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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
April 28 - May 4, 2022
Vol. 88
PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
Inside this Edition...
www.spokesman-recorder.com
No. 39
Future of George Floyd Square open for discussion City must overcome community mistrust
greenhouse, and several communityrun aid initiatives. The open house had a poster board and a suggestions box where residents could drop their ideas. City Council President Andrea Jenkins, Councilmember Jason Chavez, and Mayor Jacob Frey were in attendance. “This today is an initial step in how we can come together and plan for our community,” Jenkins said. “No plans have been made; no plans will be made without community engagement, input, involvement, at every step of the process.” City officials say this framework of community engagement coming before a project even begins is a new approach in Minneapolis. The city’s director of public works, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, said this approach Photos by Henry Pan can be scaled up and used for future A caretaker of George Floyd Square speaks to open house attendees about projects. “Having what we would call the making the space a UNESCO World Heritage Site. engagement and inform phase be first By Cole Miska section where George Floyd was mur- for a major project is a real change in Contributing Writer dered by former Minneapolis police the way that transportation planning in the past has been done,” Anderofficer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. son Kelliher said. “In the past, a set of Since the killing of Floyd, the blocks he City of Minneapolis hosted an open house Saturday after- surrounding 38th and Chicago (often plans were made, you’d come out to a noon April 23 at Phelps Field called George Floyd Square) have community, you would say, ‘Here’s our Park about a future redesign of become a memorial that serves as a idea of what this should look like.’” “Here, the input is really on the front 38th St. and Chicago Ave., the inter- community gathering zone with art, a
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Transportation planner Trey Joiner, center, talks with two community members about City plans for George Floyd Square. end of this,” Anderson Kelliher added, “and I think that’s an important thing.” Some community members have expressed doubt that the new process is an improvement for community involvement. On a poster board asking the community for engagement, unsigned post-it notes from several
community members expressed skepticism over the City’s approach. “There is a great deal of mistrust in the community as every process always starts in private meetings without invitation to all to participate,” one note read. “The process needs to ■ See GF SQUARE on page 7
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS! Honoring Twin Cities Centenarians
Wayne Glanton A party was held for Wayne Glanton’s 100th birthday on April 24 at his daughter Sherry Glanton’s home. Wayne was
Wayne Glanton and his honored by family, friends, and many community mem- wife Clodeal are longtime bers who gathered to cel- contributors to the Tw in ebrate the happy occasion. ■ See GLANTON on page 7
Mask mandates may end, but not mask wearing
Alan Freeman wears his mask out of respect for others. Photo by Henry Pan By Henry Pan Contributing Writer Passengers riding public transit no longer need to wear masks. Although the federal public transit mask
Photo by Vicky Lyle
mandate was to end on May 3 so the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) could study the coronavirus BA.2 variant, a federal judge in Florida struck the order down on ■ See MANDATE on page 7
Lillian Arizona Lindsey Reed Lillian Arizona Lindsey Reed, a St. Paul resident for 76 years and member of the historic Pilgrim Baptist
Photo by Travis Lee
Family and friends showChurch, celebrated her 100th birthday with family at the ered Reed with birthday wishSholom Home East. Her birth- es that included interactive day is Wednesday, April 27. ■ See REED on page 7
For some, it’s learn to read or die
Advocates want teachers better prepared to deal with dyslexia By Ivan. B. Phifer Contributing Writer Dyslexia is a growing problem in Minnesota, according to the National Reading Panel’s Report Card. “We’ve been at this almost 10 years now,” said Rachel Berger, founder and director of Decoding Dyslexia, MN (DDMN), whose own son was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of five. “Imagine my shock and dismay when I learned [our own] public schools were not ready to say that word. They weren’t prepared to instruct him in the way he needed…or include his diagnosis within IEP documents.” On Thursday, April 21, Berger and other advocates gathered at the State Capitol in St. Paul to provide life experience testimonies about dyslexia and explain
Crowd of ralliers why it is imperative to address the issue. Decoding Dyslexia, incorporated in 2013, is a nonprofit grassroots organization supported by Minnesota families, educators and professionals concerned with the limited access to educational interventions
for students within educational environments. DDMN also trains teachers to work effectively with students who have these specific needs. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that as of this year 46% of White stu-
Photos by Ivan Phifer dents in the third grade are proficient in reading compared to only 19% of Blacks. Berger noted that these statistics, while dismal across the board, can lead to two different outcomes depending on economic and social status. ■ See DYSLEXIA on page 7