Insight ::: 03.21.2022

INSIGHT NEWS IS AUDITED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR AUDITED MEDIA TO PROVIDE OUR ADVER TISER PAR TNERS WITH THE HIGHES T LEVEL OF MEDIA ASSURANCE.

Insight News

March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 12• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

STRIKE Photo by Imani McCray

STORY ON PAGE

3

Page 2 • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Insight News

insightnews.com

insightnews.com

Insight News • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Page 3

Insight News

INSIGHT NEWS IS AUDITED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR AUDITED MEDIA TO PROVIDE OUR ADVER TISER PAR TNERS WITH THE HIGHES T LEVEL OF MEDIA ASSURANCE.

March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 12• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Biden’s Focus: Russia, Inflation and Congressional Action on Voting Rights

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Photo by Imani McCray

St. Paul averts strike, Minneapolis strike continues

Groups support teacher goals while decrying strike impact on Black children Columnist

By Brenda Lyle-Gray Every little thing counts in a crisis. When written in Chinese, the word crises is composed of two characters - one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. (a brainy quote)” Tyrone Terrill last Monday reported on the just concluded press conference where he convened Minnesota Parents’ Union’s Rashad Turner; Minnesota State Baptist Convention president, Rev. Runney D. Patterson; Dr. Melvin Miller, St. Paul Black Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, president, and Richard

Pittman, St. Paul Branch of the NAACP president, to denounce the impending strike by teachers and educational support professionals (ESP)/front line food service personnel in both the Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Paul Public Schools.

St. Paul announced a deal had been reached minutes before a strike action would have been triggered. In Minneapolis, however, District officials said the union and the district were miles apart. Teachers began their strike and protests on Tuesday.

A year ago, an article written by Milind Sohoni entitled ‘Education Equity: What’s ailing Minnesota? – described two types of genocidal racism that destroy people and continue the stained ‘just-whatit-is’ power stance of the have and have nots.

It said inequitable hiring practices have led to

biases at all levels, accounting for at least 90% of classroom teachers being white despite the diverse student populations.

The property taxbased school funding is defacto structural racism given the disparity of home ownership in Black and Latino communities.

Ellison: Organize, push, lobby for housing

Twin Cities becoming racially segregated

Now, why is that important?

Because you do not build political power if you only talk to people during the election

ELLISON 8

Spartz (R-Indiana), Ukrainian-American.

Outside the Capitol, a host of National Guard soldiers on high alert were stationed to provide extra security.

Domestically, President Biden called on the Senate to pass voting rights legislation.

“Tonight, I call on the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,” President Biden insisted. “And while you’re at it, pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections.”

He also spelled out his goal of putting a lid on inflation.

He proposed cutting the cost of childcare, noting that those living in major cities pay as much as $14,000 per child each year.

BIDEN 4

Minnesota has one of the nation’s worst education achievement gaps between Black and white students. In 2019, it ranked 50th for racial disparities in high school graduation rates. The glaring education disparity is a moral

TERRILL 4

instrument to achieve effective community engagement in a su stainable manner, Babington said. “Ownership makes a difference. We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for. The broader issue is empowerment. The broader issue is how do we get to be aware? How do we mobilize? How do we energize? We have a target of opportunity that gives us a chance to make the point we are really trying to make.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, former State Senator Myron Orfield and Build Wealth MN CEO made presentations exploring how Black have been and continue to be Redlined by the 91% white affordable housing industry. They highlighted the need for a church centered political action strategy.

Presented here are exerpts of remarks by Keith Ellision and Myron Orfield, who is a law professor at University of Minnesota

By Al McFarlane Editor

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Victoria a

Photofi

By Al McFarlane Editor

Excerpts from a recent presentation by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison addressing the launch of Light On, a Black political action committee In our community, there’s not one single yearround organization that gathers votes registration year around.

Box.com

Left to right: Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Tyrone Terrill

Lights On! Church and civic leaders this month launched a political action committee “to hold politicians and agency functionaries accountable.” Lights On is a political action entity, with a 501(c) (4) IRS status. That means it is not a C3, for which contributions would be tax deductible. Rather, the tax category allows it to lobby and support issues that are important to us. People can contribute at its website, www.lightsonnow.org.

Alfred Babington Johnson, church and civic leaders associated with His Works United and The Stairstep Foundation, explored challenges and opportunities at hand for mobilizing Black voters around Black interests in an inaugural Lights On launch meeting at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, in North Minneapolis.

“The time has come for better informed, more intentional strategic action by African American people. Lights On is an

When President Joe Biden took the podium for the annual State of the Union Address, it marked the first time two women – Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – sat on the dais for the official address.

The President began by addressing the elephant in the room – or at least Eastern Europe.

He declared that the West had united in tackling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting that America would join a host of nations in banning Russian aircraft from its airspace. “[Russian President] Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy,” President Biden declared.

“He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond.

And he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.”

In both a symbolic move and a show of solidarity, the President entered the Joint Session of Congress escorted by Congresswoman

Excerpts from a recent presentation by U of M Law Professor Myron Orfield addressing the launch of Light On, a Black political action committee A pattern that I call Neo-segregation shows the Twin Cities is becoming racially segregated faster than any other

Education

The Extraordinary Educator: Dr. Delores Henderson

PAGE 5

U of M Law Professor Myron Orfield place in the country. Segregation is not about choice. There is a $300 million a year subsidized housing industry in the Twin Cities. It has 8,000 employees

ORFIELD 8

YouTube capture

Dr. Bravada Garrett Akinsanya

Dr. Oliver Williams

The Healing Circle

Teaching those in power how to share

By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power and the power to abuse. Isabel Allende The setting is Broadway, January 26th, 2022.

The longest running show, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ made history on this day. Chicago native, Emilie Kouatchou would be the first Black actress to play the lead role of Christine Daae.

Ironically, it was the first play the talented singer attended on Broadway. She knew just sitting in the audience that she, too, was capable of singing those same songs. A stage director having been with the show 34 years had tears in his eyes when interviewed by a reporter. He was so proud. It had been a long time coming. The audience rose to their feet when she appeared on stage.

Kouatchou’s good friend, Joseph Hayes, a Black casting associate, is pushing for more diversity on stage

and screen that better reflects the audience.

He told the Today Show reporter that he found it hard to understand the thinking. “It’s like we’re taking something away from ‘them’ if we start getting major roles and other industry opportunities.

I think there’s room for a lot more talent and a lot more openings for more people to be entertained,” he said.

It’s called ‘sharing’ power, says Dr. Bravada Garrett Akinsanya, founder and CEO of the African American Child Wellness Institute (AACWI) and co-host of The Healing Circle, the regular Conversations with Al McFarlane Friday webcast on Facebook and YouTube “I want to help those who are in power learn how to share, Garret-Akinsanya said.

Dr. B, as we call her, said it’s imperative that we understand the sociocultural factors associated with abuse. “Many of our children, colleagues, and families suffer from isolation. But for 400 years plus, people of color have been isolated away from freedom, opportunity, and privilege. I

HEALING 4

I2H

Disrupting the cycle of poverty

PAGE 6

Page 4 • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Business

RL Polo’s new Morehouse-Spelman collection captures classic era style Hobb servation Point

By Chuck Hobbs Yesterday, the Ralph Lauren Company announced a partnership with Morehouse College and Spelman College that provides $2 million dollars in donations, and an exclusive clothing line that was conceptualized and designed

by SpelHouse alumni that are working for the company; the theme of the campaign is a throwback to the 1920’s-1950’s, an era when college students and professors dressed in their Sunday best each and every day!

A few historic and present day Morehouse Men and Spelman Women (from the RL Polo ads): Classic! And yes, as a Morehouse alumnus who has worn RL Polo products for many decades, my very first question was “will the new items come in Big & Tall, too?”

Whether the products will come in my size or not, I still appreciate the buzz that the Ralph Lauren corporate collaboration provides both from a monetary commitment to two storied Black colleges— while also introducing our schools to potential students and other corporate benefactors that may not be fully aware of their legacies.

And yet, while I was not surprised to see some negativity on social media because some folks can never see the positive of anything, I posted the following words this morning on Facebook as my push back against some of the hypocrisy springing forth from some of the more dismissive comments following yesterday’s press release: The Hypocrites: “I don’t give a damn

Terrill From 3 crisis.

“An 11-year-old can’t sit at

about no Ralph Lauren’s Morehouse and Spelman collection, the company is racist and a $2 million dollar donation ain’t nothing...”

Also the Hypocrites: “Roll Tide...Go Gators...

War Eagle...Fight on USC...

We are Penn State...What time do ‘my’ Dallas Cowboys play...Fly (Philadelphia) Eagles Fly...Them still ‘MY’ Washington Redskins not no Washington Commanders...”

Hobbservation: Systemic racism has touched every aspect of American life since 1619, and while we all are entitled to our opinions and have choices to wear what we wish, cheer for who we wish, eat where we wish etc., it strikes me as illogical to see some of the same folks that are blasting Morehouse and Spelman for a campaign that was designed by their alumni and is placing donations in their coffers, being some of the same folks that spend their money cheering for white schools they did not attend, NFL teams that love Black talent but white-balled a whole Black quarterback because he kneeled in protest of police brutality against Blacks; buying paraphernalia that pours money into said white schools and NFL teams, and supporting other American businesses that have equal to worse records on racism as Ralph Lauren?

Unless one is 100 percent fully checked out from any semblance of circulating money outside of the Black community, and as a man whose doctor, lawyer, accountant, podcast producer, public relations adviser, dentist, barber, and lawn servicer are all Black, I still don’t come close to saying that all of my money avoids systemic racism.

Heck, at minimum, even those who will still say ‘Nope, I’m 100 percent economically Black’ still pay property taxes to cities as well as state and federal taxes with long legacies of racism as well, so I don’t fully understand home alone all day with nothing to do,” said Terrill.

“And parents cannot work if they are worried about their children.

Kids will find something to do and might not always make the best decisions. It will be getting

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

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

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD. Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray Book Review Editor W.D. Foster-Graham Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Manager Sunny Thongthi Yang Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley

Intern Kelvin Kuria Contributing Writers Maya Beecham Nadvia Davis Fred Easter Abeni Hill Inell Rosario Latisha Townsend Artika Tyner Toki Wright Photography V. Rivera Garcia Uchechukwu Iroegbu Rebecca Rabb Artist Donald Walker Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis. 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis,

legal

RL Polo ads

the

education course.

That day, as we students read through the section that dealt with race and the selection of capital juries, we were provided an excerpt from the Dallas County (Texas) District Attorney’s Office training manual that was still in effect until the late 1970’s: “Do not take Jews, Negroes, Dagos, Mexicans or a member of any minority race on a jury no matter how rich or well educated.”

Once more, the “systemic” part of systemic racism runs deep in America’s history, but modern day conservatives don’t want us to discuss those parts because it “hurts their feelings.”

following a strong filibuster from Southern Democrats.

The following year, the State of Mississippi called a constitutional convention for the express purpose of eliminating Black voting rights. An op/ed in the state’s largest newspaper, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, declared that the convention was called “to restrict Negro suffrage, if you please.”

Among the reforms to restrict Black voter access included a two dollar poll tax and a provision requiring eligible voters to register four months in advance of an election. Convicted felons were no longer eligible to vote and voters were required to read—and interpret—a section of the state constitution. This latter provision included an “understanding” clause that allowed supervisors of elections the discretion to allow illiterate white voters to vote.

In 1868, nearly 87,000 Blacks (97 percent of Mississippi’s then voting age population) were registered, while white male voters were still disenfranchised due to their rebellion in the Civil War. By 1892, two years after the aforementioned convention, only 9,000 Blacks remained on the voting rolls!

Mississippi’s success in suppressing Black voting rights was so pronounced that within 15 years, the rest of the old Confederacy and even Oklahoma had enacted similar measures to eliminate Black voting rights--measures that remained entrenched until President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965.

Thank you and please subscribe to the Hobbservation Point!

Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.

logical differences...”

As with any good post, reasonable minds will disagree, but one profound nugget of wisdom came from my friend Reginald Smith, a Florida A&M University educated former naval officer and lawyer who wrote the following on my post about Ralph Lauren “I don’t get the sentiment. RL is one of the few companies that has embraced, promoted and paid Black folks. RL was one of the the first if not the first major fashion company to use Black models- and it wasn’t bc of pressure from a protest.

RL said this is the direction we’re taking the company. The genesis of new line of clothes is Morehouse and Spelman alumni that work for RL. RL’s own employees. Not folks they paid as consultants but HBCU alumni that are employees that RL approached and said we want to do this project; we want you to lead it. RL has also established its own Black Advisory Council. Yes, that’s the name. Black Advisory Council.

Black. The Council’s purpose is to promote allyship with Black, African and African American communities. Read that again.

So, RL recognizes the different cultures within the African diaspora in America. What?

You don’t like the line bc it’s not tight and short with plunging necklines for the women and

jackets that don’t cover a man’s butt? Hmph. RL is classic style. Classic. Hopefully the line doesn’t sell out before I’m able to make a purchase.”

Indeed, I, too, hope that the order lines don’t jam on March 29th before I can get the Ralph Lauren “M” sweater and Morehouse crested blue blazer (below) to rock at the next inperson SpelHouse Homecoming.

The heart of the matter is that there has been a renaissance of sorts at HBCU’s that finds corporations and even the federal government pouring major funds into the very schools that still produce the majority of Black professionals in America. As a lover of HBCU’s, I am proud when any of our schools announce some new initiative or round of funding, and I get frustrated when I see Black people, especially other Black College alumni, express contempt for their fellow HBCU›s for securing the financial bag. Especially if (or when) the complainers aren’t contributing their own time, tithes, or talents to increase the bank accounts of these hallowed institutions.

Collectively, we can and must do better... ***Facebook Memory reminded me of a post that I made 10 years ago today as I sat in a Death Penalty certification continuing

warmer soon. Close down the schools and community centers and watch crime go right back up. Our BIPOC kids were behind before the pandemic. If they’re going to have a slight chance of ever catching up to mainstream careers, we’ve got to change the model in the classrooms and at the teacher preparation training level.”

Terrill said it is

imperative that educators and educational support professionals get a cost of living raise that is sustainable and merit based. He called for more efforts to get and keep weapons out of the schools, and agreed with ramping up family counseling with more social workers, psychologists, volunteers and mentors that could make a difference in

communities of color.

But, he said, shutting down classrooms by labor strike does not reflect keeping the interests of the students and their families as the leading factor in negotiations between the unions and the school districts. Because of the potential damage to children, already disadvantaged by imposition of COVID 19 shutdowns and modifications,

the leadership organizations were denouncing the strike options as ill-conceived at this time, Terrill said.

“We must be partners in our children’s schools and trusted advocates in our children’s lives.

We must give them hope,” he said.

Court nominee, D.C. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, urging swift confirmation.

“No matter whatever your ideology, we all know one of the most serious constitutional duties a president has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” the President declared.

“I’ve nominated Circuit Court of Appeals Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of our nation’s top legal minds who will continue in Justice [Stephen] Breyer’s legacy of excellence,” he stated.

“The former top litigator in private practice, a former federal public defender, from a family of public school educators and police officers.

She is a consensus builder.

“Since she has been nominated, she has received a broad range of support including the Fraternal Order of Police and former judges supported by Democrats and Republicans.”

He also honored Justice Breyer, urging him to stand up and “let them see you.”

Turning his attention to the pandemic, the President said cases of Covid-19 finally are falling.

“Thanks to the progress we have made this past year, Covid-19 need no

longer control our lives,” President Biden offered.

“I know some are talking about ‘living with Covid-19.’ But tonight, I say that we will never just accept living with Covid-19.”

He continued: “We’re launching the ‘Test to Treat’ initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they’re positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.”

While Republicans will undoubtedly push back against the President’s address, several civil rights groups applauded him.

“As we assess the state of the union, without question, President Biden gets high marks for supporting legislation on childcare, voting rights, maternal health, abortion access, and worker’s rights,” said Marcela Howell, the President, and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.

“But the same senators who consistently block voting rights protections also block reproductive rights protections and safety nets for working-class families.

Make no mistake, the enemies of equality are determined to shut down progress at

every turn,” Howell stated.

She said it’s time to pass the President’s Build Back Better bill and protect the lives of all who live in the United States.

“It is time to protect bodily autonomy and ensure all people have access to abortion services. It is time to pass a comprehensive voting rights bill that rejects the voter suppression tactics of the far right,” Howell demanded.

“Black women are even more determined to fight for our human and civil rights.

We demand the right to exercise bodily autonomy, to have the resources to raise our families with dignity and to exercise our constitutional right to vote.

And nothing will stop us.”

Howell continued: “Black women are putting politicians on notice; we are holding them accountable to their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. It is not an easy task. We invite the country to stand and fight with us to defend human and civil rights. Join us in demanding that elected officials uphold and abide by the Constitution. We will not stop until America’s promise of liberty and justice for all is our lived reality.”

Explaining the emotional abuse perpetrated by the white privilege doctrine and practice against people of color, Dr. B. reflected on the song young Black children used to jump double-dutch rope singing, “‘Fly’s in the buttermilk, skip to my Lou.” The ditty reflected the feeling of a Black person

in a white environment where they were not welcomed, and subjected to often hostile and oppressive vibes.

I don’t know if that’s the case with the millennials of color today. They tend to make their presence known.

Biden From 3 “Middle-class and working folks shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 percent of their income to care for their young children,” President Biden asserted.

“My plan would cut the cost of childcare in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford childcare,” he continued. “[My plan] also includes home-and-long-term care. More affordable housing, Pre-K for 3 and 4-year-olds.

All these will lower costs for families. Nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in taxes.”

The President also addressed his historic Supreme

Healing From 3 often use the example of a herd of gazelles who begin to move, leaving behind the animals that limp. That’s who becomes the lions’ dinner.”

Voting Rights Racism I arose and read this morning how Florida Gov. Ron Desantis is considering a special session of the legislature to eliminate the primarily Black congressional districts currently held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D) and Rep. Val Demings (D).

As my mother always reminds that there’s “nothing new under the sun,” lest we forget that nearly 12 years after President Rutherford B. Hayes removed the last federal troops from the south and ended formal Reconstruction, southern state legislatures began attacking Black voting rights as granted by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution, which was passed in 1870 and mandated suffrage “to all qualified male voters regardless of color.”

Tragically, the loophole within the 15th Amendment that allowed state level shenanigans that would nullify Black voting power for nearly 80 years was the question of what constituted a “qualified” voter.

In 1889, Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts filed a “force bill” that would have addressed this concern and demanded federal oversight of elections and while the measure passed the Senate, it died in the house

HEALING 5

insightnews.com

Insight News • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Page 5

Education Teachers reimagine US history lessons with eye on diversity

By Cheyanne Mumphreyand Annie Ma, Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Sit down.

Be quiet. Follow instructions.

Brandon Brown followed these rules when he started teaching, seeking order in a classroom setting he was all too familiar with growing up. But he quickly realized that was not working for his students and that they were just regurgitating what he told them.

So, he decided to get creative.

Brown, a former history teacher and assistant elementary school principal, is now a Billboard-charting educational rapper who performs around the U.S. He founded School Yard Rap, a California-based company that produces music about historical Black, Latino and Indigenous people often not found in traditional textbooks.

“By state standards, my students had to learn about old white slave owners, but they were young Black kids, and it wasn’t connecting,” said Brown, who released his latest album under his stage name, “Griot B.” “This education system is whitewashed completely. But doing what I do, I’m able to introduce and refocus on people of color so students are getting the full range of American history.”

Teachers have long sought ways to deliver a complete version of U.S. history that engages their students and includes contributions by

people of color. They have been reenergized after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd to take different approaches in the classroom that would challenge an education system many believe doesn’t allow for critical thinking and forces a narrow worldview.

They also are facing increased pressure from politicians and other critics who take issue with how schools address diversity and representation, including a recent push to ban critical race theory, an academic framework centered on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions. While there is little evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, some ideas central to it, such as lingering consequences of slavery, have been.

Teaching has evolved significantly in the past decade to focus more on critical thinking as opposed to rote memorization, said Anton Schulzki, a history teacher in Colorado Springs and the president of the National Council for the Social Studies.

Some of the shift started with the implementation of Common Core, which placed an emphasis on teaching students how to find and analyze sources.

Instead of just learning dates and names, students learn how to form arguments, to find factual evidence to support their claims and to challenge and defend different viewpoints.

“We’re trying to get students into this notion of asking questions and being

able to take what they are able to do and put into practice that whole inquiry method,” Schulzki said. “We want them to be good citizens and the way you become a good citizen is you ask questions, and then you try to do something about it.”

Students also need to learn more about the resilience and accomplishments of marginalized communities, said John Deville, who has been an educator in Macon County in North Carolina for nearly three decades.

Teachers need to show people of all backgrounds as more than victims and as individuals with agency and power, he said.

In his classroom, Deville, who is white, avoids framing individuals as either “villains or plaster heroes,” and he incorporates more than just European and white perspectives on historical events. In a unit on Christopher Columbus, Deville said he spends time creating a vision of the Western Hemisphere prior to European contact and does not diminish the violent ways Native Americans were treated.

There is no standardized curriculum across the U.S.; those decisions are made at the local level. As a result, parents, teachers, politicians, and other critics can voice concerns over what some consider a freefor-all of perspectives allowed in the classroom.

Morgan Dick, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Education, said civics education, which

prepares students to become well-informed, participating members of society, is important because it allows students to engage in “rigorous debate and civil discourse in order to develop their own opinions and learn to respect the perspectives of others.”

She also said some topics could at-times force people out of their comfort zone.

Last month, Republicans in the Arizona House approved a measure that would ask voters to amend the state constitution to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in schools and bar any preferential treatment based on race. The state Supreme Court struck that law down because it was unconstitutionally included in the budget. In the end, the House passed a resolution, which is not enforceable.

For many teachers, presenting students with different perspectives is the most important part of the job.

“Every kid in America knows 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue and they know the three ships, and that’s great,” said Katie Eddings, a middle school social studies teacher in North Carolina’s Lee County. “But do you know what his motivation was during that time period?”

Eddings, whose mother is Lumbee, shows her students excerpts from Columbus’ diary and pushes them to discuss what forces might have shaped the voyages, the achievements that resulted, and the harm caused.

“I want you to ask

photo/Jae C. Hong (AP Photo)

Brandon Brown poses for photos in Los Angeles, Thursday, March 25, 2021. Brown, a former history teacher and assistant high school principal, is now a Billboard-charting educational rapper who performs around the U.S. He founded School Yard Rap, a California-based company that produces music about historical Black, Latino and Indigenous people often not found in traditional textbooks. questions,” she said. “I want you to be curious about why this happened and why that happened. What was the cause and effect, and is there lasting impact now? What happened then? Is there an impact to us now? Are we better off? I just want them to be thinkers.”

Some students may not know the benefit this type of shift in education will have on them until later in life.

It is easy to ask someone to read a book, but you can’t force that person to connect with it, said Kendall Antoine, one of Brown’s former students who challenged Brown to create his first educational rap in 2012.

Antoine, who graduated last year from Morehouse College, a historically Black college, said he still learned what was assigned, but Brown presented it in a more

engaging way. He added that he still remembers some of the raps from nearly a decade ago.

“It is amazing what Mr. Brown is doing. Something that started off as a passion for music and history, turned into how he could relate to kids to better their education,” Antoine said.

Ma reported from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mumphrey and Ma are members of the AP’s Race and Ethnicity team. Follow them at https://twitter.com/ cheymumph and https:// t w i t t e r. c o m / a n n i e m a 1 5 .

The Associated Press’ reporting around issues of race and ethnicity is supported in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The Extraordinary Educator: Dr. Delores Henderson does it beautifully. What better way to touch the children this

extraordinary woman loved than in a children’s book? Thank you,

Rosemond Sarpong Owens, for sharing Dr. Henderson’s story.

Sharing Our Stories

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor

Protect Your Child from

By Rosemond Sarpong Owens As part of Women’s History Month, it is important to recognize not only Black women in U.S. history, but those who have made history here in Minnesota such as Nellie Griswold Frances, Nellie Stone Johnson, and Dr. Artika Tyner.

As important as it is for adults to know, it is imperative for our children. Education will always be a priority in the Black community, and Rosemond Sarpong Owens makes it so in her children’s book The Extraordinary Educator: Dr. Delores Henderson.

Delores Williams Henderson was born in Carrollton, Ohio. At an early age, her parents knew she was “destined for greatness.” She loved the clarinet and excelled as a student. She graduated from Sandy Valley High School at 15 and received a B.S. degree in education from Wilberforce University in three years. She is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

She hit the ground running as an educator, first

COVID-19

Healing From 4 Enslaved Black women were sexually and physically abused by white men. Many perished after multiple child births. Some jumped off ships during the Trans- Atlantic Slave Passage, Dr. B. said.

Not until recently, would Black women be viewed in their natural beauty - stunning, elegant, gifted, and confident Those of us who have spent most of our career in education know all too well how African American and other BIPOC school-aged children have been abused by the system. Take a minute to examine the Black vs. white

Rosemond Sarpong Owens in Ohio, and then in St. Paul, where she and high school sweetheart Roy Henderson were married and put down roots. Her commitment to letting children know that each child was special and speaking positivity went a long way in improving the quality of life and education for children in Minnesota.

The loving, supportive family Henderson grew up in was passed on to her own family in husband Roy and daughter Mercedes. Mercedes, in turn, became successful in her own right, paying it forward.

Never let it be said that one person can’t make a difference in the lives of many, for Dr. Henderson’s work is exemplary. Be it teacher, instructor, principal, administrator, or school superintendent, her advocacy and care for the best for children is a beacon that has shone brightly over the years.

Even in retirement disparities in special education, incarceration rates (males and females), school suspensions, and graduation rates.

Dr. B. says shared power means respect for sexuality and diversity; honesty and accountability, restorative justice and restitution; shared responsibility for our children; equal opportunity including dismantling privilege through fairness and equity; nonthreatening behavior; and economic empowerment.

According to Dr. Oliver Williams, professor of social work at University of Minnesota, “Historically, change is incremental. But in current times, people of color must be brave. Our children need us to step up and be heroes, driven by conviction, embracing humanity, and learning from leaders of the past how they

dŚĞ Ks/ Ͳϭϵ WĮnjĞƌ sĂĐĐŝŶĞ ŝƐ ŶŽǁ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ƚŽ ĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ϱͲϭϭ LJĞĂƌƐ ŽůĚ͘ ƌĞĐŽŵŵĞŶĚƐ ĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ϱͲϭϭ LJĞĂƌƐ ŽůĚ ƚŽ ŐĞƚ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĂƚĞĚ͘ ǀĞŶ ĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ĐĂŶ ŐĞƚ Ks/ Ͳϭϵ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĞ ŚĞůƉƐ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟŽŶ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ŚĞĂůƚŚLJ͘

COVID-19 vaccine is safe, free, and effective for children 5-11 years old.

and receiving well deserved accolades, Dr. Henderson’s gift keeps on giving.

She has founded a non-profit organization, D.E.L.O.R.E.S. WORKS, Inc. to support education and empower underrepresented students, as well as mentoring students.

It is important to give people their flowers while they are here, and Sarpong Owens

endured and succeeded despite the most horrendous abuse and barriers. And then there’s this racist ideology that appears to be permanent for some because ‘that’s the way it’s always been’” he said.”

The former executive director for the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Communities, Williams says he has witnessed many cases of spousal abuse and control that are not adequately addressed.

There has been a steep surge in domestic violence created by two years of a pandemic, and children in and out of person-toperson learning.

The Healing Circle on Conversations with Al McFarlane is 1pm Fridays at https://www.facebook.com/ Insight-News

COVID-19 vaccine builds protection.

COVID-19 vaccine does not cause infertility.

mn.gov/vaccine Minnesota Department of Health | health.mn.gov | 625 Robert Street North PO Box 64975, St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 651-201-5000 | Contact health.communications@state.mn.us to request an alternate format.

11/ /2021

Page 6 • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Insight News

Insight 2 Health

insightnews.com

The Jeremiah Program

Disrupting the cycle of poverty Columnist

By Brenda Lyle-Gray We have to solve the issue of poverty, the issue of hunger, the issue of war - spending billions of dollars to kill rather than to build. The late Congressman John R. Lewis The Biblical prophet Jeremiah was called to be an agent in God’s hand, ‘to uproot, and tear down; to destroy and overthrow; to build and to plant.

His main focus lasered in on confronting evil, unmasking fallacies, and refuting cherished beliefs. But his work was also one of encouraging and speaking hope when there appeared to be none in sight. It shows how God calls a person and waits for the man or woman to rise up in helping one another, especially our children. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet and continued in that calling for fifty years.

In 1993, the Jeremiah Program was organized by Reverend Michael J. O’Connell, Rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis, in partnership with the Minneapolis city leaders. In 1998, the first campus was opened. A diverse group of community residents became concerned by the increasing numbers of single mothers living in poverty. Not only was systemic racism the root of this malevolent stateof-affairs for a large percentage of BIPOC women, but the

lack of educational and career opportunities played a large role.

Now, through a two-generation impact model, Jeremiah Program, helps singlemothers and their children by offering safe and affordable housing, life skills and confidence-building training, and support for career-track education. They are prepared for the workforce and their dependency on public assistance is minimized. Children have high quality childcare on the campus grounds in an intellectually stimulating environment with age-appropriate classrooms and outdoor playgrounds. Through coaching, empowerment programming, and college coursework, these women are given an opportunity through faithful and generous donors to be of service before poverty becomes a way of life and an endless path of darkness and despair. Campuses are located or in building phases in nine cities - Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Fargo-Moorhead, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, MN. The fact is, more than 40% of children now live in a household struggling just to survive on bare necessities.

These circumstances make it difficult for children to learn or be happy.

Susima Weerakoon is the Family Service director for the Minneapolis Jeremiah Program campus which is located directly across the street from the Minneapolis Community and Technical Academy.

Currently, she works with 20 women and their children. There is a capacity for 40 and recruitment for the fall

Susima Weerakoon semester is now in full swing.

Due to the two-year COVID19 pandemic, virtual classes are offered along with the choice of living off campus if deemed more feasible.

Weerakoon has worked in the field of human development, specifically early childhood, for over 9 years. Her role with Jeremiah Program is to monitor each mother’s academic and job-related progress and to make sure they are getting the resources they need.

“My native Sri Lanka parents immigrated to the U.S. as teens with aspirations of eventually embracing the American dream for themselves and their three children.

I know about work ethic and how we must pay it forward and make a difference in our communities while getting to know our neighbors and support our educators and schools,” Weerakoon says. The newlywed and recent North Minneapolis first-time homeowner, said she believes no mother should have to make the untenable choice

between investing in herself or supporting her children.

Mothers who enroll in the program must first complete a 12-week empowerment coaching class while also working towards earning a 2-year associate degree and ultimately transitioning to a 4-year academic institution.

They establish career goals, learn valuable life skills such as financial literacy and positive parenting expertise for both mother and child supported by a family coach every other week.

Jeremiah Program views empowerment as a place to potently pause, self-reflect, remember the strengths within, discern and consider what’s next on the path forward, and dream boldly in a place where community is forged.

Program participants also learn the realities of inherent and systemic racism that has historically contributed to oppression and poverty. They are provided a strong network of other single mothers, agencies, and partners. “Our intentions

Jeremiah Program

are foremost to disrupt the cycle of poverty and the mindset of hopelessness,” said, Weerakoon.

“We have communities of professional support and accessible resources with a shared interest and visions of success. Jeremiah Program is often referred to as a ‘college persistence program.’

Arreba Haider, a research associate for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress states that child poverty in the U.S. is persistent and structural, but solvable. “There is agreement that on-the-ground programs such as The Jeremiah Program offers a proven, holistic approach to transform families with their comprehensive, two-generational assistance services, simplifying the access for families in crisis while simultaneously aiming for a better life for their child(ren).”

Members in the Jeremiah Program must enroll and complete the JP empowerment course; enroll full-time in a collegiate program identified with support from the family services coaches; make satisfactory academic progress maintaining a 2.0 or higher GPA; participate in the Jeremiah Program ‘Life Skills’ courses and in the J.P. Resident Council; work part time and contribute 30% of earnings to the program; and if not working, volunteering is required.

Jeremiah Program envisions a world where poverty is no longer feminized; where race is not divorced from gender; where career and financial opportunities are not gentrified; and where women who experience poverty not only hold a seat at the table but hold the mic and curate the agenda.

insightnews.com

Insight News • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Page 7

Aesthetically It

Janet Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Kevin Hart on tap for Essence NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Janet Jackson, Kevin Hart and Nicki Minaj are among the headliners announced Thursday for this summer’s Essence Festival of Culture, which returns to New Orleans after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Others tapped to entertain June 30 through July 3 include New Edition, The Isley Brothers, Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Walker, The Roots & Friends and D-Nice & Friends, Essence Communications Inc. said in a news release.

Additional talent and details will be announced later.

“We are excited to welcome the family back live to New Orleans and thrilled to connect with more of our diasporic family through new digital experiences,” Essence CEO Caroline Wanga said in the announcement.

In addition to the nightly concerts inside the Superdome, the festival will include programming on networking, finance, career, wellness, fashion, beauty and more at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

photo/Evan Agostini (Photo Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Janet Jackson arrives at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York, on March 29, 2019. Jackson, Kevin Hart and Nicki Minaj are among the headliners announced Thursday, March 3, 2022, for this summer’s Essence Festival of Culture, which returns to New Orleans after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. and in

other entertainment venues citywide.

Launched in 1995 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine, the festival has evolved into the world’s largest celebration of Black women, culture and communities, convening more than 530,000 people annually over the July 4th weekend in New Orleans, the company statement said.

The festival, with the

2022 theme “It’s The Black Joy For Me,” plans to expand its digital programming, livestreaming “select on-theground activities” as well as creating new digital-only content and experiences, the company added.

And even though some COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, proof of vaccination is required to participate in festival events, organizers said.

Judith Hill

Mindi Abair

MAR 25

MAR 27

SFJAZZ Collective

Modern Jazz SuperGroup

“The Beatles: Six Strings, Many Visions”

MAR 28

MAR 29

An Evening with Jon Cleary

Carlene Carter

MAR 30

MAR 31

Cyrille Aimée Charismatic French Vocals

An Evening with Michael Feinstein

APR 1

APR 2–3

Jeremy Walker Trio

David Bromberg

APR 4

APR 5–6

Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita Trio: Suba feat.

Gustavo Ovalles

American Roots Revue

Meditative, Mystical...

Magic (NPR)

feat. Tonia Hughes Kendrick, Claudia Schmidt, Larry Long & Robert Robinson

APR 7

APR 8

Prince Protégé

NOLA Piano Master

Storied & Stirring Modern Jazz

612.332.5299 dakotacooks.com

Pop Jazz Saxophone Star PRE-SHOW VIP WINE TASTING

MN All-Star Guitar Summit

Grand Ole Opry Royalty

Ambassador of the Great American Songbook

Six String Superman

1010 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN

photo/Taylor Jewell

Cori Bush poses for a portrait to promote the film “Knock Down the House” during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 27, 2019. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has a memoir coming out this fall. She’ll recount her personal struggles, years of activism and her decision to run for office in 2020.

Rep. Cori Bush’s ‘The Forerunner’ to be published Oct. 3

By Hillel Italie AP, National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has a memoir coming out this fall in which she will recount her personal struggles, years of activism and her decision to run for office in 2020, when she became the first Black woman from her state elected to Congress.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Monday it will release “The Forerunner: A Memoir by Congresswoman Cori Bush” on Oct. 3.

“In ‘The Forerunner,’ she courageously lays bare her experience as a minimum-

wage worker, a survivor of domestic and sexual violence, and an unhoused parent — a raw and moving account that is unusual for a politician,” the Knopf statement reads in part. The book is also a “call to action for political leadership to prioritize the needs of marginalized communities.”

Bush, a Democrat seeking re-election this fall, listed her book deal on a financial disclosure form in 2021, when her memoir had the working title “The Cori Chronicles” and did not yet have a date of publication.

A nurse and activist, Bush became known nationally as among those protesting

in Ferguson, Missouri, after a white police officer fatally shot an 18-year-old Black man, Michael Brown, in 2014.

“If telling my story helps others in positions of power better understand how their decision-making affects regular, everyday people, people like me, then my own self-exposure is worth it,” Bush said in a statement issued through Knopf.

“I’m sharing my truth because I feel an urgency to put my mind, my body, and my reputation on the line to make sure our communities get what we need. I hope being open about my own journey will help ease others’ pain.”

Page 8 • March 21, 2022 - March 27, 2022 • Insight News

Ellison From 3 season. If I come to you and ask you to support me during the election season, then the next time you see us is the election season, and then the next season after that, you might get the impression that all I really care about is the election.

We’ve got to move from transactional politics to relationship-based politics.

Transactional politics is when some politician only wants us to vote for him and doesn’t care us about us otherwise.

The politician comes in, asks us to vote, then we vote. And then we are waiting for when we get cut in and maybe that happens, maybe that doesn’t.

The relationship between the community and people who are in elected office is a symbiotic relationship. If you’re in office, you can’t get anything done unless you got community demanding it. And

Orfield From 3 that make $70,000 or more a year. 91% are white. They’re the affordable housing industry.

And they say it doesn’t matter that Minneapolis has gotten segregated, “…everybody wants it that way. We’ve decided to do that. We’ve decided to be segregated. It doesn’t matter that we have the worst mortgage lending discrimination between Blacks and whites in the country because nobody really cares, and it’s about credit history anyway.

It doesn’t matter whether school districts can draw sharp boundaries between white and Black people all the time and no lawful entity supervises and protects Blacks’ rights, because everybody wants it that way.”

At every civil rights hearing, there is a Black person who stands in front of all the white people behind them that make money and testifies, “We like it the way it is. It’s not about segregation, it’s about choice.

We all want to live separately.”

insightnews.com

if you are in community and you got nobody in office, you can pound, you can march, you can scream and then nothing ever happens. So you’ve got to have both, somebody in office, you got to have a Senator Champion who’s going to drop the bill in to say, “We need resources directed here.”

But the community has to be there to say, “Yes, we support him, that’s what we want him to do. And if you don’t support him, we’re going to show up, we’re going to be at the Capitol, we’re going to knock every door, we’re going to talk to you. We’re going to rouse up the community, we’re going to make our demands clear.”

So let me just tell you, there is no Black non-immigrant organization that does voter empowerment and mobilization year round. It doesn’t exist. There used to be NOC (Neighborhood Organizing Committee).

They’re gone. ACORN used to do a little something. But we need permanent door knocking and engagement.

The best place to seat this organization, Lights

On Now, is in the Black church. Why? Because it is the most credible and enduring institution. The Black church is an institution centered on love, centered on doing what’s right. It understands the moral imperative.

Housing is fundamental.

Housing, where you live, determines what school district you go to. Your school district determines your opportunities in the employment area.

Your employment determines whether or not you’re going to be a working just to get your next check or build generational wealth and pass it on.

It’s important to understand this about housing: The United States government for six decades deliberately segregated America.

The federal housing administration, which insures mortgages, said that unless the deed to the house contains a restrictive covenant, we will not insure the mortgage. So you got three things to be concerned aboutthe deed, the mortgage and insurance for the mortgage.

The federal government said we’re not going to insure it.

That’s......................... known as Redlining.

That’s why Black people were relegated to being renters and white people got to own homes.

There’s a place called Levittown, New York. It was a government supported housing project and it was exclusively and aggressively all white. You go to Levittown today, some of those houses are going to be $400,000, $500,000, $600,000.

They started out as very cheap, affordable for people who were soldiers in World War II. Somebody’s grandchild is living in that house now. The grandchild says, “I’m not racist.”

Yeah, but your great grandparents got the house because they’re white and mine didn’t because they’re not.

That problem is as much of Minneapolis problem as any other. You’re worried about police brutality. You’re worried about crime? A lot of it revolves around housing.

Why is it that you live in North Minneapolis or South

Minneapolis? Recently, you can move out to Champlin, but that’s new. Before you couldn’t move out there. You lived Northside, Southside or Frogtown.

A 1937 city planning map labeled North Minneapolis, “the Negro slum.”

In Minnesota, we have a greater disparity than anywhere in the country. Nationally, 73% of whites own their homes, only 40 percent of Blacks own homes. Not in Minnesota. Here it’s more like 78% white and 24% Black home ownership.

And the public dollar for housing basically reinforces segregation all over again.

Public money for housing is steered and directed so that if you’re white, you might live in a publicly subsidized unit, but I bet you not too many Black people live there. How many you live in the A-Mill on Main street?

They built it for millions of dollars. They might have spent nearly a million dollars a unit. I don’t think there are any Black folks living in there. If there is, maybe one or two. They steer you to housing in North Minneapolis but

they build subsidized housing for the public everywhere.

They do it based on race.

We need a housing policy that makes sure we have fair housing.

There’s a law of politics. This is like a law of nature. No matter how meritorious something is, if there’s no constituency to push, it will not happen. Here’s the other side of that law: no matter how stupid and awkward and wrong something is, if there’s a group of people to fight for it, it will happen. That’s a law of politics.

What is the lesson?

The system’s not moral or immoral. The system is amoral meaning it responds to lobbying. It responds to pushing.

You don’t push it, it doesn’t push. You don’t move it, it doesn’t move. And if you think we have been victims of discrimination in these United States, ever since its founding and before, and we have a moral claim to be cut in, that and $3.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

It’s time to address housing with political organization and move it along.

It doesn’t matter that all-white schools in South Minneapolis send most of their kids to the best colleges in the country while in poor, segregated Minneapolis schools, Roosevelt and North, most of the young men are dropping out.

There’s two or three people who say they represent the Black community. Every hearing I go to, 100 hearings, they’re there at every hearing.

At every decision, when they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars, they’re there and say that everything’s all right.

There’s a few Black people in the largest foundations and the housing entities in the state who are figureheads in front of a massive, highly profitable white industry and they say, “Everything’s fine.”

Now I’m a lawyer, a law professor, and I study these trends. We have the fastest segregating schools in the country. We have the greatest and most rapid growing racial inequality.

We have very good civil rights laws that we’re ignoring and nobody does anything.

George Floyd was a symbol of a much deeper inequality. It was about police brutality, but it was about some of the greatest inequality in education and housing and opportunity here than any place in the country. That police brutality was a spark that lit off 2000 demonstrations in the United States and 2000 demonstrations in Europe and made the whole country think about it. It brought $100 million of charity to the region.

And what did it do? It built more entrenched segregation and inequality.

It went to the powers that be, that run massive profitable housing industries that say to the banks that give them a little money, “Everything’s fine.

We are not going to push you.”

The city of Baltimore sued Wells Fargo and the city of Memphis sued Wells Fargo, and after about two weeks of discovery, they settled for $150 million each in those cases. They should have gotten billions.

They never admitted liability.

The laws are good here. There’s a very good attorney general here. There’s a very good system of courts

here. But there’s an incredibly corrupt system of housing and of school and of development that is been making millions of dollars, promoting a racially segregated and unequal society.

Seattle and Portland have about the same percentage of Black, Latino and poor people on a metropolitan level. We’ve got 90 or so schools that are more than 90% non-white and poor.

We got 90, Portland’s got two, and Seattle’s got 20 and they have a million more students.

We decided in 1998 to stop enforcing our school integration rules. It wasn’t the Republicans that decided to do this, it was Hubert Humphrey, the son of the great civil rights leader who decided integrating the schools is too hard politically.

A Black family that earns $172,000 a year in this metropolitan area is less likely to qualify for a prime loan than a white household that earns $40,000. This is across all the banks, all the data. It’s the worst discrimination in the country between Blacks and whites.

When Baltimore and Memphis brought their cases against Wells Fargo, the company settled them before you could even get the evidence of guilt. There were 25 depositions of Wells Fargo employees, and in their depositions they said there were two kinds of loans - one that went to regular people and one that went to what they called “mud” people. That’s what they said in their emails. They called Black neighborhoods, the poor neighborhoods, mud people.

And these were the depositions of their employees that showed that systematically Black and Latino neighborhoods got subprime loans for a decade, and those subprime loans took the money that people had, it took their equity. They were not only subprime first loans, but they were subprime equity loans, and they ripped the wealth that was built over 20 years. And nobody did anything about it.

These disparities are still there.

So, a Black person, no matter how much money they made, no matter how well they did, no matter what they did, they were going to experience that mortgage line of discrimination and nobody was going to do anything about it.

MICAH versus Metropolitan Council is a case where civil rights plaintiffs, the City of Brooklyn Park, the City of Brooklyn Center, the City of Richfield, and MICAH, (Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations for Affordable Housing) and Multiracial Civil Rights Church Space Organizations have sued the Met Council and the state housing finance agency (MHFA) alleging housing discrimination. This case was brought under federal civil rights rules that were created by President Obama.

The Biden administration has told the Met Council that they believe that they are on the verge of making a finding of discrimination by the Met Council. It’s very likely that the plaintiffs are going to win this case. And what’s going to happen when they win this case? Nothing.

Unless somebody gets involved, they’ll get a paper victory.

Another case, Cruz-Guzman versus State of Minnesota, about school segregation, is before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

We have very good laws and we have very good judges and it’s likely that all of this inequality and division result in the court finding a violation of the constitution.

So in both these cases, you’re going to have judges applying law and they’re going to find clear evidence of racial discrimination in housing and schools. And the question is, are those settlements going to be meaningful? Are those settlements going to change the direction of a $300 million a year in housing?

Now there’s $7 billion in stimulus money for highways and housing construction.

The state of Minnesota has $8 billion in stimulus.

Right now, all that money is set to go to white led-organizations that not only believe in charging twice too much for these units and making huge profits, but they believe in maintaining a clear wall of segregation.

The greatest of all the civil rights laws is the 1968 Fair Housing act. It’s the most powerful. It’s the clearest. The courts have upheld it with the greatest strength and president Obama was the first president that ever gave it rules and definition.

There’s a powerful law and you have a powerful case and you have powerful injustice here.

Something needs to happen. $150 million a year goes into North Minneapolis, near South Minneapolis, and Frogtown. None of it goes to Black-led organizations… maybe a tiny bit, maybe 10% of it. None of it gives any jobs to Black people. It gives a few to Latino people, non-union labor. It’s almost entirely to white households. This money, part of the fair housing act says part of the money should open up the white areas, part of the money should rebuild the poor areas, but the money that rebuilds the poor area should be led by that community, that’s what the law says.

The people that are getting the money live over by the lakes, by me, and they live in those suburbs. They go to the best schools of the region. And they have a few Black people who work for them that say, “Everything’s fine. We like it that way.” But that’s not what the law requires. The law says it should go to community organizations that build up the community.

That it should go to Black-led organizations that train African American workers to create jobs. And these entities should be led by people that live here and work here. And the churches are perfect places for that.

What the poverty housing industry is doing now is they’re using all of the money for affordable housing and they’re building units and they’re charging the government and all of its branches $500,000 or $600,000 or $700,000, a unit.

They’re pocketing as a profit, $150,000 or $200,000 per unit, and they’re putting these units out that are built 100% with government money at the market rate rent of the neighborhood.

Sometimes when they build these units in a poor neighborhood, they have the highest rents in the neighborhood.

So there’s a three person partnership. They built 3,200 units in South Minneapolis over 20 years. These white developers who support segregation figured out how to screw the poor people in the poor neighborhoods. They took the public money to build Artists Lofts. Instead of spending 600,000, they spent 800,000 per unit like in the Pillsbury A-Mill. They price them so they fit within the statute, but they’re too expensive for a voucher.

The government paid Pillsbury A-Mill’s white poverty housing and district developers $700 million to build the Pillsbury A-Mill. In 10 years, it’s going to belong to them lock, stock, and barrel. No mortgage, no rent, no rent restrictions, and it’ll be a wealthy building. They built four buildings, that cost as much as the Viking stadium.

They’re going to give these white developers $1 billion of the money that was for the poor.