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Insight News

January 6, 2020 - January 12, 2020

Vol. 47 No. 1• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Hero

Ray Robinson, a Buffalo Soldier and WWII three - time Bronze Star decorated combat hero, celebrated his 100th birthday Sunday, January 5. He was honored for his service to America by the Minnesota Vikings during their recent Monday night home game at US Bank Stadium.

Minnesota Vikings

STORY ON PAGE 2

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

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Honoring a living legend In a moving tribute, the Minnesota Vikings honored 100-year-old World War II veteran Ray Robinson prior to primetime home game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Monday night (Dec. 23) game against the Green Bay Packers brought more than 66,000 fans to the stadium and many became visibly emotional when a pregame video of Robinson played detailing his life of service. Wearing a Vikings jersey with the number 99 – Robinson was 99 at the time of the game but celebrated his 100th birthday on Jan. 4 – Robinson was flanked by active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces as the video chronicled the distinguished service career of Robinson.

A member of the famed all-Black unit, the Buffalo Soldiers, Robinson earned three Bronze Stars – a medal given for distinguished heroic or meritorious achievement or service. The former soldier said he lost several friends during the war including his best friend.

“After losing all kinds of buddies – I lost the best buddy I ever had, Herman Rochelle, as good of a guy as you’ll ever meet – I always say, ‘How did I ever get back here after losing so many buddies? Why am I still here? Somebody up there likes me,’” said the decorated combat veteran. “God blessed me to live this long and I’m very happy about that.”

A video of Robinson being honored is available on the Minnesota Vikings website at www.vikings.com/ video/u-s-bank-hometownhero-ray-robinson.

Minnesota Viikings

The Minnesota Vikings honored its Hometown Hero, 99-year-old Ray Robinson, who served in the 92nd Infantry Division during World War II. Nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers” at a time when the military was segregated, the 92nd Infantry Division fought in combat in Italy from 1944 to the war’s end.

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Insight News • January 6, 2020 - January 12, 2020 • Page 3

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January 6, 2020 - January 12, 2020

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Vol. 47 No. 1• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Visionary, pioneer, Bill Wilson dies Bill Wilson, the first AfricanAmerican to be elected to St. Paul City Council and first to be elected president of the council died Dec. 30 at the age of 79.

Wilson also served as the Minnesota commissioner of Human Rights and chartered Higher Ground Academy.

Longtime friend Dr. Joe Nathan wrote about Wilson for the St. Paul Almanac and Insight News was granted permission to reprint the article from the December 2012 edition of the publication.

Bill Wilson: A Humble Hero in St. Paul

By Dr. Joe Nathan St. Paul (December 2012)

Almanac

What makes Bill Wilson keep running? His life is a record of extraordinary achievements.

Starting as a young waiter on the Great Northern Railroad, Wilson moved on to become the first executive director of the Inner City Youth League, the first African-American elected to the St. Paul City Council, and the first African-American chair of the City Council.

But he didn’t stop there. He went on to found and become executive director of a nationally known and honored K–12 charter public school.

His life has been dedicated to service and a search for justice.

Wilson is a native of Evansville, Indiana, where he remembers being bussed far from home to attend a segregated school. He attended Knoxville College (Tenn.) after being awarded a basketball scholarship but was forced

Ashley Farrington

Ashley Farrington named Minnesota National Outstanding Assistant Principal

Dr. Joe Nathan

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter (left) greets Bill Wilson on Oct. 17 during the dedication of the Wilson Campus of Higher Ground Academy. to drop out in 1963 when he became ill.

Fortunately for Minnesotans, Wilson then moved to St. Paul. While working as a waiter on the Great Northern Railroad, he began taking evening classes at the University of Minnesota, where he co-founded Students for Racial Progress, a group working on campus racial issues. The Ford Foundation Fellowship awarded him a scholarship to study at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he earned joint bachelor’s and master’s in Education degrees in 1974.

Gov. Wendell Anderson appointed Wilson as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

He served in that position until 1979.

In 1980, St. Paul reclaimed Wilson when he became the first AfricanAmerican elected to the St. Paul City Council; he became

its president in 1989. Later, he returned to the University of Minnesota and worked as coordinator of Diversity Programs in the College of Education and Human Development.

Though low-key and modest, Wilson has received many awards for his work.

In 1994, Gov. Arne Carlson proclaimed May 21 as “Bill Wilson Day” in Minnesota. He has received a Certificate of Appreciation from the St. Paul branch of the NAACP and the William (Bill) Cosby Alumni Award for City Government Service from the University of Massachusetts.

In 1998, Wilson founded Higher Ground Academy, a K–12 charter school located in St. Paul.

U.S. News and World Report described the school as one of the best high schools in the United States. The Star Tribune cited its success in helping its students beat the odds; before

graduating, Higher Ground students must be accepted into higher-education programs.

Wilson has told the Minnesota State Legislature about the difference between the segregated school he was forced to attend, and the opportunities families now enjoy to select schools for their children, including Higher Ground.

Thanks to Wilson’s vision and energy, St. Paul is a far different and far better place because he has lived and worked here for more than 45 years.

Wilson has been married for 45 years to Willie Mae Wilson, retired president and CEO of the St. Paul Urban League. He is the father of one son and one daughter, and has a granddaughter.

Thanks to Wilson’s vision and energy, St. Paul is a far different and far better place because he has lived and worked here for more than 45 years.

Ashley Farrington, assistant principal of Wayzata Central Middle School in Plymouth was named Minnesota’s 2020 NAESP National Outstanding Assistant Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).

“I feel honored to be chosen by MESPA for this prestigious award. A special shout out goes out to my amazing family, particularly my wife, Hilary, who supports me day in and day out. Without her, I would not be able to do great work at school,” said Farrington. “Of course, I would also like to thank my Central Middle School family. This award is dedicated to them for all their hard work that they do to make our school great for kids every day.”

Farrington received a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, a master’s degree from Concordia University, and his educational specialist degree from Concordia University. Prior to working at Central Middle School, Farrington served as student support specialist and a 3rd grade teacher at Meadow Ridge Elementary, also in the Wayzata Public School district.

One of Farrington’s major accomplishments as

assistant principal is his school’s work with equity and creating a welcoming and safe environment for all students. As an educator of color, that work is very personal for him and a major reason that he does what he does every day. He wants to be an example for all students, but especially for students of color – to provide students and families with a positive image of a Black male in a prominent role of principal.

“It was clear that Ashley Farrington has gone above and beyond for his staff and his students. His passion for education stands out in both his accomplishments and with the continued work he does each and every day. This honor is well-deserved and he will serve MESPA (Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association)well by being recognized as Minnesota’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal,” said MESPA President-Elect Jason Luksik.

The National Outstanding Assistant Principal program was established in 2011 to honor assistant principals who are doing a superb job in their roles.

“I spend a lot of time engaging with our teachers and

FARRINGTON 4

We still have many bridges to cross: The strength and courage of our beloved Congressman John Lewis

By Duvalier J. Malone

Former French colonies Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo will all have a new form of currency.

West Africa’s colonial-era currency is dead (Global Information Network) – A decades-old reminder of the years of colonial French rule finally ended this month with the renaming of the colonial era currency – the CFA franc – to a name of independence – the Eco. The announcement was made in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. It was seen as an effort by France to reshape its relations with its former African colonies.

“The CFA franc is dead,” declared the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

French President Emmanuel Macron, at a press conference with President Ouattara, said the new currency would still be pegged to the

euro and guaranteed by France.

However, countries using the currency will no longer have to keep half of their reserves at the French treasury, nor will there be a French representative on the currency union’s board.

The French-backed currency was established in 1945. Former French colonies Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo still use the currency, as does Guinea-Bissau.

Speaking in Abidjan, the economic hub of the Ivory Coast, Macron acknowledged that colonialism had been “a grave mistake,” but he also criticized “the youth” for calling out the French for a backwards economic and monetary relationship with

Africa. “They judge it to be, and I quote them, ‘postcolonial,’” he said, sounding a note of disbelief. “I belong to a generation which was not that of colonization. The African continent is a young continent.

Three-fourths of your country never knew colonialism.”

Macron called on African youth to “build a new partnership of friendship with France.”

“The question of the CFA franc crystallizes numerous debates and criticisms of the supposed role of France in Africa,” Macron said skeptically. Macron has said he wants to dismantle the “Françafrique” sphere of influence with former African colonies in favor of more normal, business-oriented relations

News

Drake Hotel fire shines light on homelessness

PAGE 5

free of any colonial taint.

“France is leaving the governance of the whole system in west Africa,” a French finance ministry official told the Financial Times. “It’s a significant move as through our presence in institutions we had an influence on the decisions taken by the currency union.”

Opponents of the old currency say it prevents countries from devaluing to counter external shocks and has hampered industrialization by keeping the exchange rate artificially high. Some regard it as a useful arrangement – to the detriment of the poor – between France and the moneyed elites of francophone Africa, whose spending power is inflated.

On Dec. 29, 2019, just days before we closed out another decade in American history, Civil Rights Icon, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), announced he has been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and will be undergoing treatment.

In his statement, he stated “I have been in some kind of fight- for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like this one I have now. So, I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.”

The strength and courage of our beloved Congressman John Lewis should give all Americans whether Black or white, democrat or republican a renewed strength to stand and fight for what is right in our community.

It appears that our memories of our great activists are fading. We are over five decades removed from civil rights champions such as Medgar Evers, who gave his life for the cause of change. It’s become increasingly difficult for us to clearly recall the trials of James Meredith when he led

Rep. John Lewis the fight for the integration of the University of Mississippi.

Many leaders like Lewis led at the forefront of the movement for change, it looks as if we have now become content and reliant upon others rather than using our circles of influence to bring about change in our community. Now more than ever we must stand with Lewis first in prayer and love.

The days are behind us where lawmakers once led at the forefront of the movement for change. Instead, we have now become content and reliant upon others to do the work as we no longer see the plight of “our” responsibility.

Somehow, we have decided that it is now our

LEWIS 4

I2H

Cargill Foundation advances childhood nutrition in the Twin Cities, donates $10 million to nonprofits

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

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New Leaders Council-Twin Cities welcomes 2020 fellows New Leaders Council-Twin Cities announced the selection of 22 fellows to the 2020 New Leaders Council Institute.

The 2020 fellows are Henry Adebisi, Rania Ahmed, Naomi Alemseged, Saba Andualem, Saraya Boghani, Biftu Bussa, Ruth Cardenas, Dr. Mylene Culbreath, Khadra Farah, Alyssa Greene, Janiru Herath, Zachary Hylton Christa Mims, Angelina Nguyen, Jessica Reyes, Brooke Roper, Thomas Rupp, Kenneth Scales, Elizabeth Taylor-Schiro, Selamawit Tilahun, Shundrice Tucker and Ashley Wirth-Petrik.

Fellows join a national class of 930 Fellows in 50 chapters across the country. Nationally, the 2020 fellows are representative of a diverse generation, selfidentifying as 66 percent Black, Indigenous and people of color, 64 percent women, and 22 percent LGBTQ. The

NLC Institute is a six-month leadership program focused on equipping fellows with critical skills to make meaningful change with their community.

Local and national experts provide training in areas such as strategic communications, management and coalition building, economics, fundraising and finance, digital outreach and progressive policy development.

The program is provided at no cost to the fellows in efforts of opening doors to those often shut out of leadership opportunities.

“I cannot wait to see what is in store for the 2020 fellows” said Clare Bresnahan English, the president and CEO of New Leaders Council.

A Meet the Fellows event will take place Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Du Nord Distillery, 2610 E. 32nd St., Minneapolis.

Biftu Bussa

Brooke Roper

Dr. Mylene Culbreath

Kenneth Scales

Naomi Alemseged

Zachary Hylton

Nonprofit acquires Village Club Apartments to preserve affordability Aeon, a nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of affordable homes, completed the purchase of Village Club Apartments, a 306-apartment property in Bloomington.

“We are proud to work with the City of Bloomington as it provides groundbreaking leadership to preserve and create affordable housing for all residents,” said Aeon president and CEO, Alan Arthur. “We’re excited to partner with National Equity Fund for the first time on a NOAH acquisition. By supporting Aeon’s purchase of Village Club, our partners were able to keep hundreds of individuals and families in their homes.”

Village Club Apartments is an example of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) properties that have aged into affordability. Aeon has purchased more than 2,000 NOAH apartment homes in the past several years, keeping rents affordable. Village Club

Nonprofit developer, Aeon, has completed the purchase of Village Club Apartments in Bloomington.

Farrington From 3

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administrators and have always recognized that Ashley is a special young man. I have found him to be very bright, a highquality person, an excellent educator and someone with

Lewis From 3 responsibility to remain silent and only speak when it benefits us politically. This is why we must stand with Lewis in this hour and speak up and speak out regarding the injustices within our community. The American people must realize that it is our right and our duty to demand a seat at the political table of power.

It is our duty to call for our political leaders to create initiatives and programs aimed at improving our communities, creating jobs, passing a common-sense gun control legislation, healthcare for all Americans, immigration reform, relieving student loan debt and enabling our children to receive a quality education.

We must show up at the polls and get people out to vote. We must support one another through fundraising, non-profits, churches, and local grassroots efforts that are initiating change within our community.

If you are a young leader, don’t wait. At 21 years old, John Lewis was the first of the Freedom Riders to be assaulted while in Rock Hill, S.C. He stated that we were

is a mixed-income acquisition, with more than half of the units affordable at or below 60 percent of area median income.

The remaining units will be affordable at or below 80 percent of area median income.

NOAH affordability is threatened in the Twin Cities’ strong real estate market where a growing number of building sales are leading to increased rents, pricing out current residents, and resulting in their displacement. In Minneapolis alone, more than 1,800 NOAH apartment homes were lost in 2017 according to Minnesota Housing Partnership’s 2018 Market Watch report.

Key partners in the acquisition include the City of Bloomington, the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bloomington, and National Equity Fund.

Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Coalition also provided leadership and funding commitments to support improvements at Village Club.

a great future,” wrote Chace Anderson, superintendent of Wayzata Public Schools, in his letter of recommendation for Farrington. “Ashley is an excellent assistant principal who will one day also be an excellent lead principal and likely a district administrator if this is where his career interest evolves.”

determined to not let anything keep up from our goal. He spoke at the March on Washington at the age of 23 he was the youngest speaker that day and is the last remaining living speaker. Now is the time for the younger generation to stand with this civil rights icon and step up to the plate and get involved in moving America forward.

Sometimes the way forward means we must make hard decisions, but we can’t run away from those decisions. We owe it to those who came before us, and we owe it to ourselves.

I am reminded of an interview I did with Lewis on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington when he said to me, “Son, your generation must speak up, speak out, find a way to get in the way and make some necessary noise for change. Son get in good trouble and make a difference in your community.” So, I challenge us all to honor this great man by using our circles of influence and platform to make change within our community.

Congressman Lewis, you will beat this pancreatic cancer just like you have fought and beaten injustice within our community for over 60 years of civil rights work in America.

Duvalier Malone is the author of “Those Who Give A Damn: A Manual for Making a Difference.”

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

Letter to the Editor

Drake Hotel fire shines light on homelessness Likewise, I am saddened by the people who are facing the challenge of finding safe, decent and affordable housing who have lost their current place to stay (Drake Hotel in downtown Minneapolis). I knew once the general public heard about this situation that there would be an outpouring of support to make their day a little less stressful.

Our society has become more tolerant of homelessness amongst us.

Too many of us lack the true understanding of what takes to move individuals as well as families from shelters to permanent housing.

The personal stories of these people who have lost their shelter at the Drake Hotel might shed some light on why our society needs to step up in creating the environment where we mobilize our society to confront this issue head on. Most importantly, more of our society resources must be deployed to fit the appropriate need that will result in significant reduction in the homeless population in the Twin Cities area.

– Shawn Lewis Environmental justice fellow, Northside Environmental Justice Coordination Council

YouTube

For Drake story: The Drake Hotel provided shelter to more than 200 individuals battling homelessness.

California set goal of 90 percent awareness by mom’s

Improve child’s brain strength by exercising the brain Commentary by George Halvorson We do live in interesting times.

Brain science continues to expand on helping children connect neurons in the first weeks, months, and years of life – and we have a growing sense of how to use that information to help our kids.

Learning gaps in America are huge and they have just gotten worse, so we are way overdue in using that information to help our children be ready to learn.

I am heading into my last year as chair of the First Five Commission for Children and Families for The State of California. We have been running an extensive ad campaign to help California parents understand the important of brain development in the first years. When we did our first

surveys of Medicaid mothers in California a couple of years ago, 90 percent of the moms did not believe they could improve their child’s brain strength by exercising the brain. Our goal was to flip that awareness completely over and to have 90 percent of the mothers believe that strengthening the brain for their child was possible to do and a really good idea.

We just had our current recognition external survey done at the state level for the First Five ads that make that brain exercise point, and the good news is that we just hit 88 percent of California mothers of young children who recognized the Talk, Read, Sing ads and who knew the points we were making.

California has a wonderful new surgeon general who is working on reducing

George Halvorson childhood stress in our children, and we now know that reading to children has a significant impact on reducing violence, so we believe we are helping with that agenda as well by encouraging reading for all homes.

Our Little by Little First Five LA pilot program done with WIC in Los Angeles just reported a closing of the learning gap in a Los Angeles district by 69 percent in data

that was reported last month for families who were given books

by WIC. That was a special result. No other learning gap in America closed last year in any other school district that we could find.

We need to figure out how to make that campaign of getting books to low-income kids work on a larger level because we also now know that half of the low-income homes in America and that more than half of the low-income homes in Los Angeles do not have a single book.

We are working now on both kids and peace.

Our Institute for InterGroup Understanding is working through our website and is also developing new editions of our inter group behavior books to help increase intergroup peace

in America. The new second edition book of “Cusp of Chaos” was done after the last election and it deals more directly with some of the polarization levels and issues in America than the first edition did. The cover photo on that “Cusp of Chaos” book looks like a middle east confrontation and battle but it is actually a photo from Ferguson, Mo. We have been working hard on some Peace issues.

The PeaceCon 2019 Conference in Washington, D.C. in October opened Day Two with a breakfast session talking about our six alignment triggers, and also featuring our eight patterns of key instinctive behavior that we need to deal with to achieve and maintain inter group Peace.

We passed out hundreds of printed pyramids on

post cards for both our alignment tools and our instinct focused steerage processes from a live booth at PeaceCon. It’s a big change in direction to go from making the points in 500-page books to making those same points maybe more usefully on the front and back of a single postcard.

I am looking forward to another interesting year.

We need to do some work as a country to keep interesting from degenerating into destructive.

We do need to figure out how to get along at the intergroup level, but I am optimistic that we can do that if we decide to do it and then do what we need to do to make it happen.

George Halvorson is the chair and CEO of the Institute for InterGroup Understanding.

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

Insight 2 Health

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Cargill Foundation advances childhood nutrition in the Twin Cities, donates $10 million to nonprofits In 2019, the Cargill Foundation distributed $10 million to nonprofits in the Twin Cities, partnering with several Twin Cities organizations to minimize the opportunity gap for low income children and advance childhood nutrition.

On any given day, one in 8 children (162,500) in Minnesota are at risk of hunger. The Cargill Foundation chose this pressing social issue in Minnesota as a priority because a stable, nutritious diet is proven to be a necessary foundation for children’s health, growth, learning and success.

“As a global food and agriculture company based in Minnesota, our employees across nations work to nourish the world in a safe and responsible way. Nutrition is at the core of what we do,” said Michelle Grogg, vice president Global Corporate Responsibility and executive director of the Cargill Foundation. “We bring that same focus on nutrition to the Twin Cities through our funding and partnerships. This year, we specifically focused on childhood nutrition and food justice, supporting organizations that grow healthy foods, educate children and families on food choices and increase access to nutritious foods for children in low income households across the Twin Cities.”

The Cargill Foundation partnered with a number of local organizations this year including Appetite for Change, which works to offer children the opportunity to grow nutritious food in urban gardens in North Minneapolis, Harold Mezile North Community YMCA Youth & Teen Enrichment Center, which educates children on the importance of making healthy food choices through the Cargill Teaching Kitchen and Twin Cities Mobile Market that works to provide access to healthy produce options.

Urban youth farmers from Appetite for Change.

“Cargill has been an amazing partner and supporter of our food justice work and is leading the corporate and philanthropic community in recognizing childhood nutrition and food access as a major issue.

We are grateful for their support,”

said Michelle Horovitz, cofounder and executive director of Appetite for Change.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Cargill Foundation to provide access to resources and develop enriching programs that improve healthy

habits,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities.

“Youth and families in the North Minneapolis community will experience firsthand fun programs highlighting how to

prepare simple, great tasting and nutritious snacks and meals.”

“We’re thrilled to provide families with even greater access to healthy, affordable food. Thanks to Cargill’s support, we are

able to eliminate many of the barriers that prevent families from putting fresh fruits and vegetables on the table,” said Leah Porter, director of the Twin Cities Mobile Market.

Black Doctors: “Our dad, Dr. Herbert Oye (fourth from left), is a Nigerian immigrant. Upon moving to the United States, he attended medical school and has worked tirelessly to build his own Vascular Surgery practice,” the young physicians wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Family of Black doctors has social media buzzing

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Dr. Herbert Oye is a board certified endovascular and vascular surgeon, specializing in invasive and non-invasive treatment of vascular diseases.

Oye received his medical degree at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, according to his official biography. His general surgery residence was performed at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, an affiliate of Albert Einstein Medical Center. He completed his fellowship training in advanced vascular and endovascular surgery at the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix.

Perhaps, most impressive is that each of Oye’s four children followed in their father’s footsteps.

David, Monique, Michelle, and Melissa Oye, each said they were inspired by their father and all have become doctors.

“Our dad, Dr. Herbert Oye, is a Nigerian immigrant. Upon moving to the United States, he attended medical school and has worked tirelessly to build his own Vascular Surgery practice,” the young physicians wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Dad has since opened a hospital back in Nigeria and splits his time between the United States and Nigeria. We are all currently in the medical field as a second, third, and fourth year medical student and a first year

Internal Medicine Resident.”

Each are attending or have attended the West Virginia School of Medicine. Monique Oye, the eldest of the family, graduated in 2018. Michelle Oye is in her fourth year, while Melissa Oye is in her third year.

David Oye, the only son of Herbert Oye, is in his second year.

Their success has social media buzzing.

“Sendingcongratulations to your amazing family of wonderful world citizens,” Kathryn Stollmeyer Wright, wrote on Facebook.

Another Facebook user, Patricia Combs, wrote, “Well done. Congratulations for excellence in your drive, motivation, and ability to accomplish such great and momentous feat. You all are wonderful and blessed.”

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

Watchmen is a testament to trauma

By Noah Washington If you haven’t seen Watchmen, there are spoilers ahead for what has happened in the series so far through episode 8.

Episode six, seven, and eight of “Watchmen” are what I consider to be some of the best hours of television in history.

Episode six of Watchmen (titled “This Extraordinary Being”), depicts vital moments in Black culture, trauma, or experiencing trauma.

Episode seven delves into how we handle trauma. Episode nine goes over the story of why Dr. Manhattan after his self-imposed exile on Mars.

These episodes came with big reveals in them as well as expanding the lore of Alan Moore’s original graphic novel.

Episode six opens with Angela having taken her grandfather Will’s “Nostalgia” pills. This then takes her through a cascade of his memories, which begin with him becoming a police officer in 1930s New York, being inducted by a fellow Black police officer who warns him off an organization called “Cyclops” (more on that later).

Police Officer Will arrests a white man for burning down a Jewish deli.

The screenwriters inserted a subtle irony as we see a white vendor reading a “Superman” comic (Superman was created by two Jewish men).

When Will brings the man in to the station, the front desk officer meets him with hostility, but then there is a glimmer of hope when a white cop stands up for him and takes him in, only for that hope to be diminished as the same perp is back on the streets the very next day.

After a series of events during which we see the same cops who stood up for Will, heartbreakingly dragging two African-Americans through the streets, nearly lynching Will, we witness his transformation into the original vigilante – Hooded Justice – who had initially been perceived as a white man.

Later in the episode, Captain Metropolis asks Will to reach out to Hooded Justice, who he thinks is a white man that Will has been feeding information to.

In the very next scene, Will and Metropolis are engaging in sexual intercourse.

Metropolis then proceeds to tell Will not to take off his mask when he is with the other members of the Minutemen because they are racist and need to be bankrolled by racist banks — leading back to that famous quote, “Who Watches the Watchmen?”

Will then discovers a plot by the group Cyclops (who turn out to be the cops that Will conflicted with) to use screens as mediums for hypnotism, but the Minutemen refuse to come to his aid.

Will then kills all of

In episode eight, Dr. Manhattan’s decision to turn into a black man was based on the fact that Angela feels more comfortable being with a black man and Adrian Veidt’s storyline connects since he was the one to erase Dr. Manhattan’s Memory. the members of Cyclops and, ironically, strangling the leader who had threatened to lynch Will with a wire. After a scene of Will coming home to see the trauma that he has brought to his family, there is a time jump forward to Will confronting Jud, the chief of police (on the night of his murder), using the Cyclops’ hypnotic technology to have Jud hang himself, thus ending the episode.

The writers were able to do something truly amazing – they did not change anything at all.

With sequels or reboots, something is usually modified from the source material, either making things completely different from the original story, or to add context to new material that was not in the original. But “Watchmen”

screenwriters were able to take pre-existing lore and not change any of the original comics.

They gave meaning and depth to the Minutemen, who were just a plot device for Moore, using the source material and creativity to turn that plot device into a complicated origin story.

Will interchanges with Angela throughout the episode. Could this be the writers commenting on genetic memory? Genetic memory refers to the phenomena that comes about when someone has endured conditions so traumatic that the memory is passed on to the victim’s descendants.

We see that Angela is literally experiencing Will’s trauma.

Episode seven opens with a young Angela trying to buy the Black exploitation

film “Sister Night.” We then see her parents were killed by a Vietnamese terrorist, leading her to wake up in Lady Trieu’s recovery room, treating her overdose. Throughout this episode, we see Angela go through glimpses of Will’s memories only to go into her memories, linking her trauma to his (that genetic trauma I was talking about).

In this episode, we also learn that Adrian Veidt’s timeline is completely different from the main storyline as a whole year has passed since the last time we saw him. Still, the real surprise happens when we discover that Dr. Manhattan is in Tulsa, Okla. walking around like an average person, and to makes matters even crazier, the Seventh Cavalry plans on killing him to allow Sen. Joe Keene to take his power.

After learning this, Angela rushes home to find a sleeping Cal with the book “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” which, if you haven’t guessed by now, is a dead giveaway for who Dr. Manhattan has been masquerading as. Dr. Manhattan has been Cal this entire time.

In fairness, the writers have been dropping clues, such as Cal’s religious worldview, his accident, the allusions to Dr. Manhattan’s infamous genitalia, and the dialogue from Will saying that Dr. Manhattan can make himself look like anything with any color.

Dr. Manhattan is

pretty notable for moving from woman to woman, but the questions remain; why would he want to make himself a Black man? How does Adrian Veidt’s storyline fit into the show as a whole? And How is Lady Trieu’s clock going to save the world?

In episode eight, Dr. Manhattan’s decision to turn into a Black man was based on the fact that Angela feels more comfortable being with a Black man and Adrian Veidt’s storyline connects since he was the one to erase Dr. Manhattan’s memory.

How he also ended up on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is almost heartbreakingly funny.

Adrian wanted Dr. Manhattan to transport him to a place where he would be continuously worshipped but Europa turned out to be the exact opposite. This leads me to think about a little saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

I’m sure these questions will be answered in the next episode as we are nearing the end of this season.

This show has consistently been putting me on the edge of my seat, so I can’t wait to see how these storylines come together.

“Watchmen” is available on HBO and HBO On Demand. The Blerd Binde and Noah Washington cover nerdy news for the Black nerds of the world with subjects ranging from movies to music and tech to toys.

An invitation to create community art Artist Charles Caldwell is asking for the community’s help in creating a mural that represents the future of North Minneapolis.

The mural is entitled “The Past is Our Future” and Caldwell wants everyone associated with North Minneapolis to help create this new community art. The mural will be a gift to NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center.

Vision sessions will be held on Saturday (Jan. 11) from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Jan. 13

The finished mural will be displayed in the new NorthPoint Inc., a separately governed,

from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. and Jan. 18 from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the North Point Health and Wellness Center Conference Center, 1313 Penn Ave. N. Registration is not required but appreciated. Go to app.smartsheet.com/b/form/892 e4a270e9b440a8f4bb67fcb406 fa1 to register.

Participants will make vision boards depicting what they value and how future residents will live, work, play and grow in a healthy, thriving and diverse community.

community-based provider of social services located on Penn Avenue, and scheduled to open

in 2021.

Refreshments will be provided.

SATURDAYS at the MUSEUMɨ 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!

You, your family and the first day hike.

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."

______________________________________________________________________________________

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

Find your winter hiking spot at mnDNR.gov/ParksAndTrails

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

Black Love!

insightnews.com Sometimes dinner with friends is more than just dinner with friends.

To the casual observer, an intimate gathering among 10 individuals – five couples – at Brick x Mortar in downtown Minneapolis could be seen as a simple celebration of the New Year but said observer would be mistaken. Yes, the New Year’s Day dinner was about ringing in 2020, but more importantly, it was about bringing in the year with love … Black love.

Convened by Michelle Benson, national director of Marketing and Communication for College Possible, the gathering provided the couples – all transplants to the Twin Cities – an opportunity

to dine, converse, (each couple sharing stories of how they met, yet somehow neither partner of the relationship could agree on the particulars), to laugh and celebrate the beauty of one another’s genuine and warm spirit.

Dinner guests included co-host Karl Benson, president of the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce, Malissa Adams, executive director of The Diversity Institute, Cecilia Stanton Adams, chief diversity and inclusion officer for Allianz Life Insurance Company, Gerald Edwards, coordinator of Information Systems with Osseo School District, Toni Edwards, lead instructor for Maple Grove Middle School, Alfonzo

“Fonzie” Mayfield, founder of Allure Cigars and of the nonprofit mentoring program, SAFE, Katherine Mayfield, human resources information system analyst at UnitedHealth Group, Devonda Scott, realtor with Keller Williams Integrity Lakes and Harry Colbert, Jr., managing editor for Insight News.

What started as a 5 p.m. dinner turned into a latenight laugh-fest, impromptu photoshoot and celebration of Black love.

Photos by Harry Colbert, Jr. Photo of Colbert and Devonda Scott by Malissa Adams.

Cecilia Stanton Adams and Malissa Adams

Karl and Michelle Benson

Devonda Scott and Harry Colbert, Jr.

Katherine and Fonzie Mayfield

Toni and Gerald Edwards

WAYS TO EXPLORE AFRICAN AMERICAN Marcia Ball & Sonny Landreth

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Bill Frisell: HARMONY

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Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with music from the VocalEssence Singers of this Age Choir and ARTS Us Sankofa Drummers and participate in a kindness kits service project.

MLK Jr. Community Day, Jan 20, Minnesota History Center, St. Paul.

feat. Petra Haden, Hank Roberts & Luke Bergman Jazz Guitar Giant

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Join historian Wayne e Gannaway for a free talk to learn about Frederick Douglass’s visit to Winona in 1867—which shaped the future of race and politics in Minnesota. History Lounge: Frederick Douglass in MN, 1867, Jan 28, Minnesota History Center, St. Paul.

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