June 10, 2021 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

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THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 June 10-June 16, 2021, Vol. 87 No. 45

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Violence flares again in Minneapolis after U.S. Marshals kill man

Winston Smith Girard-and-Lake-shooting

Winston Smith’s family demands justice, answers enue and Lake Street South near where Smith was shot and killed on Thursday, June 3. “We want these cops to go to jail. They shot him execution style. He was on a date, in a public place. I want everybody—the sheriff’s e was trying to live his life,” is how Winton Smith’s brother Kidale Smith described his sibling at a press conference deputies, the U.S. Marshals, everybody that was involved in my on Friday afternoon in the Uptown area near Girard Av- brother’s death—to be prosecuted,” said Smith.

By Mel Reeves Contributing writer

H

Controversy embroils efforts to re-open George Floyd Square intersection to create an autonomous zone and vowed not to remove them until all 24 demands of their Justice Resolution have In the early hours of Thursday, June 3, Minneapolis work- been met by city, state, and feders descended on the intersec- eral leadership. For the past year tion of 38th Street and Chicago the intersection has served as a Ave. and began dismantling the memorial to Floyd and all those barricades. The area had come who have also lost their lives to By Abdi Mohamed Contributing writer

open the intersection has been a point of contention between city leaders and community groups. The City, while attempting to reopen, left the large metal fist that sits in the middle of the intersection. As news of the dismantling of George Floyd Square spread on

Photo by Abdi Mohamed to be known as George Floyd Square (GFS) and is the site of George Floyd’s murder by Derek Chauvin. In the days following Floyd’s death, activists erected barriers along all four entrances to the

police violence. After the June 3 effort to reopen was met with opposition and homemade barricades were re-erected, the city again sent workers to reopen the area to traffic on June 8. The effort to re-

social media, hundreds of people arrived to show their support for the square to stay untouched. Shortly afterwards, new barriers were brought in to close the intersection. In the following days, four new wooden fists were ■See AGAPE on page 5

It was rumored and confirmed on a social media platform that Winton Smith had been dining in a restaurant nearby with an unidentified woman only minutes before he was killed. The woman was in the car at the time Smith was shot. She was taken into police custody. ■See SMITH on page 5

St. Louis murder of activist Seals unsolved five years later By Niara Savage Contributing writer Nearly five years after his passing, family and friends question mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of 29-yearold Ferguson activist Darren Seals. Before Seals was brutally killed, he wholly dedicated his life to a single noble objective: uniting and freeing the Black community from racist oppression, especially police violence. “He just reminded a lot of people of Malcolm X,” said Seals’ mother, Mary Otis. “He wasn’t scared to die.” A skilled orator, Seals empowered and mobilized members of the community to organize in the pursuit of justice and accountability. He raised awareness about police violence in the years before he was found shot to death in his vehicle in the Riverview area of St. Louis in 2016. He would have celebrated his 31st birthday on May 15. Even before the death of Michael Brown in 2014 placed Ferguson, Missouri in the spotlight of the then still-emerging Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, Seals was already rising as a force against police violence. More

Darren Seals (center) with friends than a year before 18-year-old Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, a death largely responsible for fueling the movement, 25-year-old college student Cary Ball Jr. was shot 25 times by St. Louis police after crashing his car at the end of a police pursuit. When Ball’s mother, Toni Taylor, first met Seals at a protest for Brown outside of the Ferguson Police Department on August 10, 2014, the day after his death, he was speaking to the

crowd about her son. “He was actually talking about my son, Cary, and that’s what made me walk over to him,” Taylor said. “He was telling the crowd, ‘If ya’ll would have listened to me last year, I was trying to tell ya’ll about Cary Ball Jr.’” Taylor approached Seals and tapped him on the shoulder. When the young activist saw that the poster board she was holding was full of articles about Ball and heard ■See SEALS on page 5

NFL agrees to end ‘race-norming’ The practice disadvantaged Black players seeking injury settlements

started with less cognitive brain function than their White teamLast week the NFL called for mates. In other words, the Black an end to what has been referred players were considered less to as “race-norming” in deter- intelligent. For Black players to mining settlement payments for qualify for settlement relief they players who suffered debilitating must have had an even greater brain injuries as a result of their reduction in cognitive brain functime in the league. The decision came after a mainstream news special, a lawsuit by two Black players, and more than a dozen wives of Black retired players organizing and sending the judge presiding over the settlement a petition with nearly 50,000 sig- tion than their fellow White playnatures calling for an end to race- ers. Race-norming is the practice norming. Doctors had denied Black of adjusting test scores to account players compensation because for the race or ethnicity of the testthey assumed that Black players taker. “It’s morally unconscioBy MSR News Service

“It’s morally unconscionable and legally indefensible.”

nable, most certainly politically unsustainable, and legally indefensible,” said sports sociologist Harry Edwards in an LA Times interview upon hearing the news that the NFL is eliminating racebased norms in their evaluation of players seeking compensation for their injuries sustained while in the league. “You can’t have 74% of the players in the league Black, but when it comes to actually being able to claim access to funds resulting from brain damage, dementia, CTE, other kind of cognitive-deficit-inducing conditions that are directly related to football, all of a sudden there’s a different standard for them. There’s a presumption that they [Blacks] come

Courtesy of MGN in at a cognitively lower ranking.” The NFL in its defense said there was no discrimination and that if there was it had been based on individual doctor’s evaluations of testing scores. “We are committed to eliminating race-based norms in the program and more broadly in the neuropsychological community,”

wrote the NFL in a statement, while maintaining that no such discrimination took place in the administration of the settlement. However, the civil rights suit brought by Najeh Davenport and Kevin Henry alleged that they had been denied compensation for their brain injuries because of their race. “When they

use a different scale for African Americans versus any other race, that’s literally the definition of systematic racism,” said Davenport. Cyril Smith, a lawyer for Henry and Davenport, asserted that White players’ dementia claims were being approved at two to three times the rate of those of ■See NFL on page 5

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Metropolis

June 10-June 16, 2021

The bail system: a look at how it works in Minnesota

Let’s talk about the bail system, which is remarkably complex and frequently misunderstood. Whether you advocate for “ending cash bail” or you demand to know on social media why judges keep “giving” people accused of crimes bail, you should understand how money bail works in Minnesota. Under the Minnesota Constitution, people have a right to bail before their cases are resolved. This is not true in federal court and in many states where a judge can detain the accused without setting bail. This means that a judge in Minnesota cannot hold (detain) an accused person

without setting some amount of bail. The seriousness of the crime does not matter; every person charged with any crime in Minnesota has a constitutional right to bail. Why is bail enshrined in our constitution? People accused of crimes are presumed to be innocent, and taking away their freedom before trial should not be done lightly. Judges are not allowed to set bail to punish the accused. Judges are only allowed to set bail if they believe the accused will not return to court, or that he or she will be a danger to the community. Consequences, such as jail or prison, can be imposed only after a person is convicted. The MN rules direct judges

to presume that the accused should be released without the requirement of bail. If a judge finds that the person is unlikely to return to court or that they are a danger to the community, they may impose conditions of release. These conditions, such as no use of alcohol or drugs, an order to stay away from a specific person or address, or requiring the accused to report to a person from probation called a conditional release officer, must be specifically tailored to the allegations in the complaint (charging document). Hundreds of people show up for their court appearances, do not commit a new crime, and ultimately resolve their cases. No one hears about them because they follow conditions of release, and there is nothing of interest to the public about that. Only when someone who is out is accused of a new crime do people start demanding to

know why that person wasn’t in jail pending trial. Money bail favors the wealthy, as well as serving to extract large amounts of nonrefundable premiums from poor people. Let’s say a judge sets bail at $10,000. A person with wealth can give the court the entire $10,000 and leave the jail. The court will return the entire $10,000 once the case is resolved. Essentially, a person with wealth can buy her way out of jail, no matter the accusation. A person who cannot afford to give the court the entire $10,000 can use a for-profit bail bond company. The bail bond company will charge a “premium,” usually about 10 percent, or $1,000 cash in this example. If the person can come up with the cash and put up collateral for the remaining amount, the bail bond company will post the bail with the court. Once this person’s case is resolved, the judge will dis-

charge the bond. The bond company, however, keeps the 10 percent cash premium. In other words, a person without the wealth to post the entire $10,000 to the court permanently loses $1,000 cash by using a bail bond company. Research also indicates that a person who stays in jail is more likely to commit a future crime because their lives are destabilized. People in jail often feel pressure to plead guilty if a negotiation allows them to get out. This means that some innocent people do plead guilty, but it also indicates that two guilty people could get different resolutions because the person (with wealth) who was released could set his case for trial, where better offers are often made. This is why many argue for the end of cash bail. It is a wealth-based system which has nothing to do with risk. A wealthy person can bail out on a murder charge, while a

poor person can sit in jail on a property charge because he or she cannot afford to post bail. Based on my experience, I think it’s a bad idea to amend the Minnesota Constitution to remove the right to bail and to allow judges to detain the accused pretrial. Most judges are extremely risk-averse because they fear being targeted by the media. Judges have told me that they worry about letting people out of jail because if something goes wrong someone might run against them in their next election. I fear that they, like their federal court counterparts, will simply detain more people than they do right now. Mary Moriarty was a public defender for 30 years, most recently for Hennepin County.

State offers incentives to get more people COVID-vaccinated By MSR News Service Governor Tim Walz launched “Your Shot to Summer,” the state’s COVID-19 vaccine incentive campaign, on Thursday to encourage more Minnesotans to roll up their sleeves and get their COVID-19 vaccine during the next month. The campaign aims to get 70% of Minnesotans 16 years of age and older vaccinated by July 1. The first 100,000 Minnesotans who get their first shot between May 27 and June 30 will be able to choose the reward of their preference from a wide-ranging list of options, including state parks passes, fishing licenses, and tickets to various summer attractions and events. “Summer is here, vaccines are working, and we are still going full steam ahead finding ways to keep our communities safe,” said Governor Walz. “We’ve had great success in our state so far with more than 2.5 million Minnesotans fully vaccinated, and we want to build on that success and get the broad community protection needed for everyone to have the fun, safe summer they want. “Whether it’s fishing, exploring our state parks, tak-

ing the family to a ball game or the Minnesota State Fair, we want to help get you there safely. So roll up your sleeves, make that vaccine appointment, and pick your reward, Minnesota—this is your shot to summer.” “We are all so excited to get back to a summer filled with all of the people, places and activities we love and have missed so much,” said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “And we know the key to getting back safely is making sure as many Minnesotans are vaccinated as soon as possible. “The best thing you can do for yourself and your community is to get the vaccine if you are eligible and able. Take your shot to summer— to help our state stay safe, to get your reward, and to kick off the summer we want together.” Minnesotans who get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose May 27 through June 30 will be eligible to choose their preferred vaccine reward from the nine options listed below: Great Lakes Aquarium Pass Eligible for one entrance to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. Valid until July 1, 2023. The Minnesota Department of Health will provide

recipients’ contact informa- Department of Health will Health will provide recipition to the Aquarium, which provide recipients’ contact in- ents’ contact information to the Minnesota Zoo, which will email information in order for Minnesotans to redeem their admission.

Courtesy of MGN will mail tickets to Minneso- formation to the Department of Natural Resources, which tans who select this option. will reach out to Minnesotans Mall of America Nickelodeon to complete their fishing license application. Universe Pass Eligible for a 30-point ride pass at Nickelodeon Universe Minnesota State Parks Pass Eligible for one Minnesota that can be redeemed through September 1, 2021. The Min- State Parks annual pass. Minnesota Department of Health nesotans will receive the pass will provide recipients’ con- in the mail from the Departtact information to Mall of ment of Natural Resources. America, who will send infor- The Minnesota Department of Health will provide recipimation to redeem the pass. ents’ contact information to the Department of Natural Minnesota Fishing License Eligible for one individ- Resources, which will mail ual Minnesota resident an- the State Parks pass. nual fishing license effective through February 2022. Must Minnesota Zoo Admission Eligible for one adult adbe redeemed by July 30, 2021. Recipient must be eligible mission at the Minnesota Zoo to hold a Minnesota fish- through September 8. The ing license. The Minnesota Minnesota Department of

Northwoods Baseball League Tickets Eligible for one reserved ticket to attend a Northwoods League baseball game during the 2021 season. The Minnesota Department of Health will provide recipients’ contact information to the Northwoods League and Minnesotans will call the ticket office of the team they select and provide their full name and address for verification to reserve their ticket. Tickets are based on availability at the time of calling. Participating teams include the Rochester Honkers, Willmar Stingers, Mankato MoonDogs, St. Cloud Rox and the Duluth Huskies.

Admission Valid for one Valleyfair admission ticket and the chance to purchase additional tickets for the same date at a discounted rate during the 2021 season. The Minnesota Department of Health will provide a unique code via email in order for Minnesotans to redeem this offer. Visa Card Eligible for a $25 Visa Card to be used anywhere Visa is accepted. Minnesotans will receive the cards by mail or email from the Minnesota Department of Health or a State of Minnesota Vendor.

In order to be eligible for the vaccination rewards, Minnesotans 12 years of age and older must receive their first dose between May 27, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Beginning June 1, 2021, Minnesotans can verify their first dose and indicate their preferred vaccine reward at mn.gov/ State Fair Tickets covid19/summer. Eligible for two admission Rewards will be available for tickets to the 2021 Minnesota the first 100,000 requests made State Fair. The Minnesota by eligible Minnesotans. ReDepartment of Health will ward requests must be submitted provide recipients’ contact to the Minnesota Department information to the State Fair, of Health by 11:59 pm on June which will email tickets no 30, 2021, and will be fulfilled on later than July 16, 2021. a rolling basis throughout the month of June 2021 and no later Valleyfair Single-Day than July 16, 2021.

Community Safety Specialist Program to be launched soon By MSR News Service A Community Safety Specialist Program that focuses on protecting the communities where we live is being launched in Minneapolis as an alternative to the current public safety structure. This is a new model of security that takes into account community safety, racial justice and creating good jobs. The Community Safety Specialist program is anchored in restorative justice and seeks to change and amend the historic relationships between police, traditional security, and Communities of Color. Traditionally, private security in Minnesota requires 12 hours of training. Community

Safety Specialists are required to participate in an apprenticeship program that includes over 180 hours of class time as well as a year of structured on-the-job learning. The training also includes a mentoring component to help trainees address the problems causing disruptions and insecurity in neighborhoods. Apprentices will receive training in mediation, the techniques of peace keeping, community education and organizing skills. They also receive certification in mental health and First Aid. They are trained as emergency medical responders and learn techniques of de-escalation, hands-on and tactical approaches to safety. Community Safety Special-

ists will address homelessness, mental health crises, addiction, domestic abuse, and other issues that arise in the community that do not require an armed police intervention. The program is a collaborative effort between The Northside Residents Redevelopment Council (NRRC), SEIU Local 26, and NEXT Global Security, a Black-owned local security company that provides mentors and trainers. It is designed to train and support community residents who want to serve as deescalators and problem solvers. It is meant to be a longterm solution to the issues of public safety that have faced our community for decades. These will be good union jobs that start at $15.30 per hour

with wages rising to $23 per hour with benefits after the 12-month apprenticeship program. CSS participants will be recruited from within Minneapolis neighborhoods and will hopefully bring in-depth, direct knowledge of the community in which they live. Plans are in place for the pilot program to start in North Minneapolis in June that will include approximately 15 Community Safety Specialists. The program has stated that one of its goals is to raise funds to support hundreds of Community Safety Specialists across the city. The program is supported by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis City Council. It hopes to re-

ceive financial investment from other local entities that may help expand the program. This is a state-accredited, certified apprenticeship that includes over 180 hours of paid classroom instruction at Anoka-Hennepin Community College and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.

Health & Wellness

June 10-June 16, 2021

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As COVID-19 winds down, find and follow the facts How much did they actually hinder? Some states never locked down and did very well. Overall, the jury is still out on these measures. But three extremely important lessons were learned by those of us on the medical front lines. I am still horrified that many of my fellow physicians simply followed political pronouncements and government orders and sat back and let patients infected with COVID-19 stay home until things either got better or took a dangerous turn for the worse. That is simply not how we medical doctors are trained to care for our patients. It is our sacred duty to use safe, effective and reasonable treatments whenever possible. In my medical practice we began researching COVID-19 and possible treatments immediately after we learned of its existence well over a year ago, and we continue to do so to this day. The three most critical By Dr. Alyse Hamilton lessons we learned were: Guest contributor 1) Don’t be a helpless victim. Constantly strengthen and fine tune Two great minds of our time are author Malcolm Gladwell and your amazing immune system. It is Dr. Thomas Sowell. Gladwell, who your front line of defense. 2) Follow basic science, not powrote the bestseller “The Tipping Point” and other books, was born litical science. One leads to greater in Jamaica. Dr. Sowell, who is a se- health. The other leads to someone nior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, was raised in Harlem back in the day. One thing these two great minds have in common is their ability to figure things out, not accepting things just because they may appear a certain way, but really figuring them out. I thought about Dr. Sowell’s phenomenal book “Ever Wonder Why?” as I sat down to write this article. Dr. Sowell does not simply accept what he sees on the news or hears from politicians or others. He truly does wonder why, and figures out why and how things happen. In my medical practice we are forever wondering why and how we can always make things better for my patients. If you are like many of my patients, you are tired of COVID-19 and all the restrictions and else’s agenda. confusion in its wake. 3) Vitamin D deficiencies are a As the pandemic winds down, there will be a number of things up leading cause of serious viral infecfor debate. More importantly, there tions. are a few critical lessons we have Protect your immune system learned and want to share. Like a fine-tuned military fightAs a well-trained and highly experienced medical doctor, I was long ing force, the immune system is an ago taught that science is not about amazing system of organs, tissues, anyone’s opinion. It’s not even what cells, and “good” bacteria that can a group of doctors or researchers hunt down and destroy invaders think. Science is solely about the that can harm us. To protect it, refacts. Unfortunately, many times duce your stress. Stress weakens your immune system. Pray. Medifacts can be hard to nail down. We may long debate the value of tate. Do yoga. Exercise. Take a good amount of vitamin lockdowns, masks, and social distancing. How much did they help? C to rebuild the immune system. World vitamin C expert Thomas Levy, MD, JD suggests that we take vitamin C until we have an urge to have a bowel movement (a.k.a. “bowel tolerance”). Different for each of us, that level can easily range

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Courtesy of MGN from 2,000 to 6,000 mg daily divided into three doses throughout the day. When someone tells you that’s dangerous, let them know that a male goat, which unlike a human being can produce his own vitamin C, can produce 13,000 mg daily! And far more if stressed. Also avoid excessive use of antibiotics, which can harm the protective,

Courtesy of Pixabay friendly bacteria that actually protect us. Use probiotics if antibiotics are necessary. Follow basic science, not political science Over a year ago, renowned French physician, professor and microbiologist Dr. Didier Raoult published a study that confirmed that early use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug I have safely prescribed for decades for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, was highly effective against COVID-19 when used with zinc and an antibiotic. For that, he was brutally trashed in the American press. We tried it short term and it worked great when used early with zinc and azithromycin. And without any noted side effects. Likewise, another cheap medicine was shown early on to positive-

ly treat COVID-19, and once again the big media and political guns did everything to attack this medicine. Each time these and other positive treatments were revealed, political pundits found a way to minimize or trash the results. In my estimation, that was criminal. Social disparity or vitamin D deficiency? Military commanders must be able to communicate with their soldiers on the battlefield to wage war against the enemy. Likewise, the immune system must be able to communicate with itself to fight against invading bacteria, viruses or cancers. Vitamin D, which is actually a prohormone, is critical for cytokines, small protein communicators, to allow the immune system to communicate with itself. Think of cytokines as tiny cell phones that can snap off text messages to each other. Without Vitamin D, the texts stop and bad things happen. Mayo-trained pathologist Ryan Cole, MD is experienced in immunology and virology. Dr. Cole states that the evidence is clear that the main reason most succumbed to COVID-19 is a vitamin D deficiency. One cause of vitamin D deficiency is living above the 36th Parallel in the winter. That means all northern tier states. In the winter, the angle of the sun, critical for our own vitamin D production, is not able to help us create Vitamin D. On top of all of that, for those of us with darker skin, we require more daily exposure to sunshine than lighter-skinned people to generate enough vitamin D. Another serious problem is that vitamin D is fat soluble. It is absorbed into our fat. For those who are obese, it takes far more vitamin D to keep the immune system communicating. Dr. Cole agrees that there are indeed social disparities. However, he states that the key reason we darker-skinned people may suffer more serious issues from COVID-19 is not social disparity. It is a serious vita-

min D deficiency. So what do we do? I often check my patients’ vitamin D levels, and I often find serious deficiencies that can take a month or more to correct. Many of my patients go on high-dose vitamin D for six weeks or more until their levels rise. If you are not sure about your vitamin D levels, find out what they are. Vitamin D is a cheap supplement that could save your health, or even your life. Many still have fond memories of a time when we in our community relied more on each other to share and care for each other. Instead of jumping to conclusions that may often be wrong, learn to think like Malcolm Gladwell and Dr. Thomas Sowell. Wonder why something is happening. When it comes to your health, first wonder why. Find and follow facts, not agendas. Stay healthy. Stay strong. Stay blessed. Dr. Alyse Hamilton is the founder and medical director of the Advanced Health and Vitality Center in Edina, Minnesota. Dr. Hamilton offers her patients positive results from her exceptional professional training and an extraordinary passion to provide safe, proven and effective treatments for adrenal insufficiency, thyroid disorders, chronic fatigue and pain, menopause, andropause (male menopause), fibromyalgia and age-related conditions. She partners with her patients to guide them to true health from the inside out. Her goal is to ensure that her patients reclaim their energy, memory and vitality so that they can once again enjoy the things that are missing in their lives. Her practice also offers IV nutritional support with the Myer’s Cocktail and Glutathione, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and the Riordan protocol for high dose vitamin C infusion therapy.

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June 10-June 16, 2021

Opinion

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) welcomes and values commentary and feedback from the community. The articles found here are edited for clarity and/or space, but the opinions are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the MSR.

The rich are hoarding homes while gentrifying cities By Chuck Collins

Minnesota Corrections doublebunking violates international prison standards By Matthias Rothe “Sealed into a 7x11 box without an intercom system to communicate any need for help, the prisoners’ fate is sealed on any given night,” said an inmate in a Rush City Correctional Facility. Double bunking or double celling is a form of population management in prisons. Two incarcerated people are put into one cell. In 1990, the Department of Corrections’ newsletter Perspectives called double-bunking “a misnomer used by legislators rather than the word crowding. Double bunking neither adheres to the standards defined by the American Correctional Association (ACA) nor to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) adopted by the United Nations. Yet the Minnesota legislature not only tolerates this practice but requires multiple occupancy “to the greatest extent possible” (Laws of Minnesota 1997, chapter 238, sec. 2). Minnesota state prisons, with the recent exception of Stillwater, practice double or multiple bunking. Rush City, a high-security prison, was re-dedicated in 1997 for double-bunking. In Shakopee, St. Cloud, and until recently Stillwater, prisoners have less than 25 square feet of “unencumbered living space.” The normal residential bathroom is larger than that. When the bill allowing double-bunking or “crowding” sponsored by DFL representative Mary Murphy was first introduced in 1997, prison officials warned that a drastic increase in programming and staff would

be necessary to counteract the consequences. These warnings were never addressed. Incarcerated people are caged together for days or weeks in a row often because of lockdowns, routine procedures, staff shortages, cell searches, security, or the current pandemic. Cell confinement and restriction of movements (“loss of privileges”) is also a universally practiced punishment. According to the Minnesota auditor’s report on Health Services in 2014, “Communicable diseases spread more readily due to overcrowded conditions“ In Stillwater, Minnesota’s oldest prison—which has a dysfunctional ventilation system—COVID spread to 977 of the 1290 incarcerated human beings. Minnesota prisons saw more than 4000 COVID cases and at least 12 deaths. Double bunking also causes significant increases in stress levels, health problems, violence, and suicide, according to Canada’s Union of Correctional Officers. The 2020 auditor’s report on Safety in Correctional Facilities cites double-bunking as a reason for increased gang membership and it serves as a “perverse incentive to assault others” or “to inflict self-injury” to be transferred to a potential single cell situation. People incarcerated in Rush City attribute the violent death of 56-year-old James Francis Howard on March 21, 2021 to doublebunking. While double-bunking continues to cause problems for Minnesota prisons, prison overcrowding is a self-inflicted problem. While the crime rate has remained stable, the population

under correctional control has doubled. The root causes of this include policy and legislative changes, the reclassification of crimes into higher categories, the increase of statutory maximum sentences and mandatory minimum sentences, longer supervision times with stricter rules and revocation of parole as the universal punishment for violations. The ACLU points out that “in 2018, two in five prison admissions were returns from supervision, and the vast majority of that group— 88%—had not committed a new crime but only violated the conditions of supervision.” This makes technical parole violations the biggest factor in the increase in prison population. People are separated from their families and sent back to prison time and time again because they missed an appointment with a parole officer, or could not find a job or housing on time, or had a beer. On the opposite end, people with a minimal risk of recidivism serve excessive life sentences without any prospect of release. The Department of Corrections has the authority to significantly reduce the prison population and make double-bunking unnecessary. To change the rules of supervised release (parole) and the revocation process does not require legislative action. Yet while states like New Jersey and California released thousands of people during the pandemic, the Minnesota DOC has made almost no use of work or medical release. A December 2020 research report prepared for the Ombudsman of Correction concluded that “COVID-19 expanded work release has not had a particularly large impact on prison population levels in Minnesota. DOC data lists 152 releases under COVID-19 Work Release; while this is a larger impact than some other COVID-19 response strategies, it is still relatively small overall.” According to the report only 154 of 2,392 applications for medical release were approved.” On April 21, 2021, the Justice Department announced an investigation of the Minneapolis Police department. Who will investigate Minnesota’s prison system and hold the legislature accountable?

A significant portion of hidden wealth touches down to earth in the form of real property and luxury real estate. Across the world, skyscrapers and mansions are rising in globalized super-cities, a form of “wealth storage” for the world’s wealthy who are seeking to diversify their asset holdings. These are not people looking for homes so much as wealth parking spots. This is leading not just to gentrification, but to a “plutocratization” of urban neighborhoods. As Richard Florida observes in The New Urban Crisis, “Some of the most vibrant, innovative urban neighborhoods are being turned into deadened trophy districts, where the global super-rich park their money in high-end housing investments as opposed to places in which to live.” New York City was an obvious first destination in the U.S. for global capital. In 2015, The New York Times published a rigorous work of investigative journalism, “Towers of Secrecy.” The series documented the impact of anonymous buyers on Manhattan’s luxury market. They traced multiple shell company owners to criminal activity and money laundering by foreign buyers. In 2014, 54% of real estate purchased in New York for more than $5 million was acquired in the name of anonymous shell companies. In the six most expensive condo projects in the city, the owners in a majority of units were hidden by shell companies, including 77% of the units in One57 and 69% of the units at The Plaza. The value of the 900 condominiums in these buildings was equal to the value of 20,000 average American homes. Many U.S. cities, especially coastal markets, are experiencing similar trends, with thousands of new luxury residential and rental units in different stages of development. A decade from now, the skylines and population

demographics of many U.S. cities will be transformed by decisions being made today for the benefit of the ultra-rich, not the residents of those cities. The affordable housing crisis is not driven primarily by foreign investment. Both domestic and foreign capital are surging back into cities, as wealthy people have a renewed interest in living in center cities or holding a pieda-terre apartment. As Richard Florida observes, “Gentrification and inequality are the direct outgrowths of the recolonization of the city by the affluent and the advantaged.” Florida writes, “It’s not so much an incursion of super-rich plutocrats that is transforming many of the world’s great cities as an incursion of the much larger numbers of merely welloff people, including the growing ranks of startup entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and well-paid techies who are trading in their houses in the suburbs for condos, apartments, and townhouses in superstar cities.” Wealthy workers moving into central and walk-able neighborhoods are more classic forces of gentrification. But global capital is supercharging these gentrification dynamics by injecting additional cash and disruption into the market. In my hometown of Boston, thousands of units of luxury housing are rising around the central city, with over 5,000 highend units in the permitting and construction pipeline. High-end rental and luxury condos have transformed the Seaport area into a neoliberal neighborhood, with virtually no public space, coastal access, or services such as schools and libraries. In an analysis of eight luxury buildings, with condos starting at $2 million, over 35% were owned by shell companies or anonymous trust entities. In one building, Millennium Tower, anonymous ownership makes up closer to 80% of the units. Miami has historically

been a magnet for foreign investment from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. “Foreign investors have driven home prices out of whack with local incomes,” wrote Miami Herald reporter Nicholas Nehamas. Between August 2015 and July 2016, foreign nationals accounted for 39 percent of total residential real estate purchases in South Florida, or over $6.2 billion. Los Angeles is experiencing an empty homes crisis alongside acute homelessness. One report found more than 103,000 vacant units in Los Angeles with over 41,000 not on the market. There are an estimated 36,000 homeless families in the city. Tens of thousands of housing units are being withheld from the market by speculators and anonymous ownership entities (including trusts, LLCs, and shell corporations) that are simultaneously overproducing luxury housing and fueling displacement, homelessness and a crisis in housing affordability. Of the 25 luxury condominium buildings profiled in the report, 2,399 of 3,244 units, or 71% percent on average, are sitting effectively vacant— they are not anyone’s primary residence. “Knowing that our city is failing so dramatically to house people, it’s shocking to find tens of thousands of units are sitting empty, many just to fill the pockets of investors. People deserve to know who owns their city and who benefits from this injustice,” says Alex Ferrer with Strategic Action for a Just Economy in Los Angeles. Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. This commentary originally appeared in the Progressives Institute for Policy Studies.

Letter to the Editor How you can assist in federal investigation into MPD

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department and the City of Minneapolis. They will be examining uses of force by the police and whether the police engage in racial discrimination. They are also looking at use of force against protesters and police treatment of people with disabilities, including people living with mental illness. In addition, the Racial Justice Network, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, NAACP-Minneapolis, the Minnesota Justice Coalition, Disability Justice Network, Communities United Against Police Brutality, and the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar have also asked the DOJ to look into Find testimonies of incarcerated the MPD’s treatment of people people subjected to double-bunking experiencing homelessness and at http://bit.ly/doublebunkingtesti- the MPD’s poor quality of invesmonies. tigations into murders of people of color. Matthias Rothe is associate proWe know, of course, that Minfessor of German and Philosophy at neapolis police use excessive the University of Minnesota force and engage in racial profiling and discrimination. We know that protesters, people experiencing homelessness, and people

with disabilities are mistreated. We also know that the City rarely holds cops accountable. Our goal as a community is to make sure the DOJ gets the information they need to uncover the truth about Minneapolis policing. If the investigation is done well, the DOJ will learn about the many issues with policing in Minneapolis. They will create a “consent decree”—a list of required changes. Then, if Minneapolis doesn’t follow these requirements, the federal government could take over the MPD, a process called “receivership.” Consent decrees have been effective in significantly reducing police violence in several cities. Don’t be a passive bystander at this crucial moment. There are a number of ways the community can get involved. You can get involved by telling your story to the DOJ, learning how to collect other people’s stories, and by spreading the word. Communities United Against Police Brutality is hosting a series of events for people in the community. Attend one of these events to tell your story and share your ideas for a powerful consent decree. These events will be held at 6 pm each night and we will serve dinner. Bring a

chair or blanket. You can also contact the DOJ directly to tell your story. Call 866-432-0268 or email Community.Minneapolis@usdoj.gov This is an important opportunity to hold the MPD and the City of Minneapolis accountable. We all need to be part of the solution. Please plan on attending one of the events below. Friday, June 11 at Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Ave. S. Monday, June 21 at North Commons Park, Golden Valley Rd at Logan Ave. Wednesday, July 7 (virtual meeting—see CUAPB website for the link) Friday, July 23 at East Phillips Park, 2399 17th Ave. S. Monday, August 9 at Matthews Park, 2318 29th Ave. S. Friday, August 27 at Theo Wirth Park, Glenwood Ave. at Xerxes Ave. Michelle Gross Michelle Gross is president and co-founder of Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB)

June 10-June 16, 2021

Smith Continued from page 1 The Minnesota Department of Public Safety gave in a press release its account of what happened. They wrote, “According to the preliminary investigation, at one point a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy and a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy serving on the task force discharged their weapons, striking the man. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. Evidence at the scene indicates that the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle. BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the driver’s compartment.” While it was not made clear why the U.S. Marshals Task Force had

SEALES Continued from page 1 Taylor say she was his mother, he lifted the board into the air and rallied the crowd. “Cary Ball Jr.’s mom is out here with us!” Seals yelled, encouraging the demonstrators to stand in solidarity with her. “And from then on, we just loved him on sight,” Taylor said. When a grand jury ultimately declined to indict Darren Wilson in Brown’s death, Seals consoled the teen’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, outside of the Ferguson Police Department. Images of the encounter have been shared widely. “We already knew what the decision would be, but at the same time it still hurt to hear it,” Seals told MTV at the time. “And for Mike Brown’s mother to be right there in my arms crying— she literally cried in my arms—it was like I felt her soul crying. It’s a different type of crying. I’ve seen people crying, but she was

AGAPE Continued from page 1 placed at all the entrances to the intersection. City partners with Agape Movement The City has partnered with the Agape Movement, a Minneapolis-based organization, to reopen the intersection. Members of the group were a part of the early efforts to close the streets leading to the intersection and now have a direct role in its reopening. Agape has multiple contracts with the City, including a deal for up to $359,000 according to City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie. The funding would cover transportation, operating costs such as wages, and safety services for reopening the streets. Critics of city leadership see this partnership with the community group as a way for the City to distance itself from the reopening, but Agape leaders have consistently taken responsibility for these plans. “We, Agape, were the ones that approached the City and the mayor,” said the group’s co-founder Steve Floyd (no relation to George Floyd). He mentioned having spoken to city leaders for months negotiating plans for the square, including a design that would keep much of

NFL

made Smith a priority, he had a few run-ins with law enforcement. The U.S. Marshals Service said that Smith was wanted on a Ramsey County warrant on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. Smith had pleaded guilty to a charge of felony possession but did not show up for his sentencing last month in Ramsey County. He had been trouble earlier for violating the terms of his probation when he was convicted of aggravated robbery in 2017. In 2020 Smith led Bloomington police on a high speed chase from the Mall of America. He was subsequently charged with a felony for fleeing police. U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Nikki Credic-Barrett said the personnel involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave; their names

haven't been released. She also said Smith was wanted on a Ramsey County warrant on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. The release also stated that “the U.S Marshal Service currently does not allow the use of body cameras

“We no longer have faith in just believing the narratives that the police give us.” for officers serving on its North Star Fugitive Task Force.” However, the U.S. Marshals Service does allow local and state law enforcement that accompanies them on raids to wear body cameras. The Justice Department made

man then ran away before the car burst into flames. Otis said that the blaze was so intense that all that was left to identify her son was his skeleton and a few fingers. She and Taylor say Seals’ death came after he was terrorized and targeted by the police for months. “If anything happens to me…Mama, prepare your heart…They are

a ruling on this last fall, which would have allowed Ramsey and Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies to have worn body cameras. Family members and friends also demanded that police release all surveillance video from the parking garage and nearby restaurants. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting, but public confidence in local law enforcement and the BCA has waned in the wake of police shootings in the Twin Cities. “We no longer have faith in just believing the narratives that the police give us,” said Toshira Garraway at a press conference held at the BCA on Friday evening. “They have forfeited their right to just tell us a story,” she said. “We need facts, and the fact is any video footage. And we refuse to

tioned her son’s name. His death is a part of a larger pattern of people tied to activism meeting brutal fates. Since Michael Brown died, at least five people connected to activism in Ferguson have died. The body of Deandre Joshua, a 20-year-old friend of a young man who was with Brown the day he was killed, was found

really hurt. And it hurt me. It hurt all of us.” Taylor characterized Seals’ death two years after they’d met as “State murder.” In the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 6, 2016, St. Louis County Police responded to reports of a fire at 9600 block of Diamond Drive in Riverview. After the fire had been extinguished, police found Seals inside the Jeep Wrangler. He had been shot before the car was torched. Police ruled the death a homicide. Authorities have never identified any suspects in Seals’ death. According to Taylor’s retelling of an eyewitness account from a man who was watching from his porch that night, someone was driving Seals’ Jeep who did not know how to drive a clutch transmission and had trouble moving the vehicle into the area. The driver allegedly jumped out of the Jeep and hopped into a getaway car that quickly sped away. Next, another man emerged from nearby bushes and threw an object into the vehicle. The

going to kill me,” Seals told his mother prior to his death. “All I care about is our people coming together... They have our people so divided, but somebody has to join them back together. But prepare your heart, because every leader that ever tried it, they shut them down and killed them,” Otis recalled her son saying. Otis said she tried to hire three different investigators in the search for answers after Seals died, but that each declined to become involved after she men-

dead in a burned car the day after the grand jury declined to bring charges against the officer. Like Seals, he had been shot before the car was set ablaze. At one point, St. Louis police investigated a possible link between the two deaths. Although the deaths of Edward Crawford Jr., 27, and Danye Jones, 24, were ruled suicides, family and friends have doubted those claims. Police said Crawford, a well-known Ferguson protester captured in an iconic photograph throwing a

the memorial intact. In a press conference held June 3, Mayor Jacob Frey commended the group for their work. “I really want to hold up their leadership,” he said. “They came to us to partner. They came to us with a vision for community, and they came to us with a vision for how we move forward with a phased reconnection with community at the forefront.” City council members Andrea Jenkins and Alondra Cano, whose districts border GFS, were also a part of the press conference and expressed their desire to see the intersection opened up, highlighting the importance of community engagement in planning the

90% of respondents wanted to see the intersection safely reopened. Though he wasn’t able to provide exact figures for the survey, Floyd said an increase in violence has been a main concern expressed by many residents who live near the square. He said one neighbor told him that she had experienced multiple break-ins during the past year. The plan for GFS, according to Floyd, includes bumpouts to protect the memorial, a roundabout around the metal fist, and stop signs to reduce speeding in the intersection. This is similar to the City’s design that was presented earlier this year after the Department of Public Works launched a sur-

vey about the reopening of GFS. They received a total of 685 responses from people residing in the area. A majority of respondents, 41%, indicated that they would like to see the raised fist structure left in its place with a roundabout created. Another 16% said they would like to first Agape’s plan Floyd said that his organiza- see justice before any changes tion conducted surveys with are implemented, echoing the residents and business owners point of community groups in in and around GFS and found the square.

Community activist and civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong was disturbed to see city leaders using a community group to help them in their efforts to reopen the intersection. “The City has a long history of divide and conquer tactics within the Black community to advance its own agenda,” she said. Armstrong said that reopening the square should be the least of the City’s priorities, as many issues continue to plague marginalized communities within the city including economic, housing, and police brutality. She added that the effort to retake the square by city leaders sends the wrong signal. “It still sends the signal that the lives of Black people do not matter to city leadership in Minneapolis. What matters is business as usual, and that’s what reopening those streets represents,” said Armstrong. CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein also expressed concern with how the city has gone about reopening the intersection and sees their efforts as a way of moving on from the tragedy. “George Floyd’s memorial site is a constant daily reminder to city officials and to the State that a human being was killed under their watch for nine minutes and 20 seconds,” he said. “The easiest thing for them is to let people move on, and the way they can do that is to des-

Black players have lower cognitive function at baseline. “The NFL has defended the practice in the past saying this was based on longestablished tests and widely accepted scoring methodologies, but there’s no scientific

evidence to show that Black patients have lower cognitive function, of course,” said Massachusetts General Hospital resident physician Dr. Darshali Vyas. “And it’s at odds with all of our genetic understanding of race to be-

“It was like I felt her soul crying. It’s a different type of crying.”

“The City needs to provide restorative justice to the community before it decides to reopen the streets.” future of the square. Mayor Frey added that he plans to ensure that the fist statue would remain in the square and that “the location where George Floyd was murdered never has tires run over it again.”

to all players who suffered brain injury harkens back to pseudoscience and old fashContinued from page 1 ioned eugenics of the late 19th century that attempted The presumed effort to de- to use science to defend fraud Black players of their White Supremacy. The tests assume that share of money promised

5

believe that no one has any video footage after all those departments showed up yesterday.” “He was like a brother to me,” said Waylon Hughes, who appeared in Uptown to talk to the press before the official conference began. Hughes said Smith has three kids. He reiterated that Smith was not a murder suspect and that he didn’t know Smith to carry a gun. “He was a funny guy. He was a comedian,” said Hughes. “He went live all the time. He did viral videos. He was always working on skits. He wasn’t a fighter at all. He ran from confrontation.” Mel Reeves welcomes reader responses to mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

gas canister back at police, fatally shot himself in 2017, but his family has cast doubt that his wounds were self-inflicted. Jones’ mother, Melissa McKinnies, an active Ferguson protester, said she believes foul play was involved in her son’s death. Jones was found hanging from a tree in his mother’s backyard in October 2017. Bassem Masri, a 31-year-old Palestinian-American known for livestreaming the Ferguson protests, was found unresponsive on a bus in 2018. A toxicology report showed he had suffered a fentanyl overdose. As the deaths of activists continue to rouse suspicion, a brewing controversy within the movement has escalated. Long before the Black Lives Matter movement reached an unparalleled level of worldwide exposure in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, Seals warned about the hijacking of the movement and accused the organization of profiting off of Black death. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation revealed in

February that it raised $90 million amid America’s racial reckoning last year. In March, the father of Michael Brown and other Ferguson activists demanded $20 million from the organization. “We’re coming for what we deserve,” said Tory Russell of the International Black Freedom Alliance. The Brown family and BLM met to hash out issues between BLM and parents of police brutality victims later that month. Neither party has publicly disclosed details of the meeting, but the Michael Brown Chosen for Change Foundation confirmed that there is “no financial relationship or agreement” between the two groups. “Darren used to call it Black Death businesses. He said that’s what Black Lives Matter was doing,” Taylor said. “Look at it years later, that’s what they have done.”

ecrate the location by having cars go through it. But that's the problem. People do not want to move on.” Hussein, who has a background in urban planning, explained that the square has naturally become a walking plaza. He believes businesses and residents could be better served if the City adopted a design that wouldn’t prioritize cars and could make the intersection an economic hub.

conversation about reopening the streets then we need to do it with the entire community.” Floyd said that he preferred to work with activists like Austin and Howard who have the community’s ear rather than gain the approval of everyone involved in the memorial. Though Floyd dismisses any claim of working against the interest of the women in the square, he admits that the group has been working with one of its members on his communication skills. Some have claimed that members of the group have hurled insults and have been aggressive. Floyd explained that Agape’s mission is “transforming street energy into community energy” and noted that many of its members are men who were involved in gangs and are looking to change their lives for the better. Floyd believes that the City’s approach is a pragmatic one and can lead to further gains by the community if they engage with city leaders to reopen the square. “We have a seat at the table,” Floyd said. “Let’s go to the table and do what we’re supposed to do and negotiate. They’re not going to back down now. This is an election year. Let’s be as smart as they are.”

Niara Savage welcomes reader responses to nsavage@spokesma-recorder.com.

Local activists disagree Much of the criticism of Agape stems from activists who have maintained the square, including Jeanelle Austin, who says the group doesn’t speak for everyone who has been a part of the zone. Austin has been a caretaker of the square for the past year and sits on the board of the George Floyd Global Memorial. She criticized the reopening efforts for failing to take into account the demands of activists. “I’ve been absolutely consistent on this all year long that the City needs to provide restorative justice to the community before it decides to reopen the streets,” she said. Austin said that she last spoke with Steve Floyd on May 12 about his negotiation efforts with the City, but she was blindsided by the City’s reopening efforts in cooperaAbdi Mohamed welcomes tion with Agape. “I said to him reader responses to amohamed@ that if we are going to have a spokesman-recorder.com. gin with.” More than 7,000 former NFLers took the free neuropsychological and neurological exams offered in the settlement. There are no clear numbers on how many Black players were denied settle-

ment compensation because of the bias in the testing. Evaluations were given, but many of the players apparently do not know how they actually scored on their exams.

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June 10-June 16, 2021

Graduates 2021

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Sydney Klink

Congratulations Class of 2021!!! Romero Cummings

Salma Farah

Graduate of: Kennedy High School Parent: Jolene Klink

Graduate of: Jefferson High School

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Parents: Nimco Cisse and Abdi Farah

Parent: Robin Wertz

Future plans: To attend Tuskegee University in the fall and major in Nursing

Future plans: Majoring in Psychology to become a future Forensic Psychologist

Future plans: Attending Hamline University as an Art Major

“Sometimes you have to take two steps back to take ten steps forward.” - Nipsey Hussle

"Working hard actually works, I started prioritizing school the last 2 years of high school and i ended up doing really well!" – Myself

“Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.” – Beyoncé Knowles

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Ramia Cummings

Mykaela DeBoze

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Congratulations Class of 2021!!! Latrelle Starr Graduate of: Kennedy High School Parents: Dominique Jones & PJ Starr

Future plans: Normandale Community College with a major in Sports Management

“You have to be able to accept failure to get better.” – Lebron James

Parents: Bambo Jaiteh & Adama Ceesay

Future plans: Attend Chicago State University with a major in Secondary Education and a minor in Child Psychology with hopes to pursue a career as a English teacher

Future plans: Hennepin Technical College to finish my Health Unit Coordinator Certification then pursue a Nursing degree

“Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. Don’t be afraid to fail” – Michelle Obama

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Parents: Michael DeBoze-Blackmon & Bryant DeBoze-Blackmon

Parent: Robin Wertz

Future plans: Attending Hamline University with a focus on Criminology/ Criminal Justice

Fatoumata Jaiteh

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore

“Despite all the trials and tribulations, I still had to remain as the one with dreams bigger than her head” – Unknown

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Congratulations Class of 2021!!!

Kamaladin Hassan

Luis Aguilar Ariza

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Graduate of: Kennedy High School

Parents: Jessica Ariza Barrera & Luis Rey Aguilar Garcia

Parent: Mulki Shire

Future plans: Metropolitan State University, English/Psychology/Political Science, I want to study Law & Politics

Even a Global Pandemic couldn’t stop us, we made it. We graduated!!

Future plans: Explore certification in Auto Body Repair Technician

Adrienne C. Moore once said, “The truth is, we all face hardships of some kind, and you never know the struggles a person is going through. Behind every smile, there’s a story of a personal struggle”.

June 10-June 16, 2021

Graduates 2021 Congratulations Class of 2021!!! Mia Holliday Graduate of: Simley High School Parents: Hope Briggs and Tommie Holliday

Future plans: Attend junior college and pursue dancing career

Let your light shine and reach for the stars.

Become a warrior for justice

The transforming power of education Excerpts from a graduation speech by Prairie View A&M President Ruth J Simmons As a child of poverty who nev- among people that allow us to er imagined being able to attend live peacefully in a world rife college, discovering that learning with competing aims, conflicting could be as enabling and trans- opinions and diverse histories. More importantly, when enformative as I found it to be as an undergraduate changed the countering those who would direction of my life in a powerful hate and denigrate those who are different, have the courway. I was born on a large planta- age to dispute the validity of tion in East Texas, where my par- such bile. Your actions to deents were sharecroppers. Educa- fend those who are attacked tion in rural Grapeland, Texas in for their difference will be a the 1940s and ’50s was a luxury beacon for others. Give no that our family of 12 children quarter to discrimination, hacould ill afford, because for chil- rassment, bias and other tools dren to attend school on a regular of hatred. basis meant fewer hands to work My encounter with difin the fields. When the opportunity arrived ference fueled a career that in 1952 to relocate to Houston, otherwise could never have my parents chose to be a part of happened. Serving as presithat Great Migration to provide dent of Smith College and a better life for their children. As a consequence, my younger siblings and I were able to attend school every day. That opportunity not only saved our lives but opened wide possibilities that we had never dared dream. You see, discrimination and Jim Crow were one thing in the then Brown University was as urban South but quite another improbable as any path that in rural areas. The rules of racial could have been imagined for separation and discrimination me. Born and reared under were stricter in rural areas, and Jim Crow, going to a Black the enforcement of violations of college, being impoverished the code of segregation was often in assets and in outlook, how could I become the first Afrimore brutally enforced. Racial protocols included can American to lead an Ivy the requirement for Blacks to League University? Improbability dwells pay proper respect to Whites, a restriction on what areas Blacks comfortably with those who could frequent, and, most tell- would embrace the lessons of ingly, a prohibition against har- diversity and difference. Now boring ambitions deemed unsuit- president of a Black college, I able for Blacks. It won’t surprise you, then, that as a child of those times, I found education to be magical. The classroom afforded an idealized environment that differed radically from what I experienced outside of school. There I could be empowered and nourished by a sense of belonging to an inclusive world beyond the trenchant bigotry that greeted as soon as I From me Classified closedDepartment/MN the schoolhouse door behindSpokesman-Recorder me. While interacting with differencePHONE: can at times be frustrat612-827-4021 ing and unsettling, it remains an unparalleled opportunity for FOR BILLING us all. Some may be persuaded INQUIRIES that it & is far more comfortable TEARSHEETS to be surrounded by clones of PLEASE CONTACT themselves, but such a choice ACCOUNTING DEPT tends @ to be more re-enforcing BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER. than challenging, stifling learnCOM ing rather than stoking growth and creativity. Over the decades, IOF have DISSOLUTION MARRIAGE watched with delight as stu3 WEEK RUN dents FLAT have suddenly and unRATE $200.00 PREPAID expectedly been transfixed by The MSR billing an insight gainedhandles from the en- digitally. This you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices counter withmeans difference. I have unless you specifically seen them awakened by critical request a hard copy.

Courtesy of Princeton University am still learning from differI ask you to work hard for ence, still insisting on diver- clarity of mind and purity of sity, and still preaching to my heart when it comes to this issue. You need not be perfect, but you must ever be in the process of perfecting your ability to be a force for good when it comes to mediating in this space. Your wisdom and experience will be needed. Your students about the value of goodwill and empathy will such experiences. be a salve to fractured comI will never stop impart- munities. Your hopeful leading to others what is so plain ership can help to save us. Be to see: That is, as a nation, a warrior for justice and equal we have much work to do to treatment whatever path you overturn the legacy of pain pursue. caused by the practice of racial exclusion and exploitaThese remarks are from a tion. Our experience with speech delivered by Ruth J. Simthat failed strategy should mons, president of Prairie View teach us well what we must A&M University, at the 2021 do in terms of including and Princeton University baccalaurespecting difference in all the reate ceremony. ways we can.

“Your actions to defend those who are attacked for their difference will be a beacon for others.”

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLACK PRESS! Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder has been the voice of the African American community for over 86 years! Please consider making a donation to help us continue bringing you the news that matters most and to ensure our financial stability for another 86 years! Call 612-827-4021 for more information.

Legal State of Minnesota

District Court Wright Court File Number: 86-FA-21-326 Case Type: Dissolution without Children

In Re the Marriage of Alexey Pederson Petitioner Summons (Check One) and X Without Real Estate With Real Estate Anita Ramirez Respondent THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENT: WARNING: Your spouse has filed a lawsuit against you for the dissolution of your marriage. A copy of the paperwork regarding the lawsuit is served on you with this Summons. This summons is an official document from the court that affects your rights. Read this summons carefully. If you do not understand it, contact an attorney for legal advice. The Petitioner (your spouse) has filed a lawsuit against you asking for a dissolution of your marriage (divorce). You must serve upon Petitioner and file with the Court a written Answer to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and you must pay the required filing fee. Answer forms are available from the Court Administrator’s office. You must serve your Answer upon Petitioner within thirty (30) days of the date you were served with this Summons, not counting the day of service. If you do not serve and file your Answer, the Court may give your spouse everything he or she is asking for in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. This proceeding involves, affects or brings into question the real property located at the following address: N/A (For a second property) This proceeding involves, affects, or brings into question the real property located at the following address: N/A OR

X This proceeding does not involve real property

NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING PROVISIONS Neither party may dispose of any assets except (a) for the necessities of life or for the necessary generation of income or preservation of assets, (b) by an agreement of the parties in writing, or (c) for retaining counsel to carry on or to contest this proceeding. Neither party may harass the other party. All currently available insurance coverage must be maintained and continued without change in coverage or beneficiary designation Parties to a marriage dissolution proceeding are encouraged to attempt alternative dispute resolution pursuant to Minnesota law. Alternative dispute resolution includes mediation, arbitration, and other processes as set forth in district court rules. You may contact the court administrator about resources in your area. If you cannot pay for mediation or alternative dispute resolution, in some counties, assistance may be available to you through a nonprofit provider or a court program. If you are a victim of domestic abuse or threats as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 518B, you are not required to try mediation and you will not be penalized by the court in later proceedings. IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF THESE PROVISIONS YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS BY THE COURT. Dated: 05/17/21 Signed: Alexey Pederson, Otsego, MN Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder May 27 & June 3 & 10, 2021

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insights offered by countervailing views. I’ve observed the awakening in them of deep and authentic concern for others. There are those who wish to re-propagate notions of racial superiority. Had we not seen this spoken and acted out, we might have thought the idea of such a resurgence far-fetched or even absurd. After all, an enlightened nation would never stand for it. But this dangerous turn is real and one that should make us sit up straight, take stock of how well we are focusing on improving our efforts in diversity, and recommit to the hard work of fostering mutual understanding. Every institution, every individual, and every community must turn its attention to fostering relations

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June 10-June 16, 2021

Business

Black talent in tech set to shine at Twin Cities summit sion personality Robyne Robinson, Brown Venture Group, and more. “Brown Ventures is a $50 million venture capital fund focusing on Black and Brown tech founders,” shared Jackson. Day two of the summit centers around networking with a happy hour event held

By Tiffany Johnson Contributing writer The first Black Tech Talent (BTT) Summit is happening right here in the Twin Cities from June 11-13, 2021. With the leading tagline, “Find a resource. Be a resource,” Black Tech Talent is a Minnesota-based organization that focuses on inclusivity and opportunity as it pertains to the Black community in the tech field. While 2020 posed many barriers, in the past yearand-a-half Black Tech Talent has been the recipient of the Inclusive Evolution Award from the Minnesota Startup Awards; the Community Impact Award from Twin Cities Business Magazine; and just this past April they were awarded the Beta Showcase, from startup accelerator Beta MN. “The reason why it’s important for us to do the summit now is, a lot of students are now getting out of school and they’re going to be looking for work and opportunities to network,” said Mike Jackson, founder of Black Tech Talent. “Also, with coming out of the pandemic and things opening up again, it’s an opportunity for Black technologists to fellowship, be able to network, have conversations and talk about the ups-and-

Mike Jackson, founder of Black Tech Talent downs of what has happened over the last year.” The Black Tech Talent Summit will be three days of robust resources, activities, and events; some happening in the virtual space and some in-person focusing on topics like Routes to the Tech Field, Diversity & Inclusion, Robotics, Investor Relationships, and Employee Retention, to name a few.

Space and we’re showing off different technology built by Black people,” said Jackson. Jackson has received overwhelming support not only from community but partnering organizations and event sponsors like Prime Digital, Granicus, as well as the Star Tribune who awarded Black

is important to have events like the Black Tech Talent Summit to help address these types of gaps that are common in tech. “The goal is to provide this event for the community to network, for people to get hired. To also show different corporations that there is

Submitted photo

Day one of the summit is entirely virtual and includes the keynote speaker and educational sessions. “We have all of the educational portions online. We don’t want [participants] to miss out on learning and panels and the recruiting and introductions that will be made,” said Jackson. Featured presenters for the summit include local televi-

Coutesy of nappy.co at Moxy in Uptown. This is the only adult-only event. Day three is a demo day that includes a showcase of Black-developed technologies as well as a pitch competition. “A lot of great innovators came out of this pandemic so we have a demo day that will be at Creators

Tech Talent the Star Tribune Connect Grant. In June of 2020, CNBC data revealed major tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Twitter, saw only single-digit percentage growth of their Black employees after a six-year period. Jackson said he believes it

Black tech talent both locally and nationally,” he shared. To learn more and to register for the Black Tech Talent Summit visit: accelevents.com/e/ blacktechtalentsummit. This event is $20 or $5 if you join the Black Tech Talent Slack community.

Expanding mobile phone options is a win for consumers SPONSORED CONTENT Mobile phones are everywhere. In fact, according to data from Pew Research, 97% of Americans now own a cellphone of some kind, with 85% using a ‘smartphone.’ Interestingly, the device that launched the smartphone revolution—the iPhone— was first introduced a mere 14 years ago. Mobile phone challenges: high cost While new enhancements and features continue to be introduced, one of the biggest challenges facing many households has been the high cost of separate phone lines and devices for each member of the family. This is particularly frustrating in homes where multiple users are demanding to be ‘mobile’ at the

same time. The pricing roadblock has recently changed, however, as Comcast’s Xfinity brand introduced an entirely new way to bring wireless technology for each member of the family at the lowest price yet. Xfinity Mobile customers can now get updated pricing for Unlimited data with 5G included for as low as $30 a line for four Unlimited lines—providing even more value to new and existing customers. Xfinity Mobile customers already get the best price for one line of Unlimited data with 5G, starting at $45 per month, and now, the more lines of Unlimited customers add, the more value they get. As more families are working and learning on the go, the new unlimited pricing options

from Xfinity Mobile allow them to stay connected at affordable prices, with the flexibility to mix and match shared and unlimited data options all on one plan. In fact, demand for unlimited data from mobile phone customers has steadily increased since 2017, with 85% of all customers now preferring an unlimited data option vs. 55% just four years ago.

the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. Despite initial skepticism, expanding mobile phone choices from new entrants has been a win-win situation for all. Service providers like Comcast have the opportunity to ‘bundle’ mobile phone service into their other product lines, offering a true money-saving value for customers and an expanding base of loyal, long-term subscribers for the company.

How Xfinity can make plans more affordable Xfinity Mobile was introFor more information about duced in 2017 as a cost-effective option for existing Xfinity In- Xfinity Mobile, visit www.xfinternet customers who wanted ity.com/mobile. a more affordable and flexible choice for their mobile service. Since its rollout, the company has gained more than 3 million Xfinity Mobile subscribers, earning a #1 rating from

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June 10-June 16, 2021

Arts & Culture

9

Twin Cities Jazz Festival returns with live and virtual shows Festival returns this month and offers both outdoor and indoor concerts, many of which will be virtual but live, too. This year’s festival is set for June 24-27 and By Robin James takes place at Crooners in Fridley Contributing writer and the Dakota in downtown Jazz fans, it’s that time again. Minneapolis. Seating is limited at CroonThe COVID-19 pandemic prevented it from going forward ers, where the big headliner and last year, but the Twin Cities Jazz Grammy award-winning vocal-

James on Jazz

ist Kurt Elling will perform. Other headliners include the Jazz Women All-Stars, featuring vocalists Patty Peterson and Ginger Commodore; Andrew Walesch; the JazzMN Orchestra with vocalist/keyboardist Ricky Peterson and saxophonist Bob Mintzer; vocalist Jamecia Bennett; and saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi and his quartet. Beloved

Branford Marsalis quartet at the 2014 Twin Cities Jazz Festival

Twin Cities pianists Tom West, and Laura Caviani will also perform. Twin Cities’ favorite and former “The Voice” contestant Ashley DuBose will get the festival started at a live-stream concert at the Dakota.

The TC Jazz Festival is usually held at St. Paul’s Mears Park in Lowertown with thousands in attendance. Additional plans are in the works for the return of the festival in September 2021. For more details about tickets, free

MSR file photo

performances, and streamed concerts, please visit www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com. Robin James welcomes readers’ responses to jamesonjazz@spokesman-recorder.com.

‘The Underground Railroad’ attempts to reshape what it meant to be enslaved By William Nash Speaking on NPR’s Fresh Air, Barry Jenkins, the director of “The Underground Railroad,” noted that “before making this show … I would have said I’m the descendant of enslaved Africans. “I think now that answer has evolved,” he continued. “I am the descendant of blacksmiths and midwives and herbalists and spiritualists.” I am struck by the ways Jenkins seeks to change the way viewers think about—and talk about—Black American history. In doing so, he takes the baton from scholars, activists and artists who have, for decades, attempted to shake up Americans’ understanding of slavery. Much of this work has centered on reimagining slaves not as objects who were acted upon, but as individuals who maintained identities and agency—however limited—despite their status as property. Pushing the boundaries of language In the past three decades there has been a movement among academics to find suitable terms to replace “slave” and “slavery.” In the 1990s, a group of scholars asserted that “slave” was too limited a term—to label someone a “slave,” the argument went, emphasized the “thinghood” of all those held in slavery, rendering personal attributes apart from being owned invisible. Attempting to emphasize that humanity, other scholars substituted “enslavement” for “slavery,” “enslaver” for “slave owner,” and “enslaved person” for “slave.” Following the principles of “people-first language” —such as using “incarcerated people” as opposed to “inmates” —the terminology asserts that the person in question is more than just the state of oppression imposed onto him or her. The new language reached another pinnacle with the publication of The New York Times’ “1619 Project.” In the opening essay, project editor Nikole Hannah-Jones eschews “slave” and

“slavery,” using variants of “enslavement” throughout. However controversial the series may be, it is setting the terms of current discussions about enslavement. “Enslaved person”—at least among people open to the idea that a fresh look at American chattel slavery necessitated new language—became the new normal. What, then, to make of Barry Jenkins’ saying he wants to push past this terminology? In that same NPR interview, Jenkins notes that “right now [Americans] are referring to [Black slaves] as enslaved, which I think is very honorable and worthy, but it takes the onus off of who they were and places it on what was done to them. And I want to get to what they did.” I think that Jenkins is onto something important here. Whichever side you take in the ongoing terminology debate, both “slave” and “enslaved person” erase both personality and agency from the individuals being described. And this is the conundrum: The state of enslavement was, by definition, dehumanizing. For artists, writers and thinkers it’s difficult to reflect on the dehumanization of masses of people without diminishing some of the characteristics that make them unique. And once you step onto that path, it’s a short journey to reducing the identity of the collective group— including their ancestors—to one that’s defined by their worst experiences. Seeing slaves on screen In some ways, because of the nature of their medium, filmmakers have fared better than their fellow artists at balancing the challenges of portraying the horrific experiences of enslaved people as a whole and elevating the particular experiences of enslaved individuals. So where does Jenkins fit in the lineage of cinematic depictions of enslavement? From the start, comparisons to “Roots” — the first miniseries about American chattel slavery—abound. “Roots,” which appeared in 1977, was the first miniseries on

American television to explore the experiences of slavery on multiple generations of one Black family. It also created powerful opportunities for interracial empathy. By contrast, “The Underground Railroad” appears in an age replete with representations of enslavement. WGN’s underappreciated series “Underground,” the 2016 remake of “Roots,” 2020’s “The Good Lord Bird,” “Django Unchained,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Harriet” are just a handful of recent innovative portrayals of slavery. A delicate dance between beauty and suffering Looking at “The Underground Railroad,” I can see how and why Jenkins’ vision is so important in this moment. In Jenkins’ films “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” the director made a name for himself as an artist who can push past narrow, constraining visions of Black identity as one marked solely by suffering. His films are not free from pain, of course. But pain is not their dominant note. His Black worlds are places where beauty abounds, where the characters in the stories he tells experience vibrancy as well as desolation. Jenkins brings that sensibility to “The Underground Railroad” as well. Critics have commented on how Jenkins uses the landscape to achieve this beauty. I was struck by how the sun-soaked fields of an Indiana farm create a perfectly fitting backdrop for the rejuvenating love Cora finds there with Royal. In “The Underground Railroad,” slavery—for all its horrors—exists in an environment nonetheless imbued with beauty. The curtain of Cora’s vacant cabin flapping in the breeze and framed by the rough timbers of the slave quarters evokes the paintings of Jacob Lawrence. In other scenes, Jenkins juxtaposes radically different landscapes and actions to emphasize the complexity of these characters’ experiences. For example, Cora works as an actor at a museum, where she plays an “African savage” for visitors; in one

Caesar, played by Aaron Pierre, and Cora, played by Thuso Mbedu, escape from the plantation where they were held as slaves in “The Underground Railroad.” Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios scene, she changes out of the costume and into an elegant yellow dress. Walking the clean, orderly streets of Griffin, South Carolina, she transforms into a picture of middle-class propriety. Scenes portraying the manners and reading lessons offered by the faculty of the Tuskegeestyle institute where Cora and other fugitives find shelter demonstrate the allure of these middle-class values. On first glance, it all appears promising. Only later, when Cora’s pushed by her men-

tor to undergo forced sterilization, does it become apparent that she’s landed in a horror show. Living with the recognition that calm can instantly and unexpectedly become carnage is part of the human condition. Jenkins reminds viewers that for Black Americans—both then and now —this prospective peril can be particularly pronounced. William Nash is a professor of American Studies and English and

American Literatures, Middlebury. This story first appeared on The Conversation and is republished with permission. This story was edited to fit in print. For the full story, visit msrnewsonline.com.

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June 10-June 16, 2021

BULLETIN

A snapshot of Juneteenth events in the Twin Cities With the increased calls for racial equity and social justice, there has been a heightened focus on learning and understanding the rich history of African Americans. Juneteenth presents one such occasion. Also known as the Black Fourth of July, Independence Day, Freedom Day, and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas learned that they were free—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. Below, find an abbreviated listing of free community Juneteenth celebrations in the Twin Cities and beyond. Visit msrnewonline. com to find more events.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, to a drive-in movie viewing of “42,” community panel discussions, youth performances, and more. Find details and a schedule at minneapolisparks.org/Juneteenth

The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Mitchell Hamline School (MHSL) invites community members to join in a Juneteenth march and rally for reparations, child protection and the advancement of people's rights. For more, go to bit.ly/June-

and food available for purchase from Burnsville's locally owned Jersey Mike's. Juneteenth Celebration at For more info, go to bit.ly/BurnsMidtown Global Market 11 am–4 pm @ Midtown Glob- villeJuneteenth al Market, Lake St. E. & Chicago Reparations Juneteenth Ave., Minneapolis Celebration 1-4 pm @ Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard., St. Paul Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Communities United Against Police Brutality and other organizations are hosting this event at the Capitol to demand economic justice for Black lives in America in celebration of Juneteenth. Bring family and friends to enjoy games, music, and fun. For more info, go to bit.ly/JuneteenthCapitol

JUNE 13-19

Juneteenth: A Celebration with Music & Community 3-4:30 pm @ Boyd Park, 335 Selby Ave., St. Paul

Celebrate Juneteenth Online 4 pm via online Want to beat the heat or avoid crowds? Gather with others online throughout the week of June 13-19. Enjoy powerful stories, performances, rhythms, and songs with Passed Presents, Journey Productions, Nothando Zulu, Auntie Beverly, WE WIN Institute, Wisdom Young, Voice of Culture, Mama Sheila's House of Soul, Black Table Arts Co-op, and Million Artists Movement. ASL interpreters will be present for all live virtual events. The events are sponsored by the Hennepin County Library and funded by Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Find more details and to register for events, go to www.hclib. org/Juneteenth Juneteenth—Celebrating Freedom Day Various times @ Minneapolis Parks

JUNE 15 Minnehaha Academy & Mosaic Present a Juneteenth Celebration 6-8:30 pm @ 3100 W. River Pkwy., Minneapolis The community is invited to a family Juneteenth celebration at the Minnehaha Academy Upper School's Bethlehem Amphitheater. Entertainment is from 7-8 pm and includes African storytelling by Beverly Cottman; African movement performance by Duniya Drum and Dance; Gospel music by SeVy; and Nashville Coop and Jones in Your Bones food trucks. Attendees are also welcomed to bring their own picnic dinner. For more info, visit bit.ly/MinnehahaMosaicJuneteenth

After cancellations due to the pandemic in 2020, this year, the MPRB and the Juneteenth Community Board will commemorate Juneteenth with a week full of in-person and virtual activities in various parks. The event series JUNE 17 offers author presentations featuring “Black is a Rainbow Color” Juneteenth March and Rally by Angela Joy in Theodore Wirth 6-8 pm @ 875 Summit Ave., St. Beach area, and “Juneteenth for Paul Mazie” by Floyd Cooper at Rev.

Billed as a day of “education and informational entertainment,” Midtown Global Market will host a day of festivities that include African American storytelling; Juneteenth kids crafts; young entrepreneurs from Creative Innovators; the Dancing JUNE 19 Divas dance troop; Chicago Steppin’ by Command Steppers; New Northside Community Start Fashions fashion crawl; and Juneteenth Celebration 10 am–3 pm @ Bethune Park, new establishment Soul to Soul Smokehouse will offer Juneteenth 1304 N. 10th Ave., Minneapolis specials. For more info, go to bit.ly/JuneIn celebration of the 156th anniversary of African American teenthMidtown emancipation, Pimento Relief Services aims to bring everyone together for a day of Black unity, Free to Be Juneteenth Celebration peace, and liberation. 1-3:30 pm @ North River Hills There will be free food, music, books, and activities for the Park, 11501 19th Ave., Burnsville The City of Burnsville is celwhole family, as well as the Ujaebrating Juneteenth, also known maa Black Vendors Market. Enjoy musical performances as Freedom Day, with its annual by Lewiee Blaze and Blu Bone, community event. Attendees can and youth performance by Jour- enjoy author talks, poetry, crafts, ney Productions of Black, Bold entertainment by Tropics Steel Drum Band, a dance party led and Brilliant. For more info, go to http://bit. by line dance leader Teresa HartSandifer, music by U.P.G. choir ly/BethunePark teenthMarchRally MHSL is also offering panel discussions throughout the week leading up to Juneteenth. For more info, go to bit.ly/DEIJuneteenth

Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Worship

Publisher/CEO

Co-Publisher Emeritus

Rev. Arthur Agnew, Pastor

Rev. James C. Thomas, Pastor

451 West Central

St. Paul, MN 55103 651-227-4444

Church School 9:30 am Morning Worship 8:00 & 10:45 am Prayer Service:

Wednesday 7 pm "Welcome to

Mt. Olivet Baptist Church"

At the Old Landmark 1118 So. 8th Street Mpls., MN 55404 612-332-5904 www.bethesdamnonline.com bethesdamn@prodigy.net Sunday Service Times: Early Morning Service 9 am Sunday School 10 am Sunday Worship 11:30 am Wednesday Prayer Meeting, 6 pm Adult Bible Class 7 pm Children's Bible Class 7 pm

2600 E. 38th Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 www.greatfriend.org Phone: 612.827.7928 Fax: 612.827.3587 info@greatfriend.org Sundays 8:00am Sunday School 9:30am Worship Service The Friendly Church Where Everybody Is Somebody

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Doctor Charles Gill 732 W. Central Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 Sunday Worship Service: 9:45 AM Sunday School: 8:45 AM

For more Juneteenth events or to add yours to the MSR community calendar, visit msrnewsonline.com.

Tracey Williams-DillarD

Wallace (Jack) JackmaN

Rev. Dr. Billy G. Russell, Sr. Pastor

With Father’s Day following Juneteenth this year, event organizers are centering Black families in celebration of Juneteenth. Attendees can enjoy music, entertainment, and speakers; Black food and retail vendors; dancing; educational experiences; kid activities, and more. For more info, visit bit.ly/DakotaJuneteenth

3744 4th Ave. South • Minneapolis, MN 55409 Phone: 612-827-4021 • Fax: 612-827-0577

cecil e. NeWmaN

Bethesda Baptist Church

Juneteenth 2021 Family Reunion 4-8 pm @ Dakota County Technical College, 1300 145th St. E., Rosemount

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER

Founder-Publisher 1934-1976

Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

The YWCA St. Paul, in partnership with Hallie Q. Brown, Walker West, and United Family Medicine, host a Juneteenth celebration full of music and entertainment. The entertainment lineup includes T. Mychael Rambo, Singer Thomasina Petrus, Violinist Emila Mettenbrink with Pianist Franco Holder, Walker West Youth Jazz Ensemble, and more. Food trucks will also be available to purchase refreshments. For more info, go to www.ywcastpaul.org/juneteenth-2021

l auNa Q. NeWmaN CEO/Publisher 1976-2000

Norma JeaN Williams Vice President Emeritus

Senior Editor Jerry Freeman

Contributing Writers

Sports Writers

Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III

Charles Hallman

Community Editor Mel Reeves

Dr. Deirdre Golden

Dr. Mitchell P. McDonald

Aleezeh Hasan

Contributing Photographers

Dr. Clarence Hightower

Digital Editor Paige Elliott

Abeni Hill Dwight Hobbes

Desktop Publisher Jennifer Cherrier Jim Handrigan

Tiffany Johnson Brandon Jones

Onika Nicole Craven Steve Floyd Chris Juhn Travis Lee

Tony Kiene

Administrative Assistant Jibra’il Abdul-Azeem

Juliet Mitchell Khymyle Mims

Account Representatives Cecilia Viel

Abdi Muhommed Monica Zorilla

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INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

Employment & Legals State of Minnesota County of: Anoka In Re the Marriage of: Dwayne Ricky Cartharn Petitioner (first, middle, last) and Gela Yvette Glover

District Court Judicial District: Tenth Court File Number: 02-FA-21-197 Case Type: Dissolution with Children

From Classified Department/MN COUNTY OF HENNEPIN Spokesman-Recorder

STATE OF MINNESOTA

Derrick Allen Banks, PHONE: 612-827-4021 Summons (Check One) X Without Real Estate With Real Estate

Respondent (first, middle, last) THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENT: WARNING: Your spouse has filed a lawsuit against you for dissolution of your marriage. A copy of the paperwork regarding the lawsuit is served on you with this summons. This summons is an official document from the court that affects your rights. Read this summons carefully. If you do not under stand it, contact an attorney for legal advice. l.The Petitioner (your spouse) has filed a lawsuit against you asking for a dissolution of your marriage (divorce). A copy of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is attached to this Summons. There should also be a copy of Petitioner's Financial Affidavit attached. 2.You must serve upon Petitioner and file with the Court a written Answer to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and your Financial Affidavit. You must pay the required filing fee. Answer forms and the Financial Affidavit form are available from the Court Administrator's office you must serve your Answer and Financial Affidavit upon Petitioner within thirty (30) days of the date you were served with this Summons, not counting the day of service. If you do not serve and file your Answer and Financial Affidavit, the Court may give your spouse everything he or she is asking for in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. 3.This proceeding involves, affects, or brings into question the real property located at the following address: N/A X This proceeding does not involve real property. NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING PROVISIONS Under Minnesota law, service of this summons makes the following requirements apply to both parties to the action, unless they are modified by the court or the p roceeding is dismissed: (1) Neither party may dispose of any assets except (a) for the necessities of life or for the necessary generation of income or preservation of assets, (b) by an agreement of the parties in writing, or (c) for retaining counsel to carry on or to contest this proceeding. (2) Neither party may harass the other party. (3) All currently available insurance coverage must be maintained and continued without change in coverage or beneficiary designation. (4) Parties to a marriage dissolution proceeding are encouraged to attempt alternative dispute resolution pursuant to Minnesota law. Alternative dispute resolution includes mediation, arbitration and other processes as set forth in the district court rules. You may contact the court administrator about resources in your area. If you cannot pay for mediation or alternative dispute resolution, in some counties, assistance may be available to you through a nonprofit provider or a court program. If you are a victim of domestic abuse or threats as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 518B, you are not required to try mediation and you will not be penalized by the court in later proceedings.

FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Type of Case: Personal Injury Court File No.

1. YOU ARE BEING SUED. The Plaintiff has started a lawsuit against you. The Plaintiff’s Complaint against you is attached to this Summons. Do not throw these papers away. They are official papers that affect your rights. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE You must respond to this lawsuit even though it may not yet be filed with the 3 WEEK RUN Court and there may be no Court file number on this Summons.

3. YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written response to the Plaintiff’s Complaint. In your Answer you must state whether you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the Plaintiff should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must say so in your Answer. 4. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT SEND A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT TO THE PERSON WHO SIGNED THE SUMMONS. If you do not Answer within 21 days, you will lose this case. 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. 5. LEGAL ASSISTANCE: You may wish to get legal help from a lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, the Court Administrator may have information about places where you can get legal assistance. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must 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 ordered to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. You must still send your written response to the Complaint even if you expect to use alternative means of resolving this dispute.

Dated: March 25, 2021

_/s/ Alan S. Milavetz___ Alan S. Milavetz, Esq., #0164677 Attorneys for Plaintiff 1915 - 57th Avenue North Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 Telephone: (763) 560-0000 Facsimile: (763) 566-0211 amilavetz@milavetzlaw.com

COUNTY OF HENNEPIN

In Re: Estate of Philip G. Schmidt , Deceased

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder June 10, 17, & 24, 2021

State of Minnesota County Ramsey

STATE OF MINNESOTA

FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

District Court Judicial District: Second Judicial District Court File Number: 62-DA-FA-21-379 Case Type: Domestic Abuse In the Matter of Amanda Marie Champion and OBO minor child vs Antonio Dawayne Johnson Order for Alternate Service or Publication From Classified (Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subds. 5(f) and 8)

Department/MN Order Spokesman-Recorder

PROBATE MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION

NOTICE OF INFORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS FILE NO. 27-PA-PR-21-508

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS: Notice is hereby given, that an application for informal probate of the above named decedent's last will dated July 15, 1992, has been filed with the Registrar herein, and the application has been granted informally probating such will. Any objections may be filed in the above, and the same will be heard by the Court upon notice of hearing fixed for such purpose. Notice is hereby further given that the informal appointment of Lawrence Anthony Schmidt, whose address is 4463 Reindeer Lane, Eagan MN 55123, and Francis John Schmidt, whose address is 505 Silver Thorne Drive, Columbia MO 65203, as co-personal representatives of the estate of the abovenamed decedent, has been made. Any heir, devisee or other interested person may be entitled to appointment as personal representative or may object to the appointment of the personal representative and the personal representative are empowered to fully administer the estate including, after 28 days from the date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate, unless objections thereto are filed with the Court (pursuant to Section 524.3607) and the Court otherwise orders. Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representative or to the Probate Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred. Dated: May 24, 2021

Alonna J. Warns Registrar

ProSe

Sarah Lindahl-Pfieffer District Court Administrator

Based on the Affidavit for Alternate Service or Publication, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1a. X Service shall be 612-827-4021 by first class mail, forwarding address requested, to the PHONE: following address: 107 Blake Road N., #304, Hopkins, MN 55343 and 12625 45th Avenue N. Plymouth MN 55446.

FOR BILLING

1b. X Service shall be by publication one time in a 7 day period as provided INQUIRIES in Minn. Stat. §645.11 and Minn. Stat. §518B.01, subd. 5(f).

& TEARSHEETS

2a. X A hearing will be held on June 23, 2021 at 10AM at SEE NOTICE OF PLEASE CONTACT REMOTE HEARING

ACCOUNTING DEPT

2b. A hearing will not be held unless requested by Respondent pursuant to statute.

State of Minnesota Certificate of Assumed Name The MSR handles billing digitally. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 333will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices This means you ASSUMED NAME: Albert Wright Jr. unless you specifically request a hard copy. PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS: 1201 12th Ave. North Apt. #702 Minneapolis, MN 55441 USA NAMEHOLDER:

Albert Wright Jr. 1201 12th Ave. North Apt. #702 Minneapolis, MN 55441 USA

By typing my name, I, the undersigned, certify that I am signing this document as the person whose signature is required, or as agent of the person(s) whose signature would be required who has authorized me to sign this document on his/ her behalf, or in both capacities. I further certify that I have completed all required fields, and that the information in this document is true and correct and in compliance with the applicable chapter of Minnesota Statutes. I understand that by signing this document I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Section 609.48 as if I had signed this document under oath. SIGNED BY: Albert Wright Jr. MAILING ADDRESS: 1201 12th Ave. North, Apt. #702, Minneapolis, MN 55441 EMAIL FOR OFFICIAL NOTICES: albertjacksonwright@gmail.com Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder June 10 & 17, 2021

SOE

ultimately to reflect diversity in our league,” she stressed. “Vickie and Noelle are going to be great Continued from page 12 representatives of that diversity initiative.” “Being the first is something I a living legend in Minnesota,” declared the Storm HC. “I talk to don’t wake up every day to strive Eddie, call or text him on a day- to be,” Quinn admitted, “just the to-day basis or game-to-game ba- best version of myself. My Minsis. He’s always sending me texts. nesota days helped cultivate who I am. Being able to play for the He is always encouraging me.” coaches in the league is again an Quinn listed many other supFrom Classified porters andDepartment/MN influencers in her life, honor. “It’s important that I’m not a beginning with her mother. “The Spokesman-Recorder first call [after her promotion] woman—I’m a Black woman. I was to myPHONE: mom. She612-827-4021 is super- sit with that every day. Somewoman, and she expressed how times that can be a negative, a double negative for me to be a proud she was of me.” FOR BILLING woman and to be Black. But I’m WNBA Commissioner Cathy INQUIRIES empowered in that there’s value Engelbert last week told the MSR & TEARSHEETS in that. My experiences in that, it that QuinnPLEASE and Johnson, who CONTACT sharpens me,” said Quinn. were hired ACCOUNTING by Dallas earlier this DEPT “To watch the league and then year, epitomize the diversity @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.C pipeline she often refers to. “We be a part of it as a player, and now gave some incentives [to teams] if as a coach, it’s a full circle.” RAMSEY COUNTY you added a coach on the bench who was a former WNBA player, Charles Hallman welcomes read1WEEK RUN but [also] front office, back office. er responses to challman@spokesFLAT RATE $100.00 PREPAID “We want all of those positions man-recorder.com.

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versity of North Dakota football standout Brian White. It was a place that Lewis insisted on. “It’s one of my favorite places,” she said smiling. “Why?” this columnist asked. “It has the best ice cream.” Lewis then added her most telling reason for liking 2 Scoops: “It’s in the community.”

Floyd Fellow that she is also a role model for young Black The MSR handles digitally. In the Matter of Amanda Mariebilling Champion and OBO minor child vs women and women in general. Antonio Dawayne Johnson This means you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices It’s a role she takes seriously. “I youonspecifically request hard You areunless notified that May 27, 2021 the attached a order was copy. filed. want them to see Black women making a difference and realize Dated: 5/27/2021 Donald W. Harper Court Administrator that they can make a difference Ramsey County District Court as well,” she said. Mitchell Palmer McDonald wel25 West Seventh Street St Paul MN 55102 2 Scoops, where this interview comes reader responses to mcdeezy@ 651-266-5130 took place, is owned by former gmail.com. Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder June 10, 2021 Cretin-Derham Hall and UniDated:

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Bias Continued from page 12

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June 10-June 16, 2021

Black W players won 80% of the 2020 postseason awards, including most valuable player, rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, most improved player and sixth woman of the year. Black players also led the league’s season-long dedication to racial and social justice advocacy. But the media, based on Melton and Isard’s findings, gave Black players less than half the coverage of White players. Black players often were “outside of media storylines,” said Melton and Isard in a Sports Business Journal article they co-

wrote last month. They added that historically female athletes “have been held to strict standards of femininity,” noting that this is even more so with Black athletes: Black WNBA players who looked more masculine received an average of only 41 media mentions, but White players received more than five times that number, an average of 212. “These numbers make clear that White players have more leeway to express themselves. They are forgiven and even embraced for being different and breaking the norm. Their Black teammates are penalized with less media coverage when they do the same,” stated Melton and Isard. This also has an economic im-

pact, the two women noted: Media mentions boost the athlete’s “earned media value” or marketing value. More media coverage means more earned media credits leading to sponsorship opportunities, and White players are benefiting more than the Black players in this regard. “White players getting more than their fair share of the storylines means they are the winners of this media game,” surmised the two authors. Melton told the MSR, “For whatever reason, [it] still seem that most of the data show that most of the media attention is on a small group of athletes.” She stressed that discriminatory sports coverage must end.

“In our small way, we saw something that might be happening that we could bring [attention to],” she said. “Particularly over the past year, everybody had…a deeper reflection on what is our part in making the world more equitable in terms of racial justice. “I think the main key part [of the study] is raising awareness” of the continued existence of implicit bias and White privilege in sports media, especially in WNBA coverage” said Melton. “Now we have data to support it.” Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

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Sports

June 10-June 16, 2021

Seimone back in town

Lewis named George Floyd fellow

PreP Scene Dr. Mitchell PalMer McDonalD

K

’Lynn Lewis was beaming with pride when talking about the fellowship she recently received. “I was so happy when I found out,” she said while enjoying an ice cream cone at 2 Scoops in St. Paul’s Summit University neighborhood. “I seriously wanted to give back to the African American community.” Lewis, a former St. Agnes High School athlete and current member of the St. Olaf College

K’Lynn Lewis

The fellowship was established in honor of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020, and to support initiatives that relate directly to the development of the African American community. A junior majoring in exercise science with concentrations in race and ethnic studies and management studies, Lewis originally came to St. Olaf to play basketball at the collegiate level while getting a college education. Now it seems as if the script has flipped. The goal is now to complete her studies and fulfill her commitments to the fellowship while playing basketball. “I love playing basketball and always will,” she said, “but I’m also looking forward to graduating and contributing to my community.” Lewis has reasons to love basketball. The sport has been

Photo by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald

women’s basketball team, was good to her and she, in turn, named the 2021-22 recipient of has been good to the sport. the George Floyd Fellowship She started playing in elfor Social Change by the St. Olaf ementary school for the SumCollege Taylor Center for Social mit University Girls Athletic Association (SUGGA) AAU Change.

team. “I learned everything about basketball, team and sportsmanship there,” Lewis explained. “That’s where I got my start.” From there it was on to St. Agnes, where she had an exceptional five-year varsity basketball career and excelled at the varsity level in volleyball (four years), softball (two-years), and track and field (one year). After graduating in 2018, Lewis was the female recipient of the Winfield Awards, a yearly award named in honor of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Paul Central alum Dave Winfield honoring the top student senior athletes of color in St. Paul. She finished as St. Agnes’ all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball. As a freshman on St. Olaf’s women’s basketball team Lewis was an immediate contributor, averaging 13.8 points per game and earning MIAC Co-Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 season, leading to an exceptional three-year career. It remains to be seen if the rising senior plans to continue her basketball career, as she has other goals to reach in the coming school year. Through the fellowship, Lewis plans to develop a yearlong project she calls “Lovin the Skin I’m In.” “I want to produce a fashion show featuring Black models and designers,” she said with excitement.” In addition to emphasizing the involvement of Black makeup artists and stylists, Lewis acknowledged the importance of self-love in the community. “Our skin is beautiful,” she said with emphasis. “That is the focus of the project. We as Black people are beautiful, and it’s important that we love ourselves as well as each other.” Lewis realizes as a George ■See PREP on page 11

Quinn completes the circle from fan to player to head coach Quinn, who graduated from UCLA, is Seattle’s first Black head coach and the second Black player chosen by Minnesota (with Teresa Edwards) to later become a WNBA head coach. She is the 19th Black woman to be a league head coach. Her historic feats weren’t lost on the soft-spoken Quinn as she spoke to reporters. “You talk about Pokey Chatman, Teresa Edwards, Jennifer Gillom, Carolyn Jenkins, Vickie Johnson, Trudi Lacey, Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Miller, Carolyn Peck, Julie Rousseau, Amber Stocks, Karleen Thompson, Shell Dailey, Jessie Kenlaw, Cathy Parson, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Denise Taylor and Penny Toler? Noelle Quinn (center) Courtesy of Seattle Storm/Neil Enns “They crawled so I can walk. series. Noelle Quinn joined day in Cleveland. She played I sit on those shoulders,” Quinn Dallas’ Vickie Johnson as the two of her 12 WNBA seasons pointed out proudly. When asked, Quinn told the league’s only Black female head in Minnesota (2007-08) and later coaches when Seattle promoted twice with Seattle (2013-14; 2016- MSR how much she learned during her Lynx years, especial18). her on May 30. Seattle veteran guard Sue Bird told reporters including the MSR during a May 31 introductory Zoom press conference that Quinn, who previously was the She won a league champion- ly from former Minnesota assisStorm associate head coach, is “beyond ready” to lead the squad ship in 2018, her final season be- tant coach Ed Prohofsky, a Minafter former HC Dan Hughes re- fore retiring in 2019. The Storm nesota high school hall-of-famer. hired her as an assistant coach. “Ed Prohofsky is my guy—he is tired the day before. ■See SOE on page 11 We first met Quinn, a Los Angeles native, when Minnesota History was made last weekend when two former WNBA made her their first pick in 2007, players, now head coaches, fourth overall, as the only local faced each other in a two-game media in attendance on draft

“They crawled so I can walk. I sit on those shoulders.”

unmatchable, and she deserves the love and support for that,” Zahui B told the MSR last weekend. During a Zoom call last month with reporters including the MSR, Augustus talked fondly and at times emotionally about coming back to Minneapolis, where she spent most of her professional life after she was the

Seimone Augustus

T

he downtown Minneapolis basketball arena in its 31year history has had only two franchise players—both are Black. Kevin Garnett is now a Hall-of-Famer, and Seimone Augustus will be a future one. Saturday, as a Los Angeles Sparks assistant coach, Augustus will be back where she started professionally over a decade ago, her first return since 2019. She recently retired as a player after 15 seasons. “I really want everyone to be out there for Seimone and really show her the love that she deserves,” said Sparks centerforward Amanda Zahui B, a former Minnesota Golden Gopher who also will be back in town for the first time since 2019, but as a player for Los Angeles. She signed with the team as a free agent over the off-season. “What she’s done for Minnesota and the game of basketball is

Courtesy of Twitter

calls Noelle Quinn, a teammate of Augustus for two seasons. Augustus shined through the down times, and when the Lynx’s fortunes turned upward, she became a key member of the Lynx’s “Core Four” that made up the league’s second dynasty with four WNBA championships in seven seasons, the winningest run among local pro teams. It began at the start of training camp in 2011, Augustus pointed out. “I just remember looking across the room, we had Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, Taj McWilliamsFranklin. You put those types of great players together and you don’t know if they can sacrifice or if everybody is going to revert back to be the star that they were [on other clubs]. “I just remember after the first day of practice and we beat the practice guys bad, we knew it was on and we clicked immediately,” continued Augustus. Still, there were many unbelievers because of the team’s history. “When we got to All Star break, people did not believe us. [We] weren’t the same Lynx and we knew it, and some people in that All Star locker room knew it too. We came out of All Star break and hit another level. Minnesota went 7-1 in postseason play, including a 3-0 sweep of Atlanta to win the first of four WNBA titles. “That team will always be, in my opinion, the greatest team in Lynx history just because of what we were able to do,” said Augustus.

WNBA overall top pick in 2006 by Minnesota. She asked for a tissue after we asked her about coming back to her second home. “Minnesota knows that they have a piece of my heart. I gave everything to them for 14 years,” said the Baton Rouge, La. native in between tears. “And I felt that in return. I can’t wait to get back to the Target Center.” From the beginning of her Finally… The Timberwolves showed a video montage honoring KG’s Hall-of-Fame induction last month. The Lynx, in addition to doing one for Augustus’ return on Saturday, should go one better: Retire her number 33 as the team’s first Black franchise player. Lynx tenure, Augustus was the franchise of the team. And she Charles Hallman welcomes lived up to the hype usually as- reader responses to challman@ sociated with a number-one pick. spokesman-recorder.com. “That was the first time I ever saw a superstar that was humble,” re-

“Minnesota knows that they have a piece of my heart.”

Study exposes more sports media bias By Charles Hallman Contributing writer Black WNBA players “received significantly less [media] coverage” than their White counterparts “seemingly because they’re Black,” a new study has pointed out. University of MassachusettsAmherst Associate Sport Management Professor Nicole Melton and Risa Isard, a research fellow at the school’s Laboratory of Inclusion and Diversity in Sport examined over 550 on-line articles by ESPN, CBS Sports, and Sports Illustrated during the 2020 WNBA season and found on average 52 media mentions for Black players compared to 118 for White players. For example, 2020 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson received half as much media coverage last season than 2020 top pick Sabrina Ionescu, who got hurt in her third

Dr. Nicole Melton

“White players getting more than their fair share of the storylines means they are the winners of this media game.”

Submitted photo game and missed the remainder of the season. Wilson is Black; Ionescu is White. Isard also pointed out that the three most-mentioned WNBA players last season were White while 80% of the league players are Black. ■See BIAS on page 11