April 8, 2021 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 April 8-14, 2021, Vol. 87 No. 36

FIND US ONLINE AT WWW.SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”

chauvin TRIAL continues Chief describes an MPD unrecognizable to most Mpls Blacks

By Mel Reeves Community editor

T

he second week of the Derek Chauvin trial picked up where it ended with the Minneapolis Police Department distancing itself from the former officer. Minneapolis police higher-ups, including Chief Medaria Arradondo, have taken the stand to declare that neither Chauvin’s behavior nor the techniques used to restrain George Floyd were consistent with MPD policy.

“Once there was no longer any resistance,” said Chief Arradondo, “and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a per-

son proned out, handcuffed behind their back—that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy. It is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.”

Arradondo also noted that Minneapolis police are guided by the idea of the “sanctity of life” and that the MPD aims to treat citizens with dignity while “being their guardians.”

However, many people in Minneapolis do not identify with or recognize the kind and gentle police department that was described in court and for the Court TV audience by Arradondo on Monday.

“Chief Rondo was engaging in nothing but a propaganda stunt,”

said Minneapolis writer Marjaan Sirdar. “This will allow people outside of Minneapolis to see him as the model police chief.

“He was going to say that U.S. law enforcement is the best in the world, and they are the best when it comes to oppression. They serve as a model for the world for repression and brutality,” Sirdar said.

“The MPD is trying to distance themselves from Chauvin and calling him a bad officer, and there is some truth to it,” said local activist and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong of the Racial Justice Network.

“We haven’t seen a knee on somebody’s neck that killed them, but ■ See Trial on page 5

Photo credit MGN Washington Post/YouTube

MSR SALUTES OUTSTANDING BLACK WOMEN Three heroines of George Floyd Square

By Tiffany Johnson Contributing writer While there are countless activists and allies fighting for justice, police accountability and prosecution of police guilty of misconduct since the killing of George Floyd, Jeanelle Austin, Marcia Howard and Madi RamirezTentinger have emerged as among the most dedicated.

They have all been active since the beginning organizing what has become known as George Floyd Square (GFS).

Jeanelle Austin Austin, who grew up in the area around GFS, has encountered a variety of experiences while serving as what she called “lead caretaker” of the memorial at GFS. She is the founder of Racial Agency Initiative LLC and has experience working on racial healing and reconciliation.

There was a time in 2020 when the offerings at GFS Memorial were being im-

properly removed and Ausspace. So I grabbed my niece, George Floyd Global Memotin intervened. “I would’ve hooked arm and arm and said, rial. It is incredible to watch. brought the caretakers to ‘Walk with me.’ We started A universe will spring from do it properly. We wanted walking and I said, ‘We are her head on a Tuesday. That to compost the flowers. You going to say the names on has been incredible to be adknow, everything in the meevery tombstone that we see, jacent to,” said Howard. morial mattered, and how because this is called the Say Howard resides in the we recycled things and disTheir Names Memorial.’

Powderhorn neighborhood, posed of things mattered.

“And so I walked with her is a retired Marine, and was “They literally just took up and down every aisle, and a school teacher up until the piles of offering and flowwe named every name that death of George Floyd last ers and threw them in city is in this cemetery installa- year. “38th and Chicago has garbage cans,” said Austin, tion. And when we finished, become her classroom,” said who with Ramirez-Tentinger we looked up and this whole Austin of Howard. “I am a spent that afternoon retrievcrowd had followed.” resident and volunteer and ing flowers and gifts from Austin is recognized by protestor,” explained Howheaps of city trash in order her peers for her meticulous ard. to preserve and honor the attention to detail and her She is responsible for offerings. breadth of radical creativity. watching the streets, helping She was also instrumenShe is gifted with the ability maintain a safe environment tal in helping establish and to imagine a future that is dif- in GFS where community maintain what has come to ferent than our present and can thrive, and organizing be known as the past. a watch over the barricades “Say Their Names Memothat surround the area. Even rial.”

Marcia Howard in a casual setting Howard “My eldest niece [and I], “Jeanelle’s methodical,” is vigilant, using her belt we were standing [at the said Marcia Howard. “ The equipped with body cam and Say Their Names Memocare and attention that she other gadgets to capture picrial] together and I noticed puts into something as sim- tures of noteworthy activity. that there was this crowd ple as preserving a flower or Howard admits she’s gone of mostly White folks,” said a scrap of paper is the same through quite a transformaAustin. “And they wouldn’t attentiveness that she would tion over the last year: “I was Left to right, Madi Ramirez-Tentinger, Jeanelle Austin, and actually go and engage the put into literally creating the still wearing A-line skirts and Marcia Howard Photo by Anthony Johnson, II ■ See Heroines on page 5

St. Paul housing organizers push for rent stabilization

By Khalifa Uchechi Contributing writer Community-based organizations within St. Paul neighborhoods have launched a campaign to collect 10,000 signatures to put rent stabilization on the November 2021 ballot in St. Paul.

This comes after last year’s successful advocacy for creating Minnesota’s strongest tenant protections ordinance in the city of St. Paul.

This ordinance primarily focuses on landlords providing just cause in lease renewal, tenant screening, security deposit limits, and giving tenants advance notice about new property ownership and rent spikes.

“Housing is the most basic of human rights, and oftentimes it's overlooked as that,” said Brian Rosas, advocacy manager of Minnesota Youth Collective. “Housing is a great foundation for people to build, to grow, to have generational healing, wealth, success, and with-

geous rents spikes that unfairly impact Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) households which ultimately creates housing displacements and homelessness in the city.

“We have a shortage of housing [in St. Paul],” said Danielle Swift, anti-displacement organizer for the Frogtown Neighborhood Association. “There just isn't anywhere for

For the past 20 years, the median rate of rent increase has been 2.7% in the Twin Cities according to a study conducted by University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. “We don't want to perpetuate this pattern of creating policies that help most people while letting the same people fall through the cracks,” said Tram Hoang, policy advocate at The Alliance. “The policy right now won't even impact most renters if we're talking about White renters and renters of higher people to go. We're trying to keep wealth. If we are looking at the folks our communities intact and give we want to protect from higher rent people the opportunity to stay and displacement, the 3% is going where they are connected to their to really target the protection of lowVolunteers and organizers of the rent stabilization petition effort take a families, their churches, and where wealth and BIPOC renters.” break after collecting signatures. their children go to school.”

With the ban of rent control in Photo courtesy of the Alliance Rent stabilization regulates the Minnesota, rent stabilization offers rate at which property owners can a protection to community memout that you're really just causing so of Native American residents, 62% increase the rent after setting the bers to guarantee that they will be much harm to communities.” of Latino residents, 58% of Asian initial price for rent. The coalition able to stay in place without worryAccording to the American residents do. Housing Equity Now is campaigning for a policy that ing about being uprooted from their Community Survey in 2019, 39% St. Paul (HENS) is an extensive co- limits the rate of increase to 3% in home and community. “Rent stabiof White residents in St. Paul rent, alition of organizations and St. Paul a 12-month period across the entire lization will give people the time to while 82% of Black residents, 64% community members to end outra- city of St. Paul in all rental units.

■ See Rent on page 5

“It's the people who lead the work.”

2

April 8-14, 2021

Flailing Chauvin defense falls back on racial stereotypes

We have now heard opening statements and a week’s worth of testimony from witnesses in the Chauvin case. I knew the first witnesses were going to be emotionally powerful for the State and that the defense goal would be to weather the storm without any selfinflicted damage. I was not prepared to hear how much trauma and guilt has enveloped everyone who was prevented by the police from helping George Floyd.

The other thing for which I was not prepared is how deeply troubled I am at the defense approach to this trial. I have been a public defender for over 31 years and, to my core, I believe that everyone accused of a criminal offense deserves a rigorous defense by a public defender or private counsel.

But what the world has seen, in the very first televised trial in Minnesota, does not represent how I would defend this case. And I want our community to understand that what we are seeing is not representative of the fine work of many public defenders and defense lawyers.

Before any trial begins, the defense must choose a theory of the case, which will guide every decision in the trial. A theory is not throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks, or simply poking holes in the State’s case to argue reasonable doubt.

A theory is the defense narrative of why the accused is not guilty. The defense consistently tells that narrative in

opening statement, through cross examination of the State’s witnesses, possibly by calling defense witnesses, and during closing argument.

Defense lawyers also prepare the theory of each witness by thinking about what we can achieve through the questions we ask and how we ask them. Finally, we think about how we want the jury to perceive us, because we represent our clients.

What is the Chauvin defense theory?

From the motions they filed, we knew they were going to argue that George Floyd died of an accidental drug overdose. During opening, however, they introduced this “unruly mob” idea, that the officers felt so threatened that they were prevented from providing “care” for George Floyd.

When this “angry mob” theory suddenly appeared in the defense opening, I hoped that I wasn’t hearing dog whistles.

Turns out I was.

One by one the people who were forced to watch George Floyd killed by the police took the witness stand to tell their stories. Four young women under the age of 18, a Black man, an off-duty firefighter, and an older Black man all described, often through tears, their feelings of powerlessness, as well as the anguish and guilt with which they continue to live.

Each witness courageously testified, and all deserve respect and empathy. Yet, most were questioned by the defense in an oddly hostile way.

First there was Donald Williams, whose voice we hear in the videos calling Chauvin a “bum” while pleading with him to get off George Floyd’s neck.

At one point during his testimony, Williams dabbed at the tears in his eyes with tissue when he recounted how completely powerless he felt watching

George Floyd being murdered before his eyes.

The defense cross-examination strategy seemed designed to goad Williams into admitting he was angry. After listing the many names Williams called Chauvin and Thao, the defense repeatedly challenged Williams to acknowledge his anger.

“Angry?” I thought. “Who wouldn’t be angry watching the police kill a man before his or her eyes?” But then I heard the whistle and realized Williams, a

And this is when we heard, for the first time, that when this young Black woman saw George Floyd, she saw her father, her brother and her uncles.

Through her tears, she told us that she often stays up at night praying to George Floyd and apologizing that she didn’t do more to help him.

Why did the defense lawyer assume that this young Black woman benefitted from filming and posting the murder of a Black man? It was creepily reminiscent of the postcards of lynchings that White

What’s really ugly is the systemic racism that permeates our court system, just as it plagues every other institution in Minnesota.

Black man, was going to be Exhibit 1 for the defense, an angry Black man threatening the police and preventing them from providing the medical care we have been told they so desperately wanted to provide to Floyd.

The last questions asked by the defense of young Darnella Frazier during her cross-examination were about her posting the video on Facebook and having it go “viral.” “It changed your life?” said the defense lawyer. “Yes,” she answered. The defense asked no more questions.

What were we, and the jury, to make of this? Did it bring this young woman, who talked about her social anxiety, the fame and attention she was seeking?

One of the cardinal rules of crossexamination is never to ask a question to which you do not know the answer.

When the State had the opportunity to question her again, the prosecutor asked, “How did it change your life?”

mob” threatening the officers who were restraining a big, scary Black man who happened to be handcuffed behind his back.

And let’s not forget juror #76, a Black man whom the defense described as being “biased” against the Minneapolis Police Department because of his lived experienced as a Black man in Minneapolis. The defense lawyer, when articulating the reasons for excusing #76 with a peremptory challenge, said that #76 told about a Black man being murdered in the area of 38th and Chicago and having an MPD squad drive through the neighborhood playing, “Another One Bites the Dust.” Being a witness to that spectacle got him removed as a juror, despite saying that he, like many other potential jurors, could be fair.

I was initially hesitant about the trial being livestreamed because I worried about the impact on the jurors and witnesses. I now realize how important it has been for the public to be able to witness what happens during the process of a trial—the good, the bad, and the really ugly.

The really ugly is the systemic racism that permeates our court system, just as it plagues every other institution in Minnesota. The good is that there are welltrained public defenders and defense lawyers representing clients during trial with respect and empathy for the humanity of everyone involved.

people used to send to each other. At minimum this question, and the assumption behind it, reflect a devaluation of Black life—of a man who was murdered, and a young woman traumatized by being witness to what happened to him.

But this case is not about race. That is what the defense lawyer said twice to one of the prospective jurors. I wondered why he thought he could say such a thing because, in my mind, this case is all about race. Why not acknowledge the racial dynamics present but focus the jurors on the specific role they are asked to fill in the courtroom—to decide whether Mary Moriarty was a public defendthe State has proven beyond a reason- er for 30 years, most recently for Henable doubt the elements of each of the nepin County. three charges?

Instead we heard the “colorblind” argument of which some White people are so fond. You know, the argument where we pretend race doesn’t matter while simultaneously arguing about the “unruly

Vaccination events help reduce equity gaps

By MSR News Services “Vaccination events are taking place at churches, businesses and community centers who serve communities of color, where it’s convenient to receive the vaccine and people can feel more at ease in a trusted environment,” explains Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer at Hennepin Healthcare. “Several successful vaccination events have already taken place and more are scheduled throughout the coming months. All events focus on equity within the MDH and CDC guidelines. ” Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in North Minneapolis hosted the first event on February 11, where more than 142 people received their first of two vaccines. Additional community

events followed at Kingdom Life Church and Sanctuary Covenant in North Minneapolis, and Plymouth Congregational Church, Church of the Incarnation and Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque. Similarly, Hennepin Healthcare is connecting with Black business owners to encourage vaccines among the owners and employees of these organizations.

“Hosting an event requires a big commitment that includes space, some administration time, and on-site volunteers,” said Sederstrom. “These organizations have been so willing to help and it’s been inspiring to partner with them to provide the vaccine support and education.”

The equity gaps in attaining vaccinations has been closing according to the Minnesota Electronic Health Record (MN HER) Consortium, whose work raised

concerns that People of Color were receiving COVID-19 vaccinations at lower rates than others.

“We still have a lot of catching up to do, however,” said Sederstrom. “There are many reasons why people of color weren’t being vaccinated, and we want to address those issues so they are not repeated. It’s encouraging that the work we’ve been doing has made a difference, but what’s been most meaningful to us is the opportunity to meet people where they are and hopefully build trust.

“While there are those who anxiously waited for their COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, others were skeptical of the vaccine or it wasn’t a priority. Our outreach efforts have focused on providing accurate information about the vaccine, in their preferred language, so informed decisions can

be made.”

Jack Jackman, former copublisher of this newspaper and Black business owner who is now an active retiree, was contacted by Hennepin Healthcare of his vaccine eligibility and received his shot at their Whittier Clinic where the entire process was “very easy—and it didn’t hurt a bit. Everyone who can should get vaccinated.”

Jackman’s daughter, Tonya Jackman Hampton, is Hennepin Healthcare’s senior vice president and chief people and culture officer. She was so relieved that her dad received his COVID-19 vaccine.

“Our communities have lost so many grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters. Each person was loved and treasured,” she said.

“Getting protection from COVID is not just something to do for

Jack Jackman receives his COVID vaccine. yourself, it’s a loving gesture for your family and community.

“I’m so grateful that there’s now more vaccine available so the COVID risk for our families can be reduced. And I’m proud of my dad for getting his vaccine as soon as he was eligible.

We love him so much and don’t want a preventable virus to make

him sick.”

For information about COVID-19 vaccinations at Hennepin Healthcare, go to www.hennepinhealthcare.org/COVIDvaccine.

Supporting BIPOC-owned businesses creates greater opportunity for all Sponsored content by

By Kalyn Hove, vice president, Comcast Business, Twin Cities Region While ongoing effects from the pandemic have impacted countless businesses, a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study revealed Black, Indigenous and People of Colorowned (BIPOC) organizations have taken a bigger hit than most.

Nationally, the number of Black business owners plummeted last year from 1.1 million in February 2020 to 640,000 in April — a 41% loss in just a couple of months.

Meanwhile, the number of La-

tino business owners dropped from 2.1 million to 1.4 million (32%) from February to March 2020.

Of course, COVID-19 is not the only challenge facing small and BIPOC-owned businesses as they continue to contend with systemic social and economic injustices, civil and social unrest and more. However, these ongoing inequities have never been more apparent than during the pandemic, including here in our own community.

A recent Black Business Support Collective survey revealed nearly two-thirds of Blackowned Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota businesses are struggling with depressed revenue, while 40% are struggling to pay bills and 21% are in jeopardy of closing completely. Meanwhile, according to a joint study conducted by the Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empow-

erment through Research public policy group and University of Minnesota Extension, local Latino businesses lost more than $2.1 million due to the pandemic, with 22% of respondents stating if current economic conditions continued another six months, they would have to close.

For their small businesses to survive over the coming years, BIPOC business owners will need to continue to rely on their skills, creativity, resources and capacities to stay viable and thrive.

But eventual survival should not be dependent on their abilities alone.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. When they fail, the entire country feels the effects: skyrocketing unemployment rates, reduced consumer spending, less optimistic long-term forecasts for all businesses and more. But, when they succeed, we all succeed.

That’s why companies with the available resources should play a role in supporting these small and minority-owned businesses — and why Comcast created a brand new program last October called Comcast RISE to help these businesses address a variety of challenges and find long-term success.

The first wave of Comcast RISE — which stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment” — granted marketing, creative, media and technology services to small businesses owned by underrepresented groups. More than 700 Black-owned small businesses across the country have received support to date, including The Creative Studio in St. Paul, and The Zen Bin in Minneapolis. I’m pleased to announce that eligible BIPOC-owned small businesses can apply for the next wave of the program now through May 7.

Eligible businesses include those at least 51% BIPOC owned; premise-based independently owned and operated; registered as a business in the U.S.; in operation for more than a year; and, located within Comcast’s Twin Cities service area. Businesses can apply directly online at www. comcastrise.com/apply/.

We encourage and invite all area BIPOC businesses to take advantage of this opportunity.

We know the past year has been challenging, traumatic and tragic for so many in our community, and 2021 will no doubt bring its own set of issues. And, although we can’t directly address all the complex, systemic issues BIPOC-

owned businesses are facing, we are fully committed to helping drive change and support the long process of ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion.

Through Comcast RISE, we hope to create sustainable impact and meaningful support for the small businesses shaping our communities. After all, at the end of the day, it’s about doing the right thing.

For more information or to apply for the program, visit www. comcastrise.com/apply.

April 8-14, 2021

3

April is National Minority Health Month!

By David Hamlar, MD, DDS Guest contributor Recognizing that health is the key to progress and equity in all other things, Dr. Booker T. Washington proposed the observance of “National Negro Health Week” in April 1915. He called on local health departments, schools, churches, businesses, professional associations, and the most influential organizations in the African American community to “pull together” and “unite… in one great National Health Movement.”

That observance grew into what is today a month-long initiative to advance health equity across the country on behalf of all racial and ethnic minorities.

For the past year we have been challenged by the COVID-19 and the results of the pandemic. Discrimination and racism have long contributed to negative emotional, mental and physical

health outcomes in African American communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this fact, with recent data showing that one in 1,000 Black individuals have died from the coronavirus (APM Research Lab, 2020).

So, it only makes sense that COVID-19 and control of its spread, if not its elimination, are the most important thing to address this April and thereafter. But other diseases still persist in the Black community.

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) continues to bring awareness to other health disparities that disproportionately affect African

amputation and up to 5.6 times more likely to suffer kidney disease than other people with diabetes.

• African Americans are three times more likely to die of asthma than White Americans.

• Deaths from lung scarring are 16 times more common among Blacks than among Whites.

• Despite lower tobacco exposure, Black men are 50% more likely than White men to get lung cancer.

• Strokes kill four times more 35- to 54-year-old Black Americans than White Americans. Blacks have nearly twice the first-time stroke risk Courtesy of Unsplash.com

the risk of chronic diseases and other conditions that are often more common and more severe among racial and ethnic minority groups.

Physical activity also fosters normal growth and development in children, improves mental health, and can make people feel better, function better, and sleep better.

How can communities help people stay active?

Communities can create easy and safe options for physical activity that can help every American be more active where they live, learn, work and play. The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program is one of the only CDC programs that focuses on reducing chronic disease for specific racial and ethnic groups in urban, rural, and tribal communities with high disease burden across the United States.

Remember—becoming active and healthy in and around your home to stay physically and mentally well, while still doing your part to slow the spread of COVID-19, is possible through simple changes to your daily routine. So get involved this #NMHM2020.

How much physical activity do I need?

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans outlines the amounts and types of physical activCourtesy of nappy.co ity needed to maintain or improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disAmericans. These include: of Whites. more than 45% of Black wom- ease. The guidelines recom• Diabetes is 60% more • Blacks develop high en aged 20 and older have mend that adults each week common in Black Americans blood pressure earlier in life— high blood pressure. get at least 150 minutes of than in White Americans. and with much higher blood • Cancer treatment is moderate-intensity aerobic Blacks are up to 2.5 times pressure levels—than Whites. equally successful for all activity, such as a brisk walk more likely to suffer a limb Nearly 42% of Black men and races. Yet Black men have a that makes your heart beat 40% higher cancer death faster. You could get this rate than White men. Afri- amount many different ways can American women have including a 22-minute walk David Hamlar MD, DDS a 20% higher cancer death each day or a 30-minute walk is an assistant professor in the rate than White women. five days a week.

Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery The importance of simple How much physical activity at the University of Minnesota. activity do children need?

He specializes craniofacial skull Physical activity is one of Preschool-aged children base surgery. He attended Howthe best things people can should do physical activ- ard University College of Dendo to improve their health. ity every day throughout the tistry (DDS) and Ohio State Yet, too few Americans get day for healthy growth and University (MD), and came to the recommended amount development. Children and Minnesota for his fellowship in of physical activity. Only adolescents starting at age six facial plastic and reconstructive one in four adults and one should participate in at least surgery. Besides medicine, he in five high school students 60 minutes of moderate-to- is a retired Minnesota National fully meet physical activity vigorous-intensity physical Guardsman achieving the rank guidelines for aerobic and activity daily. of major general. His passion muscle-strengthening acRemember that children today is empowering students of tivities. These numbers are imitate adults. You can start color to achieve their dreams of even lower among adults in by adding physical activity to entering the medical professions some racial and ethnic mi- your own daily routine and as well as other STEM-oriented nority populations. encouraging your child to careers.

Physical activity pro- join you. motes health and reduces

Unlock your potential with a low-interest, no down payment Habitat mortgage

It’s easy to find out if you qualify.

Get started at: buywithhabitat.org/msr Habitat mortgages are originated by TCHFH Lending, Inc., a non-profit subsidiary of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.

Equal Opportunity housing agency, employer, and lender. TCHFH Lending Inc. NMLS #1482482. Twin Cities Habitat NMLS #400065

4

April 8-14, 2021

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) welcomes and values commentary and feedback from the community. The articles found here are edited for clarity and/or space, but the opinions are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the MSR.

A year later:

The pandemic’s impact on poverty “Millions of people in the U.S. are falling into preventable poverty and hunger.”

—Lena Simet, senior poverty & inequality researcher at Human Rights Watch

What we learned so far from watching the Derek Chauvin trial minutes and 29 seconds.

During opening statements, It was previously believed that Chauvin’s defense team attemptDerek Chauvin pressed his knee ed to cast blame on bystanders into George Floyd’s neck for 8 who were present during the minutes and 46 seconds. During deadly encounter, claiming that opening statements of the Derek the crowd grew increasingly large Chauvin murder trial, the State and angry, and called officers bad prosecution team made clear that names. Defense counsel claimed Chauvin actually kept his knee that the behavior of the bystandon Mr. Floyd’s neck for nine min- ers diverted the attention of the utes and 29 seconds. officers away from Mr. Floyd.

This was not a split-second deTwo bystanders testified about cision on Chauvin’s part. He did what they witnessed and/or docnot fear for his safety. This was umented regarding Chauvin and torture, as evidenced by the smug the other three officers’ conduct look on Chauvin’s face at the who aided and abetted Chauvin. time and the fact that he even ap- It is important to keep in mind peared to bounce on Mr. Floyd’s that bystanders were attempting

By Nekima Levy Armstrong

Cup Foods had no business calling police over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill and could have identified a more humane and appropriate way to address the situation. neck as bystanders pleaded with him to release Floyd.

Chauvin’s defense team plans to present evidence that he acted within the scope of the training that he received through the Minneapolis Police Department. In other words, his defense lawyers will argue that he was trained to subdue criminal suspects using the dangerous technique that he used on Mr. Floyd.

The prosecution team has made clear that they plan to refute Chauvin’s assertion by calling Minneapolis Police Chief Arradondo to the stand. The chief will likely testify that Chauvin did not act in accordance with departmental training or protocols when he pressed his knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck for a grueling nine

to stop the police from murdering a Black man in broad daylight.

Were it not for the bystander video the world might not know what really happened to Mr. Floyd. The crowd of bystanders exercised a great deal of restraint by trying to reason with the officers, rather than getting physical.

Both the prosecution team and the defense alluded to the fact that there will likely be dueling medical expert testimony regarding the exact cause of death of Mr. Floyd. It is likely that multiple doctors will testify during the trial, as expert witnesses. Prosecutors will use medical testimony in an attempt to show that even with drugs in Mr. Floyd’s system, and his pre-existing medical conditions, the cause of his death was

In the years leading up to 2020, the poverty rate in the United States had been steadily declining. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official poverty rate had decreased for the fifth consecutive year in 2019. At 10.5%, the poverty rate was the lowest since estimates were first published in 1959. In the space of a year, due to the pandemic, much of that progress was wiped out.

It’s been just over a year since the coronavirus disrupted life as we’d known it. Minnesota abruptly shifted to remote work for everyone able, with whole sectors of the economy shuttered nearly overnight.

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve begun to see restrictions eased; however, it may take some time before it becomes clear just how many businesses were unable to weather the long pause, how many jobs may never return.

During the past year we were forced to change many of our habits And so we adapted.

There’s concern, however, that many of these shifts in our habits could have a permanent scar on the economy.

Recently a group of researchers from Mexico’s ITAM Business School, Stanford University and the University of Chicago concluded that 32 to 42% of COVID-induced layoffs may become permanent as a result of changes made during the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 74 million people have lost work. A majority of the jobs lost were in industries that pay below average wages. A year later, unemployment insurance claims remain elevated.

The week ending March 20, 2021, another 926,000 people applied for unemployment insurance. These ongoing unemployment figures rival those of

Chauvin’s knee on his neck.

Defense attorneys will attempt to use medical evidence to infer that Mr. Floyd’s consumption of fentanyl and other alleged substances, coupled with an underlying heart issue, and a (bogus) medical condition called “excited delirium” are responsible for Mr. Floyd’s death, and not Chauvin’s knee.

The defense team will attempt to put Mr. Floyd on trial and argue that he is responsible for his own death. Defense attorneys have already made note of Mr. Floyd’s weight and height, in comparison with Chauvin’s weight and height.

They will claim that Mr. Floyd injured his own nose (which was bleeding) and body as a result of a struggle with officers in the backseat of a squad car. They will also argue that Mr. Floyd refused to follow officers’ orders from the moment they encountered him in his vehicle.

They will argue that he resisted arrest and that officers used the level of force reasonably necessary to subdue him.

Now of course, no reasonable police officer would draw a weapon on a person and use deadly force because of their use of an alleged counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

Cup Foods had no business calling police over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill and could have identified a more humane and appropriate way to address the situation. It is not a secret that Minneapolis police have a reputation for engaging in excessive force, deadly force, overcriminalization of Black residents, and harassment of those they deem to be “undesirables.”

Once Cup Foods made the unwise decision to call Minneapolis police, the call should have been de-prioritized in If a violent, abusive husband light of the more serious crimes killed his wife the same way taking place in the city. And it Chauvin killed Floyd—putting certainly should not have taken his knee on his wife’s neck for five officers to come upon the over eight minutes -and somescene for such a minor infraction one filmed it, his trial would that should have resulted in a simply be a formality, him being warning, at best, or a citation at convicted would be a slam dunk. worst.

And if she had drugs in her sysInstead, the 911 call, in this case, became a death sentence for an unarmed Black man and father who pleaded with officers for his life and called out to his mother for comfort and relief.

This is surreal. Currently, From where I sit, this trial is a over 100,000 rental houseformality. holds in Minnesota cannot We all saw what happened. afford their rent, but MinWe all know why it happened. neapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is Derek Chauvin must be held ac- still fighting for landlords and countable under the law for the their right to continue to pomurder of Mr. Floyd. lice themselves when it comes to rental increases.

Nekima Levy Armstrong is He tells us that “rent cona local civil rights attorney and trol has been shown by econoactivist and organizer of the Ra- mists to not work.” This is cial Justice Network. true, but his statement is misleading. What he should have said was, “Rent control has been proven by economists to hinder landlords and de-

the Great Recession. Continuing claims are nearly 17 million above where they were a year ago.

According to Lael Brainard, a Federal Reserve governor, the poorest 25% of American workers were facing “Depressionera rates of unemployment of around 23%” in mid-January.

This was nearly quadruple the national jobless rate at that time.

While jobs numbers are expected to improve as a result of government aid programs, there are still a considerable number of people who have been unemployed for the longterm and the job outlook is bleak for many.

Even though the unemployment rate fell substantially between June 2020 and January 2021—with a more than 40% decline, down to 6.3%—poverty has increased over the same period, with about eight million more people now living in poverty. The economic impacts of the COVID-pandemic have been disproportionate, with low-income workers bearing the brunt.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data from their Household Pulse Survey which was analyzed by Human Rights Watch, more than four million people have left the labor force in the past year, and two in five of the over 22.3 million jobs lost in March and April 2020 have not yet returned.

According to Simet, “Food

and housing insecurity is rising and millions of people are going hungry or are on the brink of losing their home or seeing their utilities shut off.”

Data from the most recent Household Pulse Survey collected during the week of March 3-15, 2021 showed: Some 22 million adults—11% of all adults in the country—reported that their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the last seven days An estimated 12.1 million adults living in rental housing—one in six adult renters— were not caught up on rent.

Seventy-nine million adults—34% of all adults in the country—reported it was somewhat or very difficult for their household to cover usual expenses such as food, rent or mortgage, car payments, medical expenses, or student loans in the past seven days.

The American Rescue Plan, enacted on March 11, 2021, is projected to dramatically begin reducing poverty. This aid is greatly needed, as the data show poverty has been on the rise in the past year and that people are suffering.

Dr. Clarence Hightower is the current executive director of Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County. He welcomes reader responses at chightower@ caphennepin.org.

Letters to the Editor

The Chauvin trial should be a mere formality tem, there would be no credibil- ing his wife, is anyone going to ity given to use such a defense, be concerned about whether or that the drugs somehow caused not he gets a “fair” trial? her death.

So why then is this ChauvinFrank Erickson, Minneapolis killing-Floyd case so up in the air. Why is there all this concern about Chauvin getting a “fair” trial.If a man is filmed murder-

Minneapolis renters can’t keep up velopers' ability to get rich really fast, so I as the mayor will have no part of it.”

Amazing that the way things are right now the mayor is still fighting for landlords and developers—and not for renters. The mayor is off in fantasyland. Even before COVID-19 hit, 50 percent of all renters in the nation could not afford their rent. Based on his approach we’ll just build or create 35 million affordable units since there are 70 million rental households in the United States.

He’s working off the premise that only those in “affordable” housing cannot afford “market rate” rents—this is utter nonsense and he knows it.

He wants to make these decisions based on a “datadriven process,” but it is him going against the data, the facts. The facts clearly show that the way things are now, most renters are not able to keep pace.

Frank Erickson, Minneapolis

April 8-14, 2021

Trial Continued from page 1 there have been knees on necks before. And MPD has killed quite a few people over the years even if we just looked from 2013 to 2020. People have been killed by the Minneapolis Police Department under very questionable circumstances, where they didn’t deescalate. But a lot of times they would shoot first and ask questions later,” said Levy Armstrong.

“There was no real difference between that time period and what George Floyd experienced. They [police] went from zero to a hundred over a counterfeit bill. They were not preserving the sanctity of life but taking lives. And they have been able to get away with it. City officials have not done a damn thing about it.”

Some in the mainstream press have said of the trial that the thin blue line has been crossed in such testimony. However, it is important to point

Heroines Continued from page 1 kitten heels,” she said. Howard represents the difference between living in a community and actually being part of community, something that the three women seek to educate people about at GFS. “I bought a house when I was 24 years old,” said Howard. “Growing up in poverty, I was incredibly house-proud, and I luxuriated in my bourgeois-ness.”

She admits that her perspective and ideas about where she lives were different then than they are now.

“Whenever I would go for a run, I would just run south from 38th all the way to Minnehaha Creek, where the houses got bigger and the tax brackets got larger. And occasionally I would look north to 37th and Columbus, and I would see apartments,” said the activist. “And to my shame I would be like, ‘No, I’m not gonna run that way.’

“It was only after the death of George Floyd and the installation of this art project [Say Their Names] that I even realized that there was a pond here. And now I have come here every single day of the last 10 months to investigate the ways that I too have committed these sins.”

“The National Guard came up my street and the MPD created a phalanx across 38th Street and shot rubber bullets into a crowd laying down flowers and saying the name of George Floyd,” Howard recalled events occurring near her home in the wake of the police killing of Floyd. “They crossed that street and four of them were in the yard of one of my students’ home, who lived five houses down from me. That Monday I was supposed to return to online teaching and the world, my world, was aflame.”

She has lost six of her students to violence in her

out that the officers testifying are not street officers but rather police management.

According to records and information collected by Michelle Gross and Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), Chauvin had 26 complaints lodged against him during his time as a Minneapolis cop.

“Basically the trial has demonstrated their [police administration’s] willingness to throw Chauvin under the bus. But they not only kept him on the job, they promoted him,” said Gross. “He [Chauvin] is not an aberration, and that culture and conduct has been tolerated for decades. A trainer should be someone who exemplifies the conduct you want. So if they made him a trainer, he exemplifies the conduct they wanted.”

Andy Browne, an active participant in maintaining the tribute to George Floyd known as George Floyd Square, wrote on Facebook, “MPD has tolerated police conduct such as Chauvin's

for years. [The City of Minneapolis] has been paying out case after case of misconduct and abuse of power, all at the expense of Minneapolis taxpayers.

This isn't a one bad apple; this is a rotten tree that produces rotten fruit.”

Floyd died of asphyxia Dr. Bradford Langenfeld of the Hennepin County Medical Center testified that Floyd likely died of hypoxia or “asphyxia,” which is caused by an oxygen insufficiency. In cross

“This isn’t a one bad apple; this is a rotten tree that produces rotten fruit.” examination by defense attorney Eric Nelson, Langenfeld said fentanyl could also cause asphyxia.

How Floyd died will be the subject of much debate as the trial continues.

Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker, who performed the initial autopsy, claimed that Floyd died from cardiac arrest. Officially it was noted as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law-enforcement subdual restraint, and neck compression.”

On Tuesday, Nelson continued to push forward the proposition that the prone Floyd, held down by three officers, continued to present a threat. He implied that rolling Floyd over so he could breathe would have presented a threat to the officers.

Nelson continued this line of reasoning by asking Minneapolis Police Lieutenant Johnny Mercil, “Is it worth the risk to take the handcuffs off? You have to decide if there is a risk you are willing to take.”

The defense also pursued the idea that if someone is passively resisting, certain kinds of force can be used.

5

However, the view from the video and the police body camera don’t appear to show Floyd resisting at all.

Nelson established that Minneapolis officers are in fact trained to put a knee across the suspect’s back, and that there are circumstances in which the police could use body weight to control the subject.

Nelson also introduced a point— which will likely be revisited—that “If a person can talk, they can breathe.”

This has been acknowledged in the past by officers in other U.S. police departments as something they have been taught in the academy Prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked Mercil, “If someone says, ‘Get off of him, you are killing him,” should that be taken into account? He answered yes.

Mel Reeves welcomes reader responses to mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

neighborhood, and Howard admits that righteous indignation has become her driving force. “I’m angry because I’m 47 and I have to stand on a street corner and say my life matters, and have people argue with me.

“I’m angry because my mother had to go to a segregated school until the ninth grade. My dad couldn’t vote when he turned 18, and it’s 2021 and I’m still fighting the fight that my grandmother fought,” said Howard.

Madi Ramirez-Tentinger Madi Ramirez-Tentinger is the only member of the trio that is not African American. Some upon meeting her make the assumption that she is White, but RamirezTentinger is of Mexican descent.

(Ramirez-Tentinger states a preference for the gender-neutral pronoun “they”; however, for the sake of clarity and to avoid confusion we will use the pronouns “her” and “she” when referring to the activist.)

Ramirez-Tentinger is upbeat, a little quirky, and a stand-up comedian, which makes sense because she is recognized for her uncanny ability to connect with anyone and everyone, including strangers. That likely explains why neither Austin nor Howard were surprised when Ramirez-Tentinger arrived at the memorial with a handful of homemade caramels for everyone.

Also living within walking distance of the Say Their Names Memorial, it was her curiosity and vulnerability that led her to this particular space. “The first time I came here was for a community meeting.

“I remember I was asking in the [George Floyd] Square if anybody knew where the community meeting was happening. Everybody that I asked was like, ‘I wanna go!’

We just walked around for a long time and then eventually found a bunch of people

Rent Continued from page 1 pace themselves and not get kicked out initially,” stated Rosas. “It not only stabilizes the amount of money you pay renting, but it stabilizes your community and the chances of you getting to stay in your home and grow.”

Rent stabilization does not just positively impact rents, but the entire community. When rent increases, the income of renters decreases as well. This leads to less spending at local businesses, restructuring of the community, and an increase in poverty and homelessness.

While rent stabilization is not a primary solution to gentrification and displacement—there

The three heroines sitting at Say Their Names Memorial sitting in a circle,” laughed Ramirez-Tentinger.

From that point on, Ramirez-Tentinger’s ability to connect and build relationships with people from all backgrounds has not only been inspiring to GFS, but also vital to the genuine community-building and restoration that has taken place.

“I had suspicions about her for the same reasons that now I admire her,” said Howard.

“Madi has an uncanny ability to befriend, and I mean authentically, any and all; to welcome any and all; to talk to any and all; and to be accepted by any and all.

“Madi will walk in spaces, see people and have compassion on them,” added Austin.

“Even if they don’t want compassion to be directed their way, which makes Madi an awesome community organizer.”

Working to connect bridges between different cultures has been her strong suit. But if you ask Ramirez-Tentinger about her role she will tell you, “In terms of being in this space, I try to follow these two honestly. Because Black liberation means everybody

are many contributing factors—it is a way to slow the process down.

The BIPOC population are not the only victims of unfair rent inflation. Approximately 6% of the student population in the St. Paul community have experienced homelessness during the school year. These children often experience mental health issues and poor educational outcomes. Seniors and people with disabilities are also victimized because they are unable to work and living on fixed incomes that do not adjust when their rents are increased.

Additionally, LGBTQ community members are unjustly vulnerable to housing discrimination based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. If evicted, many individuals also face being turned away from shelters for these

is liberated.”

Building a beloved community Together these women have worked in many capacities, from landscaping and cleaning the memorial to educating community members about what ally-ship really means. Perhaps most notably, they have also worked to provide a voice for community members who have demanded change.

As part of their effort to build and include the community in the work of GFS they have on many occasions canvassed the neighborhood, walking up and down blocks, visiting businesses, checking every nook and cranny asking, “What does racial justice mean to you?” “[Community members] that want to call the City to demand justice, they just don’t believe that their voice will be heard, and they’d be willing to hand us their voices, to do the call out for them,” explained Howard.

Ramirez-Tentinger recalled an initial meeting with the City that happened not long after George Floyd’s murder.

“Public Works had told us that they were going to have multiple meetings about what the future memorial would look like. And in that meeting, which was like a three-hour meeting, it ended up that the truth of the matter was that the only power we had, according to the City, was deciding where people could park and where the offerings would be.”

Photo by Anthony Johnson, II art, encouraging people to stand up and sit on a barricade for their community, encouraging people to advocate for justice for their neighbors, even the neighbors that get on their nerves.

“I think what makes this protest so powerful and so long-lasting and sustaining is, frankly, the City didn’t know what to do with us. We were creating life in our community. We were birthing life into our community.”

“People are never going to stop coming here,” RamirezTentinger said. “It’s a space of Black pain and Black mourning as well as a place of community. But this place is first and foremost a space of protest against a system that allowed the city to kill a man and so many Black and Brown people before George Floyd.”

Activism begins with showing up As members of the BIPOC community, these women personally bear the weight of racial injustice. Austin, Howard and Ramirez-Tentinger can be relied on to show up.

Austin posed the question, “Isn’t that how you build community? You keep showing up for each other.”

As the trial of Derek Chauvin continues and with the one-year anniversary of Tiffany Johsnon welcomes George Floyd’s death quickly reader responses to tjohnson@ approaching, the women said spokesman-recorder.com. they know and feel that this fight is far from over.

“We chose to protest by building gardens,” said Austin, “encouraging people to express themselves through

same reasons. Rent stabilization secures housing stability and creates living options for everyone.

With COVID-19 and the persistent civic and racial unrest in the Twin Cities, a safe, reliable place to call home is more important than it has ever been. Rent stabilization allows for true community and genuine relationships to be built. “We're all neighbors,” said Swift. “We have homeowners who are involved. We have landlords who are in support of this. I think this speaks to the beauty and the power of what community organizing looks like.

“It's the people who lead the work. There isn't any exclusion around who is getting involved. It's a beautiful thing to see the breaking away of those labels and really coming together. That's what community power looks

like. That's how we win issues like this.”

Due to Minnesota State Law, signatures for the petition must be collected in person. HENS is hosting several events around St. Paul to spread awareness and collect their goal of 10,000 signatures by June 1 to be placed on the St. Paul ballot by November 2021. Information about these events and other events hosted by HENS can be found on their Facebook page, Housing and Equity Now Saint Paul.

Khalifa Uchechi welcomes reader responses to kuchechi@spokesman-recorder.com.

6

April 8-14, 2021

Minnesota State Fairgrounds to host FEMA mass vaccination site MSR News Service Governor Tim Walz and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced on Monday that Minnesota will receive a federal Community Vaccination Clinic, following the Governor’s request for a fully-supplied mass vaccination site to augment the state’s vaccination efforts.

The site will be located at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and receive 168,000 doses over eight weeks. The site will administer a combination of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson doses, which will result in over 100,000 total people being vaccinated during the eight-week period. The doses administered at the Fairgrounds

will be in addition to Minnesota’s regular statewide vaccine allocations.

Minnesotans living in the zip codes near the Fairgrounds with the highest scores on the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index will be eligible for appointments at this site. Up to 1,000 doses per day will also be taken offsite to community-based clinics in high Social Vulnerability Index areas.

“We’ve been pushing for a federal vaccination site, and I’m grateful the Biden-Harris Administration delivered on my request,” said Governor Walz. “I appreciate having such strong federal partners to work with as we set and achieve ambitious goals to vaccinate Minnesotans as equitably and efficiently as

possible. This site will help us protect some of the Minnesotans hardest hit by this pandemic as we continue to break down every barrier between each Minnesotan and their life-saving shot.”

Governor Walz pushed for a federal site to provide additional vaccine doses to Minnesota and serve as another avenue to protect the most vulnerable and underrepresented populations in the state. The Minnesota State Fairgrounds were recommended

by Minnesota public health officials and selected by FEMA based on equity data analysis, including the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index. The Fairgrounds are well known, centrally located, accessible by public transportation, and expansive enough to

allow for a high volume of drivethrough vaccinations. The site will also allow Minnesotans who use other forms of transportation to get vaccinated.

“Our strategy from the beginning has been to immunize for impact and to protect those most at risk for the worst outcomes as quickly as possible. We are fortunate the Biden-Harris Administration also values that strategy,” said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “This site is a welcome addition to our expanding efforts to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines. We want each and every Minnesotan to know we see you, we have your back, and we will make sure you can easily and safely get your shot.”

Vaccinations will begin at the Fairgrounds on April 14 and serve Minnesotans living in the highest Social Vulnerability Index zip codes near the Fairgrounds.

Appointments will be available to Minnesotans 16 years of age and older who live in the following zip codes in Ramsey and Hennepin County: 55454, 55103,

55130, 55411, 55404, 55117, 55428, 55119, 55107, 55106, 55407, 55430, 55412, 55102, 55429, 55421, 55104, 55114, 55432, 55118, 55420, 55413, 55402, 55109, 55406, 55423, 55415, 55405, 55408, 55425, 55112, 55111, 55403, 55101, 55344, 55435, 55113, 55458.

The site will be by appointment only. Minnesotans living in the zip codes listed above can sign up for the Vaccine Connector to be selected for an appointment.

Minnesotans can call the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Public Hotline at 1-833-4312053 for language assistance and any questions about signing up for the Connector. More information on directly booking appointments through a call center will be shared next week.

“We’re proud to work with the whole federal family, and the state of Minnesota, to open this federal vaccination site at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

The site will greatly expand and expedite vaccine to the most underserved and vulnerable populations,” said Kevin M. Sligh,

acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5. “This site will provide 3,000 doses a day of the COVID-19 vaccine to individuals in historically underserved communities, a significant step toward ending the pandemic for Minnesotans and the nation.”

The site will be allocated 3,000 doses per day, seven days a week, for eight weeks. While the site will be supported by FEMA, it will be run by the State of Minnesota like the other eight Community Vaccination sites currently operating in Oakdale, Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester, Bloomington, Saint Paul, St. Cloud, and Mankato.

There will be no cost and Minnesotans will not need to provide an ID or medical insurance to be vaccinated.

—Information provided by the Office of Gov. Tim Walz.

April 8-14, 2021

Business

Black businesses in George Floyd Square ask City of Minneapolis for help A group of Black-owned businesses located at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis have joined together to bring attention to and gather support for their plight at the shutdown intersection.

Calling themselves the 38th Street Black Business Collective, the group held a press conference on April 1 to advocate for themselves and call on the City of Minneapolis to offer financial assistance to help the businesses survive the shutdown. The collective includes Smoke In The Pit, Inc., Dragon Wok, Just Turkey, and Urban Touch Boutique.

Shortly after the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd in front of Cup Foods, the City closed the intersection to traffic out of public safety concerns. Since then, community members have managed and maintained the space, and it has remained closed to traffic for the last 10 months.

While joining in solidarity with the community to call on justice for Floyd, the collective maintains that the shutting down of traffic, coupled with reduce police presence and rise in crime in the area, has led to “unintended economic downfall” for the businesses.

7

Sponsored content by

Photo by Ashley Lauren “As the community continues to hold space, it is imperative that decision-makers consider the economic toll that has been paid,” read the collective’s press release.

“These once prospering Black businesses have seen great revenue loss, over 75% loss to date.

“To date, there has been no financial reprieve from the City of Minneapolis or the local business association. These businesses feel they have been the sacrificial lamb of the movement and while everyone agrees that whole justice for George Perry Floyd Jr. is the ultimate goal, it should not come at the cost of losing one’s livelihood especially for these Black families.

“The 38th Street Black Business Collective has been at the heart and center of 38th and Chicago

(George Floyd Square) prior to the heinous murder of George Perry Floyd Jr. and desire to remain there!”

The group has set up a Go Fund Me account with the goal of raising $200,000. So far, they’ve reached over $9,000 of that goal.

The City of Minneapolis has announced that the intersection will be reopened once the trial of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering Floyd, has concluded.

For all of us who live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, the date May 25, 2020 is seared forever in our consciousness. Not only did we witness the killing of George Floyd that day; we were called to account for the staggering racial inequities that have existed in our region for generations.

solutions must be created with community, not for or to community. This simple but profound difference ultimately could make all the difference.

For the business community in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a commitment to racial equity is not new. Yet, there is a new consensus that what has been Moments like this can and done in the past is not nearly For more information, visit the must galvanize our commu- enough and a recognition that GoFundMe page at bit.ly/BBCollec- nity to act more boldly, in new we must take a different aptive. ways, to address these inequi- proach, changing both what ties. If we choose, tragedy can we do and how we do it.

—Information provided by the help lead to transfor-mation.

That recognition has led 38th Black Business Collective.

And that transformation to new behavior. In the imhas started to happen. A new, mediate aftermath of George more promising chapter in Floyd’s killing, more than our community’s story of ra- 50 Minnesota companies ancial justice and equity is start- nounced financial contribuing to be written. tions exceeding $1 billion to address structural racOne important example ism. Companies across the is the recently announced region are beginning to purAlliance of Alliances. This chase more from Black and emerging effort is based on a minority-owned suppliers, to recognition that the approach increase Black, Indigenous to advancing racial equity and people of color (BIPOC)

Life Ettiquette: Enhance your professional presence

By Juliet Mitchell Contributing Writer A guy walks into a bar. This is not a guy walking into a bar. I just always wanted to say that. Be it bar, restaurant, bank, or office building, when you walk into the room, what message are you speaking? What’s your vibe? What does your “presence” say about you?

When I conduct professional development workshops, particularly around communication, I say that “your body is talking” even when you are not speaking words. So where am I going with this, and what does this have to do with Life Etiquette?

Plenty!

Wherever you go in life, whatever you do there, there is a way to do it that shows respect for yourself, respect for others, and the respect for the world around you. Life etiquette speaks to that.

The way you enter a room, how you are dressed, how you are groomed, and your body carriage all play a part in the message you present and how you are perceived.

As I write this article, I am preparing for a Professional Development Series called Enhancing Your Professional Presence. The series includes personal care and grooming, dressing/attire, communication, and networking. Again, you may ask, “What does this have to do with etiquette?” And, again I say, plenty.

I guess you have to know what etiquette really is. There is not enough room in the column to go deeper, but let’s say it’s more than how to use a knife and fork. Yes, those things are included, but etiquette is so much broader than the dining table.

Etiquette touches every area of life.

Back to professional presence. If etiquette is about respect for yourself, respect for others, and respect for the world around you, then you show respect for yourself and others by the way you “present” yourself when you walk into a room.

For the sake of this article, let’s say that you are walking into a job interview. Are you walking with good posture, do you have a smile or at least a pleasant look on your face? Are you wellgroomed? Are you dressed for an evening on the town, or are you dressed for business?

True story, you guys. A young lady called her older, more experienced cousin to share her excitement about an upcoming job interview. Knowing this young person as she does, the older cousin asked if she could help her prepare for the interview. Her niece said “Nooooo! I got this.” Well, alright then.

Mind you, the workplace was pretty mainstream, not artsy or funky…not even casual. The young lady walked in with stilettos, a low-cut top, pointed nails, and eyelashes for days! Granted, I lean toward the conservative side in apparel, but

this was a bit too much.

Let’s be real, it was over the top. To add insult to injury, she wasn’t even prepared for the interview questions. At the end of the day, the interviewer felt that was a wasted hour. Don’t let that be you.

Let’s move on. You’ve made it through the door, you are dressed and groomed well. You actually make a pretty nice package if you have to say so yourself. I am sure you know there is a “but” coming, right? But do you know how to “properly” introduce yourself? Have you learned the fine arts of small talk? Do you plop down in the nearest seat and whip out your cellphone, or do you wait to be seated?

During the interview or meeting, are you poised while standing and sitting? What is your body language saying? Can you engage in conversation without cussing, swearing, or making crude remarks? Are you so nervous that all your responses are one-word sentences?

When you leave the room, do you thank the person, do you shake their hand (well maybe not now, but you should acknowledge your departure with a slight bow or nod)?

The point to all of this is that from the moment you walk into a room until the moment you leave, your “presence” is making a statement. Let yours be “unforgettable.”

Being prepared for an interview or meeting is a show of good professional etiquette.

It’s a way of showing respect for yourself, for others, and the world around you.

Be deliberate, intentional, and purposeful in developing your professional presence. After all, it’s your brand. Don’t leave it to chance.

Juliet Mitchell welcomes readers responses to jmitchell@spoksman-recorder.com.

and to start to reimagine these essen-tial commercial corridors.

Business leaders have supported the Alliance of Alliances from its earliest days be-cause we share the vision and resonate with the call for a different approach. We have been meeting since July 2020 with Black leaders to forge this new path. CEOs of the largest companies in the state, along with many other community leaders, virtually stacked hands in support. We raised about $4 million through the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) in just over two weeks to support AALF’s efforts to build the Alliance’s framework for action. And this is only the beginning. As the Alliance moves forward, we will make additional contributions of time, talent and funding to this important work.

We understand that many—

Courtesy of Unsplash must change in fundamental ways in order to achieve better outcomes. To that end, the Alli-ance is Black-centered, with leadership and solutions coming from the Black communi-ty. It is based on a comprehensive eight-part agenda to address the root causes of structural racism. And it invites — and needs — the support of every leader and organi-zation.

The Alliance will, in part, lift up critical work that the Northside Achievement Zone, Cen-ter for Economic Inclusion, Summit Academy, Way to Grow and so many other vital, Black-led organizations have been doing for years.

With the African American Leader-ship Forum (AALF) as its backbone, the Alliance will bring more voices to the table and create new ways to unite for greatest impact.

The business community is standing alongside these Black leaders. We are deeply committed and active members of this Alliance, now and for the long term. We have come to understand a core principle of this work—that

hiring and promotion, and to have frank conversations about race with their employees.

particularly those in the Black community—will be skeptical of this commitment from business leaders. Previous efforts have been inadequate, Companies are also work- fail-ing to achieve the results ing collectively to create even to which we all aspire. It is bigger change, faster. The reasonable to ask, “Why will Minnesota Business Partner- this be any different? How do ship is advocating for the pro- we know this enthusiasm will posed “Page Amendment” to not fade?” change Minnesota’s Constitution to make quality educaWhile we can verbally reittion a civil right for all stu- erate our commitment, what dents—an important step in really matters are our actions addressing education inequi- and the results they proties impacting Black students. duce. And we hope that in GREATER MSP is preparing the months and years ahead, to launch a new racially inclu- those ac-tions will demonsive talent pipeline for the re- strate that we are deeply, pasgion called CONNEXT MSP sionately committed to the that will connect thousands work of this Al-liance. This of BIPOC students with good work is too important for full-time jobs.

The Itasca anything less than relentless, Project is adding a focus on unwavering in-volvement to BIPOC-owned small- and help ensure that every person, medi-um-sized businesses to regardless of race, can achieve its Business Bridge program their full potential. that increases purchasing by large Minnesota companies.

Lynn Casey, chair, Itasca And under the leadership Project; Tim Welsh, chair, Greatof Mortenson Construction, er MSP; Rod Young, Chair, DEI business leaders have worked Committee, Minnesota Business with the Lake Street Council, Partnership the West Broadway Business Coali-tion, and the Midway Chamber to restore, rebuild,

8

April 8-14, 2021

Movie Review: 'Tina' cements the greatness of a legend

By Dwight Brown

S

he’s like an eternal flame. Can’t remember when she wasn’t around. Can’t imagine life without her. That’s the magic that some music legends can create. They get people to think about them in the past, present and future. The here, now and always.

Tina Turner’s journey into the world of professional music began in 1957 when she, as Anna Mae Bullock, became the star singer with the Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm band.

The 1960 hit song “A Fool in Love” and a name change to Tina Turner kickstarted her on the road to fame and formed her persona as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

In this fairly comprehensive 118-minute tribute by directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, Turner, in her own words, describes various pivotal epochs in her life and career. Confessions, revelations, setbacks and breakthroughs.

Yes, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, MTV’s Kurt Loder and her manager Roger Davies appear and recollect their interactions too. Rare footage, audio tapes (a pivotal 1981 interview with People magazine), personal photos and new interviews abound. But no one and nothing leaves a stronger impression than the reflective 79-year-old Turner reminiscing and explaining the pitfalls and rewards of her stardom: “The goodness did not balance out the bad.”

Measured, thoughtful and determined to tell her story, she goes back to that fateful time, meeting the brilliant, troubled musician/showman Ike Turner and being enthralled, then dismayed: “I was 17 years old. I was young, naïve.” Once the floodgates open, it all comes back to her.

The live shows, recording studios, Ikettes and physical and emotional trauma. Then flee-

Tina Turner and the Ikettes perform for Bolic Sound KMET Broadcast May 1973.

Rhonda Graham/HBO ing her husband, reviving her career, working in nightclubs and dreaming of filling rock stadiums one day. The hardest memories to express are the times with Ike. Though, once the world could see how much she’d suffered and transcended, that scenario became part of her branding, like it or not. A blessing and a curse.

The good part is that music fans and everyday people related to her courageous story.

The trouble is that mentioning the bad times retraumatized her. She thought she could abolish that part of her PTSD by revealing it all in her 1986 bestseller “I, Tina: My Life Story,” co-written with Loder.

It had the opposite effect.

The bio fueled even more attention towards the nightmarish parts of her life. The 1993 film “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which earned Oscar noms and $56M at the box office, continued to hold that same spotlight on her.

In 2019, as she sits in a chateau in Zurich, Switzerland, with her attentive husband Erwin Bach never far away, she displays a calm and wis-

Listening to her personal anecdotes and seeing how she has gracefully aged is like sitting at the feet of a great aunt waiting breathlessly for her to retell her life stories. She may tire of the exercise, but her fans will not. And hearing one more time how the denial of love from her mom, dad and Ike made her look for love as a performing artist never gets old.

As a life album, the choices in timing, content and emphasis by editors Taryn Gould and Carter Gunn with T.J. Martin are beyond question.

Their pacing is so rhythmic two hours+ go by in a flash.

The musical score by Danny Bensi, and Saunder Jurriaans (“The White Tiger”) adds the right amount of verve to the playlist of Turner’s hits.

Credit cinematographers

showing a certain reverence for their subject. They may not ask the hardest questions or delve into the subject of Ike enough for audiences to figure out why he was so abusive and if he had regrets. Yet they find ways to get their heroine to open up just enough about her troubles, achievements and her peace of mind.

Inbetween the memories and testimonies, a parade of songs and extraordinary performances keep the footage vibrant. “Proud Mary,” “River Deep Mountain High” and “Nutbush City Limits.”

“Let’s Stay Together,” “Private Dancer,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” It’s all on her jukebox.

If there is one song/performance that is missing, it’s her obscure but brilliant, moody interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s classic “Edith and the Kingpin.” Her jazzy, earthy rendition is on Herbie Hancock’s 2007 Grammy-winning album “River: The Joni Letters.” Turner’s smokey, raspy voice was made for jazz, though she used it for rock, pop, R&B and soul. Listening to this particular vocal makes you wonder why she didn’t record a jazz album as a fitting coda to a wondrous career.

If Tina Turner needs any further proof that she is truly loved—besides records sales, bestselling books and throngs of concert goers—she will likely get more verification on Saturday Night March 27.

That’s when her fans and curiosity seekers will tune in by the droves to HBO for this retrospective. A touching evocative diary that chronicles Turners’ past and present and cements her legacy.

“Tina” premiered on HBO and began streaming on HBO Max dom that people reach as they Maracanã soccer stadium for Dimitri Karakatsanis and Me- on March 27, 2021. face life’s last chapter. She’s 180,000+ fans. She appears gan Stacey for filming Turner proud about the Grammys satisfied with her 1985 perfor- with a regal lighting that Dwight Brown is an NNPA and huge stadium perfor- mance in Mad Max Beyond makes her look like a queen News Wire film critic. Find more mances, like the 1988 concert Thunderdome, which shows on a throne. Kudos to direc- of his work at DwightBrownInk. at Rio de Janeiro’s ginormous her dexterity as an artist. tors Lindsay and Martin for com and BlackPressUSA.com.

Tina Turner

HBO

How The PhD Project is changing the face of academia A special group of university administrators is inspiring a new generation In 2017, Oregon’s Linfield University hired its first-ever Black president in the school’s 162-year history. A second-generation Cuban scholar serves as associate vice president for the University of Tennessee System, which boasts several campuses across the state and a $1 billion budget. And, at the University of Virginia, the McIntire School of Commerce is in the good hands of a Black female dean—the first in more than 25 years.

While their high-profile administrative positions vary widely, one thing they have in common is The PhD Project, which they all credit to their ascension in academia.

Across the country, the face of the college or university administrator is steadily changing, thanks to The PhD Project, founded in 1994 by KPMG US Foundation, Citi, AACSB and GMAC. Its mission is to increase the diversity of administrators and business school faculty, who, in turn, help mentor, motivate and educate the next generation of leaders and serve as role models for students of color who see someone who “looks like them” in the classroom.

To date, Linfield University President Miles K. Davis is one of The PhD Project’s biggest success stories. Not only is the Philadelphia native the non-profit organi-

zation’s first scholar to be hired as a university president, but in his previous role he was also the first dean at Shenandoah University’s Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business. Dr. Davis credits the group for providing the tools he needed, which included a community that cared and supported his aspirations, to finish his PhD. “I had a support system that was built in place,” recalls Davis, who earned a PhD in human and organizational sciences from George Washington University in 2002. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I would not have been nearly as successful if there was no such thing as The PhD Project. They paid for me to go to the Academy of Management to be exposed to these things as a doctoral student so I could begin to develop a network of people who were interested in the same things.”

Dr. Nicole Thorne Jenkins became the dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia in July 2020.

Like Davis and Dr. Jorge Perez, a Latinx educator, she had become disenchanted with working in the corporate sector. She worked as an auditor at PwC until she realized the demand on her time was too much. When she happened upon a higher educationfocused panel hosted by The PhD Project at the annual confer-

ence for the National Association of Black Accountants, she was hooked.

Jenkins attended The PhD Project’s annual conference in 1995, received her degree in accounting in 2002 from the University of Iowa, and joined the academic world. She chose predominantly White institutions because they needed representation at the faculty and administrative levels.

“You need people throughout the organization in similar percentages and representation,” Jenkins explains. “Failure to have that makes it very difficult for university students to have the best experience they could have.”

For Dr. Eli Jones, his 2015 appointment as dean of Texas A&M University took him full circle.

The institution granted him all three of his degrees: an undergraduate degree in journalism, an MBA, and a PhD in business administration and marketing.

Between the MBA and PhD, he worked in sales at Nabisco, and at one point took the lowestperforming sales team from 86 to number two in less than one year.

“Our goal is to make sure that everyone has a fair chance,” says Jones. “It’s important because if we’re really going to really attract other people of color, then we ought to be role models. That’s what this is all

Dr. Nicole Thorne Jenkins about. It is about being role models, and all of us take that role very seriously.

“A group of us meets regularly now through Zoom. We talk about how we’re impacting doctoral students who are

Submitted photo

trying to matriculate through The PhD Project, visit www. these programs that are rig- phdproject.org. orous and how to socialize along the way. That’s at the —Information provided by the heart of it.”

The PhD Project.

For more information about

April 8-14, 2021

9

10

April 8-14, 2021

Minneapolis police announce new non-emergencies tip line

The Minneapolis Police Department has launched a new phone number for people to share information about suspicious activity that does not require an immediate response. The number to call to provide a tip is 612-673-5335. People with an emergency should continue to call 911.

The improved tip line technology significantly increases the call capacity and allows those handling the tips to do so more efficiently. The tips will be forwarded to the appropriate investigative division for further follow-up. The MPD was able to enhance the current technology at no additional cost.

“We are grateful to the

community for providing tips when they see something suspicious or have information that will help keep our city safe. This new tip line will be able to handle a large volume of calls and process the tips more effectively,” said Chief Medaria Arradondo.

For more ways to contact the City of Minneapolis or to report a tip, see the information below: • Call 911 for life safety emergencies requiring Police, Fire, or EMS • Minneapolis Police Department Tip Line: to provide tips to MPD about suspicious activity not requiring an immediate response.

Phone: 612-673-5335 Text: 847411

• Minneapolis 311: Call 311 for non-emergency City information 7am-7pm M -Fri Email: Minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov.

Phone: 311 or 612-6733000 TTY: 612-263-6850 • Business and Property Owners: Businesses and property owners can call 612-673-2499 with questions about business operations during the trial and general information about regulations and resources.

• C r i m e S t o p p e r s of Minnesota Tip Line: 800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit tips online: www. crimestoppersMN.org.

BULLETIN

April declared Tech Month in Minnesota

Governor Walz has proclaimed the month of April 2021 as Technology Month in Minnesota. It's a time to draw attention to the critical importance of Information Technology in Minnesota’s economy.

Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development projects high demand for IT professionals in our state through 2028 and beyond.

The April Tech Month interactive career events below feature growing opportunities in the metro region and are now

open for registration.

Interactive Virtual Technology Career Fair. This Get Skilled for a New event kicks off with a Career in IT keynote address from Jeff April 22 Tollefson, president and 11 am-noon CEO of the MN TechnolJoin our state’s tech ogy Association. sector through a Zoom From 8:15-10 am, conversation and receive guests are welcome to information on free, or meet, chat and interview low-cost, IT training op- with recruiters and hirportunities in the metro ing managers. Get startregion. ed by creating a profile by going to metroregionMetro Region Interactive interactive.easyvirtualVirtual Technology fair.com.

Career Fair April 27 For more information 7:30–10 am about April Tech Month, go Interact with employ- to bit.ly/TechMonth. ers at the Metro Region

Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Worship Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

Bethesda Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Billy G. Russell, Sr. Pastor

2600 E. 38th Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 www.greatfriend.org Phone: 612.827.7928 Fax: 612.827.3587 info@greatfriend.org

Rev. Arthur Agnew, Pastor

At the Old Landmark 1118 So. 8th Street Mpls., MN 55404 612-332-5904 www.bethesdamnonline.com bethesdamn@prodigy.net

Rev. James C. Thomas, Pastor

451 West Central

St. Paul, MN 55103 651-227-4444

Church School 9:30 am

Sundays 8:00am Sunday School 9:30am Worship Service The Friendly Church Where Everybody Is Somebody

Sunday Service Times: Early Morning Service 9 am Sunday School 10 am

Morning Worship 8:00 & 10:45 am Prayer Service:

Sunday Worship 11:30 am

Wednesday 7 pm

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Doctor Charles Gill 732 W. Central Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 Sunday Worship Service: 9:45 AM Sunday School: 8:45 AM

Wednesday Prayer Meeting, 6 pm Adult Bible Class 7 pm Children's Bible Class 7 pm

"Welcome to

Mt. Olivet Baptist Church"

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER 3744 4th Ave. South • Minneapolis, MN 55409 Phone: 612-827-4021 • Fax: 612-827-0577

Tracey Williams-DillarD

cecil e. NeWmaN

Publisher/CEO

Founder-Publisher 1934-1976

Wallace (Jack) JackmaN Co-Publisher Emeritus

l auNa Q. NeWmaN CEO/Publisher 1976-2000

Norma JeaN Williams Vice President Emeritus

Senior Editor Jerry Freeman

Contributing Writers

Sports Writers

Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III

Charles Hallman

Community Editor Mel Reeves

Dr. Deirdre Golden

Dr. Mitchell P. McDonald

Aleezeh Hasan

Contributing Photographers

Dr. Clarence Hightower

Digital Editor Paige Elliott

Abeni Hill Dwight Hobbes

Desktop Publisher Jennifer Cherrier Jim Handrigan

Tiffany Johnson Brandon Jones

Administrative Assistant Jibra’il Abdul-Azeem Account Representatives Cecilia Viel

Onika Nicole Craven Steve Floyd Chris Juhn Travis Lee

Tony Kiene Juliet Mitchell Khymyle Mims Abdi Muhommed Monica Zorilla

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

Minnesota Newspaper Association • National Newspaper Publishers Association The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

Publications are published every Thursday by the Spokesman-Recorder Publishing Co., Inc. Editorial/Business office is at 3744 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55409 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Minnesota SpokesmanRecorder, P.O. Box 8558, Minneapolis, MN 55408

SUBSCRIPTION RATES:In-state $35 yearly • Outside Minnesota $40 yearly All subscriptions payable in advance.

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

April 8-14, 2021

State of Minnesota Ramsey County

District Court Second Judicial District Court File Number: 62-DA-FA-21-249

FILE COPY

Notice of Issuance of Emergency (Ex Parte) Order for Protection by Publication (Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 8)

In the Matter of Consuelo Carrillo Cabrera vs MATTHEW LAWRENCE CIACIURA To Respondent: YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an Ex Parte Order for Protection has been issued in this case. You may request a hearing if you contact the court administrator's office within 12 days of the date of publication of this notice. You may obtain a copy of the Ex Parte Order for Protection and the form to request a hearing from the court administrator's office at the following address: Ramsey County District Court 25 West Seventh Street St Paul MN 55102 Failure to request a hearing or to obtain a copy of the Ex Parte Order will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court's order.

Dated: March 19, 2021

Donald W. Harper Court Administrator

From Classified

STATE OF MINNESOTA DISTRICT COURT Department/MN COUNTY OF WASHINGTON TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Spokesman-Recorder ------------------------------------------------------IN THE MATTER OF THE CHILD OF:

11

From Classified Principal Materials Engineer-Polymers Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder

Medtronic, Inc., Fridley, MN. Req. Master’s in Chemistry, Polymer Physics, Materials Science or Chemical Engr. & PHONE: PHONE: 612-827-4021 Golden Reiann Hill, 612-827-4021 4 yrs. of materials engr. exp. w/class II & class III medical Parent. devices.

Exp. must incl.

4 yrs. exp. in all the following: ------------------------------------------------------FOR BILLING FOR BILLING Identifying, developing & optimizing polymer biomaterials to ORDER FOR HEARING AND NOTICE OF PUBLICATION INQUIRIES INQUIRIES incl. silicones & polyurethanes for implantable neurostimuFile No. 82-JV-21-106 lators, infusion systems, & delivery tools; DOE; FTIR, GPC, & TEARSHEETS Court & TEARSHEETS County Attorney File No. JV-2021-252 MS, DSC, SEM, DMA, & tensileCONTACT tests; Six-sigma & lean PLEASE CONTACT PLEASE That Jamie Lynn Kreuser, Assistant Washington County Attorney, representdesign; developing predictive models & transfer functions ACCOUNTING DEPT ACCOUNTING DEPT ing Petitioner, Washington County Community Services, Stillwater, Minnesota, between material chemistry, properties & device performance BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-REC has filed@ in this Court a Child In Need of Protection or Services Petition regardattributes; assessing durability of materials, influences of maing parent Golden Reiann Hill seeking to show that child A.C.M., ER.COM terial chemistry, manufacturing, use conditions, & biological, D.O.B. 4/22/2019 should be adjudicated a Child in Need of Protection or Services.RAMSEY COUNTY chemical, & pharmaceutical exposures on materials; writing THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that said Child in Need of LEGAL NOTICES technical specs. & perform failure analysis investigations; Protection or Services Petition be heard by the Court at the Washington County SIZE: 2 COL X 4 = 8documentation & preparing regulatory submission-ready 1WEEK Government Center,RUN 14949 62nd Street North, Stillwater, MN, via Zoom hearRATE $15.53 PCI ing on April 20, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter can be per FDA 21 CFR 820 & ISO 13485.

To apply, visit https:// FLAT RATE $100.00 PREPAID heard, and on any subsequent hearing dates set on this matter. jobs.medtronic.com/,TOTAL: select Req. #210008B3. No agencies $124.24 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that notice hereof be given to the mother or phone calls please. Medtronic is an equal opportunity of said child, by publication in the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, a legal employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. newspaper, for one week as provided by law and by mailing a copy of such notice by certified mail to the natural mother's last known address All individuals are encouraged to apply.

Please proof, respond with email confirm of 2120 Clinton Ave, Minneapolis, MN, 55404 .

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder April 8, 2021

display@spokesman-recorder.com

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder April 8, 2021

The MSR handles billing digitally.

STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF HENNEPIN

In Re the Estate of:

DISTRICT COURT FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT PROBATE COURT DIVISION CASE TYPE: PROBATE/MENTAL HEALTH

Vincent Patrick Trammel, Decedent (Deceased person)

Court File No. 27-PA-PR-21-200

NOTICE OF INFORMAL APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS: Notice is hereby given, that an application for informal appointment of personal representative has been filed with the Registrar herein. No will has been presented for probate. The application has been granted.

Notice is hereby further given that informal appointment of Matthew V. Trammel, whose address is 1481 W. Fairview Dr., Springfield, OR 97477, and Jordan M. Trammel, whose address is 7171 Clayton Ave., Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076 as co-personal representatives of the estate of the abovenamed decedent, has been made. Any heir, devisee or other interested person may be entitled to appointment as personal representative or may object to the appointment of the personal representatives and the personal representatives are empowered to fully administer the estate including, after 30 days from the date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate, unless objections thereto are filed with the Court (pursuant to Section 524.3-607) and the Court otherwise orders.

Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representative or to the Probate Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred.

Dated: March 19, 2021

Julie Peterson Julie Peterson, Registrar Sarah Lindahl-Pfieffer District Court Administrator

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder April 8 & 15, 2021

State of Minnesota Ramsey County

District Court Second Judicial District Court File Number: 62HRCV21163 Case Type: Harassment

Hannah Brooklyn Landy Vs EvanStevens Hatcher

Notice of Issuance of Harassment Restraining Order

by Publication

To Respondent: YOU ARE NOTIFIED that a Harassment Restraining Order has been issued on March 1, 2021. An order has been issued directing you to appear to a hearing on 4/8/21 at 9:15am before Referee Elizabeth Clysdale for a Harassment Restraining Order Hearing and explain why the relief sought in the Petition for the Harassment Restraining Order should not be granted.

You must contact the Ramsey County Court Administrator’s Office at 651-2665130 for hearing location details.

You may obtain a copy of the Petition and any order issued from the court from the Ramsey County Court Administrator's Office.

If you do not appear at the scheduled hearing, the Petitioner's request may be granted as a default matter. Failure to appear will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court's Order. Failure to appear at a scheduled hearing or to get a copy of the Harassment Restraining Order will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court's order.

6/29/2020

Court Administrator Ramsey

State of Minnesota Washington County

Court From ClassifiedDistrict Tenth Judicial District Department/MN Court File Number: 82-JV-21-106 Case Type: CHIPS Spokesman-Recorder

In the Matter of the Welfare of the Child of: Golden Reiann Hill PHONE: 612-827-4021 Summons and Notice Child In Need of Protection FOR BILLING or Services Matter

This means you will get e-tears and e-ma From ClassifiedWalker Center invoicesArt unless you specifically request a Department/MN copy.

Spokesman-Recorder Looking for a job? Try the Walker Art Center! We are currently hiring: full-time security & safety day and night shifts,

Assistant Museum Registrar, and Business Development PHONE: 612-827-4021 Director. For more information visit walkerart.org/jobs

FOR BILLING INQUIRIES INQUIRIES & TEARSHEETS NOTICE TO: Golden Reiann Hill: parent(s) or legal custodian(s). & TEARSHEETS PLEASE CONTACT there were none.

1. A Child In Need of Protection or Services Petition has been filed in the Office PLEASE CONTACT ACCOUNTING DEPT of the Clerk of Juvenile Court located at 14949 - 62nd St. N; PO Box 3802 “I’m proud to be a part of that ACCOUNTING DEPT Stillwater MN 55082, alleging that the child(ren) of the above-named parent(s) @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM significance,” Shrewsberry told or legal custodian(s) is/are@ in need of protection or services.

BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER. Continued from page 12 2. Notice is hereby given that the matter of said Child In Need of Protection or the MSR. “This is the greatest and COM Services Petition will be called for hearing before the Juvenile Court located at LEGAL NOTICES

SOE

most competitive conference in SIZE: 2 COL X 4.25 = 8.50 “When we’re given the oppor- the country. To be a head coach in RATE $15.53 PCI tunity, we have to be successful,” this league is an honor. To be an TOTAL: $132.00 stated Arizona’s Adia Barnes last African American coach in this week. She and South Carolina league even more an honor.”

HC Dawn Staley made history Yet coaching diversity in both Please proof, respond with email confirmation to display as this year’s Final Four had two men’s and women’s hoops hasn’t man-recorder.com Black coaches for the first time, changed much in numbers and and the former led her club to percentages in nearly a decade, The MSR handles billing digitally.

Sunday’s title game, only the according to the recent NCAA This means you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices unless fourth sistah to do so.

Demographics database: Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder April 8, with 2021 email confirmation Please proof, respond to specifically request a hard copy.

Last month Staley and Joni WBB – Black female HCs – 58 display@spokesman-recorder.com Taylor (Georgia) coached against (17%) in 2020 from 47 (14%) in each other in the SEC champion- 2012 The MSR handles billing digitally.

From Classified NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF WAIR INC. MBB – Black male HCs – 98 This means you will PRODUCTS get e-tears and e-mailedship in- game, the first time in conDepartment/MN voices unless specifically request a hard ference copy. history that two Black (28%) in 2020; 86 (25%) in 2012 PLEASE BE ADVISED that Wair Productsyou Inc. is in the process of dissolving Spokesman-Recorder and has filed a Notice of Intent to Dissolve with the Secretary of State of Mincoaches have done so.

“I know the reality is as a Black nesota on March 30, 2021. Claims may be made with the Company by filing And not to be historically out- female if I get fired, I probably will such claim in writing. The date by which all claims must be received shall be PHONE: 612-827-4021 90 days after the first publication date of this Notice. done, three of the four WNIT not be recycled,” noted Barnes. semifinalists were headed “Most Black women…do not get a All claims to be submitted should be addressed to: Wair Products Inc. c/o FOR BILLING

by Black females, and Yolett second opportunity.”

Thomas Johansson 1401 W Broadway Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55411 INQUIRIES From Classified McPhee-McCuin’s Ole Miss Surmised Moseley, “I feel reMinnesota Spokesman Recorder, April 8, 15, 22, & 29, 2021 & TEARSHEETS Department/MN squad finished as WNIT run- ally fortunate that I can have this PLEASE CONTACT Spokesman-Recorder ners-up last month. This might platform to not only try to win ACCOUNTING DEPT be the first time in recent history games but also more than that, to @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORD PHONE: 612-827-4021 that both the NCAA and WNIT show…we can do so much more COMAd From Display championship games featured than just teach this game with a Minnesota Housing Partnership FOR BILLING Department/MN Black females not as players but round ball.”

LEGAL NOTICES INQUIRIES as headSpokesman-Recorder coaches.

“We need to help other peoMinnesota Housing Partnership, a local non-profit, is seeking SIZE: 2 COL X 1.5 = 3 & TEARSHEETS Micah Shrewsberry and Mike ple get this opportunity,” said Human Resources System Solution proposals beginning RATE $15.53 PCI (1ST RUN) PLEASE CONTACT PHONE: 612-827-4021 Woodson last week were intro- Shrewsberry.

March 23, 2021 to April 23, 2021. Interested bidders should SUBTOTAL: $46.59 ACCOUNTING DEPT duced as Penn State and Indiana’s contact Daniel Atunah-Jay at acounting@mhponline.org, for @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM FORcoaches BILLING new MBB respectively, Charles Hallman welcomes reader a complete bidder’s package. All proposals must be completRATE $10.35 PCI (PER ADDITIONAL INQUIRIES making four Black coaches in the responses to challman@spokesmaned and submitted by 4:00 PM CST on Friday, April 23, 2021.

RUN- 3 WEEKS) TEARSHEETS RAMSEY COUNTY Big Ten& now.

Just three years ago recorer.com. $31.05 X 3 = SUBTOTAL $93.15

14949 - 62nd St. N; PO Box 3802 Stillwater MN 55082, on April 20, 2021 at 10:00 am or as soon after as the Matter can be heard.

LEGAL NOTICES 3. YOU ARE ORDERED to appear before the Juvenile Court at the scheduled SIZE: 2 COL X 5.25 = 10.50 time and date.

4. You have a right to be represented by counsel.

RATE $15.53 PCI (1ST RUN) 5. If you fail to appear at the hearing, the Court may still conduct the hearing SUBTOTAL: $163.07 and grant appropriate relief, including taking permanent custody of the child/ren named in the Petition.

WITNESS, the Honorable 04/20/2021 RATE $10.35 (PERCourt: ADDITIONAL JudgePCI of District Sheridan HawleyRUN) BY: $108.68 SUBTOTAL: Annette Fritz Total: $271.75 Court Administrator

1WEEK RUN FLAT RATE $100.00 PREPAID

View Continued from page 12

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder April 8, 2021

NCAA’s defense of amateurism does not hold up. [They] had the opportunity from the 1980s to the present—three decades—to present a model of equity and to live up to the claims that they [are

PLEASE CONTACT ACCOUNTING DEPT Total: $139.74 @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

Portal

them to go. It will be interestPlease proof, respond with email confirmat EMPLOYMENT DISPLAYing to see how it evolves over for] equity. They exploit male display@spokesman-recorder.com Continued page 12 INCHES = 3 SIZE:from 2 COL X 1.5 athletes. They do not treat fetime.

RATE $42.00 PER COL. INCH male athletes equally. All of “Itbilling worked out for Jamison, The MSR handles digitally. $126.00 PERthe WEEK these athletes are in the same SinceTOTAL: the season ended, and I’m it,” he This means you will getexcited e-tearsabout and e-mailed situation—[none] are being Gophers have seenvoices six players concluded. unless you specifically request a hard c treated right.” enter it.+2 WEEKS ONLINE WITH PRINT @$150.00 WEEKS ONLY @$300.00 “The +2portal is ONLINE not going Charles Hallman welcomes Charles Hallman welcomes anywhere,” predicted Terrell reader responses to challman@ proof,part respond email confirmation to display reader responses to challman@ Battle. Please “The hard is thatwith spokesman-recorer.com. spokesman-recorder.com. spokesman-recorer.com. so many are in the portal and there’s not enough places for Possible Publication dates between the request time fram March 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 2021.

Distribution methods (10k dist by mail and 100 newsstan Deadlines are one week prior to the print date. Once eve is approved we will email you an invoice that you can eit on the invoice or mail a check.

Wanted: A news reporter/journalist The MSR handles billing digitally.

The MSR seeks a news reporter with and experience the Thisextensive means youknowledge will get e-tears and e-mailedininvoices un African American community to cover news events, protests, community you specifically request a hardand copy. meetings. The reporter will be expected to cover meetings and policy decisions at various levels of government in the Twin Cities and the greater metro area, including the state legislature.

The reporter will also write news stories about housing, education, transportation, labor, health, the environment, police violence and more as they pertain to the African American community. The reporter must be comfortable reporting on issues surrounding equity, discrimination and social justice.

This is a freelance position with pay commensurate with experience. There is potential for advancement.

For more information, email Mel Reeves at mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

12

April 8-14, 2021

NCAA’s defense of amateurism takes its last stand

I

f the NCAA had its way, they’d just say sorry and go back to BAU—business as usual, especially in making billions on the backs of col-

battled college sport’s King Kong, beginning with her 2009 study that found financial shortfalls for scholarship athletes. She also has written amicus briefs for court cases involving players and former players suing the NCAA. The Supreme Court last week heard oral arguments on the Alston case. Former college football player Shawne Alston sued the NCAA in 2014 on anti-trust grounds. A judge ruled in 2019 that the organization could not place any financial limits on what athletes can get from each school in exchange for their athletic ability.

The NCAA appealed the decision and again lost in 2020. Now

Then there’s the NIL issue— name, images and likeness. A 2019 California law that gives college athletes the right to earn compensation from their name, image or likeness is set to go into effect later this year, and at least 39 states have some kind of NIL bills being discussed in state legislatures.

“A combination of a favorable ruling in Alston along with the state laws [on] names, likeness and images…might help move this thing along,” continued Staurowsky. But she quickly added, “I’m not persuaded that if a favorable ruling [occurs] the NCAA will do what they should do in terms of treating athletes

“They exploit male athletes.

They do not treat female athletes equally.” the high court’s decision is expected sometime in May or June.

They annually call it March Madness and The Big Dance, at NCAA President least when it comes to men’s basMark Emmert ketball. Last month NCAA offiCourtesy NCAA cials tap-danced around the issue of gender equality after it was exlege athletes. posed on social media how little there between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Despite stumbling NCAA pledges to do better, Staurowsky and others remain skeptical. The NCAA and its mostly male proponents continue their own “big lie” that women’s sports and Title IX eventually will bring down men’s sports.

An Associated Press survey found that 94 percent of the athletic directors they asked believe Ellen Staurowsky that it will be difficult to comply MSR file photo with Title IX gender equity rules if they have to pay athletes. AnEllen Staurowsky calls the other 80 percent said that fewer NCAA “a million dollar jugger- schools would be competitive if naut.” The Ithaca College sports revenue sharing with the players media professor has for decades took place.

better.”

History shows that the NCAA’s Jericho Wall against paying college players and gender equality, fighting back with lawsuits and public shaming, hasn’t lost a brick. If indeed college sport is amateurism, “college head coaches would make a couple thousand dollars” rather than the millions they currently make, says SUNY-Cortland Professor Lindsay Darvin.

“I’m completely committed” to gender equity, claimed NCAA President Mark Emmert last week to reporters, including the MSR. He later announced that an independent gender equity review of all its championships and sports in all three divisions will be conducted.

“The NCAA are allowing biases, stereotypes, and implicit discriminatory preferences rule the decisions they’re making on behalf of student athletes,” added Darvin.

Surmised Staurowsky, “The ■ See View on page 11

The transfer portal is here to stay rell Battle, whose son Jamison Battle entered it after two seasons at George Washington. “A while ago when somebody wanted to The NCAA Transfer Portal transfer, it was a bad thing,” he was established in 2018 to sim- continued. “This player [is] transplify the process of switching ferring because he didn’t get schools. Once the player informs along with the coach [or is a] bad the school’s compliance office player [with a] bad attitude.

“But transferring these days is not about that. It’s about kids finding the right fit,” Terrell

By Charles Hallman Contributing writer

NCAA is giving an extra year to all college athletes who seek it due to the pandemic. “I love the vision Coach Johnson has for this program, and I want to be a part of it,” added Stephens.

Jamison, a 6’-7” forward, “likes Ben a lot. He developed a rapport with Ben back in high school,” said his father. “It’s exciting for him to come play for [Johnson].” Leaving the D.C.-

Slow gains in college head coaching diversity

W

hen Wisconsin hired her, Marisa Moseley joined legendary Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer as the Big Ten’s only Black women HCs. How important is coaching diversity, especially to Black women? We asked Moseley during her March 22 introductory Zoom conference call with reporters.

“I’ve earned the jobs I have because of my competency and my ability,” Moseley said, “and I happen to be a Black female. I’m a proud Black woman.”

Moseley’s impressive coaching resume includes nine years as an assistant coach with UConn, appearing in the Final Four each of those years, and two seasons at Minnesota with former coach Pam Borton. She began her coaching career at Denver. The past three seasons she was Boston University head coach and made the Patriot League tournament title game this season.

“I have the opportunity to show that we [as Black females] are capable [to run] a Power 5 program and be successful, and other Blacks should get the opportunity as well,” stated Mose-

Dawn Staley (l) and Adia Barnes ley, Wisconsin’s second Black female coach in school history. “We should be afforded the opportunity more often than not.”

At present the Power 5 WBB coaching diversity count is as fol-

that he or she wants to transfer, their name goes into the portal and is available to all coaches.

Over 15,000 players entered the portal in 2018-19, the NCAA reported. It is not readily known how many are in it this year, but it seems that it is busting at the seams.

“I think the transfer portal is a little different for every person who is in there,” explained Ter-

Jamison Battle, a Minneapolis De La Salle graduate, last week agreed to sign with Minnesota, the first of three former transfer portal players who’ve signed with new Gopher Coach Ben Johnson.

“Minnesota felt like home,” 6’3” guard E.J. Stephens told the MSR. He was all-Patriot League last season and now gets a fifth season of eligibility because the

Courtesy of UW Athletics

“When we’re given the opportunity, we have to be successful.”

Courtesy of Twitter

lows: Now over half of the SEC 12. We have seen recent sistahs teams [eight of 14] are coached by hired at non-Power 5 schools as Black women after Auburn hired well, such as Memphis (KaJohnnie Harris last week; three in trina Merriweather, formerly the ACC, two in the Big Ten, two at Wright State). in the Pac-12, and zero in the Big ■ See SOE on page 11

Hill and Townley named Players of the Year in Minneapolis

“I love the vision Coach Johnson has for this program, and I want to be a part of it.” noted. “A lot of times the people are in the portal are good players, Jamison Battle good students – they just want Submitted photos something different.”

Marisa Moseley

based school wasn’t “because he PreP Scene was mad at the coach or not playing. It was finding the right fit for Dr. Mitchell PalMer McDonalD his game,” Terrell pointed out.

His son arranged Zoom meetings with coaches during the renewed recruiting of the nowformer GW player, who averaged over 17 points a game last year. “[Jamison] owned the process. It wasn’t a whole lot I had to do,” said Terrell. He and his wife “talked virtually every day about his thoughts and where he was. I feel good about him making the decision.”

Terrell said he and his family can see Jamison play more now that he’s home. “Selfishly as a dad, I get to see him at [home] Jade Hill games and see him every day.

Photo courtesy I’m excited for him to be part of University of St. Thomas the community.”

During his introductory press Guard Jade Hill (South) and conference, Johnson reiterated forward Davon Townley Jr. that the transfer portal, like it or (North) were selected as the Minnot, is part of college basketball. neapolis City’s Players of the Year for the 2020-21 prep basketball ■ See Portal on page 11 season.

Hill, a 5’9” senior, led the Tigers to their fifth City Conference championship averaging 32 points per game with a season high of 52. She will attend the University of St. Thomas next fall on a basketball scholarship.

Townley, a 6’7” senior, led the Polars to its eighth straight City Conference crown as the team’s second-leading scorer at 15 points per game. He will attend Penn State University on a foot-

Devon Townley Jr. Photo courtesy 247Sports

son and Jhanae Green were selected from third-place Southwest and Madalyn Blaylark and Maia Steven from fourth-place Washburn.

Rounding out the 12-player team was Kaya Caprini of Henry, Jaida Walker and Olivia Wren of Roosevelt and Ma’Yell Craig of Edison.

Joining Townley on the AllConference team were North teammates Willie Wilson, Jacob Butler and CJ Brown. Jabari Langley, Mohammed Mohamud and Johnny Spencer represent second-place Edison.

Hakeem Ford and Gabe Senseman-Cassidy were selected from third-place Southwest, while Jerome Williams and Chiang Ring of fourth-place South were also named.

Denzel Walker of Henry, Cass Ramberg of Washburn, and Dennis Holte of Roosevelt round out the 14-member team.

Ricky Hill (South) was selected as girls’ basketball Coach of the Year. Ahmil Jihad (Edison) was selected boys’ Coach of the Year.

ball scholarship.

South’s Angel Hill joined her sister on the All-Conference Mitchell Palmer McDonald welteam. Representing second-place comes reader responses to mcdeezy@ North was Alexis McNeil and gmail.com.

Giana Johnson. Virginia John-