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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
February 3 - 9, 2022
Vol. 88
www.spokesman-recorder.com
No. 27
Biden’s pledge is on the line
Will he appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court?
(l-r) Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Judge Michelle Childs, and Judge Leondra Kruger By Niara Savage Contributing Writer
A
dvocates are calling on President Joe Biden to stick to his vow to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court as
Justice Stephen Breyer prepares to retire, potentially paving the way for the first-ever Black woman Supreme Court justice. Breyer, 83, is the oldest justice currently serving on the Supreme Court and one of three liberal jus-
tices. Only two Black justices, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have served on the Supreme Court. “I’ve committed that if I’m elected president that if I have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I will appoint the first Black woman to
the court,” then-candidate Biden said at a presidential debate in 2020. “It’s required that they have representation now. It’s long overdue.” Biden doubled down on that pledge at a White House briefing after Breyer’s announcement with a statement that mirrored his 2020 promise. “I made that commitment during the campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment,” he said. It’s past time for Biden to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court and help ensure she has a fair vetting and confirmation process, said Glynda Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights of America, a political action committee dedicated to getting more Black women elected to public office at the local and national levels. “Our country is built on representation. And so, when there is zero representation, that hurts America [and] creates a void for the constituency
that doesn’t have a voice,” Carr said. But most Americans (76%) want Biden to consider “all possible nominees” for the vacancy on the Supreme Court, according to an ABC News/ Ipsos poll conducted after Breyer’s announcement. Less than a quarter (23%) want Biden to automatically follow through on his commitment to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court, according to the poll. That perspective changes significantly with the demographic. A Higher Heights poll shows that 86% of Black women voters say Biden should prioritize nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court when a seat is available. “We need to have leadership in place—both elected and appointed—to be able to build an economically thriving, educated, healthy and safe community for Black women and our communities,” Carr said. ■ See COURT on page 5
Minneapolis Black history gains a new landmark Remembering Station #24, the city’s first and only Black fire brigade
By Julie Gordon Contributing Writer Minneapolis currently operates 19 fire stations throughout the city, deploying over 400 firefighters to protect lives and property and serve the safety needs of local communities. Recently the City has taken steps to preserve the memory of one such station that holds a special place in the history of Black people in Minnesota. Established in 1879, the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) was in high demand as the city rapidly expanded, often responding
The city’s first Black firefighter, John Cheatham, will be honored with a street named after him. Courtesy of Friends of The Cemetery
to structures built prior to approved building codes. One neighborhood in great need was along the Hiawatha corridor near Minnehaha Regional Park, where Fire Station #24 was completed in 1907. Led by Minneapolis’ first Black fire captain, John Cheatham, Station #24 drew attention as the city’s first—and only—Black fire brigade. Not only was Captain Cheatham’s appointment historic in nature, but the fact that he was born into slavery in 1855 rendered his life journey a symbol of hope for employment and social equality. While some residents saw the opening of Station #24 as controversial, others showed support for the assignment of all Black firefighters, including a petition signed by 60 women living in the neighborhood. “Station #24 is an important part of the narrative for the development of Minneapolis,” said LaJune Lange, president of the LTL International Leadership Institute and retired City Court judge. “African Americans were always present and making a positive contribution.” Lange is largely responsible for shining a light on the significance of Station #24, advocating for landmark status to preserve its place in history, especially in an area where older buildings have been torn down to make way for new development. Her passion is rooted in a 1970s federal court case, Carter v. Gallagher, to desegregate the Minneapolis Fire Department. Working as a paralegal alongside Luther Granquist, ■ See FIRE DEPT on page 5
Banning Black authors is nothing new
Station #24 then and now on 4501 Hiawatha Ave. in Minneapolis Courtesy of Google Maps and the Fire Hall Museum
Members of the African American Firefighters Association join Judge Lange in a visit to Station #24. Photo by Walter Griffin
Tracking COVID through wastewater Recent report predicts Omicron surge is in decline
The critical race theory furor is just its newest manifestation
MGN By Stacy M. Brown Contributing Writer
of George Floyd, a major publishing house turned down the opportunity to obtain Celeste Headlee paused as Headlee’s book “Speaking of she contemplated how Black Race: Why Everybody Needs authors have for decades to Talk About Racism—and endured the banning of their How to Do It.” The reason? “They said they books in schools, libraries, on shelves across the country, had enough books on race and that this topic is covered and even in prisons. In the summer of 2020 and for us,” Headlee recounted. “It the aftermath of the murder was very surprising since we
were offering it in the summer of 2020.” Headlee, who co-hosts the Retro Report on PBS and is affectionately known as “the light-skinned Black Jew,” ultimately sold her book to Harper Collins Publishing, which published it in 2021. She counts among dozens of Black authors whose works ■ See CRT on page 5
By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer The COVID-19 Omicron variant’s surge in the Twin Cities metro area is declining, a new study has found. The report is based on data from
13 metro wastewater plants surveyed by the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Minnesota Department of Health. Based on its statewide wastewater surveillance data, the prevalence of dis-
ease is predicted to decline significantly in the Twin Cities metro region sometime in February, said the report released last week. But the study also pointed out that the Omicron variant remains ■ See OMICRON on page 5
2 February 3-9, 2022
Opinion
Trump lies again
This time he’s clearly trying to stir up race animosity By Ben Jealous
Let’s show our gratitude for those on the front lines
By Sheletta Brundidge
of us. Dr. Cross’s editorial moved me to ask myself what small By 3 am I was so scared I act I could do for them. I had to make a move. thought of the words of MaEarlier that evening, I dame CJ Walker, a superstar started quivering and couldn’t of Black history and the namake it stop. My blood prestion’s first female self-made sure was up, according to the millionaire. As she achieved readings on my home cuff. her success, she said, “Your Scariest of all, I felt an odd first duty is to humanity. We tingling on the left side of my must care not just about ourbody. selves but about others.” My fear took me to the Madame CJ Walker was emergency room. A nurse one of my inspirations. Two with kind eyes asked how I years ago, I started my was doing. The weariness in podcast platform, SHElether voice made me forget taMakesMeLaugh.com, on Frontline health care workers make February 1, the first day of Black History Month, calling enormous personal sacrifices to care for on the resilience modeled patients whose hospitalizations and even by those who came before deaths could have been prevented. me as I launched my small business. I had no idea that myself and ask her the same sacrifices to care for patients six weeks after launching, I question: How was she doing? whose hospitalizations and would face the challenges of “It’s just hard,” she said sim- even deaths could have been the lockdown. To mark the anniversary of ply. “We signed up to help prevented. Martin Luther King once my small business, we want people and we can’t do it. We are trying to do our best said, ”Life’s most persistent to do something to spread but it’s not enough.” I saw and urgent question is, ‘What love and hope. Last year we the profound exhaustion all are you doing for others?” My showed up at a nursing home around me in the people who recent episode reminded me with gifts of appreciation for checked me in, took my vitals, that our healers show up to front-line workers there. This year we’re celebrating and got me settled behind the answer that question every day. Doctors and nurses, and by dropping off gift baskets curtain. Hospitals and ICUs are also the custodians and clerks, at two local hospitals. We’re running low on capacity, and technicians and aides, do for asking that they go to doctors so are our healers, who have others under unimaginably and nurses and also to other essential workers, the custocarried a disproportionate stressful conditions. I saw in the people taking dians, cooks and aides who burden of the pandemic for almost two years. No one ap- care of me how it’s burning come to work every day under plauds them at shift change them out and breaking them circumstances that are not as cases spike again. Their pa- down. The rest of us do what only trying but also dangerous. It’s a small gesture, but one tients are getting younger, the we can to avoid the virus; they work hours are getting lon- walk in the door to where they we hope says, “We see you. ger, and the wards—and the know the infection is waiting. We care. We very humbly They take that risk for the rest thank you for all that you have morgues—stay full. taken on, and all of the challenges that may still lie ahead.” As for me, after a round of tests at the ER, I learned that it was stress, not a stroke, that created the symptoms that pushed me to seek help. A recent divorce, raising four children while running a business, and two years of the crazy ups and downs of the pandemic had taken their toll on my health. I was able to go home with orders for follow-up appointments. But there’s no quick or easy resolution of the stress facing essential health care workers. They have broken their backs for us. We need to find a way to show our gratitude with a thank you, with a gift, or, best of all, with a vaccination and a booster so that we won’t add to the load we expect them to bear. Dr. Sarah Cross, a Minnesota physician, recently confessed in an editorial that she and her colleagues feel spent, emotionally and physically. They soldiered through the dangerous early days without adequate PPE, holding the hands of the dying when little was known about the virus. They celebrated the arrival of the vaccine only to be discouraged months later when infections soared higher than ever. Frontline health care workers make enormous personal
Did you see how former president Donald Trump spent Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend? He made one of the ugliest appeals to racial resentment and White grievance that I have seen in decades. Trump was speaking at a rally for Arizona Republican officials and candidates who embrace the Big Lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. That lie has its own racial dimension, because one of its central claims is that the election was stolen from Trump by illegal votes cast by Black and Brown voters in battleground states. His new lie was even more brazenly designed to stoke anger among White right-wing supporters who are already seething about the fact that Joe Biden, and not their hero, is sitting in the Oval Office. “The left is now rationing lifesaving therapeutics based on race, discriminating against and denigrating, just denigrating, White people to determine who lives and who dies,” Trump claimed. “If you’re White, you don’t get the vaccine, or if you’re White, you don’t get therapeutics.” Trump was lying. We all know that COVID-19 has hit some American communities harder than others. Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans are about twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than White Americans are, according to the New York Times. Recognizing that reality, the New York Department of Health published guidelines for health care institutions that simply said that race was one factor, along with age and health conditions like diabetes, that should be considered in deciding how to prioritize treatment. Given the state of our political climate, it was not surprising that some rightwing media made the false claim that New York health officials had declared that “White people need not apply.” And it was not surprising that Trump was willing to push that lie even further, claiming that White people were being “denigrated” and
denied access to health care. We live at a time when the percentage of the U.S. population that is White is shrinking. Some White people find our increasing diversity scary and threatening. And they are constantly getting a push in that direction from right-wing media figures like Fox News’s Tucker Carlson. According to recent polling, Republicans who trust Fox News and far-right news outlets are most likely to believe that America is in danger of losing its “culture” and “identity.” Trump is the leader of a movement and political party that are trying to build power by stoking fear and anger among right-wing White voters that “their”
rights arguments to defend discrimination, and violent resistance to legal equality. These politicians are drawing on a long history in this country of building power by creating and inflaming racial divisions to prevent solidarity from developing among poor and working-class people of all colors and ethnicities. We should focus on making sure that all Americans have access to the health care they need, not making some White people resentful when the urgent needs of other communities are addressed. Fear is powerful. Anger and hatred are powerful. They will win some political battles. But I believe in the long run they will lose.
Some White people find our increasing diversity scary and threatening. country is being taken away from them. The Big Lie about the election being stolen plays on those fears. So does Trump’s claim that White people are being discriminated against and denied health care that is going to “other” people. That’s also why we see so many conservative politicians trying to ban teaching about the ways that racism shaped our history and continues to affect people’s lives. Virginia’s new Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on his first day in office banning the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” like talking about the role of race in American history. Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, are now trying to pass a law that would ban teaching students or training employees about racism if it makes White students feel “discomfort.” This is about Whitewashing our history to avoid dealing honestly with both our past and present. Many parts of our history are “inherently divisive.” All Americans should feel some “discomfort” with the realities of Jim Crow violence, states’
America is on the verge of becoming a country in which no one demographic group is dominant. That could be a recipe for the kind of conflict and hostility that people like Trump are stirring up. But it doesn’t have to. I choose to be more hopeful. I believe our growing diversity and pluralism gives us the opportunity to fulfill the vision of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass that our country’s destiny is to become “the perfect national illustration of the unity and dignity of the human family.” But to get there, we will have to defeat Trump and Trumpism. That is our immediate task. Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive. In 2008, he was chosen as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he has taught at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.
U.S. behavior in the Middle East continues to breed hostility By Frank Erickson
The reason Malik Faisal Akram was in Fort Worth, Texas was because he was angry over the U.S. imprisonment of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is being held in federal prison in Fort Worth for trying to kill U.S. soldiers. She was convicted of “terrorism” charges and sentenced to 86 years in prison after “opening fire” on Americans. Akram losing his mind over what happened to Siddiqui, and then doing what he did [take hostages in a Texas Sheletta Brundidge welsynagogue] is perfectly undercomes reader responses at shestandable. He was wrong, but lettab@gmail.com. You can also what do you expect? The way catch her as host of the podcast the U.S. government behaves SHElettaMakesMeLaugh.com. in the Middle East will push
many to the brink of insanity. How many Nazi soldiers went to prison for 86 years for opening fire on American soldiers? The U.S. opened fire upon Afghanistan for 20 years, and then no one can fire back? The secret U.S. murder unit “Talon Anvil” butchered thousands of Muslims in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2019. This alone could have driven Akram insane. Akram spoke the truth. He said, “The U.S. only cares about Jewish lives” in the Middle East. This is true. Akram was not a terrorist, was not anti-Semitic, and was not a jihadist. He was a brokenhearted man who was sick and tired of the U.S. murdering Muslims in
the Middle East. His actions were driven by desperation, not terrorism. Our State-controlled media will quickly dehumanize him to steer us away from the reality of why he did what he did. The U.S. has killed over half a million Muslims in the Middle East over the past 25 years. This makes good people go crazy. Of course it was wrong to take hostages—even if the U.S. has held Iraq and Afghanistan hostages for 20 years. The irony is that he killed no one, but the U.S. government gunned down yet another “evil terrorist” Muslim. Frank Erickson is a resident of Minneapolis.
February 3-9, 2022
Health & Wellness
3
To quickly improve your overall health, drink more water!
By Dr. Valerie Lemaine, M.D., M.P.H. Guest Contributor If you’re like me, you probably don’t drink enough water. And we are not alone: Many Americans don’t drink enough water during the course of their day to stay healthy. Especially during the cold Minnesota winter, I tend to forget to stay properly hydrated. And honestly, as a surgeon, not drinking during the day means that I don’t have to “go” when I’m in surgery! It’s a win-win situation, right? WRONG. Adequate hydration is
essential for the health and proper functioning of your organs. For example, water lubricates and cushions your spine, and it also helps your kidneys and liver flush your system and remove waste. Dehydration can lead to an imbalance in the body’s electrolytes (such as sodium and potassium), which help carry electrical signals between cells. Electrolyte balance is kept stable by properly functioning kidneys, and this requires that there is always sufficient water in the body. The most common signs of dehydration include a dry mouth, dry skin, cracked lips, headaches, dizziness, constipation, high blood pressure, dark urine and much more. Severe dehydration can lead to seizures, muscle cramps, and even loss of consciousness and kidney failure. So how much water do we need to drink daily? Of course, the answer varies based on your gender, but also depends on where you live, your age, your level of physical activity, your body size, and your medical condition. The general recommendation from the Institute of Medicine set the adequate water intake at 11 cups (91 ounces) a day for
women, and 15 cups (125 ounces) a day for men An easy rule of thumb to follow to make sure you drink enough water is to look at your urine. Dark yellow urine usually is a sign of dehydration, while pale yellow urine means that you are properly hydrated. In my quest to improve my overall health, I committed to drinking one gallon of water every single day for the past three months. That’s five 25-ounce water bottles a day! At first I thought there was no way I would be able to do this, but it got easier and now I sometimes catch myself drinking a bit more than one gallon without thinking about it. It usually takes between 21 and 60 days of continual practice to establish a new
habit. Quite frankly, I have experienced so many benefits that I have decided to sustain this new behavior, and I hope to inspire you to drink more water too. Five benefits of adequate hydration (and there are more) • Keeps you regular: My digestion is improved, and all this water in my gut helps to rid my body of solid waste. I feel so much better! • Makes your skin glow: I noticed I got many compliments on how smooth my skin looks since I committed to drinking more water! Remember, our skin is our largest organ and it is constantly exposed to toxins. Water helps flush these toxins out of our system. My skin isn’t itchy anymore, and I have been able to quit using lip balm because my lips don’t
crack anymore. • Helps you drop a few extra pounds: My brain used to confuse thirst and hunger signals when I was dehydrated, tricking me into overeating. Not anymore! Drinking plenty of water has helped curb my cravings, and I have shed a few pounds without any extra effort! • Enhances brain function and boosts energy levels: I definitely noticed decreased fatigue, more focus and attention, and more mental clarity. That’s because water helps blood and oxygen flow more freely to my organs. • Lubricates your joints: Water helps hydrate the padding between our joints, making it easier to move around without pain. Tips for staying hydrated • Start your day by drinking a glass of water before you sit down to eat breakfast. • Drink a glass of water with every meal to help suppress your appetite and avoid overeating. • Keep a log of your water intake (on paper, on your phone, or using an app) to challenge yourself to hit your goal. • Bring a large bottle of water with you every-
where you go and take sips throughout the day. • If you don’t like the taste of water, you can add zero-calorie, natural flavor packets to your water, or infuse it with cucumber or citrus fruit. Certain medical conditions, such as heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, may require a restricted water intake to avoid fluid overload. Before you embark on this journey, it is best to talk to your doctor about personalized recommendations regarding your daily water intake. Dr. Valerie Lemaine, M.D., M.P.H., is a top-ranked, boardcertified plastic surgeon in private practice in Bloomington, MN. She received her M.D. from University of Montreal, Canada. She completed a reconstructive microsurgery fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Lemaine then accepted a staff position at the prestigious Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) where she taught, practiced and published clinical research. In 2018, she transitioned to private practice and joined Plastic Surgery Consultants and Minnesota Oncology.
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4 February 3-9, 2022
Metro Local pro teams diversify upper ranks
Vikings name Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as new GM
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah By Jim Handrigan Contributing Writer Calling it a new era, the Minnesota Vikings announced at a Thursday morning press conference that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will take the reins as the team’s new general manager. While Adofo-Mensah, 40, is being called the first Black general manager in the 61year history of the Vikings, it’s helpful to recall that Coach Dennis Green, in his last two years with the Vikings, unofficially filled that role as de facto general manager. “We are thrilled to welcome Kwesi to the Minnesota Vikings, said Vikings Owner/ President Mark Wilf in a statement through the team. “His unique background, variety of strong football experiences, vision for success, and leadership presence immediately stood out to us. “Kwesi is naturally committed and driven to building the best teams through consensus building and the pursuit of information. We believe he will immediately make us better as a team and organization,” said Wilf. Adofo-Mensuh’s previous NFL experience includes the Cleveland Browns, where he assisted GM Andrew Berry with managing the day-to-day operations. Before that, AdofoMensuh spent seven seasons in San Francisco working his way through the 49er ranks, eventually developing methods that
played a central role in helping the 49ers capture the conference title in 2019. Browns GM Berry spoke highly of Adofo-Mesuh, saying, “He’s a super, super-bright guy, and that comes across within the first two minutes that you meet him. Probably just as importantly, it’s just people skills. “Then the other thing was just his breadth of understanding of the sport and football operations,” Berry continued. “So even though he had formally just led the 49ers’ research group, you could tell that he understood team building, people, relationships and managerial skills at a much higher level.” During his six seasons in the front office of the San Francisco 49ers, Adofo-Mensah said he learned from Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh. “Thoughtful and intentional— that’s kind of what I got from Bill Walsh. I don’t think there’s been anybody in the history of the sport that has been more thoughtful and intentional than him. The detail that he planned at practice and what he was trying to get out of it, every letter of that organization had a reason why,” explained Adofo-Mensah. “I am extremely thankful to the Wilf family and the Vikings organization for giving me the opportunity to lead our football operations and join this respected franchise,” Adofo-Mensah said.
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“There is so much to appreciate about this organization—an existing nucleus of talent on the roster, top-notch facilities, passionate fans, and smart people throughout the building who are committed to winning. I look forward to partnering with our next head coach and our entire football operations staff to begin our work of bringing a Super Bowl to Vikings fans,” he said. When asked about the search for a head coach to replace former coach Mike Zimmer, Adofo-Mensah stated that management was looking for “leadership” and someone “who is going to value the collective over the individual,” as well as a solid football foundation. Adofo-Mensuh did not begin his career with the NFL. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native first worked with Taylor Woods Capital Management, a property management company based in Connecticut. The next step in his career was as vice president and executive director at Credit Suisse, a global investment bank based in Switzerland. The Athletic’s 40 under 40 included Adofo-Mensah as one of football’s youngest power brokers. After graduating from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, AdofoMensah later went on to receive his master’s degree in economics from Stanford University. Jim Handrigan welcomes reader responses to jhandrigan@ spokesman-recorder.com.
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Wolves’ new ‘chief experience officer’ sees endless possibility
Marquise Watts
By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer Since the untimely death of George Floyd and the racial reckoning of 2020 both locally and nationally, corporations, organizations and sports teams have pledged they would be increasing diversity among their senior staff, especially in C-suite positions. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, both under the new coownership of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, have been the leaders among local pro teams when it comes to creating new executive positions. Marquise Watts will begin this spring as the organization’s chief experience officer, a newly created and first-of-its-kind position. Watts has deep connections with the Twin Cities, dating back to his basketball playing days at University of Minnesota-Morris, and the Milwaukee native told the MSR that he looks forward to returning to the area in his new job. He will report to CEO Ethan Casson. “It’s unique,” said Watts of his new job. “[It] bridges over both basketball operations and the business [side]. I’m responsible for the players’ experience of what you would call ‘player programming.’ That would be anything that touches the players, [that] helps elevate their lives and elevate their resources.” The new Wolves-Lynx exec has extensive brand and sports management experience. Watts is currently with the Klutch Sports Group, where he led marketing and corporate partnership efforts, connecting mostly pro athlete clients with corporate brands. Before that, he oversaw the signings of some of the NBA’s and WNBA’s top players with Adidas. Also, Watts played an
integral role that launched Under Armour Basketball in its sports marketing initiatives. Pro athletes, especially Black athletes, want to be involved in the community in which they are primarily located but often don’t know how. Too often teams have been restrictive in where they could lend their efforts in improving life outside of sports. “For many, many years if you talk to current [and] past players, there was a gaping need,” recalled Watts of pro teams doing more to foster social change. “I’ve listened to players and been around them as clients or partners. I’ve listened to and seen what our
Courtesy of MN Timberwolves not a one-size fit. “I think what is unique [about the chief experience officer position] is…to be innovative to the rest of the league,” stated Watts, who added that the new job fits in his overall advocacy for education and closing the achievement gap since he left college. “I knew that I wanted to do something that would be impactful,” he continued. “I always knew that basketball and sport in general being my first love, I wanted to be able to see how I can live my passion and also be impactful.” Soon Watts will do this back in the Twin Cities. “I’m extremely humbled,” he said.
“The ability for us to grow and create something is always super exciting.” agents and other colleagues at agencies have said and done].” “The one great thing is, athletes and their families and teams do care,” he stressed. “So, if you don’t care about the community, and you don’t care [that] the players are part of the community, we all have to be looking to make better changes and better things. You can’t have one without the other.” His new job could involve “anything from how we interact, how we communicate with [the players], how internally we connect them to the community or interest that they want to be, how we interact with their agents, their brand partners and their families. “If you’re going to invest [in the players], you also have to invest in getting to know them, and also know what they need,” Watts said. “That’s
“From a legacy piece, I look at it twofold. The ability for us to grow and create something is always super exciting. It’s a blank canvas. Anything is possible, anything that we need to get done. I think that’s exciting for our players to know that [this] position was created to help the entire organization be better.” More importantly, “Every day it dawns on me as a Black man,” concluded Watts, “I hope that there are little boys and girls out there in the community that look like me or across the country or wherever that understand that these things are possible. Let’s do what we can to show that this becomes the norm and not the exception.” Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.
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February 3-9, 2022
looked like her,” Carr said. “We certainly stand on that legacy.” Black women floated as possible replacements for Breyer Continued from page 1 include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom Biden appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals Higher Heights advocates for the District of Columbia Cirfor normalizing Black woman leadership and says getting a Black woman named to the Supreme Court has been years in the making, Carr said. Fifty years ago last week Shirley Chisolm became the first Black woman to announce her candi- cuit; California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger; and dacy for the U.S. presidency. “Certainly, 50 years from now Judge Michelle Childs, whom she believed that America could Biden appointed to the D.C. be receptive to leadership that Circuit.
Court
for office; it is also dedicated to empowering Black women voters to communicate with local elected officials and resist misinformation about candidates and political issues. The PAC has a strong track record of endorsing Black candidates including Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. Carr describes Higher Heights as the “political home for Black women.”
Acknowledging the uncertain road to confirmation that would follow a Black woman’s nomination, Carr called on lawmakers to form coalitions and negotiate to ensure a fair process. “We are going to call out any indication of an intersec-
“Getting a Black woman named to the Supreme Court is years in the making.” tion of racism or sexism in this nomination process,” she said. Higher Heights isn’t solely focused on supporting and training Black women running
Glynda Carr
Courtesy of Higher Heights
CRT
“Apparently I’m teaching critical race theory,” mentions sex, though it’s not acted. Further, celebrated Black children’s author Craft wrote in response to a parent confused and illustrator Jerry Craft told NBC News that about the ban, citing the decades-old acahe received a message saying a school library demic and legal framework that teaches about Continued from page 1 in Texas pulled some of his books. “I was racism in America. The banning of works by Black authors caught off guard,” stated Craft, the Newbery are being pulled from school libraries under Medal-winning author of the 2019 graphic extends to American prisons. Andy Chan and Michelle Dillon, who serve on the board of the the pretext that they’re teaching critical race novel “New Kid.” theory. As noted in a recent report, most of the books targeted don’t teach critical race theory but are written by and about people of color. According to the American Library Association, its Office for Intellectual Freedom report“I felt bad for the kids because I know how nonprofit organization Books to Prisoners, said ed that 273 books were affected by censorship attempts in 2020, many with content highlight- much they love ‘New Kid’ and ‘Class Act.’ I the need for educational and self-empowering know what my school visits do… I felt bad if materials in prisons remains vast. ing race, gender and sexuality. In an op-ed, they contended that prisons Since September 2021, at least 230 chal- there was going to be some kids that would routinely impede access for arbitrary and lenges have been made against Black-authored not be able to take advantage of that.” NBC reported that the individual who sent biased reasons despite the need. The duo books. Tiffany D. Jackson, the author of the 2018 novel “Monday’s Not Coming” about the message to Craft hailed from Katy, Texas, a pointed out that it’s a practice long overdue missing girls of color, remains in the throes of a town near Houston that’s come under fire for for public examination. “A recent rejection from South Central attempts to limit the public’s access to books similar controversy. Correctional Facility (SCCF) in Clifton, Tenn. Yahoo! News Writer Tat Bellamy-Walker that teach about racism. In October, the Katy Independent School epitomizes this issue. In late December, SCCF reported that during a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, parents demanded District made headlines for temporarily yank- returned a package of rejected books to Books that officials ban Jackson’s work for “sexual ing two of Craft’s books from school libraries to Prisoners. “Inside were three books we had sent to an content.” In an email to Bellamy-Walker, Jack- and postponing his virtual visit. The books tell son, a Black woman, said the book discusses the stories of Black boys who experience rac- incarcerated reader and a note scrawled by a prison guard reading simply: ‘Malcolm X not friendship, dyslexia, community, healing, and ism in schools.
“For quite some time, Maya Angelou was called the most banned author in America.”
Fire Dept
“Station #24 was closed by the Fire Department in 1941, so the last vestiges of African American first responders were being erased,” Lange
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the lead attorney in the class action against the MFD, Lange’s investigation connected her to the last African American employed by the MFD in the 1940s. “His last name was Calhoun,” stated Lange. “He was fired during World War II for wearing a uniform shirt that was the wrong shade of blue, despite all the correct color shirts [according to Mr. Calhoun] being requisitioned by the military, causing the required color to not be available.” While the city council reinstated Calhoun’s position, he did not return due to fear of retaliation, rather opting to seek a job at Early firefighters at Station #24 the Postal Service. Courtesy of the Fire Hall Museum
Omicron Continued from page 1
high in the south-central section of Greater Minnesota. “We sampled about 67% of the population of the state,” said Dr. Tim Schacker, U of M Medical School vice dean for research. He told the MSR, “We’ve been measuring viruses in wastewater for the duration of the pandemic. “What we’re registering now is just that with the Omicron variants, where the levels are just extraordinarily high, we’re starting to see that in wastewater, especially in the Twin Cities.” The University began studying wastewater in April 2020 as a research project led by faculty at the U of M Medical School, Duluth campus. Wastewater can be tested for certain molecules (RNA) from SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. University researchers in published research in 2021 found that viral detection starts to increase
in wastewater approximately two weeks before clinical cases show up in hospitals and clinics. Dr. Glenn Simmons, now an assistant cancer biology professor at Cornell University, was involved in the study. He told the MSR, “COVID is a virus that can infect the gastrointestinal system. It not only affects the respiratory system but also the intestines. We just wanted to start looking at the wastewater in the different cities [and] in the different communities to get an indication whether there’s an outbreak or not.” However, both Simmons and Schacker quickly warned that despite their study’s results, COVID is very much still with us. According to Axios, the U.S. nationwide is now averaging about 650,000 new cases per day, and deaths from COVID-19 are rising—over 2,300 Americans per day on average, nearly a 30% increase over the past two weeks. A Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey in January found that Black (43%) and Latino (57%) adults are
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allowed.’ The offending book, ‘Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary,’ is a Scholastic biography intended for grades 7-12,” Chan and Dillon asserted. “Prison censorship is still shocking to us, even after years of work with Books to Prisoners, but it rarely surprises us now.” Headlee noted that even the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Maya Angelou endured censorship. “For quite some time, Maya Angelou was called the most banned author in America,” Headlee recalled. “Her book ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ was banned several times. She is an author who won the Pulitzer Prize and an Emmy. “But there was one case in which they claimed her book caused bitterness and hatred toward White people. So, here we are again. It has happened again and again. You can’t get through a decade in the United States without seeing books by Black authors banned.” Headlee said her book could offer some assistance. “It’s meant to diffuse some of the apprehension that people feel about talking about race without getting into an argument. And maybe make a little progress.” Stacy M. Brown is the NNPA Newswire national correspondent.
think about men from Station #24, I feel a tremendous sense of pride and appreciation for their sacrifice and struggles,” reflected Tyner. “They were
“They were pioneers who cracked open the door, serving the city when the city wasn’t necessarily serving them.” added. “In the federal case we established that for 30 years, no African American firefighters were hired after the closing of Station #24 and the firing of Mr. Calhoun,” added Lange. Positive change has arrived since the federal case desegregated the MFD, including the appointment of Minneapolis’ second Black fire chief Bryan Tyner in 2021. “When I
Dr. Glenn Simmons
Submitted photo
more likely than Whites (27%) to worry about the Omicron’s effects, especially in regards to missing work or getting seriously ill due to infection. KFF also found that over 70% of the public say that they are both tired (75%) and frustrated (73%) by the state of the pandemic, and 77%
Niara Savage welcomes reader responses to nsavage@ spokesman-recorder.com.
pioneers who cracked open the door, serving the city when the city wasn’t necessarily serving them.” On January 18, nearly one year to the date Councilmember Andrew Johnson nominated the property for preservation, the Minneapolis City Council approved the passage of Resolution for the landmark designation
(PLAN13750) of Fire Station No. 24, located at 4501 Hiawatha Ave. Judge Lange couldn’t be more pleased. “It is important to remember at Station #24 the men took their responsibility seriously and were often the first to arrive when multiple units were called to a fire.” Lange added, “They were the only segregated workers in the city, but they did not let segregation define them as men.” Note: City Councilmember Andrew Johnson is planning a public ceremony on February 18 to honor the city’s first Black fire captain, renaming Dight Avenue to Cheatham Avenue. Julie Gordon welcomes reader responses to jgordon@ spokesman-recorder.com.
automatically in the hospitals.” “We haven’t done nearly as well [previously] as we have with this current virus,” Simmons added. “I think we’ve going to have [the virus] in some form or fashion” for the foreseeable future. He also dismissed the herd immunity theory: “I don’t think relying exclusively on people getting naturally infected and it just being okay is going to be the best way.” “I can’t predict if there will be a new variant,” Schacker said, adding that people still should get vaccinated. “I would hope that [the study] would help to convince some people who Tim Schacker Courtesy U of M Medical School have not been vaccinated to get fully vaccinated and boosted because we see it as inevitable that most people know that if you are fully vaccinated across the country will get the virus. and boosted you will be protected Simmons says he doesn’t believe from serious disease, you’re less likely that the U of M study will, in the to go to the hospital, you’re 20 times short run, convince people “because less likely to die of the disease.” the information doesn’t really add up. We can monitor what’s happening… Charles Hallman welcomes reader but that doesn’t necessarily mean responses to challman@spokesmanthat a lot of people are going to be recorder.com.
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612 Jungle Black Business SPOTLIGHT By Ashley Lauren Contributing Writer The benefits of yoga are priceless to Gabrielle Roberts, the owner of 612 Jungle yoga studio located in Uptown Minneapolis. “The ability to create space between you and the things that happened to you and to focus on just being present is something that I don’t think you can put a dollar tag on,” she said. Roberts grew up in South Minneapolis and attended South High School. She graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2013. “When I was in college, I started teaching Zumba, I think my sophomore year, so that would be 2019, and I didn’t get into yoga until 2016.” At that time, she decided to sign up for teacher training. This business has an interesting backstory: “There’s a woman named on Instagram, her name is Sanaa Jaman [ladydork], that was the first person of color that I actually connected with that I saw doing yoga, so she sparked my interest for signing up for teacher training,” Roberts recalled. The yoga teacher training enlightened her. “Once I went through teacher training, I loved it. I noticed so many changes mentally and physically in myself and I just thought my life would’ve been so much different if I had access to yoga growing up,” Roberts said. As
just because it was so lifechanging for me.” There’s an accessibility issue in BIPOC communities, she said. Two years later, Roberts decided to live her dream and became a yoga entrepreneur. “I started my business in August 2018,” she said. The yoga studio is located in Uptown Minneapolis, on 29th and Garfield. The studio is a very welcoming place that Roberts worked hard to create. “I just did it honestly,” she explained. “I was renting space and I wanted a space that I could utilize when I wanted to utilize it and that encompassed the feeling that I get when I do yoga.” Building a successful business isn’t easy, Roberts noted. “I took my savings and found a spot that wasn’t too much, but it was bare grounds that I could work and build from.” The investment has yielded exemplary results, she said. When customers come to 612 Jungle, they can expect a variety of yoga classes. Roberts said, “I have 13 different staff; I’m the only owner—I think about 10 of them have gone through my yoga teacher training program.” The staff members reflect a diverse demographic. “It’s been about a year and a half. So far we’ve trained over 100 yogis, and I’m so grateful that 75% of them are women of color, which is something you don’t see anywhere,” she said.
Business Black-owned yoga studio promotes health and wellness It’s not like scholarships from donations, it’s just me donating my time,” she said. “The issue in general is that people are unable to afford the education. I don’t know many people that can just throw up $3,500 or $4,000 and want to better themselves. Wellness shouldn’t be a luxury.” Roberts is passionate about yoga and its benefits. “I think it’s something that we need. Again, as a Black woman, I wish that I had access to yoga when I was 10 years old or when I was in high school,” she said. Yoga has the potential to help with our mental health. “I hope to continue to spread yoga to BIPOC communities. I hope to make it accessible, Gabrielle Roberts and I also plan to franchise and
“My main thing is to spread yoga and empower people that look like me.”
Photos courtesy of 612 Jungle
from my studio, the first thing that people point out is that they’ve never been to a place where they didn’t feel judged and that they felt so welcomed and invited,” Roberts said. “You’ll be able to practice and experience a practice like yoga, meditation, that you can relate to,” Roberts said. 612 Jungle offers six different classes that people can enjoy. Individuals can drop in or attend classes online. Roberts added, “We also have virtual classes, so if you’re not comfortable coming into the studio you can still get the same exact experiences at home, and if you’re unable to attend classes at a specific time we have a class
CELEBRATE
library with over 200 classes.” The most popular class is “Trappin Hard,” which is a dynamic hot Vinyasa class that lasts 60 minutes. “My advice for the future is to invest in yourself, and when I say invest in yourself, I don’t mean monetarily,” Roberts said. “I mean invest in your well being and mental space. Once you have you set, nothing can stop you.” For more information visit www.612jungle.com or call 612-615-8614. Ashley Lauren welcomes reader responses to alauren@ spokesman-recorder.com.
BLACKMAAHMG HISTORY Virtual Events Erase: The Movement To Exclude 5:30 - 6:30pm Black People From History February Discussion with Dr. Yohuru Williams, University of St. Thomas and Dr. Keith Mayes, University of Minnesota. Moderated by Tina Burnside, MAAHMG Cofounder & Curator.
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The History of African Americans 5:30 - 7:00pm in Southeast Minnesota February Discussion with MAAHMG History Fellow Mica Anders about her research and exhibit that is on display at MAAHMG.
Yoga teacher graduates a result, she was motivated to launch a yoga studio. She added, “I wanted something that was accessible, affordable, and relatable to people in my community that they could experience,
Yoga teacher training can be expensive, but Roberts is focused on making the program accessible. “I’m very flexible with payment plans, and I also put 10% of my students through training for free.
open in different states. My main thing is to spread yoga and empower people that look like me,” Roberts said. When customers stop by, they can expect to be embraced. “If you read reviews
Artificial Intelligence & The Black Experience
6:00 - 6:30pm
Discussion with AI expert Elizabeth Adams about opportunities AI presents for the Black community and how we can address challenges of data privacy, digital inclusion, and algorithmic bias.
Artist Talk: seangarrison in conversation with Seitu Jones
5:30 - 6:30pm
MAAHMG Artist-In-Residence seangarrison will discuss his exhibit Abstracproseality: Visual Notations from Dark to Light which is on display at MAAHMG.
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Black Joy: Strategies for Improving 5:00 - 7:00pm Mental and Physical Health February Discussion with Marlee James, LPCC, founder of Reviving Roots Therapy & Wellness; Clarence Jones, Outreach Director for HueMAN; Phillip McGraw, filmmaker and executive director of V-Fest; and Natalie Walters, life coach and facilitator. Moderated by Tina Burnside.
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1256 Penn Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Find event links on our Facebook page and website.
maahmg.org
February 3-9, 2022
Arts & Culture
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A chat with the stars of ‘A House Divided’ By Charles Hallman Contributing Writer Now in its fourth season on ALLBLK, “A House Divided” continues its focus on the members of the wealthy, esteemed and scandalous Sanders family. They are the direct descendants of Letty Sanders, a slave who later became the richest Black woman in the newly formed city of Los Angeles. After the death of the family’s matriarch, secrets and scandals are uncovered and emerge about the Sanders family, who are working hard to survive and keep their legacy alive. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs plays Cameron Sanders, Sr., who heads the Sanders family while he navigates an international extortion plot. LisaRaye McCoy plays Alexis, who is battling her biggest adversary Carissa (Demetria McKinney). McCoy’s works include Diamond in Ice Cube’s directorial debut film “The Players Club”; Neesee Jones in “All of Us” (The CW); and Keisha Greene in “Single Ladies” (VH1) among others. She is also the star and executive producer of her reality show, “LisaRaye: The Real McCoy,” on TVOne. Jacobs has appeared in such classic films as “Claudine” (1974), “Cooley High” (1975), and “Roots” (1977) and was one of the top leads in “Welcome Back, Kotter” (1975-79). A three-time NAACP Award winner and nominee, Jacobs received an NAACP Image Award nomination for his riveting portrayal of Joe Jackson, the father of the Jackson
LisaRaye McCoy family in “The Jacksons: An American Dream” (1992). He also earned a 2021 Daytime Emmy nomination for playing the family patriarch in “A House Divided.” Both McCoy and Jacobs talked to the MSR last month. Asked if there were any concerns about negative images the fictional Black family who owns a bank may project on the small screen, Jacobs noted, “There are a lot of variables that are in the show as well as what you see.” McCoy continued, “It showcases that some of the things that you know in our life as Black people that we go through [are] not any different than what our [White] counterparts go through. That’s what this family is showcasing is to go for the gusto, get the all-American Dream, and you may have to get dirty and grimy in the midst of it.” She continued, “When I
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs read Alexis, which by the way was supposed to be a cameo, by the time that they saw me and Lawrence’s character together, the chemistry was so natural, they wrote me [in]. She [Alexis] was well-written by our creator, producer and director Dan Garcia. “I need to make her different from my [previous] characters,” she added. “I got to give her a different walk of life. I have to give her some different nuances and a different look.” Both actors pointed out that “A House Divided” is full of lies, scandals and hidden truths. “We’re actors, we’re performers. We get a chance to play and bring [these] characters to life; that’s our job,” McCoy said. “When you get to play a fictitious type of character where you can bring some drama and some realism to the performance…it gives you depth.” “We don’t see Black people
doing this a lot in the media,” Jacobs added. “All the roles that we have done, mixed with our experience in life and our maturity, allows us to want to make every character that we play different.”
Paula Jai Parker, Parker McKenna Posey and Terrell Carter. “We’re in our fourth season,” McCoy declared. “The fans have shown up…and they like it. We got an incredible cast. We‘ve worked together long enough to become family. So, we are entertaining you guys in a way… because we all get along.” The pandemic, as expected, is a part of life for McCoy, Jacobs, and the rest of the “A House Divided” cast and crew. Jacobs said they are required to get tested three times a week “and people are wearing face masks” when they are not on scene. “We’re keeping our distances and everybody’s just following the hardcore health and safety protocols.” Both actors are as busy as ever. “I’ve been busy as a writer, director and producer, including recently working on a couple of movies,” Jacobs said. “I’m going to direct ‘Lucky Valentine,’
Season four of “A House Divided” premiered on January 13.
with my work,” he said. McCoy is the host of a crime series, “Murder in The Thirst,” and stars on “The Family Business”—both on BET—and co-hosts “Cocktails with Queens” with Vivica A. Fox, Syleena Johnson and Claudia Jordan on the Fox Soul streaming channel. “We talk about all things trending and we give our opinion about that,” McCoy pointed out. The veteran actor also is a successful businesswoman with her own homestyle furniture and mattress line, and a clothing line as well. “I’m having fun in life,” she said. “I’m just diversifying my portfolio. I’m very much in a place just really taking the reins of my career.” ALLBLK, formerly known as UMC since it was launched in 2014, is the first streaming service created for Black television shows and films.
Photos courtesy of Strategic Heights Media
Other cast members include which is an action movie. I’ve McKinney, Taja V. Simpson, written a movie about the life Deborah Lacey, Brad James, of Al Sharpton. I’ve been happy
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesmanr-recorder.com.
Favorite TV shows featuring upper-class Black Life By Nadine Matthews Contributing Writer
growing number of series featuring rich but ultimately deliciously unhappy families, this With “A House Divided” one focuses on a vineyard and (see story above), “Our Kind of wine company-owning Black People” set in Oak Bluffs, and family, the Kings, centered in “Kings of Napa,” about a Black the storied American region winery-owning dynasty in the known for turning out some of storied California region cur- the finest wines in the world. rently on the air, it seems that TV is finally broadening its “Facts of Life” This wasn’t a predomilens on the Black experience. However, there is a signifi- nantly Black cast or creator cant history of stories told on show, but this comedy about screen about Black characters a group of girls attending an that centered them within elite boarding school did perthe walls of wealth and rela- haps bring the first bougie tive power. Take a trip down Black teen to our television memory lane and discover screens with the sensitive, new favorites with the high- perky Tootie, who lived on her roller skates for the first few lights below. seasons of the long-running show. The actress who played “Kings Of Napa” The latest entrant in the Tootie, Kim Fields, went on to
the Lee Daniels-produced drama chronicles the lives of a wealthy Oak Bluffs family. “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” The star of the show, Will Starring Yaya DaCosta, DebSmith, was far from bougie, bie Morgan, Morris Chestnut. but his extended family, the not-so-subtly-named Banks, “Scandal” Well-bred D.C. socialite who lived in the elite town, was. With stay-at-home mom Olivia Pope is a high-powered Vivian, Judge Philip Banks, political consultant and busiand a trio of private-school- ness owner who has the heart educated siblings, they were of the married president of the United States, but not his the very definition of it. hand. “Greenleaf” A nighttime family drama “Greys Anatomy” Another Shondaland vehion OWN centered around the Greenleaf family, made cle, from its outset it featured wealthier than everyone in Dr. Burke, who was from a their community from the well-off family. Later we met megachurch that they run, but Dr. Katherine Avery and her no happier or holier than any- son Jackson Avery whose one else. Starring Lynn Whit- family owned not only a prifield, Deborah Joy Winans, vate plane, but a whole hospital at one point. Keith David. has fallen quite far indeed.
Lynn Whitfield as First Lady Mae in “Greenleaf” Courtesy of OWN play the sassy Regine on the stairs neighbor Helen, who beloved comedy “Living Sin- was also Black, dripping in pearls, diamonds and furs? In gle” later in her career. this mainstream comedy fea Courtesy of OWN turing the “The Jeffersons” A breakthrough in televi- irascible (and hilarious) busision that hasn’t been seen ness owner George Jefferson since. Who can forget main and his wife “Weezie” and the character Louise and her up- snappy maid Florence living in an Upper East Side “deluxe apartment in the sky.” The series was a hit and aired on CBS for many years. It also brought us our first young bougie Black couple on TV in nice guy Lionel Jefferson and girl next door Jenny Willis.
“Noughts and Crosses” Set in the fantasy world of Albion, an analogue of current day England, the tables are turned in terms of race. The melanized citizens of Albion, the Crosses, rule over the melanin-less Noughts. Told mainly from the point of view of Persephone, daughter of one of Albion’s highest ranking government officials and one half of a young star-crossed (racially speaking) couple, it illustrates the brutal impact of “Cross-supremacy” on its Nought citizens.
“The Cosby Show” The most popular of them all. Crossover hit featuring the Doctor Cliff Huxtable and lawyer Claire Huxtable and their five kids (the eldest was mostly off screen) living in their beautiful Brooklyn brownstone. The show was a fictional, middle-class precursor to the Obamas and also seemed a harbinger of a “post- “Our Kind of People” Very loosely based on the racial” America in its heyday. That dream, like the star of non-fiction book by journalthe show comedian Bill Cosby, ist Lawrence Otis Graham,
“Empire” This long-running series starring Terence Howard and Taraji P. Henson charted the sordid lives of a broken but wealthy family who struggle over controlling their music empire. “The Haves and The Have Nots” Tyler Perry’s long-running nighttime soap plays a lot more like a daytime serial with its extremely over-the-top but entirely entertaining and unforgettable characters, especially the wealthy but wickedly wily Veronica Harrington. Nadine Matthews welcomes reader responses to nmatthews@ spokesman-recorder.com.
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Simon Burris *Africana Diaspora Black History Month Crossword www.simonburris700.com
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Across 1. *American duchess of Sussex 7. * Senator ___ Booker from New Jersey 11. The state 55 miles from Russia 12. Suffix with buck 13. *Pres. Clinton's inauguration poet: 1993
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34 35 36 37 38 The MSR celebrates Black History 21. *Beyonce's lavish party, informally Month every day of the year and enjoys 40 39 a living legacy as one of the oldest 23.state’s *"Hit the Road Jack" singer Charles Black businesses. 42 41 Like last year, many of the Snaky events willfishMidtown Global Market Black History 24. Month Celebration take place online due to the ongoing @Midtown Global Market lo*"___ Sings12-3 the pm Blues" movie pandemic. For in-person25. events, rememACROSS ber to check the venue’s COVID-19 pro- cated at 920 E. Lake St.. Minneapolis 3. Hall of Fame pitcher Perry 1. *American duchess of Sussex 27. *Sidney Poitier's group in "To Sir, with Love" Midtown Global Market invites commutocols ahead of time. 4. *Haitian Salvation Army: abbr. 7. * Senator ___ Booker from New Jersey Below we’ve highlighted 10. "Forgive the sins of my ___" (Psalm 25:7) film a few of nity members to celebrate Black history and 5. Wanted-poster letters 11. The state 55 miles from Russia culture with poetry, music, history lessons the events taking place this week, and 6. *Singer spiritual Wilson & others, briefly 12. Suffix buckTell It on the Mountain" 14. with and shopping with local Black vendors. *"___ Passport, for example we will continue to roll 30. out events each 7. Middling mark 13. *Pres. Clinton’s inauguration poet: 1993 The vendors include New Start Fashweek in February. 8. ______ ando, Florida (city) 15. *Black Nationalist Leadership: abbr. 19. 31. Thumbs-down *Vice President Harris' monogram Share your events with us by submit- ions, Baked Brands candles, Black State 9. *Alex Haley classic 16. *Egyptian king (2 Kings 17:4) ting them to msrnewsonline@spokesman- Fair representatives, Friends of the Glob20. East 33. Took the bait York (city) initials 10. “Forgive the sins of my ___” (Psalm 25:7) 17. *Initials for singer Turner al Market, Sista Scouts, Cultural Wellness recorder.com or upload it free-of-charge at 14. *”___ Tell It on the Mountain” spiritual 18. United (2 wds.) Hub, and The Art Shoppe’s feaspokesman-recorder.com/events. 21. 34. *PresidentHealth *The Fresh Prince of __-Air" from Honolulu (Leo) 19. Thumbs-down 21. *Beyonce’s lavish party, informally tured artist Juan Parker and Simba Craft20. East York (city) initials 23. *”Hit the Road Jack” singer Charles ware. 11-pointer DJ D.I.M.E. will share her mixologist 22. *Home 39. Scrabble tiles state of Jesse Owens & Joe Louis 21. *The Fresh Prince of __-Air” 24. Snaky fish skills and a passion for music as host for 22. *Homeinitials state of Jesse Owens & Joe Louis 25. *”___ the Blues” movie Ezzard Charles' day. 24. Sings 40. *Chicago the *Champ boxer rapper/actor 24. *Champ boxer Ezzard Charles’ initials 27. *Sidney Poitier’s group in “To Sir, At noon, Auntie Beverly Storyteller will Erase: The Movement to Exclude Black 25. *North African country with Love” film 25. 41. *North African country *Tennis champion Arthur engage attendees of all ages as she shares People from History 26. *Congressman Clayton Powell, Jr. and others 30. Passport, for example 5:30–6:30pm @ Minnesota African her love for the oral tradition through a 26. 42. *Congressman Clayton Powell, Jr. and others *Bermuda or Jamaica,, for one 28. *Cyrenian-African who carried the 31. *Vice President Harris’ monogram American Heritage Museum & Gallery, 30-minute Black History program of stocross of Jesus (Matthew 27:32) 33. Took the bait 1256 Penn Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN ries appropriate for all ages. 28. *Cyrenian-African who carried the cross of 29. *”May we forever ___, true to our God, true 34. *President from Honolulu (Leo) Also, Heart and Soul Drum Academy 55411 Down to our native land.” Negro National Anthem 39. Scrabble tiles 11-pointer Jesus (Matthew 27:32) Kick off Black History Month with this will perform and share their approach to 31. The _ _ Royals (MLB): familiarly 40. *Chicago rapper/actor building bridges across___" communities with discussion featuring Dr.1. Yohuru Williams *Kobe Bryant "The Black 29. *"May forever ___, true to our true 32. Hong KongGod, Christians Institute, briefly 41. *Tennis championwe Arthur of University of St. Thomas, and Dr. Keith the Art of Drumming. Free. 35. Stadiun cheer 42. *Bermuda or Jamaica,, for one For more info, visit midtownglobalmarto our native land." Negro National Anthem 2. ofFeelings of zest Mayes of the University Minnesota. 36. *African tailless monkey The discussion will center on how to make ket.org. 37. Endings for “tab” or “wah” DOWN 31. The _ _ Royals (MLB): familiarly Halland of the Fame pitcher Perry American history more 3. inclusive 38. *Botswana/Mali/Liberia: 1. *Kobe Bryant “The Black ___” importance of teaching Black history ev32. Hong 4. *Haitian Salvation Army: abbr. African briefly Union trio 2. Feelings of zest Kong Christians Institute, ery day, not just in February. Moderated by Tina Burnside, MAAHMG cofounder & “The History 35. Stadiun cheer 5. Wanted-poster lettersof African Americans in Southeast Minnesota” curator. Free. 5:30–6:30pm @ briefly Minnesota African For more info, visit maahmg.org. 36. *African tailless monkey 6. *Singer Wilson & others, American Heritage Museum & Gallery, 1256 Penn Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN Endings for Michael "tab" or home for37. a reading by author Kle-"wah" Middling “How it Feels to be Free”7. Film Screening mark ber-Diggs, the winner of the Max Ritvo 7-8:30 pm @ Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broad- 55411 38. *Botswana/Mali/Liberia: African Union trio 8. _ 55411 _ _ ando, Florida MAAHMG (city) History Fellow Mica Anders Poetry Prize. Diggs’ “Worldly Things” of- Artificial way Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota Intelligence & The Black Experience fers guidance on ways forward—toward Savor the stories of six African Ameri- will discuss her research and exhibit that 6–6:30pm @ Minnesota African American 9. *Alex Haley classic radical kindness and a socially responsible Heritage Museum & Gallery, 1256 Penn Ave. can entertainers who blazed a trail and is on display at MAAHMG. Free. For more info, visit maahmg.org. poetics. “Let’s create folklore side-by- N., Minneapolis, MN 55411 changed American culture through their side,” he urges, asking us to aspire to a films, fashion, music and politics: Lena AI expert Elizabeth Adams will discuss opform of nurturing defined by tenderness, portunities that artificial intelligence presents Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diato a kind of community devoted to mutual for the Black community and how to address hann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier. prosperity. Free. $5 fee through mspfilm.org; free for those Fireside Reading Series: “Worldly challenges of data privacy, digital inclusion, For more info and to register, go to bit.ly/Fire- and algorithmic bias. Free. who live in zip codes 55411, 55412, 55430 Things” by Michael Kleber-Diggs 7-9 pm via Zoom sideDiggs. For more info, visit www.mnhs.org/ For more info, visit maahmg.org. Cozy up in the comfort of your own event/8976.
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Employment & Legals Filed in District Court State of Minnesota Jan 21, 2022
27-ET-CV-21-103 Rev. March 2021
State of Minnesota
District Court
County of Hennepin
Fourth Judicial District
State of Minnesota
Case Type: Personal Injury
County of Hennepin
District Court Fourth Judicial District
The Honorable: Christian M. Saude SUMMONS
Freeman Thompson,
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Plaintiff,
Robert Derek Burgess,
v.
in Relation to Certificate of
Linda Hubbard,
Title No. 1143858 issued for l
Defendant.
and in the County of Hennepin and State of Minnesota and
THIS SUMMONS IS DIRECTED TO the above-named Defendant:
legally described as follows: Lot 14 except the East or rear 49 feet thereof, “East View Heights” Addition to Minneapolis
1. YOU ARE BEING SUED. The Plaintiff has started a lawsuit against you.
Case:
Robert Derek Burgess
there may Ad be noRun: court file number on this-summons. 2/3/2022 2/10/2022
Ad Options: --
2. YOU MUST REPLY WITHIN 20 DAYS TO PROTECT YOUR
Petition or the Report of Examiner of Titles as a party who may have an interest
RIGHTS. You must give or mail to the person who signed this summons a
in the above-described land affected by the Order below. If you object to entry of the Order, you must show cause, if there is any, why this Court should not enter the Order. To object to entry of the Order, you must file an Answer, and pay the
written response called an Answer within 20 days of the date on which you received this Summons. You must send a copy of your Answer to the person who signed this summons located at:
filing fee or an order waiving the filing fee, by March 3, 2022 (“the deadline”). No
Brantingham Law Office
response or action is required if you have no objection to the Order. If you do
2200 E Franklin Avenue, Suite 202
not file an Answer, the Order may issue with no further notice to you.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
ORDER:
3. YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written
That the Registrar of Titles, upon the filing with the Registrar of a certified copy
response to the Plaintiff’s Complaint. In your Answer you must state whether
of this Order, show by memorial on Certificate of Title No. 1143858 that Quit
you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the
Claim Deed Document No. T4054246 is null and void, and cancel Certificate
Plaintiff should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must
of Title No. 1143858, and issue a new Certificate of Title to the owner as shown
say so in your Answer.
on now-canceled Certificate of Title No. 1098643, free from all memorials now
4. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT SEND A WRITTEN
appearing on the present Certificate of Title, the last of which is Document No.
RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT TO THE PERSON WHO SIGNED
T5906985, and free also from the memorial of this Order.
THIS SUMMONS. If you do not Answer within 20 days, you will lose this case.
If you choose to object, your Answer must be e-filed by your attorney. If you do not have an attorney, you may e-file the Answer, or the Answer may be filed by mailing it to: Examiner of Titles, A-701, Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55487-0071 with a check payable to District Court Administrator for $297.00 for the filing fee, or with an order waiving
You will not get to tell your side of the story, and the Court may decide against you and award the Plaintiff everything asked for in the complaint. If you do not want to contest the claims stated in the complaint, you do not need to respond. A default judgment can then be entered against you for the relief requested in the complaint.
the fee. The Answer must be received by the Examiner of Titles by the deadline
5. LEGAL ASSISTANCE. You may wish to get legal help from a lawyer. If you
date. If you have questions about these procedures, you may contact the Examiner
do not have a lawyer, the Court Administrator may have information about places
of Titles office by phone at 612-348-3191 or by email at Ex.Titles@hennepin.us
where you can get legal assistance. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order to Show Cause and a copy of the Petition be served:
still provide a written Answer to protect your rights or you may lose the case. 6. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The parties may agree to or be
(a) at least 20 days before the deadline upon the above-named parties residing in
ordered to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process under Rule 114 of
this State in the manner provided by law for the service of Summons in a civil action;
the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. You must still send your written response
(b) at least 20 days before the deadline upon each of the above-named nonresi-
the Complaint even if you expect to use alternative means of resolving this dispute.
dents and foreign corporations, partnerships, or associations that cannot be found for service in the state by personal service out-of-state, or in the alternative, by two weeks published notice of the Order to Show Cause and by sending a copy of this Order and the Petition at least 2427-ET-CV-21-103 days before the deadline by first class mail to the non-resident’s or foreign entity’s out-of-state post office address;
Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 1/21/2022 2:08 PM
(c) upon each of the above-named parties who cannot be found by two weeks IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order to Show Cause and a copy of the published notice of the Order to Show Cause and by sending a copy of this Order Petition be served:
and(a)the Petition atbefore least the 24deadline days before deadlineparties by first classinmail to the at least 20 days upon thethe above-named residing this State in last the manner provided by law for the service of Summons in a civil action;
(b) at address least 20 days the deadline each ofanother the above-named nonresidents andand the known of before the party and byupon sending copy of this Order
foreign corporations, partnerships, or associations that cannot be found for service in the state by personal service out-of-state, in the alternative, by twoby weeks noticeto ofthe the Order to of Petition at least 24 daysorbefore the deadline firstpublished class mail address Show Cause and by sending a copy of this Order and the Petition at least 24 days before the deadline by first class mail to the non-resident’s or foreign entity’s out-of-state post office such party as stated on the Certificate of Title if an address is so stated; address; (c) upon each of the above-named parties who cannot be found by two weeks published (d) upon a dissolved, withdrawn, or revoked entity governed by Minn. notice of the Order to Show Cause and by sending a copy ofbusiness this Order and the Petition at least 24 days before the deadline by first class mail to the last known address of the party and by Stat. Chapters 302A, 322C, in the provided by sending another copy of this303, Order317A, and the321, Petition at leastor 24323A days before themanner deadline by first class mail to the address of such party as stated on the Certificate of Title if an address is so stated; Stat. 5.25. [Note: deadline date on the Order to Show Cause must be at Minn. (d) upon a dissolved, withdrawn, or revoked business entity governed by Minn. Stat. Chapters 317A, or 323A in theSecretary manner provided by Minn. Stat. § 5.25. least 30302A, days303, after date321, of 322C, mailing by the of State.] [Note: deadline date on the Order to Show Cause must be at least 30 days after date of mailing by the Secretary of State.]
Approved: Susan Ledray Dated: January 21, 2022 Approved: Susan Ledray of Titles Dated: January 21, 2022 Examiner Examiner of Titles Phone: 612-348-3191 Phone: 612-348-3191 Email: Ex.Titles@hennepin.us Email: Ex.Titles@hennepin.us
Larry E. Reed
JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT COURT
Attorney for Petitioner
PO Box 43596
Address
Minneapolis, MN 55443 City, State, Zip Code 612-384-0076
Phone Number
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder February 3, 10, 2022
Filed in District Court State of Minnesota Jan 26, 2022 State of Minnesota
District Court
Ramsey County
Second Judicial District Court File Number: 62-HR-CV-21-1261 Case Type: Harassment
ANNE MARIE SENKLER
Notice of Issuance of Harassment
vs
Restraining Order by Publication
Shamona Henre Mullins To Respondent: YOU ARE NOTIFIED that a Harassment Restraining Order has been issued on December 3, 2021.
Carnegie was later inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (2001) and Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2014) two years after he died at age 92 in 2012. As expected, Carnegie saw racism throughout his lifetime, but according to
The Plaintiffs Complaint against you is attached to this summons. Do not throw
brought under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 508 or 508A. You were identified in the
Susan T. Ledray, Examiner of Titles
Contunued from page 10
respond toSize: this lawsuit even though 3.4167it may x 13not yet be filed with the Court and
A Petition and Report of Examiner of Titles are filed in the above-entitled case,
By:
View
these papers away. They are official papers that affect your rights. You must 27-ET-CV-21-103
TO: Clarence Champion; Jerry Williams
A hearing has not been scheduled. You may request a hearing on this matter by filing a Request for Hearing HAR301 with the Court within twenty (20) days of the date this Notice is published. You may get a copy of the HRO from the court administrator’s office at the following address: Ramsey County Juvenile and Family Justice Center 25 W. 7th Street Room B122 Saint Paul, MN 55102
Failure to appear at a scheduled hearing or to get a copy of the Harassment Restraining Order will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court’s order. Donald W. Harper Juvenile and Family Court Administrator Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder February 3, 2022
9
Court File Number: 27-CV-22-876
No. 27-ET-CV-21-103 In the Matter of the Petition of
February 3-9, 2022
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder January 27, February 3, 10, 2022
SOE
changer for the players. “They’re really aware of Contunued from page 10 what’s going on around them,” said Wieck. “We had a big game and the verdict Case: Thompson vs Hubbard 27-CV-22-876 Bulldogs roster. Size: 3.4167 x 10 came out when we were on AdWieck Run: said 1/27/22 2/10/22 the bus. When we got off the - Duluth Ad Options: -area always will be recruiting the bus…you could see hurt territory, but the Twin Cities in all of our guys, and you will be prime recruiting terri- could see it in their eyes. tory as well. “The Twin Cities “A couple of guys on the mean St. Paul, Minneapolis, team approached me and and all the surrounding com- wanted to make a statement munities around there,” he during the national anthem,” explained. he continued. “Our team de“We’re just trying to iden- cided to just stay in the locktify the best players, and I er room that night during the think we’ve been able to real- national anthem. Our entire ly connect on a personal level. team supported each other. It’s just trying to really build “I think the biggest thing is that relationship throughout [that] it really opened up a lot the recruiting process.” of conversation on our team,” The 6’-4” Brown, a Park said Wieck. “We support Center grad, is the first Twin each other. There’s a very Cities-area player Wieck unified front on our team.” signed to play at UMD. Back to the Bulldogs on “Duluth isn’t the most di- court play, “I think we’ve verse place in general,” noted always been a pretty highthe coach. “Our student body powered offensive team,” isn’t the most diverse student said Wieck. “We’ve got five body, so for us in the recruit- guys out there that can reing process, we just had to ally score but also really be really upfront with that. smart players. We’ve got We really talked about that six or seven guys out there openly with Joshua and with that can score 20 points on a the entire [Brown] family. given night. “Joshua was really the first “They’ve done a great job one to really jump on board,” of just trying to work togethadmitted Wieck. “I think he er, trying to get the best shot was really the springboard possible. They compete their to allowing us to continue to butts off every single night.” recruit a really diverse roster. Wieck pledged that the Joshua Brown really helped Twin Cities remain on his open those doors for us.” recruiting radar. “We’ve got As successful as UMD two more guys coming from has been on the court this the Twin Cities next year,” he season, the Bulldogs have said. “It’s been so far, so good.” been successful in enacting social change as well. The Charles Hallman welcomes Jacob Rittenhouse not-guilty reader responses to challman@ verdict last fall was a game- spokesman-recorder.com.
his daughter he never allowed it to hold him down, whether it was hockey, business, or life in general living in Canada. “My father’s status as an athlete changed how he was treated in our community,” recalled Bernice. “My father was clearly a dreamer, but he also was a doer at the same time.” He “navigated around racism,” she said proudly. “His achievements are so overwhelming, I have literally pages upon pages of fine print of all the awards and accolades and whatnot that my father has received.” A Canadian museum once included Carnegie in its NHL hockey exhibit “even though he wasn’t an NHL hockey player,” added Bernice. “I came from a positive family,” she continued. “My father could have been angry and stayed stuck. He chose to go forward. He chose to make the most of the skills of hockey—the leadership, teamwork—because hockey is both an individual and a team sport. His attitude was always an attitude of what can I do to make a difference.
Abercombie Contunued from page 10
“He was an amazing speaker,” said Bernice. “One of the things that he said frequently was ‘I want to leave this place better than I found it. I want to leave this world a better place than I found it.’” Carnegie also wrote a book, “A Fly in a Pail of Milk, The Herb Carnegie Story.” Bernice said the book “really was a gift to his children, even though it’s a gift to other people as well. We released the second version. The first part is still my father’s writing, and then I got to write part two, in which I get to talk about my father, talk about some of the things that he said in his
book and other stories.” The Herbert M. Carnegie Future Aces Foundation that Bernice co-founded in 1987 is largely based on her father’s guiding principles, and in January she co-founded the Carnegie Institute’s firstever conference in Boston to discuss how to advance change in hockey’s culture. Herb Carnegie is in 13 different halls of fame, but not the Hockey Hall of Fame. “He was a man before his time,” concluded Bernice Carnegie of her father. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.
players,” said the assistant coach. “You’ll learn the X’s and O’s, but that’s the easy part. But just being a good person and how to communicate, that’s usually the hardest part. “I think I’m a very, very good person that’s really knowing and relating to the athletes,” surmised Abercombie. He said he doesn’t see himself as a trailblazer but one day sees his name on the Stanley Cup. “I don’t know in what capacity—a development coach, as a skills coach, an assistant coach, a head coach, a GM,” he predicted. And Abercombie has his mother to thank.
understand how they plan a practice on a day-to-day basis [and] how they communicate with players. Even better, how they communicate with each other day to day. That was one of the greatest moments of my coaching life to this point. “We’re not far off Division I,” said Abercombie on coaching the Mustangs. Stevenson is a Division III school founded in 1947, located in Owings Mills outside of Baltimore. He says he’s learning every day to be the best coach he can be. Charles Hallman welcomes “I think I have what it reader responses to challman@ takes, especially with the spokesman-recorder.com. way you communicate with
Writers invited to join the Spokesman-Recorder The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, weekly African American community newspaper (print and online), welcomes inquiries from freelance writers interested in writing compelling news stories and features. Looking for writers intimately familiar with the African American experience, interested in telling its stories. Experience in journalistic writing preferred. Payment is per article and is commensurate with experience. Send inquiries to Mel Reeves (Community editor), at mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.
10 February 3-9, 2022
Sports Black hockey alive and well
Black hockey pioneer ‘a dreamer and a doer’
Black hockey coach sets sights on Stanley Cup
“He was a man before his time.”
erb Carnegie (19192012) was a hockey legend and trailblazer for over 60 years beginning in the late 1930s. The Jamaican-
Herb Carnegie
By Charles Hallman Sports Columnist
Canadian, his brother Ozzie, and Manny McIntyre made up the first all-Black line in hockey. The brothers Carnegie were nicknamed “The Brown Bombers” and “The Dark Destroyers.” With McIntyre, the three were called “The Ink Spots” and “The Dusty Raiders” during their semi-pro hockey days. Bernice Carnegie His height under six feet, Herb Carnegie during his youth hockey days was called “Swivel Hips” because he could avoid getting hit as a Black target on the all-White ice, said his daughter Bernice Carnegie. Her father’s hockey career began in 1938 and ran through the mid-1950s. He once tried out for the NHL’s New York Rangers and the team offered him a minor league contract, but Carnegie turned them down because he could make more money playing semi-pro hockey. After his playing career concluded, Carnegie in 1954 founded one of Canada’s first hockey schools for young players. He also had a successful business career as a financial planner, played golf and won a ton of tournaments. Submitted photos ■ See VIEW on page 9
uante’ Abercrombie has been playing hockey since he was six years old. He played youth, high school and college hockey as well as professionally in New Zealand and in the Federal Hockey League. He has his mother to thank for it. “She got pregnant with me when she was 19,” explained Abercrombie of his mother, who became a statistic because “she was a teenage mom Submitted photos who had a Black son in Wash- Duante’ Abercrombie on and off the ice. ington, D.C. whose dad was Ice skating was one of them players, Black hockey parents, not around but was locked up. “when I was five years old,” re- Black hockey coaches. It was That was hard for her. membered Abercrombie. “It amazing.” Today Abercombie is a trailwas a Saturday morning, and I “Everything I saw on saw a hockey game right after blazer, one of a handful of Wednesday nights was my session, and the rest was Black assistant college hockey coaches, in his third season Black hockey players, history.” Hockey’s historically all- at Stevenson (MD) UniverBlack hockey parents, White existence didn’t scare sity. Last September he parBlack hockey coaches. him off—rather he embraced ticipated in the newly-formed the sport. He played with Arizona Coyotes’ coaching It was amazing.” Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice internship program for young Hockey Club, North America’s diverse hockey coaches and “But she also didn’t want to oldest program for Blacks and took part in the NHL team’s development camp. be or didn’t want me to have other youth of color. “I was on an all-Black team “I just wanted to understand to end up being a statistic,” he continued. When Abercombie until I was in high school,” said and get a feel of the pace at became school age, she got Abercrombie proudly. “Ev- that level,” said Abercombie. him into as many sports and erything I saw on Wednes- “That was my goal to go in and day nights was Black hockey ■ See Abercombie on page 9 other activities as possible.
MN Duluth finds success with Metro players Coach credits team unity for high standings
They really embraced the team side of it,” noted UMD Coach Justin Wieck recently to the MSR. He is in his third season at the Duluth school. Since his arrival in 2018, Wieck has assembled a diverse talented roster—five of the 15-man squad are Black, and four are from the Twin Cities area: freshmen Joshua Strong (Brooklyn Park) and Henry Shannon (Apple Valley), sopho“They compete more Joshua Brown (Minnetheir butts off every apolis), and junior Isaiah Watts single night.” (Bloomington). Graduate transfer Jacob Shields (Houston), “Our guys have really shown who formerly played at Conhow much better and how cordia-St. Paul, rounds out the well they can play together. ■ See SOE on page 9 Joshua Brown
innesota Duluth is this college basketball season’s hidden success story, at least locally. The Division II men’s basketball team has been ranked in the nation’s top 10 all season as well as topping the league standings in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
Joshua Strong
Courtesy UMD Athletics
McNeal and Lankfard connect history and the present Carrington McNeal and Carmelo McNeal, each had 16 points to lead Twin Cities Academy while Allan Lankfard Jr., Central’s leading scorer for this season as a freshman, finished with 10. Allan Lankfard Sr. and Brett McNeal found time to reminisce about the good old days. “This place was packed when we played,” McNeal said to Lankfard as he looked around the gym. “We had some serious battles,’’ McNeal continued. “This gym [Central] and our gym [North] was always packed when we played.”
s former prep boys’ basketball stars, Allan Lankfard Sr. (St. Paul Central) and Brett McNeal (Minneapolis North) watched Twin Cities Academy defeat host St. Paul Central 69-56 last month when a little history was connecting with the past. Lankfard and McNeal—rivals during the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons at the peak of the St. Paul Central-Minneapolis North rivalry of the 1980s—had sons competing against each other in the nonDr. Mitchell Palmer McDonconference contest. ald welcomes reader responses Allan Lankfard Jr. McNeal’s sons, guards to mcdeezy05@gmail.com. (St. Paul Central)
Carrington McNeal (Twin Cities Academy)
Carmelo McNeal (Twin Cities Academy)
Allan Lankfard Sr. and Brett McNeal Photos by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald