SERV IN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
AUGUST 19 - 25, 2021
Vol. 88
PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
87
19 THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN
THE COMM for over
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GIVING VOICE TO THE STORIES THAT MATTER
www.spokesman-recorder.com
NO. 03
Haiti digs out from another massive earthquake
Minnesota continues to offer rent relief State taking applications through RentHelpMN.org
By Mel Reeves Community editor
Island nation, diaspora determined to overcome latest disaster
Photos courtesy of MGN
By Jon Jeter Contributing writer Hours after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rattled the Caribbean Saturday morning August 14, social media was abuzz with Haitians in the U.S. and Canada offering to pitch in and lend a hand to the relief effort. “Hello ladies,” began one Facebook post. “[Are] there any nurses, doctors, volunteers, who want to go help in Haiti [?] I’m down for it. Haiti needs our help right now.” “I’m down. For like a week or two,” wrote one of the respondents. “I’m interested.” wrote another.
“Let’s go Haiti need[s] us,” responded a third. “Is it possible to Zoom meeting to discuss how we can help Haiti [?]” one woman posted in her Facebook group. As of Sunday, Haiti’s Civil Protection agency had counted almost 1,300 dead and 30,000 injured in the country’s southwest corner near the earthquake’s epicenter. More than 1,000 homes, seven churches, two hotels and three schools have been destroyed. The devastation, of course, comes only five weeks after gunmen burst into Haiti’s presidential palace and assassinated President Jovenel Moïse.
But if the myriad catastrophes have left the Haitian diaspora feeling what Western psychologists refer to as “compassion fatigue”—an indifference to charitable appeals resulting from the frequency of pleas for help—there are no outward signs of emotional burnout. Rather, resiliency seems to be the default position among Haitians, both at home and abroad, who are heirs to a complicated legacy of struggle and perseverance that includes the first successful slave revolt in history. “There’s a collective feeling of being overwhelmed, but we’re pushing through it,” said Nedjhy Dominique, a 42-year-old
Thousands of MN prisoners remain unvaccinated
ACLU lawsuit challenges DOC’s safety precautions By Niara Savage Contributing writer Federal and state prisons in Minnesota have faced scrutiny for months over their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) last year alleging that it failed to protect incarcerated people from the virus. Prisons are notoriously dangerous places during a viral outbreak, and incarcerated people have been left at the mercy of those at the helm of correctional facilities across the country. The COVID-19 death rate in prisons has been three times higher than among the general U.S. population, even when adjusted for age and sex, according to the Prison
MNDOC Commissioner Paul Schnell Photo courtesy of LinkedIn Policy Initiative. When Ramsey County District Judge Sara Grewing ruled on March 31 that the ACLU lawsuit could proceed and inmates could sue the State over the handling of the pandemic as a part of a class action suit, Minnesota DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell
“Don’t worry, we are not running out of money,” said Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho, assuring the MSR and the public that there are more enough funds available to cover those who apply for rent relief or who have fallen behind. Minnesota received two allotments of federal funds most recently in March and December 2020 totaling $518 million. She anticipates that the funding will last through June 2022. RentHelpMN.org is Minnesota’s effort to help renters pay back rent who have fallen behind on their payments as a result of loss of a job or income because of the coronavirus pandemic. Renters who anticipate that because of financial hardship they will not be able to pay their rent next month or for up to three months in the foreseeable future are also encouraged to apply for relief. The Minnesota Housing Commission, which has received a steady flow of applications, says it has been hindered in paying out mon-
MN Housing Commisioner Jennifer Ho ies by incomplete applications. While the application process can be a bit laborious, it is clearly worth it for those who need relief. Landlords can also apply on behalf of tenants. The overdue funds are paid directly to landlords. The public policy nonprofit PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute, using data from the Census Household Pulse Survey and USC’s Understanding Coronavirus in America survey, developed a Rent Debt Dashboard that estimated $19 billion is owed in rent by nearly six million ■See RENT on page 5
ern part of the county by creating a network of host families who have rental properties there and are willing to allow them to stay there for at least 30 days at no charge,” said Dominique. “A friend of mine has already spoken with her employer—a medical supply manufacturing company—and has them agreeing to donate $50,000 worth of medical equipment. We’re resourceful.” That is largely by necessity, however, says Dominique and other Haitians who contend that funds raised by the “I spoke with my cousin today, international community for Haitian-born American who lives in South Florida. “The sense of and she’s already trying to figure Haitian relief efforts tend to community is our strongest con- out how to temporarily house ■See HAITI on page 5 those left homeless in the southnection.
Senate passes historic infrastructure bill
House to consider even larger spending effort By Stacy M. Brown Contributing writer
pledged that all inmates would be vaccinated by April 9. “At this point in the fight against The U.S. Senate on August COVID-19, it is universally ac- 10 passed one of President Joe cepted that people working and Biden’s most ambitious pieces living together are at exponential- of legislation, a $1 trillion biparly heightened risk for contracting tisan infrastructure package. COVID-19,” Grewing said when “It’s been a long and winding the decision was made. road, but we have persisted Grewing also ruled that Gov. and now we have arrived,” said Tim Walz and Minnesota Depart- Senate Majority Leader Chuck ment of Health Commissioner Schumer (D-N.Y.) about the bill. Jan Malcolm could be added “The American people will now as defendants in a class action see the most robust injection lawsuit, and said the DOC must of funds into infrastructure in produce information verifying decades.” the claim that all inmates would The bill, which now must be vaccinated by April 9. At the pass the House, counts as the time, just one-fifth of inmates in largest federal investment in the DOC system had been fully America’s public works system vaccinated, the ACLU suit alleged. in more than 10 years. AccordBut Schnell told MSR that all ing to the Brookings Institution, inmates in the DOC system who from 2007 to 2017 total public want the vaccine have received spending on infrastructure fell by $9.9 billion in real terms. ■See VACCINE on page 5
“While federal, state and local governments have spent nominally more on infrastructure in recent years, the rising cost of materials has reduced their real spending power. As a result, real infrastructure spending nationally has fallen over the past decade, from $450.4 billion in 2007 to $440.5 billion in 2017,” Brookings researchers wrote in a report. The Senate-passed infrastructure bill encompasses each part of the American economy and should strengthen the United States’ global warming response. The bill increases funding to modernize America’s power grid, and it provides funds to better manage climate risks. To gain bipartisan support, lawmakers reduced the amount and scope of President Biden’s initial proposal for infrastructure. The President first sought
■See SENATE on page 5
CORRECTION In last week’s issue, our story “Meet Noah Roberson, a local war hero,” misidentified Mr. Roberson. His correct name is Hosea Roberson. We apologize for the error.