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Insight News

April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020

Vol. 47 No. 14• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

SPECIAL

ALISSA ECKERT, DAN HIGGINS/CDC

COVID-19

EDITION

Page 2 • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Insight News

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“We’re not at the point yet where we need to be on ventilators, but if our symptoms don’t improve, then we’ll have to be admitted and isolated.” The Browns have fluid in their lungs and Stacy Brown has an underlying condition.

NNPA senior correspondent Stacy Brown and wife Shenay test positive for COVID-19

By Nsenga Burton NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor The National Newspaper Publishers Association has been hit again by the coronavirus.

NNPA Senior Correspondent Stacy M. Brown and his wife Shenay Brown have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Brown recently chronicled the story of Jeffrey L. Boney, the multi-awardwinning writer for the Houston Forward Times and the National Newspaper Publishers Association, who is in the intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston after being diagnosed on March 27 with COVID-19.

Brown and his wife, who both began experiencing symptoms at the beginning of the week, were diagnosed April 3 at a hospital in their home state of New Jersey.

Brown says he was shocked that he has it because he and his wife have been adhering to the social distance guidelines and only left home

to go to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions and the grocery store. An admitted germaphobe, Brown says the last time he remembers being in close proximity to others was during a meeting for the Black Press held by the U.S. Senate on March 11.

“A lot of senators were there. The room was pretty small, and we were in close proximity to each other,” said Brown. “Most were doing elbow bumps, but I remember being shocked that Sen. Cory Booker actually shook my hand with all of the talk about coronavirus,” Brown has notified Booker’s office of his diagnosis.

Stacy and Shenay Brown live at home with three children. They have two other adult children who live out of town.

“The kids have been great, leaving food at the door.

They don’t have any symptoms and of course I don’t want them to get it. I don’t want them to have to face what my wife and I are facing,” said Stacy Brown.

He and his wife, who were already social distancing within the home, are now

officially living in separate parts of the house. Stacy Brown is in the basement while his wife lives on the top floor. His children leave food, medication and vitamins at their doors.

Stacy Brown, who has been following the rapid spread of the virus, had attributed his early symptoms of COVID-19 to allergies. He said he and the family spent a wonderful day outside in their backyard grilling about a week ago. The Browns live on half an acre, so they have lots of space and aren’t right next door to anyone.

They began experiencing symptoms shortly thereafter.

“My wife had a slight temperature, and in my case, I still have not had a temperature. I’ve had a sore throat all week and at night it gets worse,” said Brown.

After having trouble with his chest, back, breathing and a headache, Brown and his wife headed to the emergency room at their local hospital where they received chest x-rays and throat swabs.

“The doctor said we definitely have the virus,” Stacy

Brown said, his voice dropping.

“The ER doctor is a specialist in infectious diseases and says the more cases she sees, the more she believes it’s in the air.”

Brown and his wife were diagnosed based on their symptoms and sent home with prescriptions for Tylenol and inhalers.

“We’re not at the point yet where we need to be on ventilators, but if our symptoms don’t improve, then we’ll have to be admitted and isolated.”

The Browns have fluid in their lungs and Stacy Brown has an underlying condition.

The veteran journalist understands the severity of the situation having three children at home. They have held conference calls with all of their children regarding end-of-life care and decisions that would have to be made, which is sobering.

Stacy Brown has tried to make a case for testing the girls to see if they have it, but medical staff is refusing.

“I have tried to talk them into testing the girls, so we’ll have some idea of their status, but the doctor says the

hospital won’t allow it,” he said.

“The fact they’re asymptomatic and young means they don’t get the test. Even though they say children handle the virus better, we’re learning that isn’t necessarily true in some cases.”

While he is clearly worried, he is also optimistic and encourages people to stay home and have end-of-life conversations.

“Black people don’t always have these difficult discussions with their families, but it is important to do so now because there is so little known about this virus,” Stacy Brown said. “My symptoms started with a rash on my ankles, which I attributed to washing my clothes with bleach. The doctor said people have been reporting rashes as something they experience before the other more known symptoms such as difficulty breathing, which I had never heard before.”

Brown realizes he’s not a doctor and there are a lot of unknowns about COVID-19, but he says to listen to trusted scientists and doctors.

“Talk to people

who are going to speak with authority who know what they’re talking about and get the right information,” said Brown.

“Listen to the experts and listen to your inner voice. When I first learned of the seriousness of COVID-19, I discontinued a medication for an underlying condition that suppresses your immune system. Had I not done that, I might very well have ended up in ICU on a ventilator.

I’m not advocating skipping your medication but talk to your doctor and if you can make it without meds that suppress your immune system for a little while, then you should think about it.”

Brown is thinking about a lot of factors as he and his wife face the biggest fight of their lives. When asked what he wants the readers to know, Brown pauses momentarily.

“Don’t be a hero. The only heroes are the healthcare professionals,” he offered. “The bottom line is COVID-19 is real.

It is not a game or a conspiracy.

It is here and spreading rapidly and we must take as many precautions as possible to stay safe.”

Houston Forward Times columnist tests positive for coronavirus, admitted to ICU

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia More than 1 million people around the globe have been infected with the novel coronavirus and now the coronavirus has hit a member of the Black Press.

Jeffrey L. Boney, a multi-award-winning writer for the Houston Forward Times and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), is in the intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston after being diagnosed on March 27 with COVID-19.

“After experiencing several unconventional health symptoms during the early part of March, I decided to move forward with getting tested for the coronavirus – COVID-19,” Boney wrote in a text to NNPA Newswire on March 31. “The results came back Friday, and I’m currently in ICU, working with some of the top infectious disease doctors who are working diligently to ensure that I get completely healed and back home.”

Boney, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Texas Business Alliance and councilman in Missouri City District B said Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee was “extremely instrumental in connecting me

to United Memorial Medical Center and Dr. Joseph Varon.”

“When Rep. JacksonLee found out that I wasn’t feeling well and that I had self-quarantined, she called me and asked why I hadn’t told her that I had been dealing with some symptoms,” Boney recalled. “I told her that my primary care doctor had told me to self-quarantine. She told me to go to the hospital and that she would ensure that I got tested on the spot without delay.

The chief medical officer, Dr. Varon, was there to meet me and administer the test personally.”

Boney admitted being unnerved by his status as a COVID-19 patient.

Initially, Boney said he thought he might have had a case of food poisoning because he didn’t have the traditional COVID-19 symptoms.

“This has been an extremely unnerving journey of the unknown for both me and the medical team that is treating me because none of my symptoms were respiratory in nature, but were digestive,” Boney said.

“I didn’t have a fever, I didn’t have shortness of breath, and I wasn’t coughing heavily.

What Boney did experience was a loss of appetite, heavy diarrhea, and pain in his stomach.

“Naturally, one would chalk that up to something like food poisoning or a stomach

Houston Forward Times columnist Jeffrey L. Boney

virus,” Boney said. “I began coughing up blood, which disturbed the doctor who tested me for the coronavirus, and he told me to come in ASAP. It was later found that I had pneumonia on the lungs due to COVID-19. I had contracted the coronavirus.”

The NNPA has honored Boney with Merit Awards for “Best News Story” and “Best Column Writing,” “Best Feature Story,” and the MillerCoors Messenger Awards for “Best Commentary” for his weekly column.

“I want to be extremely clear, I am in great spirits, and I plan to overcome this temporary challenge,” Boney said. “But, please know that this is a very serious epidemic, and anyone is susceptible. It is time for all of us not only to know that this pandemic is real and affecting lives, but it is also time for us to take seriously all of the things that we are being asked to do by our local leaders and medical professionals. This is serious, and it is taking lives as well. I still have a myriad of issues to overcome relative to pneumonia in my lungs and significant blood clotting in my lung. I have to overcome reducing my increased heart rate because my heart is battling hard to protect my other organs against the attack on my body from the virus. We can’t play with this.

I am still battling over here and will see this through.”

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Insight News • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020

Vol. 47 No. 14• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Support from philanthropic and corporate community raises proposed fund to $3.85 million for families and small businesses impacted by COVID-19

Mayor Carter announces expansion of St. Paul Bridge Fund proposal

Emergency childcare provider grants available.

Gov. Walz announces emergency grants open for childcare providers Gov. Tim Walz announced that the application process for emergency grants for childcare providers is open.

This funding was proposed by the governor in partnership with the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet and the Department of Human Services, and was passed by the legislature as part of their COVID-19 Response Supplemental Budget.

“Child are providers are providing an essential

emergency response to our communities,” said Walz.

“These grants will be critical in ensuring that childcare continues to be available to first responders, health care workers, and so many other folks responding to the COVID-19 emergency.”

There are approximately 420,000 children under the age of 12 who live in a household of an essential worker within a critical sector. Of these,

the state estimates that during this peacetime emergency, about 270,000 children will need care and approximately 120,000 are likely to need and use licensed childcare settings.

These grants will provide about $10 million per month over the next few months to support basic infrastructure needed to keep childcare capacity available.

“Childcare providers have stepped up to the challenge

and are willing to respond to the needs of their communities,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

“We hope this funding will help ensure that workers can continue to respond to community needs.”

Child Care Aware of Minnesota will administer and distribute these funds for emergency childcare services.

Grants can be found online at www.childcareawaremn.org/ providers/emergency-childcare-grants/.

Minority-owned media not forgotten in stimulus legislation

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced the expansion of the St. Paul Bridge Fund Proposal through philanthropic and corporate support that brings the proposed fund to $3.85 million for families and small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

“I deeply appreciate (our) partners who have jumped forward to provide emergency aid to families and local businesses,” said Carter.

“Their generosity demonstrates the spirit of unity we’ll need to survive and rebuild from this crisis together.”

Philanthropic and corporate supporters include John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ecolab Foundation, Securian Foundation, Minnesota United FC, Minnesota Wild, the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, and Xcel Energy.

“Given Knight Foundation’s rich history of investing in St. Paul’s success, it is important for us to participate in this unified effort to help the community during these uncertain times,” said Jai Winston, Knight’s St. Paul program director. “Now more than ever, it’s imperative for all of us to join forces with the St. Paul Bridge Fund to help support our most vulnerable neighbors and small businesses that are impacted by COVID-19. They understand the needs of the community, and that is why we have invested in their important work as our immediate response to the crisis.”

Carter declared a State of Local Emergency on March 15. In response to the

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter economic impact to families and small businesses, the St. Paul Bridge Fund provides emergency relief to those in the community who need it most.

“We have been part of downtown St. Paul for 140 years and believe that helping support local families and small business is especially important in this time of need,” said Securian Financial CEO, Chris Hilger.

“We’re all in this together.”

“The St. Paul Bridge Fund is a vital link for small businesses to access resources amid this pandemic,” said B Kyle, President and CEO of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce.” I commend Mayor Carter for leading the charge to support those in our community who need it most in these uncertain economic times.”

Since its presentation to the St. Paul City Council on March 25 by Carter, two

CARTER 4

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Black-owned media companies and small businesses are included in the massive $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate.

“Yes, this does include minorityowned media. They are included as small businesses,” a top-ranking Senate source told NNPA Newswire.

A closer read of the 888-page legislation reveals that $10 million has been allocated for minority business centers for technical assistance. Another $10 million has been designated for the Minority Business Development Agency within the Department of Commerce to provide grants to Minority Business Centers and Minority Chambers of Commerce to provide counseling, training, and education on federal resources and business response to the COVID-19 for small businesses.

In response to COVID-19, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade organization of the nation’s

iStockphoto/NNPA

The legislation also eliminates the Minority Business Center program’s non-federal match requirement for three months.

African American-owned newspapers and media companies, established a Coronavirus Task Force and Resource Center to assist the Black community through the pandemic. The task force and resource center “appears to meet the criteria for federal assistance through the stimulus bill,” the Senate source added.

The legislation also eliminates the Minority Business Center

program’s non-federal match requirement for three months.

It allows for centers to waive fee-for-service requirements through September 2021.

“All of us had to come together to agree on bipartisan legislation to send an infusion of desperately needed resources to our public health systems, state, local, and tribal governments, small businesses, and American workers,” Senate Minority

Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stated. “Our nation is no stranger to adversity.

But during difficult times, our nation comes together to help and support each other.”

“Democrats are ready to give our unanimous consent to speed up the consideration of the bill and get the job done.

Let’s get it done for America’s workers.”

The fight for accessible maternity leave professional was devastated that one of the happiest moments in her personal life was coupled with one of the most crushing moments in her 10-year career.

Fort rebounded professionally with a job working in local government. After finding out she was pregnant with her youngest daughter learned once again she would be ineligible for maternity leave due to the “temporary” classification of

By Brittany L. Wright Georgia Fort is an Emmy nominated media professional with more than 10 years of experience in radio and public television.

In 2017 she landed her dream role as a morning news anchor, but was let go after having a baby because she wasn’t eligible for maternity leave. The 32-year-old media

Georgia Fort

Rep. Rena Moran

I2H

African-American scientist breaks ground in cancer research

PAGE 5

MATERNITY 6

Rep. Ilhan Omar

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Omar, Sanders lead letter calling on Amazon to protect workers WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) led a bicameral letter to Amazon requesting detailed information into how the company plans to protect their warehouse workers, who remain on the job during the COVID-19 emergency.

This issue has become all the more urgent since workers at 10 Amazon warehouses tested positive for COVID-19 as of last week. Omar and Sanders have led similar efforts to hold Amazon accountable for endemic abuses at its warehouses. They were joined Reps. Angie Craig (DMN), and others including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DNY), Ayanna Pressley D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

“Workers at Amazon warehouses worldwide continue to raise concerns that their employer is not doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19,” the members wrote. “More than 1,500 of

these workers have signed a petition asking Amazon for a more comprehensive response plan, increased protections, hazard pay, and changes to productivitybased performance metrics.

“Even prior to the dire global health crisis, these facilities have a proven record of high health and safety standard violations, and Amazon has failed to provide any substantive response or solutions to those violations,” they added. “Given that the company has announced plans to hire 100,000 new warehouse workers and institute mandatory overtime, we are growing more concerned that Amazon does not possess an adequate internal pandemic preparedness and response plan. Recent statements made by Amazon do not include sufficient detail, and use vague terms such as ‘often’ and ‘increasing,’ instead of providing specific data.”

News

Seeing the ‘us’ in ‘This Is Us’

PAGE 7

Page 4 • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Insight News

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Census must move forward during COVID-19 pandemic

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor This year, the Census Bureau is making preparations to complete the huge task of counting everyone in the U.S. The U.S. population is now more than 330 million people. Interest groups had just begun to seriously push people to complete census forms and be counted. Census results decide the allocation of congressional seats and monetary resources.

People in the U.S. must be counted every 10 years.

The census count is mandated in the U.S. Constitution and has been going on every ten years for over 230 years. But the limitations on mobility and personal contact mandated on the national and state levels because of the deadly coronavirus have now shifted years of planning.

Almost 40 percent of U.S. households have responded online to the census since March 10. In 2010, more than 98 percent of households that were sent census forms were recorded.

But minorities and children were undercounted and 16 million

iStockphoto/NNPA

The Census Bureau is pushing to get people to respond early because tracking down those who don’t respond is expensive and made more difficult because of COVID-19. people missed being counted.

Mail service continues and now advocates are doing what they can to encourage people to fill out census forms knowing so many Americans are in their homes and not at

work. Those who do not fill out the 12-question form will be reminded with postcards.

On May 27, more than 500,000 census takers are scheduled to begin tracking down people who don’t fill the forms out. Federal

law mandates that people must respond to the census though no one has been fined for not responding since the 1970s.

The census Bureau is pushing to get people to respond early because tracking

down those who don’t respond is expensive and made more difficult because of COVID-19.

“The truth is, there are so many within this nation who are disenfranchised from receiving adequate and

affordable care due to socioeconomic circumstances,” said NAACP president Derrick Johnson. “This virus will have dire consequences on so many, but specifically AfricanAmericans, who suffer from higher rates of chronic illness.

When the administration is not working for communities, those communities can suffer. We want to make sure to get the information out to our communities as much as possible.”

“We cannot forget about the census. The majority of young people across the country do not remember the other censuses that were conducted throughout their lifetimes, because the census is held every 10 years. Many weren’t old enough to participate in the last one. For the first time in our lives, we will be filling them out for our own households and ensuring that we are counted in our communities,” noted an article in Crisis Magazine.

April 1 was Census Day and advocates redoubled their push to get as many people to fill out census forms. Whether COVID-19 will impact the count will not be known until June.

Black churches employ innovation to worship during pandemic

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor Black churches in America have faced the challenges of wars, arson and racism written into the law.

Following several slave revolts, including Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831, Virginia passed a law that required that a white person be present during service.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge for Black churches which, in part, is financial.

In the wake of a killer pandemic impacting all businesses and local travel, African-American churches across the U.S. have been forced to be innovative and make quick adjustments to hold services.

Paul James, pastor of CareView Community Church in Lansdowne, Pa, told the media that, “counterintuitive to most

churches, especially the Black church … where we’re just glad to get together because of how hard life has been historically for us here in America. Church has been a safe place for us.

It’s been a safe harbor. Now here we are faced with the inability to come together.”

On the one of the first Sundays of the COVID-19 crisis in America, March 15, churches either held service or canceled it, as the initial news of the seriousness of the pandemic was just becoming public. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, just two days beforehand.

Now, weeks later, many Black churches are using conference calls, Facebook Live, Instagram, YouTube and other video conferencing technologies to hold services.

A serious complicating factor for all churches is the inability to pass the collection plate.

The revenue collected every Sunday pays salaries and the mortgage at many Black

churches. Online fundraising has become an answer but for many churches, in-person cash donations are more effective.

The importance of faith and the church for African-Americans in America is unquestioned. Church has not only been a place of worship but a refuge in times of trouble. It has been a meeting place away from white racism and oppression.

Black church pastors provided almost all of the key players in the civil rights movement. The church was the headquarters and meeting place for planning and organizing in the AfricanAmerican struggle for freedom.

In many Black communities the church is the rock and community cornerstone, particularly for seniors.

Dr. Willard Maxwell, Jr., who is the pastor of the New Beech Grove Baptist Church in Newport News, Va., found another way to bring his flock together on March 29. Maxwell held service standing at a podium in the parking lot outside

of the church. He livestreamed the service live on Facebook.

Many parishioners stood outside of their cars during service while others sat and listened.

Dr. Chris Carter had service in church observing the “six feet apart rule.” Members of the choir at his church, New Hope Baptist Church in Hampton, Va. sang six feet apart from each other and were shown on a Facebook livestream.

Both churches already had livestreams every Sunday but now the technology is essential for service in a way it had not been in the past.

On March 29, Trump extended the period for federal guidelines to deal with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic to April 30, 2020 – which would be after Easter Sunday – arguably the biggest gathering of churchgoers of the year.

The numbers of COVID-19 deaths continue to rise. In New York City, officials are currently setting up a field hospital in Central Park. That

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Dr. Willard Maxwell Jr., who is the pastor of the New Beech Grove Baptist Church in Newport News, Virginia, found another way to bring his flock together on March 29. Maxwell held service standing at a podium in the parking lot outside of the church.

He livestreamed the service live on Facebook.

Many parishioners stood outside of their cars during service while others sat and listened. unthinkable scene was matched by the city setting up a hospital inside the Jacob Javitz Center on the West Side of Manhattan.

At Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, a makeshift morgue was set up in a large trailer, after the hospital morgue, which typically can accommodate

Carter From 3 changes have been made to the St. Paul Bridge Fund for Families program proposal.

Following community feedback about eligibility for students enrolled in charter and private schools, all families with at least one child under 18 will be eligible to apply to the St. Paul Bridge Fund for Families.

Additionally, .... following the passage of a federal aid package that provides grants of $1,200 per adult for people earning up to $75,000, along with expanded unemployment insurance payments and eligibility, the Bridge Fund for Families will offer $1,000 grants, instead of $2,000 originally presented, to better complement this federal aid, and to double the number of families served.

The St. Paul Bridge Fund includes a $1 million investment to provide families $1,000 of direct assistance for rent or mortgage payments.

twenty bodies, quickly filled to capacity. Black churches and other institutions are now forced to plan for the unknown.

What history has taught us is that nothing has ever stopped the institution of the Black church. But COVID-19 is one of its most difficult challenges to date.

Eligible families will have income at or below 40 percent area median income, which is $40,000 for a family of four, have at least one minor child living in the household and experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19.

The St. Paul Bridge Fund includes a $2.25 million investment to provide $7,500 grants for immediate business expenses, including but not limited to rent/mortgage payments, employee health benefits, leave payments and payroll and accounts payables, including payments due to suppliers.

Eligible small businesses will have 20 or fewer employees, gross revenue of $2 million or less, been in operation for the last six months in St. Paul and had to close or had a significant reduction in revenues due to a Minnesota Emergency Executive Order in 2020.

Passage of the proposal by the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board took place at a special meeting on April 1.

Learn more about the St. Paul Bridge Fund at www.stpaul. gov/St.-paul-bridge-fund.

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Insight News • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Page 5

Insight 2 Health

African-American scientist breaks ground in cancer research

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, an assistant professor at Morehouse School of Medicine in the Physiology Department, has reportedly become the first person to successfully cure cancer in mice using laser-activated nanoparticles.

According to Black Culture News, Green’s revolutionary and unique nanoparticle technology was found to cure cancer after testing on mice within 15 days successfully. The technology used by Green, who received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to expand her nanoparticle cancer treatment research, doesn’t require chemotherapy,

radiation,

or surgery.

She spent more than seven years developing a way to target cancer cells - not the healthy cells around them.

Green’s technology uses an FDA-approved drug containing nanoparticles and injects it into a cancer patient, which then causes the patient’s tumor to glow under imaging equipment.

The laser activates the nanoparticles by heating them.

“They are not toxic, so without the laser, they won’t kill anything, and the laser by itself is harmless, so without the particles, it won’t hurt anything,” Green told AL. com in Alabama. “Because of their need to work together and their inability to work apart, I can ensure that the treatment is only happening to the cancer cells we target and identify.”

The news outlet noted that, while Green isn’t

The technology used by Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, who received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to expand her nanoparticle cancer treatment research, doesn’t require chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. the first to think of using lasers and nanoparticles to treat cancer, she’s been able to work the bugs out of parts of the technology that have been problematic. Those bugs include

“It’s a platform technology. It’s not cancer type-specific, though it can treat cancer specifically.

That’s a concept my friends who are biologists struggle with.”

For Green, the mission is also personal.

Her interest in cancer treatment began as she witnessed the demise of her aunt, Ora Lee, who had cancer, and her uncle, Gen. Lee Smith, who also was diagnosed with the disease and experienced the adverse side effects of chemotherapy treatment.

Green started the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation in honor of her aunt, who served as her legal guardian.

“When Auntie

announced that she had cancer and would rather die than experience the harsh side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I knew there had to be a better way,” Green stated on the foundation’s website. The purpose of the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation is to support the research that Auntie inspired in hopes that one day no one else will have to opt-out of treatment to avoid the side effects of today›s cancer treatment.”

Further, Green said the mission is to “change the way cancer is treated and reduce human suffering by providing cancer care that is accessible, affordable, and effective.”

nanoparticle delivery and being able to see success in mice.

“As a physicist I’ve created a physical treatment that is not specific to the biology of the cancer,” Dr. Green stated.

Minnesota health plans to waive COVID-19 related expenses Minnesota’s health plans have agreed to waive cost-sharing for treatment of COVID-19.

This move comes in response to the Governor’s Commissioners of Health and Commerce sending a letter on March 13 urging the health plans to remove barriers to coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesotans with commercial insurance – including individuals, small businesses, and some large businesses – are now eligible for benefits: Minnesotans will have no cost-sharing charges for COVID testing. Those who are hospitalized will have no cost-sharing charges for innetwork hospitalization and will have expanded access to telemedicine services. This will help people to stay home

and access care if they need it.

“This move will help ensure no Minnesotan has to sacrifice paying rent or buying groceries to cover a hospital bill from COVID-19,” said Gov. Tim Walz. “I’m grateful Minnesota’s health plans are putting the health and safety of our fellow Minnesotans first during this pandemic.”

“Every Minnesotan deserves access to the health care they need – particularly when it comes to COVID-19,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. “I am proud of our administration’s hard work in getting this done for Minnesotans.”

Over the past month, the two commissioners have been working with Minnesota’s health plans to be sure health coverage protects Minnesotans

This move will help ensure no Minnesotan has to sacrifice paying rent or buying groceries to cover a hospital bill from COVID-19,” said Gov. Tim Walz. “I’m grateful Minnesota’s health plans are putting the health and safety of our fellow Minnesotans first during this pandemic. during the pandemic. In a March 13 letter to health insurers in Minnesota, the Commissioners outlined seven areas where health plans could support the state’s response to the COVID crisis.

“This is an important

step toward the protection of Minnesotans,” said Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley.

“Uncertainty over what is covered by our health insurance, from tests to treatments, should

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Page 6 • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Insight News

Sen. Jeff Hayden

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Rep. Aisha Gomez

Rep. Hodan Hassan

Hayden, Gomez, Hassan to host virtual town hall Senate District 62 legislators Sen. Jeff Hayden, Rep. Aisha Gomez, and Rep. Hodan Hassan will host a virtual town hall

about Minnesota’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesotans will be able to watch the April 9

(Thursday) meeting, which takes place at 1 p.m. live at www. facebook.com/Hodanheela.

The law makers

will provide an update about what the Legislature is doing to protect public health and provide economic security

to workers, businesses, and families.

Minnesotans are invited to submit questions in advance to their legislators via

email, sen.jeff.hayden@senate. mn, rep.aisha.gomez@house. mn or rep.hodan.hassan@house. mn.

Comcast provides educational programming for students learning from home Comcast has made nearly 2,000 hours of programming and thousands of free titles available to Xfinity video customers to give children and parents access to educational programming by grade level as part of the company’s comprehensive response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The collection is a joint effort with Common Sense Media. A subset of the education collection is also available on Xfinity Flex and across devices via the Xfinity Stream app and website.

“Today Xfinity is making thousands of hours of educational programming and resources available to our customers through Xfinity on Demand as we know how

COVID-19 Waive From 5

Maternity From 3 her position.

Women like Yhante Williams have also had children only to find out that there was no job to return to after giving birth.

“My employer promised to retain my position after I returned from maternity leave, this was an empty promise,” said Williams.

Although many women like Fort and Williams felt like they were being discriminated against for having children, the reality is that terminations of this nature are considered legal under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). The Pregnancy

challenging it is for families right now who are suddenly homeschooling young children – many with both parents working, as well,” said Rebecca Heap, senior vice president of Video & Entertainment at Comcast. “The programming selected in partnership with Common Sense Media is available in one comprehensive destination organized by grade level to make it as easy as possible for parents to find what is most relevant to their family.”

Xfinity customers with X1 or Flex can say “Education” or, if their voice search language is set to Spanish, “Educación,” into the Xfinity Voice Remote to access content available to them by grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8,

and 9-12 and also for all ages.

Free programs include those from subscription video on demand services (SVODS) Bluprint, CuriosityStream, The Great Courses Signature Collection, Grokker Yoga Fitness, History Vault, Kids Room and The Reading Corner. Additional free adult continuing education programming is provided from these SVODS spanning biographies; podcasts on a range of topics including technology and business, yoga, dance, food and cooking, fitness, wellness, ballets and operas and gardening.

Firsthand interviews and historical narratives from “Voices of the Civil Rights Movement,” is also available.

from tests to treatments, should not cause more fear or anxiety to those who need and seek help.”

“Access to health care is very important at any time, but during the COVID-19

pandemic it is absolutely essential for people to have access to affordable, highquality care to stay healthy or recover from illness,” said Minnesota Department of Health

Discrimination Act of 1978 provides support for mothers who are discriminated against “on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions” but does not provide protection for women who are deemed ineligible for maternity leave. Realizing there was nothing legally she could do to protect her job in her unique circumstances, Fort set her eyes out on changing the law.

On Feb. 18 Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-65A) introduced a bill to the Minnesota House mandating working mothers receive 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave after 90 days of employment. Bill HF3073 improves upon the parameters of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Both FMLA and PDA have loopholes

that deem contractors, parttime employees, temporary employees and full-time workers (employed less than one year) ineligible for unpaid maternity leave. HF3073 was spearheaded

by Fort in addition to the “12 Weeks for Life” movement.

HF3073 fights to make maternity leave more accessible, and is what Fort considers to be the precursor for “12 Weeks for Life,” which is the movement that fights for 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. With sights set on paid maternity leave for all, Fort sees expanding a mothers’ right to unpaid maternity leave as the bare minimum, and she’s not alone in that thinking.

“I think a six-week minimum recovery time after childbirth is an important timeline,” said Dr. Todd Stanhope, OBGYN at North

Additionally, Comcast has enlisted the guidance of Dr. Natascha Crandall, a psychologist and educator to program the content across english language arts, math, science, and social studies based on grade appropriate guidelines aligned with the current U.S. school curriculum.

“When schools close and other community places people congregate are off limits, it can feel overwhelming for families with kids, so we’ve partnered with Xfinity to curate a list of educational recommendations to help kids learn and keep them engaged during their time indoors,” said Ellen Pack, president of Common Sense.

Commissioner Jan Malcolm.

Minnesota’s nonprofit health plans that have committed to this framework are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners,

Xfinity ismaking thousands of hours of educational programming and resources available to our customers through Xfinity on Demand as we know how cha lenging it is for families right now who are suddenly homeschooling young children – many with both parents working, as well.

Hennepin Health, Medica, PreferredOne and UCare.

Many Minnesotans that receive their coverage through their employer have selfinsured plans. The Departments

do not have regulatory authority over these plans but are encouraging employers to work with their plan administrators to implement similar measures.

Photo by Jessica Strobe

Goergia Fort (center) with her daughters Arayah Fort (left) and Akari Fort (right)

Now more than ever, it is important that our communities are counted so we are able to get the resources we deserve.

You can complete the census in the following three ways all in the safety of your own home: • Online • Phone • Mail-in form For more information visit www.wecountminneapolis.org

Memorial Health.

For daycare providers six weeks is also considered a minimum, as infants under the age of six weeks aren’t permitted to be enrolled. This is yet another conundrum for the working mother whose job may require her to return to work sooner than what daycares will allow.

“When it is illegal in the State of Minnesota to separate a kitten or a puppy before eight weeks of age it’s absurd that we are even setting this bar at six weeks,” said business owner, Sarah Long Piepenburg.

Fort testified to the House explaining how the current laws are not only barriers to families but to corporations.

“Providing adequate time off will not only improve health outcomes from a labor standpoint, but it will improve retention,” human resources expert Riia O’Donnell published a blog to Workfest explaining that maternity leave benefits employers because it improves morale, supports productivity, company loyalty, and enhances the presentation of companies during recruitment.

One of the biggest pushes for accessible maternity leave comes from a necessity to improve public health outcomes for birthing mothers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black, Native-American and Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women. Non-white women who are not given adequate time to recover from birth face health outcomes that could lead to re-hospitalization, hypertension, hemorrhaging and even death. \ This is why Fort is pushing to end the public pressure of women to return to work immediately after giving birth. For her, the issue of maternity leave ineligibility goes beyond the loss of employment.

For some women improper recovery from childbirth due to immediately returning to work could result in health complications and even the loss of life.

On March 4 Fort testified on behalf of HF3073 to make maternity leave more accessible in Minnesota.

The bill passed unanimously in the House and will now be re-presented to the Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division to approve its modified language. As it is currently written, the bill will mandate that employers in the state must grant an unpaid leave of absence for employees who are pregnant, have just given birth or just adopted a child.

The length of the leave can be determined by the employee for up to 12 weeks unless an extension has been agreed upon by the employer. The bill also gives special considerations to female employees who may become unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth or other related medical conditions. It is unclear when the bill will proceed due to the state’s “shelter-in-place” order.

Fort plans to continue supporting Moran in pushing the bill forward as soon as the shelter-in-place is lifted so that other mothers can exercise their right to have a family without the strain or stress of maternity leave ineligibility.

insightnews.com

Insight News • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Page 7

Seeing the ‘us’ in ‘This Is Us’ Contributing Writer

By Dr. Duchess Harris March 17 was the finale for the fourth season of the NBC show, “This Is Us.” Set in Pittsburgh, the story follows three seemingly unconnected young adults who share a birthday. “The average human being,” we’re told, “shares his or her birthday with more than 18 million people.”

In the pilot we see that Kate, a morbidly obese personal assistant, celebrates her 36th birthday by recommitting to losing weight. Kevin is an actor famous for starring on a popular sitcom. On his 36th birthday, he states his dissatisfaction with the role and abruptly quits in front of a live audience. A successful businessman, Randall, marks the same 36th birthday by finding and confronting his biological father, William, who abandoned him at a fire station on the day he was born.

We eventually discover that Kate, Kevin, and Randall are siblings. In many ways the show is about them (the big three). In 1980 their mother, Rebecca Pearson, lost one of her triplets during birth.

Kevin and Kate are the surviving pair; Randall – brought to the same hospital by a fireman – is their adopted brother. By the time we get to the last two episodes of season four many fans, my friends included, are disappointed in Randall.

Without giving too much away, Randall isn’t as emotionally developed as most of us would like him to be. But here’s my question.

In 72 episodes have we really examined what it was like for Randall to grow up in a white family?

Why does that matter?

Randall is Black.

One of my friends recently asked me why I loved the show. It’s because of my favorite character, Beth Pearson, Randall’s wife. Her storyline is one of the only Black female characters on television that I’ve ever related to. I was halfway through the first season of “This is Us” before I realized why Beth seemed so real to me. Unlike most shows on primetime television, it has Black directors and writers.

The Black directors for the show are Academy Award winner Regina King, and George Tillman Jr. (director of “Soul Food”). The writing ensemble includes Black female writers Kay Oyegun, (“Queen Sugar”) and Jas Waters, (“What Men Want”). They make up part of a 30 percent Black core writing staff that far outpaces the industry standard of 5 percent.

These are the people who create Beth, and this is why I “know her.” Actually, I don’t just know her, I’ve been her. I am 12 years older than Susan Kelechi Watson, the actress who plays the “adult” Beth. As I watch her character unfold, I can’t help but think how real life “Beths” get told how “lucky” we are. For those of us who spent our 30s managing a career, raising three kids, and supporting the “perfect” Black husband; our luck is the product of design.

Beth Pearson, originally Bethany Clarke, was accepted into a prestigious ballet academy for high school and hoped to become a pioneering African-American principal dancer. Her parents, Abe and Carol Clarke, worked long hours to pay her tuition. Four years later, Beth didn’t get a critical showcase solo, and shortly after getting this bad news, her father died of lung cancer. In the midst of the family tragedy, her mom stopped paying for her dancing and convinced Beth to attend college.

While moving into Carnegie Mellon, Beth has a chance encounter with then 17-year-old Randall Pearson, who is obviously in love with her at first sight. Beth’s mother doesn’t want Beth to marry Randall because she sees his

brokenness. Beth doesn’t listen to her mother any more than my teenage daughter listens to me.

A few years after college, Beth marries Randall, and he is undoubtedly the lucky one. Randall needs Beth because she can see his racial trauma in ways that his white family just can’t. We eventually learn that Randall has a hard time acknowledging this wound as well.

Randall’s childhood is racially messy. In Season 1, Episode 4, “The Pool,” Randall gets out of the public pool and finds his way to play with the Black children who are sitting at the pool’s edge. Rebecca is upset, not because he’s with Black kids but because she thinks that he’s wandered off.

When Rebecca introduces herself to one of the Black moms, the woman says that she knows who Rebecca is. “When a white family adopts a Black child and doesn’t introduce themselves to any of us, we tend to take notice.”

The Black mom gently suggests that Randall needs a “proper” hair cut because he wouldn’t have razor bumps on his neck if Rebecca took him to a barber that knew how to cut Black hair. Rebecca is defensive and can’t receive the feedback. Rebecca, who is otherwise warm and charming, could have tried to make friends with “Black pool mom,” but instead walks away.

As the parents of a transracially adopted child, she and her husband Jack stand on the periphery of the Black cultural experience that will inevitably be Randall’s adult life. Instead of managing their discomfort by engaging Black parents, they turn to each other.

In fact, the encounter with “Black pool mom” is actually preceded by an opening scene where Jack and Rebecca admit to each other that they don’t know if Randall needs sunscreen or not. The proof that they don’t feel comfortable enough with Black people to ask someone is that Randall is already eight.

It takes until Season 1, Episode 7, for one of Randall’s white family members to acknowledge the importance of Randall’s Blackness. Randall never has a conversation about race with his sister Kate. It isn’t until Kevin and Randall get into a physical altercation on the street that race becomes “real.”

Onlookers stop to show concern about the fight, and Kevin is able to read the racial anxiety of the crowd. He tells them that everything is OK – he and Randall are brothers. Randall is grateful and tells Kevin it’s the only time that he has “claimed” him. They are 36.

Throughout the show it becomes clear that Randall is locked out of the closeness that Kate and Kevin share. Randall’s response is to cling to their mother Rebecca too tightly, and this is why many viewers become disappointed with Randall in the last two episodes of Season 4.

It is easy to judge Randall for his control issues, but how soon we forget that in Season 1, Episode 8, Beth, (Randall’s Black wife), gives Rebecca, (Randall’s adoptive white Mom) an ultimatum that she has to confess that she hid Randall’s Black biological father from him for 36 years.

Rebecca thinks that she was “protecting” Randall from William, because William is an addict. We need to remember that her husband Jack is a codependent alcoholic who gives their binge eating daughter, Kate, food, and passes on his alcoholic tendencies to Kevin. Randall sees Rebecca’s deception as the ultimate betrayal and doesn’t speak to her again until Episode 10.

Beth can foresee the consequences. This is not your typical mother/son disagreement. Rebecca has committed the sin of racial neglect, and Randall is left to do penance.

The scriptwriters were also able to craft a story that explains that by the young age of 10, Randall’s growing up Black in a white family will

Members of the cast of the NBC hit drama, “This Is Us.” have a long-term impact. It’s there, but you won’t see it if you are colorblind.

In Season 1, Episode 13, we see the disparity at the big three’s 10th birthday party.

Randall only has a handful of classmates show up, while Kevin and Kate have lots of friends. One could argue that it’s because Randall is socially awkward, (which he is), but I think we need to ask ourselves if that’s just his personality, or if his anxiety has kicked in by the 5th grade. Experts in transracial adoption might suggest that it was Jack and Rebecca’s job to expose all three of their children to Black families – like the one that Beth grew up in.

The only time that Jack and Rebecca protect Randall from racism is Season 2, Episode 4. Against Rebecca’s objections, her mother Janet arrives and is snowed in with the Pearsons. Janet is judgmental, socially tone-deaf, and ostracizes Randall. Rebecca confronts Janet, calls her a racist, and demands she leave as soon as possible. Randall overhears. Janet admits she can’t help feeling differently about Randall, but she takes an interest in his science project after originally asking why he doesn’t play basketball.

Even though Rebecca and Jack don’t see color, society does. In Season 2, Episode 7, Jack and Rebecca prepare to finalize Randall’s adoption when Randall is a year old. Their caseworker gives a glowing recommendation, but their judge is against interracial adoption.

The judge eventually recuses himself, and a new judge grants the adoption.

As controversial as this statement might be, the first judge might have had a point.

Jack and Rebecca are good parents and good people, but you can’t “love” racism away.

They don’t even try to learn anything about Black culture while living in Pittsburgh during the 1990s. There really is no excuse for that. Randall should have known families like the Clarkes before he left for college. When he meets Beth he isn’t just yearning for love, he’s yearning for Blackness.

At the age of 17, Beth is the only person, and eventually the only Pearson, who thinks it’s important for Randall to connect with Black culture.

Jack expects teenage Randall to attend Harvard, but Randall prefers the historically Black college, Howard. While Jack takes the official tour, a friend shows Randall around.

Randall tells Jack that others’ reactions make him feel “off balance” as the only Black member in his family. Jack deflects this by talking about his re-entry as a Vietnam veteran.

Jack’s character is revered in the show. We learn that he dies when the big three are in the 12th grade. Despite his commitment to family, “Saint” Jack doesn’t have any words of comfort for Randall when he misses the prom after redheaded Allison’s father won’t let her to go with Randall, because he is Black. Once again, this situation was easily avoidable if Randall had been introduced to both Akeelahs and Allisons.

Jack was even threatened when Randall had a Black male teacher. Jack

invites Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence for dinner. The interactions between Jack and Mr. Lawrence are awkward. Mr. Lawrence had planned to gift Randall a copy of Langston Hughes’ Weary Blues, but instead gives it to Jack. We have no indication that Jack reads it or understands that Randall’s weary blues might be (B)lack.

This racial trauma is the house that Jack and Rebecca built. Randall inherits it, and Beth marries it.

Beth ends up the heroine in a three generation, racially mixed family. From my perspective, Beth is the strongest character in the show.

She is solid and she sees her husband clearly for who he is, while fighting to maintain her own identity under his need for control. When they have marital problems and he ends up sleeping at his office, Beth is the one who finds a solution that everyone can live with.

Every heroine has a tragic flaw. To paraphrase Toni Morrison, Beth’s flaw is that love is never any better than the lover. Randall needs Beth to be Michelle Obama, yet he isn’t

insightful enough to realize that he isn’t Barack. When Randall insists that he doesn’t need therapy, Beth shares with him that she needs him to go.

When Randall’s (white female) therapist tells him that he hasn’t forgiven his white adoptive mother for hiding his Black biological father from him for 36 years, Beth quips, “Why are we paying for therapy?” It’s as if she has a thought bubble above her head that reads, “Even Stevie Wonder could see that.”

Randall’s therapist points out that they are in Philadelphia and that he could have chosen a Black male therapist. Instead he chooses a white woman, roughly the age that Rebecca was when Jack died. The therapist is the only white character in the show to recognize his racial trauma. I don’t know if white viewers pick up on this, but as a Black viewer, and admittedly a race scholar, what I learn from this is that white people need a doctorate in psychology to acknowledge what Beth can see on her first day of college.

The therapist

encourages Randall to confront Rebecca about her deception.

Instead, he makes a choice that many viewers seem to reject.

He emotionally blackmails Rebecca into entering a clinical trial that she does not want to participate in. Randall’s neediness and perfectionism fuel a competitiveness for his mother’s love – to the point of pushing her to prove not only that she chooses him over his siblings, but that she is willing to possibly spend her last months of mental clarity away from Kate and Kevin, which will prove her love for Randall.

It’s not a good look.

Certainly not one of his finest moments, and the audience has reason to be disappointed by Randall’s manipulation of his mother. That’s fair. However, Rebecca might have agreed so quickly because, self- help books like “Simple Abundance” teach that “regrets are wounds from which the soul never recovers.”

Rebecca has wounded Randall’s soul. She has regret, but he’s the one who doesn’t recover.

I also urge fans to consider Randall’s desperation.

He never meets his biological mother who overdoses when he is a baby. Jack dies when he’s 17, and his biological father William dies less than a year after Randall finds him. Kate and Kevin are resentful for Randall’s need to control, but this is what women like Beth and I know …

Randall wants to save Rebecca, but he doesn’t have the tools to save himself. Randall can’t see his racial trauma because he was taught not to look. Rebecca broke Randall, but Beth will have to fix him.

Saving Randall will be a full-time job and won’t leave much room for Beth to love herself. It’s quite the burden for one Black woman to bear. But, real talk; this is us.

Duchess Harris, JD, PhD is a professor of American Studies at Macalester College. You can find her other publications at www. duchessharris.com.

Page 8 • April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020 • Insight News

insightnews.com

PE leader releases new CDs, graphic novel

Chuck D: ‘There’s a Poison Going On’ He called the record important because it arrives at a time when many still take hiphop for granted, and that includes African Americans and the artists themselves.

“Last year, I finished a four-year tour of the world with Prophets of Rage, and we played to packed stadiums and I watched Rage Against the Machine do a five-night run to sold out crowds in the (Madison Square) Garden. I saw how loyal their fans were and how wild they are. How much they loved their rock stars,” Chuck D said. “With hip-hop, our fans aren’t like that, and the artists are led by their having to get breadcrumbs.”

He said the media and others had taken away the narrative from hip-hop.

“Now, it’s time to take the narrative back from those who have sideswiped it. They need to be eliminated,” Chuck D added.

In February, news outlets reported that Flavor had been fired from Public Enemy

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia It turns out the social media beef between Public Enemy icons Chuck D and Flavor Flav was a hoax.

“April Fools” – sort of.

Chuck and Flavor recently released new music, and the relationship between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends remains “as tight as ever.” In an exclusive interview with National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., broadcast live on Facebook and at BlackPressUSA.com, Chuck D debuted the group’s new single, “Food as a Machine Gun.” The single features a reunion of Chuck D and Flavor Flav.

“It’s the most important rap record ever,” said Chuck D.

after a dispute erupted between him and Chuck over the group’s performance during a Bernie Sanders campaign rally. Flavor’s lawyers released a statement saying that the rapper hadn’t consented and was against the group supporting Sanders.

Things appeared to have heated up in the feud after Chuck took to Twitter and seemed to “out” Flavor as having a substance abuse problem.

However, Chuck explained to the NNPA Newswire that, while Flav does enjoy a Hennessy and chaser a little more frequently than what he believes a 60-yearold should, there’s never been an accusation of drug abuse, in contrast to the meaning that many took way from Chuck’s tweets on social media.

“Flav’s name was dragged through the mud so much in 2018 and 2019, so I had to do something to bring him up,” Chuck explained to NNPA Newswire. “My name is kind of Teflon, but his wasn’t,

Stay Warm. Stay Safe.

Stay Connected.

Chuck D debuted the group’s new single, “Food as a Machine Gun.” The single features a reunion of Chuck D and Flavor Flav.

so I thought this was a way of bringing him up. I had people say, ‘why are you doing stuff to Flav?’ I responded that ‘you CAP-HC’s Energy Assistance Program (EAP) provides financial aren’t supporting him. What are you doing to support him?” assistance to Hennepin County residents, including the city of Further, Flav wasn’t fired because “you Minneapolis, to help with home energy costs can’t fire a partner,” Chuck Text 4WARMTH D stated. “It shows you that and heat related repairs. people don’t pay attention.” to 555888 He called the banter between him and Flav Energy Assistance Program offices are now open in several locations, including: a “hoax that ain’t no joke.”

“It’s a St. Louis Park, Minnesota Council of Churches, Sabathani Community Center, serious hoax,” he said.

LSS and Minneapolis Urban League.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, Chuck and Flav have www.facebook.com/caphennepin worked tirelessly on the new CD. Chuck also has worked on a second CD that includes www.twitter.com/caphennepin several friends from the hiphop community. Both CDs A program of were released simultaneously.

Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County 8800 Highway 7, Suite 403 With a degree in the sponsored by: St. Louis Park, MN 55426 The Minnesota Department of Commerce & arts, Chuck has also applied www.caphennepin.org Department of Health and Human Services eap@caphennepin.org his talents as a graphics, sketch and caricature artist. He chronicled the past month in Strengthening Community ∞ Eliminating Barriers ∞ Creating Opportunity a journal filled with narratives

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952-930-3541

and sketches, including eyeopening renderings of Prince, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Notorious BIG and many others.

“I was dismayed about how the whole narrative of hiphop went into the area where we only talk about dead rappers,” Chuck D stated. “Common gave probably the most incredible performance I had ever seen on television at the NBA AllStar Game in February, and you only heard crickets. Pop Smoke got killed, and the media was on it, and his records rose up the charts. We went through this with Nipsey Hustle. The narrative is that you’ve got to be a dead rapper to be relevant in the news, and that’s disrespectful. I want to use this as a teachable moment. All of that stuff with Flav and Bernie Sanders and the lawyers was all part of a plan.

I wanted to see what happens when you present a bad look.

And, it worked. I was trending for a bad look, and I thought that for more than 30 years, Public

Enemy has given you nothing but good looks. We made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this situation with Flav got us trending more than we did then.

Thirty years after I made ‘Fear of a Black Planet,’ the digital age is fixed on what they see.”

Because people tend to be more visual today, Chuck said he thought he’d chronicle the past 30 days. He didn’t anticipate a pandemic.

“Just thought I’d show things in pictures with the book, and the coronavirus came along, and there was even more to do,” he stated.

The book is titled, “There’s a Poison Going On,” but the name was decided upon long before the pandemic, Chuck assured.

“It’s ironic because, for the whole month of March, there’s been a poison going on for real,” he stated. “Maybe, people will pay attention to a good look the next time and not always a bad look.”

WAYS TO EXPLORE

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