January 13, 2022 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

Page 1

PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391

Inside this Edition...

Read more about the legacy of Sidney Poitier on page 3.

THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934

January 13-19, 2022

Vol. 88

www.spokesman-recorder.com

No. 24

MLK in 2022 Has the hour yet come

FIGHTER WITH A BIG HEART

to get rid of racism?

By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer

T

he Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the third Monday in January, became an annual observance in 1986, three years after it was approved as a federal holiday. One of the holiday’s annual gifts is the opportunity it allows for reflection on Dr. King’s life and legacy, his continued relevance to our own times, and the guidance he still offers to help us navigate the ever-changing landscape of our world.

Activist, journalist, MSR stalwart Mel Reeves passes at age 64

Dr. King spent most of his adult life speaking boldly, demanding in a nonviolent fashion the need for societal change domestically and worldwide. In his last Sunday sermon, “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on March 31, 1968, he preached, “It is an unhappy truth that racism is a way of life for the vast majority of White Americans, spoken and unspoken; acknowledged and denied; subtle and sometimes not so subtle.

By MSR Staff

I

“The hour has come for everybody, for all institutions of the public sector and the private sector, to work to get rid of racism,” said King, whose pulpit appearance came a couple of weeks before his death in Memphis.

■ See MLK on page 5

REVITALIZING

a historical Black presence Imagine a ‘resiliency hub’ for healing and health

SECOND OF A THREE-PART STORY By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer Last week we introduced the eight Minneapolis cultural districts that city leaders hope can help restore what was lost in the destruction following the police murder of George Floyd. This week continues a close look at one of these districts, the 38th Street Corridor. Anthony Taylor has been a part of discussions with city leaders to help restore the 38th Street Corridor’s history through new development. His mother is Atum Azzahir, chief executive officer of the Cultural Wellness Center. The Cultural Wellness Center plays a significant role in the district’s future as its leaders and City representatives plan to create a business hub called Dreamland on 38th to “provide cultural healing through culinary heritage.” It’s named in honor of the

T IS WITH DEEP SADNESS that we announce that Mel Reeves, MSR community editor, passed away on Jan. 6, 2022 due to complications from COVID-19. He was 64. Reeves described himself as a political and human rights activist, journalist, commentary writer and organizer. A native of Miami, Florida, Reeves arrived in Minneapolis after attending college in Iowa. He was a presence on the Twin Cities journalism scene for more than 20 years, covering the news with an activist’s passion and perspective. “Mel was a true champion for justice. Thinking about his life and his legacy brings a smile to my face even in the midst of mourning his loss of life. I considered him a friend, a brother, and a comrade in the fight for justice,” said his fellow activist and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. Even after he was hospitalized at HCMC in December, Reeves continued to write and report on topics ranging from new COVID-19 protocols to coverage of the inaugural George Floyd Memorial Classic. His timely end-of-the-year roundup appeared on Dec. 30. “Mel was a writing machine; it just poured out of him,” said Jerry Freeman, MSR’s senior editor and a colleague since the mid-1990s. “He always had an intelligent, conscientious, well-thought-out understanding of what was happening. And a passion to express it as best he could. “He was a fighter for justice who cared about the underdog, always thinking about who we need to stand up for. He had ■ See REEVES on page 5

Photo courtesy of Google Street View Dreamland Café, one of the first businesses house the administrative offices of the Culin the neighborhood, owned and operated tural Wellness Center and include a space by serial entrepreneur Anthony B. Cassius, for community meetings and events. Cassius created a space on the South For Taylor, Dreamland on 38th is just one Side that welcomed outside travelers and part of the development needed along the entertainers who weren’t able to stay, eat or corridor. “We believe all of this has to be perform in downtown Minneapolis. Taylor tied together,” Taylor said. “It is all a part and other stakeholders hope to continue of a collaborative development effort to use that legacy at this proposed property on culture and particularly focus on African 38th and 3rd by developing the Dreamland American culture as a legacy culture and Co-Café as a space for food entrepreneurs developing the corridor with a commitment to work and serve customers. It will also ■ See DISTRICTS on page 5

Mel Reeves writing in his office at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder back in the mid-1990s. Photos by Travis Lee

Minneapolis hospitals juggle rising cases, staff shortages amid omicron wave By Niara Savage Contributing Writer Minneapolis hospitals are managing an onslaught of coronavirus cases while juggling staff shortages as the omicron variant rampages across the U.S. In Hennepin County, the 14-day case rate—number of residents per 10,000 people testing positive for COVID-19 in a two-week period—is the highest it’s been since July of 2020. John Smyrski, physician and vice president of medical affairs at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, said the current spike is partly fueled by holiday gettogethers. He said case numbers typically start trending upward 10 days to two weeks after large gatherings. While data show that the omicron variant may be less likely to cause severe illness than other versions of the virus, Smyrski warns that

increased transmissibility of the new variant could make it just as dangerous on a large scale. “Even if a smaller percentage of the total cases are severe, the absolute number of cases that are severe is going up,” he said. Lorena Garcia, epidemiologist and professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of California, Davis, said omicron’s high transmissibility may be a result of its viral load. “The viral load is much higher in omicron, which means that someone infected with the omicron variant is more infectious than someone infected with the delta variant,” Garcia said. The Centers for Disease Control estimated in early January that the omicron variant now accounts for about 95% of all coronavirus cases across the country. But vaccines, although less effective against the omicron variant, are

“As soon as a patient discharges, another one is ready to go into that bed as soon as we can clean it.”

Photo courtesy of MGN largely keeping Minnesotans who we can clean it,” he said. Hospitals in the healthcare system got the jab out of intensive care units. By late December, about 85% of are combating staff shortages while those in intensive care and positive facing the wave of cases. “We’ve for coronavirus across Allina Health’s got staff that are working additional hours. They’re pulling second shifts. 12 hospitals were unvaccinated. Most patients on ventilators dur- They’re coming in on their days off to ing that time were also unvaccinated. work,” Smyrski said. Some staff members are frusStatewide, 67% of Minnesotans aged five and up are fully vaccinated. trated to see unvaccinated patients The demand for care is so high, become critically ill or die of a Smyrski said patients are waiting in “potentially preventable” coronavirus emergency departments for inpa- infection, he said. Finding trained nurses and respitient beds to open up. “As soon as a patient discharges, another one is ratory therapists, and other health ready to go into that bed as soon as care workers to help fill the gap in

need isn’t easy, Smyrski said. The shortage of nurses is a national issue. The American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment reported in September that more than 5,000 international nurses are awaiting final visa approval to work in the U.S. Cases in children are also on the rise in Minneapolis, said Joe Kurland, vaccine specialist and infection preventionist at Children’s Minnesota. The hospital couldn’t provide data about the share of cases caused by the omicron variant, but Kurland predicts the rate is likely in line with the CDC’s nationwide estimate. Most kids are still faring pretty well amid the latest wave, Kurland said, but “there is still the occasional child that will come in and require oxygen support and other levels of care.” He said he’s seen the age of kids impacted by the virus trend younger. “What this might be is, as we have more older kids getting vaccinated, the ages of susceptible kids are a little younger,” Kurland said. Children aged five and older are eligible to receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s ■ See HOSPITALS on page 5


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
January 13, 2022 - MN Spokesman-Recorder by MN Spokesman Recorder - Issuu