PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 December 10-16, 2020 Vol. 87 No. 19
FIND US ONLINE AT WWW.SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM
“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”
Many retailers reluctant to enforce COVID rules Governor’s executive order widely ignored
By Amudalat Ajasa Contributing writer While most retailers have posted signs insisting that holiday shoppers wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, strict enforcement of the policy appeared lax in some major shopping venues last week, including the Mall of America and the Rosedale Mall in Roseville. The MSR spent time at the Mall of America on Wednesday, December 2. Many shoppers were wearing masks, but others were seen walking and eating maskless despite the mall’s rules. We also spent time last week at the Rosedale Mall. “Upstairs there are often patrons that are eating between the potato and the pretzel place that don’t have masks on,” said April Jereczek, a worker at Sock City pop up in the Rosedale Mall. “Security can walk through the mall and tell them, but then they walk away and somebody takes their masks off again.” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order
on November 18 allowing restaurants to remain open, but for take-out only. Mall restaurants fall under the jurisdiction of this executive order. The executive order includes specific rules for businesses that allow them to decline services to customers without masks or request that such customers leave the premises in order to ensure the safety of workers and other customers. “You are not allowed to drink or eat in the shopping center inside,” said Lisa Crain, the senior general manager at Rosedale Shopping Center. However, the closure of in-person dining within restaurants and bars has led shoppers to eat while walking around the mall. Crain explained that guests are encouraged and reminded to wear masks, but there isn’t any enforcement apart from that. The mall uses an educational approach to remind guests of the mandate. “If we have people that refuse to do it, we don’t enforce it. We just continue to encourage them to comply,” Crain revealed.
“With people's responsibility and sanitizer stations throughout the our intentions to make sure peo- center. We have floor details so
separated,” Crain said. “Well, I’ve seen two signs that say that people aren’t supposed to [walk and eat],” said Jill Degaetano from the Minnesota Awesome pop up. “It’s supposed to be takeout only…but yes, I have seen it. I’m really surprised that they say not to [walk and eat] but they have places like the pretzel place open and Dairy Queen.”
Uneven enforcement Malls and stores are under pressure to find a delicate balance when asking customers to comply with the governor's orders. “We are required to ask them to [wear masks] because it’s not only the safety of the customers, but it’s about the safety of the employees too,” Mina Her, brand ambassador at Forever 21 in Rosedale, explained. Some mall workers said they Despite the warning signs, many continue to eat or drink are able to refuse guests if they with masks down. Photo by Amudalat Ajasa aren’t wearing a mask before entering stores. “We are seeing ple understand the new policies, people understand that we are people walking with masks, and [we hope] that people will com- social distancing. We reduced all if they aren’t we say, ‘You have of our seating areas down to 50% to have a mask on or you can’t ply with them’ “We’ve had signage that masks from 100%, so we do have lim- come in,’” said Aaliyah Ellis, a are mandatory. We have hand ited seating so people are socially sales associate at Journeys in
Rosedale Mall. Rosedale mall has also changed their air flow filter system and adapted their normal holiday programming to encourage social distancing. The Mall of America uses a similar approach to encourage their shoppers to wear masks. “We have implemented the Red Shirt Crew” Sarah Grap, MOA public relations director, explained. “These team members are positioned at each entrance in bright red to ensure everyone entering Mall of America is wearing a mask and wearing it properly.” Guests are required to wear a mask when they enter the mall. Red Shirt Crew members are also deployed to remind customers of the mandate that requires food to be consumed outside of the mall. The mall also has signage with this reminder. “Many aren’t aware that they are not able to eat or drink food purchased at Mall of America under this current mandate,” Grap said. “Again, this takes everyone working together to ensure the safety of guests visiting Mall of ■See Retailers on page 5
Honored St. Paul cop shoots naked unarmed man Protesters demand criminal charges for fired officer By Mel Reeves Community editor “No justice no peace, prosecute the police,” and “no good cops in a racist system” were among the chants heard last Friday, Dec. 4 as over 100 people marched down University Avenue in St. Paul demanding former St. Paul cop Anthony Dean be criminally charged following his November 28 shooting of Joseph Javonte Washington. Washington was naked and unarmed at the time of the shooting and appeared to be experi-
county attorney is providing the resources, and particularly when doing so will improve public trust in the criminal-justice system—I will give that request my fullest consideration," said Ellison in a written statement. “The St. Paul Police Department is one of the most lethal departments in the country, in the top 20 out of 18,000,” said Touissant Morrison at the protest called by Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. The march from the police station in St. Paul’s midway to University and Lexington temporarily shut down the Metro Transit
Dean, who opened fire while other officers did not, had been what many considered one of the good cops. He had been praised recently by Axtell for his work on the St. Paul gang unit. Dean was named Officer of the Year in 2016 by the Minnesota American Legion. He was also given the department’s life-saving award for saving a woman trying to jump from a bridge. St. Paul Police Federation President Paul Kuntz said in a written statement that Dean had “led an exemplary career.” Dean’s attorney, Robert Paule, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press
U of M med students fighting injustice report battle fatigue dedicated to combating racism and implicit bias in medicine since 2014. She said that despite various efforts to approach adUniversity of Minnesota med- ministrators and make change ical students are continuing their happen at the school, she and
By Jasmine Snow Contributing writer
equip its students with the tools to tackle these issues head-on in the field. The group usually takes advantage of Health Equity Week, a global event centered on educa-
Photo by Louie Tran yearlong fight to improve education and curriculum standards regarding health disparities and racism in medicine—but they are getting tired of it. Through years of slow collaboration with administrators and mostly ambivalent peers, several Toshira Garraway addresses the crowd gathered December 5 demanding former St. Paul U of M medical student groups police officer Anthony Dean be charged for shooting Joseph Javonte Washington late have repeatedly shown up both last month. Photo by King Demetrius Pendleton in and out of the classroom for that he shot the naked, unarmed important issues affecting Comencing some kind of mental crisis. Green Line. “This is not about what hap- Washington “to protect his fel- munities of Color. Dean was fired within days of the shooting by St. Paul Police pened prior to the incident,” said low officers and himself.” While However, following glacial Toshira Garraway in a speech to Dean was the only officer to efforts from the university and Chief Todd Axtell. On the same day, Ramsey the crowd, referring to Washing- open fire on the unarmed man, a summer spent reckoning with a 46-second video of the incident the police killing of George Floyd, raised red flags for some. these students are exhausted, The video captured a female frustrated, and worried about officer yelling “Gun! Gun!” as their futures as physicians of colWashington emerged from a or in a pandemic-stricken world. dumpster where he had been County Attorney John Choi re- ton’s assault on his girlfriend pri- hiding. In the video, officers tased Who’s fighting for whom? Dominique Earland is a secferred the case to Minnesota At- or to his confrontation with the Washington, which was followed police. “Police should not add to by an attack by a police dog. ond-year medical student and torney General Keith Ellison. Officers yelled for others to president of the U of M’s chapter “When a county attorney our pain. They say they are fightasks us to take over a sensitive ing crime, but they are commit- cease tasing the victim because of White Coats for Black Lives case—particularly when another ting crimes.” ■See Officer on page 5 (WCBL), a group that has been
“They say they are fighting crime, but they are committing crimes.”
other students are getting weary. “There’s a multi-faceted exhaustion that comes with all of this,” said second-year medical student and WCBL member Reme Abulu. “[As a Black medical student] it can be really overwhelming to look and see that you’re up against this huge mountain. “You just have to keep pushing and trying to keep advocating and keep making people aware. But there’s so many things that people need to be made aware of,” said Abulu. WCBL is just one of several medical student groups at the U of M focused on bringing equity and social justice to the forefront of medicine. The group has consistently said that, as one of the largest producers of physicians in a state with some of the worst health inequities in the country, the University of Minnesota has an obligation to take these issues more seriously and
tion and action items in dealing with disparities in public health. In the past, they have held lunch lectures and evening workshops to address a disconnect between race-related issues, health education, and a lack of practitioner diversity within the field. Last summer, these students came out to act as field medics during the protests in Minneapolis demanding prosecution of the police who killed George Floyd. They also organized several protests of their own and gathered hundreds of signatures on petitions demanding more from U of M policymakers. Along with other medical school student groups, they protested the initial George Floyd autopsy report from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, as well as the defacing of Floyd’s memorial by former fourth-year medical student Daniel Michelson. ■See Students on page 5