THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
July 21 - 27, 2022
Vol. 88
PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
Inside this Edition...
Read more about 2022 ABFF on page 6.
www.spokesman-recorder.com
No. 51
tman Maiya Lea Har Photos by Nikhil Kumaran
Artist collective re-envisions MSR mural
T
By Nikhil Kumaran Contributing Writer
Like the previous mural, the new mural chronicles the history of the paper from its founder Cecil E. Newman to he BIPOC muralist art collective Cre- his granddaughter and curatives after Curfew rent CEO/Publisher Tracey spent the past Williams-Dillard, along with week reimagining nods to the historic Black and retouching the Minnesota Press and notable contribuSpokesman-Recorder’s signa- tors to the paper over the ture mural facing 38th Street years like photographer Gorat 4th Avenue in South Min- don Parks. “We are trying to go back neapolis. They’ve provided not only a new color scheme, but in, restore it, and bring more also a more lifelike approach life to the mural,” said Grover to the portraits of key CEOs Hogan, “especially for such an important cultural staple for and publishers.
Spokesman-Recorder is that the murder of George Floyd. they keep an archive of all of “Our murals, at that time, their original papers. There’s were a response to his murjust so much history in those der and police brutality,” said Leslie Barlow, one of the collective’s artists. THERE’S A “It was also a way for us to come together and make artwork to process everything that was going on, but also ON archive a moment and heal together.” “It seems like everything happened very fast during member Bayou Bay. “This paper recorded documents.” Most of the artists in the that time,” recalled Maiya Lea has been here since 1934. “One thing that people collective have been active Hartman, a painter who’s been may not know about the members since its birth after around since the group’s forthe area and Black journalism in general.” “There’s a lot of history on these walls,” said collective
LOT of HISTORY
THESE WALLS.
mation. “It was time for Black artists to recognize how much space was being taken up by non-Black artists and that it was our turn to share our voice and create a space of safety and joy.” According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization, a growing body of research shows that the arts have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. The University of Minnesota has a variety of programs and studies that explore and research ■ See MURAL on page 5
Rep. Omar on why she deserves a third term Jai Hanson makes his federally in this country. The executive order that the president put forth is a huge step. Obviously, there’s more work that can be done, and the two pieces of legislation that we just passed can help get us there.
By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer Rep. Ilhan Omar, vying for her third term in Congress, points to her political record as to why she’s still the person best fit for the job. The Somali-born refugee rose to the national spotlight in 2016 as the first Somali American state legislator (District 60B) in the U.S. Shortly afterward, as former Congressman Keith Ellison pivoted towards the state’s attorney general’s office, Omar set her sights on representing the 5th Congressional District. That political ambition paid off as Omar was elected to Congress in 2018 and shattered multiple glass ceilings as the first woman of color from Minnesota to serve in Congress and one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress. In her time since being elected, Omar has gained a reputation for her progressive policies on climate change, health care, and a $15 minimum wage alongside some of her colleagues who have been branded as “The Squad.” In this interview with the Minnesota Spokesman-
Rep. Ilhan Omar meeting a constituent at a recent town hall Submitted photo Recorder, Omar (IO) discusses what she’s recently done in Congress so far to address the issues relating to abortion access, gun reform, ensuring voting rights, and more. MSR: What can people expect from Congress in the upcoming months to protect access to abortion at a federal level and what are the benefits and limits of the president’s recent executive order?
IO: Thank you for that question. There’s a lot that we can do on a federal level. Congress today passed two pieces of legislation. The first is the Women’s Health Protection Act, which codifies Roe into law. The second is legislation that helps people who are pregnant to be able to cross state lines legally and obtain an abortion. I think those two pieces of legislation are very much helpful, and there’s a real need for us to make abortion legal
MSR: With the spur of recent shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Chicago and Minneapolis, what can you say about the efforts by Congress to curb mass shootings and pass gun control laws? IO: There’s obviously a lot more that we can do. It’s great to have voted for and supported the bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This is a significant piece of legislation and will make a huge difference in communities like ours in Minneapolis and Chicago. Going forward, we need to ban AR-15s and other assault rifles, pass universal background checks—which will help prevent a lot of people who shouldn’t have guns from having access to them—and we should be doing a lot more to make sure that domestic abusers don’t have access to guns. There’s a lot more funding ■ See OMAR on page 5
case for Hennepin County Sheriff
Jai Hanson
Submitted photo
By Jennifer Cherrier Contributing Writer
from business finance to communications and began his 14- plus-year career in law enforcement. Hanson was born in India and came to Minneapolis when he was adopted at the age of two. His father is retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sam Hanson, and his mother Mirja Hanson worked as a state employee, an educator, and is a dedicated nonprofit community advocate. They instilled in him the importance of public service. The MSR talked with Hanson to find out more about his experience and his candidacy for Hennepin County Sheriff.
MSR: What is your dayto-day like in your current Independent Hennepin role, and how has it helped County Sheriff candidate Jai you reimagine the criminal Hanson didn’t originally plan justice system? JH: I am the candidate in on a career in law enforcement. But after participating this race that has the most in ride-alongs in college and frontline experience. Whethat the suggestion of his father, er responding to 911 calls or Hanson changed his major responding to calls for service, ■ See HANSON on page 5
Mary McLeod Bethune statue unveiled at U.S. Capitol She joins four other African Americans so honored
D. Kevin McNeir Contributing Writer
The Mary McLeod Bethune statue replaces one of a Confederate general Courtesy of NNPA
After five years of struggles and negotiations that required state and federal approvals, included logistical challenges, and featured a fundraising effort that generated close to $1 million, a pristine, towering statue was introduced to the world honoring the late educator and civil rights icon Mary McLeod Bethune on July 13. The 13-foot-long block of precious marble now stands in the U.S. Capitol Building’s National Statuary Hall where family members, civic leaders and elected officials gathered for a moving ceremony. “Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune’s statue unveiling and dedication is historic as the first African Ameri-
can—male or female—to be honored in the National Statuary Hall State Collection,” said said Nancy Lohman, president of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statuary Fund, who attended the ceremony. The Bethune statue is one of two statues representing Florida in the Capitol, replacing a nearly 100-yearold bronze sculpture of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith. The Smith statue can now be found in storage at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee after being removed last fall. Bethune’s statue will be the first representing a Black person, male or female, in the state Mary McLeod Bethune with girls from the Literary and Industrial Training collection inside Statuary Hall. School for Negro Girls in Daytona, Fl in 1905. There are four other Black people MGN represented in other parts of the ■ See BETHUNE on page 5