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Inside this Edition...
THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934
SEPTEMBER September16 16–22, - 22, 2021 2021
Vol. Vol.88 88
Read about De Shawn Owens on page 10
www.spokesman-recorder.com
NO. NO.77
Another child’s death evokes angst, grief, finger-pointing Young folk’s despair leads to more senseless gun violence
By Mel Reeves Community editor
victim blaming and community self-flagellation, but no real answers have come to the fore. A witness to the shooting, Yet another young person was victimized by violence last week. Danny Braylock, told FOX 9 Twelve-year-old London Michael News that he was at the corner Bean was felled by gun violence of Aldrich and 8th Avenue North last Wednesday, Sept. 8. It was in the Heritage Park neighboraccompanied by the usual grief, hood of North Minneapolis on handwringing, finger-pointing, the afternoon of September 8
with his granddaughter when they noticed two boys in an altercation. “Some dude came running from the side of the house and just shot the kid a couple of times,” said Braylock. The witness said that when he and his granddaughter got in their vehicle to drive away, the shooter started firing at them.
Angela Williams speaks out at a press conference
Submitted photo
Two bullets struck the back passenger side door. The victim’s grandmother said she had just taken him to the Fair days before. Other relatives described him as a fun, silly kid who could quickly turn a negative situation into a positive. Community response “Most are in shock not knowing what to do to make the bloodshed stop,” is how WCCO Channel 4 News Anchor Reg Chapman described the gathering at the site of the shooting the following day, Sept. 9 of those who came to lament and denounce the killing of Bean. Senator Bobby Jo Champion attended the gathering and called for “putting the neighbor back into the hood.” Champion remarked, “This problem requires all hands on deck in order for it to be solved. Think about that—all hands on deck.” “We have to work with law enforcement to solve this problem,” said Al Flowers. “Most of
London Michael Bean, 12, was shot and killed on the North Side Wednesday Submitted photo our community knows this is true. We have to build policecommunity relationships.” History shows that police have been unable or unwilling to stop violence in Black neighborhoods. Internecine violence has nearly become a fixture of urban Black America and has existed for as long as most can
remember. However, in the last 50 years it has been exacerbated by the easy accessibility of guns and has been accelerated by battles over drug turf. Newly appointed Minneapolis Police spokesperson Jarrett Parten commented to news media, “We have those who ■ See BEAN on page 5
After 25 years of ‘ending welfare’, poor people far worse off said, ‘We’re going to take this historic chance to try to recreate the nation’s social bargain with the poor. We’re romising work, not welfare, going to try to change the parameters President Bill Clinton signed of the debate. We’re going to make it into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act 25 years ago this month, abolishing the widely unpopular, 61-year-old cash entitlement program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or AFDC, and fulfilling Clinton’s campaign pledge to reduce poverty by weaning the urban poor—especially African Americans—off the admittedly meager government handouts. “I signed this bill because this is an all new again and see if we can’t crehistoric chance, where Republicans ate a system of incentives which reand Democrats got together and inforce work and family and indepenBy Jon Jeter Contributing writer
P
“It seemed like a form of slavery. It wasn’t that much money.”
dence. We can change what is wrong.’” Then he said the words that continue to resonate: “Today we are ending welfare as we know it.” Indeed, most of what Clinton articulated 25 years ago has come to pass, although not, perhaps, in the way that he had planned. A strong case can be made that his overhaul not only “ended welfare as we know it” but ended the dole in the U.S. entirely by shrinking considerably the pot available for cash assistance and making applicants jump through so many hoops that many simply don’t consider it worthwhile. The result is objectively clear: By any measure, the urban poor, gen- President Bill Clinton signing welfare reform act in 1996 ■ See WELFARE on page 5 Photo courtesy of History.com
No one charged in shotgun killing
Poverty behind COVID’s disparate impact on Blacks By Amudalat Ajasa, Amanda Paule and Ian S. Brundige Contributing writers
S
ince the start of the pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020, Black Americans have borne the brunt of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Black Americans are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 compared to their White counterparts. In the nation’s capital, while Black Americans make up 45% of the population, they account for 76% of the COVID-19 deaths, according to D.C. government data. The centuries of mistreatment that have infused distrust in Black communities impact
Shop owner claimed self-defense during Floyd uprising By Jarrett Ballard Contributing writer
George Thomas of Lowndes County, Alabama, is the county’s only doctor. Submitted photo health, said Gail Christopher, executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity. “The essence of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 had to do with preexisting conditions and excess exposure because of the economic inequity,” Christopher said. What is unclear, longtime activists and advocates say, is whether the systemic racism that was magnified by the pandemic—overrepresentation in poverty, underrepresentation in wealth, lack of access to
housing and transportation— will remain. By August, 71% of Black D.C. residents had not been fully vaccinated, according to D.C. government data. Opportunity gap The gated unit in D.C.’s 5th Ward was once Yolanda Corbett’s hope for stability, but now it’s a source of anxiety. The neighborhood doesn’t compare to the Southeast D.C. community where she grew up. But the red-painted brick ■ See PANDEMIC on page 5
It appears that despite outrage from community and family members, no one is going to be held accountable for the death of Calvin Horton Jr. who was killed on May 27, 2020 during the riots that occurred two days after the murder of George Floyd. A birthday celebration and protest was held in July to keep alive Horton’s memory and to continue to press for justice in the case. In December of last year the Hennepin County Attorney’s office announced that it would not be filing charges against John Rieple, a 60-year-old White man who was identified by a witness as the man who shot Horton as he and others entered the Cadillac Pawn and Jewelry Calvin Horton’s mother holds a sign store on Lake Street in asking for justice. South Minneapolis. File photo
Cadillac Pawn, where Calvin Horton, Jr. was shot on May 27, 2020. Photo by Unicorn Riot The shop owner was taken into custody on May 28 and released days later after claiming self-defense. Rieple sold the shop not long after the shooting and now lives in Galesville, Wisconsin. Horton Jr. was born in Arkansas but grew up in Minneapolis with his father, Calvin Horton Sr., after his mother, ■ See HORTON on page 5