January 31, 2019 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

January 31 — February 6, 2019 Vol. 85 No. 25 www.spokesman-recorder.com

PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391

See local calendar on pg. 7

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934

Kevin Powell claims ‘RUTHLESS HARASSMENT’ from White Minnesota Fancy Ray’s remarkable four months at the time, frightening her, and using me to do it. I, we, are both very sorry for any pain and embarrassment we caused April Sellers [of Minnesota] and are willing to do this publicly. But, the story being told now is positioned to gain a financial settlement we are unable to pay.

Kevin Powell

Submitted photo

In an exclusive interview, the activist au- money (he plans on appealing the case), even more concerning for him is a slate thor offers his take on the defamation trial of racist messages he says he has received ast December, New York-based ac- since the case was covered by local outlets.

Powell, who has turned down other tivist and author Kevin Powell was found guilty of defamation of char- media requests, reached out to the MSR to acter in a Minnesota courtroom. In No- share his take on the controversy. An exvember 2017, he had sent an open letter in cerpt of the conversation appears below. response to a hate-filled email his wife Jinah Parker received from an April Sell- MSR: As a public figure, I’m sure you ofers the month prior. In a case of mistaken ten receive criticism. Why did you feel identity, he blasted a Twin Cities dancer the need to respond to the initial email?

Kevin Powell: This situation put me in instead of the Ohio-based writer.

Now, he’s faced with a $210K judgment. an emotional place I’d never been before.

While he says he doesn’t have that kind of Someone was attacking my wife of only

L

MSR: How did this end up in court?

KP: The chronology of events needs to be clear, as it has been continuously distorted, in court and by some media. First, an ugly and hate-filled email was sent to Jinah the weekend of Oct. 20, 2017. It attacked Jinah, it attacked me, it attacked Jinah’s work, SHE, a Choreoplay, and it attacked our marriage. It came from someone named April Sellers.

We waited two weeks to respond, and only because whoever April Sellers was also happened to post the original hate email to Facebook (a space with one billion people), and only after speaking with Rohan Preston of the Star Tribune, my colleague of 25 years or so, who said the email sounded like something April Sellers in Minnesota would send, because he knew her and had observed her over the course of years.

Between my conversation with Mr. Preston and the research we did at the time, April Sellers in Minnesota was the only name who continually came up. We thought we had the right person. Why would someone [who was] not a dancer or choreographer, we thought at the time,

rise to stardom

Photo by Tonnie Wulff

From ‘loudmouth’ to messenger

By Jonika Stowes Contributing Writer

Now going on 30 years in the game, Fancy Ray McCloney has become a Twin Cities entertainment icon. Fancy Ray, as he’s known around town, got his start in lip-syncing concerts, ■ See Powell on page 8 eventually turning his impersonations and comedic stylings into a full-blown career.

He won several local lip-sync competitions in the ‘80s before going on to perform on the nalikely to succeed? The kids Representation matters. And tionally televised Puttin’ on the overwhelmingly chose the that statement is as important Hits. In his first appearance, McWhite doll when it came to when it comes to careers and Cloney performed as Little Richanything positive, whereas they goal-setting as it is in something ard. For another appearance, he chose the Black doll when it as seemingly simple as a doll. Esearned a near-perfect score percame to anything negative. It was pecially for Black girls. That’s forming Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ discouraging and disappointing where someone like Flora Ekpe1956 hit song I Put a Spell on You. to see that children, at five and Idang, the founder of Corage After his national debut, Mcsix, already had somewhat of an Dolls, comes in.

Cloney returned to Minneapointernalized racism.

Starting with her first doll lis and quickly jumped on the In that moment, I knew I “Aaliyah,” complete with alwanted to solve this... So, Cor- entertainment scene via cable acmond-shaped eyes, full lips, and cess. age Dolls became this idea a crown of curly coils, the New of being able to elevate and Jersey-native is looking to build encourage and educate girls of a multicultural empire that not color to be unstoppable and to only empowers girls of color to see themselves reflected in ways celebrate their beauty but also to embrace their full potential. inspires them to become entre“I was running my mouth preneurs and business leaders. and, by that time, doing comedy MSR: “Corage” sounds like Here, the marketing execua little bit,” said McCloney. “But “corsage” without the “s.” How’d tive and recent Twin Cities trans[with] cable access, I’m running you come up with the name? plant chats with the MSR about Flora Ekpe-Idang my mouth and all of a sudden I FEI: One day I was sitting in my her new venture. Our conversaPhoto by Clarke Sanders Design looked up and people are comliving room asking myself what tion has been condensed and eding up to me saying, ‘Ah, the best I want this company to stand for. ited for clarity. the arms and the legs, so you create her? looking man on TV.’” can bend her, you can make her FEI: The documentary focused The word “courage” popped up During this time McCloney MSR: As a Black woman, I am stand, you can have her do real- on colorism and stereotypes. It so many times. I looked up its ormet Warren Jackson, who had completely drawn to this doll! ly random things. took a group of Black children igin. It was a Latin word, but it’s a TV show on local cable access.

Tell us about her. and they had them choose a also a French word — courage McCloney talked through some Flora Ekpe-Idang: [Laughs] MSR: We talked earlier about doll — between a Black doll without the “u.” So the idea was of his own ideas with Jackson, Aaliyah is 13 and a half inches tall. the infamous doll test in the and a White doll — and asked to give [the dolls] this mantra of eventually building the foundaShe has beautiful, voluminous documentary A Girl Like Me. them various questions, like being courageous. tion for The Fancy Ray Show. hair. She’s also ball jointed at How did that inspire you to which doll is smarter or more ■ See SBS on page 8 “Anyone who knew anyone locally came on my show,” said Long before the Twins made McCloney. “My claim to fame Minnesota a major league stop, was the fact that I got national cethe state was home to countless lebrities to come [and] sit with me. talented Black baseball players.

So the question became, ‘How is Yet few of them are known to this guy on cable access TV sittoday’s fans. ting down with all these nation“There were so many multial celebrities?’ sport guys who played Amer“We had everyone from Al ica’s pastime, but because of Green to Bo Diddley, George segregated baseball, no one Clinton to Whoopi Goldberg,” was looking at these guys he continued. “In my mind, I’m or even attempted to recruit competing with Arsenio Hall, them,” said Frank White, Minso we had folks from the Seinnesota Twins’ RBI program cofeld Show, Carol Channing, Kevordinator and author of They in Garnett, Ron Jeremy, Gloria Played for the Love of the Steinem… Plus we’d combine Game. “They were invisible to it with skits and comedy, music organized baseball.” and dance.”

White’s book highlights McCloney’s show didn’t miss those Black players through a beat either when it came to curphotos, artifacts, and spoken rent topics. When the Los Angehistories. It also features his les riots took place after the Rodlate father, Louis, who was one ney King trial, he sat down with of the top catchers in the Twin The Uptown Sanitary Shop baseball team of St. Paul circa 1930-1939 White supremacists and also had Cities in his day.

Photo by A.P. Rhodes civil rights activist Spike Moss “My father in the ’40s was speak on racial issues around the In honor of Black History Month, we’ll be sharing short clips highlighting the legacy and history of Blacks in Min- recruited by the [Kansas Twin Cities. nesota. This week, we salute the oft-invisible Black baseball players who found their place in history despite widespread City] Monarchs. He had an McCloney also interviewed racism and segregation.

■ See BHM on page 8

SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: CORAGE DOLLS

three-term Minneapolis City Council member Brian Coyle, who made national waves after announcing he was HIV-positive in 1991. It turned out to be Coyle’s last interview before he passed away from AIDS-related complications at the age of 47.

“The Brian Coyle interview changed my life,” shared McCloney. “I received all kinds of accolades.”

Now, at the height of his career, McCloney acknowledged he turned a corner, going from being a loudmouth to someone with a message. So, he ran for governor in 1998.

“My name was on the ballot.

My mother was the lieutenant governor.”

McCloney ran against Jesse Ventura, whom he said didn’t represent the Black community. “When I saw Jesse, I said Jesse isn’t talking for me or for us. He

“What I’m trying to do is connect with people and uplift souls.”

Minnesota Black History salute

wasn’t speaking of the concerns of Black folks at all, so I said we need a voice.

“When I ran for governor, some of the Black leaders sat me down and said you can’t be out there acting like a buffoon. I began to articulate the concerns of our community — talking about poverty, housing, the criminal justice system and so on.”

Although McCloney didn’t win the governor’s seat, this new direction took him into the commercial business lane where companies started hiring him to promote their business needs.

One of McCloney’s more popular commercial spots was for the now-defunct Nicollet Village Video in which he impersonated the late Prince.

While he became a Twin Cities commercial fixture, McCloney also has filmed commercials all over the country — including Arizona, Kansas, California, Missouri and Jacksonville, Florida. In 2017 he also appeared in the Taco Bell commercial for Super Bowl LII. Today, as he continues to perform throughout the Twin Cities, Fancy Ray offers some insight into what motivates his remarkably varied career. “There are two things that happen in me, the combination of comedy and spirituality, because what I’m trying to do is connect with people and uplift souls.”

Jonika Stowes welcomes reader responses at jstowes@spokesmanrecorder.com

February 16-22, 2017

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January 31 — February 6, 2019

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Money Matters

How to avoid (and recover from) identity theft

By MSR Editors

T

here’s nothing worse than being taken advantage of — whether it’s a vandalized car, home robbery or credit card fraud. It’s hard to deal with being violated while trying to figure out what was taken and how to recover or replace it. While most of us have measures in place, including alarms and insurance, to protect our homes, many of us do not have similar protections for our identity.

According to a 2018 survey by The Harris Poll, almost 60 million Americans have been victims of identity theft — up from 15 million in 2017. Identity theft can include everything from stolen credit card and bank information to phone and government fraud, which can wreak havoc not only on your finances, but also your credit and, even, social security.

While there is no 100 percent foolproof way to prevent identity theft, there are some protections you can set up to not just avoid, but also detect suspicious activities happening in your name.

Read on for some basics on how to prevent identity theft and what to do if you become a victim.

Protect your bank and credit card info Credit card theft is one of the most

common types of identity theft. Avoid using your credit and bank cards in suspicious ATMs or entering your credit card information on websites without SSL certificates (the https:// in the front of the URL.) Be sure to also set up alerts that monitor out-of-the-ordinary purchases. Immediately contact your credit card company and cancel cards if you notice any unauthorized activity.

Secure your passwords Make sure your online passwords to your accounts (including email, bank and credit card accounts) are strong and changed often. The United States National Institute for Standards and Technology recommends that passwords be at least eight characters in length and avoid the use of personal information or common phrases. Passwords should also be changed every 90 days.

Photo courtesy Getty

The most important step is to be aware of activities on your accounts and act fast if anything looks off.

Should you believe your accounts have been hacked, change your passwords immediately and contact the companies associated with your compromised accounts.

Don’t do private business in public spaces LifeLock.com recommends avoiding accessing your sensitive information in public places or on public Wi-Fi networks. “Coffee-shop Wi-Fi passwords are easy to come by,” reports the site. “With the right tools, a cyber thief on the same network could follow your online moves and capture everything from your login credentials to the credit card information you type in while shopping.”

Avoid email phishing and other clickbait Email phishing has gotten way more sophisticated than in previous years.

You may not fall for the Nigerian prince who needs funds wired right away, but a cleverly masked email asking you to B:10.9” update your Google password or input T:10.65” your Social Security number could give S:10.65”

hackers easy access to your most personal information and accounts.

Before clicking on links or downloading files from unsolicited emails, be sure to check out the sender’s original email address and pay attention to the website address. When in doubt, call the company directly.

Shred Files This may seem rather old school, but many of us still receive banking and credit statements and other financial communications via mail. Given that, getting your information stolen out of your trash is a real thing and can easily be avoided by shredding/ripping up documents before recycling.

Monitor credit reports For starters, know what’s on your credit report. You can request a free copy every 12 months from all three major companies by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

Next, monitor changes and inquiries on your credit reports monthly from all three agencies (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). For many, it may

be months before they know their accounts have been hacked. If anything looks suspicious, immediately place a fraud alert on your account and dispute any unauthorized activity.

If you do happen to become one of millions of victims of identity theft, be sure to also contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877-ID THEFT (877-4384338) to file a theft report, as well as file a police report. If your Social Security card information has been stolen, be sure to also contact Social Security Administration and the IRS. While filing won’t be an automatic fix against the theft, these reports will help in you disputing fraudulent activities and credit recovery.

These are just a few ways to prevent and respond to identity theft. The most important step is to simply be aware of activities on your accounts and act fast if anything looks off. The quicker you respond, the less damage and the faster you can recover.

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January 31 — February 6, 2019

3

Treating skin of color

By Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD Conclusion of a three-part series

M

ost skin diseases occur in people of all nationalities, regardless of their skin color. Particular problems encountered in the skin are more common in people with different hues of skin, and sometimes a disorder seems more prominent because it affects skin color. This column completes our consideration of these problems and their treatment in this series.

Pseudofolliculitis barbae This condition is also known as “razor bumps.” Hair is made of a protein called keratin, and it can be extremely inflammatory to the skin. It is called “pseudo” folliculitis because the hair can actually come out of the follicular opening and penetrate nearby skin, causing it to look like inflammation, or folliculitis, of that pore.

However, because it is just nearby the actual follicle, it is “pseudo” folliculitis. This is most often seen in persons with

curly hair or hair that grows at an oblique angle to the skin.

Sometimes, if curly hair is cut extremely close, it never even exits the skin surface, instead penetrating the sidewall of the follicle (known as transfollicular penetration), or it comes out of the follicle and pokes the skin (known as extrafollicular penetration). The results are the same: The keratin invades the skin, producing a brisk inflammatory reaction that causes itching and the formation of pustules.

When pseudofolliculitis is mild to moderate, many topical treatments can be implemented, including a very gentle oatmeal-based shaving cream, and a non-electric razor with a safety guard, so the hairs are not cut too short. Shaving after a shower is also recommended when the hair is hydrated, so the final tip is soft as opposed to sharp.

Also, using a soft-bristle toothbrush to make circular motions in the beard area before bedtime can prevent the hair from penetrating as it grows throughout the night. Topical anti-inflammatory aftershave lotions and oral anti-inflammatories can also be used if necessary. In the majority of cases, this can provide satisfactory relief.

However, in certain instances in which relief is not achieved through these means, the best treatment is to remove the offending agent. In this case, I recommend laser hair removal.

Pseudofolliculitis barbae has

been a vexing problem throughout history and can even interfere with occupations that require a clean-shaven face, such as military officers, peace officers and firefighters. Thankfully, this condition can be addressed by implementing appropriate treatments and techniques.

Tinea capitis Tinea capitis, also known as ringworm, is endemic in African American children. Any child with a scaling, itching scalp should be thoroughly investigated for tinea capitis.

One of the clues to this is enlarged lymph nodes in the nape of the neck. I recommend a topical anti-itch anti-inflammatory lotion in addition to an oral antifungal agent. No matter what agent is used, it is essential that treatment occurs for at least eight weeks at a somewhat high dose, as advised by a board-certified dermatologist.

It is also recommended that all objects that touch the hair, such as combs, barrettes, rubber bands and pillowcases, be replaced or treated to prevent reinfection. I also advise all members of the household to use an anti-fungal shampoo throughout the treatment period for two months.

This is a prevalent yet easily treatable condition in young children. I believe that as people get older, the milieu of their scalp sebum changes, preventing an active infection. However, many adults can be carri-

Melanonychia striata This is a condition where brown to black longitudinal bands occur in many, if not all, the fingernails and toenails.

This is a common, benign condition that is often seen in multiple family members. However, if one band should occur spontaneously without a family history, this should be evaluated for an underlying mole or melanocytic malignancy.

Pseudofolliculitis

Voigt line Tinea capitis

Voigt or Futcher lines These are lines seen most commonly on the upper arms and sometimes thighs and are normal variations. They were named after a physician and anatomist who first described these near the turn of the century. They are harmless.

Melanonychia striata

Melasma Melasma is a common and vexing problem that I see on a regular basis in our clinic.

It presents as hyperpigmented patches occurring on the cheeks, upper lip, forehead, and sometimes dorsal forearms. It can be extremely challenging to treat, and I inform patients that 25 percent of the time there’s not much we can do about it.

I also tell patients that it is a lifelong battle and something that we’ll always have to treat and use preventive measures to keep from coming back. It’s usually a result of hormones, genetics, and sun exposure.

Commonly the hormones can include the initiation of oral contraceptives and/or pregnancy and childbirth.

I often tell patients that it’s a very rapid, uneven suntan occurring in the areas described.

It’s exacerbated by sun exposure and, we discovered recently, heat exposure. So, people

who enjoy saunas, hot showers, steam baths, and warm climates should know these can exacerbate the condition.

I had one patient who we had difficulty treating, and I asked if heat might be a potential factor in his melisma. He looked at me with a frown and said, “I’m a chef. I’m over a hot stove and opening ovens all the time.”

So, patients with melisma must consider meticulous sun protection and heat avoidance. I tell patients that they need to apply sun protection before they leave the house. Any amount of sunlight that touches their skin while walking from a car across a parking lot into a building, even on a cloudy day, is enough to trigger its occurrence.

Treatments include topical lightening agents, deep skin peels, and newer laser treatments. In three-quarters of patients, we certainly can see satisfactory results, although it’s one

Melasma

of the most challenging conditions that I treat. I see it almost on a daily basis in my practice.

Charles E. Crutchfield III, MD is a board certified dermatologist and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He also has a private practice in Eagan, MN. He received his M.D. and Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology and Genomics from the Mayo Clinic. He has been selected as one of the top 10 dermatologists in the United States

by Black Enterprise magazine. Dr. Crutchfield was recognized by Minnesota Medicine as one of the 100 Most Influential Healthcare Leaders in Minnesota. He is the team dermatologist for the Minnesota Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, Wild and Lynx. Dr. Crutchfield is an active member of both the American and National Medical Associations.

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While the winter blues may represent a normal reaction to the season, for some the depressive feelings may linger, signaling a larger issue. In addition, research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that people with lower incomes, who often encounter additional obstacles and greater stresses in their daily lives, have higher rates of depression than those with higher incomes. That can make this time of year even more difficult for those facing economic hardship.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Major Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern is characterized by “recurrent episodes of depression in late fall and winter, alternating with periods of normal mood the rest of the year.” Symptoms, according to NAMI, usually begin in the fall and subside in early spring.

“Trying to tell the difference between an occasional down day and what might be the signs of a mental illness can be challenging,” says Dr. Michael Golinkoff, a senior executive for behavioral health. “There is no easy test to tell if a person’s actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors or the result of a physical or mental illness.

“An early diagnosis can lead to faster treatment, which can help not just a person dealing with mental illness but also those close to them,” says Golinkoff.

Golinkoff notes that the following behaviors, while not a confirmation of seasonal depression, can be early warning signs that a person should talk to their doctor: • Excessive sleeping or inability to sleep.

• Significant weight loss or gain.

• Severe fatigue or loss of energy.

• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt.

• Difficulty thinking or concentrating, or indecisiveness.

According to Golinkoff, social engagement can be a great tool to combat the winter blues. Some activities that can help include:

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ers and pass it to their children, who are prone to the infection.

Participating in public activities and programs According to the American Psychological Association, loneliness is a risk factor for depression.

Recreation centers, libraries, places of worship and local nonprofit organizations may offer free public events and activities during the winter months that give plenty of opportunities to connect with other people and keep you from staying isolated in your home.

Volunteering in your community Engaging in philanthropic activities, particularly those that help repair or restore something important, can foster positive feelings of pride and self-efficacy.

Get moving Physical activity is not only good for you physically, but can also clear your mind, which can improve your energy level and decision-making ability. And, engaging in activities with others can also boost your emotional well-being. Check out local gyms, community centers, or online groups like Meetup to learn of ways you can be physically active while engaging with others.

Spending time with family or friends Emotionally positive relationships can improve your mood. Rather than staying in, watching TV or eating alone, choose to connect with family and friends.

If clinical treatments are needed, NAMI suggests standard depressive disorder treatments such as medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. NAMI also suggests light therapy, an approach in which patients use a light box to provide artificial intensive light, with the hope of making their body believe that they are experiencing bright sunlight.

Information courtesy of AmeriHealth Caritas, part of the Independence Health Group in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield. For more information, visit amerihealthcaritas.com. Photo by Mika on Unsplash

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January 31 — February 6, 2019

Enlightened leadership opens new possibilities

A monthly column in which various contributors from both sides of prison walls explore common ground for effecting change.

Vina Kay

sibility reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem, “I Dwell in Possibility.” It is a place of windows and doors and a roof as high as the sky in Dickinson’s poem.

Shortly before the holidays and right after the announcement of his appointment, I received a message from the incoming DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell. He was reaching out to the community, seeking to open the door to new partner-

Kevin Reese

By Vina Kay and Kevin Reese Contributing Writers Kevin: “The system is broken” is a familiar rallying call throughout the social justice movement. Last month, I wrote an article highlighting what the fragments of the broken criminal justice system look like, and I used my personal struggle for my freedom inside of the Department of Corrections (DOC) as the lens through which to view this system.

For clarity’s sake, all of my critique of and challenges to the DOC remain the same, but I would like to follow up my critique with an olive branch of possibilities.

Vina: Our conversation about pos-

ships and possibilities.

We found a time to connect by phone, and our conversation focused on shifting culture within the system and finding the mutual interests of all involved — staff and people incarcerated alike — in safe, healthy environments within our prisons. We spoke of ways of opening up broader community engagement and hearing from those directly impacted by our prison system to create new approaches.

Toward the end of our call, I asked the commissioner if he would be open to talking with my colleague Kevin Reese. He, I said, has a perspective that is important for the leader of our state prisons to hear. Soon I was arranging for Kevin to call Commissioner Schnell and have their own conversation.

Kevin: Just a few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to speak with the new commissioner of the DOC. This conversation was refreshing, very candid, and filled with the language of possibilities.

There is an amazing amount of progress that can be made at the department level to support the work of rehabilitation as a priority. The prison system should function as a place that gives people the chance to recover from their mistakes and go on to live their lives.

There are some really practical policy adjustments that can shift the way the State views prisoners. The State can shift from a model that is rooted in offenders paying their debt to society in a one-way exchange that leaves poor people poorer and broken people more broken.

A new model would see that while one is paying one’s debt, the State is writing a receipt. That receipt would show that this person is no longer a liability to society, but now an asset. This fundamental shift will go a long way toward creating a system that does not just extract from the community.

incarceration as well as for those working in that system.

It can be overwhelming to think about how to shift out of a system that has such powerful control over our communities. I see mass incarceration as the intended result of multiple systems of oppression, from our country’s history of slavery to aggressive and discriminatory policing to prosecution and sentencing.

So where to begin?

Listening to each other, and being open to different perspectives, is a good starting point.

Following through with commitment to the actions — whether large or small, practice or policy — that bring on real change is a great next step. The possibility of changing deeply entrenched systems comes to life when leaders use their positions of power in collaboration with communities impacted by those systems.

DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell

Kevin: There is a narrative that the people in prison do not believe in public safety or that their families are not taxpaying citizens.

That is not true.

I’m 14 years deep into a prison system, and I wish for safe streets and schools for my child

tice system, and currently that relationship is as uneven as ever. But the beautiful thing about history is that it always is being written, so now in this moment and in this movement we all have a chance to work in the light of our highest ideals.

The beautiful thing about history is that it always is being written.

Vina: I was heartened by Commissioner Schnell’s openness and willingness to hear different perspectives. It stood out to me that he agreed when I shared that the current system of incarceration is unsustainable — for our communities impacted by

just like everyone else. What I don’t believe in is an impractical system that clearly does not work and actually does more harm to the community than good.

Historically, communities of color have had an uneven relationship with the criminal jus-

That is everyone: those who are currently stakeholders in the system, those who sleep next to the toilets and are the human capital of the system, and those organizers and professionals who work on the front lines of the system to create paths to justice. This is the moment for pos-

Courtesy of DOC sibilities.

All the problems of the system have been well documented, so now it must be time to embark on the journey of creating solutions. It’s now about possibility. History is watching.

Vina Kay, executive director of Voices for Racial Justice, and Kevin Reese are participants in Voices for Racial Justice’s “BRIDGE Partnership.” Vina and Kevin plan to continue their dialogue monthly over the next year, culminating in Kevin’s release in February 2019.

Reader responses are welcome to info@voicesforracialjustice. org. To learn more about the organization’s work, visit www. voicesforracialjustice.org.

Frequent income ‘dips’ shown to have adverse health effects Young adults who struggle to make ends meet and are in precarious employment are at increased risk of death from heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure. — Tony Whitfield Income volatility presents a growing public health threat, especially when federal programs, which are

meant to help absorb unpredictable income changes, are undergoing continuous changes, and mostly cuts. — Tali Elfassy There have been a multitude of reports in recent years about how poverty can negatively affect the health of its victims. Whether it’s through the effects of environmental racism and classism, the lack of access to adequate nutrition and health care, the acute stressors that poverty causes, or any number of things — poverty is unequivocally among the greatest health threats in the world.

Obituary

Jo Pearl (Adams) Rucker January 13, 1924 — January 20, 2019

Jo Pearl Rucker was born in Clarksville, Tex. on January 13, 1924. She passed away on January 20, 2019, at the age of 95. She was preceded in death by parents, Guy and Mattie (Latimer) Adams; spouse, George W. Rucker; brother, Marvin Adam; and sisters Carrie Mae Adams and Alice Chivers. Her son, Kanawha Rucker, also preceded her in death.

Jo Pearl attended Cheatham High School, where she was a basketball and track star and graduated summa cum laude. She met the love of her life, George W. Rucker, who she married August 2, 1941. In 1956, by way of California, Jo Pearl and her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where her sister Alice resided.

Jo Pearl was a loving mother, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother. As a young widow, she dedicated her life to caring for her elderly mother, raising her children, and helping raise her grandchildren.

Jo Pearl was a devoted member of St. Peter’s A.M.E. Church, where she was an usher and choir

member. Church members fondly named her “Peppermint Patty” and “Badness.” She was appointed a church stewardess by the late Reverend Arctic S. Harris and faithfully served until her health prevented her from doing so. She was an avid gardener who willingly shared her bounty with friends, neighbors and strangers. She was an orator who passed down many vibrant, colorful stories of family history.

Jo Pearl is survived by three sons, George (Sandra), James (Stearline) and Charles (Melanie); three daughters, Marion, Patricia and Carol (Rodney); 19 grandchildren, Rondah (David), Richard, Regina, Rafonne, Larry, O’Nikka, Khalilah, Carmen (Tim), Shawntel, Brandon, Joetta, Phillip, Brianna, Nicholas, Xavier (Veronica), Lauren, Dominque, Malik and Taj; great and great-great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends. May she rest in peace.

Visitation will be at St. Peter AME, 401 E. 41st Street, Mpls., MN on Friday, February 1, 2019, at 10 am. Services to follow at 11 am.

Thank you for your prayers, which have increased our faith; your words, which have encouraged our hearts; and your presence, which has given us arms to lean on. The thought of every card and expression of kindness and sympathy addressed a touch of beauty. Because of your caring and sharing, you have made our burden much lighter. Please continue to pray for us, and may God’s blessing forever shine on each of you.

The Rucker Family

Today in the United States, approximately 40 million people fall below the federal poverty line, while an estimated 106 million Americans can be classified as economically insecure (meaning they are one minor mishap from joining the official ranks of the poor).

Also, as we know, people of color across the globe are more susceptible to the ill effects of both poverty and economic insecurity.

Perhaps, more often than not, when we think of the destructive impact that poverty has on one’s health, we envision images of children and/or seniors. It is true; they are both among our most vulnerable populations, particularly when considering socioeconomic status.

Poverty is the biggest killer on the planet, hands down.

Still, the pain that poverty brings does not discriminate based on age, as evidenced in a new study published this month in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. The results are quite startling.

This longitudinal study, led by researchers Tali Elfassy and Samuel L. Swift, was designed to chronicle the cardiovascular health and related rates of mortality among young adults between the ages of 23 and 35 who experienced frequent “dips” in income. The research team followed nearly 4,000 individuals from four cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, Birmingham and Oakland) over a 15-year period (1990 to 2005). They continued to chart their cardiovascular outcomes for the next 10 years (until 2015).

The study revealed that young adults who faced “income volatility” (or multiple dips in income) during this period were twice as likely to die prematurely and at more than double the risk to develop cardiovascular disease and experience related events such as heart attack or stroke (as compared to those maintaining a stable or increasing income). As you might expect, these results disparately affected women and African Americans.

The authors of this study concede that there are other potential variables that may have contribut-

Courtesy of Pixabay ed to heart disease, stroke, and premature death in these young people. Nonetheless, it is staggering to think that individuals between their 20s and 40s are suffering from — and in some cases dying from — these illnesses related at least in some part to their income insecurity.

This research simply reinforces the data from many other studies and even paints a broader picture as to how devastating poverty and inequity truly are in our society. It should also be noted that this is not solely an American phenomenon. Recent studies focusing on income volatility in countries such as Sweden, India, Australia and the United Kingdom have yielded similar findings.

It shouldn’t be news to anyone that poverty wreaks havoc on the health of so many people, be it their physical, emotional or mental health.

Gandhi called poverty “the worst form of violence.”

Moreover, poverty is the biggest killer on the planet, hands down. And just like poverty, economic insecurity and its effects can reach anyone, anywhere, regardless of race, gender, age or geography.

We must heed Dr. King’s call and develop “a sense of purpose, a proper sense of policy, and a proper sense of priorities.” Poverty impacts all of us. And for as long as we allow it to persist, it diminishes all of us as well.

Clarence Hightower is the executive director of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties. Dr. Hightower holds a Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State University.

He welcomes reader responses to 450 Syndicate Street North, St. Paul, MN 55104

January 31 — February 6, 2019

5

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.

SCOTUS’ transgender military ban highlights America’s war with itself

By Rev. Irene Monroe Contributing Commentator

Big tech needs to sound the alarm on face recognition

By Nicole Ozer Guest Commentator A top Google executive recently sent a shot across the bow of its competitors regarding face surveillance.

Kent Walker, the company’s general counsel and senior vice president of global affairs, made it clear that Google — unlike Amazon and Microsoft — will not sell a face recognition product until the technology’s potential for abuse is addressed.

ernment agencies. The company’s marketing materials read like a user manual for the type of authoritarian surveillance you can currently see in China.

Amazon encourages governments to use its technology to track ”persons of interest” and monitor public spaces, comparing everyone to databases with tens of millions of faces. Amazon even suggested pairing face recognition with police body cameras, a move that would

and actions provide a stark contrast with Google’s approach. While Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos acknowledged his company’s products might be put to ”bad uses,” he said the solution was to wait for society’s eventual ”immune response” to take care of the problems. This is a shocking abdication of responsibility, not to mention convenient blindness to the ”response” that Rekognition has already engendered.

Google, on the other hand,

The choices made now will determine whether the next generation will have to fear being tracked by the government for simply living their lives.

Face recognition, powered by artificial intelligence, could allow the government to supercharge surveillance by automating identification and tracking. Authorities could use it to track protesters, target vulnerable communities (such as immigrants), and create digital policing in communities of color that are already subject to pervasive police monitoring.

So how are the world’s biggest technology companies responding to this serious threat to privacy, safety and civil rights? Google, at least, appears to be taking the risks seriously with its recent announcement. Microsoft, unfortunately, is just talking the talk. And Amazon is completely running amok.

All three companies need to take responsibility for uses of their technology. Now, a nationwide coalition of civil rights organizations has demanded that they not sell face surveillance to the government.

Last spring, the ACLU exposed how Amazon is aggressively trying to sell its face surveillance product — Rekognition — to gov-

transform devices meant for police accountability into roving mass-surveillance devices.

The dangers couldn’t be clearer. In an eye-opening test, Amazon’s Rekognition falsely matched 28 members of Congress against a mugshot database. Tellingly, congressional members of color were disproportionately misidentified, including civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. And that test wasn’t based on a hypothetical: Law enforcement has already been using Rekognition to match pictures against arrest-photo databases.

Following these revelations, federal lawmakers spoke up about the risks of face surveillance, and civil rights groups, company shareholders, and hundreds of Amazon employees have called on Amazon to stop selling the technology to governments. But, instead of heeding these concerns and taking their product off the table for governments, the company is trying to sell Rekognition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI. Amazon’s statements

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has charted a distinctly different course with technologies based on artificial intelligence, with CEO Sundar Pichai urging his industry to realize that ”it just can’t build it and then fix it.”

So where is Microsoft in all this? The company has explicitly recognized the dangers of face surveillance in its statements, but its proposed solutions don’t add up.

In a blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith correctly identifies the threats the technology poses to privacy, free speech, and other human rights, observing that today’s technology makes a surveillance state possible.

But then, after outlining those grave threats to democracy, Smith proposes relying on inadequate safeguards that have failed in the past with technologies far less dangerous than face surveillance. He expresses excessive faith in notifying people of face surveillance systems — but what good is that in a world where face recognition is so widespread that nobody can opt out?

History has taught us that given the opportunity, governments will exploit new surveillance technologies, especially to target communities of color, religious minorities and immigrants. With face surveillance, we are at a crossroads. The choices made now will determine whether the next generation will have to fear being tracked by the government for attending a protest or going to their place of worship — or simply living their lives.

That’s why so many people have been sounding the alarm. Microsoft has heard it, but seems to be in denial.

Amazon needs to get its fingers out of its ears and start really listening. Google has heard it and is on the right track — the rest of the industry should follow its lead.

Nicole Ozer is director of Technology & Civil Liberties, ACLU of California.

With a conservative Supreme Court — including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh — it comes as no surprise that a 5-4 vote has revived President Trump’s discriminatory policy on transgender service members.

Last year, Trump’s ban against transgender service members was delivered in his inimitable style of communicating to the American public — in the form of a tweet: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” wrote Trump. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

Military readiness is not a heterosexual cisgender calling.

If Trump had his way, he would militarily eradicate transgender people from existence.

Last Tuesday, Jan. 22, Trump’s Supreme Court delivered his wish in supporting the exclusion of transgender men and women.

But it is surprising that, amid several wars that need every able person who wants to serve, our transgender patriots would still be excluded. However, the Court doesn’t think so — its Orwellian argument is that the discriminatory policy is not a “blanket ban.” The policy’s caveat is that it only targets some transgender individuals, not all.

“The policy does allow transgender troops to serve, but only if they do so in their biological sex, do not have a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or can show a 36-month period of ‘stability’ prior to military service.”

Since the military policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was repealed in 2010, allowing LGBTs to openly serve, unfortunately, military medical policies have continued to discriminate against our transgender population.

Back in the day, LGBT service members who served our country were either closeted about their sexual orientation or gender identity, or they were discharged under “honorable conditions” called “Fraudulent Enlistment.”

Trump’s ban reverts to that history of intolerance and is eerily reminiscent of the same ar-

gument used when it refused to integrate its ranks racially. Transphobia in our armed forces, like racism and sexism, is militarily dangerous because it thwarts the necessary emotional bonding needed amongst service members in battle, and it underutilizes the needed human resources to make a democratic and robust military.

The president’s binary views of gender, along with the perceived excessive cost of gender-reassignment surgery give rise to his notion that transgender healthcare is a “tremendous medical cost and disruption” to the military. So the bias persists.

However, evidence has shown that the military spends five times more on erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra and Cialis, than it does in providing medical services for transgender troops.

For example, in a July 2017 ad by the Family Research Council, trans activist Chelsea Manning is pictured next to a military jet with the question “Which one do you want our military to be spending your tax dollars on - transgender surgeries or equipment?”

Four months later, the first sex assignment surgery for an active service member was approved for payment. However, it must be emphasized that the medical cost for transgender troops is one-tenth of one percent of the military’s annual medical spending.

The Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in the workplace based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” but it does not bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2014, the Obama administration expanded protections to LGBTQ Americans, providing federal guidelines permitting transgender students to use “gender-appropriate facilities” which aligned with their gender identity. Obama’s policy also opened the military to transgender service members.

Military readiness is not a heterosexual cisgender calling. Last year, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified before Congress on behalf of transgender troops serving openly because of no known issues resulting from it.

Our transgender service members are prepared to defend this country with their lives.

Without them, America would not be able to present itself as a united front on the battlefield.

The real war in America is with itself.

Rev. Irene Monroe is an African American lesbian feminist public theologian, sought-after speaker, and preacher.

There must be a price for the ‘softcore lynching’ of Blacks

By Bill Fletcher Guest Commentator

I have been thinking about Jermaine Massey quite a bit since I heard about his story at the DoubleTree Hotel in Portland, Oregon last month. This was the case of a Black man — a registered guest in the hotel — holding a phone conversation with his mother in the hotel lobby.

Two hotel security personnel approached him, asked him to leave the hotel and called the police on him. Despite video proof that he informed them that he was a legitimate guest, he was told to leave. The two security personnel were ultimately fired.

There must be a substantial price paid by these racists who choose to call the police when there is absolutely no evidence of a crime.

The case is not over but the incident, once again, is a story of a White person calling the police on an African American for no reason that comes close to allegations of breaking the law.

After hearing about this case, the term “softcore lynching” came to mind. Maybe someone else has used this term. I call it a “softcore lynching” because these incidents are much more than a racist nuisance. These are flagrant examples of Whites both determining what territory is acceptable for those of us of color to occupy (note: these incidents are not limited to attacks on African Americans), but they also place our lives in imminent danger.

It is this latter point that I wish to emphasize here.

Given the history of the relationship between African Americans and law enforcement, the ap-

pearance of the authorities brings with it the everpresent threat of confrontation. And confrontation can mean imprisonment or death.

When the White security guards at the DoubleTree called the police on Massey they were — to give them the benefit of the doubt — ignoring history and ignoring the potential consequences should, for instance, Massey have gotten into an argument with the police about a potential violation of his rights. Since there was no indication that Massey was armed and dangerous, a confrontation could have been very one-sided, leading to injury or death for the Black man.

When the police show up, whether due to African Americans playing golf slower than a White person might desire; having a party when White people would rather we don’t; returning home when we are not recognized by a White neighbor; or speaking with our mother from a hotel lobby, the reality is that we are always treated with suspicion. How that suspicion is realized can determine whether that interaction ends violently or peacefully.

This phenomenon of Whites calling law enforcement on Blacks due to their own racist unease represents a resort to implied violence to both ensure that we remain in our place and to ensure that the comfort level of Whites is retained.

This, therefore, is a political struggle that we must engage. If one pulls a fire alarm for the thrill, one pays a price. There must be a substantial price paid by these racists who choose to call the police when there is absolutely no evidence of a crime, intended or otherwise. My guess is that if these racists had to pay the cost of the deployment of the police plus an additional penalty, they would think twice before putting our lives in danger since, after all, these are the actions of cowards.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the former president of TransAfrica Forum and author of the murder/mystery The Man Who Fell From the Sky. For more info, visit billfletcherjr.com.

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January 31 — February 6, 2019

J.D. Steele, Out of the Box Opera team up for one-of-a-kind show

By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer J.D. Steele, the driving wheel of renowned musical institution The Steeles, is returning to the theater for Out of the Box Opera’s Fusion Series.

Steele’s new stage show, in partnership with the company’s Artistic Director David Lefkowich, blends opera with other musical genres.

Steele is a singular presence in Twin Cities and, for that matter, international music. He will perform an original piece that he composed for the event and direct two groups, the 100-member Mill City Singers and the MacPhail Community Youth Choir, with featured vocalists, soprano Alexandra Razskazoff, tenor Dominique Wooten and alto/sopranos Tonia Hughes and Alexis Sword.

The program will also feature material from opera favorites Verdi and Puccini, as well as gospel songs from Edwin Hawkins, Quincy Jones and Curtis Mayfield, with accompaniment by J.D.’s brother Fred Steele.

“Our goal” said Lefkowich, “is to take what is best in both genres and combine them into something new that will appeal not just to fans of op-

era and gospel but to music lovers across all disciplines.”

This is not Steele’s first go ’round with opera, as he created Inner City Opera for The Great American History Theatre. Nonetheless, it presents a different experience. Unlike Inner City Opera, which was in his wheelhouse — versed in forms which he’s well familiar — especially gospel and soul, the classical form is new territory.

“Taking gospel and adding opera is not hard for me,” explained Steele. Toward which end, Quincy Jones’ “Everything Must Change” is one of the songs that will undergo a thorough re-tooling. “But doing it the other way, that’s been a challenge — trying to find the right arias that lend themselves to gospel stylization. [But] we’ve found some. Plus, it’s easier for me to create an opera that will allow me to stylize it.”

He added, “I haven’t seen a lot of opera, but I’ve talked to people who’ve been around opera. And I did one at the University of Minnesota called Elmer Gantry. That was about 10 years ago. I got intimidated, because I walked in and, just warming up, they were seriously blowing

without mics.

“Their voices are so big and [they] sing like that all the time,” he continued. “It’s amazing. I was just trying to keep up. But they wanted me to do my thing. So, I did some of their thing and I did mine. It worked out.”

Steele’s other numerous acclaimed outings include the nationally toured Mixed Blood Theatre hit Two Queens, One Castle, local smash Point of Revue, also at Mixed Blood, and Penumbra Theatre’s wildly successful Get Ready.

Lefkowich is, to say the least, appreciative of working with Steele. “I met J.D. in 2017 when he was a guest judge for [Out of the Box Opera’s] inaugural Diva Cage Match at the Uppercut Boxing Gym,” he recalled. “I was incredibly impressed. He has worked with everyone in the business and his music has taken him all over the world. When Out of the Box chose gospel as this year’s theme for the Opera Fusion event, it was the perfect opportunity to collaborate.”

He continued, “The wealth and depth of knowledge J.D. has about gospel music as an art form and his willingness to play and think creatively has made this process joyful. To have the opportunity to learn about gospel music from a master like J.D. has been an unforgettable experience.”

Steele is gratified Out of the Box Opera is bringing the show to an audience that might not ordinarily be exposed, staging the production at both the Weisman Art Museum and North Minneapolis’ Capri Theater.

“That’s going to be a free show,” said Steele of the Capri show. “They’re giving away tickets to people who usually couldn’t afford them — Plymouth Christian Youth Center, Northside Achievement Zone, renting a bus for Alliance House residents.”

J.D. Steele Steele summed up, “This is a first.

I’ve looked around and I don’t see where anybody’s ever done it, where they’ve fused gospel and opera. That excites me. My heart is into it.”

Out of The Box’s “Fusion Series” will be presented Sat., Feb. 9, 7pm at the Weisman Art Museum, 333 East River Parkway on the University of Minnesota Campus. Tickets are $55 for reserved

Photos courtesy of Out of the Box seating and $40 for general admission.

Admission is free for the Feb. 10 showing at the Capri Theater, 2027 W Broadway Ave., Minneapolis.

For more info, visit outoftheboxopera.com.

Dwight Hobbes welcomes readers responses to dwighthobbes@spokesmanrecorder.com.

Sister Spokesman and Wellife 360 kick off 'Get Fit' Challenge

Courtesy of Getty

By Brandi Phillips Contributing Writer In the fast-paced world we live in and with all the demands of family, work, and relationships, it can be hard

to stay on top of our complete wellness. This is especially true for women who often place the needs of others above their own.

Sister Spokesman and Wellife 360, a holistic health

nonprofit, want to encourage women to develop healthier habits with the Get Fit Challenge. As founder of Wellife, I am excited to partner on this initiative aimed at helping Black women improve their

LOVE THYSELF Self-care and self-love are essential to leading healthy lives and maintaining meaningful relationships.

Join us to learn how to put self-love into action, as our expert panel shares insights and tips to empower and enrich your life.

SATURDAY

FEB

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self-care and quality of life through an eight-week holistic weight loss regimen.

The challenge incorporates simple lifestyle changes and techniques that can be implemented daily and modified to meet participants’ needs. That includes making it a little easier for women to live healthier without all the extra stress of cutting carbs.

Starting Sat., Feb. 2 at Sister Spokesman’s “Love Thyself” event, the weight loss challenge kicks off with weighins, a smoothie tasting (for the first 50 attendees), and fitness demos. Centered around a self-love and self-care panel discussion with experts Dr. Joi Lewis, Brandon Jones, and Trenella Ricks — the event will serve as the perfect environment for the challenge.

It’s all about sisterhood and finding a group of women to hold us accountable as we work toward positive change is an amazing thing. So, to provide a comprehensive experience, Sister Spokesman is also providing participants a healthy living

life coach — moi! (this includes mental health behavioral coaching) fitness ideas, healthy eating tips and techniques, recipes, and a supportive online community.

If you are interested, the first step is to come to “Love Thyself” to get your initial weigh-in and learn more. The Challenge winner will get a $50 gift certificate and access to a Brandi Phillips free four-week Photo by Steve Floyd healthy living es of water daily; program to help continue the • Eat one cup of green vegefitness journey. tables daily.

Participants will be required to do a minimum of • Attend monthly meetups the following activities to aid or make arrangement for in their weight loss: weigh-ins • Exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes per day, six Women who are ready to days a week; commit or recommit to liv• Drink eight 8-ounce glass- ing healthier through daily activities utilizing food, fitness, and frame of mind, are encouraged to join us.

Feel free to get family and friends involved, too!

12-4 #heysista #soulsista

ONLY

$5

YET THEY PERSIST Celebrating women who change our world

BRING A SISTA!

Sun, Feb 24, 2019 | 4-6 PM Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis

THOR COMPANIES

FEATURING VocalEssence Chorus Spelman College Glee Club VocalEssence Singers Of This Age

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 612-827-4021

vocalessence.org | 612-371-5656

1256 PENN AVE N STE. #4000, MPLS., MN 55411

Sister Spokesman’s “Love Thyself” takes place Sat., Feb. 2 from 12-4 pm at Thor Companies, 1256 Penn Ave., N Suite #4000, Minneapolis.

Visit @SisterSpokesman on Facebook for more information.

Brandi Phillips is founder of Wellife 360 and will be facilitating the Get Fit Challenge. Send your inquiries to her at bphillips@ spokesman-recorder.com.

For more info on Wellife 360, go to www.wellife360.org or call 612-314-5214.

January 31 — February 6, 2019

BULLETIN

2019 Black History Month Community Calendar FEBRUARY 1-11

Each week this month, MSR editors share their top

picks for events celebrating Black History Month.

February 2

Author Talk: Race & Rights in Antebellum America 10-11 am @ Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd. West, St. Paul. Free Dr. Martha S. Jones, author of Birthright Citizens: Race and Rights in Antebellum America examines the long fight that African Americans activists faced to gain U.S. citizenship.

Info: mnhs.org Sister Spokesman Presents “Love Thyself” 12-4 pm @ Thor Companies, 1256 Penn Ave. N., Suite #4000, Mpls. $5 This celebration of Black sisterhood features Dr. Joi Lewis, Brandon Jones and Trenella Ricks, who will lead a discussion about self-care and self-love.

The day also includes a vendor marketplace and the official launch of a new “Get Fit” health challenge.

Info: bit.ly/LoveThyself2019 February 3 Robert Robinson Celebrates Black History Month 5-6:30 pm @ Crooners Main Stage, 6161 Highway 65 N.E., Mpls. $30 Ring in Black History Month with the soulful sounds of vocal powerhouse Robin Robinson, a gospel-rooted but genreless wonder.

Info: bit.ly/BHMRobinson February 7 On Screen: Black History Month 6-8 pm @ Brooklyn Park Library, 8500 West Broadway Ave., Brooklyn Park. Free Revisit the rich story and lush imagery of Julie Dash’s 1991 classic Daughters of the Dust, which tells the story of a 20th century Gullah family of coastal South Carolina.

Info: bit.ly/BHMDaughters or 612-543-5669

Soul Sing 7-9 pm @ Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Ave, Mpls. $12 VocalEssence partners with The Avant Garde to bring out the soul in all of us. Led by VocalEssence Associate Conductor Phillip Shoultz, this event will feature performances by local artists such as Ashley DuBose, Ginger Commodore and Niles, along with an audience sing-along.

Info: bit.ly/2RX2P91 Film Screening: Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami 7 pm @ Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway Ave., Mpls. $5 Join First Thursdays @ The Capri to watch a documentary about the life and career of the iconic actress and singer Grace Jones.

Info: mnhs.org/event/6399 February 8 Periphery: The Student Sit-Ins of 1960s Various times @ Howard Conn Fine Arts Center, 1900 Nicollet Ave., Mpls. $7.50 Reflect on the Civil Rights Movement and student activism of the ’60s with the Youth Performance Company’s play Periphery. Recommended for fourth-graders and above. Runs until Feb. 24.

Info: bit.ly/2MzMjWs February 9 Black History Month Sistah Co-Op Boutique 9 am-3 pm @ New Rules, 2015 Lowry Ave. N., Mpls. Free Celebrate Black History by supporting local Black entrepreneurs. Six small businesses unite to offer the latest in handmade jewelry, skin care products, African clothing and purses, handmade cards and more.

Info: bit.ly/BHMPopUp Author Talk: Spiritual Healing for a Woman’s Soul 3-4 pm @ Brooklyn Park Library, 8500 W. Broadway Ave., Brooklyn Park. Free Hear writer and speaker Daphne Brown discuss her book Spiritual Healing for a Woman’s Soul that honors the personal, passionate, and courageous ac-

POLICIN BUI LDI N G & PRO F G A CUL TURE O F ILING: T RU

Minneso ect is ho ta’s Black Comm sting a c unity Pr ommun cussion ity pane oj- tions with on polic l dise with Tw to teach police go wron in Cities and racial prof g youth ab il law enfo ing po commun out bein and what rcement lice. ity relat g stopped a ions nd Feature by The disc d paneli professionals. u s s Holmes, sts inclu io n t Feb. 16, akes pla de: Row crime p c 11 am – en r 4th Pre 1 pm at e Saturday, cinct, M evention specia a olis Central t h e Minne in li L st, 30 ibrary, D n partmen ap0 Nicolle oty Boa t; Dona eapolis Police rd Room t ld D M eMinneap Bellfield all in Min , olis Poli , neapolis ce Cond member, Panel; .

For mor Charlie uct Rev e iew Sc Ad Collabor ott, pre info, contact A ative Ad ams, comman nthony s d ident, M v e Minneap a r, Com R. innesota olis Poli ncement Divisio munity ’s Black c e D epa P n r Gibson, o , je c t c o at r tm mcast.ne re t or 612-5 anthony.scott@ torney, J tired Hennepin ent; Greg 7 8- 0171. uvenile C o u nty AtDivision The con . v e rsation topics a will c s what to do w over such hen inte r ac -

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counts of triumph and deliverance from the “bondage of the past.”

Info: bit.ly/DaphneBrownTalk Black History Month: Black Border Warriors Screening and Q&A 2:30-5 pm @ Rondo Public Library, 461 Dale St. N., St. Paul. Free In conjunction with Black History Month, Rondo Community Library will host a free screening of Black Border Warriors: The Seminole Negro Indian Scouts, which follows the unique plight of Black Seminoles from slavery to fighting against the U.S. in the Seminole Wars.

Info: bit.ly/BlackWarriors February 11 National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) All day throughout the Twin Cities NAAPID is a national call to action for parents, particularly of African American descent, to come to their child’s school to foster an open dialogue among teachers, parents, and students.

Info for St. Paul Public Schools: 651-767-8181 or email brandi.cavalletti@spps.org.

Info for Minneapolis Public Schools: 612-668-0000.

African American Family Involvement Day Roller Skating Party 6-8 pm @ Roller Garden, 5622 W. Lake St., St. Louis Park. Free for MPS families After visiting your child’s school, celebrate the day with them at the Roller Garden. The event is sponsored by the Minneapolis Public Schools and Black Male Achievement. Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Info: 612-290-9553 IF YOU’D LIKE TO SUBMIT AN EVENT, EMAIL US AT MSRNEWSONLINE@ SPOKESMANRECORDER.COM.

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January 31 — February 6, 2019

Powell

this situation with April Sellers, thanks to the two Minnesota newspaper articles, as a huge window Continued from page 1 through which to unleash their anger and hatred.

No matter how you slice it, there is forever a racial overtone throughout this. This whole thing began with an ugly and hate-filled email to my wife, and here we are all these months later, my send such an email?

Second, we sent the open letter Sat., Nov. 4, wife and I, getting hate-filled emails and social with my BCCing [blind copy emailing] it to about media messages.

35 people, none of whom ever responded in any form. The April Sellers in Minnesota responded MSR: How do you plan on moving forward that day, and again perhaps a week later. And, like from this? the first April Sellers’ email, this April Sellers post- KP: There are no real winners here in any form, not even close. We all lose when things like this ed to Facebook, a public forum.

The next time we heard anything was in late are allowed to fester and rot, instead of what we December 2017, from Sellers’ lawyer Aaron Scott, really need, healing and honest dialogue where saying we were being sued for over $500,000. people are talking with each other, not at each othThere was no offer by April Sellers’ lawyer to er.

And we feel, because we are Black, and because make an apology publicly, no offer to make a pubthere was a White woman with a White lawyer lic retraction, nothing. Just a demand for money. suing us, and because it was a White judge and a MSR: When did you discover you had the jury where all but one person was White, that this entire thing was biased against us from the very wrong April Sellers?

KP: It was not until June 2018, around the time of beginning, that it was a no-win situation…

Based on all the hate messages we have gotten our depositions in New York City, that we were finally told there was a different April Sellers [who from White people in Minnesota because of the lois Black], based in Ohio, who signed an affidavit cal newspaper articles, it is strongly suggested that saying she was the person who sent the hate-filled we as African Americans are not even permitted to be whole human beings, to have feelings about email in October. this that feel an awful lot like many other chapters MSR: But you didn’t apologize or retract your of America’s terrible racial history…

So the question also begs itself now, for us: original message at that time?

KP: From June 2018 to right before the trial in De- Where is the apology to us for being dragged cember 2018, we offered several times an apology through this for a year, for the thousands of dol-

“We greatly empathize with April Sellers of Minnesota.

We would love to apologize to her directly, but two wrongs do not make things right.” and a retraction, and every single time her attorney rejected it, saying money had to be attached, as much as $200,000-$300,000. Even moments before the trial began, Scott and Sellers rejected an offer to accept an apology. So, it is patently false to say that this could have been remedied from the beginning with a simple apology. The lawyer never asked for one; he asked for money.

MSR: Why did you refuse to share your side of the story with other media outlets that reached out to you?

KP: We chose not to respond to either [Star Tribune and City Pages] publication’s inquiry for an interview because of how traumatized we were and are by the entire Minnesota experience, and because I wanted to do an interview where I felt we could say very clearly and chronologically what happened. The whole truth, not fragments of the truth as both these newspapers reported, or was done by the other side during the trial.

Plus, the Star Tribune and City Pages are owned by the same company, and one of their writers, Preston, actually testified against my wife and I at the trial. Yet here these publications are writing articles about the trial.

The journalistic integrity and objectivity are simply not even there. Both writers from each publication barely were at the trial, yet they write articles about the whole thing?

Instead, my wife and I, because of those very biased articles, have been ruthlessly harassed with racist and sexist and hateful people, pretty much all White sisters and brothers, attacking us via email, on Facebook, on Instagram.

MSR: What kind of messages are you receiving?

KP: The same kinds of messages I have gotten since my days on MTV, and in these times, whenever I appear on CNN or Fox News Channel. They are messages calling us names, cursing us out, mocking us, you name it. The theme is always the same: hate.

The ugliness of the messages my wife and I have received since the trial is far worse and far more racist than anything I have ever experienced in the American South, either directly in person or via social media or email.

And many of these folks coming after Jinah and I are very clearly right-wingers, very clearly supporters of Donald Trump (one even had a Trump banner in the background of their profile pic), very clearly racial bigots who hate Black people, hate people of color, hate anyone who is different than them…

They are using the same exact language and the same exact tactics people like me have experienced for many, many years: yelling, screaming, bullying, mocking, cursing, belittling, and taking all kinds of liberties with fact and fiction. They see

BHM Continued from page 1

lars we had to spend, borrow, raise, simply to deal with this? And where is the apology to us for having our reputations slandered and smeared over and over again?

Yes, we greatly empathize with April Sellers of Minnesota. We would love to apologize to her directly, but two wrongs do not make things right.

The lawsuit and dragging us through an absolutely unnecessary trial were completely wrong and inhumane. As is what we have had to deal with, all the relentless and racist trolls, because of the articles in the Star Tribune and City Pages since the trial.

MSR: What do you feel that people should know that hasn’t been made public about this case?

KP: 2018 was the single worst year of my entire life, and my wife would say the same. This entire matter led to both of us having health issues from the stress, me a bladder issue and my wife an outbreak of shingles and two hospital visits just before the December 2018 trial.

As I said during the trial, there is a huge difference between being a public figure and being famous. Aaron Scott, the lawyer for April Sellers, looked up my name, saw MTV’s The Real World, which was made in 1992 and of which the seven cast members received a grand total of $2000 or so, and no royalties of any kind since. Scott also saw my books and writings and various speaking engagements and made a very terrible assumption of wealth.

Meanwhile, I owe the IRS hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, I have a $200,000 debt from having to postpone my wife’s theater production in 2018, and even my wife has over $100,000 in student loan debt. I literally borrowed money hours before we had to arrive for the Minnesota trial, just to pay for our plane tickets and hotel and meals in December...

I have not had health benefits since I worked at Vibe magazine in 1996, 23 long years ago. If I need to go to the doctor, I have to pay for it, period... I have never had a bestselling book to date, and I have never made a single dime from any of my 13 books. I write because it is my great passion of life other than being an activist...

In the era of social media, short attention spans, and click-bait headlines, this is what happens to people, and then they alone have to navigate through the madness of it all.

This interview has been edited and condensed for print publication. Read the full interview online at www. spokesman-recorder.com.

Interview conducted by Stephenetta Harmon. She welcomes reader responses to sharmon@spokesmanrecorder.com.

Louis White was induct- ball in MN,” by MSR contribued into Minnesota’s soft- tor Charles Hallman. Read the ball hall of fame. “In talking full story at bit.ly/2DFwmuT. with people who knew my father, he was first of all an outstanding athlete, and he was an outstanding baseball player and later a fast-pitch softball player,” said Frank.

offer from the New York Yankees,” White told the MSR. “He would’ve been before Elston Howard [as the team’s first Black playFor more information, visit er]. His [high school] batting average for the St. Paul City minnesotablackbaseball.com.

Conference is still a record Excerpted from “New book even though it was made revives lost stories of Black baseway back in 1946.”

SBS Continued from page 1

MSR: How did you even figure out how to make a doll?

FEI: When I went to college, I interned at a toy company, and later on I got experience at Hasbro, as well, to understand and work in the toy industry to get a grasp of how to not just create something, but to really build an ecosystem to empower kids.

MSR: What was the biggest challenge in making her?

FEI: There were many! I think the biggest was last year when I started working with a manufacturer to officially get this doll created... A couple months in, things started to change. My manufacturer just started not to follow up with me.

I started not to get my images and updates on how the doll was actually being made. I was starting to get less and less and less responses as months went by.

Then in August, I had a meeting with the manufacturing company. I was lied to... I didn’t

Photo by Stephenetta Harmon MSR: How did you overcome that?

FEI: I cried a little bit and prayed about it. Fortunately, a friend of mine had a toy company and she was like, “Hey, I›ll give you the contact of my manufacturer.

They did a good job with my doll.”

So, I got connected to them, and between September and November, all I did was email them questions, questions, questions. What’s the lead time? How long will it take? Who’s working

all these different items. But honestly, as I’m starting to get older, it’s being happy in the choices that I›m making. The idea of success is being true to yourself and to what your purpose is and knowing that you have that faith to continue it.

I also want to eventually build a legacy and generational wealth.

MSR: You also have a book?

FEI: It’s called Don’t Give Up, Aaliyah! It’s centered around teaching young girls, and kids

It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur. even have control over how my dolls were being made.

They made their own decisions, like “Oh wait, we have to change the manufacturing. Oh, actually we’re going to go with this hair design. Oh, actually…”

There was no transparency, and even though we had a contract, that was broken. So, that was definitely a harsh time. I had already let potential customers know that I’m going to be launching my dolls, and that did not happen... I had just lost so much money and I never got my doll…

on what? How long are the stages? What’s all included in every bit of the costs?

I was a little paranoid with the previous incident, but I really just made sure this time around to work with other partners, as well as, from a legal standpoint, to make sure that the contract was sound and that everything was in place.

MSR: Now that your dolls are available, what does success look like for you?

FEI: I think what I would have said years ago is I want to have this big house, I want to have

in general, about the early principles of entrepreneurship.

It’s a picture book for four-toeight-year-olds centered around the doll and her going on an adventure and discovering that entrepreneurship is something that you can›t do alone.

MSR: What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?

FEI: That you really cannot do it alone! It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur.

Interview conducted Stephenetta Harmon.

by

In a world where you can be ANYTHING …

be STRONG, be BRAVE,

be the CHANGE you want to see.

Be YOU, with US.

THE SAINT PAUL POLICE DEPARTMENT IS HIRING. Learn more and apply at www.stpaul.gov/departments/police/step-forward

January 31 — February 6, 2019

Legals

Employment

NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

THE RIGHT TO VERIFICATION OF THE DEBT AND IDENTITY OF THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY LAW IS NOT AFFECT-

Sealed proposals will be received by the Public Housing Agency of the City of Saint

ED BY THIS ACTION.

Paul at 555 Wabasha Street N, Saint Paul, MN 55102 for SECURITY GUARD SER-

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that default has occurred in the conditions of the fol-

VICES AT EDGERTON HI-RISE OR THE OTHER 15 HI-RISES, Contract No. 19-

lowing described mortgage:

110, until 10:00 a.m., local time on Thursday, February 14, 2019.

DATE OF MORTGAGE: January 6, 2012 ORIGINAL PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF MORTGAGE: $24,000.00

A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on February 5, 2019 at 2:00 pm at 1000

MORTGAGOR(S): Toulia Dennis

Edgerton Street, St. Paul, MN 55130.

MORTGAGEE: US Federal Credit Union DATE AND PLACE OF RECORDING: Recorded with the County Recorder in and

A complete set of proposal documents is available through Northstar Imaging at

for the County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, on the 25th day of January, 2012, as

www.northstarplanroom.com under Security Guard Services, Contract No. 19-110,

Document No. 9742585

for the St. Paul PHA. Digital downloads are at no charge, hard copy price is per the

ASSIGNMENTS OF MORTGAGE: Assigned to Glenwood Financial, LLC in As-

plan room.

signment recorded as Document No. 10591964; subsequently assigned to Minneapolis Property, LLC in Assignment recorded as Document No. 10591965

The PHA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive any informal-

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY:

ities in the bidding process.

Lot 9, Otto S. Lofgren’s Addition to Minneapolis, and that part of Lot 1, Block 2, W.L. Baldwin’s Addition to Minneapolis, lying South of the North line, extended of Lot 9,

AN EQUAL

Otto S. Lofgren’s Addition to Minneapolis and North of the South line, extended of

OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Ka Thao Administrative Technician (651) 292-6055

same Lot PROPERTY ADDRESS: 3733 11th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407

CLUDING TAXES, IF ANY, PAID BY MORTGAGEE: $21,419.89 THAT there has been compliance with all pre-foreclosure requirements; that no action or proceeding has been instituted at law or otherwise to recover the debt secured by

SCOTT COUNTY CDA OPENING WAITING LIST FOR PUBLIC HOUSING 1 BEDROOM UNITS ONLY

THAT pursuant to the power of sale contained in said mortgage, the above-described property will be sold by the Sheriff of Hennepin County as follows: DATE AND TIME OF SALE: March 22, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.

PLACE OF SALE: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Room 30, 350 South Fifth if any, on said premises and the costs and disbursements, including attorneys’ fees allowed by law subject to redemption within six (6) months from the date of said sale by the mortgagor(s), their personal representatives or assigns.

The date on or before which the mortgagor must vacate the property if the mortgage is not reinstated under section 580.30 or the property redeemed under section 580.23: September 23, 2019, at 11:59 p.m.

THE TIME ALLOWED BY LAW FOR REDEMPTION BY THE MORTGAGOR, THE MORTGAGOR’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OR ASSIGNS, MAY BE REDUCED TO FIVE WEEKS IF A JUDICIAL ORDER IS ENTERED UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 582.032, DETERMINING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE MORTGAGED PREMISES ARE IMPROVED WITH A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING OF LESS THAN FIVE UNITS, ARE NOT PROPERTY USED IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND ARE ABANDONED. Dated: January 25, 2019 Minneapolis Property, LLC Assignee of Mortgagee HOELSCHER LAW FIRM, PLLC By: /s/ Brian G. Hoelscher Brian G. Hoelscher #0238752 Attorneys for Assignee of Mortgagee 13100 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 100 Minnetonka, MN 55305 (952) 224-9551 THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. FORECLOSURE DATA Minn. Stat. Sec. 580.025 (1) the physical street address, city, and zip code of the mortgaged premises is 3733 11th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407; (2) the name of the transaction agent, residential mortgage servicer, and the lender or broker, as defined in section 58.02, if the person holding the mortgage is a transaction agent as defined in section 58.02, subdivision 30 are as follows: – not applicable; or the name of the residential mortgage servicer and the lender or broker, as defined in section 58.02, if the person holding the mortgage is not a transaction agent as defined in section 58.02, subdivision 30 are as follows: residential mortgage servicer – Minneapolis Property,

Internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to work in a cultural organization, build their resume, and network. Many majors accepted. Summer applications open March 4-24th. Visit our website: http://www.mnhs.org/internships/college.

Paid and unpaid internships available.

Fundraising Communications Assistant

Housing

said mortgage, or any part thereof;

Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota to pay the debt secured by said mortgage and taxes,

Field Trip Facilitators will enhance students’ experiences by providing a secure, welcoming environment and learning opportunities outdoors in a high-energy, setting at Historic Fort Snelling at Bdote. Commit to a weekly, weekday shift, April 8-June 7. Attend training in March. Apply at www.mnhs.org/volunteers or call Jean at 651-259-3186.

Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, January 31, 2019

.COUNTY IN WHICH PROPERTY IS LOCATED: Hennepin AMOUNT DUE AND CLAIMED TO BE DUE AS OF DATE OF NOTICE, IN-

Short-term volunteer opportunity at Historic Fort Snelling

The Scott County CDA will accept applications for its one-bedroom waiting list for applicants who are 62 and older or disabled under the Public Housing Program beginning Monday, February 4, 2019 until further notice.

To receive an application, please select ONE of the following options: • Download an application from our website at www.scottcda.org; OR • E-mail your request for an application to: cda-info@scottcda.org; OR • Call 952-447-8855 or 952-402-9022 and request an application be mailed to you; OR • Request an application in person at the CDA Office: • Scott County CDA located at 323 South Naumkeag Street in Shakopee • Requests to the Shakopee Office may be made Monday- Friday between 8:00-4:15 p.m.

• Directions to the office can be found on our website www.scottcda.org Return your completed application to the CDA and your application will be placed on the waiting list according to the date and time it is received.

Please refer to www.scottcda.org to determine if your household qualifies for the one bedroom list.

Applicants already on waiting lists for other housing programs must apply separately for this program and such applicants will not lose their place on other waiting lists when they apply for public housing.

The CDA does not have emergency housing.

You must be a U.S. Citizen, or a non-citizen with eligible immigration status.

If you need a special accommodation to apply because of a disability, please contact Scott County CDA at 952-4029022.

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is seeking a Fundraising Communications Assistant. This position will assist with a variety of duties, providing support primarily to the Chief Development Officer, Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships, and Executive Director.

This position is fulltime, hourly, and benefited. For the full job description and how to apply, visit https://mplsparksfoundation.org/blog/ and scroll to the January 28 posting.

The application deadline is February 25. EOE.

Ramsey County seeks whole family services for African American youth who are not attending school due to mental health issues Ramsey County is seeking one or two organizations that can assist African American students in successfully transitioning back to school by coordinating services that address the needs of the student’s whole family. These are students who have been receiving academic and other school services in the home or an alternative setting due to mental health, social emotional or severe behavioral issues. The County wishes to find one or two providers with a lived-experience, traumainformed, healing-focused, culture-based, restorative-practice orientation. The provider(s) will serve students of all ages, kindergarten through 12. Provider staff will be trained in the wraparound model of care coordination but will be expected to use their expertise to adapt this model to meet the unique needs of the students who will be served.

The application (Request for Proposals) will be released on January 30th, 2019. Proposals are due on March 7th. A nonmandatory pre-proposal meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m, Tuesday, February 12th at Ramsey County Public Works, 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive, Arden Hills, MN 55112 in the Marsden Room. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the work to be performed and allow providers to ask questions concerning the application process.

If you are interested, please send your contact information to sue.illg@co.ramsey.mn.us to get more information on how to apply

LLC, lender or broker – Minneapolis Property, LLC; (3) the tax parcel identification number of the mortgaged premises is: 02-028-24-34-0190; (4) if stated on the mortgage, the transaction agent’s mortgage identification number is: - not applicable; (5) if stated on the mortgage, the name of the residential mortgage originator as defined in section 58.02 is: US Federal Credit Union

LET ME HELP YOU!

To place your legal, housing or employment ad

I can get you financed. If I can’t get you financed today, at least let me put you on the path to homeownership.

call the MSR at 612-827-4021

952-201-4077

Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, January 31,February 7,14,21,28, March 7, 2019

toddwilliams@boemortgage.com NMLS ID 341222

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

Tracey Williams-DillarD Publisher/CEO

cecil e. NeWmaN Founder-Publisher 1934-1976

Wallace (Jack) JackmaN Co-Publisher Emeritus

Senior Editor

Editor in Chief

Stephenetta Harmon

Digital Editor Paige Elliott

Desktop Publisher Laura Poehlman

Editoral Intern Chris Juhn

Executive Assistant Nicole Wess

Distribution

Manuel Alvarez

Monisha Washington Cecilia Viel

CEO/Publisher 1976-2000

Norma JeaN Williams

Contributing Writers

Jerry Freeman

Account Representatives

lauNa Q. NeWmaN

Vice President Emeritus

Kenneth Brown Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III Dr. Deirdre Golden Solomon Gustava Charles Hallman Dr. Clarence Hightower Dwight Hobbes Brandon Jones Tony Kiene Nekima Levy-Armstrong Issa A. Mansaray Tammy McIntyre Juliet Mitchell Khymyle Mims Ivan Phifer Nicole Pillow I. Angela Rae James L. Stroud, Jr.

Fitz Continued from page 10

Sports Writers Larry Fitzgerald Charles Hallman Dr. Mitchell P. McDonald

Opinion Writers

Myrle Cooper Ron Edwards Frank Erikson Rev. Irene Monroe Mel Reeves Lucky Rosenbloom

Staff Photographer Chris Juhn

Contributing Photographers Onika Nicole Craven Olivia Crutchfield Steve Floyd Travis Lee

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS Minnesota Newspaper Association • National Newspaper Publishers Association The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

Publications are published every Thursday by the Spokesman-Recorder Publishing Co., Inc. Editorial/Business office is at 3744 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55409 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, P.O. Box 8558, Minneapolis, MN 55408

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INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

the Patriots in a stunning 2017 upset.

The Rams beat the New Orleans Saints 26-23 in overtime in the NFC Championship. The game created the most controversial non-call in recent NFL history. A virtually certain interference call against the Saints receiver was missed late in the fourth quarter with 1.49 to play. Had the game officials made the call, the Saints most assuredly would be in SB53.

Cameron Jordan of the Saints said, “Make calls, not apologies.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been silent on the non-call. Last week, the NFL fined Rams defensive back Nickell Robey Coleman

$26,670 for hitting the defenseless Saints receiver, leading with his helmet on the play in question.

The Rams are an explosive team. They rallied from 13-0 to beat the Saints and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51 in overtime during the regular season. The Rams are loaded with talent. Quarterback Jared Goff threw 32 TD passes; running back Todd Gurley scored 19 touchdowns; and Aaron Donald, with 20.5 sacks, was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

The Rams are well coached

by Sean McVay in his second season. The 34-year-old head coach is the youngest in the NFL. Belichick and Brady are really tough — on this stage they are legends. The Patriots’ dynasty is far from over, and they have a huge experience advantage. I can’t believe they

Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy seeks Water Quality Program Director PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE POSITION: To provide strategic vision and leadership to Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy’s (MCEA’s) Water Quality Program. MCEA is the state’s leading public-interest environmental and energy law firm. We advocate in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, at the legislature, and in the realm of public opinion to protect and defend Minnesota’s environment and the health of its people. MCEA is committed to building a diverse and equitable workforce, applicants from underrepresented or marginalized communities are encouraged to apply.

The Water Quality Program Director oversees development and implementation of MCEA’s advocacy on water. This includes creating and communicating a broad vision for program success, setting clear program goals, identifying and managing execution of projects consistent with program goals, developing and managing program budgets, building and managing important external relationships including with diverse communities, clients, coalition partners and funders, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that values differences, and providing leadership to other MCEA staff.

Please visit our website at http://www.mncenter.org/jobopenings.html for more information. The salary range for this position is $80-90K.

lost to the Eagles in Minneapolis last year — which like this year’s Super Bowl was a rematch — after beating the Los Angeles Chargers 41-28 and Kansas City with MVP Pat Mahomes 37-31 in overtime.

I’m calling the Patriots to win it 34-28.

Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio

89.9 FM at 8:25 am, on WDGY-AM 740 Monday and Friday at 9:10 am, and at www.Gamedaygold.com. He also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Follow him on Twitter at FitzBeatSr. Larry welcomes reader responses to info@ larry-fitzgerald.com or visit LarryFitzgerald.com.

9

10

January 31 — February 6, 2019

It’s Patriots vs. Rams in Super Bowl LIII

ATLANTA — Greetings all from Atlanta, Georgia, the land of Gone with the Wind, the National Centers for Decease Control, birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, SEC Championship game, Coca-Cola, Magic City, the NFL Atlanta Falcons, Braves, Hawks — and this week Super Bowl LIII. I’m here to cover my 38th Super Bill Belichick Bowl in Mercedes Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. The stadium is a virtual carbon copy of U.S. Bank the Oscars? It’s no contest. Where Stadium, just a little larger. They else can 187 million Americans all like to have a good time in Atlan- do the same thing? Only the Super ta, home of southern hospitality Bowl.

Days that define us as Amerand the highest rate of HIV posiicans: Independence Day, Mothtive cases in the United States.

Yes, I like to keep it real. As pres- er’s Day, Thanksgiving Day. And ident/founder of the Carol Fitzger- of course Super Bowl Sunday. They ald Memorial Fund, which, in ad- have not started giving people the dition to breast cancer prevention, day off on the following Monday also supports the prevention of yet, but in some respects, Super HIV/AIDS in the Black communi- Bowl Sunday seems more like a naty, I have twice as much work to do tional holiday than a lot of actual holidays. this week.

The New England Patriots, the The Vince Lombardi Trophy vs.

Tom Brady

Photos by Lou Lampson

dynasty that won’t go away, have reached their 11th Super Bowl, by far the most in NFL history. Years ago the Buffalo Bills reached four straight Super Bowls. This is the third-straight for the Patriots and their fifth in six years.

Head Coach Bill Belichick will be on the sideline in his ninth Super Bowl. He’s won five and is chasing after his sixth, which he was denied last year. If he wins Sunday, he will tie George Hallas and Curly Lambeau with six NFL Championships as a head coach for number-

Jared Goff

Aaron Donald

one all-time.

Belichick has won 30 playoff games, number-one all-time, and has coached in 13 AFC Conference Championship games. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, also in his ninth Super Bowl, has won 29 playoff games and boasts five Super Bowl wins, the most all-time.

Brady in Super Bowl LII threw for a record 505 yards. He’s won nine conference championship games, the most all-time. No wonder they refer to him as the G.O.A.T.: greatest of all time.

Photos by Steve Floyd

The Patriots are two-point favorites over the Los Angeles Rams.

I have seen the Rams play three times this year; they beat the Vikings and Cardinals twice. They scored 527 points this season, the second-highest total in the NFL. They are 15-3 and are in the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl.

The Patriots and Rams met years ago in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Rams were in St. Louis then, were 14-point favorites, and lost to ■ See Fitz on page 9

Black Gopher swimmer and diver both proud of cultural impacts There are approximately 100 African American and other student-athletes of color this school year at the University of Minnesota. In an occasional series throughout the 201819 school and sports year, the MSR will highlight many of these players. This week: Gopher senior swimmer Rachel Munson and junior diver Kristen Hayden

Swimmer reflects on career success

Rachel Munson Photo by Charles Hallman

Four years ago Rachel Munson crossed the Wisconsin-Minnesota border to attend the “enemy school.” The Shorewood, Wisc. native said she never second-guessed her decision. In fact, she quickly pointed out that her time as a Gopher has gone way too quickly.

“I can’t believe we have only a few months left,” Munson admitted. A former Academic AllBig Ten selection, she expects to graduate this spring with a double major in psychology and biology.

Munson’s main events are the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke and individual medley, using all four competitive strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle in that order in the same race. She has had numerous top-three finish-

es in her Golden Gopher career.

Earlier this month against Hawaii, she won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke and was part of the team’s winning 200-yard medley relay.

Being the only Black swimmer, or one among the few, throughout her swimming career is something the young woman has long adjusted to. “I wasn’t the only one on my club team [back in Wisconsin] — there was one other [person of color],” Munson reported.

More importantly, Munson hoped that her Gopher years helped forged a positive lasting

ANOTHER

Diver has Olympic aspirations

VIEW

impression. “I want to Kristen Hayden, as be the best I can be and a University of Michmake a significant imigan freshman divpact on the team here, er two seasons ago, not necessarily in times Charles achieved NCAA Allbut in culture as well,” hallman American honorable she said. “I’m reflectmention honors. But ing back on my 15-year at a regional meet, the swimming career, and I can be Hillsborough, New Jersey really happy to look back and see native realized that for her all of the accomplishments that I diving career to really flourhave had and the memories I’ve ish, Minnesota might be a made with my team.” better place for her.

Munson plans to take a “gap” “My biggest decision [to year after graduation. Thereafter, transfer] was [Minnesota “I hope to go to medical school.” Diving Coach] Wenbo Chen, who’s arguably one of the best diving coaches in the United States,” Hayden said.

“I was sitting on the side of the pool and I was watching the NCAA diving finals.

I looked up and I saw there were three Minnesota divers in the finals.”

Hayden has Olympic aspirations: She placed among the top 15 divers in the 2018 USA Diving Winter Trials in Atlanta in December. “I needed to go here. [Chen] is an amazing coach,” she stressed. During her first season last year as a Gopher, Hayden earned All-American honorable mention at the NCAA Championships Photo courtesy of U of M Athletics and had three two-three fin-

“I want to be the best I can be and make a significant impact on the team.”

ishes, including first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives against Denver.

She is the only Black female diver on the Gophers.

The junior communications major has been diving since grade school.

“I actually was a gymnast first,” Hayden recalled. “I did the summer swim team in the summer.” Her gymnastics coach suggested to her mom that perhaps the youngster try diving — she was in fourth grade at the time.

“I’m one of the very few divers in the U.S. that are African American.”

“Diving is about 90 percent mental,” Hayden explained. “[If] you know you can do the dive, you can see it, odds are it will come out.

Right before I go into my dive, you go into your zone, make sure it is the correct dive…

“It is hours and hours of

Kristen Hayden Photo by Charles Hallman mechanics, years and years of discipline. It comes down to as little as when your toe pushes off the board. It’s so technical that there are so many factors that go into it.

“I’m one of the very few divers in the U.S. that are African American,” Hayden noted. “I want to make sure that I am the best representation of myself so when [people] think back, they saw that African American woman from Minnesota. So I can also influence other African American girls to want to do diving.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

Busy week in prep, collegiate basketball This past week I saw a matchup of two of the state’s top boys’ basketball teams, a contest between two Southside City Conference rivals, and a record-setting freshman point guard at the collegiate level in women’s hoops.

Here is how my week went: Fri., Jan. 25: Minneapolis North at Hopkins Senior point guard Jalen Dearring scored 16 points and had an all-around floor game in leading Hopkins to an 84-66 victory over North in a matchup between the number one-ranked Class 4A team and number two-ranked team from Class 2A. Zeke Nnaji led the victorious Royals with 36 points, Kerwin Walton added 17, and Andy Stafford chipped in 11.

The Polars were led by Eli Campbell and Nasir El-Amin — who scored 16 points each— and also got 10 points each from Willie Wilson and Davon Townley Jr. The score was 38-38 at halftime

PreP Scene Dr. mitChell Palmer mCDonalD

Jalen Dearring

Nasir El-Amin Thurs., Jan. 24: Minneapolis Roosevelt at Minneapolis South Khalid Ahmed led the way with 15 points to a 50-45 Roosevelt victory over City Conference rival South.

Taijhuan Williams added 11 and Abdikani Abdi contributed 10 for the Teddies, who trailed 25-16 at halftime.

Joey Erickson led South with 12 points, and Deshawn McArthur added 1

Abdikani Abdi

Deshawn McArthur

Wed. Jan. 23, Macalester College at Hamline University Cha’nel Anderson-Manning scored seven points and had an outstanding floor game leading Hamline to a 60-51 win over Macalester, but it’s what the freshmen point guard accomplished on Jan. 12 that turned heads in MIAC circles.

On that date, the 5’7” freshman tied a school record by going seven for seven from threepoint range while scoring 21 points in a 75-61 victory over Carleton College.

She led Cretin Derham Hall to a state tournament appearance in Class 4A competition

Cha’nel Anderson-Manning last spring.

Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses to mcdeezy05@gmail.com. All photos by Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald