Insight ::: 03.28.2022

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Insight News

March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 13• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

MAKING HISTORY

SUPREME COURT NOMINEE JUDGE KETANJI BROWN-JACKSON photo/Andrew Harnik_AP Photo

STORIES ON PAGE

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Page 2 • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Insight News

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Insight News • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Page 3

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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 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 13• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Ketanji Brown Jackson

History-making Senate hearing for high court

By Mark Sherman and Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press

Senate housing panel considers Senator Champion’s Bill to help close homeownership gap

A key Senate Housing committee considered Senator Bobby Joe Champion’s (DFL – Minneapolis)legislation to close the homeownership gap by targeting $10 million to help Minnesotans of color buy their first homes. Senator Champion and Build Wealth Minnesota Executive Director David McGee spoke in favor of the bill and the committee laid the measure over for further consideration.

“Homeownership is the key to building generational wealth among families and to establishing strong communities,” said Senator Champion. “Unfortunately, Minnesota has the fourth-largest racial and ethnic homeownership gap in the nation, which means many of our community members are unable to enjoy the benefits of homeownership. I am committed to addressing this inequity by partnering with organizations like Build Wealth Minnesota to help people of color purchase their first homes.” “I would like to thank Build Wealth Minnesota Executive Director David McGee for his partnership on this issue and for his thoughtful testimony in favor of the bill. I’m grateful for the committee’s consideration of this legislation and I will continue to push for passage of this important measure by the end of this legislative session.”

Build Wealth MN

$100 million initiative to reduce housing disparity Black Church 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, 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 instrument to achieve effective community engagement in a sustainable 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.”

Following are excerpts of a presentation made by Build Wealth MN CEO David McGee, who described the $100 million initiative at Build Wealth MN to reduce the homeownership gap between Blacks and whites by 15%. Presentations by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and University of Minnesota law professor, Myron Orfield were in the March 21 edition of Insight News.

By Al McFarlane, Editor We’ve been working to get Black families into home ownership for the last 20 years.

We’ve gotten over 3000 families into home ownership. We’re

a community development financial institution (CDFI) and we are also a housing developer.

We’re trying to keep them affordable and trying to find subsidies and funding to get families into home ownership.

When we started in 2005, the Black home ownership rate was 32%. Today, it’s 19% in Minneapolis and 16% in St. Paul.

It’s going the other way. We are sitting here in an area where US Bank and Wells Fargo have very big footprints. Wells Fargo has more residential mortgages than any bank in the world. This is one of their biggest footprints, and they haven’t made a lot

BWMN 4

Republicans use Jackson hearings to signal mid-term election attack strategies

By Brenda Lyle-Gray and Al McFarlane If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive. Audre Lorde In her opening statement during the confirmation hearings, President Biden’s historic Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who would replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, began by acknowledging her proud family who sat on the front row behind her as she faced the Senate Judiciary Committee. She paid tribute to her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, who made her believe her path was clearer because they, and so many others, had faced so many racial barriers.

The nominee credited her father for her brother’s, a police officer and member of the armed forces, and her interest in law and public service.

“Speaking of

unconditional love,” she said, “I have no doubt that without my husband of 26 years, Dr. Patrick Jackson, by my side from the very beginning of my professional career, none of this would be possible. I love you.”

Overwhelmed with emotions, there was no shame as the renown surgeon wiped away his tears. She spoke on her vulnerability as a mother, not always getting the balance of her career and motherhood right.

And to her beautiful daughters, Leila and Talia, she said she hopes they have seen that with hard work, determination, and love, success and happiness can be real. “I am so looking forward to seeing what each of you chooses to do with your amazing lives,” she said.

So, who is this highly credentialed, most admired and respected attorney and jurist who will make history, much to the chagrin of some GOP committee members? North Minneapolis resident, attorney Clinton Collins, corporate council for Geico, and also a

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Harvard Law School graduate, called the nominee’s credentials nearly impeccable.

“Her answers to their bullying and baiting were reflective and very judicious which they very well should be,” he said.

In 2009, former President Barack Obama named Jackson to become the vice-chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. In

Education

Normandale rebrands program to train Black male teachers

PAGE 5

2016, the Obama administration officials vetted her as a potential nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia.

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Jackson to serve as a U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the U.S. Court of

JACKSON 2 8

WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, went before the Senate Judiciary Committee with the path to her historic confirmation seemingly clear.

Committee hearings began Monday for the 51-yearold Jackson, a federal judge for the past nine years. She presented an opening statement late in the day, then answered questions from the committee’s 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans over the next two days.

She appeared before the same committee last year, after President Joe Biden chose her to fill an opening on the federal appeals court in Washington, just down the hill from the Supreme Court.

Her testimony gave most Americans, as well as the Senate, their most extensive look yet at the Harvard-trained lawyer with a resume that includes two years as a federal public defender. That makes her the first nominee with significant criminal defense experience since Thurgood Marshall, the first Black American to serve

photo/Jacquelyn Martin_AP

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination confirmation hearing started March 21. If confirmed, she would be the court’s first Black female justice. on the nation’s highest court.

The American Bar Association, which evaluates judicial nominees, on Friday gave Jackson’s its highest rating, unanimously “well qualified.”

Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel of the NAACP, said she is excited to see a Black woman on the verge of a high court seat.

JACKSON 1 4

photo/Charles Rex Arbogast_AP

Actor Jussie Smollett, center, leaves the Cook County Jail Wednesday, March 16, 2022, after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be released pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago.

Jussie Smollett released from county jail during appeal

By Don Babwin and Sara Burnett, Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett was released from jail following six nights behind bars after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be free pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack.

The former “Empire” actor walked out of the Cook County Jail on Wednesday surrounded by security. He did not comment as he got into an awaiting SUV, but his attorneys said Smollett, who is Black and gay, was the target of a racist justice system and people playing politics.

The appeals court ruling came after a Cook County judge sentenced Smollett last week to immediately begin serving 150 days in jail for his conviction on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. In an outburst immediately after the sentence was handed down, Smollett proclaimed his innocence and said “I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself.

And you must all know that.”

The appeals court said Smollett could be released after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000, meaning he didn’t have to put down money but agrees to come to court as required.

Smollett defense attorney Nenye Uche, speaking to reporters outside the jail after Smollett left, said the Smollett family is “very very happy with today’s developments.” Uche said during his time at the jail, Smollett had not eaten and drank only water, though he did not say why.

He criticized the special prosecutor’s decision to charge Smollett again after the initial charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and he paid a fine. He also called Judge James Linn’s sentence excessive for a low-level felony, adding that the appellate court doesn’t “play politics.”

“The real question is: Should Black men be walked into jail for a class 4 felony? Shame on you if you think they should,” Uche said.

Special prosecutor Dan Webb recommended that Smollett serve “an appropriate amount of prison time” during sentencing.

“His conduct denigrated hate crimes,” Webb said after the hearing. “His conduct

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I2H

Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan discuss the importance of their paid family and medical leave proposal for all Minnesota workers

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Page 4 • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Insight News

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Business

Census Bureau misses millions of Black and Hispanic residents

2020 Census called ‘worse undercount’ in decades

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia According to many experts, the COVID-19 pandemic and an administration that displayed a complete disregard for ensuring accuracy led to a consequential undercount in the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American residents during the 2020 U.S. Census.

Further, Census officials admit that they overcounted white and Asian residents.

The bureau reported the overall population as 323.2 million.

“The undercounting of Black, Latino, Indigenous and other communities of color rob us of the opportunity to be the directors of our fate, reducing our representation and limiting our power while depriving policymakers of the information they need to make

informed decisions about where the next hospital will be built or where the next school should be located,” said Damon Hewitt, the president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “In addition, the undercount exacerbates underfunding of our communities because Census data is used as the basis for hundreds of billions of dollars of federal, state, and local appropriations each year,” Hewitt said.

The Census population count determines how many representatives each state has in Congress for the next decade.

It also decides how much federal funding communities receive for roads, schools, housing, and social programs. Hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake each time the census occurs.

Robert L. Santos, the bureau’s director, displayed little regard for the undercount of minorities. He said the 2020 results were consistent with recent censuses.

photo/NNPA

The Census population count determines how many representatives each state has in Congress for the next decade.

“This is notable, given the unprecedented challenges of 2020,” Santos said in a statement.

“But the results also include some limitations — the 2020 census undercounted many of the same population groups we have historically undercounted, and it overcounted others.”

“We remain proud of the job we accomplished in the face of immense challenges,” Mr. Santos said. “And we are ready to work with the stakeholders and the public to leverage this enormously

valuable

resource fully.”

Terri Ann Lowenthal, a leading expert on the census and consultant to governments and others with a stake in the count, told the New York Times that the results were “troubling but not entirely surprising.”

“Overall, the results are less accurate than in 2010,” she said.

The bureau estimated that the 2020 census incorrectly counted 18.8 million residents, double-counting some, wrongly including others, and

missing others entirely, even as it came extremely close to reaching an accurate count of the overall population.

The Times reported that the “estimates released on Thursday — in essence, a statistical adjustment of totals made public last year — are based on an examination of federal records and an extensive survey in which the bureau interviewed residents in some 10,000 census blocks — the smallest unit used in census tabulations. Bureau experts then compared their answers to the actual census results for those blocks.”

Officials claimed that the survey enabled the bureau to estimate how many residents it missed entirely in the 2020 count, how many people were counted twice, and how many people — such as deceased persons or short-term visitors to the United States — were counted mistakenly.

Officials began the count after the pandemic shut down operations in April 2020.

After other starts and stops,

the Trump administration pressured census takers by inexplicably moving up the deadline to finish the count.

Trump also attempted to add a citizenship question to the census, further muddying attempts at an accurate count.

Many experts complained that more time was required and called the count unreliable. Some called on then-incoming President Joe Biden to order a recount.

“This is the worse census undercount I’ve seen in my 30 years working on census issues,” Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund, said during a news conference.

“I can’t even find the right word. I’m just upset about the extent of the undercount that has been confirmed by the post-enumeration survey,” Vargas said.

“This is a major step backward on this,” said Vargas.

Passing Strange April 8-May 8, 2022 Passing Strange is a bold, cutting-edge rock musical which transports audiences across the dividing lines of place, identity and conventional theater. A young Bohemian pilots audiences from Black middle-class America to Amsterdam and Berlin on a quest to discover his personal and artistic authenticity. His intense, humorous, and soulful

BWMN From 3 of investment to address the home ownership disparities.

If things continue to go at the rate they are right now, based on the income disparities

story moves beyond the limits of sex, drugs and rock & roll and into “the real”.

Passing Strange features MN Music Award winning, Malo Adams, Grammy Award winning, Jamecia Bennett, Valencia Proctor, Antonio Rios-Luna, Maje Adams, Michelle de Joya, and Erin Farste The band members are: Jeff Bailey (Bass), Joey Van

Phillips (Drums) and Kaviesh Kaviraj (Keyboard) Tickets are available now for shows Wed. & Thurs. $27 | Fri. & Sat. $31 | Sat. & Sun. matinees $29 Students, Seniors 65+ and groups of 10 or more receive $3 off per ticket For informatrion Email: boxoffice@ yellowtreetheatre.com Box office: 763-493-8733

Tom Wallace

Pictured from left to right: Maje Adams, Jamecia Bennett, Michelle de Joya, Jeff Bailey, Valencia Proctor, Erin Farste, Malo Adams, Antonio Rios-Luna, Lester Mayers.

of Black families, we will totally be priced out of the market of home ownership, period. We started building $190,000 houses in 2015. That was our first house. The houses that we just finished in late December sell for $270,000. So in just five years, the price went up $80,000 for the exact same identical house.

Senate housing panel considers Senator Champion’s Bill to help close homeownership gap

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We started an initiative to close the homeownership gap by 15% over the next five to seven years.

I’ve been a banker for 39 years, an underwriter who was the one who decides whether or not you actually get a home.

The underwriter decides that.

I’ve been training underwriters that are underwriting all over the world. We don’t really pay attention to underwriting criteria for lenders that was created over 90 years ago.

How many Black families were buying homes 90 years ago?

The underwriting criteria and guidelines have not changed for over 90 years. There’s a system that’s been in place for home ownership for white people that hasn’t changed for 90 years.

That lets you know that the possibilities of discrimination and continued disparities will continue.

We’ve created an initiative called 9,000 Equities.

Our goal to get 9,000 Black families into 9,000 homes as owners. We intend to create 9,000 legacies. We created a loan product that is a little more culturally sensitive.

Not black money. Not free money. But is going to be culturally sensitive to some of the needs of Black families.

We raised $100 million to get this started. We have been doing education at Build Wealth Minnesota.

Many of the families of your congregations have successfully completed our program.

We teach the families about systems. If we don’t understand finance and governance

systems, we’re going to perish.

So we teach families the intricate details of these systems, getting people in a position to be self-sustaining homeowners that can create a legacy utilizing equity. But if we don’t get families in homes now when they’re at the $300,000 range, five years from now, they’re probably going to be at $500,000. So by helping families buy today, our families will have the $200,000 worth of equity that sets a legacy for their family for generations.

We also have linked into the federal Section 8 program that allows families to use the payment they make for Section 8 housing to go towards home ownership. They stop using that as a tool. We have revived the tool. We’re going to get families that are on Section 8 into home ownership using their Section 8 payment as a mortgage payment.

Senator Champion has been helping us get funding to be able to do the work that we do.

He has a Senate File 3427 which will help us build a revolving loan pool so we can help families. We have a bank that’s buying loans after we make them. They’re going to continue to recycle that year after year.

Our goal is 9,000. We’re going to start out about 1,000 families a year for the first three years, then about 1,500 a year after that.

We’re hoping that we’re going to be able to get as many partners and as much funding and support as possible to make this even more aggressive. So some great work is going on already. We closed for the first family in January.

And we’re up to about 150 already this year. It is on fire.

We need all of your support.

This is something like has never happened before.

Jackson 1 From 3 “Representation matters,” Wallace said. “It’s critical to have diverse experience on the bench.

It should reflect the rich cultural diversity of this country.”

Republicans have signaled they could use

JACKSON 1 8

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Insight News • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Page 5

Education Hobbservation Spotlight

How the “True Blue 1881 Foundation” assists HBCU students in need Hobb servation Point

By Chuck Hobbs When I think back to my freshman year at Morehouse College in 1990, for all of the excitement that derived from being away from home, meeting new friends from across the world, and enjoying the educational and extra curricular offerings of the Atlanta University Center (Morehouse, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, and the Interdenominational Theological Center), one critical aspect of those school days that I have never written about until now is this: my fellow Men of Morehouse and I were ALWAYS HUNGRY! When we arrived at Morehouse that August, the Trustees were already in the process of modernizing the campus, which included the renovation of the Chivers and Lane Dining Halls. The College had just contracted with a new food service company because, to let our older Brothers tell the story, the food quality and presentation in prior years was quite deplorable.

Well, such was not the case during my freshman and subsequent years, as one of my best friends, Victor Owens, and I still boast that from the ham, eggs, and waffles, to the fried chicken, veggies, desserts, and occasional ribeye steaks and fried shrimp, all

of it comprised some of the best eating of our entire lives.

But as great as the food tasted at Morehouse during our era, there was one major condundrum—the hours of operation were rather minimal. Meaning, if we missed breakfast, lunch, or dinner before the cafeteria closed, we were simply “on short,” as we used to say, and starving!

This was particularly problematic on days when we had late classes, labs, or practice for any number of extracurricular activities. Further complicating matters was the fact that while Morehouse surely had its share of wealthy young students, like the late Ennis Cosby (RIP), the overwhelming majority of us hailed from middle and working class families where budgeting meant that dollars were not always available for daily trips to Popeyes, Taco Bell, Steagall’s, or the old Sattwewhite’s Restaurant. Not to mention that even when discretionary funds were flowing, during that era, the AUC was not very safe from the criminal element in Atlanta’s West End—a factor that, regrettably, led to clashes that occasionally involved gun play—and casualties.

Due to the abovelisted realities, there were many nights when the only solution to our hunger was to drink some water, go to bed, and await for the cafeteria to open at 7:00 a.m.

Such memories are why I was ecstatic to read about True Blue 1881, a non-profit founded by a Spelman alumna, Tiombé O’Rourke. The Foundation’s tagline, Philanthropy Done Differently, best describes its purpose of feeding HBCU

students—and dispensing funds to defray the costs of living and education.

When I spoke to Sister O’Rourke about her philanthropic bent, she laughed when I told her that my crew, the Florida Boyz, used to hang around at symposia ranging from Baroque music to Keynesian economics, all because we knew that at program’s end, that there would be ample finger sandwiches, cheese, veggie, and fruit trays that helped to fill our bellies for the evening.

Levity aside, the importance of assisting college students living in veritable food deserts is no laughing matter—as is the need to assist with ancillary expenses like book fees that place graduation in jeopardy for some students each year in the AUC. Thus, as the spring semester will soon conclude, I find it important to highlight True Blue 1881 in hopes that all loyal Hobbservation Point readers will donate to the cause—more on that later!

But first, allow me to introduce the founder, Tiombé N. O›Rourke: What (or who) inspired you to take on your initial calling of feeding AUC students?

I heard of a hunger strike happening on Spelman’s campus. People were protesting NOT being able to donate swipes to hungry students.

Apparently, there was a time you could live on campus without a meal plan. I was completely oblivious that there was an issue with food security among students. I had a few weeks until Thanksgiving and I decided I would feed those who couldn’t go home or were simply hungry.

Since 2017 I have been helping students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country. 2017 was the year I discovered many college students were experiencing food insecurity, and I decided to feed the students of the Atlanta University Center the week of Thanksgiving. The idea was to give students who couldn’t afford to go home a chef prepared meal. We also gave gift cards to airlines, gift bags and cash.

This was the impetus for me to seek out needs among HBCU students and then bridge the gap.

To date, we have become a nonprofit; fed hundreds of students, given away dozens of scholarships, assisted students through a housing crisis as a result of Covid-19, and paid balances of graduating seniors so they could receive their diplomas.

Additionally, we have taken care of needs like gas, groceries, car repairs, health insurance, really anything that would be a stumbling block to graduating.

Nota Bene: Sister O’Rourke co-owns GEAT Cosmetics with her cousin, Alexis Allen, a company that donates a monthly scholarship to an HBCU student and to date, has given well in excess of $100,000 in direct aid to students.

With your Foundation also including financial assistance for students, describe some of the obstacles that you have had to overcome to bring your passion to fruition?

Initially, people were skeptical about what we were doing and the fact it was FREE! Even when I went to the financial aid offices and tried to anonymously pay off balances, they all kind of gave me blank

Everything has transpired organically; someone sees what we are doing, believes in it, and then asks to help—it has honestly been that seamless. I went from funding much of this out of pocket to having corporate sponsors, and that is nothing but God’s grace. stares. FINALLY, when it was realized I wanted nothing in return, they began finding me the students. Frank Lawrence, a Morehouse graduate, was at my first dinner and he has been a huge help ever since.

He provided me with the first Morehouse students to benefit from us paying off balances.

Do you foresee your Foundation being replicated (in time) at other HBCU’s?

I think there are probably multiple organizations helping students, but I think our approach is unique in that we make it a point that the process is EASY, and rarely academically based. So many things go into a college education, we want to minimize or eliminate anything that threatens one’s ability to graduate. We assist ANY full time student at the 107 HBCU’s.

Please give our readers a glimpse into some of the people and corporations that

have assisted you in your efforts.

How can Hobbservation Point readers contribute to the cause?

Please feel free to donate via: Zelle/PayPal: true1881blue@gmail.com Venmo: @ trueblue1881 (business account) Cashapp: $true1881blue https://www. trueblue1881.org/support-us Website:trueblue1881.org Instagram: TrueBlue1881 Facebook: True Blue 1881 Inc. So, join Ol’ Hobbs and contribute any amount that you can to help out the next generation of leaders hailing from America’s storied HBCU’s!

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.

Normandale rebrands program to train Black male teachers Normandale Community College is rebranding the program launched in Fall 2021 under the temporary name Black Men in Teaching to “Sirtify.”

“Sirtify is a fun and memorable play on words evoking the program’s target audience and goal,” according to Program Coordinator Marvis Kilgore. “We wanted a name that would distinguish our program from the work of other organizations with complementary missions. In Sirtify, together with its tagline CULTIVATING BLACK MALE TEACHERS, we found a name that captures our program’s fresh, unique personality.”

According to the most recent data available, 101,388 of the 870,506 students enrolled in Minnesota schools in the 20192020 school year (11.6%) were Black/African American (MN Dept. of Education, Minnesota Report Card), but only 1,521 of Minnesota’s K-12 teachers holding a license (1.5%) were Black/African American (PELSB, 2021 Biennial Report of Supply & Demand of Teachers in Minnesota).

Normandale Community College President Dr. Joyce Ester developed the program to recruit and help prepare Black men to be K-12 teachers. She created Black Men in Teaching, to recruit and support Black, African American, and African men get into the K-12 teaching profession.

The program seeks to empower Black men in education to have a positive impact on all students, especially those from similar backgrounds. “There is widespread concern across our community about the lack of diversity among teaching professionals,” Ester said.

“The intentionality and specificity of Sirtify positions Normandale to be a part of the change that students and communities need. This program will transform not only the lives of the students we educate at Normandale, but the lives of the students they will teach in the future.”

The inaugural Sirtify cohort started in late August 2021, and the program added a second cohort in January 2022.

Program Coordinator Marvis Kilgore said she will expand the program’s enrollment from six students in its first year to a total of 20-25 by 2025.

Kilgore, who came to Normandale in 2021 to develop and lead Sirtify, has been a champion of diversity and equity in education in the United

& Demand of Teachers in Minnesota.”

https://mn.gov/pelsb/ assets/Supply%20and%20

Demand%202021_Final_ tcm1113-463801.pdf)

How to Get Your Child Vaccinated for COVID-19 Left to right: Abdirahman Hassan, Charmont Lee, Marvis Kilgore, Giovanni Saunders, Tabb Christopher States and abroad. “Having the opportunity to directly address equity and inclusion issues in the State of Minnesota by placing more Black men in the K-12 educational setting is an enormous responsibility – and a crucial one given the racial climate in Minnesota and beyond,” he said. “We believe Normandale is the first college in the Midwest to offer a program focused on cultivating Black male teachers,” Kilgore said.”

According to Sirtify student, track and field coach, and self-described “father first” Darringer Funches, “I choose this program at Normandale simply because it allowed me the opportunity to pursue a dream that I felt was unable to happen otherwise. To have the opportunity to go through this program with Men of Color who have a common goal makes it more real.”

Sirtify offers academic, career, and personal support to persons who identify as Black, African American, and African men with a goal of becoming licensed K-12 teachers. Support includes helping students successfully transfer into four-year, bachelor’s degree-granting institutions after they finish two full-time years at Normandale or the part-time equivalent in academic credits. Students in Sirtify receive annual scholarships of up to $10,000 covering all tuition, fees, books, and supplies, plus a contribution toward cost of living, funded by donors to the Normandale Community College Foundation and other sources.

Normandale is Minnesota’s largest community college, and has a long track record of welcoming and serving a racially diverse student body.

It has a longstanding, widely respected Education Department that has launched hundreds of future K-12 teachers on their higher education journey.

A wide range of

studies show that students learn more when they have teachers who reflect their own race and ethnicity. ● For example, a study of students in Tennessee found that Black students who were randomly assigned to at least one Black teacher in grade school were nine percentage points more likely to graduate from high school and six percentage points more likely to enroll in a postsecondary institution than Black students who were not assigned any Black teachers. (Source: Gershenson, S., Hart, C.M.D., Hyman, J., Lindsay, C., & Papageorge, N.W., “The LongRun Impacts of Same-Race Teachers.” National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 25254. November 2018, revised February 2021.) ● Another study regarding perceptions and attitudes toward education found that students who had a teacher of the same race as them reported higher rates on measures such as feeling cared for by teachers, interest in their school work, and college aspirations. The largest benefits were for matches of both gender and race/ethnicity. (Source: Egalite, A.J. & Kisida, B., “The Effects of Teacher Match on Students’ Academic Perceptions and Attitudes.” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Vol. 40, Issue 1. 2018.)

In Minnesota, it is reasonable to infer from available data that many students get through their K-12 years with very few—if any— opportunities to learn from teachers who share their race and ethnicity. ● In the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area in the 2020-2021 school year, roughly 12% of all K-12 teachers identified as BIPOC, compared to 48% of K-12 students. (Source: Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB), “2021 Biennial Report: Supply

Be Ready, Minnesota. Kids Deserve A Shot. ŚŝůĚƌĞŶ ĂŐĞƐ ϱͲϭϭ ĂƌĞ ĞůŝŐŝďůĞ ƚŽ ƌĞĐĞŝǀĞ ƚŚĞ WĮnjĞƌ Ks/ Ͳϭϵ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĞ ĨŽƌ ϱͲϭϭͲLJĞĂƌ ŽůĚƐ͘

3 Ways to Get Your Child Vaccinated ϭ͘ sŝƐŝƚ ŵŶ͘ŐŽǀͬǀĂdžĨŽƌŬŝĚƐ ƚŽ ĮŶĚ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƌƐ Žƌ ƉŚĂƌŵĂĐŝĞƐ ŶĞĂƌථLJŽƵ͕ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ͗ Ž WĞĚŝĂƚƌŝĐ ĂŶĚ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ŵĞĚŝĐŝŶĞ ĐůŝŶŝĐƐ͕ ƉƌŝŵĂƌLJ ĐĂƌĞ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƌƐ͕ ĨĞĚĞƌĂůůLJ ƋƵĂůŝĮĞĚ ŚĞĂůƚŚ ĐĞŶƚĞƌƐ͕ ůŽĐĂů ƉƵďůŝĐ ŚĞĂůƚŚ ĂŐĞŶĐŝĞƐ͕ ƚƌŝďĂů ŚĞĂůƚŚ ĂŐĞŶĐŝĞƐ͕ ƐƚĂƚĞ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ƐŝƚĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĐůŝŶŝĐƐ͕ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚŝĂŶ ,ĞĂůƚŚ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶƐ͘ Ϯ͘ ŚĞĐŬ ǁŝƚŚ LJŽƵƌ ƉĞĚŝĂƚƌŝĐŝĂŶ Žƌ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ŵĞĚŝĐŝŶĞ ĐůŝŶŝĐ ĂďŽƵƚ ĂƉƉŽŝŶƚŵĞŶƚƐ͘ ϯ͘ tĂƚĐŚ ĨŽƌ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĂƟŽŶ ĐůŝŶŝĐƐ ďĞŝŶŐ ŽīĞƌĞĚ Ăƚ ƐĐŚŽŽůƐ Žƌ ŽƚŚĞƌ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶƐ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ DŝŶŶĞƐŽƚĂ͘

THE FACTS • The vaccine is safe for children ages 5-11.

• The vaccine protects children and families from COVID-19.

• The vaccine is free.

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.

11/2/2021

Page 6 • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Insight 2 Health

iStock

Governor Tim Walz

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan

Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan discuss the importance of their paid family and medical leave proposal for all Minnesota workers Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan recently joined community and business leaders at a small business in Saint Paul to discuss the importance of their paid family and medical leave proposal for all Minnesota workers.

Walz and Flanagan are proposing a Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program they say will ensure Minnesotans do not have to make the unfair choice between a paycheck and taking time off work to care for a new baby or a family member with a serious illness.

They said creation of this program is necessary to support businesses, ensure more equitable economic opportunities for Minnesotans, retain more women in the labor force, and positively impact the lives of children.

The Walz-Flanagan budget also supports working families with Earned Sick and

Safe Time. The proposal means workers can accrue up to 48 hours per year for when they need to recover from an illness, go to a medical appointment, care for a child during a school closure, or get care and assistance due to domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual assault.

The Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward – the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s supplemental budget recommendation for the current legislative session – creates a Paid Family and Medical Leave program to support workers and businesses and ensure more equitable economic opportunities for Minnesota children and families. The roundtable discussion followed recent meetings that the Governor and Lieutenant Governor held to hear from Minnesotans about the need for paid family and medical leave.

“With a historic

surplus, we have an opportunity to lower costs for Minnesotans, invest in the middle class, and lend a hand to those who haven’t recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Walz. “That’s why our budget invests in a comprehensive, statewide paid family and medical leave program to create a strong foundation necessary for the health and wellbeing of Minnesota families.

Minnesota’s economy is strong, and we have the means to get this done for all Minnesota workers.”

“Today we heard it loud and clear: Taking time off to bond with a new baby, recover from illness, or care for a loved one who is sick is not optional,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “At a time when our economy is strong and our businesses need a reliable workforce, this is a bold, responsible step we can take to support workers and families and to ensure no one has to

choose between their health or family and their financial security. Taking care of each other is just how we do things in Minnesota.”

“I’ve been fortunate enough to own Cahoots Coffee Bar for the last two out of our 26 years of operation,” said Anders Ulland. “Over the years, many people have met and discussed important issues in this shop, and Cahoots is honored to be a part of the discussion to bring more security to families in their most challenging times.”

“When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was in and out of the hospital for months. And with no paid family and medical leave, my husband couldn’t afford to take even one day off work to care for me and our 5-year-old daughter.

Our family was in crisis,” said Dayna Kennedy. “Minnesota families across race, gender, and geography are going through situations like mine – and much worse – because they can’t

take time off to care for their loved ones. Minnesota families deserve paid family and medical leave that is comprehensive and accessible to all – regardless of one’s employer. Minnesota can do this.”

“The science tells us that the first 5 years of a child’s life are the most critical period of brain development. Brains are built from the ground up.

It is indisputable that early experiences, and specifically early relationships affect the quality of the architecture of the developing brain by establishing either a sturdy or fragile foundation,” said Dr. Anjali Goel. “Paid family leave eliminates the choice so many families have to make between optimizing their child’s development and economic security.”

“Our current system for family leave leaves everyone falling short – our small businesses and organizations who desperately

want to support and nurture their employees but can’t afford to, and our employees who are forced to make decisions between work and family that no one should have to make,” said Samantha Sencer-Mura.

“We need a comprehensive system that understands that families come in many different forms, that being able to care for family is an essential need, and that employers want to support families during critical moments but need support to do so.”

“No matter our race, religion, zip code, or income, every single Minnesotan should be able to experience the abundance that comes from an economy that should honor their full humanity. I believe every person deserves the dignity of paid family and medical leave.

We shouldn’t have to rely on the generosity and flexibility of our employers to be able to both work and care for our families,” said Corrine Freedman Ellis.

insightnews.com

Insight News • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Page 7

Aesthetically It ‘The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois’ wins book critics award

By Hillel Italie, AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois,” her epic novel about racism, resilience and identity named for the influential Black scholar and activist, has received the fiction prize from the National Book Critics Circle.

The critics circle praised Jeffers for “weaving several centuries’ worth of ‘songs’ from the ancestors into her narrative of the coming of age and young adulthood of a brilliant Atlanta scholar.”

Jeffers, a professor of English at the University of Oklahoma and author of five poetry collections, was among the winners announced Thursday during a ceremony held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the nonfiction category, the award was given to Clint Smith’s “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America.” Rebecca Donner’s “All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler” won for biography, and Jeremy Atherton Lin’s “Gay Bar: Why We Went Out” was named the best autobiography.

The poetry prize was given to Diane Seuss’ “frank: sonnets,” and the criticism award went

On Life: Things I Should Have Told You photo/Sydney A. Foster

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, a professor of English at the University of Oklahoma and author of five poetry collections, was among the winners announced Thursday during a ceremony held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

to Melissa Febos’ “Girlhood.”

Antthony Veasna So, a highly regarded author who died suddenly in 2020 at age 28, received posthumous praise on Thursday. His story collection “Afterparties” was awarded the John Leonard Prize for best first book. Leonard, a founding member of the NBCC who died in 2008, was known for his support for emerging writers.

The inaugural Toni Morrison Achievement Award, established last year in honor of the late Nobel laureate and presented to “institutions that have made lasting and meaningful contributions to book culture,” was given to

photo/Harper Collins

the Cave Canem Foundation.

A self-defined “home for Black poetry” started in 1996 by Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, the foundation has helped support such prize winning poets as Claudia Rankine and Tracy K. Smith.

Novelist Percival Everett, whose books include such meta-fiction as “Erasure” and “A History of the AfricanAmerican People,” received the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the critics circle’s first president.

The Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, named for the late critic and co-founder of the NBCC, was given to New Yorker contributor Merve Emre.

The NBCC was founded in 1974 and includes hundreds of “critics, authors, literary bloggers, book publishing professionals, student members, and friends.”

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Sharing Our Stories

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

By Kim Nelson I have enjoyed great reads during this Women’s History Month. From novels to autobiographies to children’s books, each of the amazing sistahs have brought a variety of unique voices to the table. That being said, to round out this month, I am happy to share this book of inspiration: On Life: Things I Should Have Told You

by Kim Nelson.

Nelson has been highly successful in her life, not only as a game-changing executive at General Mills, but as a wife, a mother of two daughters, and her commitment to a life of service in faith and in community. Indeed, she

had excellent examples in her parents and her extended family. Here, as her daughters are poised to leave the nest and embark upon college, she shares her wisdom with love in an array of life experiences.

Her words speak empowerment as a woman, as a mother to her daughter. They speak of the tools she will need as she navigates the next phase of her life as a college student and young adult. We as African Americans are the legacy of our elders and our ancestors, and it is upon us to pass that legacy on to prepare our children, that they too will pay it forward.

Nelson’s life experiences and influences span the spectrum of adulthood— family, health, love, race (for her biracial daughters), integrity, money management, education, gratitude, forgiveness, selfdiscipline, social justice, technology, to name some of the chapters. She doesn’t shy away from life’s challenges in her chapters, and at the same time her positive energy strengthens

and encourages, something our young women need on a consistent basis.

While I read this book, I heard Regina Belle’s rendition of “If I Could”; as a parent, it did put me all up “in the feels.” As a father, it was easy for me to read Nelson’s work and share such life lessons with my son as well. When it came to her chapter On Men, I admit I found myself thinking of Steve Harvey’s book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man; yes, we men are simple in that context. I heartily agree with the book’s importance of being the best person you can be. And of course, to do that we must lead by example.

On Life is available through Amazon and Minnesota Black Authors Expo.

For Women’s History Month, I extend my deep respect and regard to De’Vonna Bentley-Pittman, Josette Ciceron, Rosemond Sarpong Owens, and Kim Nelson. Thank you for sharing your stories.

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Page 8 • March 28, 2022 - April 3, 2022 • Insight News

Jackson 1 From 4 Jackson’s nomination to try to brand Democrats as soft on crime, an emerging theme in GOP midterm election campaigns. Biden has chosen several former public defenders for life-tenured judicial posts. In addition, Jackson served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency created

by Congress to reduce disparity in federal prison sentences.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said, “I’ve noticed an

Jackson 2 From 3 Appeals.

Judge Jackson served as the law clerk for retiring Justice Breyer and learned up close how important it was for a Supreme Court Justice to build consensus and speak to the mainstream of citizens.

“President Biden was going to want to make sure that no one would question the academic credentials of the first Black woman nominee. She went to Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She was a Supreme Court clerk,” Collins

insightnews.com

alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson’s treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children.”

Hawley did not raise the issue when he questioned Jackson last year before voting against her appeals court confirmation.

The White House pushed back forcefully against the criticism as “toxic and weakly presented misinformation.”

Sentencing expert Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor, wrote on his blog that Jackson’s record shows she is skeptical of the range of prison terms recommended for child pornography cases, “but so too were prosecutors in the majority of her cases and so too

are district judges nationwide.”

Hawley is one of several committee Republicans, along with Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who are potential 2024 presidential candidates, and their aspirations may collide with other Republicans who would just as soon not pursue a scorched-earth approach to Jackson’s nomination.

Biden chose Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in American history. She would take the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced in January that he would retire this summer

after 28 years on the court.

Jackson once worked as a high court law clerk to Breyer early in her legal career.

Democrats who control the Senate by the slimmest of margins are moving quickly to confirm Jackson, even though Breyer’s seat will not officially open until the summer.

They have no votes to spare in a 50-50 Senate that they run by virtue of the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

But they are not moving as fast as Republicans did when they installed Amy Coney Barrett on the court little more than a month after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and days before the

2020

presidential election.

Barrett, the third of President Donald Trump’s high court picks, entrenched the court’s conservative majority when she took the place of the liberal Ginsburg.

Last year, Jackson won Senate confirmation by a 53-44 vote, with three Republicans supporting her. It’s not clear how many Republicans might vote for her this time.

Jackson is married to Patrick Johnson, a surgeon in Washington. They have two daughters, one in college and the other in high school. She is related by marriage to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who also was the Republican

vice presidential nominee in 2012. Ryan has voiced support for Jackson’s nomination.

Jackson has spoken about how her children have kept her in touch with reality, even as she has held a judge’s gavel since 2013. In the courtroom, she told an audience in Athens, Georgia, in 2017, “people listen and generally do what I tell them to do.”

At home, though, her daughters “make it very clear I know nothing, I should not tell them anything, much less give them any orders, that is, if they talk to me at all,” Jackson said.

said on Conversations with Al McFarlane on KFAI, 90.3 FM last Tuesday.

“If your goal is to get the most prestigious clerkship, you want to clerk for a federal judge. Among the federal judges, there’s a hierarchy. There’s the district court judges, the appellate court and the Supreme Court. The most illustrious path if you want to really burnish your clerkship credentials would be to clerk for a federal district or appellate court judge, and then get a Supreme court clerkship.

If you want to be a federal judge, a Supreme court clerkship, is probably the best credential you can have. If you want to go to one of the big Wall

Street law firms, they’ll take you with open arms. And right now, the big Wall Street firms are paying Supreme Court clerks who choose to join their firm $200,000 to $300,000 bonuses to sign up with them because they realize how important that credential is and the contacts that you have as a Supreme Court clerk,” Collins said. “Judge Jackson has those credentials.”

“In at least in the last several decades, there have been certain credentials that have become very important or at least have become the qualifying markers. There are two or three law schools that seem to give you an inside track for these nominations.

Harvard Law School, Yale, and

to a lesser extent Stanford, but especially Harvard and Yale.

Yale is the hardest law school to get into in the country. It’s even harder than Harvard Law School because the class is smaller.

The typical first year class at Harvard is 500 students. Yale is half that size. So if you look at who’s on the court right now, at least half of the justices went to Yale Law School and the others went to Harvard law school with the exception of Amy Coney Barrett, the most recent person, who actually went to Notre Dame Law School though, apparently she got into the Ivy league law schools and for other reasons chose to go to Notre Dame,” Clinton Collins said.

But for the first Black

woman, you want to make sure that if people are going to come at her, it would not be because they could question her intellect or her academic credentials,” he said.

“For the Republicans to attack her, which clearly they’re trying to do, they’re going to have to do it on ideological lines. They can’t say that she’s not qualified.

The woman who not only has excellent academic credentials, she has been a district court judge. She was a federal defender, public defender in the federal system, and now she’s also sat on the court of appeals,” Collins said.

“Professionally, as well as academically, her credentials are above reproach. Which is, from a strategic standpoint, ideal because it forces the Republicans to do what they’re doing, which is taking these cheap political shots to try to attack her from an ideological point of view,” he said Republican Judiciary members grilled Jackson on the amicus brief she worked on regarding detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator, questioned her religious faith and later, stormed out of the hearings after a contentious discussion as to whether the government had the right to hold detainees indefinitely without a trial.

B r o w n - J a c k s o n ’s testimony Tuesday covered issues such as abortion, critical race theory, court packing, and how she would define ‘a woman’.

GOP committee members used the platform to attack Democrats, setting out rally points for their 2022 midterm elections by painting Democrats as soft on crime.

“That places the Democrats in a strong position, because they can say to the nation, the real audience, ‘Here is someone who clearly has the intellectual heft and the professional training to be a judge. And the people that are attacking her are doing it for cheap political reasons. It’s not because she won’t be fair. It’s not because she doesn’t have the training and the background.

They just don’t like her because of who she is and who she represents. And they fear that she’s going to somehow affect the ideological balance, which really is not going to happen here. The court has six solid conservatives and Justice Jackson is replacing an already liberal voice on the court,’” Collins said.

Collins said the Republicans know Jackson will get confirmed. She needs 51 votes. With 50 Democrats, Kamala Harris as vice president is going to be the deciding vote.

“So I think the Republicans are playing for the fall. They are trying to preview their attack lines for the mid-term elections.

They’re grandstanding. And

people like Lindsey Graham are trying to get their base fired up.”

Cori Bush (D-MO), the first Black Congresswoman in the history of Missouri, , noted that Jackson would become the first federal public defender in the Court’s 233 years and the High Court’s first justice since Thurgood Marshall to have criminal defense experience.

In an emotional opening statement, Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ), the only Black member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he could barely contain his joy in seeing Jackson in the Capitol for her confirmation hearings.

“This is not a normal day for America,” he said. “It’s a proud day!”

Angela Rose Myers, co-chair of the Political Action Committee for the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP, said many GOP politicians think irrationally when it comes to what will prove beneficial for all Americans when we remove the biases that block our way to progress.

“In my view,” she said, “the very foundation of American democracy is rooted in exploitation of Black folk. We have White men who are rooted in a White supremacist ideology, who have power over the lives of Black women’s bodies, Black women’s access to reproductive care. How do we take that power back?”

She said, “I hate that this ill-informed, policy making GOP machine has the power of affecting Black people and, in particular, the millennium generation and those generations that will follow.”

“There’s small steps that we can take of just even being better informed.

There are people in our community everywhere who are ill-informed. And there’s an industry of misinformation as making sure that we are not well informed. I would say that one easy thing that everybody can do right now, is figure out who your representative is and sign up for their newsletter. So your city council person, your county commissioner, your state House representative, your state Senate representative, your Senator, and your congressperson, your president, get this information.

That might sound like that’s 10 people right there, and that’s 10 newsletters, but I’m telling you when it comes to these small issues, and then also these small opportunities, I can’t tell you how many times I got an email from on Andrea Jenkins, when I used to live in her ward, about a community grant that was coming out, about opportunity to sit in and hear a public hearing or testify at a public hearing,” she said.

Myers said following Insight News, and local community newspapers, the Black news, is so important because the points of view they provide.

Smollett From 3 will discourage others who are victims of hate crimes from coming forward and reporting those crimes to law enforcement.”

Smollett’s attorneys had argued that he would have completed the sentence by the time the appeal process was completed and that Smollett could be in danger of physical harm if he remained locked up in Cook County Jail.

The office of the special prosecutor called the claim that Smollett’s health and safety were at risk “factually incorrect,” in a response to his motion, noting that Smollett was being held in protective custody at the jail.

The court’s decision marks the latest chapter in a strange story that began in January 2019 when Smollett reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks. The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett himself and his arrest on charges that he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it.

Authorities said Smollett paid two men he knew from work on the TV show “Empire” to stage the attack.

Prosecutors said he told them what racist and homophobic slurs to shout, and to yell that Smollett was in “MAGA Country,” a reference to the campaign slogan of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

A jury convicted Smollett in December on five felony counts of disorderly conduct — the charge filed when a person lies to police. He was acquitted on a sixth count. Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett last week to 150 days in jail — with good behavior he could have been released in as little as 75 days.

Smollett maintained his innocence during the trial.

During sentencing he shouted at the judge that he was innocent, warning the judge that he was not suicidal and if he died in custody it was somebody else, and not him, who would have taken his life.

Uche said the first thing Jussie did when learning the news was push his hands on the glass between them and said he nearly lost hope in the U.S. constitutional system. “I think he had nearly given up,” Uche said.

He said the next step will be to file an appeal of the verdict.