Insight ::: 12.16.19

WINNER: 2018 NNPA MERIT AWARDS: 3RD PLACE BES T COLUMN WRITING

WINNER: 2019 GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 3RD PLACE, COLUMN WRITING, 2ND PLACE

Insight News

December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019

Vol. 46 No. 50• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

UNITED Leaders of the NAACP – national and local – and the Minneapolis Urban League stand united in call for state and local governments to get serious about economic inclusion of Black Minnesotans.

Left to right are Steve Belton, president, Minneapolis Urban League, Lisa Bland Malone, NAACP Economic Programs manager, Farhio Khalif, president, St. Paul NAACP, Leslie Redmond, president, Minneapolis NAACP and William Jordan, Jr., president, NAACP Minnesota/Dakotas Area State Conference and president, NAACP Rochester.

Harry Colbert, Jr.

STORY ON PAGE 3

Page 2 • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Insight News

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Tio Aiken brings a new lens to Artspace

By Brittany Wright Since 1979, Artspace has been creating affordable living/ workspaces for artists, cultural organizations, and creative businesses.

Artspace’s unique portfolio includes 53 projects across the country – with buildings in culturally distinct communities in Memphis, New Orleans, that opened last year; and grand openings in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Pullman Neighborhood in Chicago and

the Ogala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota slated for next year. Despite Artspace’s national footprint, Artspace headquarters is based in Minneapolis. A majority of its development projects are located in Minnesota. Two of the company’s latest projects include acquiring the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis and the construction of the Northside Artspace Lofts.

As the new vice president of Communications, Tionenji (Tio) Aiken understands first-hand

how critical living/workspaces are to artists and their families.

“It’s a common perception that artist housing is unwelcoming or inaccessible to people of color, but that wasn’t my experience growing up in Lowertown. My dad (Tacoumba Aiken), Seitu Jones, and his wife, Soyini (Jones), kept me connected to the Black artist community … and ushered others into the neighborhood as well in the ‘80s in ‘90s. When I started at Artspace my default vision of artist housing was inclusive, collaborative, and

Aiken.

Tio Aiken

SATURDAYS at the MUSEUMɨ

cooperative.”

As the first Black female vice president at Artspace, Aiken is doing the work to make sure the experiences she had living in diverse artist spaces are replicated. Artspace welcomes artists of all disciplines and backgrounds to live and work in their facilities.

In addition to her role as the VP of Communications, Aiken is also the program director for the Rafala Green Fellowship program at Artspace.

The program seeks avenues for intentionally bringing

individuals with diverse cultural perspectives into the field of arts-based real estate development. Aiken believes the Rafala Green Fellowship, as well as Artspace’s Immersion program key initiatives anchored in Artspace’s mission to create, foster and preserve affordable space for artists and arts and cultural organizations.

Aiken quotes Luke 12:48 as she reflects on how she’s making history within the arts-based company.

“To whom much is given, much is required,” said

As the woman responsible for public relations for a company with more than $1 billion in assets, she feels the “weight of accountability,” especially when it comes to working in historically marginalized communities of color. Aiken is actively working to ensure the work of the company reflects the best outcomes of the communities in which their facilities are placed. In an effort to combat gentrification and inaccessibility she wants to maintain strong community relations and open dialogue with existing community entities and create more opportunities to attract diverse emerging leaders to the real estate development field.

Artspace recently broke ground on the Northside Lofts building, 229 Irving Ave. N., in North Minneapolis, which is expected to be completed in 2021. The facility will house 100 residential units for low to medium-income artists. Aiken and her colleagues are working to ensure the facility prioritizes existing community members and incorporates equitable tiers of affordability.

Storytellers, Activities and Fun! Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery 1256 Penn Ave No, Minneapolis, MN 55411, 4th Floor

Saturday mornings from 10 - 11:30am Hear Stories Read or Great Storytelling!

Engage in coordinated activities and just have Fun!

Local Children’s Book Authors and Storytellers! Treats! www.maahmg.org

Contact us at: info@maahmg.org

Become a member!

All Are Welcome.

See us at

Free Admission.

____________________________________________________________________________ "The Children's Reading Circle is partially supported by The Givens Foundation for African American Literature through operating support funding from Target. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund."

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The MAAHMG is a fully qualified 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Minnesota.

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Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage welcomes new member Carl Crawford from Duluth is the newest member on the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage.

Crawford is a human rights officer for the city of Duluth. He served as chairman of Duluth’s Human Rights Commission in the past and was a board member of the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial.

Carl Crawford

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Insight News • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Page 3

Insight News WINNER: 2018 NNPA MERIT AWARDS: 3RD PLACE BES T COLUMN WRITING

December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019

WINNER: 2019 GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 3RD PLACE, COLUMN WRITING, 2ND PLACE

Vol. 46 No. 50• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

NAACP shines national light on Twin Cities disparities

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor harry@insightnews.com The legacy of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile continues.

In this instance their legacy is in the form of a comprehensive report compiled by the NAACP highlighting the economic disparities that exist between Minnesota Black and white residents and the ways in which those disparities negatively impact Blacks and the state as a whole. And while many in the state know the realities of the multiple achievement gaps, having the nation’s oldest civil rights organizations focused on the problem could bring a heightened sense of urgency from state and local officials. As for how Clark and Castile play into this, NAACP senior director of Economic Development, Marvin Owens, Jr. said the community’s response to their killings at the hands of police caused the organization to take a deep-dive look into the root causes of the unrest.

“Three years ago we were going around the county in respect to police violence and we began to realize we needed to pay attention to the economic conditions fueling some of the unrest that was on the ground,” said Owens at a Dec. 7 meeting at the Minneapolis Urban League. “The disparities in wealth, in home ownership, in economic inclusion were actually fueling the frustration on the ground.”

Owens said similar reports were done in Baltimore, Ferguson, Mo. and St. Louis – all sites of civil unrest following police killings of Black citizens.

The 47-page report, “The Twin Cities Economic Inclusion Plan,” details the may disparities in wealth, income, housing/home ownership, unemployment, business ownership, education, health and criminal justice. It also focused on solutions. And while most are at the federal level, Owens said the state has an opportunity to provide tangible solutions.

“This plan is to see who’s going to be with us.

Minnesota announced a $1.3 billion surplus in the state budget. This is not a situation where the state can say there’s no money to get things done,” said Owens.

Area NAACP leaders agree.

“What’s happening with the economic disparities in Minnesota is unacceptable,” said St. Paul NAACP President Farhio Khalif. “The economic disparities are real and unacceptable, and we must come together to change things. The gun violence in our community is unacceptable. In St. Paul we have lost 30 young men to this violence.”

Minneapolis NAACP President Leslie Redmond said the violence stems from the noted disparities.

“When we talk about gun violence affecting our community, if we were providing these young people with jobs, opportunities, hope,

Harry Colbert, Jr.

The next meeting of the Learning Table is scheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 18) from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. at NorthPoint Health & Wellness.

TRANSFORMATION:

Talk of Upper Harbor gets ‘messy’

By Randall Bradley Architect

Harry Colbert, Jr.

NAACP senior director of Economic Development, Marvin Owens, Jr. we wouldn’t see it as much,” said Redmond.

She said – as with most instances – to find the root, follow the money. “ We live in a state where white people, white privilege and white supremacy is thriving,” said Redmond. “But I always say don’t complain, activate. This plan is a form of activation. It contains tangible action items to move forward in

a world where these disparities do not exist. If you follow the money long enough, you’re going to get to the problem and to the solutions.”

To watch the townhall meeting in its entirety, go to Insight News’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InsightNews-145233765561468/. To view the report, visit the St. Paul NAACP website at www.naacpstpaul.org.

The fourth meeting of the Upper Harbor Development Committee met and conducted a Learning Table Community Engagement conversation, Nov. 20 at the NorthPoint Health & Wellness.

This Learning Table focused on three topics – job creation, alternative/green energy and a case study of a similar project. All this information will and can be used in whole or in part. This phase of the project is correctly focused on gathering and sharing information that may become part of the final written program that directs the Developer and the architectural/engineering/ consultant/builder team to undertake the construction of

the project.

As maybe surmised by now, these meetings are lengthy, cumbersome, complicated, ambiguous and slightly antagonistic. In other words, messy. They are comprised of logic and the illogical, sense and nonsense, reason and unreasonableness, fact and fiction, calm and anger, openness and manipulation, emotion and intellect, history, both accurate and revised, analytics and conjecture, hope, expectation, fantasy, dreams, desires, plans and goals. In other words, really messy.

These meetings are currently an undesignated portion of a larger group of separate meetings all focused on the final written result, “the program,” for this project. The work being undertaken anticipates a March

TRANSFORMATION 8

Senators demand the immediate firing of Stephen Miller amid reports of Miller’s alignment with white supremacist ideology and far-right extremism

Harris, senators demand Stephen Miller’s removal from the White House WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) led 26 of her colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump, demanding the immediate removal of Stephen Miller from his position as a White House senior adviser.

The letter follows recent reports detailing more than 900 e-mails, sent from Miller to far-right Breitbart News between 2015 and 2016, which confirm Miller worked to advance white supremacist, anti-immigrant ideologies. In the letter, the senators connect the e-mails to specific immigration policies Miller has implemented in his current position.

“Mr. Miller’s demonstrable white nationalist ideology has directly translated into your administration’s policies, which have been widely criticized for systematically targeting communities of color,” wrote the senators in their letter to Trump. “The Muslim ban targeted individuals of color and caused chaos at U.S. airports around the country, wreaking havoc on the lives of countless individuals and families. The family separation policy tore children from their families, resulting in widely reported mistreatment and human rights abuses of immigrants in detention facilities nationwide.”

Sen. Kamala Harris The senators continued, “When someone takes an oath to work in the White House and earn a taxpayer-funded salary, they work for the people, not a divisive, harmful, and hateful ideology. These e-mails clearly show what is driving Mr. Miller.

Photo by Joshua Roberts/Southern Poverty Law Center/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Stephen Miller It’s not national security, it’s white supremacy – something that has no place in our country, federal government, and especially not the White House.

Mr. Miller’s views go against everything we stand for as a country. They are unacceptable and

News

Interactive map shows thousands of lynchings throughout American history

PAGE 5

unjust. Simply put, Mr. Miller is unfit to serve in any capacity at the White House, let alone as a senior policy adviser. We demand that you remove Stephen Miller immediately.”

In addition to Harris, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (DOR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Michael Bennet (DCO), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) signed the letter.

The letter has the support of Southern Poverty Law Center, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Bend the Arc, Immigration Hub, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for American Progress and Families Belong Together.

Cheryl Brownlee

(Left to right) Waldo McMillian from Charter Communications, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and BNC Chairman JC Watts during a Dec. 3 launch event.

Black News Channel ready for launch

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia As the historic launch on Jan. 6 of the Black News Channel (BNC) approaches, officials can count members of Congress among those eagerly anticipating the new platform.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), the chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, joined a gathering of BNC officials, anchors and other guests at a reception on Dec. 3 in Washington, D.C. to toast the launch of the network.

“This has been long in the making,” said BNC’s vice president of Community Affairs and former Tallahassee mayor, John Marks. “When you see what we’ve done and

what we’re going to do, it will knock your socks off.”

Bass called the fledgling channel a necessity for African-Americans and others who seek a different perspective than what’s available through other news outlets.

“Right now, we have a lot of opinion in the news,” said Bass. “There are 54 members of the Congressional Black Caucus who want to be a part of this because you don’t see us, and you don’t hear about us (through mainstream news).”

With a partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Black-owned newspapers and media companies, the BNC expects to fast become the top destination for all who want to consume African-American news in print, on television and mobile devices. An independent network that’s minority-owned and operated, BNC will be

LAUNCH 8

I2H

World leaders gather for major climate confab with Africa in the spotlight

PAGE 6

Page 4 • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Insight News

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Ramsey County Sheriff ‘s Office reaching out to the Latinx community Afrodescendientes

Commentary by Carmen Robles A blend of color, flavor, and goodness best describes the 17 members who made up the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Volunteer Water Patrol Deputy Reserves graduating class of 2019.

According to its website, “Volunteer Reserve Deputies are civilians who, after receiving a rigorous formal law enforcement training work alongside the deputies” executing the code of excellence that governs the department.

It goes on to say, “The Water Patrol Unit uses motor vehicles, boats, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and snowmobiles to respond to incidents on the water, conduct rescue efforts, and recover victims of waterrelated incidents.”

The diverse graduating

Maria Carmen Moreno

Yulissa Salcedo Caraballo class of 2019 included Jóvenes de Salud and Yulissa Salcedo Caraballo.

“My squad feels like a family,” said Salcedo Caraballo, standing tall and proud in the brown uniform of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s department.

Minnesota is the land

of 10,000 lakes. In Ramsey County, there are 82 lake basins (23 are accessible to the public for recreational use) and 18 miles of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers within its boundaries.

Minnesota State Statute §86B.105 charges

sheriff’s offices with the responsibility for the law enforcement, safety instruction and promotion of safe boating and riding habits on the county’s lakes, rivers, and trails. The Water Patrol Unit is staffed by sworn deputies and volunteer reserve deputies.

During 2019, Ramsey

County Sheriff Bob Fletcher gave me unprecedented access to experience first-hand the inner workings of the elite division of Community Services Officers (CSO). CSO team partners Steve Winfield and Maria Carmen Moreno allowed me to get an up-close and personal view into the inner workings

of community outreach efforts, introducing me to the unique work of the Water Patrol Unit.

Throughout these many years, I’ve enjoyed the rivers and lakes no matter if they were water or ice and I continue to be enthralled with the breathtaking trails. Yet I’ve never given a thought of who’s responsible for the law and order I enjoy year-round. That is until I met Moreno, CSO who introduced me to the Water Patrol Unit The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

Moreno, a certified Medical Instructor in CPR and first aid; a DNR firearms safety instructor and an ATV safety instructor, manages volunteers to provide traffic, security and educate citizens about water safety.

During 2019 Ramsey County Sheriff’s office shared resources at community events including Cinco de Mayo Parade, Hispanic Heritage Month, Department of Human Services Latino Focused Opioid Conference and the annual baseball event for Puerto Rican Hurricane Maria victims.

Payday lenders have embraced installment loans to evade regulations – but they may be even worse

By Paige Marta Skiba, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University and Caroline Malone, Ph.D. Student in Law and Economics, Vanderbilt University TheConversation.com Installment loans seem like a kinder, gentler version of their “predatory” cousin, the payday loan, but for consumers, they may be even more harmful.

Use of the installment loan, in which a consumer borrows a lump sum and pays back the principal and interest in a series of regular payments, has grown dramatically since 2013 as regulators began to rein in payday lending. In fact, payday lenders appear to have developed installment loans primarily to evade this increased scrutiny.

A closer look at the differences between the two types of loans shows why we believe the growth in installment loans is worrying – and needs

the same regulatory attention as payday loans.

Possible

benefits At first glance, it seems like installment loans could be less harmful than payday loans. They tend to be larger, can be paid back over longer periods of time and usually have lower annualized interest rates – all potentially good things.

While payday loans are typically around $350, installment loans tend to be in the $500 to $2,000 range.

The potential to borrow more may benefit consumers who have greater short-term needs.

Because installment loans are repaid in biweekly or monthly installments over a period of six to nine months, lenders say consumers are better able to manage the financial strain that brought them to their storefront in the first place.

Payday loans, in contrast, typically require a lump sum payment for interest and principal on the borrower’s very next pay date, often just a

AP Photo/Sid Hastings

A little cash can be costly. few days away. Lenders offer cash in exchange for a postdated check written from the borrower’s checking account for the amount borrowed and “fees” – what they often dub “interest” to skirt usury rules.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, installment loans are often cheaper than payday loans, with annualized interest rates of around 120 percent in some states, compared

with payday loans’ typical 400 percent to 500 percent range.

Harmful

to consumers Unfortunately, some of the structural features that seem beneficial may actually be harmful to consumers – and make them even worse than payday loans.

For example, the longer payback period keeps borrowers indebted

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 Maya Beecham Nadvia Davis Fred Easter Abeni Hill Timothy Houston Michelle Mitchum Inell Rosario 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,

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longer and requires sustained discipline to make repayments, perhaps increasing stress and opportunities for error.

And the fact that the loan amounts are larger may cut both ways.

It is true that the small size of payday loans often isn’t enough to cover a borrower’s immediate needs. About 80 percent of payday borrowers do not repay their loan in full when due but “roll over” their loan into subsequent paycheck. Rolling over a loan allows borrowers to repay merely the interest, then extend the loan in exchange for another pay cycle to repay at the cost of another interest payment.

In a recent study, we explored the effect that the larger installment loan sizes have on borrowers. We used a dataset containing thousands of installment loan records in which some borrowers received a larger loan because they earned a higher income. Although similar in terms of factors such as credit risk and income level, slightly higher-income borrowers were offered a $900 loan, while others got only $600.

We found that borrowers with those larger loans were more likely to have subsequently taken out debt on other installment loans, storefront and online payday loans and auto title loans. Our results suggest that the higher initial installment loan might not serve its main purpose of helping borrowers manage their finances

and actually may have caused increased financial strain.

Misuse

and abuse As some of our previous research has shown, even payday loans, with their sky-high annualized rates and balloon payments, can be beneficial to consumers in some instances.

Installment loans are no different. When used carefully, they can help lowincome consumers with no other credit access smooth consumption. And when they are paid back on time, the loans can certainly provide a net benefit.

But their nature means they are also rife for misuse and abuse. And any negative effects will apply to a broader group of consumers because they are deemed more “mainstream” than payday loans. Lenders are targeting consumers with higher credit scores and higher incomes than those of the “fringe” borrowers who tend to use payday loans.

Installment lending accounts for an increasingly large portion of the alternative credit industry. If regulatory crackdowns on payday lending continue, installment lending is likely to become the bulk of lending in the small-dollar, high-interest lending market.

Given the current lack of regulation of these types of loans, we hope they receive increased scrutiny.

DNR to host employment event for military veterans The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is hosting its third annual Veteran Employment Information Event on Jan. 9 in St. Paul.

Many veterans want to work in a natural resources environment, and many military skills translate into DNR positions.

“If you’ve served in the military, you probably have a lot of experience relevant to many of our professional areas,” said Don Matthys, DNR management resources regional supervisor and U.S. Army retired.

At the event, veterans will have the opportunity to talk to DNR staff, including those who work in the areas of fisheries and wildlife, information technology, GIS and mapping, forestry, enforcement, engineering and more.

Veterans will learn the types of jobs available, education and experience requirements, and how a military career fits with state employment.

Attendees will have the option to meet with current DNR employees who are also military veterans and learn resume tips for translating

military skills and experience to position qualifications. Human resources staff will provide information on how to apply for DNR jobs, set up job searches, and receive job posting notifications. Veterans will also be on hand to answer questions about how to successfully juggle military – civilian commitments.

Information on DNR veteran support resources will also be available.

“I can’t imagine a more military friendly employer,” said John Peterson, a DNR emergency planner who serves in the Minnesota National Guard. “The DNR has always been incredibly supportive of my service in the National Guard.”

This event is free and will be held at the DNR Headquarters, 500 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul. Veterans will receive a welcome packet with additional information when registration is confirmed.

Space is limited and preregistration is required to attend the free event. Veterans can register for a time slot between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. by going to tinyurl.com/ dnrvets2020.

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Insight News • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Page 5

Interactive map shows thousands of lynchings throughout American history

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia In the century following the Civil War, as many as 5,000 people of color were murdered by mobs who believed in the cause of white supremacy.

On average, mobs killed nine people per month during the 1890s. Over the next 20 years, seven people each month were victims of lynch mobs.

The figures are all according to an interactive map project that tracks the history of lynching in America – state-bystate. The map is called “Monroe Work Today.” It is named after a Black sociologist, who put together much of the information that details lynchings from 1835 to 1964, the period covered in the map’s data set.

Information found on the map reveals that Black men were the most lynched group of people among the

documented victims, usually due to mob violence after criminal accusations. The map, which users can view based on region, also reveals the lynchings of Latinx people, Asians, Italians and Native-Americans.

Monroe Nathan Work lived from 1866 to 1945, and the interactive map is called a rebirth of one aspect of his work. Work was compelled to document every known lynching that was happening in the United States.

“You might already be familiar with what lynching is, and this website will examine it more,” the website’s authors write. “Of course, it starts with an act of injustice: by sentencing someone outside the law with no process or trial. Even worse, at the turn of the century, the methods of lynching had become commonplace, fueled by hatred – and unspeakably cruel. It was Mr. Work’s meticulous recordkeeping that preserves the names that are now an important part of our history.”

According to the website, “it was impossible

The map, which users can view based on region, also reveals the lynchings of Latinx people, Asians, Italians and Native-Americans. to search the web and find an accurate scope of the history of American lynching.”

The website provides an education on the definition of lynching. It doesn’t always mean hanged from a tree.

“There were many ways that a mob could take the life of a victim they were after. Yes, many people died by hanging, but others were killed from a hail of gunshots, dragged to death behind a vehicle,

and some were burned alive.

Sometimes, the mob would do all of these things to a single person,” the authors wrote.

Some lynchings went far beyond mere murder.

They included dark and brutal tortures to a person’s eyes, fingernails, genitals, orifices.

People were set afire, or bones were crushed, bodies mutilated, and sometimes cut into pieces.

The person died in agony. This kind of cruelty served as a lesson

of terror to everyone else who might challenge the status quo.

Further, onlookers showed no signs of guilt for participating.

Many lynchings gathered a large crowd of spectators, like a carnival, and the lynching might be prolonged until more spectators could arrive. For example, the lynching of Sam Hose in 1899 in Georgia caused the railroad to run extra trains to let more

people come right after Sunday church. Many photographs exist today because they were taken as proud souvenirs and postcards.

In the South, a mythology arose that lynching was the only way to protect their “gentle women” against a crime wave of rapes. Similarly, in 1933, the governor of California publicly praised the lynching of one kidnapper by people on the street. He promised to pardon anyone who might be prosecuted for participating in the mob, according to the website authors.

“God made the white into a man and implanted within his breast that determination to always be supreme among races of men,” read an Oct. 29, 1920 article in the Okaloosa News-Journal in Florida.

“This is why the white man of the South, standing out boldly tells civilization: ‘I am a white man! I will rule!’ Were he to do otherwise, he would be a renegade to his race.”

To view the map visit www.monroeworkt oday.org/ explore.

Jason Dunn elected chairman of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Alexandra, Va. – For the first time, the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), formerly National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, has selected a board chairman that is not a convention planner to lead the organization.

Jason Dunn, group vice president of Diversity Sales and Inclusion at the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau was elected as Chairman of the Board during the 36th Annual NCMBP Convention in New Orleans in November.

The NCBMP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating hospitality professionals, meeting planners and association executives within the tourism industry.

“I am honored to represent the meetings industry in this role,” Dunn said. “We

have made tremendous strides in ensuring that there is equity and inclusion within the meetings industry as we lead the national conversation with data. My vision for NCBMP stems largely from the changing demographic trends in the U.S. and a passion to educate the hospitality industry on the importance of diversity in all aspects. Nielsen’s 2019 Diverse Intelligence Series reports that African Americans represent $1.3 trillion in spending power and studies show that the majority of new U.S. travelers will be people of color and varying nationalities.”

According to Dunn, these demographic shifts heighten the importance of examining how cities are creating welcoming environments for diverse travelers and hiring of Black professionals.

Jason Dunn “We still have a lot to do, and I am confident that we will continue to be trendsetters, elevate our members and pursue the objectives of our founders,” said Dunn.

“I’m very proud of Jason and all that he has accomplished within the industry thus far,” said Elliott Ferguson, II, president and CEO,

Destination DC. “NCBMP will flourish in the leadership that he has exemplified over the years as a member of the board and will continue to showcase in his new position as chairman. I look forward to my continued work with Jason as we both advocate for diversity and inclusion in the industry, specifically as it ties to my efforts as the chair of the U.S. Travel Association.”

The NCBMP is comprised of more than 200 national organizations and corporations from various industries and market segments, including fraternal groups, civil and religious organizations, professional associations and more. Under the leadership of Dunn, the NCBMP Board plans to broaden the strategy of the organization to include not only meeting planners, but all Black

professionals in the hospitality industry in its membership. This shift is a part of an organizational effort to increase and strengthen national dialogues around the importance of a diverse workforce, inclusive marketing strategies and innovative ways to attract Black visitor and retain Black professionals.

“NCBMP is focused on the development of our members through relevant educational sessions and vibrant programing that spark innovation. It is clear, that we offer a unique and authentic engagement opportunity via our membership that can’t be replicated anywhere in the industry,” said Marlinda Henry, president NCBMP and National Convention Director for Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.

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Page 6 • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Insight News

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Black law enforcement speaks out on proposed menthol ban Commentary by National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. Several state legislatures have recently proposed laws which are being directed towards what may only be viewed as a mephitic approach to issues as they relate to youthful use of e-cigarettes and vaping.

We stress the concept that these proposed legislative acts would, in fact, be antithetical to healthy, robust and productive relationships between law enforcement and those they are sworn to protect as these new laws would presumably provide law enforcement officers with the authority, indeed the responsibility, to stop, interrogate and arrest persons on suspicion of selling or being in possession of untaxed cigarettes.

None of these legislative efforts appear to have considered the obvious detrimental impact on communities of color, where the preferred cigarette is menthol, and approximately 80 percent of all African-Americans who do smoke prefer to smoke menthol cigarettes. They as well seem to have totally disregarded the strong recommendations of the 2009 Federal Tobacco Control Act in reaching out to subject matter experts when developing the actual language of their legislation. To date, there has been no known input from law enforcement experts, and specifically none from members of any of the nearly thirty organizations representing African American and Latino criminal justice practitioners in the Northern United States who are infinitely aware of the devastating impact of adverse law enforcement interaction in communities of color.

And we must not forget the deadly result of law enforcement interaction with Eric Garner in New York for exactly what these laws would prohibit-the illicit sale and possession of untaxed cigarettes.

We strongly urge

iStockphoto/NNPA

Proposed legislation will have drastic and debilitating impact on communities of color. members of the community to revert to their roots as civil rights activists and make their voices heard on this issue. And

we demand that legislators reconsider their proposals and the obvious consequences it will have on a community that is now,

again, being adversely targeted.

The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc., a

501(c)(3) non-profit, represents the interests and concerns of African-American, Latino and other criminal justice

practitioners of color serving in law enforcement, corrections and investigative agencies throughout the United States.

World leaders gather for major climate confab with Africa in the spotlight (Global Information Network) – As world leaders gather in Madrid, Spain for one of the largest global conferences on the environment, a new report from the U.S.-based Save the Children Fund warned that real world impacts of climate change are threatening tens of millions of people in East and Southern Africa with what it terms “climate shock.”

Floods, landslides, drought and cyclones have put 33 million people at emergency levels of food insecurity. More than half of these are believed to be children, the report says.

Another study, by the United Nations, also released this week, highlighted the urgent need for aggressive policies to curb emissions.

“We have to learn from our procrastination. Any further delay brings the need for larger, more expensive and unlikely cuts,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, wrote in the report titled “Emissions Gap Report 2019.”

“We cannot afford to fail.”

“People think this climate change thing is a joke,” said an exasperated broadcaster on Nigeria’s ChannelTV. “They should come and ask us in Nigeria. We’ve seen rains like we’ve never seen before and heat like we’ve never seen before.”

Climate change was most recently evident in Kenya where more than 100 people died as a result of mudslides and floods occasioned by heavy rains across the country in the last two months. Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna said 350,000 people were in dire need of assistance.

“The whole country has been affected by the

downpour.

Roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been destroyed,” Oguna told journalists in Kapenguria, West Pokot County.

Botswana, taking pro-active measures, says it will be developing a drought management strategy making drought a permanent feature of the national budget rather than

an emergency. Malawi is among five African countries invited to attend the Madrid conference.

Ellen Matupi, chair of the Coalition of Women Farmers in Malawi, who has felt the effects of climate change firsthand, will discuss government’s controversial subsidies for chemical fertilizers rather than climate resilient agroecology.

Matupi trains other women farmers in these methods and advocates for their rights.

Another report by the South African-based ActionAid – “Can Climate ChangeFuelled Loss and Damage Ever Be Fair?” – endorsed by nearly 100 community groups holds the US and EU jointly responsible for more

than half the cost of repairing the damage caused by climate disasters in the Global South.

The groups calculated countries’ “fair share” of responsibility based on historic contributions to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and their capacity to take climate action based on national income while taking

into account what is needed to provide basic living standards.

Senior members of the Trump administration are not planning to attend the meeting, but Democrats are sending a delegation to the venue. The conference closes on Dec. 13.

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Insight News • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Page 7

New documentary addresses ‘The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools’

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Black girls who have been subject to punitive school policies and practices are at an increased risk of coming into contact with the juvenile and criminal courts and leaving school altogether, ultimately impeding their ability to achieve future success and lead successful and healthy lives, according to a new documentary, “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.”

The film presents a number of these stories in heartbreaking detail and further explores a topic that was originally presented in the 2016 book of the same name by Monique W. Morris.

“Why not go to heaven now? I don’t want to be here,” Samaya, one of the girls featured in the film, says at one point.

At 12, Samaya is now an honor student. It has taken years of therapy and a change of school for her to recover from the traumatic incident that led her to a bridge above a highway contemplating suicide at the age of 7. The event? One of her teachers, Mr. Rodriquez, gave Samaya a warning after a minor disagreement with another child. Then, after Samaya accidentally knocked over a glass of water, Rodriguez punished Samaya by dragging her and her chair outdoors “in a fit of frightening rage.”

The teacher pulled Samaya out of her classroom on a cold 46-degree December morning. She did not have on a coat or jacket. She was wearing only a pink and gray sweatshirt and blue jeans.

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According to the most recent U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights data, Black girls are seven times more likely to be suspended from school, and four times more likely to be arrested on a school campus than their White peers.

Coping with the death of her beloved father, the destruction by fire of the only home she knew, and facing constant bullying, Ariana, another story shared by the filmmakers, found herself at a breaking point. “There is so much rage building in me,”

the teen shares in the film.

Now, 16, Ariana said she didn’t know how to deal with the adversity she faced at home and school. She was suspended multiple times as classmates would pick on her because “I don’t look the way they look or dress the way they dress.”

Fortunately, a change in schools altered the trajectory of her life. Ariana, now a drummer in her school band at the Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls, has been able to turn her life around with the help of teachers, whom she credits with guiding her toward a positive response to the challenges she faces.

Some Black girls, like Samaya and Ariana, face educational, judicial, and societal disparities.

Black girls, and other girls of color, experience discriminatory, disparate, punitive, and unfair treatment in school, including suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement and arrests on school campuses, at rates that exceed the public school population in aggregate – and far exceed those experienced by their white female peers.

“This has to change.

Our girls deserve more,” the filmmakers write on their website.

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights data, Black girls are seven times more likely to be suspended from school, and four times more likely to be arrested on a school campus than their white peers.

Punitive practices and policies in schools fuel systemic inequities and result in negative outcomes based on race and gender. They have profound consequences for Black girls: rather than promote safety and well-being, these practices disproportionately push Black girls out of school and further into the margins.

“Pushout,” is being screened in several cities. For more information, or to host a screening, visit www. pushoutfilm.com.

NABJ calls for action in fight for press freedom and journalists protection progress has not been made.

The statement said, “As a world leader, other countries follow the United State’s example and now more than ever we have seen a rise in not only the disrespectful and demeaning attacks that some Black journalists have experienced while covering their beats – such as the White House – but also in the rise in dangerous work environments for international journalists, sadly leading to violence, imprisonment and death.”

“America must do better and governments worldwide must do better. No journalist should be attacked or harmed for simply striving to do their jobs effectively.

Action must be taken because at this very moment a journalist somewhere in this world is being treated like a criminal or worse,” said Tucker. “The United States should be ashamed that esteemed journalists and NABJ members like April D. Ryan (American Urban Radio Networks, CNN), Joy-Ann Reid (MSNBC), Abby Phillip (CNN), and Yamiche Alcindor (PBS NewsHour) have been consistently and publicly verbally attacked by our own president for simply asking the important and tough questions

YouTube

President Donald Trump (right) verbally attacking CNN reporter Abby Phillip (right) on Nov. 9, 2018 for asking a question related to the Mueller probe.

Trump said to Phillip, “What a stupid question that is … what a stupid question. But I watch you a lot and you ask a lot of stupid questions.”

that citizens deserve answers to. And, unfortunately, efforts to dilute and destroy press freedom abroad hit closer to home than one may think.”

During its National Convention in South Florida this summer, NABJ celebrated two Black journalists who have brought to light the heart-wrenching deaths of international journalists whose murders were a result of reporting on their governments.

NABJ’s 2019 Journalist of the Year Karen Attiah, Washington Post Global Opinions editor, boldly used her platform and the pages of her Opinions section to sound the alarm on the disappearance and subsequent

murder of her colleague Jamal Khashoggi.

As Khashoggi’s editor, Attiah advocated for justice on his behalf after it was revealed that agents connected to the Saudi government were responsible for his murder.

Khashoggi was forced to flee Saudi Arabia in 2017 and, upon Attiah’s recommendation, the Post hired him as a Global Opinions columnist.

This summer, NABJ also honored Pap Saine, copublisher and managing editor of The Point newspaper in The Gambia as the recipient of the 2019 Percy Qoboza Foreign Journalist of the Year Award. Saine has been

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for a felony. NABJ agrees with the International Press Institute’s call for the penal code to be upheld.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, led by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists, in collaboration with other press freedom groups, reports that in the United States 32 U.S. journalists have faced physical attacks so far in 2019, five were killed in 2018, 46 faced physical attacks in 2017 and since 2017, 55 U.S. reporters have been attacked while covering protests.

The Committee to Protect Journalists also reports 40 journalists and media workers have been killed to date in 2019 worldwide, 64 journalists are missing worldwide so far in 2019 and 251 journalists were imprisoned in 2018.

“As the attacks on press freedom continue to grow across the globe, we implore all governments to condemn any behavior that promotes the silencing of journalists and undue interference with their work, which in turn infringes on the public’s right to have access to information without censorship,” Tucker said.

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arrested, criminally charged and imprisoned in the West African country for simply doing his job as a reporter. In 2009, he was sentenced to two years in prison with five other journalists for using his platform to criticize then-Gambian President Yahyah Jammeh’s comments about press freedom and the unsolved murder of his colleague and newspaper co-founder Deyda Hydara, a previous NABJ Percy Qoboza honoree. While he was eventually pardoned, he continued to endure harassment from the government.

Also, during NABJ’s convention, media partner Al Jazeera shared the story of one of its journalists and the persecution he has endured.

Mahmoud Hussein, who has been detained in Egypt for more than 1,100 days, since Dec. 20, 2016, was allegedly accused of “incitement against state institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos.”

According to Al Jazeera, Hussein’s incarceration is unfounded and has breached Egypt’s penal code, which sets a maximum pretrial detention period of 620 days for individuals being investigated

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) President Dorothy Tucker will intensify efforts to combat increasing verbal and physical attacks against journalists, including NABJ members, in the United States and abroad.

Tucker spoke at the two-day Al Jazeera Center for Public Liberties and Human Rights’ symposium, titled “The Challenges of Press Freedom: Facing Impunity, Rule of Law and Human Rights.”

According to a recent analysis from Reporters Without Borders’ 2019 World Press Freedom Index, the United States has been classified as a “problematic” media climate.

“Of all the world’s regions, it is the Americas (North and South) that have suffered the greatest deterioration in its regional score measuring the level of press freedom,” the analysis states.

According to a NABJ release, more than a year after NABJ passed a resolution condemning the U.S. Administration’s detrimental actions, statements and hostile attitude toward press freedom, NABJ is disheartened that

Page 8 • December 16, 2019 - December 22, 2019 • Insight News

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Justin Sutherland named Eater – Twin Cities Chef of the Year Chef and restaurateur Justin Sutherland has been named Eater – Twin Cities Chef of the Year.

Sutherland first began to turn heads (and taste buds) as chef and part owner of Lowertown St. Paul’s Handsome Hog. He has since cultivated a restaurant empire in the Twin Cities with the additions of Eagle Street Grill, Fitzgerald’s, Public Kitchen and Bar, Green Lantern (Public’s lower level bar), OxCart Alehouse, Gray Duck and the Pearl & the Thief (formerly of Stillwater, slated to open in downtown Minneapolis).

Being a television celebrity doesn’t seem to hurt either.

Sutherland’s seemingly meteoric rise has come after winning Food Network’s coveted “Iron Chef” in 2018 and later becoming a fan favorite on Season 16 of Bravo’s hugely popular “Top Chef.” Sutherland has welcomed several of his fellow “Top Chef” castmates to the area for pop-up events at his restaurants, but it’s his own creations that garnered him the Eater honor.

“From the small screen to moving into the leadership of the Madison Restaurant group it

Transformation

Energy and Environmental Development (DEED) as well as the University of Minnesota.

The mission statement of the NJCT was to research barriers to new jobs in North Minneapolis, then to set goals to achieve 1,000 living wage jobs in a five-year period with benefits from environmentally sound companies.

English worked on this effort for 4 1/2 years and his efforts have focused on both the employee profile and the employer job openings.

The NJCT has met with construction, manufacturing,

mining, agricultural. retail, wholesale, financial, transportation companies and other organizations. They have matched workers to jobs.

Robert Blake spoke to the issue of alternative energy and its possible application to this project. Solar energy, solar panels, wind energy, geothermal energy; all may be conceivable on this project. All of these technologies also created jobs in the manufacturing, assembly, erection, maintenance and management of this alternative energy. The Upper Harbor Project may play a significant

Oklahoma. “We saw the little huts and where they kept African people at the door of no return to never see Africa again. But we also saw clinics, doctors, the building of hospitals, lawyers and others. And (Jefferson) went home and told his 90-year-old granddad that we saw doctors and lawyers and the building of hospitals. And, his 90-year-old granddad said, ‘I knew there was more.’ That is the mission of the Black News Channel. There’s more to the African-American community than what we see.”

During the reception, Watts participated in a fireside chat with Clarke and Waldo McMillan, the vice president of legislative affairs

at

From 3 2020 completion in some form.

The Northside Job Creation Team (NJCT) presentation was conducted

by Bill English. The NJCT is comprised of a 40-member collaboration of both private and non-profit companies and organizations, including Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education, Hennepin County, Department of

Launch From 3 the nation’s only provider of 24/7 cable news programming dedicated to covering the unique perspective of AfricanAmerican communities. The channel is the endeavor of the network’s visionaries and cofounders, chairman, J.C. Watts, Jr. and CEO Bob Brillante.

“I remember going to West Africa with a bipartisan delegation that included Democrat William Jefferson,” said Watts, the former Republican congressman out of

has been an incredible year for the St. Paul-based chef,” wrote Eater editor Joy Summers in announcing Sutherland’s win.

Summers said Sutherland’s ramen and Japanese fried chicken stand, O Bachan offered “the single best bite of fried chicken we encountered this year.”

In addition to being a top chef (pun intended), Eater praised Sutherland for helping to diversify the restaurant industry.

“It’s not just the usual kitchen and celebrity turn that makes his rise and rule of 2019 so impressive,” said Summers. “Sutherland

has traveled the country and worked here at home to promote diversity in the kitchen, and share his experiences as a young Black chef. He’s begun difficult and important conversations while also opening the door and welcoming in others to follow him.”

“None of it would be possible without my incredible team, partners, and staff that work so hard every day, and the amazing community that continues to support us,” said Sutherland in a Facebook post announcing the honor. “Thank you to everyone who helped make this year possible.”

role in both energy supply and job creation.

Othello Meadows, III, president and CEO of SeventyFive North Revitalization Corporation, of Omaha Neb., presented to the Learning Table.

The profile of North Omaha has many similarities to North Minneapolis. They are an inner city urban and predominantly Black, community. Through historic economic neglect, political indifference and concentrated poverty, both communities have similarities.

Meadows presented North Omaha as a case study regarding

those familiar and unique scenarios that the attendees appreciated and embraced.

North Omaha had a 22-acre site that the Seventy-Five North organization was able to organize the community, write a written program, and revitalize the property. This was a lengthy project, taking several years to undertake and complete.

After showing photographs of the redevelopment, Meadows spoke to the “power of design.” The visuals were strong, direct, preserved open space, enhanced community gathering spaces,

captured environmentally significant features, created both residential and commercial buildings, achieved the community’s vision and was wildly successful. As a sign of the encouragement that was given to this group, members of the Citizen Participation Committee invited Meadows to attend its next meeting.

The next meeting of the Learning Table is scheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 18) from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. at NorthPoint Health & Wellness, 1256 Penn Ave. N., Minneapolis.

BNC would be culturally specific.

“Rarely do you hear anyone on any network today talking about sickle cell disease, which is a disease that primarily impacts African-Americans,” said Watts. “And, when we talk about being culturally specific, we just had Thanksgiving.

By and large, when we’re talking about Thanksgiving dinner, African Americans are talking about cornbread dressing and sweet potato pie.

“By and large, white people talk about stuffing and pumpkin pie. That doesn’t mean we can’t interchange those dishes, but culturally specific to us would be sweet potato pie and cornbread dressing. We

have different cultures, different meals. But, it’s a lot of things like that we never hear or see in mainstream media when it comes to African-American culture.”

Watts also said it was important to acknowledge Charter Communications’ role in the launch of the BNC. “If someone thinks you can do this without distribution, it’s a pipedream.

Charter came along and bought into our vision and understood where we were going,” Watts stated. “They could have seen it as risky, and I suspect that someone sitting at the table said, ‘I’m not so sure,’ but they did it, and it made us real. Things have fallen into place. We

have over 60 people employed in Tallahassee, and we have bureaus in New York, Atlanta, Washington, and other areas.”

Watts, who was a star quarterback in college and the Canadian Football League, then used a football analogy to describe where things currently stand with the BNC. “We’re in the Red Zone,” he said. “We’re about to raise our hands (signaling a touchdown) on Jan. 6, and I would not be sitting here with Congresswoman Clarke, had it not been for Charter Communications saying, ‘We believe in the Black News Channel vision.’”

Lucy Hawthorne/Eater Twin Cities

Chef Justin Sutherland

Charter Communications.

“We don’t have as many opportunities to view ourselves and to have our narratives authentically portrayed through those who have similar experiences,” Clarke said during the engaging chat before nearly 200 guests.

“What’s significant about the BNC is that it will be a reflection of people of African descent. In my district, I have people from around the world, the (African) continent, the Caribbean, South and Central America.

They’re all seeking knowledge and a viewpoint and lens that speak from their experience.

So, I’m excited about this.”

Watts noted that the

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