WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE
The 3X Grammy Award-Winning Sounds of Blackness this week drops a new singleWE’RE UNSTOPPABLE featuring Jamecia Bennett, NUNNABOVE and The Atlanta Drum Academy. In the tradition of creating anthems for justice, liberation and freedom, this new song is truly life-changing. It is an extraordinarily powerful track exploding with breathtaking messages of life, perseverance, determination, resilience and triumph over every obstacle.
WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE is more than just music - - it’s a movement … an intensely compelling, clarion call for Justice, Freedom and Equality! It builds on Sounds of Blackness’ memory and meaning making mission that has delivered cultural milestones, markers to the indelible presence of African world culture – chart topping songs like: Optimistic,:I Believe, I’m Going All the Way, .Hold On (Change Is Comin’), Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, and Time for Reparations.
WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE soulfully interweaves R&B, Gospel, Worldbeat and Classical into one exhilarating experience. With heart pounding Urban rhythms, Sounds of Blackness, Jamecia Bennett, NUNNABOVE and Atlanta
Drum Academy are all at their absolute best, creating music that transforms, resonating with power, hope and victory!
WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE is written, produced, and arranged by Gary D Hines; recorded, mixed and mastered by Karl Demer, Atomic K Studios, (Minneapolis), with additional recording by Todd Fitzgerald and Marcus Hawkins(Atlanta). The WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE” release date is date is 7/2525, on all platforms, Urban and Gospel formats.
Gary D. Hines, Producer & Director
Jamecia Bennett
NUNNABOVE
Chanda Smith Baker named next president and CEO of Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Baker to champion community-led solutions at Minnesota’s largest community foundation
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation last week announced that its Board of Directors has selected Chanda Smith Baker as the Foundation’s next President & CEO. She will officially step into the role on August 25, 2025, succeeding Dr. Eric J. Jolly, who is retiring after a decade of transformative leadership.
Smith Baker was chosen through a national search that drew a strong and diverse pool of candidates. A seasoned executive and nationally recognized thought leader, Smith Baker brings deep expertise in aligning vital resources with
community priorities and a steadfast belief in what’s possible when people unite around a common purpose.
She most recently led Smith Baker; the organization she founded to cultivate leadership and champion community-led transformation across sectors. Smith Baker’s previous roles include Chief Impact Officer at the Minneapolis Foundation and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities, where she built expansive partnerships with donors, nonprofit leaders and community stakeholders.
Smith Baker has extensive board service experi-
“Minnesota pays more than its fair share to Washington, and I will not allow Donald Trump and his cronies to illegally slash education grants, shortchange our students, and starve our public schools, all to fund Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires, so I’m taking them to court.”
- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison-
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison last week joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and 2 states in suing the Trump Administration “over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze funding for six longstanding
programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education” less than two months before the school year in many parts of Minnesota is set to start. Over $70 million in funding for Minnesota is believed to be frozen by the Trump Administration.
ence, including on the boards of Allina Health, The Joyce Foundation and as a trustee at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. She helped launch several innovative enterprises, including the Black Collective Foundation MN — Minnesota’s first Black community foundation — and North Market, a full-service community grocery store and wellness center.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as President & CEO of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation,” said Smith Baker. “As someone whose family roots run deep in Minnesota,
this moment feels both personal and profound. What has always moved me about the Foundation is its unwavering commitment to listening — with compassion, humility and intention. That spirit of co-creation, so beautifully nurtured by Dr. Jolly and the entire Foundation team, is a legacy I hold with great care. I look forward to walking alongside our board, donors and community partners — across Saint Paul and the entire state — as we rise to meet today’s challenges and dream forward a future where every Minnesotan
Without this funding, many educational programs will shutter – already, ongoing summer learning programs have been left unfunded, the Attorney General’s office said in announcing the court action. The attorneys general argue that the funding freeze violates the federal funding stat-
CAIR-MN, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, last week condemned the ongoing anti-Muslim, racist hate targeting Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh, who is of Somali heritage, calling them factually inaccurate, dangerously inflammatory and reflective of a broader trend of Islamophobic fearmongering nationwide.
In recent days, Sen. Fateh has been subjected to baseless and hateful attacks that question his loyalty and character, echoing long-standing Islamophobic and racist tropes used to discredit Muslim public servants. These comments have appeared across political
platforms and social media, despite offering no substantiated evidence.
In a statement, CAIRMN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said:
“The racist, anti-Muslim attacks against state senator Omar Fateh, an American citizen born in our nation, are not only bigoted—they are factually wrong and dangerously inflammatory. These kinds of anti-Muslim smears have no place in our political discourse, especially at a time when elected officials and their families are being targeted with violence.
“In the wake of the politically motivated killing of Speaker Hortman’s husband
utes and regulations authorizing these critical programs and appropriating funds for them, violates federal statutes governing the federal budgeting process, including the Antideficiency Act and Impoundment Control Act, and violates the consti-
Face The Fight® highlights growing impact on veteran suicide with progress report
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The summit, which lasted several days, included discussions on the group’s principles and strategy. Abdullah noted that the movement’s work has taken on new urgency as attacks on Black communities intensify.
Black Lives Matter has reached its 12th anniversary, and the organization’s co-founder and prominent scholar-activist, Dr. Melina Abdullah, says the movement is not only growing internationally but also confronting what she described as an unprecedented wave of “fascism and unmasked racism.” During an appearance on Black Press USA’s Let It Be Known News, Dr. Abdullah detailed the recent summit in Los Angeles, where organizers from 51 chapters— including the newly established Black Lives Matter Stockholm—gathered for workshops, tours, an action, and a celebration at the Center for Black Power on Crenshaw Boulevard. “This is the largest that Black Lives Matter has ever been,” Abdullah said. “We are now 51 chapters in 2025 and thousands of boots-on-the-ground organizers.” The summit, which lasted several days, included discussions on the group’s principles and strategy. Abdullah
By April Ryan Black Press USA
— Barber, who is also looking at the economics of these cuts, says, “40% of the South are poor now and low wage,” and that will further exacerbate the poverty numbers in this nation.
“Put a face on the deadliness of this big, bad, deadly, ugly bill.” That is what Reverend William Barber says as he conducts Moral Mondays in 11 Southern states today. He is laser-focused on 11 local U.S. Senate offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Tennessee. In these states, Barbers says 1.5 million people are expected to lose their healthcare due to federal funding cuts to Medicaid. Barber lamented that only one U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis of
Sen. Omar Fateh Jaylani Hussein
Chanda Smith Baker
Ben Curtis/AP
Donald Trump and Linda Mcmahon
We were born tough
Columnist
By Haley Taylor Schlitz, Esq.
“Toughen up.”
It’s the kind of phrase that’s meant to jolt you awake, to shake off despair, to summon something deeper inside. Former President Obama recently offered those words as a challenge to Democrats, urging us to stop the soul-searching, shake off disappointment, and get back in the fight. He’s not wrong about the urgency of the moment. Our rights are under assault, our institutions are being hollowed out, and the promise of democracy is flickering under the weight of disinformation and division.
But for Black Americans, especially Black women, that advice lands differently. Because the truth is, we never had the luxury of not being tough. Not in this country. Not in this democracy. Not in this party.
Long before anyone
handed us advice on how to fight, we were already in the ring. Our ancestors fought to be recognized as human beings, then citizens, then voters, then leaders. Each generation has been asked to be strong not just
for themselves but for a nation that often denied their very existence while demanding their faith. We have had to organize through grief. Vote through fear. Lead without safety. Persist without praise.
So when I hear our former President say it’s time to get off the sidelines, I want to respond with respect but also with clarity. We have never been on the sidelines. We have been the engine. We have been the
Black Business Week: Northside Epicenter
futures.
If I have the leverage and the power and the ownership to shift this community, it can be bigger than just me bringing Arubah here. Black Business Week is a time to celebrate the achievements of Black entrepreneurs, highlight their essential role in community development, and acknowledge the ongoing work to close the wealth gap. Nationally, Black-owned businesses now contribute more than $207 billion to the economy, with annual revenues growing by over 43% since 2012. These gains are the result of vision, perseverance, and community support—qualities embodied by the
Northside Epicenter. As we enter Black Business Week, it’s a powerful moment to honor the progress, resilience, and vision of Black entrepreneurs—especially those transforming North Minneapolis. At the heart of this movement stands the Northside Epicenter, an ambitious project reclaiming the historic Camden Park State Bank building as a vibrant hub for Black-owned businesses and community wealth. The Northside Epicenter is more than a renovated building—it is a symbol of freedom and self-determination for Black business owners. This initiative was born from a desire to create a home for a mental health practice, Arubah Emotional Health Services, but quickly evolved into a mission to build a thriving Black business ecosystem. With 20,000 square feet of
space, the Epicenter houses 14 Black-owned businesses, each handpicked to provide products and services that reflect and serve the North Minneapolis community. From an apothecary to a law office, these businesses are not only meeting local needs—they are building pathways to generational wealth and economic power. For too long, Black entrepreneurs have faced barriers to accessing capital, commercial real estate, and supportive networks. The Northside Epicenter directly addresses these challenges by offering affordable, accessible brick-and-mortar opportunities and a communal space for business owners to connect, collaborate, and grow. This intentional recirculation of the Black dollar strengthens the local economy and empowers community members to shape their own
As we spotlight Black businesses across the country, the Epicenter stands as a living example of what is possible when Black business owners have the freedom and resources to own, build, and thrive. It is a testament to progress, ownership, and the collective power of community.
The Northside Epicenter is not just about today’s businesses— it’s about creating a legacy. By fostering an environment where Black entrepreneurs can access space, support, and opportunity, the Epicenter is helping to lay the foundation for generational wealth and a more equitable future for North Minneapolis and beyond.
As we honor Black Business Week, let us celebrate the Northside Epicenter and all those who are forging new
backbone. We have been the ones who show up, even when the system shows us the door. President Obama’s words came during a fundraiser, a space where urgency often meets performance. But to those of us living the consequences of political decisions, not just reading the headlines, the urgency is personal. We are not curled up in a fetal position. We are curled over keyboards, crafting organizing texts and voter guides. We are curled around children we are trying to protect from legislation that targets their history, their bodies, their books, their futures. This is not navel-gazing. This is navigating.
There is a particular weight that Black Americans, and especially young Black women, carry in this moment. We are constantly told to do more, organize more, vote more, run for office more, but too often the party we show up for does not show up for us. It is not softness that leads to disillusionment. It is exhaustion. Not from apathy, but from carrying the load alone.
Still, we remain. And we rise.
Because being tough is not about being loud. It is not about slogans. It is about doing the work when no one is watching. It is about casting a ballot when the polling place has
moved, when the ID laws have changed, when the neighborhood is flooded with misinformation. It is about believing that justice is possible even when the courts say otherwise. That is what toughness looks like. That is what we have already been doing. So let’s be clear. We are not looking for a messiah. We are looking for a mirror. We want to see a party that reflects the strength we have already shown. A party that invests in our ideas, not just our turnout. That understands our critiques as care, not complaint. That stops asking us to toughen up and starts matching the toughness we already live with every day. If Democrats want to win, do not just hand us talking points. Hand us the reins. Fund the organizers who have not rested since 2020. Lift up the candidates who are rooted in community and ready to lead. Follow the example of those who have kept fighting, not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. President Obama is right about one thing. This is the time to do something. But let’s not pretend we are just starting now. Some of us were born into this struggle. And we have been tough from the beginning.
paths of ownership, freedom, and prosperity for Black communities. We’re going to drive what that corner is going to look like aesthetically, emotionally… and we’re going to honor Black bodies”. We hope you will join us!!
Freepick / ASphotofamily
We’ve never been on the sidelines. We’ve been the engine. The backbone.
Neighborhood of North Minneapolis is a growing hub for Black Culture, entrepreneurial ingenuity, holistic wellness, and economic opportunity. Located in the 3 story. 20,000 square foot landmark Camden Park State Bank Building at 42nd & Lyndale, the Epicenter’s home is one of the last remaining strutures of
Anissa Keyes Powell,
At the Legislature
Empathy and collaboration modeled on inaugural Minnesota Legislative Exchange trip
Rep. Mary Frances Clardy, a second-term Democratic State Representative (District 53A) recently visited six-term Republican Rep. Dave Baker in his district in the Willmar Lakes region (District 16B) for the first Minnesota Legislative Exchange (MLE) trip.
The 30-hour excursion among the prairies and speckled waters of Kandiyohi County occurred less than a week after the tragic assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the attempted murder of Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Understandable sadness, tragedy and emotions
in a statement announcing the Legislate Exchange.
The MLE pairs one legislator with another from the opposite political party to visit each other’s districts, with special emphasis on identifying dissimilar districts, including geography, culture, politics, and community demographics.
For Rep. Mary France Clardy, the day started out in picturesque New London, Minnesota, “the city on the pond” and the oldest town in Kandiyohi County. There, Reps. Baker and Clardy met with the board of the Center for Rural Policy and Development, a research organization that provides policy
The second meeting in Spicer brought together several local business and civic leaders from the construction, energy, and agriculture industries, along with officials from Willmar and Kandiyohi County, and the local chamber of commerce. Here the conversation focused on business regulations and how they can impact efforts to attract talent.
The afternoon, included a visit to the Minnesota Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Hospital (CABHH) in Willmar. This one-of-a-kind 16-bed facility – which opened in 2020 after Rep. Baker led efforts to secure state funding
shadowed the trip, yet, what prevailed between these two legislators was a remarkable display of empathy, support, and appreciation.
The Minnesota Legislative Exchange (MLE) is a first-in-the-nation effort to build trust and bipartisan relationships in state legislatures. Minnesota’s leading nonpartisan nonprofit focused on civic engagement and public policy solutions, Citizens League, leads this innovateive effort to intentionally forge new relationships that bridge divides
makers with nonpartisan analysis and evaluation of issues from a rural perspective. The discussion centered on a new report by the Center about population and economic trends.
From there, Reps. Clardy and Baker drove to Spicer for two meetings with local officials. The first involved school superintendents and leadership from the Willmar, New London-Spicer, and Paynesville Area school districts. The discussion was rich and robust, covering a range of topics including the READ Act,
for its construction – offers impatient psychiatric services for youth with complex mental illnesses and behavior disorders, who cannot be treated in their home communities.
Reps. Baker and Clardy toured the CABHH and saw the unique design and furnishings that were developed to keep patients safe and comfortable. Rep. Baker has been a longtime advocate on mental health and substance abuse issues, and Rep. Clardy suffered a traumatic brain injury on the job in the classroom – so both
that impede effective state governance.
Minnesota has a long history of divided government. In recent decades, however, political acrimony and distrust has been growing around the halls of the State Capitol and around the state as our communities and national politics have become more polarized and divisive, the Citizens League said
the impact of AI on schools, pipelines and opportunities for increasing the number of young people pursuing teaching as a career, safety and security in our schools, education funding, and more. As a teacher, Rep. Clardy was especially intrigued with these insights and promised to consider them as she looks further at educational workforce issues.
legislators bring personal experience and understanding to the importance of this type of facility, which focuses on caring for patients who often have multiple diagnoses and for whom prior treatments have been ineffective. Our deep gratitude to the remarkable, hardworking health care professionals and staff at the CABHH for the time they spent with us and the tai-
lored, comprehensive care they provide to these children and families.
The Exchange included a visit to BNSF’s Willmar freight yard and terminal. Willmar was a division point (with facilities for servicing, reversing, and supplying trains) of the Great Northern Railway and today stands as an important freight stop, particularly for agriculture-related products. The rail sub-division connects Min-
League said in a press release. The long, rewarding day ended with a houseboat cruise around Green Lake, where Rep. Baker hosted friends and family to meet Rep. Clardy. Drifting through the placid waters of the lake at sunset was a felicitous ending to a special day where two members of the Minnesota State Legislature from very different communities and backgrounds were able to balance their mutual sorrow
a precursor to solving problems. Legislators must listen to one another and understand what motivates and concerns their colleagues. A shared experience based on close personal interac-
nesota to the great northwest ports of Seattle and Tacoma; and as far east as Ohio. Reps. Clardy and Baker learned about job opportunities and training for rail careers, and about the range of modern safety technologies BNSF has implemented along its rails for monitoring track conditions and the trains themselves.
The visit included a stop in Willmar was to visit Jennie-O’s enormous turkey processing plant, which makes
for the loss and serious injury of their legislative colleagues, with the new trust, friendship, and commitment they built together in rural Minnesota.
We are deeply grateful to Reps. Baker and Clardy for pioneering the Minnesota Legislative Exchange, and to all of the civic, business and community leaders for making time to host and meet with us on our visit to House District 16B., the Citizens League said. “We look forward to a reciprocal trip
a variety of products, from deli meats to whole turkeys. The plant has three shifts per day and processes 33,000 birds daily. Reps. Clardy and Baker donned protective clothing, helmets, glasses, and special boots to tour the plant and gained an appreciation for the mechanization as well as the hands-on work by the dedicated and diverse workforce.
“While seeing “how the sausage is made,” (or in this case, turkey products) may be challenging for some, our group was impressed by Jennie-O’s consistent attention to health, safety and cleanliness throughout the entire plant,” Citizens
in Rep. Clardy’s district in the southeast metro later this summer.”
Citizens League will work with legislators to design itineraries that showcase unique experiences, industries, businesses and community leadership in the district. Itineraries will typically last 12-36 hours, and may include – but are not limited to – tours, roundtable conversations, and meetings with local civic and community leaders.
Citizens League said the initiative is built on the follow guiding principles: Trust must intentionally be built across the aisle as
Pictured from L to R: Reps. Keith Allen, Paul Anderson, Mary Frances Clardy, and Dave Baker before the CRPD Board Meeting
Pictured: CRPD Board of Directors and staff with Reps. Clardy and Baker and Citizens League staff
Pictured from L to R: Janell Bullard, Superintendent of Paynesville Area Schools; Liz Windingstand, Director of HR at Willmar Public Schools; Jamie Boelter, Superintendent of New London-Spicer School District; Rep. Mary Frances Clardy; Rep. Dave Baker
Pictured from L to R: Hunter Pagel; Maki Hussein; Rep. Baker; Rep. Clardy; Jonathan Perman; Jake Loesch; Luna Allen-Bakerian; Doug Muzik, Jennie-O Plant Manager
Pictured from L to R: Mitch Arvidson; Holly Knofcynski; Rep. Clardy; Rep. Baker; Jackie Lynn Stegeman; Mark Kragenbring, R.N; Carrie Briones
Pictured from L to R: Jonathan Perman; MLE founder and consultant; Luna Allen-Bakerian, Citizens League Policy Director; Rep. Baker; Rep. Clardy; Jake Loesch, Citizens League Executive Director
Baker
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has the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.”
Smith Baker will take the helm of Minnesota’s largest community foundation, which has granted over $2 billion to the community since its inception in 1940 and stewards $1.9 billion in charitable assets for community good.
The Foundation partners with individuals, families and organizations statewide, providing more than 9,000 grants annually.
“On behalf of the Foundation’s board of directors, I’m thrilled to welcome Chanda as our next President & CEO,” said Board Chair Dr. Joseph Lee. “She brings not only an impressive track record but also a spirit of partnership and bridge building that deeply resonates with the Foundation’s mission. Chanda’s ability to bring people
Face the Fight’s founding members, USAA, Reach Resilience, and the Humana Foundation, recognize that while many veterans are thriving and contributing meaningfully in their communities, there remains a critical need for increased awareness to prevent even a single life lost. According to Face the Fight’s data modeling, the coalition projects 6,500 lives to be saved by 2032.
“Advocating for the military community on the causes that impact them is core to who we are at USAA.
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tutional separation of powers doctrine and the Presentment Clause. They ask the court to order the release of these critical education funds.
“Donald Trump’s Department of Education is pulling the rug out from under Minnesota students by cutting school funding without warning and right before the start of the school year, and they are violating the law by doing so,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “Minnesotans pay our taxes to the federal government. In fact, unlike many states, Minnesota typically sends more money to Washington than it gets back. In 2023, for example, Minnesota sent $45 billion more than it got back. We expect our tax dollars to come back to our state and be spent on things that build a better future for all of us, like our schools. Minnesota pays more than its fair share to Washington, and I will not allow Donald Trump and his cronies to illegally slash education grants,
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and the shooting of Senator Hoffman and his wife, we cannot ignore how this kind of rhet-
Through Face the Fight, we are rallying the powerful voices of our founding partners, coalition members, and supporters to break the stigma around asking for help, as well as building a future where every veteran has access to the care and support they have earned,” said Juan C. Andrade, President and CEO, USAA. “Together, we are saving lives by supporting organizations that help train more clinicians, expanding access to underserved areas, and helping create more peer-to-peer support groups.”
Face the Fight to date has awarded more than $25 million in grants to fund evidence-informed programs focused on suicide prevention and
shortchange our students, and starve our public schools, all to fund Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires, so I’m taking them to court.”
“We have repeatedly asked our federal partners for timely delivery of appropriated investments on which Minnesota students rely,” said Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett, referencing his June 26 letter to Secretary Linda McMahon. “Career and technical education, after school programs, English language courses, and teacher training that strengthen our schools, workforce, and communities are now at risk in every corner of our state.”
It is Congress, not the Executive Branch, that possesses the power of the purse. The Constitution does not afford the Executive Branch power to unilaterally refuse to spend appropriations that were passed by both houses of Congress and were signed into law. Yet that is exactly what the Trump Administration is attempting to do here. In this lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison and a coalition argue that the Trump Adminis-
oric fuels hatred and violence. We stand with Senator Fateh and condemn these attacks for what they are: anti-Muslim fearmongering that puts lives at risk.” He added that CAIR-Minnesota is urging
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noted that the movement’s work has taken on new urgency as attacks on Black communities intensify. “I think the world hasn’t seen this level of fascism and unmasked racism,” she said. “I haven’t witnessed a world where African American men from Texas, born and raised, the child descendants of enslaved people, can be deported.” Abdullah also described personal moments of fear, including seeing an unknown truck parked in front of her home after delivering groceries to elders in the community. “I was going, should I get out my car? Because I don’t know who these two men sitting in this truck are,” she recalled. “And will somebody see me if they snatch me up?”
together to accelerate community-led solutions will be critical at this time when the nonprofit sector and communities across Minnesota are facing increasing uncertainty.”
Smith Baker succeeds Jolly, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Jolly’s legacy includes overseeing the merger between the Saint Paul Foundation and the Minnesota Community Foundation, launching a new strategic plan and introducing the Informs, Forms, Benefits model where
veteran well-being. These investments support interventions ranging from peer-to-peer outreach and secure firearm storage to mental health care. “We set out to break the silence on veteran suicide and spark a movement. Our approach is evidence-based, driven by collaboration, and powered by our commitment to save lives,” said Sonya Medina Williams, President and CEO of Reach Resilience. “Face the Fight is aligning efforts across national campaigns, strengthening collaboration, and expanding access to effective interventions. By investing in proven strategies and fostering cross-sector partnerships, we’re empowering more people
tration’s actions violate federal funding statutes and Appropriations Act, Apportionment, the Administrative Procedures Act and U.S. Constitution, including the separation of powers doctrine, equitable ultra vires, and the Presentment Clause. They asked the Court to declare the funding freeze unlawful –as courts have repeatedly done in other multistate cases – and block any attempts to withhold or delay this funding.
Pursuant to federal statutory and regulatory requirements, each year the Department of Education makes around 25% of the funds for these programs available to states on or about July 1 in order to permit state and local educational agencies to plan their budgets for the academic year ahead. The States have complied with the funding conditions set forth under the law and have State plans that the Department of Education has already approved. The States have received these funds, without incident, for decades, including as recently as last year. However, this year, on June 30, state agencies across the country received
community leaders, media outlets, and elected officials to reject and denounce anti-Muslim rhetoric in all its forms and to protect the dignity and safety of Muslim public servants across the state.
Hussein noted that
communities that benefit from Foundation initiatives are also partners who inform and form the Foundation’s work.
“The Foundation’s vital work will not just continue, it will undoubtedly flourish under Chanda’s leadership,” said Jolly. “I appreciate her deep knowledge of community and creative approach to problem solving. I’ve long admired her ability to work in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders to create enduring solutions and outcomes. Her distin-
to take part in this mission and creating sustainable, community-focused solutions.”
“We’re proud to be a founding partner of Face the Fight along with USAA and Reach Resilience,” said Jim Rechtin, President and CEO, Humana, Inc., and Director, Humana Foundation. “We’re already projecting a reduction in veteran suicide, fueling hope and confidence. This report highlights that progress and our continued pledge to lift all veterans.”
Beyond the projected lives saved, collective impacts include:
• Over 355,000 lives have been impacted through Face the Fight-funded programs,
a notification announcing that the Department of Education would not be “obligating funds for” six formula funding programs on July 1. This funding freeze has immediately thrown into chaos plans for the upcoming academic year. Local education agencies have approved budgets, developed staffing plans, and signed contracts to provide vital educational services under these grants. Now, as a result of the Trump Administration’s
last month, CAIR’s New York chapter condemned the series of Islamophobic death threats targeting New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, including a disturbing threat to bomb his car. Earlier this year,
guished career, bridging sectors and geographies, illustrates her embodiment of the Foundation’s central value: Community is our compass. I am certain that she will continue to expand the impact and catalytic role of the Foundation in Saint Paul and across the state of Minnesota.”
For more information, visit spmcf.org ### About the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation believes in the best of Minnesota and the power of its communities.
including 245,000 veterans screened, and over 40,000 veterans have received care to date.
Expanded critical life-saving interventions because of grant-supported work through America’s Warrior Partnership, Centerstone Military Services, Overwatch Project/FORGE, and Vets4Warriors.
Training for thousands of coalition members and allies around lethal means safety and crisis response planning through programming provided by Face the Fight Training and Resource Center, supported by strategic partner UT Health San Antonio.
actions, States find themselves without sufficient funding for these commitments, just weeks before the start of the 20252026 school year. Essential summer school and afterschool programs, which provide childcare to working parents of school age children, are already being impacted. The abrupt freeze is also wreaking havoc on key teacher training programs as well as programs that make school more accessible to children with special learning
CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history.
With roots in Saint Paul and partners across the state, it is Minnesota’s largest community foundation and the partner of choice for thousands of donors, nonprofits and community organizations. The Foundation aspires to create an equitable, just and vibrant Minnesota where all communities and people thrive by inspiring generosity, advocating for equity and investing in community-led solutions. Visit: spmcf.org.
Broad public awareness through the launch of a public service announcement, underwritten by Lockheed Martin and USAA, which aired on major networks including NBCUniversal/ Comcast and FOX.
• As Face the Fight moves forward, it will continue to invest in what works — deepening the coalition’s shared strategy, expanding access to training and resources, and amplifying voices that can change hearts, minds, and outcomes.
To learn more, read the 2024 Face the Fight Progress Report at http://www.wefacethefight.org/2024progressreport.
needs, such as English learners, the lawsuits argue. For decades, Minnesota and other states have used funding under these programs to carry out a broad range of programs and services, including educational programs for children of mobile fishing and farming families and English learners; programs that promote effective classroom instruction, improve school conditions and the use of technology in the classroom; community learning centers that offer students a broad range of opportunities for academic and extracurricular enrichment; and adult education and workforce development efforts.
Attorney General Ellison is joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report documented 8,061 complaints.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Dr. Abdullah also addressed internal conflict over financial stewardship within the broader BLM network. She said
The BLM Grassroots leader announced the release of the organization’s annual action report, detailing initiatives ranging from mutual aid to political advocacy. Among the work highlighted was the successful campaign to free Brittany Martin, who was sentenced to prison for remarks made to police during a 2020 protest in South Carolina. “This pregnant mother of six, now of seven, was arrested for simply speaking words,” Abdullah said. “She wound up being ripped away from her family, forced to have her seventh child inside the prison. But we kept fighting, and at the end of 2024, we were able to free Brittany Martin.” In addition to campaigns for policy reforms like Wakiesha’s Law— requiring 24-hour family notification when a loved one dies in custody—the report describes BLM Grassroots’ youth scholarship programs, food distributions, and international solidarity work.
that while BLM Los Angeles purchased a community building used for mutual aid and youth programs, the Global Network Foundation bought what she called a “$6 million mansion” in Studio City. “Families of those who have been killed by police and white supremacy have been blocked from being able to ever use or set foot inside that house,” she said, adding that BLM Grassroots leaders recently visited the property to demand accountability and the return of resources. “We stood outside with at least six or seven family members and said, return the money, return the resources to the movement so that we can use it for the good of Black liberation.” Abdullah said that repeated attempts to speak directly with foundation leaders—including letters, calls, and legal filings—have been met with silence or legal counteractions.
“They’ve never spoken with us,” she said. “We would love to speak with them and ask them
why they feel entitled to travel in private jets with makeup teams and stand on red carpets wearing couture.” She described BLM Grassroots’ philosophy of abolition and the need to dismantle systems that profit from Black suffering. “We have to transform a state that allows for and enables and really sometimes benefits and profits from the murders of Black people,” Abdullah said.
ular state who were negatively affected by the newly passed “One Big Beautiful” law. The list of Medicaid losses according to Rev. Barber
clergy and impacted people expected to march with caskets housing the number of people in that partic-
The full action report is available at blmgrassroots. org.
Washington DC, USA-December 13, 2014: This man is protesting police brutality at a protest led by Reverend Al Sharpton on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. He displays a sign with the message Black Lives Matter. Recently the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice have upset the black community.
Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune Willie Jett
US House Office of Photography Keith Ellison
Insight 2 Health
How 17M Americans enrolled in Medicaid and ACA plans could lose their health insurance by 2034
By Simon F. Haeder Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
The big tax and spending package President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, will cut government spending on health care by more than US$1 trillion over the next decade.
Because the final version of the legislation moved swiftly through the Senate and the House, estimates regarding the number of people likely to lose their health insurance coverage were incomplete when Congress approved it by razor-thin margins. Nearly 12 million Americans could lose their health insurance coverage by 2034 due to this legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
However, the number of people losing their insurance by 2034 could be even higher, totaling more than 17 million.
That’s largely because it’s likely that at least 5 million Americans who currently have Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance will lose their coverage once subsidies that help fund those policies expire at the end of 2025. And very few Republicans have said they support renewing the subsidies.
In addition, regulations the Trump administration introduced earlier in the year will further increase the number of people losing their ACA marketplace coverage.
As a public health professor, I see these changes, which will be phased in over several years, as the first step in a reversal of the expansion of access to health care that began with the ACA’s passage in 2010.
About 25.3 million Americans lacked insurance in 2023, down sharply from 46.5 million when President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law. All told, the changes in the works could
ble activities, such as community service.
When these rules have been introduced to other safety net programs, most people lost their benefits due to administrative hassles, not because they weren’t logging enough hours on the job. Experts like me expect to see that occur with Medicaid too.
Other increases in the paperwork required to enroll in and remain enrolled in Medicaid will render more than 2 million more people uninsured, the CBO estimates.
And an additional 1.4 million would lose coverage because they may not meet new citizenship or immigration requirements.
In total, these changes to Medicaid would lead to more than 8 million people becoming uninsured by 2034.
Many of those who aren’t kicked out of Medicaid would also face new copayments of up to US$35 for appointments and procedures – making them less likely to seek care, even if they still have health insurance.
The new policies also make it harder for states to pay for Medicaid, which is run by the federal government and the states. They do so by limiting the taxes states charge medical providers, which are used to fund the states’ share of Medicaid funding. With less funding, some states may try to reduce enrollment or cut benefits, such as home-based health care, in the future.
Losing Medicaid coverage may leave millions of low-income Americans without insurance coverage, with no affordable alternatives for health care. Historically, the people who are most likely to lose their benefits are low-income people of color or immigrants who do not speak English well.
ACA marketplace policies may cost far more
The new law will also make it harder for the more
miums will increase by more than 75% in 2026. Once premiums get that unaffordable, an additional 4.2 million Americans could lose coverage, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
With more political uncertainty and reduced enrollment, more private insurers may also withdraw from the ACA market. Large insurance companies such as Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealth have already raised concerns about the ACA market’s viability. Should they exit, there would be fewer choices and higher premiums for people getting their insurance this way. It could also mean that some counties could have no ACA plans offered at all.
Ramifications for the uninsured and rural hospitals
When people lose their health insurance, they inevitably end up in worse health and their medical debts can mount. Because medical treatments usually work better when
eliminate three-quarters of the progress the U.S. has made in reducing the number of uninsured Americans following the Affordable Care Act.
Millions will lose their Medicaid coverage
The biggest number of people becoming uninsured will be Americans enrolled in Medicaid, which currently covers more than 78 million people.
An estimated 5 million will eventually lose Medicaid coverage due to new work requirements that will go into effect nationally by 2027.
Work requirements target people eligible for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act’s expansion. They tend to have slightly higher incomes than other people enrolled in the program.
Medicaid applicants who are between 19 and 64 years old will need to certify they are working at least 80 hours a month or spending that much time engaged in compara-
than 24 million Americans who currently get health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplace plans to remain insured.
For one, it will be much harder for Americans to purchase insurance coverage and qualify for subsidies for 2026.
These changes come on the heels of regulations from the Trump administration that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will lead to almost 1 million people losing their coverage through the ACA marketplace. This includes reducing spending on outreach and enrollment.
What’s more, increased subsidies in place since 2021 are set to expire at the end of the year. Given Republican opposition, it seems unlikely that those subsidies will be extended.
Not extending the subsidies alone could mean pre-
diagnoses are made early, people who end up uninsured may die sooner than if they’d still had coverage.
Having to struggle to pay the kinds of high medical bills people without insurance face takes a physical, mental and financial toll, not just on people who become uninsured but also their families and friends. It also harms medical providers that don’t get reimbursed for their care.
Public health scholars like me have no doubt that many hospitals and other health care providers will have to make tough choices. Some will close. Others will offer fewer services and fire health care workers. Emergency room wait times will increase for everyone, not just people who lose their health insurance due to changes in Trump’s tax and spending package.
Rural hospitals, which were already facing a funding crisis, will experience
some of the most acute financial pressure. By one estimate, more than 300 hospitals are at risk of closing.
Children’s hospitals and hospitals located in low-income urban areas also disproportionately rely on Medicaid and will struggle to keep their doors open.
Republicans tried to protect rural hospitals by designating $50 billion in the legislative package for them over 10 years. But this funding comes nowhere near the $155 billion in losses KFF expects those health care providers to incur due to Medicaid cuts. Also, the funding comes with a number of restrictions that could further limit its effectiveness. What’s next
Some Republicans, including Sens. Mike Crapo and Ron Johnson, have already indicated that more health care policy changes could be coming in another large legislative package. They could include some of the harsher provisions that were left out of the final version of the legislation Congress approved. Republicans may, for example, try to roll back the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.
Moving forward, spending on Medicare, the insurance program that primarily covers Americans 65 and older, could decline too. Without any further action, the CBO says that the law could trigger an estimated $500 billion in manda-
Youngson
17M Americans enrolled in Medicaid and ACA plans could lose their health insurance by 2034
Mayor Frey blasts hateful attacks against opponent, Omar Fateh
Over the past several days, my opponent, Senator Omar Fateh, has been targeted by hateful, racist, and Islamophobic attacks from far-right commentators and activists.
I’ll repeat what I said to Charlie Kirk on X (Twitter) here: “Senator Omar Fateh is a proud American who is running because, like me, he loves Minneapolis. I’m proud that Minneapolis is a place where he can run for mayor against me on his
own merits — and that this kind of bigotry is widely rejected across our great city.”
We can disagree on policy. That’s healthy in a democracy. But the second someone is attacked for their race, their faith, or their heritage, a line is crossed. We won’t tolerate it.
Right now, powerful voices across our country are spreading a vision of America rooted in fear and division. They
seek to make us suspicious of our neighbors, to turn us against one another. But that’s not the America I know and love. The America I believe in welcomed my great-grandparents when they fled hate and persecution in Ukraine, sparing them from the atrocities their relatives later endured during the pogroms and the Holocaust. It’s a nation built on hope, generosity, and the belief that our diversity makes us stronger.
At a moment when national leaders seek to divide us, our unity is our greatest strength. Let’s show America that here in Minneapolis, we still stand up for each other— especially when we disagree.
Jacob Frey Mayor of Minneapolis
President Trump told Texas Republicans on a conference call on the morning of July 15 that the GOP will attempt to create five new Republican seats in a “mid-decade redistricting” in Texas. Next week, the Texas legislature will consider the move. Republicans control the state legislature in Texas by a 20-11 margin in the Texas Senate and an 88-62 margin in the Texas House. But Texas is a majority minority state. The congressional maps in Texas were last drawn in 2021. To redraw the maps now would be highly unusual. Republicans are expecting to have a great deal of difficulty keeping control of the U.S. House as the 2026 midterms loom in the future.
Proposed cuts to health care, tariff policy changes, inflation, a record number of farms going bankrupt, and cuts to federal jobs are all likely to be factors in whether or not voters will turn Republicans out of power in Congress. During a
press conference on the morning of July 15 at Democratic National Committee headquarters, members of the Texas delegation spoke about the threat of changes in congressional districts and the recent July 5 flood in Texas that has killed at least 134 people. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) spoke pointedly on the issue of Texas redistricting and the political state of play. “I want you all to understand the makeup of my state. The state is a majority minority state, and what this legislature historically has done is what they plan to do again — is to dilute the voices of people of color in order to make sure that they can get to where they’re trying to go,” Rep. Crockett said. She stood alongside a large group of members that included Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, and a number of members of the Texas delegation.
“We only have four
seats that are represented by Black folk, where the vast majority of the people that get to decide who they have represent them are Black. They decided to attack three of the four seats that we have in the state. They decided to go after a Latina. They are specifically deciding to splinter the communities of common interest, as well as just blatantly say we are going to dilute minority voices. So we know that the courts, ever since we’ve had a Voting Rights Act, have always found this state to be intentionally discriminatory. That is what they are going to do. I need people of color to understand that the scheme of the Republicans has consistently been to make sure that they mute our voices so that they can go ahead and have an oversized say in this. I fully anticipate that’s exactly where they’re going with this map. It’s the only way to do it. We didn’t understand how we got to the map that they gave us last time because that state was
grown by 95% people of color. They went out of their way to make sure that we got zero new seats for people of color. That’s
exactly what they’re going to do this time,” Rep. Crockett added.
United States Capitol
Jacob Frey Mayor of Minneapolis
Governor Tim Walz last week said Minnesota will provide $33 million for 225 new and developing small businesses. The Governor was joined by small business owners representing manufacturing, health care, hospitality, and clean technology who have been able to start or expand their businesses thanks to partnership with the state through the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
“Growing up in a small town, I saw how small businesses can make main streets come alive,” said Governor Walz.
Business
To date, DEED has deployed $29.5 million of SSBCI funding to help 160 small businesses in 44 cities open, innovate, and expand. The new funding is expected to reach 225 new and developing businesses.
“DEED is pleased to work with the Department of the Treasury once again to support small businesses in our communities,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. “99.7% of businesses in Minnesota are small businesses. They manufacture essential goods and make new breakthroughs in tech. They line our main streets and anchor our neighborhoods. Small business drives Minnesota’s economy in every corner of our state and with this initiative, we are continuing to invest in the small businesses that call Minnesota home.”
of new small businesses to ensure they have the funding they need to get started.”
This funding is part of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). This is the second of three rounds of funding totaling $97 million.
The $33.3 million will fund six existing SSBCI programs: Automation Loan Participation Program. Low-interest loans of up to $500,000 available to manufacturing, distribution, technology, and warehousing businesses. Growth Loan Fund. Low-interest loans of up to
$400,000 available to early-stage businesses that are engaged in technological innovation in Minnesota that seek to raise equity investments.
• Minnesota Loan Guarantee Program. Guarantees up to $800,000 on loans enrolled by approved lenders.
• Small Business Loan Participation Program. DEED purchases $10,000 to $250,000 participations in loans made by approved non-depository Community Development Financial Institutions and nonprofit lenders.
DEED is partnering with the University of Minnesota on two venture capital funds:
• Direct Investment Venture Capital. Venture capital investments for seed-stage and early-stage startups.
Multi-Fund Venture Capital. Fund-level venture capital investments targeting advanced manufacturing, agtech/ foodtech, climate tech, life sciences, software, and technology startups.
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the State to support Minnesota’s economy and innovative thinkers,” said Gregg Goldman,
University of Minnesota executive vice president for finance and operations. “It’s an honor to demonstrate the University of Minnesota’s breadth of knowledge in early-stage businesses and technology to serve Minnesotans, and we look forward to seeing local businesses grow with this second phase of investments.”
“Hoyo is a small business built on sharing traditional, authentic Somali cuisine,” said Ghita Worcester, CEO of Hoyo
Sambusa. “Participating in the Automation Loan Participation Program allowed our small team to expand production and focus on sharing a piece of our culture with the Twin Cities while creating jobs that provide for families in our community.”
Interested businesses can learn more about these programs, and find out how to connect with a lending partner, on DEED’s SSBCI page. About the State Small Business
Challenge
Governor Walz announces $33 Million for small businesses Prosperity
Prosperity Now, in collaboration with Accenture and Avanade, last week launched the the 2025 RISE Challenge, a national open call for implementation-ready solutions that improve how community capital is delivered, managed, and measured. The Challenge seeks digital and technical assistance tools that strengthen the capacity of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other community lenders to reach borrowers who remain locked out of traditional financing.
Now in its second year, the RISE Challenge is not a prize competition – it is an innovation pipeline. One selected solution will be embedded into Prosperity Next, Prosperity
Now’s flagship innovation initiative to modernizing lending infrastructure, improve deployment efficiency, and expand access to capital for businesses with less access to traditional financial institutions.
“This year’s Challenge is about practical progress,” said Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now. “We’re not just surfacing promising ideas, we’re awarding contracts to real solutions that can be tested, adapted, and scaled inside the lending ecosystem. It’s about moving from insight to infrastructure.”
A Structured Innovation Track for Community Lending
Each year, the RISE Challenge selects one winning
solution aligned with a specific focus area of Prosperity Next. The 2025 theme is digital and technical assistance tools for CDFIs, targeting platforms that streamline processes, improve data visibility, and reduce manual bottlenecks for lenders. Selected solutions are tested with community lenders, evaluated using operational data, and refined to meet market needs. The goal is not just innovation, it’s long-term viability.
Annual Focus Areas of the RISE Challenge: 2025: Digital and technical assistance tools for CDFIs • 2026: AI-driven lending and risk modeling
2027: Loan liquidity and secondary market infrastructure
“At its heart, Accenture’s Founders Development Program is about creating a space where all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, have a fair shot at building their businesses, and 2025 RISE Challenge aligns well with this mission,” said Dujon Smith from Accenture Ventures. “Through this year’s Challenge, we’re taking a big step toward rethinking how community lending works. By focusing on digital tools and smarter tech, we’re supporting solutions that tackle real gaps in the lending space and enabling fairer access to capital.”
Rodrigo Caserta, CEO, Avanade said: “At Avanade, we believe technology has the power to create more inclusive opportunities but only
if it’s designed with equity at its core. The 2025 RISE Challenge represents exactly that: applying digital innovation to break down long-standing barriers in community lending. We’re proud to continue our partnership with Prosperity Now to help scale practical solutions that expand access to capital, fuel entrepreneurship, and drive systemic change. This is how we make a genuine human impact by ensuring every entrepreneur, regardless of background, has the tools they need to succeed.”
How to Apply: Applications for the 2025 RISE Challenge are open through August 22, 2025. Finalists will be invited to pitch their solutions at the Prosperity Summit (October 5-7 in Washington, D.C.) where one winner will be selected to begin deployment inside Prosperity Next. If your organization offers a solution that helps CDFIs lend smarter, faster, or more consistently, now is the time to act. Learn more and submit your proposal here. Questions? Email development@prosperitynow.org. About Prosperity Now – Since 1979, Prosperity Now has been a trusted leader in strengthening financial security, expanding access to capital, and ensuring economic stability for businesses, families, and communities. Learn more at www. prosperitynow.org.
Convenience stores honoring first responders on July 24
Abbie Parr/AP
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
By Jose Valentino Ruiz
In the fall of 1971, Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” landed like a quiet revolution. After two years of silence following the band’s mainstream success, fans expected more feel-good funk from the ensemble.
What they got instead was something murkier and more fractured, yet deeply intimate and experimental. This was not just an album; it was the sound of a restless mind rebuilding music from the inside out.
At the center of it all was front man Sly Stone.
Long before the home studio became an industry norm, Stone, who died on June 9, 2025, turned the studio into both a sanctuary and an instrument. And long before sampling defined the sound of hip-hop, he was using tape and machine rhythms to deconstruct existing songs to cobble together new ones.
As someone who
top-tier facilities like CBS Studios in Los Angeles under the technical guidance of engineers such as Don Puluse and with oversight from producer David Rubinson.
These sessions yielded bright, radio-friendly tracks that emphasized tight horn sections, group vocals and a polished sound. Producers also prized the energy of live performance, so the full band would record together in real time.
But by the early 1970s, Stone was burnt out. The dual pressures of fame and industry demands were becoming too much. Struggling with cocaine and PCP addiction, he’d grown increasingly distrustful of bandmates, label executives and even his friends.
So he decided to retreat to his hillside mansion in Bel Air, California, transforming his home into a musical bunker. Inside, he could work on his own terms: isolated and erratic, but free.
Without a full band present, Stone became a oneman ensemble. He leaned heavily into overdubbing – recording one instrument at a time and building his songs from fragments. Using multiple tape machines, he’d layer each part onto
groove A key part of Stone’s tool kit was the Maestro Rhythm King, a preset drum machine he
spends much of their time working on remote recording and audio production – from building full arrangements solo to collaborating digitally across continents – I’m deeply indebted to Sly Stone’s approach to making music.
He was among the first major artists to fully embrace the recording environment as a space to compose rather than perform. Every reverb bounce, every drum machine tick, every overdubbed breath became part of the writing process.
From studio rat to bedroom producer Sly and the Family Stone’s early albums – including “Dance to the Music” and “Stand!” – were recorded at
previous takes.
The resulting album, “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” was like nothing he’d previously recorded. It sounds murky, jagged and disjointed. But it’s also deeply intentional, as if every imperfection was part of the design.
In “The Poetics of Rock,” musicologist Albin Zak describes this “composerly” approach to production, where recording itself becomes a form of writing, not just documentation. Stone’s process for “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” reflects this mindset: Each overdub, rhythm loop and sonic imperfection
used extensively.
It wasn’t the first rhythm box on the market. But Stone’s use of it was arguably the first time such a machine shaped the entire aesthetic of a mainstream album. The drum parts on his track “Family Affair,” for example, don’t swing – they tick. What might have been viewed as soulless became its own kind of soul.
This early embrace of mechanical rhythm prefigured what would later become a foundation of hip-hop and electronic music. In his book “Dawn of the DAW,” music technology scholar Adam Patrick Bell
encouraged musicians to rethink their songwriting process, building tracks in shorter, repeatable sections while emphasizing steady, looped rhythms rather than free-flowing performances.
Though samplers wouldn’t emerge until years later, Stone’s work already contained that repetition, layering and loop-based construction that would become characteristic of the practice.
He recorded his own parts the way future DJs would splice records – isolated, reshuffled, rhythmically obsessed. His overdubbed bass lines, keyboard vamps and vocal murmurs often sounded like puzzle pieces from other songs. Music scholar Will Fulton, in his study of Black studio innovation, notes how producers like Stone helped pioneer a fragment-based approach to music-making that would become central to hip-hop’s DNA. Stone’s process anticipated the mentality that a song isn’t necessarily something written top to bottom, but something assembled, brick by brick, from what’s available.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Stone’s tracks have been sampled relentlessly. In “Bring That Beat Back,” music critic Nate Patrin identifies Stone as one of the most sample-friendly artists of the 1970s – not because of his commercial hits, but because of how much sonic space he left in his tracks: the open-ended grooves, unusual
textures and slippery emotional tone.
You can hear his sounds in famous tracks such as 2Pac’s “If My Homie Calls,” which samples “Sing a Simple Song”; A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Jam,” which draws from “Family Affair”; and De La Soul’s “Plug Tunin’,” which flips “You Can Make It If You Try.”
The studio as instrument
While Sly’s approach was groundbreaking, he wasn’t entirely alone. Around the same time, artists such as Brian Wilson and The Rolling Stones were experimenting with home and nontraditional recording environments – Wilson famously retreating to his home studio during “Pet Sounds,” and the Stones tracking “Exile on Main St.” in a French villa.
Yet in the world of Black music, production remained largely centralized in institutionally controlled studio systems such as Motown in Detroit and Stax in Memphis, where sound was tightly managed by in-house producers and engineers. In that context, Stone’s decision to isolate, self-produce and dismantle the standard workflow was more than a technical choice: It was a radical act of autonomy.
The rise of home recording didn’t just change who could make music. It changed what music felt like. It made music more internal, iterative and intimate.
Sly Stone helped invent that feeling.
It’s easy to hear “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” as murky or uneven. The mix is dense with tape hiss, drum machines drift in and out of sync, and vocals often feel buried or half-whispered.
But it’s also, in a way, prophetic. It anticipated the aesthetics of bedroom pop, the cutand-paste style of modern music software, the shuffle of playlists and the recycling of sounds that defines sample culture. It showed that a groove didn’t need to be spontaneous to be soulful, and that solitude could be a powerful creative tool, not a limitation. In my own practice, I often record alone, passing files back and forth, building from templates and mapping rhythm to grid – as do millions of musical artists who compose tracks from their bedrooms, closets and garages.
Half a century ago, a funk pioneer led the way. I think it’s safe to say that Sly Stone quietly changed the process of making music forever – and in the funkiest way possible.
Disclosure statement
Jose Valentino Ruiz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Photo by: Urve Kuusik
Sly Stone aka Sylvester Stewart, 1973. musician, songwriter
Books, Art & Culture
Irresponsible Raine
Sharing Our Stories
By W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor
By Felicia Madlock Illustrated by Tyrus Goshay
How many of us remember our first pet? Did we get it from a pet shop, a private party, the Humane Society, or a stray we couldn’t resist and sneaked it into the house? Such is the case with a young Black girl in Felicia Madlock’s children’s book
Irresponsible Raine. Walking home from school, Raine encounters a little stray dog, whom she names Geno. And yes, she quietly sneaks him into the house.
However, Geno hasn’t had a bath in goodness know how long, and the odor will jeopardize her secret. While she leaves her room to prepare said bath, Geno takes the opportunity to chew up Raine’s toys and trash her room.
Needless to say, Raine is upset and fearful, knowing she had to face the music not only for having Geno there, but for leaving Geno alone to turn her room into a hot mess. It wasn’t long before her parents walked and saw the state of her room and Geno. Nope, they weren’t happy. Raine finally comes clean and begs them to
let her keep Geno, promising to clean up the mess. On the condition that Geno goes to obedience school, they relent and allow her to keep him.
Madlock makes a beautiful and teachable moment to children about caring for an animal. Wanting one and taking care of it are two different things; with privileges come responsibilities.
Hat tip to Tyrus Goshay for his vivid illustrations of this story.
Irresponsible Raine is available through Amazon and her website, feliciamadlockbooks.com.
Thank you, Dr. Madlock, for a fun and teachable moment!
The Greatest Movie Musical of All-Time - On Stage:
Artistry presents Singin’ in the Rain!
Artistry presents Singin’ in the Rain as the fourth production of its 2025 season. Featuring dynamic and show-stopping dance numbers, this heartwarming musical celebrates the power of love, friendship, creativity, and perseverance.
Singin’ in the Rain highlights the golden age of Hollywood as a musical comedy about silent film stars navigating the bumpy (and hilarious) transition to “talkies.”
In silent movies, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are a hot item, but behind the scenes things aren’t always as they appear on the big screen! Meanwhile, Lina’s squeaky voice might be the end of her career in “talking pictures” without the help of a talented young actress to do the talking and singing for her.
Featuring unforgettable songs, this feel-good classic is a love letter to movie magic and the joy of live theatre.
The cast includes regional favorite Serena Brook as Lina Lamont (Falsettos at Theater Latté Da; The Pajama Game at Artistry), Danny McHugh as Don Lockwood (Off Broadway: The Blue Man Group; National Tours: White Christmas, Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ Superstar), Brittany Mendoza-Peña as Kathy Selden, Armando Har-
Singin’ in the Rain performs in Artistry’s Schneider Theater, located in the Bloomington Center for the Arts at 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55431.
Preview Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 31 to Friday, August 1
Opening Night Performance: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 2
AD Performance: 2 p.m. Saturday, August 16
ASL Performance: 2 p.m. Sunday, August 17
Pay-What-You-Can: 7:30 p.m. Monday, August
11 (advance sales sold out; 50 tickets available at the door at 6:30pm.)
low Ronconi as Cosmo Brown, Gabrielle Dominique as Zelda, Lynnea Doublett, Chloe Lou Erickson, Abbi Fern, Aliya Grace, Julie Hatlestad, Max Kile, Xan Mattek, Emma Nelson, Anna Novak, Cris Sanchez, Sam Sanderson, Wendy Short-Hays, and Ben Siglin. The creative team consists of Kelli Foster Warder (Director, Choreographer, and Producer) Danny McHugh (Co-Choreographer), Sanford Moore (Music Director), and Caleb Michael (Associate Director). The production team
features Sarah Bahr (Scenic and Costume Designer), Jeff Brown (Lighting Designer), and Katie Phillips (Production & Properties Manager). Logo Design Credit: Adán Varela. Artistry is a multi-faceted producing arts organization and the anchor tenant at Bloomington Center for the Arts. As the South Metro’s largest non-profit professional theater, Artistry produces work from the musical theater canon including large-scale classics and
smaller, more contemporary chamber musicals. Artistry, a regional cultural asset, is a producer of theater, curator of exhibitions and related public programming, and facilitator of artsbased community development. It serves more than 82,000 people per year and is committed to artistic excellence, fostering creative expression and arts access. Artistry is welcoming to diverse audiences and art-makers in its theater, visual arts, and arts education programs. Evolving as an arts organization after more than six decades, people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities continue to find opportunities at Artistry. For more information, visit artistrymn.org
Singin’ in the Rain - July 31st to August 24, 2025
Irresponsible Raine Book Cover Art
