THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
August 6-12, 2020 Vol. 87 No. 1
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“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”
Ilhan Omar and Antone Melton-Meaux vie for 5th Congressional District The race for the 5th Congressional District has heated up over the last few weeks and become quite contentious as the DFL primary
nears. Challenger Antone Melton-Meau has mounted a campaign against incumbent Ilhan Omar that has caught the attention of the
uted to both candidates. The MSR wanted to give voters a chance to hear from the candidates one more time before the August 11th primary.
Antone Melton-Meaux
Ilhan Omar
MSR: Why are you seeking re-election? Omar: To have the opportunity to carry the values of one of the most progressive districts in the country. [Here the incumbent lists her accomplishments as legislator.] It’s been exciting to have the opportunity to introduce legislation to address the social and economic neglect in our community [such as] Medicare for All, knowing that 50% of Black Minnesotans are either underinsured or uninsured. I have introduced Homes for All recognizing that many of our constituents are renters or
national media. Adding to the controversy surrounding the race has been the amount of money from outside the district that has been contrib-
are housing insecure or face displacement. It includes concrete steps to address housing shortages, gentrification, and wraparound services. We have addressed the problem of student debt so young people can be free of the debt and can live fulfilled lives. We have addressed the socioeconomic needs of children with education funding that includes feeding children. We can’t feed the brain if we can’t feed the belly. Wrap-around services are important—social workers, mental health providers. We want schools to have more social workers and more mental health professionals and healthcare professionals in general to provide more wrap-around services. We have been leading the charge to support our teachers, so they have incentive to teach especially in schools with the highest disparities. We had a focus on environmental justice. Minnesota
tional wealth. MSR: What is the difference between human rights and civil rights? AM-M: Human rights is about universal rights and the ability to move freely identifying and honoring people’s heritage and lineage. Civil rights is the process of MSR: Why are you running addressing the systems of change. Voting is a civil right. [Civil rights for office? AM-M: I love the District and involve] assurance that the mechI care about our community. We anisms of government are acceshave significant challenges in sible and fair. the 5th District, like closing the MSR: Why is it important to achievement gap in our public schools, especially for children of address human rights issues? AM-M: We have to address color, and making sure we have all issues that speak to who we affordable housing. I want to minimize the effect are as human beings. I have been of COVID so we don’t make dedicated to that work as a fullthat crisis worse. We need to ad- time mediator. I have done a lot dress the lack of long-term qual- of work with the Minnesota Deity housing for renters and make partment of Human Rights and sure we have access to capital in the Minneapolis Department of marginalized communities to be- Civil Rights. What’s important is the procome homeowners. Homeownership is the pathway to genera- tection of someone’s identity ■See MEAUX on page 5
■See OMAR on page 5
MSR News Briefs Murders in large U.S. cities on the rise Homicides are up 24% this year in the nation’s 50 largest cities, totaling 3,612 so far according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of police department data. In 36 of those cities, the homicide rate increased by double digits. In Chicago, homicides increased by over 50%; so far this year there have been 400 more homicides over last year. Philadelphia and New York City
were in second and third place with 200 more homicides this year. Austin and Fort Worth, Texas reported large increases in murders as well. Experts have attributed the rise in violence to an increase in gang violence, the economic recession, and the lack of activity during the pandemic by social institutions that give youth alternatives to criminal activity like churches and schools.
Hundreds of U.S. businesses cheated workers during pandemic According to an article published by the Center for Public Integrity, hundreds of U.S. businesses have illegally denied paid leave to workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 12, nearly 700 companies had violated the law's paid-leave provisions and owed back wages to hundreds of employees. Many companies were found in violation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires
small and medium-sized businesses to pay a worker's full salary for two weeks if they become infected with COVID-19 and prohibits businesses from firing employees for taking leave. Companies with less than 50 employees are excluded from the Act. Most of the workers who were, in effect, ripped off are low-wage earners in the construction, hotel and food industries.
Nonprofit and business partners feed thousands as hunger spreads By Analise Pruni Contributing writer Prior to COVID-19, Loaves & Fishes, a local organization committed to providing healthy meals to any Minnesotan in need, was serving around 3,500 meals daily. After the pandemic hit, donations have helped fuel a new to-go model of meal services that is providing around 11,000 to 12,000 meals a day. “The core of our mission is feeding people who are in need hot nutritious meals,” said Fishes & Loaves Executive Director Cathy Maes. “We do that seven days a week at over 56 locations right now.” To keep everyone safe during the pandemic and replace more traditional meal halls, Loaves & Fishes now operates with deliv-
Maes added that they deliver many meals to those experiencing homelessness in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas. “Our numbers have been soaring down near Little Earth, near the Powderhorn area,” Maes said. “African Americans down on Lake Street, that has been a population [in need] that has increased, so it’s really kind of site-specific.” As the number of seniors utilizing the meal services “skyrocket,” she said that neighbors and community members have been coming to pick up and deliver the food to the aging population Loaves & Fishes now focuses on take-out and delivery meal services. Photo by Analise Pruni who are shut in because of the coronavirus. Community partnerships, ery trucks making runs to pick- safe,” Maes said. “That has kind of informed our work that there’s donations, and most recently a up sites. “A lot of people drive up, walk a certain level of confidence and $7,000 grant from Wireless Zone, up, they don’t come in and eat; anonymity in that model, so a local Verizon Wireless franchise, we’re trying to keep everybody we’re seeing a lot of new people.” have helped supplement this
meal service in a time when hunger in Minnesota is being experienced by many more people. Bob Cheney, local Wireless Zone franchisee owner, started teaming up with Loaves & Fishes in 2008 through his church group. Wireless Zone’s “Founda-
keeping the company up and running through the pandemic. With expenses for gas in the delivery trucks, to-go containers, and “rescuing food,” the $7,000 was spent quickly in June. “Right when all of the universities closed and the restaurants
“It’s been fascinating how quickly we’ve been able to move when you’re in the middle of a crisis.” tion for Giving” allows franchisee members to donate and serve communities in need. Cheney said that since 2011 his franchise has been able to donate around $50,000 to Loaves & Fishes. The most recent $7,000 went immediately towards supporting the to-go model and
and the corporations, there was a ton of food in the system that needed to be recovered,” Maes said. “So we had seven trucks out every single day rescuing food, and our gas expenses just went through the roof.” Loaves & Fishes has also partnered with metro-area YMCAs. ■See LOAVES on page 5
Surging violence has many feeling ‘under siege’ By Charles Hallman Contributing writer
PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
Gun violence in Minneapolis has seen an uptick in recent weeks. Some blame a combination of COVID-19, two months of imposed stay-at-home orders, the George Floyd murder and the uprisings and protests that followed, the summertime heat, and other related factors such as
anxiety and stress, job loss, and the pre-existing economic insecurity that normally affects the underprivileged. Over 200 people have been shot in the city so far this year— 113 people shot since May 25, the day Floyd died. At least 40 homicides have occurred thus far this year, and violent crime is up 11 percent from the previous year, according to Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) statistics. According to Shot Spotter, a tracking tool used by the MPD, there have been over 1,600 gunshots in Minneapolis in the 30 days since Floyd’s death. The majority of this gunfire activity has occurred on the city’s North Side, as determined by a second MPD tracking tool. The non-partisan Center for American Progress calls gun violence a leading killer of young people ages 15 to 29 in the U.S., more so
than car accidents and second only to drug overdoses. More than 117,000 people are shot annually in America according to a recent national report on urban gun violence. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is calling such violence “a significant public health problem.” During the July 29 African American Leadership Forum virtual panel discussion on gun violence, Minneapolis Youth Vio-
“These gangs are very undisciplined. lence Prevention Director Sasha Cotton said that the city’s Black population “is overrepresented in violence,” especially among males under age 30. State Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis), City Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison, and former councilmember Don Samuels joined Cotton on last week’s panel.
Violence “is a much broader issue” in Black communities, not just in North Minneapolis, Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) pointed out. “It really is a healthcare issue,” he stressed. “We really need to make sure that we are saying that.” The lawmaker advocated for a culturally specific approach as the best way to deal with the problem. “Access to guns is part of the gun violence crisis,” Cotton said. “The question is, “Why do you need a gun to feel safe?” Addressing the local gun violence issue over the years has been inconsistent, said Ellison, who represents the city’s Fifth Ward. “We have invested in small ways over time in programs and departments,” he noted. “We don’t do prevention and remedies. We only focus on consequences.” The city council allocated $300,000 to expand the Group Violence Invention Program in Cotton’s Violence Prevention office. The program works with people who are most likely to
commit gun violence. “We know
the numbers in our community are high,” reported Cotton, who was appointed to her current post in 2019 after five years as the program’s coordinator. Trauma is a big factor, not only for the victims of violence and their family members, but also for those who perpetuate the violence, Cotton said. “We are looking how we can do this work in a group setting.” She avoided the oft-used “Black-on-Black” terminology, which Cotton called a media creation. Violence typically occurs against someone you know or in retaliation, she explained. “It’s ironic that the media only put it out when it’s ‘Black-on-Black’ crime. But do you ever hear [the media] say Native American-on-
Native American, or Latino-onLatino violence? “We got to move away from that terminology,” Cotton continued. “We know that Black people shoot other Black people. The context of that only happening in our community is not [correct].” Samuels pointed out that the city’s youth gang problem is ever-present, a direct correlation to hopelessness and poverty among other factors, he stated. Studies have shown that young people are recruited by gangs as early as fourth grade. “We are always going to have young people feeling hopeless and thinking that Blackness is attributed to some kind of poverty or violence,” said Samuels, a longtime Northside resident. “You have these little cliques who have collated into two gangs,” he added. “They are very undisciplined. A lot of mayhem.” Violence “is a pattern, not something inherent” among Blacks, said Ellison. Some community folk say they are afraid to call the ■See VIOLENCE on page 5