Insight News ::: 12.03.18

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Insight News December 3 - December 9, 2018

Vol. 45 No. 49• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Representing Black Excellence Northside videographer and artist Ricky “Starbound612” Collins on mission to open young minds to the power they possess Finds confirmation at world’s tallest building, in Dubai Rich Peterson 13twentythree Photography TU RN T O 3

Page 2 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

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Insight News • December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Page 3

aesthetically speaking

Aesthetically It!: Events, concerts, venues in the Twin Cities

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Insight News December 3 - December 9, 2018

Vol. 45 No. 49• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

How racism is getting away with murder

Former director of MPRB Recreation Centers and Program

Alfred Bangoura nominated to lead Minneapolis Parks Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) commissioners voted to approve the nomination of Alfred Bangoura as the next superintendent of the system Approval of Bangoura’s contract is tentatively scheduled for the Dec. 19 board meeting. Park Board commissioners hope to have Bangoura aboard as soon as possible.

“We’re excited to welcome Mr. Bangoura back home to Minneapolis. After a nationwide search, bringing forward the best candidates in America, Al stood out as having the unique skills needed for our superintendent. Al believes our parks are for everyone and he’s ready to advance this Board’s mandate of increasing our investment in youth and building an even better park

system for our guests and everyone who calls Minneapolis their home,” said Brad Bourn, president of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

“His knowledge of Minneapolis and our parks coupled with his unique professional skills will provide cohesiveness and inspire collaboration.”

Bangoura is the Recreation Superintendent of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, which includes Charlotte, N.C. and serves more than 1.1 million people. Bangoura currently oversees community and recreation services for the county’s 17 recreation facilities and three senior and active adult facilities. He is currently leading the construction and program development of the county’s first 100,000 sq. ft recreation facility. A certified

Culture and Education Editor

By Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD http://irmamcclaurin.com/ @mcclaurintweets This is Part I of a two-part article on racism, health, and the high incidents of maternal and infant deaths and premature births among Black women in America.

Alfred Bangoura park and recreational professional Bangoura has a B.A. in broadcast journalism. Prior to joining Mecklenburg County, Bangoura served as the director of Recreation Centers and Programs for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. From 2001 – 2015, Bangoura held a

The evidence is irrefutable.

Racism is getting away with murder as the leading cause of maternal and infant deaths and premature births among Black women. Such is the conclusion of two major reports released this year in 2018. The first is a collaboration between the University of California San Fran-

variety of recreation leadership positions with the MPRB. “When I ran for park board, the main focus of my campaign was to make our parks and youth programs work better for people that look like me

PARK BOARD 10

cisco and California Department of Public Health; theirs is a report on “California’s Maternal and Infant Health Assessment” presented in July, 2018 to First 5 California, a state-wide commission aimed at improving the lives of women and children. The second report is based on research by Duke University’s Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and Insight Center for Community Development’s study called “Fighting at Birth: Eradicating the BlackWhite Infant Mortality Gap.” We know that data doesn’t lie, or so all the CSI and forensic television shows assure us.

Beneath the numbers It was once thought that the most significant factors in deaths among pregnant women or the cause of premature births were so-called “risky behaviors.” The most obvious ad-

MCCLAURIN 7

Somali women score victory for Amazon workers GIN - Somali women packers for the Amazon distribution center in Minneapolis are fired up and refusing to speed up the production line, becoming the first known group to defy Amazon management and bring them to the bargaining table.

“Nobody would assume a Muslim worker with limited language skills in the middle of Minnesota could be a leader in a viable fight against one of the biggest employers in the world and bring them to the table,” said Abdirahman Muse, executive director of Awood, the Somali word for “power.”

But when a worker lost her job, unable to meet crushing demands to pack more and faster when she had just finished 18 days of fasting over Ramadan, frustration was shared throughout the plant.\ “The new managers

are like military – they don’t give you respect,” said Amazon worker Safia Ahmed Ibrahim, who once worked for the U.S. and U.N. aid groups before fleeing from Somalia to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. “I worked hard and I was employee of the month.”

But after returning from breast cancer treatment, a new manager scolded Ibrahim for working slowly, seeing her only as a worker who, on one particular day, was slow.

Hibaq Mohamed said Amazon let her take paid breaks to pray, as required by state law, but her managers made her keep up with the quota.

Sixty percent of Amazon’s 3,000 workers in the region are East African, Awood estimates, but only one manager speaks Somali. Amazon disputes that number, saying there are a lot fewer East Africans, and four

GIN

A protest by Somali workers in Minneapolis has brought retail giant Amazon to the negotiating table.

area managers who speak Somali.

Amazon has now agreed to require a general manager and a Somali-speaking manager to agree on any firings related to productivity, to respond to individual complaints within five days and meet with workers quarterly, according to the New York Times.

But a group of about 40 workers say this is not enough.

Their main concern – the pace at which they are expected to work; from 160 items an hour to 230 – wasn’t addressed. They voted to stage a large protest and walkout on Dec. 14, in the middle of the holiday season.

“We are not asking them to cater to East African workers,” said Muse. “We are just asking them to treat workers humanely.”

Mission: Open young people’s minds to the power they have the Northside on Broadway (Avenue) by where KFC used to be.

Now it’s Popeye’s. I’ve always been an entrepreneur. I started my first company when I was 15.

I went to Dunwoody Academy, and we started our company right in the classrooms at Dunwoody Academy. It’s called Head in the Clouds Entertainment. We didn’t really know what we wanted to do. We just knew we wanted to be entrepreneurs and we wanted to be successful.

From there, I started to make music and pursuing my musical career. In about 2015, I started a company called New Wave, with my brother, Nino Powers. That company is a media company.

We do videography, photography, graphic design, web design.

We started shooting video for Lil

By Al McFarlane.

Editor-In-Chief al@insightnews.com

Editor’s note: Part one of a three-part series. The complete interview is available at: https:// www.insightnews.com/ His name is Ricky Collins. He goes by his artistic name of “Starbound612.” He’s an artist, a businessman, a marketing executive, and a 26-year-old with global experience that is nothing short of phenomenal. Insight News editor-in-chief, Al McFarlane interviewed Collins for the Nov. 27 broadcast of “Conversations with Al McFarlane, on 90.3 FM,

Rebecca Rabb

Starbound612 interview on “Conversations with Al McFarlane” at 90.3 FM, KFAI. KFAI (www.kfai.org).

Al McFarlane: I met you at the suggestion of one of my daughters, Rebecca Rabb, who had

News

Marian Wright Edelman stepping aside from CDF

PAGE 4

heard about you and talked about work you are doing. You and she both are connected to the Black Excellence movement, originated by Houston White at H. White

Insight 2 Health Monster Jam and Love Your Melon team up to fight pediatric cancer

PAGE 6

Men’s Room in North Minneapolis. Tell people about you.

Starbound: Well, my name is Starbound. I grew up right on

Lifestyle

A House Called Gristle

PAGE 8

Jamez, an artist who’s also from the Northside, who got signed to Floyd Mayweather’s label. We started shooting video for him, flying out to Las Vegas, using our money earned from our jobs at Verizon Wireless.

Al McFarlane: How old were you then when you started doing that?

Starbound: We were 23. We did that for a whole year with no pay. In 2016, Floyd Mayweather finally gave us the opportunity and brought us onto the team to run all of Lil Jamez’ social media. So, we started traveling everywhere with him, all over the country.

STARBOUND612 10

Arts

Brownbody brings diversity, awareness to the ice

PAGE 9

Page 4 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

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Marian Wright Edelman stepping aside from CDF

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Marian Wright Edelman, a trailblazer, freedom fighter and champion of causes that affect the nation’s young, has announced that she’s stepping aside from the Children’s Defense Fund, an organization she founded 45 years ago.

“Dear colleagues, supporters, partners and friends,

Marian Wright Edelman The History Makers

after 45 years as President of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), I have decided to transition into a new role as President Emerita in the Office of the Founder,” Wright wrote in a letter posted on the organization’s website.

“I will step away from CDF’s day-to-day responsibilities and will focus all my energies towards building a lasting movement for children to end child poverty and inequality through servant leadership development at key spiritual retreats and convenings at CDF’s Haley

Farm and continue to provide a moral compass for CDF.” Born on June 6, 1939, in Bennettsville, S.C., Edelman is the youngest of five children and credits her father with instilling in her an obligation to right wrongs. When AfricanAmericans in Bennettsville were not allowed to enter city parks, Arthur Wright, her father, built a park for Black children behind his church, according to her biography. A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, Edelman became the first African-American female admitted to the Mississippi State Bar while working as director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund office in Jackson, Miss. She also became nationally recognized as an advocate for Head Start, according to her biography.

In 1968, Edelman moved to Washington, D.C., and subsequently became counsel to the Poor People’s Campaign organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She founded the Washington Research Project (WRP), where she focused on lobbying Congress for child and family nutrition programs and expanding the Head Start program. In 1973, the Washington Research Project became the Children’s Defense Fund, the United States’ leading advocacy group for children. As president of the CDF, Edelman has worked to decrease teenage pregnancy, increase Medicaid coverage for poor children, and secure government funding for programs such as Head Start.

Edelman also has served as the director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and is the first African-American female to have been on the board of directors of Yale University. She’s written many articles and books, including the autobiographical New York Times best-seller, “The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours.”

To get just a sense of what Edelman has meant to her countless admirers, one need only look at the tributes that have flooded social media before and since her announcement this week.

Most of the tributes contained motivational thoughts shared by Edelman over the years.

“Never work just for money or power, it won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night,” and “Education is a precondition to survival in America today,” were among the many Edelman quotes that various social media users posted in her honor.

Other classic quotations by Edelman that social media users posted included, “Don’t assume a door is closed; push on it. Do not assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today;” and “You’re not obligated to win.

You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.”

The mission of CDF has never been more important than it is today during these perilous times for children and for the nation,” Edelman said this week. “Though we face unprecedented challenges and threats to the safety and well-being of America’s children, we refuse to go backwards. No matter who holds the reins of political power, CDF will move forward in our mission to Leave No Child Behind and ensure that every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage into adulthood.”

Edelman said she’s proud of CDF’s groundbreaking work over the past 45 years and the significant progress the organization has made for millions of children and families. However, she said, there is still much work to be done.

“I look forward to supporting the Board of Directors in the search for a new President to lead CDF into its next chapter; someone who is committed to taking on the challenges children face today and those that will emerge in the future,” said Edelman. “I am confident that CDF will not miss a beat during this transition and as the national search commences for a new CDF president. On Dec. 31, CDF’s Chief of Staff, Max Lesko, will become national executive director overseeing CDF’s dayto-day operations and reporting to the board of directors.”

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Insight News • December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Page 5

Frey, Jenkins, Cano, and Ellison argue for creation of Cultural Districts policy in Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins, and Councilmembers Jeremiah Ellison (Ward 5) and Alondra Cano (Ward 9) are pushing to amend the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan to include a new policy aimed at establishing Cultural Districts in Minneapolis.

They argue Cultural Districts strengthen neighborhoods made up largely of people of color, indigenous, and immigrant communities by accelerating economic development and housing affordability strategies.

“Cultural Districts function both as a driver for equity and inclusive economic growth,” said Frey. “Areas like East Lake Street and West Broadway are packed with potential – potential that can and will be realized by galvanizing the very communities and people presently contributing to and rejuvenating them.

Our Cultural Districts can be

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins

Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison (Ward 5)

Councilmember Alondra Cano (Ward 9)

more than an undesignated, imprecise area. They can be sought-out destinations with thousands of different tastes, smells, sounds, and people – all of which make our city great.”

“Cultural District designations pave the way to create destination communities by building on the cultural assets

and through encouraging investments in housing, economic development, cultural centers and cultural activities that serve to build community and counter displacement,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins, through her leadership on the Strategic and Racial Equity Action Plan, has

also introduced amendments to the 2040 Plan centered on racial equity. The new Cultural Districts policy will complement goals in the 2040 Plan to advance racial equity, prevent displacement, and fuel economic growth through inclusion.

“The purpose of Cultural Dis-

tricts will be to equip creative, powerful, and resilient communities with the tools to build wealth, solidify the historic roots that have defined different parts of our city, and remedy the harms caused by longstanding disinvestment,” said Ellison “It’s no secret that all over the country major cities are facing

various forms of displacement – of people, or local businesses, and of cultural identities of whole neighborhoods. Minneapolis has an opportunity to get ahead of this problem before it drives out the character of our city. In everything we do as a city, we must ask ourselves, who benefits? If it’s not the people who have made a place a place, then it’s not the solution we need. Cultural Districts will stand as one of our many anti-displacement strategies.

“This work has been fermenting over the years,” said Cano. “The framework grows from the decades long effort by the Indigenous community to establish a cultural corridor on Franklin Avenue. This City effort is meant to partner and support their work while expanding the vision to welcome additional diverse communities to thrive and lead with culture first.”

Minneapolis residents challenge City Council to divest from police, invest in violence prevention and community-led safety kill us. We are tired of our tax dollars funding cover-ups and PR campaigns, while the

year.”

Nearly every person who testified emphasized the

“Let’s stop putting our money into a model that is built to kill us.”

things that really keep our communities safe – housing, drug treatment, healthcare – compete for crumbs year after

desperate need for affordable housing in Minneapolis.

“It is outrageous that this council is considering

prioritizing funding the police over making sure that our community members have roofs over their heads,” said Hani Ali of Black Visions Collective. “We call on you to use the leadership that we have granted you to support the most marginalized in our communities.”

At the first hearing on the mayor’s budget at the beginning of November, dozens of community members testified in support of Reclaim the Block’s demands for shifting funds. The next public hearing will take place on Wednesday (Dec. 5).

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At the second Minneapolis City Council hearing on Mayor Jacob Frey’s proposed Minneapolis 2019 budget, about 60 Minneapolis residents called on the council to shift resources away from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), and into alternatives that keep people safe.

Reclaim the Block is a community coalition that has outlined a plan to reinvest public dollars into the Office of Violence Prevention and other critical community resources such as overdose prevention, cooperative housing, support for immigrants and refugees, transgender equity and more.

Reclaim the Block cited multiple MPD scandals as a reason for shifting funds.

In June, it was revealed that on 62 separate occasions in 2017, MPD officers had advocated to paramedics to inject people with ketamine, an anesthetic and hallucinogen, without their consent. Earlier this month, MPD responded to a mental health crisis call which resulted in the killing of Travis Jordan.

“MPD has shown us how they do business,” said Kandace Montgomery of Black Visions Collective.

“Let’s stop putting our money into a model that is built to

Page 6 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

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Insight 2 Health At US Bank Stadium Dec. 8

Monster Jam and Love Your Melon team up to fight pediatric cancer It’s all about the big wheels, the big jumps, and big, big noise.

There’s no experience like a Monster Jam showdown. A perfect family outing, young people and their parents cheer for their favorite Monster Jam trucks.

Monster Jam returns to US Bank Stadium Dec 8. Monster Jam drivers are trained, world-class male and female athletes, who have mastered not only the physical strength and mental stamina needed to compete, but the vital dexterity to control 12,000-pound machines capable of doing backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and racing at speeds up to 70 miles per hour to produce jawdropping, live motor sports action seen around the world.

Now, across all Monster Jam events, fans in every city will have the chance to vote for the winner in the two-wheel and freestyle competitions by real-time, in-stadium, fan voting on their smartphones.

Fans will also have the opportunity to get up close and personal to the Monster Jam trucks and drivers by purchasing a Pit Party pass that allows them early access to the event for photo opportunities and autographs.

An event ticket is also required.

Monster Jam has partnered with Love Your Melon, an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer.

These family-centric brands have teamed up to further raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer by creating a limited-edition Monster

MonsterJam.com

This past July, while on vacation in Orlando, Fl., Monster Jam Super Fan Reginald McKeever, III, 4, attend the Monster Jam Triple Threat Series, which showcases Monster Jam drivers competing not only with their trucks, but on ATVs and speedsters. The crowd was especially hyped for hometown talent, Bari Musawwir, Team Zombie driver, who has been driving with Monster Jam since 2010. He is currently one of only two African-American Monster Jam drivers.

Jam Love Your Melon beanie.

“We couldn’t be more excited to spread our impact even further by partnering with Feld Entertainment,” said Zachary Quinn, president, Love Your Melon. “Together, we will bring smiles and encouragement to thousands of children undergoing treatment.”

“As the global leader in family entertainment, we thrive on bringing families together and uplifting their spirits,” said Amy Dubinsky, East Central vice president Event Marketing and Sales, Feld Entertainment.

“We’re honored to partner with Love Your Melon, an extraordinary

organization, to help join the fight against pediatric cancer.”

Monster Jam Love Your Melon beanies are only available with an advance Monster Jam ticket purchase for select engagements. The beanies cannot be purchased separately and require one ticket per beanie purchased. Quantities are lim-

ited and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fifty percent of net profits from the sale of all Love Your Melon products is given to Love Your Melon›s nonprofit partners in the fight against pediatric cancer. For more information and to purchase tickets to guarantee your limited-edition bean-

ie, visit the Minneapolis specific ticket link via www.monsterjam.com/loveyourmelon.

The Monster Jam engagement in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018 is one of a select number of cities offering the limited-edition Monster Jam Love Your Melon beanie.

Working to get children of color tested early for autism

Stigma, access barriers to needed services

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor harry@insightnews.com Black and Hispanic children continued to be less likely to be identified with ASD (Autism

Spectrum Disorder) than white children. These differences suggest that Black and Hispanic children may face socioeconomic or other barriers that lead to a lack of or delayed access to evaluation, diagnosis, and services.

That is the assessment from

the Center for Disease Control’s 2018 “Community Report on Autism.” Keep in mind, the report is not suggesting Black kids are less likely to have autism, they are just less likely to be diagnosed. And not being diagnosed can have irreparable consequences. According to the

CDC, “Previous studies have shown that stigma, lack of access … are potential barriers to identification of children with ASD. A difference in identifying Black and Hispanic children with ASD relative to white children means these children may not be getting the services they need to reach their full potential.”

Sheletta Brundidge could not agree more.

Brundidge is the mother of four children. Three are autistic – and they were all diagnosed early and are all receiving the help they need to achieve and live full

cast on WCCO Radio. “So I went on Google and I did research and what I found showed that Brandon was exhibiting signs of autism.”

Living in Houston at the time, Brundidge and her husband, Shawn Brundidge, had their son tested and the tests indicated Brandon indeed was autistic.

“I was devastated. I thought it was a death sentence for him,” said the concerned mother. “I thought that was it; no hope, no college, no kids. I got really depressed.”

Brundidge said she was

pressed, she is encouraged.

“Each of my children receive 40 hours of therapy a week. Brandon and Cameron are in regular classes, and Cameron was the Student of the Month last month – not the Special Student of the Month, but the Student of the Month,” proudly said Brundidge.

“Daniel (who is 4 years old) is reading on a first-grade level.

You can’t be ashamed; you’ve got to get on top of it early.”

Partnering with the Department of Human Services (DHS) on a new initiative to help parents in communities

(Left to right) Sheletta Brundidge with sons, Brandon Brundidge, 6, Andrew Brundidge, 12, Daniel Brundidge, 4, daughter, Cameron Brundidge, 5, and husband Shawn Brundidge. and complete lives. But had she listened to family and friends that might not be the case.

Early on, Brundidge noticed something out of the norm with her second child, Brandon – now 6 years old. She confided in family and friends who told her not to worry and he would “grow out of it; and you don’t want them labeling your child.”

“But you know your own children, and something just wasn’t right,” said Brundidge, autism advocate and host of the “Two Haute Mamas” pod-

discussing her situation with a coworker and the coworker advised her help was available.

“My coworker told me about grants and scholarships out there to help. I went on Google that night. Almost immediately I raised $50,000 for Brandon’s therapy,” said Brundidge.

“This is my child and I was going to do whatever I had to do. I went into warrior mode.”

Brundidge’s next two children, Cameron and Daniel too were diagnosed with autism. But instead of being de-

of color understand the importance of getting kids tested early when they exhibit signs of autism, Brundidge hopes to remove the stigma of autism in communities of color.

DHS and Brundidge have created a series of educational videos targeting communities of color stressing the importance of early detection and care.

To learn more about services available to children with – or exhibiting signs of – autism, visit www.mn.gov/autism.

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Insight News • December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Page 7

Criminal justice reform long overdue for Black America

By Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. As a member of the infamous Wilmington 10 case in North Carolina from 1972 to 2012, I witnessed firsthand why the criminal justice system in the United States needed to be thoroughly reformed.

We had been unjustly sentenced in 1972 to a combined total of 282 years in prison for standing up for equal quality education for Black students in the public school system in Wilmington, N.C. in 1971.

For 40 long years, until North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue signed “Pardons of Innocence� documents for each member of the Wilmington 10, the issues of unjust and disproportionate mass incarceration, bail reform, racism in the judiciary, prosecutorial misconduct and reentry challenges were not matters of partisanship, but were matters of fundamental civil and human rights.

Thanks to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the United Church of Christ (UCC), the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARP), Amnesty International and millions of people across the U.S. and throughout the world, we finally received a modicum of justice with the Pardons of Innocence being issued on Dec. 31, 2012.

In the wake of the recent 2018 Midterm Elections, there now appears to be a more bipartisan interest and commitment in the achievement of significant criminal justice reform in America. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives finally passed the First Step Act with bipartisan support. The legislation establishes the initial steps for criminal justice reform at the federal level. Just last week, even President Trump announced his support of the First Step Act. However, what the U.S. Senate will do is still an open question.

The Congress should expedite passing the First Step Act as well as other criminal justice reform legislation. For Black America in particular, this remains an urgent and crucial public policy objective.

Of the current 2.2 million people incarcerated in the nation’s prisons and jails, a disproportionate number are African-Americans and other people of color. According to a 2018 Pew Research Study, in 2016 African-Americans represented 12 percent of the U.S. adult population but 33 percent of the sentenced prison population. The ACLU reports that African-American men are six times more likely to be incarcerated as white men in the U.S. According to the NAACP’s Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, African-American women are imprisoned at twice the rate of white women. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported in 2018 that 38 percent of prison inmates are African-American.

But we need to do more than merely stating the

statistics of criminal justice that bear witness to the racial, social, and economic inequities and injustices. We need solutions. We need more research about the successful programs and projects that can prevent mass incarceration while we emphasize the urgency for criminal justice reform legislation at both the federal and state levels. We also need more effective programs for the hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people preparing to reenter society without the counterproductivity of recidivism.

I have served on panel discussions amicably with Mark Holden, general counsel of Koch Industries, who also supports the First Step Act, a bill grounded in evidence-based and data-driven practices that we know keep communities safe and provide people with the second chances they need to lead productive lives. The bill specifically provides programs to help reduce the risk that prisoners will recidivate upon release from prison. He and I are on the same page on the is-

or, who are sitting in jail today only because they cannot afford to post a monetary bail. Google and Koch have also teamed up to raise awareness about the necessity for bail reform in America.

They believe that individuals accused of a crime should not be required to provide bail unless deemed a threat to public safety or a flight risk, because freedom should not hinge on a person’s financial worth.

The time is now for action, not more partisan debate. No more postponements.

No more excuses. The U.S. Congress should pass the First Step Act. We want equal justice.

Criminal justice reform for Black America is long overdue.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and can be reached at dr.bchavis@ nnpa.org.

sues of reentry and the need to reduce systemic reincarceration.

In fact, Koch Industries has been funding criminal justice reform efforts for more than a decade and was one of the first major corporations in the U.S. to “ban the box� by removing questions about criminal history on its employment applications. Other corporate leaders should also “ban the box.�

Earlier this year at the NNPA’s Mid-Winter Conference, we were pleased to welcome Lamont Carey, a former prison inmate, noted author and founder of Contact Visits, a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that he established to assist people preparing to reenter society from prison. It was reassuring to see how Lamont was able to break free of the stigma of incarceration and make a positive and productive contribution to help others transform their lives, families and communities.

Lastly, on the related issue of bail reform, there are nearly a half million people, most of whom are people of col-

National trust raises more than $10 million to preserve historic Black sites

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that one year after the launch of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund the organization has hit a funding milestone, raising more than $10 million dollars for this $25 million initiative.

The Action Fund aims to uplift stories of AfricanAmerican achievement, activism, and community, crafting a narrative that expands a view of history, and that helps to reconstruct our national identity while inspiring a new generation of activists to advocate for diverse historic places, according to the announcement. “We are proud of how over this past year we’ve helped to broaden the conversation about the places that matter,� said Stephanie Meeks, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in a news release. “Since the launch of the Action Fund, we have seen overwhelming support across the country in saving spaces that tell the full American story.�

Launched in partnership with national foundations, and with support from a Nation-

McClaurin From 3 verse behaviors included smoking, alcohol abuse and drug use.

Long-term studies showed that a reduction in risky behavior and increasing women’s access to education and employment opportunities shifted maternal and infant outcomes. It was proven that if women received more education and enjoyed economic security through employment, they were less likely to engage in behaviors that placed them and their unborn child at risk. That is no longer the case. Both the UC San Francisco and Duke reports blow that thesis out of the water.

What the studies revealed was that assumption of positive health outcomes for mothers and infants through a reduction in risky behaviors and improved socio-economic status was certainly true, but only for white women. For Black women, not only is this assumption proven false, but what the

The historic home of John and Alice Coltrane/National Trust for Historic Preservation al Advisory Council, including co-chairs Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, and actress and director Phylicia Rashad, the Action Fund has changed the landscape of African-American preservation.

In year one, the Action Fund empowered youth through a hands-on preservation experience, modeled innovative approaches to interpreting and preserving African American cultural heritage at historic sites, continued on-the-ground work protecting significant historic places, and launched a national grant program. “The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has seen remarkable grassroots engagement, in the more than 800 grant applications asking for help protecting African-American historic places, and in the tremendous commuDuke study made crystal clear was that Black women with higher education and more economic success were at an even greater risk of early death for them and their infants during pregnancy and were more likely to deliver prematurely.

Serena Williams and the premature delivery of her ďŹ rst child illustrates the major ďŹ ndings of both reports. At the time of her pregnancy, Williams was an athlete in great physical condition; she had no evidence of “risky behaviorsâ€? and had access to the best medical services. What then caused her to give birth premature? Was it just a uke, or did her premature delivery prove the case that these studies are making? Was racism, and the accumulated stress, of being publicly denigrated, a recipient of unequal treatment, and accumulation of encounters with racism, responsible?

It is rare for a scientiďŹ c study to make such a provocative declaration that racism is the prima-

ClassiÀeds

MCCLAURIN 10

nity support at newly-launched National Treasures like the John and Alice Coltrane Home,� said Brent Leggs, director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. “As we embark on year two of the Action Fund, we will continue working to foster a national landscape where every person can see themselves, their history, and their potential in our collective story.�

In this inaugural year, the Action Fund was able to award 16 grants, totaling more than $1 million, to preservation organizations across the country, with funding going to support the preservation of sites and stories of black history. The grants, presented at Essence Festival this July, covered work in communities from Birmingham to the South Side of Chicago, including

sites of struggle and strength, according to the announcement. “The Action Fund grant enabled us to move forward with the goal of transforming the August Wilson House into a community space, a hub of art, memory, and interpretation that will support young artists in Pittsburgh and across the country, and celebrate August Wilson’s legacy,� said Paul A. Ellis, Jr., executive director of the August Wilson House, an inaugural grant recipient.

Ellis, an attorney, is also Wilson’s nephew and the founder of the Daisy Wilson Artist Community, named after Wilson’s mother. “This house and this community are more than just a place where August lived – they are the inspiration for his

plays, and the physical representation of what he was able to accomplish,� he said.

In addition to grant funding, the National Trust through its Action Fund has supported four new National Treasure designations, including the childhood home of singer Nina Simone, and Memphis-based Clayborn Temple, famed for its role in the Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968.

In the coming year, the National Trust has pledged to continue work on key preservation efforts, including conducting research exploring the impact that preservation has on contemporary urban issues that disproportionately affect

communities of color – equity, displacement and affordability.

Additionally, support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will continue, from celebrating their history to advocating for the reauthorization of the HBCU Historic Preservation Program which ensures that their histories and legacies are preserved. “The Action Fund draws support from a renowned group of leaders in academic, business, government, arts, and philanthropy, as well as the continued support of first-year lead funders Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, and others,�

Leggs said.

Please join us at an open house meeting regarding changes to Highway 252 and I-94 About the Highway 252 and I-94 study A study is underway to develop solutions to alleviate congestion, improve safety, and address reliability on two highways in the area: 1) Highway 252 between Highway 610 in Brooklyn Park and I-694 in Brooklyn Center and 2) I-94 from I-694 in Brooklyn Center to downtown Minneapolis.

Conversion to a freeway is being considered for Highway 252, and an addition of MnPASS lanes is being considered for both Highway 252 and I-94. These changes would affect drivers, transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists in the area.

The purpose of these open houses is to:

Volunteer!

Share the reasons that the study partners are moving forward with changes to Highway 252 and I-94.

Hennepin County 2019 Citizen Advisory Boards

Explain what might change about Highway 252 and I-94.

Gather your input on proposed options for changes to Highway 252 and I-94 that will be used to make project decisions.

Share the decision making process.

How can you participate?

Vacancies available on:

Open House #1 Tuesday, December 11, 2018 5:30 – 7:30 pm Evergreen Community School 7020 Dupont Avenue, Brooklyn Center

– Adult Mental Health Advisory Council – County Extension Committee (University of Minnesota Extension)

Open House #2 Wednesday, December 12, 2018 5:30 – 7:30 pm Brooklyn Park Community Activity Center 5600 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park

– Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County – Human Resources Board – Library Board – Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Board

Open House #3 Thursday, December 13, 2018 5:30 – 7:30 pm Folwell Recreation Center 1615 North Dowling Avenue Minneapolis

– Mental Commitment Attorney Panel Advisory Board – Three Rivers Park District Board of Commissioners – Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Board Application deadline: Monday, December 31, 2018

The same information will be presented at all three open houses.

Kid-friendly activities and hearty snacks will be provided. You are welcome to attend any meeting.

The study partners are committed to ensuring that all public events/ meetings are as accessible as possible to everyone. If you need an accommodation to fully participate, please contact Julieann Swanson City of Minneapolis 612.673.3806 julieann.swanson@minneapolismn.gov Doran M. Cote City of Brooklyn Center 763.569.3340 dcote@ci.brooklyn-center.mn.us Jeff Holstein, City of Brooklyn Park 763.493.8102 jeff.holstein@brooklynpark.org

Learn more about the study and open houses online: mndot.gov/metro/projects/hwy252study

For more information and to apply online: www.hennepin.us/advisoryboards

Phone: 612.588.1313

Fax: 612.588.2031

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Page 8 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

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A House Called Gristle

Jametta Raspberry imagines a new culinary world for women and people of color

By Mecca Bos Like any chef, Jametta Raspberry’s fondest food memories stem from childhood, and from heritage.

But having grown up in a Black family who migrated from Gary, Ind. to Eagan – “from the ghetto to the suburbs” – she says her fondest food memory sometimes caused her to feel ashamed. Sucking bones at the table with her daddy meant they got to spend more quality time talking together after everyone else had cleared out, and as far as she was concerned, they got the best part of the meat, too.

“The gristle is my favorite part of the meal. It’s a primitive way of eating; people do it all over the world. People who don’t have an overabundance of food spare nothing. You’ve heard of snout-to-tail, or the rooter to the tooter? You spare nothing.

And in my house growing up, we ate everything. Nothing was thrown away,” said Raspberry.

But in upper-crust Eagan, she quickly learned that sucking bones wasn’t exactly socially acceptable.

“I started to feel like it was something to be embarrassed about. So maybe I only

sucked bones in the corner, or at home. And then, the discarded parts ended up being symbolic of who I am as a chef today. The disparities I’ve experienced working in the restaurant industry,” said the chef.

Like many Black chefs, especially Black female chefs, Raspberry has struggled mightily to carve out a place for herself in the industry. Despite 15 years at the trade, she was made to feel as though she wasn’t a “real” chef, not least of all because there were no role models to speak of. And, as she watched less qualified candidates rise through ranks time and again above her, she could only begin to draw one conclusion.

“I was being discarded because I wasn’t a white man,” bluntly stated the chef.

And she also began to discover, she’s wasn’t alone. With her New House of Gristle, a popup dining concept that could soon be a brick and mortar food haven, Raspberry wants to go beyond the question of opening her own restaurant. Way beyond.

“I want to solve the restaurant problem. The failing. The terrible food. The boring food. Because I think it goes without saying that if you (offer) delicious food and delicious wine, people will stay at the table,” said Raspberry.

Her goal is to invite more people to the table – many more – regardless of what the table looks like or what’s on it.

“What I’m trying to do is upgrade the hope of Black chefs, Black women, Black people, people of color, immigrants, refugees,” said Raspberry.

Indeed, Minnesota’s restaurant community has a whiteness problem. For all of its lauded growth, the food and beverage industry has so few Black-owned food businesses the number could be considered negligible. Which is not to take anything away from the efforts of a small but mighty faction of Black chefs, cooks, and entrepreneurs who are working hard enough that their contributions are impossible to ignore.

But Raspberry intends to break out of the boundary of the traditional restaurant story, and into less chartered territory.

“We are building The New House of Gristle. The House of Gristle is a cultural and culinary institution. Through storytelling, through hospitality, through servitude. And what that means, I’m not sure,” said Raspberry.

It’s important to note that Gristle isn’t solely about food preparation, even if you do see Gristle curated events at local venues (and beyond).

Jametta Raspberry gets down to the gristle and is inviting others to do the same.

“I don’t want to force my own aesthetic on people because I think it’s profitable. I genuinely want to fix problems,” said Raspberry. “(I want) to help people

find joy in food, and to find an outlet to not have to work for the white man anymore. Because I know that doesn’t work for me. I know too much.”

Think of Gristle as a safe land-

scape in the greater food world that fills voids for women and people of color who have had few other alternatives to express their art, or to partake in food spaces aside from those created by white people for white people.

Gristle may (or may not) be a restaurant, a magazine, a popup, a brand, an awards ceremony, a party (or parties,) a network, a podcast, or any number of things in between or beyond. Most importantly, it will be grassroots, and curated in a manner that serves a cultural void rather than a top-down vision that benefits only a few elites at the apogee.

Like the people of Gristle, the message is one of counterculture and embracing the beauty therein.

“I’ll put bones, gristle, fat, all of the discarded parts on your plate. I’m gonna take something that sounds gross and shove it in people’s faces. I want you to miss it. Then, the real (people) who understand (what we’re trying to do) will get it,” said Raspberry.

So, how will you know when you’re having a Gristle experience?

“When an emotional connection has been made,” Raspberry simply stated.

Gristle is love.

Embrace winter on a pair of snowshoes

By Harland Hiemstra Minnesota DNR Linda Radimecky holds the key to another world, one that’s accessible only part of the year.

Her key has a history that spans thousands of years and two continents. If you’re interested, she’d be happy to share.

“Snowshoes give us a way to explore a whole different world,” she says. “They allow us to reach places we couldn’t get to in nonwinter seasons.”

Take a cattail marsh, for instance. In July, it’s wet and boggy and filled with the hungry hum of mosquitoes. But on a crisp day in January when everything’s buried in snow, you can get out into it and look for tracks to see what’s been stirring.

There’s a lot more going on than you might think.

“It’s peaceful and silent,” said Radimecky, who works as a naturalist at Afton State Park near Hastings. “I feel like I’m more in tune with nature and the quiet of winter when I get out on snowshoes.”

Historians believe snowshoes were “invented” somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 years

DNR

Minnesota DNR encourages everyone to embrace the snow by touring some its parks via snowshoes. ago, when inhabitants of central Asia strapped pieces of wood and leather to their feet to imitate the way some animals could walk on top of deep snow. It’s a function of what physicists call “flotation.”

When the weight of an animal (or person) is spread out over a larger footprint, it floats on top of deep snow, rather than sinking in.

The snowshoe concept spread from Asia along two different tracks. One track travelled west into Scandinavia, with

the pieces of wood strapped to feet growing long and skinny, ultimately turning into skis. The other track took an eastward course, crossing the Bering Strait into North America, where the snowshoe as we know it was created.

Different groups of NativeAmericans developed different types and styles of snowshoes, depending on their needs.

But all the designs relied on a frame made of bent wood (usually from an ash tree),

with thin strips of animal hide laced together crosswise and diagonally to hold it together and provide the flotation. The snowshoe played a critical role in the lives of many NativeAmericans. It was to winter what the canoe was to summer – a mode of transportation and an instrument of necessity for survival.

In 1972, two brothers from Washington state came up with a new approach to snowshoe design, using a lightweight

aluminum frame and plastic decking to create the “Western” snowshoe that is most common today. A basic pair can be bought for about $70 and up. Traditional wooden snowshoes are still popular with some, but they tend to be more expensive; some people buy kits from which they build their own. Rentals also are available at many Minnesota state parks.

Learning to use modern snowshoes has less of a learning curve than with the longer wooden ones. Some people say it’s not much different from walking – except that you have big pieces of metal and plastic strapped to your feet. Don’t be surprised if you fall a few times on your first snowshoeing foray.

Snowshoeing provides a good winter workout, Radimecky says. The extra weight on your feet and the slightly wider stance required for walking on snowshoes may result in a little stiffness the next day, but getting out into the peace and quiet of a winter day makes it all worthwhile.

A Native-American quote from the Canadian First Nations, passed down over the generations, noted that some people try to avoid the snow,

whereas “the Indian always looked for the best way to walk on it and live in harmony with nature.” It’s an approach that makes perfect sense to Radimecky.

“If we’re going to be in Minnesota in the winter, let’s embrace it,” she says. “Let’s get out into nature and look for animal tracks and see what’s going on. It’s a lot better than being trapped indoors.”

Want to try snowshoeing?

Go to www.mndnr.gov and type “snowshoeing” into the search bar. You’ll be taken to a page that identifies all of the Minnesota State Parks that rent snowshoes to the public for $6 per day. You’ll also see a list of special state park events focused on helping you learn about this increasingly popular winter activity. A few parks offer special classes where you can build your own snowshoes from a kit.

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

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

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Managing Editor Harry Colbert, Jr. Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Coordinator Sunny Thongthi Yang Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Intern Kelvin Kuria

Contributing Writers Nadvia Davis Fred Easter Abeni Hill Timothy Houston Michelle Mitchum Latisha Townsend Artika Tyner Toki Wright Photography David Bradley V. Rivera Garcia Uchechukwu Iroegbu Rebecca Rabb Artist Donald Walker 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,

Obituary

Community celebrates the life of Hansel Crimiel Hall Hansel Crimiel Hall will be remembered during a Friday morning (Nov. 7) service.

Hall passed away Nov. 9.

He was 91. Born March 12, 1927 in Gary, Ind. to Alfred McKenzie and Grace (Crimiel) Hall, Hall had a passion for service. He served as president of the NAACP for Minnesota and the Dakotas where he was a Life Golden Heritage Member, president of the National Association of Parliamentarians (Minnesota), president of the National Association of Korean War Veterans, director of the equal opportunity office for the City of St. Paul and director for the Fair Housing Office in the City of Indianapolis.

Hall graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business and political science from Indiana University in 1952. He earned a law degree from Blackstone Law School in 1982. Prior to arriving to Minnesota, Hall honorably served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-1979, where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with combat service in the Korean War. He devoted much of his time working with leaders of his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., where he was the 43rd Life Member of the organization. Hall was also a charter member of the fraternity’s Century Club, designated in the 1950 to support the African-

Hansel Crimiel Hall American community in economic development.

Hall was preceded in death by his father and mother. He is survived by his daughter, Dr. Grace J. Hall, his brother, retired Brigadier Gen. David M. Hall (Jacqueline Hall). Hall leaves behind a host of family and friends.

Funeral services for Hall are open to the public and will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at Central Lutheran Church, 333 S. 12th St., Minneapolis. The service will be available to watch online at www.centralmpls.org.

insightnews.com

Insight News • December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Page 9

Brownbody brings diversity, awareness to the ice

Discover your inner elf.

Alice Gebura Photography

Brownbody founder, Deneane Richburg co-hosting a fundraising gathering celebrating Brownbody this Tuesday (Dec. 4) from 4:30 p.m.

– 6:30 p.m. at Thor’s Regional Acceleration Center, 1256 Penn Ave. N., Minneapolis. The gathering is free and open to the public, but guests are asked to RSVP (www.events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oe idk=a07efsx7n1vd1e5268f&os eq=&c=&ch=). Richburg will be speaking during the event.

Saturday (Dec. 8) Brownbody presents “Works in Progress,” a free ice-skating and modern dance demonstration. The event takes place at 8:30 p.m. at Pleasant Ice Arena, 848 Pleasant Ave., St. Paul. Joining Richburg are performers Thomasina Petrus, Kevin Washington, Laurie Benson, Amy Berglund, Sarah France, Ruth Gebremedhin and Thom West.

TM & © NEW LINE PRODUCTIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ILLUSTRATION BY HUGH SYME.

Coming up in the sport of figure skating Deneane Richburg had few Black skating role models and fewer Black peers.

Isolated, Richburg said each time she entered an ice arena she felt she had to “check her racial and cultural identity at the door.” With her love for the sport strong, Richburg wanted to introduce more people of color to the almost exclusively white sport of figure skating, thus she founded Brownbody, a nonprofit that fuses figure skating, modern dance and social justice.

“The ice is a natural part of how I exist. I wanted to be able to carve out a space for other Black skaters such as myself,” said Richburg. “(Through Brownbody) we take on the sometimes difficult conversations about Blackness and explore them.”

Richburg will be introducing her sport to new audiences at two separate upcoming events.

Thor Consulting, Thor Design Plus and Falls Agency, are

The perfect family holiday gift.

DEC 5 – 30 651.224.4222 TTY 651.282.3100 Accessibility services are available with advance request for all Broadway Series performances, visit Ordway.org/access for more information Sponsored by

Broadway Series sponsored by

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

At the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul

When we work together, we grow together You believe in your business — and why not?

You’re making big plans and hitting exciting goals. We’d like to hear more about it. We work to build relationships with innovative and growing companies owned by members of the business community. It’s a win-win.

We gain strong suppliers, and they enjoy new opportunities to expand and enhance their businesses.

These partnerships also contribute to the economic vigor and cultural vibrancy of the places where we live and work. So our communities benefit most of all.

For more information, please contact the Wells Fargo Supplier Diversity team at supplierdiversity@wellsfargo.com.

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Learn more about Wells Fargo Supplier Diversity. © 2018 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. IHA-4732979-16

Page 10 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

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Ryan Davis

Kenny Lattimore

Monday, Dec. 3 POETRY Button Poetry Live Honey 205 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

21-plus $12 advance, $15 door

Monday, Dec. 3 – Sunday, Dec. 9 Aesthetically It! is a list of picks from the editors of Aesthetically Speaking.

Aesthetically It! features venues, events, outings and more that are worthy of “It” status. If you have a venue, event or outing that you feel is “It” worthy, email us at aestheticallyit@ insightnews.com

Starbound612 From 3 Al McFarlane: Tell me more about Lil Jamez.

Starbound: Lil Jamez had the opportunity to be signed to Floyd Mayweather. At that time, he was pretty much the only artist that Floyd was dealing with. Floyd calls him his son. They’ve got a really close relationship. His name is James Champion. The Champion family is a big family on the Northside.

Al McFarlane: Sure. State Sen. Bobby Champion’s family.

Starbound: Yeah. He’s in that family. Really good dude. He gave us an opportunity to change our lives, and I’m always going to be grateful to him for that. We worked with him for a while, and then Floyd liked us so much, he was going on a world tour in Europe and decided to bring us with.

Al McFarlane: For listeners who might not be aware, talk

McClaurin From 7 ry cause of maternal and infant deaths and premature births for Black women. And, even rarer for researchers grounded in data to declare unconditionally and with emphasis, “there is no safe age for Black women to have children.” That is such an allencompassing pronouncement and leaves little room for misunderstanding. Moreover, each report is certain about the cause.

The guilty culprit Racism. Without any hesitation, both of these studies point clear and definitive fingers, supported by data, at racism as the primary cause of Black women maternal and infant deaths. Regardless of age and socioeconomic circumstances, Black women have the highest maternal and infant deaths and premature birth rates among any other group in America. They report, “For Black women, exposure to dis-

Park Board From 3 and wanted the Park Board to focus more on real equity, not just talk,” said MPRB Commis-

Featured poet, Safia Elhillo is the author of “The January Children,” recipient of the 2016 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets and a member of Forbes Africa’s 2018 “30 Under 30.”

Tuesday, Dec. 4 R&B/SOUL Kenney Lattimore The Dakota

1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. $35-$50 Grammy nominated soul crooner, Kenny Lattimore is at The Dakota for two shows.

Wednesday, Dec. 5 COMEDY Ryan Davis “Kinda Famous” Tour Rick Brunson’s House of Comedy Mall of America, Bloomington 7 p.m.

21-plus $20-$45.95 Viral video sensation Ryan Davis hits a live stage at the House of Comedy.

Thursday, Dec. 6

FOOD/TELEVISION “Top Chef” Viewing Party Handsome Hog 203 E. 6th St., St. Paul 8 p.m. – 11 p.m.

All ages No cover Handsome Hog’s executive chef Justin Sutherland is competing on Season 16 of “Top Chef.” Join fans of the Hog and of the show to root Sutherland on.

Friday, Dec. 7 DANCE

crimination and racialized stress throughout the lifespan can negatively impact birth outcomes.”

While such a conclusion seems counterintuitive, it points to the everyday reality of professional Black women. While working in high profile professions or in leadership positions may improve their socio-economic status, a side-effect is that more often than not, they find themselves working in hostile work environments that contribute high levels of stress to their lives. Additional stress may emanate from the fact that professional women often live in predominantly white communities where they may not experience community support and acceptance. In other words, at work and at home, they are in direct contact with high levels of micro-aggression, targeting, exclusionary behavior, and overt racism. We witnessed this with Serena Williams.

Collectively, Prince and Michael Jackson helped define the early-’80s era of MTV, revolutionized both R&B and popular music, and influenced thousands of musicians worldwide.

This dance party pays tribute to two of the greatest artists of our time with DJ Dave Paul spinning the tunes.

Court’s in Session brings new life to jazz standards with a touch of blues and a lot of soul at Studio 2

Saturday, Dec. 8

Court’s in Session at Studio 2 Studio 2 Cafe

Lil Jamez

Floyd Mayweather

had us pull over at this gas station. I was telling my brother, “Man, they’re gonna call us out.

They’re gonna call us out.” The next thing I know, I look up and they’re like, “Come on, come on, come on.”

So we get out and we meet him. That’s when we formally, finally met him. We had been around for a year but never met him personally. That’s when we formally met him, and he was telling us, “I like your work. I like what you guys are doing with Lil Jamez. I want you to go out to LA.” Pretty much all he really said is, “I got you.” That’s one thing I really love about

Floyd, is he’s a man of his word.

From that day, he’s always taken care of us and made sure we’ve been good.

Al McFarlane: So, you got a chance to go to Europe.

Starbound: We went to Europe and the Middle East to 12 different countries. I don’t even know all the names, but we were on tour, so we were going somewhere every single day on private jets, and then flying commercial too.

Sometimes we’d fly commercial ‘cause they couldn’t fit all the bags on the jet. One time we were

Instagram

Tennis star Serena Williams, posing here pregnant, experienced racism in the medical field that may have complicated her child’s birth and put her life at risk.

Irma McClaurin (irmamcclau-

rin.com) is an award-winning columnist, activist anthropologist and consultant who was associate vice president and founding executive director of the University of Minnesota’s

first Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC) from 2007-2010 and president of Shaw University from 2010-2011. She resides in Raleigh, N.C.

sioner Londel French in a statement on Facebook. “As soon as this new board was sworn in, we asked Mary Merrill- the former Park Board Superintendent to come out of retirement and serve as interim for a year while we did our next search for superintendent. I’m so thankful

she agreed. Mary was the first person of color and first woman ever to serve as superintendent.

She had to endure more and work harder than anyone else ever in that role. She knows better than anyone the real work around equity me and the majority of this board are

trying to accomplish. With Al Bangoura stepping up to lead, I know we’re in good hands.

Al has a stellar reputation from his 14-year career working with our youth here in Minneapolis and an incredible track record of accomplishments.”

© 2018 McClaurin Solutions.

Cannot be reprinted without author’s permission.

818 46th St. W., Minneapolis All ages No Cover

Sunday, Dec. 9 DANCE NightChurch Icehouse 2528 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis 10 p.m. – 2 a.m.

21-plus $8 before midnight, $10 after

JAZZ/BLUES/SOUL

Prince and MJ Experience First Avenue 701 1st Ave.,

about Floyd Mayweather.

Starbound: Oh, man.

Boxing phenom Floyd Mayweather is the highest-paid athlete in the history of sports. He is the undisputed champ in three different weight classes, with a 50-0 ring record – never been knocked down, never lost ever.

He’s an amazing, iconic person that I’ve been blessed to be around and learn from and grow with. It’s been a blessing.

When he first gave us the opportunity to work with him, we were about to go to the BET Awards with Lil Jamez, and the then president of TMT Music Group, Anzel Jennings; we were in a car with him, me and Nino, and we got all our bags all packed up in the car, and we were about to go to the BET Awards. Anzel wanted to get a bigger vehicle, ‘cause we were cramped up in there. So, he was on the phone talking to Floyd and we were just trying to get with them to go get a bigger vehicle. The next thing you know, we’re driving down the street, and Floyd pulls up next to us in an old-school Benz, just him and four girls, and he looks over at us like, “Man, y’all need to step up y’all game.” He

Minneapolis 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.

18-plus $15 advance, $20 door

leaving London and going to Belgium, and we had to get on a train. We had probably 30-something bags with six or seven people. We had to take all these bags with us on this train. It was crazy.

But it was one of the most amazing experiences to date for me, being able to travel and see all these people all over the world. We left London and went to Brussels, Belgium, and then we went to Amsterdam, to Moscow, Russia for a week, and we went to Dubai.

Dubai was on my bucket list when we started our company at 15. We were talking about Dubai back then like, “Oh, we want to go to Dubai one day. It’s so crazy.”

Al McFarlane: At 15?

Starbound: Yeah. Then it was just amazing to be there. One of the craziest things that happened when we were in Dubai, we were

Resident DJs spin hiphop, house and indie groves all night.

standing at the Burj Khalifa. It’s the tallest building in the world.

It’s funny how what you really care about always follows you and gives you that inspiration or shows you itself when you’re not even looking. But we checked into our hotel, me and my brother checked in our hotel, the Burj Khalifa, and our room number was 612 (the area code for Minneapolis) in the tallest building in the world.

Al McFarlane: Just like that.

Starbound: It was crazy. That was one of the craziest things that ever happened to me. That just always shows me I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and this place (North Minneapolis) is what made me who I am.

Everything I do and every success that I have, and the reason why I’m doing this is to really show these kids here what’s possible and where you can go.

insightnews.com

Insight News • December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Page 11

Together, we’re on a mission to create a greater Twin Cities where everyone has equal opportunity.

Thank you for being part of it.

TOGETHER WE THRIVE. Thank you for changing lives.

Learn more | gtcuw.org MNHS.ORG

MNHS: HISTORY FOR ALL

Make the holidays memorable for all. Give a Minnesota Zoo membership. Starting at $59, it’s the easiest way to spread cheer all year. Every sale benefits programs that provide free access to the Minnesota Zoo for those who need it most.

Give the Gift of the Zoo AT mnzoo.org/giftamazing

As the holiday season approaches, I think of my childhood memories that make the season wonderful.

From baking cookies with my mother to caroling with my friends, I believe December is the time to appreciate everyone in your life. Give the gift of meaningful experiences when you gather your friends and family at one of MNHS’s holiday events for history lovers, or gift your loved ones with MNHS Press books that inform and inspire.

a holiday house tour or attend another festive program designed for visitors of all ages. Join us at Mill City Museum in Minneapolis for a Family Baking Workshop, offered Dec 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 & 23. At this special parent-child workshop, you can bake a holiday treat and explore holiday traditions from a variety of nationalities through photographs, artifacts, samples, and sharing stories. Leave with new recipes and the delicious treats you’ve baked together.

Just in time for the holiday, MNHS Press has released the new book Prince: Beyond the Rain, by Allen Beaulieu. This book provides an inside look at the early years of Prince, presented through both iconic and never-before-seen images taken by the photographer who was at his side through it all.

This book would make a great gift for even the most diehard Prince fan. Find it at our museum stores or online at shop.mnhs.org.

The Minnesota Historical Society thanks you for your support in 2018 and wishes you a great 2019.

Happy holidays!

If you would like to create family memories during the holiday season, MNHS invites you to take

MELANIE ADAMS Melanie Adams, PhD, is the senior director of Guest Experience and Educational Services at the Minnesota Historical Society. In this role she oversees MNHS programs, exhibits, and historic sites located throughout the state, which serve one million people per year.

Page 12 •December December 3 - December 9, 2018 • Insight News

insightnews.com

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and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.