PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
See more — Black Panther on pg. 8
February 22-28, 2018 Vol. 84 No. 29 www.spokesman-recorder.com
Black history exhibit just scratches the surface Spiritual leaders
In
the basement of the Hennepin Melvin Carter and Andrea Jenkins, both of County Government Center, two whom recently made history by becoming, stories beneath the main entrance, in Carter’s case, the first Black mayor of St. you’ll come off the escalator and walk into the gallery, which is currently featuring the Black History in Minnesota 101 exhibit. The exhibit is on display until March 28, Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 6 pm. The exhibit is beautifully curated by Hawona Sullivan Janzen and Christopheraaron Deanes and demonstrates a great job in telling the story of Black history in Minnesota in such a limited space. The exhibit features well over 150 pictures, artifacts, and memorabilia sectioned into themes to tell the story of African Americans in Minnesota. While Janzen and Deanes used the limited space very well, the artifacts displayed leaves those who are interested wanting more and wishing it was in a more interactive area. Some of the prominent faces visitors can expect to see are the newly elected officials Artifacts from Sounds of Blackness, Doris Hines, and Prince ■ See Exhibit on page 5 Photos by Khymyle Mims
By Khymyle Mims Contributing Writer
George Bonga, first Black Minnesotan
called to unite against gun violence
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Last week’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead needs to convince elected officials that gun violence in this country must be seriously addressed, says a national church leader. During a speak(l-r) Presiding Elder Stacey Smith, ing visit in St. Paul, BishAME Church Bishop John F. White op John Franklin White Photo by Charles Hallman told the MSR, “If we don’t get a handle on the gun issue…we are going to lose a tremendous number of ■ See ViolEncE on page 5
New EcoVillage offers ‘deep affordable housing’ to some Hawthorne families Much more needed to address the crisis
By Keith Schubert Contributing Writer Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference on February 6 to publicly announce the opening of a new 75-unit affordable housing complex in the Hawthorne Neighborhood on Minneapolis’ North Side. The new Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments, located at 617 Lowry Avenue North, was developed by Project for Pride in Living (PPL) and has been over 15 years in the making. The $18 million complex marks the largest development on Lowry Avenue in over a decade. “Right now, we have an affordable housing crisis in our city,” Frey said. “So, we need to be providing more affordable housing and affordable housing at deeper levels to accommodate [the need].” To be eligible to rent an apartment at Hawthorne EcoVillage, residents cannot make more than 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). In the Twin Cities, 50 percent of the AMI is around $40,000 for a family of four. However, that AMI does not reflect the income levels of residents specifically in the Hawthorne neighborhood. According to data collected by Minnesota Compass, the AMI for the Hawthorne Neighborhood is $22,561. “This is an area that is really economically depressed, so when you use 50 percent of the AMI that is not what many people in my ward and on
EcoVillage front entrance the North Side are making,” Council them that is not an opportunity for Member Phillippe Cunningham said. them,” Samuels said. To make sure the EcoVillage is inCunningham represents Ward 4 on
“One of the things we don’t talk about a lot is dignity in attainable housing.” the North Side. He said the City must think more innovatively to get housing that is more deeply affordable. Sondra Samuels, president and CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), an organization focused on ending multigenerational poverty in North Minneapolis, said the 50 percent AMI guideline is a barrier for families who live in the area. “[Our families] are seeing stuff being built around
clusive to the people of the North Side, PPL included 16 apartments to be set aside for the North Side’s most economically challenged residents. Of the 16 apartments, four are designated for previously homeless people with Group Residential Housing (GRH) subsidies, and 12 are for families working with NAZ. Families who are on GRH receive a base rate subsidy of $893. Out of the
$893, the EcoVillage takes $610 for rent, said the senior director of real estate development for PPL, Chris Wilson. For families working with NAZ, EcoVillage takes 30 percent of their income for rent, which is considered “deep affordable housing.” The other 59 apartments, labeled as “workforce housing,” will have rents ranging from $670 to $950. Housing is one of the biggest challenges impacting the health and prosperity of the North Side, Samuels said. She said 12 units for the poorest people on the North Side aren’t enough, but she noted, “There aren’t 12 families in any of the other developments that have gone up.” “I didn’t think I would be blessed to have something like this,” said Vereicha Winfield. “There’s barriers that have got in the way, so I just consider it to be a blessing.” Winfield is one of the 12 families working with NAZ that live in the apartment complex. Before she lived in the EcoVillage she was paying $840 in rent. Now she pays $657 for an apartment in the EcoVillage that would normally cost more than $900 to rent. The complex will include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as four three-bedroom town house units. The “Eco” part of the complex includes a number of green amenities like community gardens, solar panels, and a state-of-the art rain treatment and infiltration system.
Cunningham toured the complex and was pleased with the quality of apartments. “One of the things we don’t talk about a lot is dignity in attainable housing,” he said, adding, “Lower rent should not mean lower quality.” PPL’s work is focused on developing affordable housing for low-income families throughout the Twin Cities area. When PPL first started conceptualizing the EcoVillage in the early 2000’s, Hawthorne had more empty lots than any other neighborhood in the city, Wilson said.
Vereicha Winfield with her 7-month-old baby, Christian
Frey pointed out that the fourblock radius occupied by the EcoVillage Apartments adds families and residents to an area that was a “previously underutilized parcel that was fraught with crime.” Council Member Jeremiah Cunningham, who represents Ward 5 where the EcoVillage is located, did not ■ See housing on page 5
Workshop untangled knot of credit, wealth and race By Ivan B. Phifer Contributing Writer Have you attempted to obtain a loan for a home or business, but you were denied because of where you live? Has your credit score been affected by paying a phone bill a week late? Have you found out that manager or executive position was given to a candidate who was less qualified? These topics and concerns were discussed among others during the workshop “The Color of Money: Bad Credit, Wealth & Race.” The event, held on January 18 at the Minneapolis Urban League, was a collaboration of the Minneapolis Urban League and the African American Financial Capability Initiative Community of Practice (AAFCI), which is composed of Hope United CDC, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, and Summit Academy OIC. The program was moderated by Steve Belton, president of Minneapolis Urban League. Guest
Dr. Samuel Myers, University of Minnesota Photo courtesy of Univ. of MN website speakers were Dr. Mahmoud ElKati and Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr. Employers, landlords and insurance companies now use credit reports and scores to make decisions that have a major bearing on our social and economic opportunities. This workshop presented racial discrimination myths among lenders and cultural events in the Black community that affect the lending process. For decades, banks have systematically redlined Black and La-
tino neighborhoods, refusing to make conventional loans or locate branches in lower-income areas. Kimberly Smith-Moore, vice president of Wells Fargo, a North Minneapolis resident born and raised there, manages a down payment assistant program for homeowners. Smith-Moore reported that she became interested in real estate in order to help the Black community realize they could become homeowners. “Purchasing a home is about building wealth. Equity in a home is wealth,” Smith-Moore said. “We need to give our people the right information and proper tools and sources to grow.” Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr., a professor of human relations and social justice at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, stated that the average credit score for African Americans is 599, just short of the fair FICO credit range, which is considered to be 630 to 689, according to analysis by Freddie Mac, who buys loans from Wells Far-
go. “Thirty-nine percent of Whites have been turned down for loans as opposed to 59 percent of African Americans,” Myers reported. “Wells Fargo will not tell you ‘I’m turning you down because you are Black,’ Dr. Meyers stated. “What they will say is, ‘I’m turning you down because the secondary market buyer will not buy.’” He also made the case that a lot of African Americans believe
college graduate today faces different circumstances than when he grew up. “When I graduated from college, people used to go to a job, started it, and stayed at that job for years. Now you go through different jobs [after graduation]. Sometimes, however, the change in job is upward mobility and more income.” As Myers stated the various requirements for loans and prop-
“We need to give our people the right information and proper tools and sources to grow.” their credit is worse than it actually is, or do not know the validity or benefits of credit. “African Americans are two to three times more likely to get turned down. If they don’t, they end up paying higher insurance and interest rates, even with a house paid off. The equity is already there. Why are we still being turned down?” Myers also pointed out that a
er credit, he mentioned another thing creditors look for: “One of the questions is, how long have you been at your job. In some cases, if you haven’t been at a job no longer than two years, you can forget about it,” Myers said. “Up until 2005, a good majority of credit lenders did not even use credit scores.” Other factors that predict re-
quirements of a loan include but are not limited to college education, family background, where you live and how long you’ve lived there, equity, business ventures, even family wages. Dr. Mahmoud El-Kati presented the historic racial entities that play a part in current day socioeconomic factors regarding lending and credit. “The problem is White supremacy. The solution to the problem is to defeat that ideology.” “Race is not real. It is a modern idea,” said El-Kati, “not a discovery, but an invention. America is not White. The world is not White.” He said race is really used as indicator of individual ability for cultural achievement. “You can look at me and tell that I’m dumb,” ElKati stated sarcastically. El-Kati pointed out that image-making plays a part in the construct as well. “Black children cannot imagine living in the time of George Washington; they can■ See Workshop on page 5