December 15, 2022 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

New mayors bring new visions to north suburbs

Brooklyn Park mayor-elect wants to bridge differences

By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer

The fourth time running for elected office proved the charm for Hollies Winston. After losing by only two votes when he last ran for Brooklyn Park mayor, Winston in November emerged victorious and will be that city’s first Black mayor in January.

“[Being] the first Black mayor thing hasn’t hit [me yet],” admitted Winston. “That was not the motivating factor [for running for office].

“The motivating factor was I have three specific issues that

than

Winston’s

■ See WINSTON on page 5

For Brooklyn Center mayorelect, collaboration is key

By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer

April Graves’ entry into politics came at a personal turning point in her life.

“Back in 2014,” the Brooklyn Center mayor-elect recalled, “I had only lived in Brooklyn Center for three years. I had gone to a women’s leadership retreat, which was really kind of a transition period. I had left my first job after college, but that job just wasn’t the best fit for me.

“I went to a women’s leadership retreat, which kind of reinvigorated some of my confidence,” Graves contin-

Former drug kingpin shows how he turned wrong into right

By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer

“Freeway” Rick Ross envisioned himself speaking to crowds of people in the future despite serving a life sentence in prison for drug trafficking in the late ’90s. Ross knew that he had a story to share with

only thing I ever done was play tennis and sell dope.

“So I was a little worried about what I was gonna do, and I knew that I couldn’t go back to the dope game because I’d already escaped life sentences a couple of times.”

Students took notes on

trade. This was during the height of the crack epidemic in the United States.

Information subsequently released after Ross’s conviction tied him to the Central Intelligence Agency’s efforts to fund anti-communist wars in Central America, revealing the U.S. government’s hand in

“I was gonna have him come back around shortly after Philando Castille got killed,” Starks recalled. “But I was in the middle of my own court stuff and it was just kind of a little bit hectic.”

After other locations didn’t work out, Stark’s colleague, Dr. Raj Sethuraju, suggested that

ued. She later ran for the Brooklyn Center City Council and won.

She originally thought about running for the school

board, “so I looked at the city council and I realized that it was very old and very White and that the people that were ■

GRAVES on page 5

Twitter may be dying—and taking Black Twitter with it

By Niara Savage Contributing Writer

Jokes about the downfall of Twitter are running rampant on the platform. After Elon Musk finalized his purchase of the social media site for $44 billion in late October, heaps of average users and celebrities alike announced they’d be leaving it behind.

When Musk took control, he made the platform’s iconic blue checkmark—previously reserved to identify notable accounts as authentic—available to anyone willing to pay a monthly fee as a part of Twitter Blue. Chaos quickly ensued as Twitter Blue subscribers with their newly minted checkmarks masqueraded around the platform posing as companies and famous individuals.

Perhaps the most costly casualty of the new policy was insulin-maker Eli Lilly. A fake account posing as the company with a blue checkmark wrote, “We are excited to announce insulin is free

ber that half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers are no longer advertising on the site.

As head of the company, Musk has fired more than 3,000 workers. Some employees didn’t find out they were getting the boot until they were locked out of their company laptops. Former employees are suing Twitter, alleging the layoffs violated labor rights laws.

Also, incidences of hate speech on Twitter increased dramatically after Musk took control of the platform. The Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that the use of the N-word under Musk is three times this year’s running average.

Musk also welcomed Kanye West back to Twitter in November after his account was temporarily suspended in October over an anti-Semitic tweet. But Musk kicked the rapper, who now goes by Ye, off of the platform again earlier this month for inciting violence after he posted an image of a swastika.

people young and old alike, but that goal seemed impossibly out of reach after he was charged and sentenced for conspiracy to possess over 100 kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

That vision came true Friday afternoon, Dec. 9 at the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) in St. Paul as Ross spoke to an audience of students, educators, and community members. He visited HSRA as part of his speaking engagements all around the country where Ross shares his life story with audiences and imparts lessons from his life.

“I didn’t know what I was gonna do with myself, ‘cause I’ve never had a job,” Ross said about life after prison. “The

worksheets as Ross spoke from the stage and shared his story as a convicted drug trafficker turned author, media mogul and businessman. He talked about how far he came in life despite not being able to read until the age of 28. This skill helped him find a legal loophole that would be the basis of his appeal, leading to his release in 2009.

Background

In 1996, Ross was given a life sentence after spending years running a cross-country drug trafficking organization.

Prosecutors estimated that Ross generated nearly $900 million total in cocaine sales and at one point was raking in $3 million a day from the drug

pouring drugs into urban communities across the country.

Ross’s life has inspired shows such as “Snowfall” and the film “Kill the Messenger”; however, Ross, now 62, is on a path to take back his own narrative.

How the event came together

David Starks is a Power in Peace case manager at Face to Face and works with Ramsey County to provide youth with restorative justice options in order to avoid harsher consequences due to infractions. Starks had known of Ross’s story for years and had sought him out for speaking engagements in the past, but the timing was never right.

“He said, ‘Man, we love that. I love for my students to hear about this history and know this history.’ It was that simple,” Starks said.

Student reaction

HSRA seniors Ryah Davis and Arnea Agnew attended the talk by Ross and left the event with an appreciation for his story and their potential. “He kind of showed us how he turned wrong into right. How he turned something that was supposed to be a little side

now.” The real company rushed to contact Twitter to have the post removed, but it remained visible for hours, The Washington Post reported. The fake tweets erased an estimated $15 billion out of the company’s market cap.

Twitter suspended the subscription service after the debacle, but the damage to Twitter’s credibility is already done. Media Matters for America reported in Novem-

they host it at the High School for Recording Arts, to which Starks agreed. He connected with the school’s founder, David “TC” Ellis, who was enthusiastic about the idea.

While a sizable portion of Twitter content is composed of silly memes and pictures of cats, Twitter also serves as a digital town square—a free, accessible meeting place that connects hundreds of millions of users across the globe and affords each one the opportunity to make their thoughts, reflections and concerns heard. What would the demise of Twitter mean

Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park both made history in the November elections as both Twin Cities suburbs elected Black mayors. Brooklyn Center is a first-ring suburb outside Minneapolis. Brooklyn Park is the sixth largest city in Minnesota, also located north of downtown Minneapolis. April Graves will become Brooklyn Center’s first Black female mayor, while Hollies Winston is the first-ever Black mayor of Brooklyn Park. Both will assume their respective offices and duties in January. The MSR in separate interviews recently spoke to the two mayor-elects.

I want to achieve. It was less about making history as an African American and more about [making] history as a different type of leadership

what the city has seen.”

campaign centered on the issues of addressing crime and improving the city’s

Hollies Winston

Photo by Travis Lee

April Graves

Photo by Chris Juhn

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Negro League pioneer’s short Stillwater stay had big impact

Exhibit tells his story

By Cole Miska Contributing Writer

The Washington County Historical Society (WCHS) is hosting an exhibit on Bud Fowler, the earliest known Black professional baseball player, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year.

The exhibit, which features the history of several early Black baseball players and teams, will run through the end of the year at the Washington County Heritage Center in Stillwater.

Fowler, whose father escaped slavery and moved to New York, was born in 1858. He lived in Stillwater for part of 1884 and played on an otherwise all-White team in the Northwestern League, which would be the equivalent of a Minor League today.

WCHS Executive Director Brent Peterson said Fowler’s story was what originally got him interested in history. “A lot of people come in, they read those panels and they can’t believe that this history was here,” Peterson said.

Fowler lived in Stillwater for about six months before the

league folded due to financial issues. He then joined a new team in Keokuk, Iowa. During this time, Fowler worked as a barber with prominent local Black barber Sam Hadley.

“There’s just a lot of history people don’t know about. And it’s great to be able to showcase this,” Peterson said.

Peterson noted that White baseball teams were no longer accepting Black players by the

ing exhibition matches. These barnstorming teams played against many different types of teams, including White teams. But Black barnstorming teams were sometimes chased out of town if they began to take the lead in games against local White teams.

“[Black barnstorming teams] would play themselves, but they’d also play anybody they could get,” Peterson said.

monly considered a success. Peterson said Fowler retired from playing in 1904 to focus on founding an all-Black baseball league. “He was trying to start a league just of Negro teams,” Peterson said. “[Fowler] never could get the financing and he died in 1913.

“Then in 1920, the Negro Leagues started. Basically, he helped push that idea forward. Even though he never saw it

early 1890s. In 1894, Fowler decided to start the Page Fence Giants, an all-Black barnstorming team that traveled around the country play-

The Page Fence Giants even faced off against the Cincinnati Reds. While Fowler and his team lost against the Reds, their first season was still com-

Kueng sentenced to 3.5 years in prison

By H. Jiahong Pan Contributing Writer

J. Alexander Kueng, one of four former Minneapolis police officers convicted in aiding and abetting the murder of George Floyd, was sentenced Friday afternoon to three and a half years in prison.

On May 25, 2020, Kueng was one of two officers who helped former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin restrain Floyd for over nine minutes. Floyd died because Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck and none of the three officers at the scene intervened.

“[Their actions were a] disturbance to those good officers and to the profession of law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank. “I can’t come close to comprehending what the family of George Floyd had to go through. We think of them and we wish them the best.”

The George Floyd family did not deliver a statement.

Kueng’s attorney Thomas Plunkett blamed inadequate training and corruption for Kueng’s fate. “Kueng, the rookie, sits imprisoned one year for every day he served the city.

The leadership learned nothing and forgot nothing,” said Plunkett, adding that former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo failed to take up the community’s request to imple-

ment ethical police training and gets to “ride off into the sunset with a hefty pension.”

The sentencing, which was originally scheduled for 8:30 am, was delayed. According to Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the case, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is housing Kueng in its Elkton, Ohio facility, did not respond to repeated messages about the hearing and made no attempts to sign in to the online webinar where the sentencing took place. The Federal Bureau of Prisons apparently encountered technical difficulties, which persisted until shortly after 1 pm.

As Judge Cahill delivered the morning announcement, someone in the webinar chat box referring to themselves as Derek Chauvin said, “Peter, do the right thing.” They were promptly removed from the webinar, with Cahill stating that he will not tolerate such behavior.

Kueng will receive 84 days credit for time served. He will

also have to submit a DNA sample, will no longer be able to possess firearms or ammunition for the rest of his life, and has to pay a $128 fee from prison wages, which includes special assessments and a law library fee.

Assuming Kueng serves twothirds of his state sentence and his entire 36-month federal sentence, he is expected to be released in October 2025.

Meanwhile, Chauvin and Thomas Lane are serving state and federal sentences in federal prison, Chauvin in Tuscon, Arizona and Lane in Englewood, Colorado. Tou Thao, the former officer who performed crowd control and denied passersby the ability to render aid to Floyd remains on trial by stipulated evidence while he serves his federal sentence at the Hennepin County jail inside Minneapolis City Hall.

As part of the trial by stipulated evidence, Judge Cahill will review written evidence and render a verdict within 90 days of November 17, the deadline

come about, it was really Fowler that helped bring the Negro Leagues to light.”

Peterson said he believes Fowler helped bring about ac-

for the state and defendants to submit evidence. If convicted, Thao will likely serve his sentence in Hennepin County jail to be closer to family, aware that he will likely serve his time in solitary confinement.

Attorney Ben Crump and

Minnesota

ceptance of BIPOC families in Stillwater towards the end of the 19th century. “He was only here for six months, but he left an impact of integration, diversity and acceptance,” Peterson said.

“Fowler’s presence here, just for those six months being in the public eye like he was, in the newspapers every week, I think it gave people time to think about it and brought diversity to the forefront.”

co-counsels Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms released a statement before Cahill’s announcement wishing Floyd’s family comfort with the outcome. “While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we

For more on the exhibit, visit www.wchsmn.org/museum.

Cole Miska welcomes reader responses to cmiska@spokesman-recorder.com.

hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain.”

H. Jiahong Pan welcomes reader responses to hpan@ spokesman-recorder.com.

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The Minnesota Twins gave $5,000 to WCHS to pay for the exhibit. Frank White Jr., who played for the Kansas City Royals, also loaned jerseys from his personal collection for the exhibit.

The Bud Fowler exhibit at WCHS Photos by Cole Miska

Normandale streamlines training for special ed teachers of color

munity,” said Dr. Ester.

By MSR News Online

Minnesota faces a dire situation in the lack of special education teachers. To address the needs, Normandale Community College has launched the SpedUP Program, an educational pipeline for prospective special education teachers, in particular teachers of color.

“SpedUP will confront the educational equity gaps in K-12 classrooms by addressing disparities in the composition of the special education workforce,” said SpedUP Program Coordinator Kelsey Johnson. “This program is particularly appropriate for working adults who already have full lives.”

The program is designed to recruit and support BIPOC students as they pursue their first two years of a special education degree. It is a cohort model that offers a full academic scholarship (tuition and books); professional development activities; connection to campus resources; and academic advising to ensure transfer into a bachelor’s degree program for special education.

“It’s hard working in a system that hasn’t been intentionally built for the success of people who look like me or are from underserved backgrounds,” said Leticia Alvarez, a paraprofessional in Bloomington Public Schools and a student in the first SpedUP cohort. “Working in the public

school system, the funding is what it is, and this is a way to add more tools to my toolbox and get paid more.”

Normandale is no stranger to championing diversity in teaching, having successfully launched a program in the fall of 2021 that recruits and supports Black, African American and African men into elementary and secondary education pathways (Sirtify).

Normandale is also one

of a handful of two-year colleges in the Twin Cities to offer

education, which allows students to transfer to Minnesota

-

Normandale Community College President Joyce Ester believes there is an opportunity for Normandale to do its part in eliminating achievement gaps by providing pathways for BIPOC students to attain a special education degree. “We have a very strong education program, and we feel like this is a great way for us to recruit and support BIPOC students in a field that helps change lives in our com-

“There have been a number of studies that indicate when students are taught and supported by people who they feel represent them, there are higher success rates. SpedUP is the right opportunity at the right time for a very important field for communities across the state.”

As a program coordinator, Johnson has spent the last six months actively recruiting prospective students into an inaugural group for the first semester of the program. In the fall 2023 semester, there will be an opportunity for 10 students to participate in the SpedUP program.

The program offers full-tuition scholarships for students of color provided by a grant and aims to ensure students’ success at Normandale and beyond.

“For me, one of the barriers in coming to school was funding,” stated Alvarez, “and so when the SpedUP program became available I was like, wow! It’s right here in my community, and the tuition and books are covered. That’s so many barriers gone, and that’s what led me here.”

To learn more about SpedUP, contact Kelsey Johnson at kelsey. johnson@normandale.edu or visit www.normandale.edu/spedupprogram.

Transfer Pathways in elemen

tary education and special

State universities where the programs are offered.

Source: Normandale Community College

(l-r) Jim Mackinnon, Kimberly Hernandez Xochipiltecalt, Program Coordinator Kelsey Johnson, Tania Mejia, and Leticia Alvarez

Submitted photo

When students are taught and supported by people who they feel represent them, there are higher success rates.

running were also older and quite White. There weren’t any women running. I thought that doesn’t make any damn sense.”

Graves defeated incumbent Mayor Mike Elliott by eight percentage points in November. In January, she will take over as mayor, which is a part-time position. Graves works full-time for the City of Minneapolis, and the position is essentially that of another city council member who presides over meetings.

“The mayor [of Brooklyn Center] has the same power

Winston

as the rest of [the] city council members—one vote. The decisions that the council makes, including the mayor, are implemented by the city manager and the city staff,” explained the mayor-elect.

“The main thing to me, and why I decided to run [for mayor], was because I wanted to work more collaboratively with the council, with the community, and all the diverse stakeholders,” Graves said.

Brooklyn Center’s racial makeup is 49% White, just under 26% Black, and 14% Asian. Ever since Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer there in 2021 the city has undergone several changes, including limiting the mayor’s power during emergencies.

“Even before Daunte Wright was killed we were already doing work on policing, and we have a community policing framework,” Graves noted, adding that she also supports small businesses, community health, wellness and safety, and

to work on small businesses and our residents, and build our tax base, really advocate a lot for entrepreneurs, small businesses, creative business incubator spaces, providing small business loans and grants, and support around financial

level of intensity during the campaign that I hadn’t felt in the past, a lot of pressure from other people to do this or don’t do that, or did you try this or why don’t you try that.

its significance, and I feel like I’ve already been a trailblazer. I was one of the first women to get elected to office locally.

tax base, along with being accountable to all city residents. “You’ve got to build those relationships. There is a vision going forward, and we are reaching out to some of the people that disagreed with this.

“But there’s also this larger vision that we’re slowly putting together a governing coalition to make that happen.”

Brooklyn Park’s population is 52% White, 24.4% Black, and 15% Asian, and according to Winston, some members of the city have been ignored over the years.

“Historically, there are parts of the community that just have not been involved, that hadn’t been welcomed to the table,” continued

ross

Continued from page 1

hustle ‘cause he needed some bread into something that funded his life,” Davis said.

“I think he was trying to get to the point where he could have did better with his choices and could have did better in his life instead of taking the role he took, because he knew he was smart. He just didn’t know where to use his smartness,” Agnew said.

The HSRA holds different events for students throughout the school year and invites local and national figures to speak to students. Earlier this year, rapper NLE Choppa attended the school and held a meet and greet. For Davis, the local speakers tend to have the most impact.

“There’s times where people from the community come in, and I ain’t gonna lie, a lot of those be bigger than the famous people,” Davis said.

tWitter

expanding youth job programs.

“That work is ongoing, and I will be taking over some of the work that the [present] mayor called the Implementation Committee, which is mainly like a planning committee but helping to make recommendations…”

“I’m also going to continue

the mayor-elect. “We’ve had a city council and former mayors who had tried to divide and conquer…pick this community and use them against this community…take that community and play them against that.

“I’m not really interested in continuing that,” said Winston, “and that may raise some feelings. I’m not looking to cut anyone’s funding, but I am looking to say if I’m concerned about reducing crime, what does that mean in terms of interacting with different communities… building different relationships.

“In the State of the City speech I’ll probably give in February, I’ve got to find a very clear way to help people understand those two issues—reducing crime permanently and slowing the growth of property taxes. We’ve never had anybody very clearly say [that] was the top two things we’re dealing with, I would say making it very transparent to the community,” added Winston.

“They could get a bigger impact on the community because they live what we live.”

Although some younger folks might be unfamiliar with his story, Ross sees the impact that his speeches have on the young crowds he speaks to. “I’m seeing the youth catching on.

“They like the things that I’m talking about because I keep it real, per se, and so often they’re not getting the truth. They’re not getting the answers that they want. But one of the most important things that I want them to understand is that they have to be the conductor of their life.”

While Starks wanted the

for the way global citizens engage in public discourse?

Minnesota-based comedian, podcaster and author Sheletta Brundidge uses Twitter to talk about news and events she says the mainstream media often overlook. She said the platform levels the playing field.

“On Twitter, you can get your message out,” said Brundidge, who goes by the handle @ShelettaIsFunny on the platform. “You can go on Twitter and say, ‘Hey, I’m doing this, I’m doing that, this is going on in my community, that’s going on in my community, and I want everybody to hear about it.’”

Brundidge uses the platform to engage in community activism and inspire other families

youth to get a lot out of this event, he also invited several members of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office so they

with children with autism. In 2019, Brundidge posted a video of her son Daniel, who has autism and doesn’t speak, humming along to Lil Nas X’s hit “Old Town Road.” The tweet garnered more than 35,000 likes.

management,” Graves pledged. “Continuing to do that work and do it even better.”

The fact that Graves soon will be Brooklyn Center’s first Black female mayor isn’t lost on her. “[It was] probably the biggest campaign I’ve ever had,” Graves admitted. “A

“Even during the campaign, I had to be very clear…about my boundaries. I’m a single mom. I work full-time for the City of Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention. I’m already on the city council, so I have responsibilities as a council member and I [also] was running a campaign.

“ I had to let people know the campaign is important but it’s not my whole life,” Graves said. “I’m not just Black. My mom is White. My dad is a Native, so I tried to acknowledge who I am without leaving out any part. But I know

“The issue that we’re facing is a level of security. When it comes to crime, a lot of people don’t know where it’s coming from [or] how it’s happening. Who are the major players? Is it homegrown or is it coming from other areas?

“As far as our property tax, people don’t understand why our property taxes look the way they do. Why do they continuously grow? Why is it falling disproportionally [on some] homeowners? What businesses do we need to bring [to Brooklyn Park]?”

Brooklyn Park also operates on a “weakmayor” system—the mayor only has one vote along with the other city council members,

“I think it’s very significant and I’m ready for the challenge,” the mayor-elect added. “I think the most important thing that I need to do is just continue to be myself. Because that’s really what got me to this point.

“I don’t really have ambitions of higher office in the future,” Graves said. “We are doing system-level change. We recognize that culture change and individual level trust and relationships building had to be a part of that process.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

and the hired city manager “is the one who is supposed to execute the direction of the city council,” explained Winston. “My vote is equal to the other city councilors. I run the meetings, but my vote is equal to their vote.”

The mayor-elect also stressed the importance of recognizing the need for postelection healing. “Part of unifying people is putting that unified vision out there,” said Winston. “We were hoping that beyond all the noise being disingenuous…we’re hoping that people would understand that. They understand the vision, and they believe that I can make that vision.”

The mayoral campaign, unfortunately, produced “frayed feelings,” he concluded. “I do think it’s incumbent upon us to reach out to those folks.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

ers who decide on alternative justice options for youth within the Youth Justice and Wellness division of Ramsey County.

To further shape his narrative, Ross will continue to speak in front of more communities across the country as he tours his books “Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography” and his latest work, “The 21 Keys of Success.” He’s also in the process of developing a feature film about his life.

Overall, Ross’s goal is to build up the Black community economically and create a selfsustaining community with solutions for education and employment. “The only thing I’m really pushing for is economic stability for Black people,” he said. “I think that most of our problems sit around economics ‘cause we can’t get a good education without money.”

could learn from Ross’s story and hear from the youth. He specifically wanted members of the Collaborative Review

Team (CRT) present. The CRT is made up of public defenders, prosecutors, mental health experts, and community lead-

Abdi Mohamed welcomes reader responses to amohamed@spokesmanrecorder.com.

voices with our own, in our own authentic

The decline of Twitter would also spell the end of Black Twitter, something Brudidge describes as “an organized matrix of African American creatives and thought leaders who follow one another.”

Mainstream companies try to tap into the network to promote products and services, Brundige said. But “Black Twitter is like the underground railroad. You know it’s there but you can’t find it. You don’t know who the leader is.”

According to Brundidge, the demise of Twitter won’t collapse the virtual network of Black activists and leaders, but it will force them to adapt.

“I don’t see it as a catastrophe. I see it as a catalyst for change. A new place, maybe even created by someone who is a part of Black Twitter. I’m excited.”

Savage welcomes reader responses to nsavage@spokesman-recorder.com.

Part of unifying people is putting that unified vision out there.

“We’re all joking about Elon Musk,” Brundidge said. “Well, if he blows up Twitter, he blows up the new system of equality that we created about getting the news out, telling our stories in our own authentic

way.”

Niara

“We are doing system-level change.”

Photos by Abdi Mohamed

“Former employees are suing Twitter, alleging the layoffs violated labor rights laws.”

By Sean J. Ennevor, M.D. Guest Contributor

There’s another crisis ongoing during the pandemic, and that’s the opioid crisis that continues. The crisis has been well established since the 1990s, but only recently has it garnered the attention that it deserves.

Over 130 people a day die from opioid-related overdose. This epidemic is defined as 70% of all overdose deaths being the result of opioid abuse.

Within our brains and other parts of the body there are receptors, opioid receptors, that control pain. When stimulated these same receptors can promote feelings of pleasure via the release of endorphins.

The receptor trigger also releases dopamine, which creates energy and motivates us. Unfortunately, these same receptors may also cause lower respiration or heart rates, which can be fatal.

What are opiates?

One may have read or heard the terms narcotic, opiate or opioid. Opiates are

Opioid crisis calls for more awareness of risks, alternatives

substances found in nature that stimulate the same brain receptors. Many are found within the opium poppy plant and include morphine, heroin and codeine.

Synthetic or man-made substances include fentanyl and methadone. There are also semi-synthetic substances that are somewhat organic. These include hydrocodone (aka Vicodin) and oxycodone (aka Oxycontin).

“Opioid” is a broader term that encompasses both natural and synthetic substances. The term narcotic encompasses opium, opium derivatives, or semisynthetic substances. Opioid is the more modern term that encompass es all of the above substances.

Prescription pain medications include all of the above listed substances, many typically taken orally. This is the case with codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, all commonly prescribed for pain management.

Illegal street opioids include heroin and opium, which are more likely to be injected, smoked or inhaled. Any of the above drugs are abused by all socioeconomic classes, races and genders.

Morphine, fentanyl and heroin are used to lower pain

perception, but may also elicit a feeling of pleasure and sedation with absorption.

Opioids are highly addictive and may also cause cessation of breathing or very low heart rate.

Morphine is the narcotic found in nature derived from the opium of poppy plants and has been known to man for thousands of years. Heroin is also a potent opiate similar to morphine in structure. It is derived from morphine, and is two times as potent as morphine.

Fentanyl is not found in nature and is a synthetic opioid prescribed for acute pain. It is similar to morphine, but it is 50 to 100 times more potent.

Due to its extreme potency as well as its addiction potential, misuse is very common. Psychological and physical addiction are very possible, and careful supervision is recommended with its use.

Abuse and addiction Abuse symptoms appear over time if individuals consume opioids contrary to prescribed instructions. Increasing tolerance, inability to function without consuming opioid,and illegal behavior to acquire the drugs can be signs of abuse.

Eventually, withdrawal symptoms may be noted if any opioid is stopped too abruptly after long-term use. Some withdrawal symptoms include sweating, headache, insomnia, irregular heart rate and irritability. Abuse and withdrawal symptoms combined may lead

to problems in life.

Addiction evolves even though abuse symptoms have negative consequences. Regardless. the individual can not stop consuming. Addiction could be due to overprescribing practices or driven by indi-

overdose situations and is replacing heroin in abuse. Its increased potency leads to more frequent overdosing.

Relatively inexpensive, fentanyl is added to create cheap compounds that resemble prescription medications. Fentanyl is even added to cocaine or Xanax. This is very dangerous as people are inadvertently dying due to these potent mixtures.

The reasons behind the crisis are complex, but the solution involves awareness of what is being prescribed or sold on the streets. We all need to be cognizant that none of the opioids is without risk.

Improved patient awareness regarding alternative pain management as well as provider education is warranted. More time needs to be spent not only discussing the risks of opioids, but also alternatives for treating pain, depression, anxiety, or any stressor of life.

viduals

Unfortunately,

Sean J. Ennevor, M.D. graduated with a B.A.S. in biology and economics from Stanford University, and as a Dean’s Scholar from UCLA School of Medicine where he received his MD. He completed his medical residency and fellowship in anesthesiology at Yale University, where he was chief resident and on staff. He practiced medicine in the Twin Cities for over 14 years, and presently serves as an advisor and investor for medical technology companies throughout the country.

that seek coping mechanisms during times of distress. The pandemic with loss of jobs and livelihoods further exacerbated opioid abuse.

fentanyl is increasingly present in opioid

The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE) was founded by area business leaders in 2020 amid the civil unrest in the months following George Floyd’s killing by local police. More than 70 businesses and organizations came together with the understanding that there was more they could do to help eliminate

Here’s what MBCRE has been up to in 2022

we get from that fateful day. Although the road to racial equity is unpaved, MBCRE continues to explore ways to make a difference.

Moving towards healing In its second year, the MBCRE dealt with the killing of Amir Locke by police serving a noknock warrant. Still, in the midst of a pandemic, we convened a solemn healing circle via Zoom,

where one of the focus areas is public safety. In that vein, we wrote a letter to state legislators in support of public safety reform. We also ran sponsored content in this newspaper on MBCRE member GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, whose Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) innovative programming offers alternatives to community support and police intervention.

MBCRE also hired a lobbyist

ments in affordable housing and down-payment assistance.

A Black media initiative

One of the key initiatives in our Black Business Development pillar is our Black Media Initiative. Launched in early 2022, the three-year pilot program seeks to create partnerships between Black-owned media companies and MBCRE member companies.

racial disparities in our state.

Like many of the initiatives sparked by George Floyd’s tragic death, our coalition faces challenges with maintaining momentum the farther

where Dr. Joi Lewis led us in a communal ritual. More than 700 people from member companies attended virtually.

The event aligned with our Community Well-Being pillar,

At Bremer Bank, we know the true value of a banking relationship isn’t measured in dollars and cents. It’s measured in trust, earned by helping you anticipate, grow and thrive through changes. It’s not always possible to know what the future holds. But we’ll be ready to help you make the most of it. Because right now, relationships matter more than ever. Talk to a Bremer banker today.

Understanding is everything.

to put more muscle behind key policy priorities; sent letters to legislators in support of The Crown Act for more inclusive workplaces; and testified in the House to advocate for invest-

To date, MBCRE members General Mills and Target have signed deals with local journalist Sheletta Brundidge, and she and Emmy-nominated Georgia Fort have both worked on projects

The wage and wealth gap

The focus of our Employment Opportunity pillar centers around efforts to hire, retain and advance Black talent in member companies.

On September 20, Colette Campbell of Bremer Bank, Laurin Cathey of Children’s Minnesota and Chris Brunson from General Mills— which graciously offered the venue—looked at strategies for employees and employers to close the wage and wealth gaps in Minnesota. Pay disparities affect everything from the quality of housing one can afford; to having money to send children to college;

Looking ahead to 2023

Beyond our three focus areas, MBCRE will support Black-led efforts across the state like the Black Collective Foundation MN, which has a powerful vision for Black-led change, and First Independence Bank, which recently opened its second branch on East Lake Street.

In 2023, we’ve got a lot on tap. It includes plans to partner with a number of entities around bridging the wealth gap, increasing supplier diversity, and helping to develop and retain Black employees in our member companies. We’re excited for the coming year!

© 2022 Bremer Financial Corporation. All rights reserved. Bremer and Bremer Bank are registered service marks of Bremer Financial Corporation.

bremer.com

that make bigger things possible.

with brand and marketing executive, Hillery Shay of MBCRE member Children’s Minnesota.

to tapping the resources to handle an emergency.

At the September All-Hands meeting, MBCRE had a meaningful discussion on pay equity the day before Black Women Equal Pay Day explored income inequality, and what we can all do about it. (l-r) Laurin Cathey, Children’s Minnesota; Tiffani Daniels, MBCRE; Chris Brunson, General Mills; and Colette Campbel, Bremer Bank Photo by David McDuffie

“Civil Unrest in the Style of Kehinde Wiley,” by DALL-E AI software Submitted photo

Arts & Culture

MOVIE REVIEW

By Dwight Brown

It’s a miscalculation. This film is built around a former slave seen in a horrific photo whose back bore the scars of whippings and evil vestiges of slavery. Reimagining his life is a noble endeavor, but this is the wrong execution.

Aside from a brief interview and the short news article “Whipped Slave,” which was published in Harper’s Weekly Magazine in July 1863, little is known about the man in the iconic image. Conjecture and creative license fill in chapters that were never written.

Peter (Will Smith) is a slave in 1863, on a cotton/onion plantation in rural Louisiana. He’s whipped by an overseer, bullied for his defiant behavior, separated from his wife and children, and sent to work on the railroads.

Hearing that President Lincoln has issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Peter and other captives escaped and headed towards Baton Rouge seeking out Union soldiers who control the city. Chased for 10 days by slave hunters and tracked by dogs through a labyrinth of bayous, his goal is to find freedom and reunite with his family.

At a Union Army encampment, an interview records Peter’s ordeal, the names of his slave owners, the overseer, and some details of his breakaway. During a medical examination, two itinerant photographers capture the protruding disfigurations on his back.

His portrait is put on postcards and circulated, and that vision horrifies and galvanizes abolitionists. Peter has a choice, work on a Union farm or join the Union army. He chooses the latter.

The tragedy of the real man’s story and his survival is worthy of dramatization. The avenue chosen by the film’s producers and screenwriter Bill Collage (“Tower Heist”) is what may give discerning audiences pause.

Peter’s tale is told in the action/thriller vein. It’s a genre director Antoine Fuqua has honed over his career with

‘Emancipation’ is a good idea poorly realized

exposure to slaves who dared to flee. In 2016, Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” shared a sense of oppression and rebellion in the deepest ways. Dignity is a common thread in those films. Here, not as much.

Charmaine Bingwa as Dodienne, the mother of Peter’s children, brings a natural essence to her role. Ben Foster’s interpretation of a bounty hunter turns into a boogeyman caricature, and his character’s interactions with Peter are sadistic and cartoonish: “You walk the earth because I let you. I’m

portrayal feels obtrusive, his creole patois doesn’t gel, and he wears too much makeup. It makes you wish he had been coached to blend into the scenery like the very fluid actor Jeffrey Wright does in every role, particularly in the civil war drama “Ride with the Devil.”

Tech credits, from the musical score (Marcelo Zarvos) to production design (Naomi Shohan) and era-accurate costumes (Francine JamisonTanchuck, Glory), range from decent to great. But, in an attempt to mold itself into the shape of movies like “The

the deeply moving and haunting “A Jazzman’s Blues,” certainly Fuqua could step out of his comfort zone too.

Oddly, the film is divided into two distinct segments: the escape and Union/Confederate battles. Initial scenes on a plantation are steeped in slave porn: racist, taunting epithets. Beatings and whippings. Black men dragged by horses, attacked by dogs and shot in the head.

Richardson, “Kill Bill: Vol 1”) favors shots of slave hunters on horseback and menacing hounds tracking Peter and the other escapees.

thrillers (“Replacement Killers”) and hero-worship action movies (“The Equalizer”). This might have been a good time for the director to change course and make a respectful, distinguished and historical production.

After all, if Tyler Perry could curb his tendency to make cheap comedies and create

They’re branded on the face with hot irons, and young Black girls are leered at by White men. Maybe the dehumanizing language, violence and degradation were part of the times, but in this instance it just feels like cheap emotion-baiting fuel to rev up action fans.

As Peter flees, the camerawork (B&W with hints of sepia by cinematographer Robert

These chase scenes feel too cowboy-ish, like Fuqua’s “The Magnificent Seven.” One of the cheesiest sequences comes when Peter wrestles an alligator underwater. He finally steps out of the quagmire, you think he’s the victor, but then the gator attacks one more time. Like a monster in a tacky horror film.

Nothing about this take on America’s enslavement of millions of Africans feels new. In 1989, “Glory,” featuring Denzel Washington’s stirring performance, depicted Black troops bravely fighting in the civil war.

In 2013, Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave” brought gravitas and

your god now.” Really?

And there’s bigoted dialogue regarding freed slaves, which sounds way too modern: “First they take our food, then our jobs, then our land.”

Smith is not a consistently strong character actor. Yes, his performance in “King Richard” was charming, and his characterization of the Nigerian pathologist in “Concussion” was seamless, ac cent and all.

But here his stiff, brooding

Great Escape” or “The Defiant Ones,” the makers of this film have resigned the horrors of slavery to a gimmick.

That’s a bad choice. A miscalculation.

“Emancipation” is in select theaters now and available on Apple TV+.

Dwight Brown is ab NNPA News Wire film critic. Find more of his work at DwightBrownInk.com.

Nothing about this take on America’s enslavement of millions of Africans feels new.

Will Smith stars in “Emancipation.” Photos courtesy of Apple TV+

Arts & Culture

Updated ‘Velveteen Rabbit’ brings century-old children’s tale to life

The new musical “The Velveteen Rabbit” was written by award-winning multi-disciplinary creator and Youth Performance Company’s new artistic director Maya Washington and composed by Kymani Khalil in celebration of the 100th anniversary of this moving tale for young audiences.

truly loved and love yourself— and the smiles and tears that come from being real. Youth Performance Company’s (YPC) staging of this updated “Velveteen Rabbit” places Twin Cities actor and director Antonio Duke at the helm as director, teaming up Washington as choreographer and Mary Cay Stone as musical

In Washington’s adaptation, a child awakens to discover a Velveteen Rabbit among their gifts. Adored at first, then cast aside, the rabbit is snubbed by the other toys for being oldfashioned. Over time, their friendship blossoms.

The Velveteen Rabbit learns what it means to be

director with a cast of diverse Twin Cities youth.

“When the show was handselected by YPC Founder Jackie Knight before I stepped into her tremendous shoes, it was important to me to honor the work of Margery Williams, a woman writer, on the 100th year anniversary of her signifi-

cant contribution to children’s literature.

“With the nudging of some of our YPC Youth and community, I wrote the adaptation with intentionality,” said Washington. “In this produc-

tion, under the direction of Antonio Duke, I’m excited to bring the emotional truths of self-acceptance and friendship to a new generation.

“I’m hopeful that the approach, and the diversity of

Submitted photo

our cast—diversity broadly defined—makes this story resonant for youth and families navigating how we connect to what matters most, and what it means to be real in a world that rewards facade on

social media and all around us. These kids are amazing performers, and the heartfelt performances are what makes this world premiere truly special.”

The impressive cast includes those new to the stage and seasoned faces from the Twin Cities youth theater scene. The delightful Sha’Vontie Juneau takes on the title role, and McKinley (Kiki) Fant plays The Child.

Screen actress Valerie Rose makes her YPC debut as Nana, alongside talented youth performers Grace Ly, Sam Hierlinger, Jacob Marckel, Alaya Fuller, Lucy Heagle, Evergreen Niemi, Leah Holmes, Leo Johnston, Jonathan Grandberry, Clara Nerbonne, Izzy Gail Middlebrook, and Oakley Coleman, who round out the world of toys, animals and humans tasked with bringing this “Velveteen Rabbit” adaptation to life.

School and community performances begin on Dec. 2 and run through Dec. 18, 2022, at the Conn Theatre at 1900 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis. Tickets are $8-15.

—Information provided by Youth Performance Company

I’m excited to bring the emotional truths of self-acceptance and friendship to a new generation.

The paradox of the new McCarthyism

By Wim Laven

For Kevin McCarthy to realize his ambition and become the next Speaker of the House, he will need to secure the necessary 218 votes. His willingness to say and do (or abandon) whatever is required to increase his political fortune has been demonstrated throughout his career, but it will come with a cost.

The new McCarthy follows in the footsteps of great political fraud. In 1954 Sen. Joseph McCarthy peaked with 36 days of televised hearings showcasing the threat of communism. Joseph McCarthy managed to push people out of office by selling lies in the court of public opinion, but he failed to make a single allegation stick.

Kevin McCarthy is set to deliver on promises of stripping committee assignments and holding kangaroo courts to pursue and punish political rivals. His website (“our investigations…are just getting started”) delivers promises of revenge.

Kevin, Trump’s “My Kevin,” stood with a variety of dangerous and deadly lies. He did not stand by quietly; he participated in them. Kevin helped to mainstream “Invasion” and “Replacement” rhetoric.

Forget the El Paso gunman who murdered 23 people to “stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” Forget White nationalists violently resisting “Replacement” in cities like Buffalo, Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, and most recently Colorado Springs (among many others).

“You Will Not Replace Us”

was a central chant at the deadly Unite the Right event in 2017. Trump famously pronounced there’s “blame on both sides” and Kevin did not push back.

Trump said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us.

They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Kevin, in his leadership role, could have corrected him, but he chose not to.

their well-earned reprimands may well be his undoing. He has been obsequious to the bidding of extremists; resistant to basic decency, Kevin has delayed and avoided reactions to over-the-top bigotry throughout his tenure, only participating in gentle wristslapping by necessity.

Dec. 1—Matthew Shepard’s birthday—was a good occasion to remember Kevin’s opposition to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. He was not one of the 18 Republicans in the House to support it.

Proposed journalism bill favors big media over small

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

In September, lawmakers in Washington rushed through major legislation that would reward massive, legacy media corporations at the expense of smaller community-focused and minority-owned newspapers. It should be rejected.

While the Journalism Competition Preservation Act (JCPA) is meant to protect publications like those in the National Newspaper Publishers Association, it would ultimately threaten our ability to inform our communities, line the pockets of massive media conglomerates and hedge funds, and lead to the proliferation of harmful misinformation. Good intentions sometimes have negative and counterproductive consequences.

The goal to foster quality local journalism and journalist jobs is well-intentioned. Local news outlets provide Americans with important information about the political, economic and cultural issues that matter to them.

media behemoths like Gannett, Lee Enterprises and McClatchy. For these media companies, a local newspaper is an asset for profit—not a valuable source of local information.

Big media chains acquire newspapers, lay off journalists and staff, drive down wages, and shutter publications forever as they spend millions on executive salaries and stock buybacks. Now these same media companies and hedge funds are a step closer to receiving huge payouts—without any accountability or transparency to direct funds to local journalism and journalists.

stream media publications excluded the perspectives of minority voices.

The Black Press built our own news outlets to support our own voices. As a result, this legislation would only further reinforce harmful racial exclusion trends, rather than actually help smaller local publications like those in the NNPA.

Similarly, recent amendments to the bill requiring nondiscrimination would require platforms to carry and pay for hate speech and objectionable content that could be harmful to BIPOC communities. If passed, the JCPA would boost misinformation and extremist content.

Indeed, Kevin chose to repeat these lies himself many times in defending Trump’s vanity wall at the border. Again and again, we see that he will lie to serve his political interests despite great costs to public safety, civil rights, and human rights.

The paradox is that McCarthyism 2.0 faces a challenge from extremism, e.g., the ultra-right like Biggs, Gaetz and Norman. To secure the 218 needed votes Kevin will cave in to foolish requests. In turn, these same behaviors that have helped him achieve his political ambitions may lead to his political demise.

Joseph McCarthy was ultimately censured by the Senate, but Kevin’s inability and unwillingness to issue extremists

The mainstreaming of extreme political positions and acceptance of harmful rhetoric have direct links to increases in hate and bias crimes as well as political violence. With antiLGBTQ Republican positioning like Kevin’s, it is no surprise that the father of the Colorado Springs shooter was relieved to find out he was only a mass murderer and not homosexual: “And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I said, ‘God, is he gay?’ I got scared, ‘S___, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, ‘Phew …’”

Dec. 5 marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts—381 days of strategic nonviolence against segregation in the U.S. On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat up to a White man. Kevin does not believe this history should be taught.

Kevin has been front and center to the great whitewash of American racism. As Trump’s mouthpiece, he sanitized the cruelty and prejudice littering the conservative agenda and policy. Misquoting the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in service of opposition to critical race theory is just one of many crass examples.

The news industry has reached an inflection point, and much work is still needed to secure a bright and sustainable future for minorityowned publications. Newspaper employment has fallen by 70% in the past 15 years, and 20% of America’s counties are at risk of becoming news deserts. The top 25 media chains now own a third of all U.S. newspapers.

Thousands of newspapers have been acquired by hedge funds and private equity firms like Alden Global Capital or by

The JCPA would require tech platforms to carry and pay any eligible news publisher for “access” to content. While this may, again, seem wellintentioned at first look, upon deeper inspection the law defines “access” so broadly it will require payment for simply crawling a website or sharing a link.

Similarly, while a number of conglomerates are scooped into the bill, true independent or small newspapers are explicitly excluded from the legislation because the bill says that an eligible publisher must earn more than $100,000 per year.

Many African American and other BIPOC news outlets are independently owned. Furthermore, these news outlets have developed and grown their audiences because main-

News publications from either side of the aisle that support extremist views will not only receive money, but tech platforms will be required to carry them on their services. This will make it even harder for platforms to moderate harmful and false content. We know that communities like ours will suffer the most.

Congress and the Senate should reject the current draft of the JCPA and go back to the drawing board on real solutions for America’s local news problems, solutions that benefit all Americans instead of just giving handouts to the biggest media corporations in the nation.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) based in Washington, D.C. representing the interests of the Black Press of America since 1940.

The prison treatment trap for release violators

By Lamart Coleman

Did you know that they treat people with sex cases in prison like they’re not even human most of the time? They view us as the worst of society that they are protecting the public from—to scare people. But we’re not the ones doing all the crime. The prison system is continually making money off our misery.

In prison, people with sex cases are often at risk for violence and extortion, both of which often go unresolved even when they are reported. We are also the most likely to be sent back to prison as a “release violator.”

completion of that treatment.

Even though you are only supposed to be re-incarcerated for between 30 and 364 days for whatever minor noncriminal error you made in the community, they don’t give you a set release date. They say you have to complete treatment first, which can take from three to five years even without staffing shortages and lockdown days.

also say the program here is unregulated so they are allowed to be all-powerful in how they make decisions.

Yes, I have learned a few good tools while being here, but I could have learned the same thing out there in the free world, with a job and being able to support myself and my family.

I have a letter from a treatment program in the community that they’d take me, yet they want me here. I was given a mandate to complete this program a long time ago, and every time I went to a hearing I was pushed back. This is my second time in this trap.

submissions@spokesman-recorder.com

The “I Have a Dream” speech, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963, keynoted one of the greatest nonviolent antiracist protests in history. Pretending, as Kevin and others do, that King did not want us to seriously examine questions of history and race is sheer ahistorical gaslighting.

submissions@spokesman-recorder.com

submissions@spokesman-recorder.com.

Kevin may not have been named in the manifestos of hate crimes like his mentor Trump has. But his actions speak loud and clear.

Like MLK said: “The colored American is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land, so we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.”

Kevin’s embrace of extremists at the expense of the marginalized should be

That means being sent back to prison on a non-crime, which is a condition of supervision like missing an appointment, testing positive for marijuana, having a cell phone, getting in an argument with someone at treatment or with one’s agent, etc.

The sad fact is we have one of the lowest rates of recommitting a crime in Minnesota, roughly 3%, yet we get supervised like we’re worse than murderers, who also have a really low recidivism rate.

So how does the treatment trap work? There is a treatment at Lino Lakes for people who have committed sex crimes. If you are a release violator, though, they basically put you on the back burner for

his undoing. I hold onto the hope, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” There

In fact, they push out everyone with a set release date first because they figure we have a lot of time so they can hold us longer and therefore keep getting funding for our extended stay here. It’s a joke.

And if you get kicked out of treatment for any reason, it’s hell getting back in. They often slow up the process drastically to make sure you stay as long as possible. Or you have to go to treatment at Rush City where it’s very violent and dangerous, and they do all the same things there, too.

I was given 364 days for a simple violation, yet I’ve been here now for over two years, with no clear end in sight. So the treatment at Lino Lakes is a very for-profit program. They

is no appetite for Kevin’s bigotry; it is time for action, an end to divisive rhetoric, and moral leaders to replace the apologists for, and enablers

It feels almost like the Department of Corrections Hearing Release Unit and the treatment staff here at Lino Lakes have an understanding when it comes to people completing this program. They have an understanding, so we are stuck. There are dozens, maybe hundreds of us in this treatment trap. This is a gross misuse of public trust and public money.

We are not monsters. We deserve a release date that fits with our violation. We need a way back to contribute and have a life, not a trap that keeps us and our loved ones in despair.

7525 Fourth Ave, Lino Lakes MN 55014

of, hate and violence.

Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.

Lamart Coleman #14473

For these media companies, a local newspaper is an asset for profit— not a valuable source of local information.

They can hold us longer and therefore keep getting funding for our extended stay here.

The mainstreaming of extreme political positions and acceptance of harmful rhetoric have direct links to increases in hate and bias crimes.

“Keep the Vision Clear.”

A vision board can have a profound impact on your life. It can influence your personal life, business life, spiritual life and other areas. I want to share with you how to create an effective vision board.

Vision boards are often seen as an arts and crafts project involving glue sticks, scissors, magazine cut-outs, and printed pictures. But they can be so much more than this: They are a visual manifestation of the life you want to have. They display what you want out of your time on this earth and what your innermost desires are calling you to accomplish. There may be no other tool that can get you closer to fulfilling your idea of a perfect life than this tangible guide to the future.

With gratitude, Coach Ella,

Employment & Legals

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

From Classified Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder

Sealed proposals will be received by the Public Housing Agency of the City of Saint Paul Maintenance Contracts Dept., 200 East Arch Street, St. Paul, MN 55130 for PEST CONTROL SERVICES AT ST. PAUL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY HI-RISES, FAMILY SITES AND CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE,Contract No. 23-102, until 2:00 PM on December 30, 2022.

PHONE: 612-827-4021

A complete set of proposal documents is available through Northstar Imaging at www.northstarplanroom.com, under PEST CONTROL SERVICES AT ST. PAUL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY HI-RISES, FAMILY SITES AND CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE. Digital downloads are at no charge, hard copy price is per the planroom.

RAMSEY COUNTY

A pre-proposal conference will be held on December 19, 2022 at 2:00 PM via Zoom. Contact Vanessa Austin ph# 651-2283179 or Vanessa.Austin@stpha.org for details. All questions arising from this pre-proposal conference will be addressed by addendum, if necessary.

1 WEEK RUN FLAT RATE $100.00

Please Note: New email address for all future ads is ads@spokesman-recorder.com

The PHA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive any informalities in the proposal process.

From Classified Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder

Packaging Engineer

Covidien LP (a Medtronic company), Plymouth, MN.

PHONE: 612-827-4021

FOR BILLING INQUIRIES & TEARSHEETS

PLEASE CONTACT ACCOUNTING DEPT @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

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Minnesota Spokesman Recorder December 15, 2022

By Sheletta Brundidge Contributing Writer

’Tis the season when everyone is enjoying their favorite holiday foods and planning special meals or parties with family and friends. Ramsey County is reminding residents to collect their food scraps during this festive time. Unused food that ends up in landfills is one of the main sources of greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change.

“By keeping food waste out of the trash and taking it to a collection site, we can transform it into a resource. It will be turned into compost that will be used in gardening and landscaping,” explained Ramsey County Interim Environmental Health Division Manager

commit to them and their program even as they are eyeing their next gig.”

Deadspin’s Carron J. Phillips under the headline “Deion Sanders’ pimping of Jackson State and HBCU culture is finally over” wrote, “Sanders wasn’t a savior for HBCUs… Too many believed that his antics and soundbites were helping HBCUs as a whole— when they weren’t. Sanders didn’t care about making HBCUs better. He cared about making the one that paid him better—until he could parlay that into a better opportunity for himself…at a PWI.”

Jemele Hill of The Atlantic wrote in, “Deion Sanders’ Disappointing Exit,” “Sanders is leaving behind a trail of disappointment and criticism… Sanders’ new contract at Colorado is more than 10 times larger than Jackson State’s entire $2.1 million football budget in 2021.”

Our thoughts on the subject: One, what Sanders did— leave one football program for another for more money—isn’t precedent-setting.

Football coaches, White and

Rae Eden Frank. Frank noted that the best way to lessen food waste is to only buy what you need when it comes to fruits, vegetables, and other perishables. Tossing overripe, rotting or unused produce not only squanders the family grocery budget but also contributes to food waste.

But no matter how careful you are about managing your fridge and pantry, every home generates food scraps: fruit and vegetable peels and pits, eggshells, and coffee grounds. Ramsey County offers residents free compostable bags for collecting these items. The bags are available at the 24/7 drop-off sites listed below, the same places where the food scraps can be deposited.

“When things go in the garbage can, they don’t disappear. We have to think differently about what we use and what it becomes,” Frank

AN EQUAL

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Recycling your food scraps

said. “When food waste becomes compost, it produces healthier soil for growing more food for all of us.”

Frank urged folks to line a countertop can with a compostable bag to make it easy to collect food scraps while preparing meals. “Do it with your family.

“As parents, we can teach our children about what goes in the garbage, what goes in compost bins. If they’re cracking eggs with you, let them participate,” Frank said. “They’re learning good habits at home.”

During this busy time of

year, don’t forget that you can always stick the bag of food waste and scraps into the freezer until it’s convenient to drop it off at a collection site. In 2023, Ramsey County will make food scrap collection even easier as the county pilots a curbside food scrap collection.

For 24/7 drop-off locations, go to bit.ly/RamseyFoodScrapLocations. For more information, go to ramseyrecycles.com.

Sheletta Brundidge welcomes reader responses to sbrundidge@ spokesman-recorder.com.

Black, do it all the time. What is overlooked or little discussed amidst all the noise is that Sanders is the fourth consecutive Black coach Colorado has hired to lead its football program. If this isn’t a record, it should be.

However, his remarks didn’t see the light of day because of his insistence on being called Coach and not by his first name when a White reporter did otherwise. This prompted Sanders to walk off the call, which went viral instead.

NFL

Contunued from page 14

Diminishing diversity at the W Now that WNBA star Brittney Griner is safely back in the U.S. after nearly a year in

Secondly, it’s rare that a Black HC at an HBCU is hired for the same position at a PWI.

Third, about the “pimping” reference, White coaches do it all the time. Let us not forget what Lou Holtz did here at Minnesota a few decades ago: He came here for a couple of seasons and then bolted for the more prestigious Notre Dame, a classic example of this pimping.

I once asked Coach Sanders during a virtual SWAC media day about being at Jackson State a year after he took the job and during the COVID pandemic. He waxed poetically on the importance of all Black schools upgrading their facilities in order to better attract top-notch national talent.

Sanders “brought the school unprecedented national exposure and made the Tigers a destination for some of the top high school recruits in the country,” wrote Hill. “But by jumping at an offer from a major conference school that is in the bottom rung of the Pac-12 Conference…Sanders reinforced the narrative that mainstream validation is more important than fostering Black excellence at a Black institution.”

Instead of the Chicken Little argument that HBCUs are now destined for doom because of Sanders’ exit, let’s instead discuss whether other PWIs will look at Black head coaches at Black schools and hire them for their programs. The outrage, real or imagined, is misdirected upon Coach Prime when White coaches do the same and leave for bigger paydays.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

SOe

Contunued from page 14

Black coaches facing PWI Black coaches. “I think it’s just a blessing. Black coaches are growing, and I think people are starting to take notice that we can coach…at this level. I think it’s an absolute blessing that you see two Black coaches coaching against each other, especially in Minnesota,” he responded. “I think it’s a big deal.”

This is Chicago State’s second swing through the state of Minnesota after an 83-61 defeat at St. Thomas Nov. 11. “We’re just going to continue to chip away at just playing basketball the right way,” HC Gerald Gillion told us afterwards—he was featured in last week’s MSR.

His mostly young squad with only a senior and three juniors on this year’s roster is averaging 68 points a game but allowing over 77 points.

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a Russian prison, we can now refocus on a sad current fact: All five WNBA head coaches’ openings after the 2022 season were filled by Whites. As a result, James Wade (Chicago), Noelle Quinn (Seattle) and Tanisha

But the Cougars are unbeaten thus far (3-0) at home.

“We’re looking forward to winning on and off the court,” continued Gillion. “[We] want to develop young men to be able to be successful both on and off the court, and we’re gonna continue to strive to do that every single day.”

When Alcorn State plays Minnesota in a couple of weeks, it will be the team’s final non-conference contest before embarking on league play when the Braves host Jackson State Jan. 2.

ASU, who haven’t played the Gophers since 1985, will make their second-ever visit to Williams Arena. The Braves average 61 points but have given up nearly 74 points a contest this season.

Coach Landon Bussie became Alcorn State coach in 2020, his first HC opportunity, and won the SWAC regular season in 2021-22, the first time for the program in 20 years. He was named SWAC

Wright (Atlanta) have become the league’s only Black HCs in a league where its majority of players are Black.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

Coach of the Year and led the squad to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

Bussie told us that two Blacks coaching against each other in a HBCU-PWI matchup is “definitely important, it’s definitely special when you coach against another African American.”

On Minnesota hosting the HBCU hoops trifecta, Gophers HC Ben Johnson pointed out, “I think it’s important, and also an opportunity for us to talk to our guys about those historic colleges, what they represent and what they mean,” as well as for the visiting players “to be able to come to a different region” to compete.

“To be able to compete against guys that are different than the typical midmajor or low-major [teams] that we play,” said Johnson, “I think it is all positive.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

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Sanders criticized for doing what White coaches do all the time

nce it became public that Deion Sanders was being courted for the Colorado football job, social media and pundits quickly got their criticism dandruff up. As expected, after he was hired by CU Dec. 4 the criticism went bonkers.

Sanders, the football Hall of Famer, has been called about everything but a child of God. One adjective used against him was that he “pimped” Jackson State, the school he coached for three seasons.

Never one to shy away from controversy throughout his playing and coaching career, Sanders, known as “Prime Time” as a player and now as “Coach Prime,” once again became a lightning rod for media and JSU alums, and even more so by Blacks. Ignoring the typical White commentary, we instead looked at several Blacks’

takes on the subject: MSNBC Opinion Columnist Jarvis DeBerry, in “Why Deion Sanders leaving Jackson State is bigger than football,” wrote “We can’t discuss Sanders’ de-

cision to leave Jackson State without acknowledging what little honor there is among college football head coaches, who will often ask recruits to ■ See View on page 13

Fab Five Photos

ew Brunswick, NJ —

The weekend of December 2-5 I returned to New Brunswick, New Jersey with fellow MSR columnist Charles Hallman to witness the renaming of the Rutgers University basketball court named after recently retired women’s basketball coach and Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer

I lived in New Brunswick during my childhood in 196869 and 1974-77.

In addition to witnessing history and reuniting with old friends, I did manage to take photos of Coach Stringer, current Rutgers player Kylene Smikle, and Rutgers first-year head coach Coquese Washington. I also obtained photos of former Minneapolis North High School and Rutgers point guard Mauri Horton with her college coach, and former Minneapolis North forward and St. Peter’s College standout Stacia Neals for this ‘Fab Five’ photo spread.

Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.

Black-on-Black coach matchups ‘definitely special’

he first-ever HBCU men’s basketball trifecta at Williams Arena starts Dec. 14 when Minnesota hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff, then later this month Chicago State (Dec. 22) and Alcorn State (Dec. 29).

Black schools have played at The Barn before, but not in recent memory have Gophers fans seen three HBCUs, coached by Black coaches on the sidelines. The Gophers are in the midst of a five-game stretch in which four squads are coached by Blacks, which

began last week with visiting Michigan, coached by Juwan Howard, one of four Black head coaches in the Big Ten, including Minnesota’s Ben Johnson.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State both are members

of the SWAC. Chicago State currently is an independent. This is the first time APB has played Minnesota.

The Golden Lions this season is averaging 63 points a contest but gives up 69.5 points. Coach Solomon Bozeman is one of the youngest HCs in Division I. Now in his second season, he previously

was an assistant coach at Oral Roberts University for three seasons; two seasons at Arkansas-Little Rock, where he is a graduate; and two seasons at Abilene Christian. After a decorated playing career at ALR, Bozeman played professionally in the then-NBA D-League and overseas.

We talked to Bozeman during the SWAC virtual basketball days in November and asked him to speak on HBCU ■

Diverse hiring up at NFL League Office

By Charles Hallman Sports Columnist

he NFL’s racial hiring score went down from last year’s but its gender hiring score went up, according to the latest Racial and Gender Report Card (RGRC) recently issued by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES). In last year’s report, the NFL got an 88.5% score for race, but this year it is 85%, 3.5 points lower. But its gender score “increased significantly to 81.4%, 6.4 percentage points higher than last year’s score of 75.0 percent,” said the RGRC executive summary.

The 2022 grades: racial hiring (B+), gender hiring (B), and B for its overall grade.

Among the report card highlights:

• Four of the six full-time women coaches are women of color, two are Black—Jennifer King (Washington) and Autumn Lockwood (Philadelphia).

• The total number of NFL head coaches of color is up 3.2% from last season.

• Seven of eight POC GMs are Black, including Minnesota’s Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in his first season.

• Blacks held almost 15% of team professional staff roles, an NFL RGRC high.

Only three times in the TIDES annual reports (2011, 2017, 2018) were there eight head coaches of color, and

of business operations, this is far below the number of Black NFL players, which is 56%.

And there still are no Black majority owners in pro football.

TIDES Director Richard Lapchick told the MSR that the NFL League Office is doing a better job in diversity than at the team level. “I think the NFL diversity and inclusion office is really making a difference,” he pointed out.

there are seven in 2022, three of them Black. But despite this positive outlook, which includes four Black general managers and one team president

However, the league teams as a whole aren’t keeping pace diversity-wise, added Lapchick. “That’s the issue, that the NFL League Office seems to do well but teams lag behind that.”

But teams lag behind

NFL women of color coaches (l-r) Natalia Dorantes, Jennifer King, Autumn Lockwood Courtesy of Twitter

“Coach Prime” Deion Sanders Courtesy of Twitter

Gerald Gillion

Photos by Charles Hallman

Ben Johnson

“I think it’s an absolute blessing that you see two Black coaches coaching against each other, especially in Minnesota.”

Former Minneapolis North girls’ basketball standout Stacia Neals (1984-1988) went on to a successful career on the court at St. Peter’s College (1988-92) in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is currently a clinician supervisor at Rutgers University.

Courtesy Rutgers University

C. Vivian Stringer, the women’s basketball coach at Rutgers University from 1997-2022, speaks during halftime of a Big Ten Conference game between the host Scarlet Knights and Ohio State University after having the court at Jersey Mike’s Arena named after her Sunday, December 4 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Photo by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald

Rutgers University guard Kaylene Smikle scores two of her team-high 21 points during an 82-70 Big Ten Conference loss to Ohio State University at Jersey Mike’s Arena Sunday December 4 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Photo by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald

Rutgers women’s basketball coach Coquese Washington addresses the media after her team’s 82-70 Big Ten loss to Ohio State University in Jersey Mike’s Arena Sunday, December 4 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Photo by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald

Former Minneapolis North High School (199699) and Rutgers University standout player Mauri Horton (1999-2003) with her college coach C. Vivian Stringer during the renaming of the basketball court at Jersey Mikes Arena Sunday, December 4 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Horton was a member of the school’s NCAA Final Four team in 2000.

Courtesy Mauri Horton

“I think the NFL diversity and inclusion office is really making a difference.”