do not know how to make very good decisions ourselves, it will be very difficult to point students in the right direction. Free programs like Project Murua: Pre-Meditated Parenting Boot Camp help parents guide their children in making better decisions when it comes to violence. For more information call: 612302-3140 or 763-522-0100. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, Ph.D., L.P. is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice, serves as President of Brakins Consulting and Psychological Services, and is the Executive Director of the African American Child Wellness Institute. The mission of the African American Child Wellness Institute is to promote the psychological and spiritual liberation of children of African Descent by providing culturally specific mental health services and by developing culture-based, holistic wellness resources, research and practices. Dr. Garrett-Akinsanya warns that this column should in no way be construed as constituting a therapeutic relationship through counseling or advice. To forward a comment about this article or to make an appointment, please contact Dr. Garrett-Akinsanya by email @ bravadaakinsanya@ hotmail.com or by telephone at 763-522-0100.
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 7
Page 8 • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Insight News
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LIFESTYLE RECIPES
Fun family baking Rhodes Bake-N-Serv
Dog in a Dog
With summer in full swing the kids are sure to be asking “what can I do?” Answer them with a bag of ready-made frozen dough right out of the freezer. Just let it thaw and they can get busy making these fun doggy themed ideas. A child’s appetite for fun will kick in the moment they touch the squishy dough. Our Dog in a Dog recipe is a great, mess free way to serve lunch or dinner. Just enclose the hot dogs inside the dough, bake and enjoy dipping them into mustard or ketchup. They can also sculpt a
Doggy Face Sandwich and then fill it with hot dogs or any of their favorite sandwich fillings. Gather the family around and let everyone try making these PB & Banana Piggy Sandwiches. Why not come up with your own animal faces to cut open and fill with all kinds of fun ingredients? Cinnamon Roll Snails are the perfect finishing touch and super easy to make. The kids can bake up a batch in just minutes. Cooking and baking are skills that help children read, do math and organize their work logically. Let the kids spend more time in the kitchen this summer for fun family baking and adding extra helpings of smiles and laughs to every meal.
PB&J Pull-Aparts • 10 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter • 3/4 cup jelly Cut each roll into fourths. Coat each piece with sugar. Arrange evenly in the bottom of a sprayed 10-inch round baking dish. Heat the peanut butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds and drizzle over rolls. Heat the jelly for about 30 seconds and drizzle over rolls. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Place on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes.
Braided S’more Bread • 12 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature • 1/4 cup melted butter • 1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed • 2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, divided • 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk, divided • 1 cup marshmallow cream (about 3 big scoops) Spray counter lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Combine rolls into a ball and roll into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Mix melted butter and graham crackers together. Spread, lengthwise, down the middle third of the rectangle. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips on top of the graham crackers. Drizzle 1/2 of the sweetened condensed milk over the top. Spoon marshmallow creme over everything. Make 1 1/2-inch wide cuts along both long sides of the rectangle to within 1-inch of the filling. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right and right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid. Carefully lift braid with both hands onto sprayed baking sheet. Drizzle remaining sweetened condensed milk over top of braid and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes.
RECIPES TURN TO 14
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 9
TECHNOLOGY NorthPoint technology lab helps residents bridge digital divide In today’s world it is hard to last an hour without being in contact with some kind of new technology. This growing use means that computers and the Internet are infiltrating our jobs, our homes, our schools, our entertainment, and even our personal relationships. Although this technology has become so commonplace, it is still very expensive for some individuals. This means that a large group of Americans are being left behind, as they are unable to take advantage of the many benefits technology is able to provide. The term “digital divide” refers to the gap that is developing between those who have access to this new technology and those who do not. The lack of a computer or Internet access creates a large disadvantage in many areas of life, especially in the job market. The University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, or UROC, recognizes this problem and in response, has developed the Broadband Access Project (BAP). The BAP aims to lessen the digital divide by increasing high-speed Internet access, awareness, and use in underserved areas of Minneapolis and St Paul. The BAP has either developed or enhanced 12 public computer centers in the Twin Cities, each equipped with various numbers of up-to-date computers that are outfitted with high-speed Internet, as well as programs such as Microsoft Office. One of the most common uses of the BAP computers is to help people searching for jobs. Each center has many success stories of dedicated individuals who will come in day after day to search for jobs and develop their resumes until they are finally able to find employment. Aaron Smothers, an Apprentice at the BAP lab at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Inc., in North Minneapolis, shared a particularly touching story of a woman and her two daughters. Every day the mother would come in to search for employment while the daughters worked on schoolwork. Smothers was able to help the woman with writing a resume and cover letters, as well as help her daughters with their homework. After all of this hard work, the woman successfully
NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center computer lab
found employment and both daughters graduated from a milestone year in their education. Smothers expressed his satisfaction with this experience saying, “I was able to help all three of those women get to the next stage in their lives, so that
was really awesome.” Although employment search is an integral part of the BAP program, this is not the only way that its computers are making positive impacts on people’s lives. Anthony Tunstell, the owner of a small production company, finds the BAP public computer center at NorthPoint to be an important part of keeping his business running smoothly. Tunstell does not yet have the resources to own his own computer so he finds the computer lab to be very
helpful in creating the templates for his small business. The BAP recognizes that many small business owners, like Tunstell, need computer resources that are unavailable to them. The BAP offers a variety of free trainings for small, disadvantaged, and minority-, women-, and veteranowned business owners, such as how to set up a website and/or Facebook page to promote their companies. Beyond providing access to computers, the BAP puts a large
emphasis on teaching people about how to use the Internet in order to make their lives easier. At each center, there is a trained apprentice that is on hand to answer any questions users may have. “Patrick Wilson, the Director of Development at NorthPoint, summed up the importance of having apprentices available by explaining “…it’s one thing to have the resource, whether it’s a lab, computer, etc. but without assistance in using and navigating it…it’s just a piece of equipment.” Wilson clarified that the assistance provided at BAP computer labs is what truly sets them apart from other public computer centers. Mary Johnigan, and elderly woman visiting the lab, takes advantage of the help that is available to her at NorthPoint in order to learn about this technology that would otherwise be a mystery to her. She expresses that since many of her friends are familiar with computer use she feels like the odd one out. Although at this point she is
BAP
only looking to be introduced to the basics, she looks forward to someday becoming a stronger typer, so she can use word processing to write letters to her family and friends. At all stages of life, computer use is becoming an important part of living, and BAP public computer centers are able to help people discover the variety of ways that technology can be used to their aid. “We give them knowledgeable information about how to safely use the computer,… what you need the Internet for, why it’s vital, and everything you can do on it,” summarizes Smothers. Open for less than a year, the public computer center at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Inc., located at 1315 Penn Avenue North, is already making great strides towards lessening the digital divide in North Minneapolis. For more information or to find a computer lab near you, visit www.bap.umn. edu, call 612-625-BAP1 (2271), or email bap1@umn.edu.
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HEALTH Strategies for thriving in a stressful world Our Health
By Nicole Winbush MD This week I touch on some methods that can help you restore balance to your life by better managing and coping with stress. These practices can include regular exercise and physical activity. For some, it can also be helpful to utilize prayer and spiritual practices as a source of support. However, while many of us know that these techniques are helpful, when stress levels are truly high it can be difficult to find the motivation and energy to engage in these beneficial activities. I recommend breath work as a starting point.
We all have to breathe and learning to breathe better can decrease stress levels almost immediately. Breathing Exercises When we are stressed our breath is often rapid and shallow. Breathing is an automatic and unconscious process, yet we have the ability to bring it under
our conscious control. Relaxing breathing exercises are a simple and effective way to quickly bring about a rapid decrease in mental and physical stress. Here is a simple yet powerful one that I teach patients. Abdominal Breathing Many of us have gotten into the habit of breathing upside down. When we take a deep breath our
Practiced regularly, breathing exercises have been associated with decreased levels of depression and anxiety, decreased blood pressure and improved sleep
chest expands but not our belly. Fundamental to all breathwork is learning to breath right side up -- to take deep breaths into your abdomen. Try this, first place your hands on your belly. With each deep breath you should feel your belly press against your hand. If you are not in the habit of breathing this way, this may be challenging at first. With each deep breath into your abdomen follow it by a full and complete and slow exhale. Repeat this cycle of slow deep breaths concentrating on breathing deeply for a count of 4 and exhaling for a count of eight. Repeat this cycle 10 times twice a day. In time you will become more accustomed to breathing this way. Practiced regularly, breathing exercises have been associated with decreased levels of depression and anxiety, decreased blood pressure and improved sleep. Gratitude journal It is also helpful to explore
Murder by fork! Moore Therapy
By Dr. Darren D. Moore Greetings. I just came back from what was one of the best Labor Day celebrations ever – a downsouth country barbeque full of all the things your heart could desire. There were baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, ribs,
hamburgers, chicken, sausage, macaroni salad, sweet potato pie, chess pie, soda and more. Now of course, I didn’t consume all of that, but some did. As I was sitting there looking at everyone make their plates and even go for seconds or thirds, I had to stop and think, “What are we doing?” All I could think of for an answer is we are killing ourselves with a fork. It may seem a bit harsh to say this, but I told you I will be honest with you. Every time we pick up that fork or that spoon and put excess fat, carbs, sugar, salt, etc. into our bodies, we are committing suicide. We may die a slow death.
We may even die with a smile on our face after eating grandma’s famous sweet-potato pie, but nevertheless, we inevitably will die. I do not know about you, but I do not want to die, nor do I want to see any of you pass away due to your eating habits or behaviors. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having a little treat from time-totime, but it seems like “from timeto-time” is turning into every other weekend. If it is not a holiday, then it is dinner after church. If it is not dinner after church, it is someone’s birthday, a graduation party or unfortunately a funeral. You get my point.
Have you noticed that we celebrate everything with food? What is that about? Yes, we have to eat to live but we don’t have to live to eat. I am wondering what we can do to celebrate special moments in life and holidays without all of the emphasis being placed on food. I am also wondering what we can change about what we do that could help us become healthier. Any thoughts? Well of course, I have a few. Perhaps, we could all go for a mile walk as a family before or
MOORE TURN TO 11
ways to break out of patterns of negativity that may be the fuel many of our stressors. Gratitude, a feeling of appreciation for others and our place and connection in this world is known to be a
powerful tool in rapidly helping people improve their emotional state. Finding something to be grateful for is hard when one is facing very real problems
STRESS TURN TO 15
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 11
FULL CIRCLE
The way to a man’s heart Man Talk
By Timothy Houston It has been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. That statement may have been true in the past or in places in the world where food is scarce, but here in the United States, I tend to agree with Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He wrote that physiological needs (food, clothing, shelter) are at the base of the pyramid of needs, followed as you move up by safety, love and belonging, and esteem. The higher up on the pyramid, the more internal the needs become and the more the heart is engaged in the process. Because of this, I believe the true way to a man’s heart is through his esteem or ego. First and foremost, to reach a man’s heart, his ego must be understood. It can be summed up in three things, his mastery, money, and manhood. One, he must master something in life. A man that feels he is good at something (mastery) also believes he can be good at other things. His time, energy and heart are spent doing things that he is good at. Next, he must have money or the ability to get it. Money is the means in which a man provides for himself and his family. Poverty destroys a man’s self worth and attacks his self esteem. Lastly, he must feel good about his manhood. This is represented by his sexual ego and his belief that he is able to physically and emotionally satisfy his woman. This ego is influenced by what is between his legs and is controlled by what is between
Moore From 10 after we indulge. Maybe instead of having that second or third plate, we could pack up the extra food and give it to someone less fortunate. Maybe instead of eating cake and pie, we could just select one dessert. Remember, “Less is Moore.” Maybe as a family, we could make an effort to bring one healthy food alternative to each dinner. I am sure there are a lot of things we can do, if we put out heads together. Are you with me? Now, I do realize that this is easier said than done. I also realize that I am asking you to do something different than you may be used to, so it may be a bit scary at first. But I promise you, change is possible and we can be successful if we work together. How about we start today? Today, I challenge you to put down that fork and pick up your life. Cherish it and do something to celebrate it without food – just
his ears. Both shape his manhood, and to attack either could be relationship suicide. Secondly, to get to a man’s heart, a man’s ego must be fed. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs noted two versions of esteem needs. The lower one is the need for the respect of others, recognition, fame, and attention. The higher one is the need for self-respect, competence, mastery, and selfconfidence. The second cannot be reached without the first being fulfilled. The male ego must be fed a steady diet of affirmation to remain healthy. No human being can live on negativity. Words that build up a man will reach his heart. Telling him the things that he is doing right helps him do other things right, while focusing on the negative things will only make him want to do them even more. A man’s self confidence is fed by the respect and recognition of others. Finally, to get to a man’s heart, a man’s ego must be supported. His esteem is at the top of the pyramid of needs, and it is only trumped by self-actualization (the desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming). His ego or view of himself fosters his overall self-esteem and opens his heart up for the potential of love. Although some women do not feel they need to stroke a man’s ego, they should be cautioned not to challenge it. When it is challenged, he will defend it with his life. But when it is supported, the man’s heart becomes open and he feels loved, safe, and secure. 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.
for today. Take care and have a great week. Until next time, stick around, there’s “MOORE” to come. For personal correspondence, email me at ddmoore@vt.edu Darren D. Moore is an assistant professor in marriage and family therapy at a university in Georgia. He works with individuals, couples, and families regarding mental health and relationship concerns. His research, teaching, and clinical interests include obesity, weight loss, eating disorders and addictions within couple and family relationships, with an emphasis in working with men, African-American families, and minority populations. Moore, a North Minneapolis native, obtained his bachelors’ degree in Africa- American Studies from the University of Minnesota, his masters’ degree in marriage and family therapy from Valdosta State University and his Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy from Virginia Tech.
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A unique approach to community development Develop new tools at CCDA conference this September By Marque Jensen This year, Twin Cities residents have the opportunity to participate in the national conference of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) when it comes to Minneapolis, Sept. 26 – 29. While organizations are created to build wealth or complete a specific mission, and denominations form to spread a particular brand of belief, an association forms to bring people and ideas together around a specific issue. CCDA was formed as a way for likeminded Christians to come together, share best practices and learn from seasoned veterans.
I wrote in my last commentary about how the CCDA impacted me. I found encouragement from likeminded people who believed their faith calls, to not only feel compassion, but to be involved with care about people and communities that suffered under oppression and poverty. At CCDA I connected with people who were frustrated by some of the traditional methods of “ministry” that patronized the poor and often exploited low-income communities. CCDA creates community and has demonstrated results, but what is CCDA all about? What makes their approach unique? At the foundation of CCDA are the principles which John Perkins and Wayne Gordon first demonstrated and lived out. They identified these
same components in other successful models of ministry. Today they are summed up in eight core components. You can read about all of them at the CCDA website www.ccda. org. However, the principles are rooted in what is known as the three Rs; relocation, reistribution and reconciliation. In practical application, living out these principles results in “life-on-life mentoring.” While I cannot do these principles justice in this commentary, I will offer this as an overview. Relocation recognizes it is difficult to be part of the solution for a community if you are not a part of a community. Communities need people to relocate, return, and remain if they are to be healthy and vibrant. In theological terms,
this is the work of being incarnational; it is the first step to removing otherness, by being present. Redistribution as real compassion must address the inequitable distribution of resources and the oppressive systems that cause and sustain inequality. Impoverished communities will benefit from a redistribution of educational access, power, and also funding for basic needs. CCDA organizations realize the need to not only deal with needs in the community, but also to advocate for justice in the broader society beyond the community. As CCDA believes the original state of humanity (and the ultimate reality) is harmony between people and unity with God, thus our calling is to see people united across the barriers
of race, class, and ethnicity. Reconciliation must be lived out in the context of a community and it is about solidarity and relationships. While integration, multi-culturalism and tolerance are important, CCDA views reconciliation as that gem the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “beloved community.” An additional component is indigenous leadership development. Indigenous leadership development is key to Community Empowerment. We must train our youth to understand that success is not measured by how far you can move from the neighborhood you grew-up in, but in how well you give back. CCDA organizations work to view all the youth and families they serve not as clients, but as partners – partners that will
hopefully assume leadership and take responsibility for their community. The four mentioned core components of CCDA have deeply impacted how I view my role in my neighborhood as well as the role churches and non-profits must play if we are to move from “BandAid” approaches to help heal broken communities. If you are interested in learning more about CCDA and your role in helping to strengthen individuals, families, and communities be sure to register today for the Sept. 26 – 29 conference at www.ccda. org. Register before Sept. 11 to receive a pre-registration discount. On-site registration is also available.
Life on Life Mentoring
Our community is filled with unmined acres of diamonds By Chris Brooks I grew up on the south side of Minneapolis. My parents were both good, church-going folks. My two sisters and I were raised with solid values; held accountable for our grades and our behavior, and we did a pretty good job of towing the line. When I entered Sanford Junior High School, I began dabbling with trouble. I was being recruited into the gang culture, and I was beginning to break the rules that were strictly
enforced in our house. At one point, my parents were at their limits with me, and they kicked me out of the house. My youth minister, Marque Jensen took me in. He set me up with a room in his attic, and worked with my parents and me to reconcile the relationship that I had broken through my poor choices. When I hit my high school years, I found myself spending most of my free time in some of the tougher parts of the Twin Cities. There were house parties off of Lake Street and 4th Avenue. There were planned fights in Frogtown. There was even pick-up basketball at the
Northside YMCA, followed by serious shenanigans. I loved my violent “friends,” I embraced my wild life and I was on a quick path to disaster. At the apex of my temporary insanity, I was involved in a crime – a very serious crime. As I sat in the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center facing adult prison time, Jensen again stepped up to the plate. He visited me. He brought me communion. He challenged me to take responsibility for my actions. He never gave up on me. Just over four years later, after graduating from college with my Bachelor of Arts degree, Jensen performed the wedding ceremony for my wife and me. My wife and I have been married for 16 years. As I
Mushrooms From 3 mushrooms for sale in the Twin Cities – and most of the nation –come from Oregon or China. Silver-Ramp says the mushrooms he grows have the same taste as the $20 a pound Oregonian King Oysters available at The Wedge Co-op, but his are fresher, not driedout, and at $10 per pound, literally half the price. Talk about a market opportunity. Though after only three months, Silver-Ramp is still perfecting production details. He has calculated that with 150 square feet of space, he should ultimately produce 100 pounds of mushrooms a week. Once he’s got production levels up, he’s interested in expanding operations for a couple reasons. One, he wants his business to be profitable. “But also, it’s about food security,” said Silver-Ramp. “If I’m able to produce more mushrooms more efficiently, I’d like to drop the price per pound significantly.” That would
look back over my life, I think of critical pain points and I see Jensen’s face as a consistent piece of my life’s narrative.
He remains important to me, so many years later. When I need counsel, he sits with me over coffee. When I need wisdom, he delivers. When I need inspiration, I think of Jensen. Over the years, I have had the privilege of having amazing mentors. Dr. Emmett Carson, Dr. Brenda Cassellius and Joel Jennings, are just a few. The list is a long one. All of these people embody the same characteristics that I have seen in Jensen. These characteristics, that are taught and modeled in the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) movement, are presence, wisdom, investment, hope, advocacy and commitment. Because my constellation of mentors has helped mold
my life, I am compelled to do this with others. This is the true heart of justice. This is the true spirit of community development. It requires time. It requires patience. It requires a belief that every single person is equally endowed with innate promise. Without people who believed in me, I am confident that I would be dead today. To borrow a phrase from economist Hernando De Soto, our community is filled with “unmined acres of diamonds.” The world needs the creativity, innovation and value that many of our youth have yet to be realized. Will you participate in mining our community’s diamonds? This year’s conference of the CCDA is a great place to start. Visit www.ccda.org to sign-up.
translate into fresh, nutritious food that hasn’t arrived from hundreds of miles away via gasoline-consuming trucks or planes, which means both the customer and the environment save. “When production gets up, I would like to bring people on, hopefully this winter,” said Silver-Ramp. “I think if this works, it’s going to get a lot bigger than me. I’d like to see it be a cooperative enterprise, where the workers own part of the business.” What kinds of people buy these unique mushrooms? “Everyone does. I think people that are a little more adventurous with their food, but I haven’t pinned it to any demographic group,” said the mushroom grower. “People see them and say, ‘I want to try that,’ and some people come back for seconds.” Silver-Ramp does note that people will need to expand their ideas of what mushrooms are as a category. “I had a customer that wanted a shitake mushroom, which has a really strong taste, but the King Oysters don’t.
I think mushrooms should really be thought of more like vegetables, with as many different types and flavors as vegetables, and you should use them for different things.” According to Silver-Ramp, when King Oyster mushrooms are cooked, they have a pleasant, mild flavor and almost meaty texture. “I think when people know how to cook these mushrooms, they’re really going to like them,” said Silver-Ramp who has a delicious recipe for grilled or baked King Oyster mushrooms on his website. He will be doing a cooking demonstration at the West Broadway Farmers Market on Sept. 14. Silver-Ramp is proud of his new logo and business cards, which he got through the business class he took through the Neighborhood Development Center and the Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON). “One of the best things I’ve done for the business is take (NEON’s) class. There are so many great resources out there in North,” said the North Minneapolis farmer. The class
also offered Silver-Ramp the opportunity to meet the owners of Local D’Lish, a store that sells his mushrooms. The West Broadway Farmers Market (WBFM), a project of the West Broadway Coalition, has also proved an important resource for Mississippi Mushrooms. Like all market vendors, SilverRamp does not pay a fee to sell at the market, and because the WBFM accepts EBT and participates in the Market Bucks incentive program, his customers can pay with EBT and WIC coupons. He also accepts Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons, cash and credit cards. Alicia Uzarek, the market manager, connected SilverRamp to Minnesota Grown, which gave him a matching grant for market signage. Uzarek also helped him apply for a Northside Fresh Vendor stipend, which provided him and five other Northsideresiding market vendors with $500 in start-up assistance for insurance and market-related expenses.
Kayla Johnson
Chris Brooks
insightnews.com
Police From 1 Tyrone Terrill, chairman of the African-American Leadership Council said seeing the officer kick Hightower reminded him of darker days in our nation’s history. “What I saw was a harkening back to Alabama and ‘Bull’ Connor,” said Terrill in reference to the Birmingham commissioner of public safety who would routinely use fire hoses and police dogs to attack African Americans during the 1960s. “You don’t do that to a human being. Zilge kicked a young man for no reason.” Hightower’s attorney, Seamus Mahoney, said his client suffered a bruised chest from being kicked and chemical burns to the face as a result of being pepper-sprayed.
Race From 1 eye color, facial and body structure, and so forth. These are physical facts, which can be seen and measured. But it does not end there. This is not quite what we mean when we say “race.” We mean something much deeper, which goes beyond mere facts that can be observed. According to structured “race” thinking to which American society is enslaved, the way one looks can tell you many things
Obama From 4 her arms, and so in representing the First Lady’s body as a nude Percheron-Daniels has tapped into an emotional minefield of images of Black women used as breeders and forced sometimes to mate with their own sons under slavery, Black women subject to rape whether slave or free, Black women referred to as “hoes and bithes,” Black women characterized as “angry,” if they are strong and assertive, Black women portrayed as the penultimate caretaker in the form of “mammy,” and most recently a slew of films by Black men in which they resurrect a contemporary mammy in the form of Madea and Big Momma. Yeah, we Black women are a little bit sensitive about how we get represented—ya think? And so, when people like PercheronDaniels start messing with the few positive images of Black women that have survived brutal scrutiny such as First Lady Michelle Obama, they’d better be prepared for a reaction. There is art and there is insult, even if it’s presented as art. Of course, one of the occupational hazards of being in the public eye is that your image and your life are open books, up for grabs, and subject to numerous interpretations over which you have little say. Karine PercheronDaniels is capitalizing upon First Lady Michelle Obama’s image and reputation. She may make a fortune due to the controversial nature of her work. I hope that she will take some of those funds and support programs devoted to efforts that improve the lives of Black
Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 13
Insight News was able to locate the person who filmed the alleged brutality and spoke with
that person under the condition of anonymity. “I’m scared the St. Paul Police are going to do something to me,” said the individual who filmed the nearly five minutes of footage. “Police surrounded the park and I got out of there as fast as I could.” The person who shot the footage with a cellular phone said a call was immediately placed to local ABC television affiliate, KSTP-TV. The individual said a representative of the station declined to view the footage, so the individual decided to post the footage on the internet. St. Paul Police Public Information Officer, Howie Padilla, said St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith called for an immediate internal investigation into the incident. Padilla said Zilge was immediately placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the
investigation. “The chief has said right away that he wants to know everything that happened – from start to finish – with this entire incident,” said Padilla. “Chief Smith is looking to get as many answers as he can.” As a result of the ongoing internal investigation, another officer, Matthew Gorans, has also been placed on administrative leave. It is not yet known why Gorans has been placed on leave. Padilla said the investigation into the incident will be swift. “I don’t envision this being an investigation that will take months to complete,” said Padilla. “The chief is taking this very seriously.” Martin said he has been in contact with Chief Smith regarding the incident and believes the chief is sincere in his efforts to thoroughly investigate the incident.
these traits come only through genes, no matter what the environmental circumstances. To believers in “race,” questions of culture, history, and collective experiences do not enter the picture. A given group of people’s success or failure is all due to genes. This is called biological determinism, like predestination, which is believed in certain religious circles. One should not need science, but common sense, to observe; that there is something illogical and wrong-headed with this type of thinking. Genes may have something to do with, but could
not, in the generality, tell how intelligent a given individual is. We must hasten to eventually add that there are multiple intelligences. There is no one way to be intelligent, like there is no one way to be human. This is as evident as the music we make. “Race,” therefore, is a myth. It is a powerful and pervasive myth, which obstructs clear thinking. A myth is a simple way to explain something that is complex. A myth is what makes thinking unnecessary. Now let it be said that all myth is grounded in some reality. A myth is not
simply an idle tale from our folklore. Saying that “race” is a myth is different than saying that it is an outright lie. Myth is what the general society believes is true, although the beliefs are unfounded, shrouded in halftruths, distortions and fantasy. A myth is very close to superstition and indeed is an intrinsic part of superstition. Belief in witches, possession, and fetishes were once widely believed, and thus governed much, if not most, of that society’s behavior. There are, however, certain aspects of “race” that are real. There is a predisposition of certain
populations, not “races,” to certain inherent diseases. Skin cancer and acne are pronounced among so-called white people with less melanin (color) in their skin. African Americans are disposed to contract sickle cell anemia, which is rare among European populations, and is equally rare among Africans in Africa. In short, Swedes do not fall victim to sickle cell anemia, and neither does Nelson Mandela’s people in South Africa.
wiki/File:Marie-Guillemine_ Benoist_-_portrait_d%27une_ negresse.jpg Hugh Honor, The Image of the Black in Western Art IV: From the American Revolution to World War I and Black and White Myths (Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1989). Revised editions of The Image of the Black in Western Art, All volumes: http://www. hup.harvard.edu/catalog. php?isbn=9780674052611 http://cunycomposers. wetpaint.com/page/%22The+Chi
cago+Picasso%22%3A+Pablo+P icasso+and+Gwendolyn+Brooks
and writer living in Raleigh, NC, the Principal of McClaurin Solutions (a consulting business), and a former university president. (www.irmamcclaurin.com) (@ mcclaurintweets)
He said Hightower alleged he was also hit while handcuffed in the squad car and Mahoney is requesting the St. Paul police turn over any video it may have of the incident. “Mr. Hightower is scared,” said Mahoney. “He doesn’t want to be in the neighborhood. It’s a shame to be there and be beaten like a dog and you have to lay there and take it. (Hightower) is lucky he didn’t get his teeth kicked in.” Mahoney said his client is pursuing a civil suit against Zilge and the department. Jeffry Martin, president of the St. Paul branch of the NAACP, said incidents such as this are more common than many would think and had it not been for the videotaping of this incident, nothing would be being done about the abuse of police authority. “[The filming] is a rare
occurrence that someone had enough forethought to film and get this viral as quickly as
possible,” said Martin. He said that the person who took the video “is a very courageous
about one’s behavior, without actually knowing anything about the person. The paradigm goes like this: so-called white people are organized, business-like and intelligent (there are no idiots among them) just because they are so-called white. Black people are musical, athletic, funny, emotional and not intellectual - there are no geniuses among them - just because they are Black. And so it goes, Asians, all of them, are good in mathematics and good with computers and technical stuff - not a dull one among them. Presumably,
young girls living in France and/ or in the United States. Perhaps doing so will somewhat relieve Percheron-Daniels of having to defend herself. She also would be operating in the spirit of generosity and the ethos of service that First Lady Michelle Obama represents to all of us in the United States and globally. As my favorite poet the late Gwendolyn Brooks once wrote about a Picasso statue, art hurts. But it can also heal and while we may not agree with PercheronDaniels depiction of the First Lady, it has made us more aware as viewers of the power of image, raised questions about the social responsibility of artists, and perhaps laid a foundation for this artist to demonstrate a level of social responsibility by contributing some of the funds from sale of this controversial image to improve and enhance the lives of black girls and women globally. Now, that would be an unequivocal way to show some respect and admiration for the First Lady. Anything less will call into question whether anything was “lost in translation” as PercheronDaniels has claimed, or that what we see is what the artist truly intended: art or insult? The jury’s still out on that one. Read More: 1. Gilliam, Angela, “A Black Feminist Perspective on the Sexual Commodification of Women in the New Global Culture.” In Irma McClaurin, Ed. Black Feminist Anthropology: Theory, Praxis, Politics, and Poetics (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2001). http://rutgerspress. rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Black_ Feminist_Anthropology_701. html http://en.wikipedia.org/
person. Were it not for that person we would never know of Eric Hightower.”
“I’m scared the St. Paul Police are going to do something to me,” said the individual who filmed the nearly five minutes of footage. “Police surrounded the park and I got out of there as fast as I could.”
©2012 McClaurin Solutions Irma McClaurin, PhD is the Culture and Education Editor for Insight News of Minneapolis. She is a bio-cultural anthropologist
RACE TURN TO 14
Page 14 • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Insight News
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COMMUNITY 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 Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church Annual Fall Revival Now–12 Guest minister will be the Reverend Dr. Alvin C. Bernstine, Pastor of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, CA. Begins Sun. Sept 9, 4pm and Mon.–Wed. Sept 10–12, 6:50pm nightly at Mount Olivet Baptist Church 451 W Central Ave, Saint Paul. The Reverend Dr. James C. Thomas is the pastor. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American Textbook got Wrong Sept 12 Workshop featuring author James Loewen (Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Text Book Got Wrong, Lies Across America, Sundown Towns, and others). FREE and CEUs will be provided. Wed. Sept 12, 5:30–7pm at Anoka Ramsey Community College: 11200 Mississippi Boulevard Northwest Coon Rapids, MN 55433, phone: 763.433.1100. or mnmulticulturaled@gmail.com with questions and to RSVP. Nicole Richie for Impulse
Race From 13
launch event at Macy’s Southdale Sept 12 Discover the new Nicole Richie for Impulse collection. View and shop this exclusive limited-edition collection that features fluid bohemian glamour influenced by 70’s silhouettes, prints and fabrications for a fashion-forward look at an affordable price, while enjoying informal modeling, sips, sweets and music Sept 12, 5:30pm at Macy’s Southdale, 1st Floor, Impulse Dept. 100 Southdale Center, Edina. Visit www.macys. com/events for more info.
Phone: 612.588.1313
and Fri.–Sat., 11am.–4pm. Gallery located in the Library and Learning Center, 645 East Seventh St. Saint Paul. For more info contact Anne Sugnet, interim gallery director, at 651-793-1631 or e-mail anne. sugnet@metrostate.edu. For more information about the exhibit, contact Anne Sugnet, interim gallery director, at 651.793.1631 or e-mail anne.sugnet@ metrostate.edu.
Fax: 612.588.2031
Sept 14, 11am–1pm at St. Paul Town and Country Club, 300 Mississippi River Blvd. N. St. Paul. More details and how to vote and attend at www.adcminnesota. org NorthPoint’s first annual Fit-4Fun Sept 15 First annual Fit-4-Fun Event. This event will include a family oriented 1 and 3 mile walk/run/ bike ride, group aerobics, music, dancing, prizes, healthy food options, health and wellness information and most importantly fun. Event begins at 10am. Registration for walk and run starts at 9am at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center 1313 Penn Ave. North, Minneapolis MN 55411.
Email: natalie@insightnews.com
Loppet Run Club Now–Sept 17 Club meets bi-weekly for hill and over-distance workouts, practicing exclusively on the trails in Theodore Wirth Park. Learn trail running while improving your strength and ability. Many runners go on to compete in the Surly Trail Loppet half marathon in the fall. Mondays, 6pm and Saturdays, 8am. July 9 - Sept 17. $50. KFAI’s 2012 Speakers Series welcomes Amy Goodman Sept 22 Amy Goodman, Media activist and co-host of Democracy Now! Will be in the Twin Cities to speak about her upcoming book, “The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance and Hope.” Sat. Sept 22, 7–9pm at Wesley United Methodist Church, 101 E. Grant St. MPLS MN 55403. Tickets at www. kfai.org or 612.341.3144 ext. 23 for will call.
Oct 10 Two film events on the Holocaust as part of their new ‘Exploring Human Rights through the Arts’ series. Both films, explore the effects of World War II on America in little-known ways. Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, will be screened on Mon. Sept 24, 7–9pm at William Mitchell College of Law, 875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, 55105, in the Kelley Board Room. From Swastika to Jim Crow: Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges, will be screened on Wed. Oct10, 7–9pm at William Mitchell College of Law in room 245. free to students and seniors and $10 to the general public. Visit www.worldwithoutgenocide.org for more info.
40 Days for Life Twin Cities training meeting Sept 13 A campaign of prayer and fasting for the end of abortion and healing for the women and men affected by it. Abortion inordinately affects the African American community, visit: http:// blackgenocide.org/home.html. 40 Days for Life will run from Wed. Sept 26–Sun. Nov 4. For more info visit the local website: http://www.40daysforlife.com/ twincities or call Rev. Brian Walker, Twin Cities coordinator: 651-771-1500 ext 211.
Benefit to Bash Hunger sponsored by Emergency Foodshelf Network Sept 14 EFN is asking individuals and organizations to get involved by attending The Hunger Bash. Fri. Sept 14, 6pm at the Golden Valley Country Club music by Twin Cities jazz vocalist Connie Evingson and The Parisota Hot Club, a unique silent auction, an exciting live auction, fabulous food stations, games, and outstanding desserts. The evening will be emceed by Bobby Jensen of KARE 11’s Grow with KARE. Tickets are available at www. emergencyfoodshelf.org and are $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of 10.
Metropolitan State University Somebody Exhibit Sept 13 This exhibition features the photography of Pao Her (Saint Paul).Exhibit opens with a reception on Thur. Sept 13, 4:30– 7pm, followed by a mediated gallery talk 7–8 pm. The exhibit continues through Oct. 5. Gallery hours are Mon.–Thur., 11am–7pm
ADC Business Awards Luncheon Sept 14 Celebrate success and economic impact of African-owned businesses in Minnesota. Dr. Reuben E. Brigety, II – U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, will be at the celebration of African-owned businesses throughout Minnesota.
Human beings live in a material, man-made, psychosocial world, as well as a biological one. We must not confuse the two. Don’t expect
an Eskimo to build a skyscraper. Not because he is not capable, but because his culture does not demand a skyscraper. A culture will do what is demanded of it. “Race” and culture are two distinctly different phenomena, although too often we confuse the two, one with the other. A part of what we call “race” is nature, i.e. what one is born with. Culture, on the other hand, is what we acquire from our most immediate human surroundings, beliefs, knowledge, mores, habits, customs, and even certain emotions. One thing is natural, the other artificial. A tree is natural. Humans do not make
trees. A wooden table is artificial (the opposite of natural) because it is woman-man made. Culture is learned social heritages. We possess this, just as we possess a biological heritage. We must never allow ourselves to confuse the two. People have pale skin, very dark skin, blonde, red, black and brown hair. Some hair is long, some is frizzy, wooly, super curly, or wavy. People are short, tall, thick and thin. People have different body builds and facial contours. We don’t need a scientist to tell us this. None of this has anything intrinsic to do with whether one
is a Jew, Christian, or Muslim, whether one is a Socialist, Democrat, Republican, Communist or Green Party member. These beliefs are acquired from one’s culture, or new exposure and experiences that one might encounter. There is no such thing as being born a Christian any more than one is born a Communist. It ought to be obvious why most people in the West call themselves Christians and most people in the Near East and Far East call themselves Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Confucians, Taoists, and Shintoists. Some of what we are is inborn. Most of
what we do is learned. To wit: there are not really any “purely” white, Black, or yellow people. Nor are there any half-breeds, mullatos, Zambos, Meztuzos, or assimiladoes. The geneticists are now telling us that the human family share 97% of the human gene pool. Only 3% separates us. What does a teaspoon of water in a gallon of milk make up?
Recipes
and nose.
From 8
PB & Banana Piggy Sandwich
• cheese slices • olives
pieces between the cuts. Return to oven and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite dip in the middle. and bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Dog in a Dog • Rhodes™ Dinner thawed but still cold • hot dogs • sliced cheese • black beans • olives
Rolls,
Combine two rolls and flatten into a 7x5-inch rectangle. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Place a hot dog on the dough and roll the dough around the hot dog leaving excess dough on one end to make the head. Pinch a small tail on the other end of the dog. Pinch the dough together behind the head to form the neck. Use 2/3 of another roll to make the ears. Cut the remaining 1/3 in half to use for the legs. Roll the larger piece into a 6-inch rope that is very thin in the center. Lay the rope over the pinched neck and flatten the ends to make the ears. Roll the other two pieces into 4-inch ropes that are thin in the center but have small balls on the ends. Place these under the dog to make the feet. Repeat steps to make as many dogs as desired. Bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Use cheese, black beans and olives for eyes
Chain Reaction Theater Project: SEVEN Sept 16 SEVEN: Inspiring Stories of Seven Daring Women Fighting Injustices. The play celebrates bravery, compassion, and hope for a better future. Tickets: “Pay as you can” with a suggested ticket price of $15, cash or check only. Tickets can be purchased at the door. All seats are general admission. Fri. Sept 7, 7pm at Solomon’s Porch,100 West 46th Street. MPLS 55419. Sun. Sept 16, 6:30pm at Faith Lutheran Church, 11115 Hanson Blvd., NW Coon Rapids, MN 55433. For more info visit: www.chainreactiontp.com or write info@chainreactiontp. com.
• Rhodes™ Dinner thawed but still cold • 1 egg, beaten • raisins • peanut butter • banana
Rolls,
Combine two rolls and flatten into a 5-inch oval. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Cut another roll in half. Flatten one of the halves into a 2 ½-inch circle for the nose. Use a straw to make nostrils (enlarge holes because they will shrink). Place nose on the face. Flatten the last half into a 3 ½ x 2-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half diagonally making 2 triangles. Place triangles at the top of the face and fold the points over to make the ears. Press raisins into the face for eyes. Brush everything with beaten egg. Repeat to make as many sandwiches as desired. Allow to rise 15 minutes. Bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, slice and fill with peanut butter and banana.
Doggy Face Buns • Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold • hot dogs or your favorite sandwich fillings
Learning In Style’s first annual Festival of Learning Fundraiser Sept 23 An international buffet, entertainment and learning activities for both children and adults. The festival will be held at the school, 2200 Nicollet Ave S 11 am-2 pm. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling the school at 612.870.1815. World Without Genocide hosts Examining the Holocaust through the Arts Sept 24 &
Flatten one roll into a 3 x 4-inch oval to make the face. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Roll another roll into a 7-inch rope, thin in the center and larger on the ends. Lay the rope along the top and sides of the oval and flatten the larger ends to make the ears. Repeat steps to make as many buns as desired. Bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Make eyes and nose with cheese and olives. Slice and fill with sliced hot dogs or your favorite sandwich fillings.
Party Loaf • 1 Loaf Rhodes™ Bread Dough, thawed but still cold • slices of your favorite cheese • cooked bacon • green onion, diced • dipping sauce Roll loaf into a 20-22-inch rope. Form into a circle and place in the bottom of a sprayed bundt pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and then make cuts lengthwise and widthwise, about 1-inch apart, without cutting through the bottom crust. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Insert cheese slices & bacon
Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) National Conference, Sept 26–29 Speakers such as John Perkins, Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, Lisa Harper, Curtiss DeYoung, and more will . Evening plenary sessions for the conference are free to the public. To register and to see the whole schedule visit http://www. ccda.org Scholarships available. Join fellow First Covenanters on Sat. Sept 29 for the FREE evening session from 7 to 9pm. Sign up at the Welcome Center. Contact Kara VerHage at karabettinverhage@gmail.com or 651.587.0969 for more info.
Mahmoud El-Kati, Professor Emeritus of History, Macalester College, info@mahmoudelkati. com
Cinnamon Roll Snail • Rhodes Anytime!™ Cinnamon Rolls, thawed but still coldcream cheesefrosting, included with rolls • toothpicks • miniature marshmallows • black icing Unwrap the end of each cinnamon roll to make the snails head. Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Attach toothpicks and marshmallows to make eyes. Dot marshmallows with black icing. Frost as desired.
Coconut Lime Blossoms • 18 Rhodes™ White Dinner Rolls, thawed • 1/3 cup butter, melted • 1/3 cup sugar • 1/3 cup shredded coconut • 2 limes • 1 cup powdered sugar • 4 ounces cream cheese Cut each roll in half. In a small bowl combine sugar, coconut and zest from the limes. Dip each roll half into the melted butter and then in the coconut mixture. Place 3 coated roll halves in each cup of a sprayed muffin tin. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until rolls are one and a half times their original size. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Mix the powdered sugar with the juice from one lime. Place the cream cheese in a microwavesafe bowl and microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until the cream cheese is warm (not hot), soft and can be stirred smooth. Add the cream cheese to the lime glaze and beat until smooth and shiny. If needed add a few drops of water or a few teaspoons of powdered sugar to achieve a consistency like honey. Spread icing liberally over cooled blossoms.
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Insight News • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Page 15
COMMENTARY It’s time to do away with the Electoral College Nobody Asked Me
By Fred Easter I was wondering if you’ve heard a sensible explanation for the existence of the Electoral College. If so, please share it with me. Years ago, back during the Iron Age, when I was in high school, I remember having the Electoral College explained to the class. The theory was, when the Founding Fathers
were thinking through our national election process, they reasoned that Main Street voters in, say, Maine could not be expected to make intelligent, well-informed choices about candidates from, say, South Carolina and Michigan. So, instead of voting directly for the candidates themselves (the popular vote), they would vote for “electors” in their own state who had party affiliations and knew the candidates from rubbing shoulders with them in Congress or elsewhere on the national stage. In those days, voters in one state got little to no information about the records of elected officials in distant states. Those days have gone the
way of the horse and buggy. Today, with CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, PBS, all the free channels, not to mention YouTube, Twitter and the blogosphere, every citizen gets inundated ad nauseum with information on public figures around the country and the world. If honest ignorance was the problem; that problem has been solved. Today, it is safe to follow the “one person, one vote” concept that was the spirit of the Founding Fathers truly democratic ideals. Today, Americans from coast to coast are already painfully aware that Clint Eastwood’s best days are behind him and that Rick
Perry’s mind isn’t large enough to accommodate three things at once. Even Herman Cain could handle nine things but his campaign foundered on his Clintonesque proclivities. My point is the Electoral College is an idea whose time has past. It is a solution, however ingenious, to a problem that began to wither away back when “I Love Lucy” and “Gunsmoke” were popular. It is an anachronism – an error in chronology. One vote in Ohio is equal to one vote in Nevada. A candidate should not be able to carry all of New York and California’s electors by winning those states by 100 votes and thereby get elected while losing the popular vote by millions
of votes when all 50 states are counted. Remember, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all? I see some value in having states. It does make things like infrastructure maintenance and more accountable local government easier. But, in national elections we don’t need swing states, we need swing voters. Corporate personhood is truly an abomination, but abolishing the Electoral College would force super political action committees to spread their money and lies evenly across the country instead of focusing it where it can do them the most, perceived electoral good. There is a national
citizen’s group called Move to Amend that is working to end “corporate personhood.” I support the group and wish it luck. There also needs to be a national group working to abolish the Electoral College as well. It devalues “personal personhood” and flies in the face of the Founding Fathers’ noble intentions. Presidential elections should be conducted just as gubernatorial elections are. We don’t elect county officials or Congressional representatives to vote for governors. As it stands, we are voting for delegates whose name we don’t know near as well as we know the candidates, if we know them at all.
Private prisons in our midst: Part II By Sharon Brooks, founder, Peace of Hope Back in the day when I was in grammar school, there were not many other races in my classroom; mostly my own fellow African-American classmates. Today, for my minor daughter, that is not true. She
has friends from Mexico, Asia, Africa and other parts of the world. They are cool with each other and it’s a family thing. Like our President, Barak Obama, who recently stated that one of his reasons for deciding that marriage for all is fair, was made in part because of the friendships his minor daughters have formed in school; I understand this influence.
This same kind of influence gives me the reason I need to talk about the severe unfairness of incarceration of those considered illegal immigrants who are being railroaded into private prisons. It is a fact that more than half of the private prisons in America, are excessively wealthy due to the mass detention of those considered illegal aliens to this country.
One specific private prison company, Correctional Corporations of America (CCA), went from near bankruptcy to extreme wealth in a little more than 10 years due to increased detention of immigrants into its private prisons. This is big business. In Florida, the senate president, Miller Haridopolos (R), fought long and hard to privatize more than two
dozen prisons in the state. His effort was defeated by the Democratic vote coupled with nine Republicans who agreed with the unfairness. A win by the senator would have meant 14,000 inmates would have been moved from state prisons to private prisons where monitoring and accountability is minimal at best. In addition, 3,500 state workers would also have been out of work.
Other states are also looking to cash in on the “benefits” of private prisons, and aside from the obvious suspects to be incarcerated (African-Americans, Latinos), it is those who are immigrants to this country that are being targeted. So the net broadens. Who’s next; me, you, my daughter, her friends, Minnesota?
Devoted to mission for outstanding educational outcomes A recent series of stories in the Star Tribune have called into question the business practices of Eric Mahmoud and the schools he operates. While we believe Mr. Mahmoud’s board members and independent auditors have capably defended themselves; we write to express support for him, and to make clear our devotion to his mission for outstanding educational outcomes in our community. There is nothing more urgent and important than reversing Minnesota’s historic,
disturbing, and racialized gap in student achievement. We want an end to the low expectations and abundant excuses too often place our students on the path for economic exile rather than prosperity must. We know that great communities need great schools, but far too many of our children are missing the opportunity to learn. Throughout all of American history we have known our struggle to correct a legacy of neglect and racial injustice is intertwined with the fight for access to a public education.
Today, we refuse to accept school failure as inevitable. We know our children are capable of far more than we expect of them. And, with Harvest Prep and Best Academy, we have proof. Clearly Mr. Mahmoud’s schools are beacons in a sea of academic failure. While most Minnesota schools are failing our children with a capital “F,” his students top the list of “Beat the Odds” schools (those with high poverty and high proficiency). Further, Mr. Mahmoud’s schools
while also outperform most school districts in the state of Minnesota. Consider the facts… • In 2012, Harvest Prep outperformed the state in reading and math for the second consecutive year. It is the highest performing school serving low income students in the state of Minnesota based on proficiency; • Best Academy all boys program outperformed even Harvest Prep in reading and math;
• Best Academy East (all immigrant students) increased an incredible 40 percentile points (34% 74%) in math over last year; • Best Academy (all programs) increased increase math achievement from 61% to 77%.
Stress
that being able to find gratitude and see the good (even in the midst of bad), does not mean you are giving up. It is just the opposite. Being able to shift to a more positive outlook is energizing and will make you better able to tackle the challenges in one’s life. Start a gratitude journal today.
excellent goal to work on with a counselor or therapist or other mental health professional. Here I have provided just a few examples of stressreducing practices. While we work on managing and coping with stress, in time, it is also important to look at those aspects of our lives that induce stress and explore ways in which we may be able to shift our our habits and relationships so that they are more nurturing and less stress-inducing. Taking good care of ourselves (mentally and physically) is an
excellent example for others and by prioritizing our health we encourage others to do the same.
Getting Support and Supporting Community We lead busy and often disconnected lives where it can be hard to develop relationships that are trusting and mutually
supportive. These types of connections are essential to our health and happiness. We must find and nurture ways to connect with others. Finding ways to interact with community can take many forms and does not have to involve a large effort: getting to know your neighbors, participating in a church or other faith community, and volunteering in our community. Many of us find it difficult to ask for help and support from others. If you are dealing with past hurts or anger this can be hard. If so, this can be an
but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling. And for years, men no more qualified than she was – men she had actually trained – were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while Barack’s family continued to scrape by. Like so many American families, our families weren’t asking for much. We learned about dignity and decency – that how hard you work matters more than how much you make…that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself. We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean…and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect. Those are the values Barack and I – and so many of you – are trying to pass on to our own children. You see, I’ve gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like. And I’ve seen how the issues that come across a President’s desk are always the hard ones – the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer…the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for
error. And as President, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people. When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically – that’s not how he was raised – he cared that it was the right thing to do. When it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could’ve attended college without financial aid. We were so young, so in love, and so in debt. That’s why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt. So in the end, for Barack, these issues aren’t political – they’re personal. Because Barack knows what it means when a family struggles. He knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it… and he wants everyone in this country to have that same
opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love. And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity… you do not slam it shut behind you…you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago. He’s the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work… because for Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives. The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills… from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care…from the young person with so much promise but so few opportunities. We’ve got to keep working
to fix this. I see how those stories – our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams – I see how that’s what drives Barack Obama every single day. I love that he’s never forgotten how he started. I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he’s going to do, even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard. We get there because of folks like my Dad…folks like Barack’s grandmother… men and women who said to themselves, “I may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will… maybe my grandchildren will.” So many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice, and longing, and steadfast love…because time and again, they swallowed their fears and doubts and did what was hard. So today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming – or even impossible – let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation…it’s who we are as Americans…it’s how this country was built. If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire…if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores…if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote…if a generation could defeat a depression, and
From 10 and stressors. Individuals who can develop this skill have been found to be happier, less depressed and less stressed. One tool that you can use to start this process is a gratitude journal. Here is how it works: Find a time each day where think about and write down 3 things that you are grateful for. That’s it. That is all you have to do. I want to state very clearly,
Speech From 1 games, Sundays at grandma’s house…and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both. And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls…I deeply loved the man I had built that life with…and I didn’t want that to change if he became President. I loved Barack just the way he was. You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didn’t have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable – their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. You see, for my dad, that’s what it meant to be a man. Like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life – being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family. Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help. Barack’s grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank…and she moved quickly up the ranks…
These are the incredible results we wish to see in all Minnesota schools, especially those that serve high numbers of African American students. Mr. Mahmoud’s work is transformative, and many
The information contained herein should not be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only. In no way should it be considered as offering medical advice. Please check with a healthcare
African American children will have brighter futures because of his schools. That is the real story. We prefer our community recognize the enormity of Mr. Mahmoud’s achievements rather than trade in innuendo and conjecture. Our children deserve our resolute attention to best practices for educating them. Our eyes are on that prize. - African American Leadership Forum
provider if you suspect you are ill. Dr. Winbush is a family physician practicing at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. She has a strong interest in wellness and patient education to help individuals feel empowered to optimize their health and functioning. For more information, to leave suggestions for future articles and for additional resources as mentioned in the article visit www.functionwellmedicine. com.
define greatness for all time… if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream…and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love… then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream. Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country – the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle. That is what has made my story, and Barack’s story, and so many other American stories possible. Because today, I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters…if we want to give all our children a foundation for their dreams and opportunities worthy of their promise…if we want to give them that sense of limitless possibility – that belief that here in America, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it…then we must work like never before… and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward…my husband, our President, President Barack Obama. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
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Save the Date September 15, 2012 Event Starts at 10 am Join NorthPoint for Fun Family Fitness Activities
This Free event features a 1 or 3 mile walk or run. Also, a bike ride through the parks and neighborhoods around NorthPoint. Other family activities include:
Hip-Hop Aerobics Double Dutch Jump Rope Free Bike Tune-ups KMOJ Live Broadcasting
Dancing Zumba Health Screenings Healthy Snacks
Walk, Run and Bike Registration begins at 9:00 am For more info go to www.northpointhealth.org No pets allowed at this event.
This event is Rain or Shine
NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, 1313 Penn Ave North Minneapolis, MN 55411