June 17, 2021 - MN Spokesman-Recorder by MN Spokesman Recorder

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

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 June 17-June 23, 2021, Vol. 87 No. 46

FIND US ONLINE AT WWW.SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”

A tribute to Blacks’ unflinching will to be free By Jon Jeter Contributing writer

s the story is usually told, the secular holiday known as Juneteenth began two months after the end of a bloody, four-year Civil War, when General Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union soldiers disembarked at Galveston Island, Texas in mid-June of 1865 and made a horrific discovery: Chattel slavery was still very much alive in Galveston. Days later, Granger read five General Orders issued by the

federal government, the third of which declared: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free." The news of their liberation was akin to a thunderclap. The streets of Galveston exploded in spasms of cathartic joy; men hurled their hats into the air, women danced, the elderly wept. This bacchanal on June 19th— the name inspired by merging the two words mimicking African Americans’ rapid-fire cadence—inspired the holiday that has been celebrated virtually

every year since across the nation at backyard barbecues, block parties, town squares and city parks. In 1872 a group of African American ministers and businessmen purchased 10 acres of land in

“Slaves had started to act free anyway.” Houston and created Emancipation Park to host the annual Juneteenth celebration. But the widely-publicized spate of killings of African

Americans by White police and vigilantes—including Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and, here in Minnesota, Philando Castille, George Floyd, Daunte Wright and most recently Winston Smith—has shone an even brighter spotlight on Juneteenth and sparked a reconsideration of the holiday as something more than just a cultural touchstone or street festival celebrating Black culture. What is often left unsaid in the retelling of Juneteenth’s origins is that it was not the product of liberal, White benevolence but

Police reform still in limbo one year after Floyd’s death By Abdi Mohamed Contributing writer On May 25 celebrations around the nation marked the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death. What followed that killing was a summer of civil unrest and calls for reform and, in some cases, for the outright abolition of police. One of the events that took place to commemorate Floyd’s life was the “Rise & Remember” George Floyd Global Memorial Celebration. It attracted thousands of Minnesotans to George Floyd Square on 38th St. E. and Chicago Ave. S. where Floyd was murdered at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The celebration was marked by barbecues, music and performances throughout the day for participants to reflect on the past year. It ended with a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the many lives lost at the hands of police violence. Pastor Rozenia Fuller of Good News Baptist Church came out to the square on Tues-

day to take part in the festivities. “I'm glad to be out here because this is an important movement in history,” she said. “It’s not just a moment, it’s a movement and it’s a mission. George Floyd Square has become more than a crime scene.” Fuller’s church has been active in the square donating books, food and clothing to those in need. She also hailed the work of Black women like Jeanelle Austin and Marcia Howard for their work in organizing in the square and keeping it as a memorial to

Floyd since his death. The past year has also been full of personal insights for Abiyou Rose, a young Black man from Saint Paul. “I was adopted, so I was raised in a White family,” he said. “When this whole thing happened it was a big shock to me because I was kind of sheltered from what was really going on.” Rose was in the square when news of former MPD officer Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict came down. Though there was joy that day, there was still tension from the trial. “I feel like this is more of a celebration,” Rose said. “There were still people crying then, but this time there’s a barbecue, people are smiling while there’s music playing, and people are happy to see everyone come together again. Linda Sloan, executive director of the Council for Minnesotan’s of African Heritage, was also in attendance. The event brought her back to the day when Floyd was murdered. “As long as we have breath in our bodies, there is hope,” Sloan said. ■ See Policing on page 5

Nurse calls man’s death while in Beltrami jail ‘murder’ was captured on surveillance they accused him of feigning his footage joking around with a cor- symptoms, including paralysis. “My baby suffered not for rections officer in an elevator. nine minutes and 29 seconds, On Aug. 24 “my son walked A Minnesota nurse is speaking out about the circumstances into the jail healthy,” said Shersurrounding the death of a Black rell’s mother, Del Shea Perry. On inmate who died while being Sept. 2, Sherrell was pronounced held at the Beltrami County Jail in dead. Over a matter of days Sher2018. Stephanie Lunblad, a nurse practitioner, had just begun work- rell’s health rapidly deteriorated but for six days he cried for his life. He pleaded for them to help him,” said Perry, adding that her son was in relatively good spirits despite facing about five years in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm. “I felt like I had witnessed a murder,” Lunblad told KARE11News in May. Lunblad was a new employee at MEnD Correctional Care at the time of Sherrell’s death. Founded in 2006, the company has contracts with jails across Minnesota (l) Hardell Sherrell and (r) Sherrell lying on the floor of to provide health care to incarcerBeltrami County Jail Submitted by Del Shea Perry ated individuals. According to Lunblad, being at the jail in Bemidji around as he suffered the effects of a rare the time that 27-year-old Hardel autoimmune disease, losing his fore she encountered Sherrell, Sherrell arrived on Aug. 24, 2018. ability to walk and suffering from an unidentified nurse had Sherrell walked into the jail with- excruciating pain. Though he recommended to MEnD CEO out any apparent problems and begged jail staffers to listen to him, Dr. Todd Leonard that he be

By Niara Savage Contributing writer

“I felt like I had witnessed a murder.”

■ See Sherrell on page 5

Blacks’ political agency and unflinching will for self-determination. Among the Union troops who accompanied Granger to Texas were a contingent of colored troops from New York and Illinois who were livid when they discovered the continuing exploitation of slaves. They approached Granger and told him in no uncertain terms that either he would do something about the situation or they would. “One of the tropes about American life is that Black people didn’t fight for our freedom,” said Robert S. Smith, a history

professor at Marquette University and the director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching and Outreach. “The truth is that there is no union victory without very clear and robust engagement by Black people in the abolition of slavery.” As noted by several historians—most notably W.E.B. DuBois—one of the factors that influenced Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation was that “slaves had started to act free anyway,” Smith said, by sabotaging the owners’ crops, organizing work slowdowns or sit-down ■ See Juneteenth on page 5

Car rams into protestors, woman killed

Deonna Marie Knajdek, 31, was struck and killed early Monday morning, June 14, by 35-year-old Nicholas Kraus, who appears to have purposely driven his car through a barricade set up by protestors demanding justice for Winston Smith. Smith was killed last week by Ramsey and Hennepin County sheriffs. Witnesses said Kraus accelerated as he neared the makeshift barrcade. A vigil was held in her honor on Monday at the corner of Girard and West Lake Street in Uptown where she was killed. Star Tribune. Photo Photo courtesy of FacebookA-

Heading off trouble before it happens

How a public-health approach to violence prevention is working in Minneapolis Prevention was created to reduce violence in a city alBy Sam De Leon ready facing police violence Contributing writer and community violence. The Office is tasked with Created in 2018 by the City of Minneapolis within the collaborating with communiMinneapolis Health Depart- ty members and City staff to ment, the Office of Violence devise new plans for violence

Sasha Cotton during a recent press conference

MSR file photo

prevention. What the Office primarily means by violence prevention is community violence and the different forms it takes, including bullying and violence among peers. Sasha Cotton, director of the Office of Violence Prevention, said over a video call that the Office thinks of itself as an “incubator” for the work they do in partnership with community-based organizations. Cotton said that means they provide training and technical assistance to programs by using evidencebased models. Staffed by seven people, the Office doesn’t do the work itself but does have staff that is out in the community every day. “A lot of what we do is around building, supporting and funding nonprofits and other organizations who are working on the ground,” Cotton said. ■ See Prevention on page 5