June 20-26, 2019 Vol. 85 No. 46 www.spokesman-recorder.com • THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
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‘WE MUST CONTINUE TO MAKE NOISE’
AssAults on BlAck Bodies continue
NAACP: Keep speaking out against police misconduct By Stephenetta Harmon Editor-in Chief The NAACP Minneapolis has called for an apology and additional action from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office after the arrest of two Black women last month by sheriff’s deputies. Makala Moore, 19, and Taylor Kueng, 20, were charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of the legal process after speaking out against the May 31 detainment of two Black men on Minneapolis’ Nicollet Mall for an open bottle infraction. The men, who the women did not know, were not charged or arrested. In a video of the arrest, captured by Kueng, Moore exclaimed, “You’re hurt-
ing me, you’re hurting me,” as one of the deputies throws her to the ground. “Two men take me down, put their knees in my back, twist my wrists, [while] I’m wearing a dress,” said Moore at a June 14 press conference addressing the “violent mishandling,” in her words, that she and Kueng endured. An officer is then seen in the video threatening Kueng with a Taser after she resists arrest. When asked what she is being arrested for, the officer replies, “Because.” “We want the sheriff’s office to apologize to these young women — and to Black people — because we recognize this is a systemic issue,” Leslie Redmond, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, told the MSR.
“For every Makala and Taylor, there are 1,000 other Makalas and Taylors that the NAACP doesn’t know about,” continued Redmond. She added that she wants the officers disciplined and actions put in place to better address police interactions with people of color.
Blacks being wrongfully arrested with unnecessary force in Minnesota is nothing new, says Mpls NAACP President Leslie Redmond. “We know police officers and sheriff officers in Minneso-
sounded across the country for these violent police interactions. A June 17 episode of former CNN contributor Roland Martin’s Facebook Live “Daily Digital Show” addressed the issue with attorney Keith White. He represents Nicholas Simon, a 17-year-old teen who was assaulted and falsely charged by the New York Police Department June 12 while ta know how to police. They walking down the street just don’t know how to do it dribbling a basketball. when it’s Black bodies,” she “This is the type of policsaid during a press confer- ing that’s allowed to go on in ence (see adjacent story). marginalized communities,” Alarms continue being ■ See AssAults on page 8
“We must question their authority. We must record.” “We also want them to have better protocols when people do come to them with these issues,” she said, in addition to funds for culturally-based training. “We want them to put the money where ■ See NAACP on page 8
THE OMAR AGENDA
Congress. Because there is so much noise on whether I should get conplatforms to instead focus on public MSR: How has it been making alli- demned for this or that, there are so many of them that are constantly apances in Washington, D.C.? policies. The conclusion of a In this week’s continuation of the Ilhan Omar: That really has been proaching us that want to have a contwo-part conversation same conversation with the MSR, one of the greatest opportunities versation, that want to make sure we Omar talks about her work with the we’ve found in the last four and a half are able to deliver for our district and By Solomon Gustavo the country [and] make sure we feel Contributing Writer supported. As mentioned in last week’s conSo, a lot of conversations that we versation with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar wouldn’t have been part of, maybe not [The Omar effect], she remains a beaeven our first term, we’re in the center con of controversy. The same week of it because of the increased scrutiny the previous article was published, around our place in Congress. she was fined for misuse of campaign funds, which was attributed to tax accounting errors and travel. Upon the release of the findings, she released a statement that reads in part, “In addition to complying with the Board’s findings, I plan on closing the account from my State House race and distributing the funds to organizations that help train first-time MSR: What kind of work have you candidates to run for office — so that the next generation of candidates and Photo by Associated Press been doing with the Black Caucus? IO: We’ve been on a tour visiting diftheir teams know how to adequately track and report campaign expenses.” Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), months. Because we ran on a real- ferent communities. They’re coming It also prompted a local news out- how they are working on intention- ly aggressive platform, there were so to our community in Minneapolis at let to publish a scathing commentary ally connecting with Black media and many organizations in the state and the end of August. We’ll have a weekon her work. Yet, Omar continues digging in on issues directly affecting around the country that endorsed our end to talk about the opportunities to keep her responses to controver- Black (African and African American) campaign. We’ve been able to feel re- that exist within the Black community in Minnesota and talk about some ally connected. sy measured (as the statement above) communities. Same here with our colleagues in of the challenges. and using her live and social media
Our focus will be around that unfulfilled promise of prosperity and looking at what kind of economic prosperity the Black community can have, where are the opportunities and where are the challenges. We’re going to talk about Minnesota being one of the more segregated states when it comes to education. We just had the anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, so we are going to revisit that conversation and look at what the education gap looks like, and at schools that are real successes.
“You cannot really be able to lead a healthy, fulfilling life if you don’t feel you have justice.” I was just in Richfield High School; they have an 80 percent graduation rate, which doesn’t really happen in many parts of the district. They have a Black principal. So, maybe [we’ll be] having a conversation with her about why that is possible for them and how we can duplicate that in other parts of our district. ■ See OmAr on page 8
BLACK BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: BODY LOVE Mixing up skincare and aromatherapy The most successful businesses tend to solve a problem. Sabrina Jones’ problem was eczema and dry, over-sensitive skin. Her solution: Body Love Products. Unable to wear products with fragrances, Jones created her own line of bath and body products incorporating aromatherapy, pure essential oils, and all-natural ingredients. For 20 years, she has worked in child protection and training, which she said also informs her creations. “I work in a very stressful environment,” said Jones. “How can I combine two things that can help me and deal with not only the wellness of my skin, but also [serve] as a mood stabilizer?” We chat here with this rising entrepreneur about her skin and wellness line and goals for growth and longevity.
Sabrina Jones
Photo by Desiree L. Wells
products and accessories [for] those that suf- JS: It’s my body butters. I have eight different fragrances, and my body butters are multifer from dry skin, inflammation, blemishes. use, so you’re able to use them on your hair, MSR: What inspired you? ■ See BBs on page 8 SJ: I just wanted to be able to have something that anyone could use — from an infant to someone in their 90s — anyone dealing with acne or inflammation, or just wanting a product that can help stabilize their mood, hence the aromatherapy piece. When I became pregnant with my first child, that pushed me forward in really creating my product.
MSR: How did you figure out how to mix this stuff up? SJ: I’ve always been a creative person. It’s really working around your scents, so I just get different scents together that I would like and play around with it. That’s the fun part. I work MSR: What is Body Love? Sabrina Jones: I provide unique aromather- with shea butter, and I break that down, and apy, wellness, and stress relief solutions for then I just start mixing. your skin. I handcraft a variety of aromatherapy body butters, hair and facial treatments, MSR: What’s your top-selling product?
Submitted photo
February 16-22, 2017
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June 20-26, 2019
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Money Matters
10 tips to save money this summer
By Kay Robinson Contributing Writer
S
aving money should be a year-round thing, but warm weather definitely provides unique opportunities to save some coins. You may already grill or walk, but there are many other cost-effective ways to while enjoying the sun. You may already grill or walk, but there are many other cost-effective ways to while enjoying the sun. This is especially good to consider during the summer months when kids are out of school and just about everyone is planning a vacation, wedding or outdoor excursion. Read on for some ways to enjoy the season without breaking the bank
Chill out on the AC If you don’t need to use your air conditioner, cut it off — especially at night. Or, set your programmable thermostat to run warmer during the times when you’re not at home to save on electricity costs.
Vacation responsibly Budget out vacation costs well in advance of your trip. That means looking for travel package deals and purchasing tickets two to three weeks in advance. Charging vacations on a credit card is not recommended if you don’t have the cash to pay it off. However, do use a card if it provides travel or insurance protection for plane tickets and rental purchase.
Eat out(side) It’s barbecue season, so ditch the restaurants and fire up your grill. Or, raid your fridge and pack a picnic to go. This will help save on some electricity and air conditioning costs — and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Sounds like a win-win!
Room on a budget Renting rooms (and whole apartments or houses) from private owners through platforms like Airbnb or Homeaway can give you much more for your money than hotels. If traditional hotels are a must-have and you are staying for more than a day or two, look for options that have a kitchen — or at bare minimum a refrigerator. This will help save you money on meals and avoid wasting leftovers.
Look for deals If you’re not finding things you want to do for free, hit up sites like Groupon or LivingSocial to score deals on everything from riverboating and golfing to rock climbing and bowling. These sites are chock-full of activities and get away packages, so they might also inspire you to try things outside of your normal routines. Cut the cable Still got cable? Why not put it on pause this summer and look for alternative (and cheaper) streaming options that you can also use on the go? It might also encourage you and your family to get off the couch and explore other activities.
Find summer freebies This is the best time of the year to find free Reverse your fans Got ceiling fans? Did you know you can events including concerts, park events, cultural festivals and fairs and outdoor activ- switch their direction to run counterclockities. Make sure to pack water and snacks to wise and push cool air down to you? Just grab help keep your food spending down, as well. a stool and hit the switch on the side to reverse T:5.25” the spin for cooler air. Check out our calendar for up-to-date events.
Photos by Getty Walk (or bike) it out Save on gas by walking to close destinations or pulling out your bike. Not only will it save some wear and tear on your car, but it will also help you up your exercise routine. Check out page 8 for bike safety tips.
Kay Robinson welcomes reader responses at krobinson@spokesman-recorder.com.
More people of color needed for financial planning jobs
Justin Sullivan
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Americans’ need for competent and ethical financial advice continues to grow, but the population of professionals who can provide such advice is shrinking. “We need more financial planners,” says Brittney Castro, a Los Angeles-based CFP professional. “It’s such a great career. You’re helping people with their money, you make good money, and you have ultimate freedom over your time. That’s a win-win-win.” At the same time, the demographics of wealth in the U.S. are shifting. The average net worth of African American families increased by 30 percent from 2013 to 2016, according to the Federal Reserve. Women now control more than one-third of wealth in the country, according to The Boston Consulting Group. And an “InvestmentNews” report found the top-fifth of Latinos, or more than 2.1 million households, have an average wealth of more than $400,000. Not reflecting these changes, however, are the demographics of today’s financial planning workforce. Less than one-fourth of the more than 84,000 Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professionals are women, and only 3.6 percent are Black or Latino. The gap between the current state of the financial planning profession and what is needed in this shifting landscape presents big career opportunities for aspiring CFP professionals, particularly female and minority candidates. Financial planners earn a median pay of $89,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also projects that job opportunities MNL201900124_SummerCampaign_MSR_2.25x10.5_200dpi.indd 1
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Submitted photo within the financial advisory industry are expected to grow by 15 percent between 2016 and 2026. This means CFP professionals can enjoy lucrative careers with long-term opportunity and room for growth, all while helping others. The ways in which diverse financial professionals benefit their communities is multifaceted, according to Justin Sullivan, CFP, an African American senior investment advisor for a wealth management company in Atlanta, Ga. Giving back is a central part of the work, he says, whether through formal financial planning services or simple conversations with people in the community. “I think we take for granted what people know, especially when you talk about groups that have not historically been exposed to wealth,” he said. Becoming a CFP professional also provides opportunities to serve as a mentor for future generations of financial planners and encourage even greater diversity in the profession. “There are not many of us — women of color — who are financial planners, so I have a responsibility,” says Rianka Dorsainvil, a CFP professional in Washington, D.C. “I have to volunteer and raise my hand for leadership positions so other women of color can say, ‘I see her in me, so I can do that too.’” To learn more about financial planning careers, visit cfp.net/become-a-cfp-professional. Information provided by StatePoint Media.
June 20-26, 2019
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Tummy Tuck #101: What you should know lost a lot of weight and still carry excess fat and loose skin around the belly. Also, women who have been pregnant may want a tummy tuck to get rid of the loose skin and to tighten their abdominal muscles.
By Dr. Valerie Lemaine Dear Dr. Lemaine, at our family picnic this past Memorial Day, my aunt announced that she was going to have “tummy tuck surgery.” What is that?
T
ummy tuck surgery is a cosmetic surgery that involves removal of excess skin and fat in your abdomen, and, in most cases, tightening of weakened or separated abdominal muscles (that famous “six pack”). The medical name of the procedure is “abdominoplasty.” After the abdomen has been stretched, it is more likely to protrude. This protrusion is caused by the loss of elasticity of the skin, excess skin, and stretching of your abdominal muscles. With tummy tuck surgery, your abdomen will look firmer, flatter, and smoother. Tummy tuck surgery is not the same as liposuction. Liposuction removes flab or excess fat only. It does not take care of excess skin. You may choose to get liposuction along with a tummy tuck. Who should consider surgery? A tummy tuck is suitable for men and women who are in good health. Good candidates are those who have
A tummy tuck isn’t the right surgery for you if: • You plan to lose a lot of weight. A tummy tuck is not a substitute for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise. It should be done as a last resort after you have tried regular exercise and weight control. • You plan to get pregnant. It is advisable to postpone your surgery until after you’re done having children. • You are a smoker. Smoking increases your risk of complications and slows healing. If you smoke, your plastic surgeon will recommend that you stop smoking before your surgery and during your recovery. • You have major health problems. If you have health conditions, such as heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or diabetes, tummy tuck surgery may not be safe for you. Also, note that health insurance generally does not cover cosmetic surgery that is performed without a medical reason.
In most cases, the abdominal muscles are then tightened with sutures during surgery. The remaining skin is then repositioned to create a more toned look. Your belly button will also be moved during surgery. After surgery, your plastic surgeon will recommend how long you will stay in the hospital. In some cases, it is possible to go home the day of surgery. You will need ice packs and to wear loose, comfortable clothing that is easy to put on and take off.
How a tummy tuck is done During a tummy tuck, your plastic surgeon will cut your stomach skin — from hip bone to hip bone — to remove excess skin and fat from your abdomen. If you previously had a Csection, your plastic surgeon might be able to incorporate that scar into your tummy tuck scar. If you have stretch marks below your belly button, there is a good chance that those stretch marks will be removed with surgery.
What can you expect after surgery? Your abdomen will be swollen and tender. Your plastic surgeon will prescribe pain medication. You will also wear special dressings on your scars, and a compression garment. You may have a surgical drain coming out of your abdomen. If your abdomen feels tight, you should sleep in a beach chair position, with pillows under your knees. You will have to limit physical activity for at least six
weeks after surgery. You may need to take up to one month off work, depending on the type of work you do. Surgery risks In addition to the standard risks of surgery, for example, the risks associated with general anesthesia, your plastic surgeon should discuss other risks associated with tummy tuck surgery, such as: • Infection • Bleeding • Wound healing problems, including slow healing and loss of skin • Numbness • Fluid accumulation beneath the skin (also known as “seroma”) • Scarring • Loss or malposition of the belly button • Blood clots By removing excess skin and fat, and tightening your abdominal muscles, a tummy tuck can improve the
appearance of your abdomen. Results are usually long lasting as long as you maintain a stable weight after surgery. If you are considering tummy tuck surgery to improve the appearance of your abdomen, you should meet with a skilled board-certified plastic surgeon. Dr. Valerie Lemaine, M.D., M.P.H., is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Edina, MN. She received her M.D. from the University of Montreal, Canada, and her M.P.H. from Columbia University, NY, USA. She also completed a reconstructive microsurgical fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Lemaine then accepted a staff position at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, where she taught, practiced, and published clinical research until 2018 and now has a clinical practice in Edina, MN. Dr. Lemaine can be reached at PlasticSurgeryConsultants.net.
Men’s mental health issues massive in scope
Photo courtesy Getty By Armin Brott Contributing Writer In 1920, the female life expectancy in the United States was one year longer than for men. Half a century later, that gender gap had grown to 7.6 years. Over the next few decades, the difference shrank to 4.8 years. But, over just the past two years, while women’s life expectancy has remained steady, men’s declined, and the gender gap has crept back up to five years. Despite numerous advances in medical science, men continue to die from nine of the top 10 causes of death at younger ages and in greater numbers than women. Within the broader men’s health crisis, there is one area where differences between male and female mortality and morbidity are especially stark: mental health, the most visible manifestation of which is suicide. Across all ages and ethnicities, American men commit suicide at far higher rates than women. According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control data, between the ages of 15 and 64, roughly 3.5 times more men
than women commit suicide. From 65 to 74, male suicides outnumber females by more than 4:1. For those over 74, the difference is a startling 9.3 to one. Overall, for males, suicide is the seventh leading cause of death. For females, it’s number 14. One sub-population that’s profoundly affected by the epidemic of male suicides is the military. Historically, service members were less likely than their civilian counterparts to take their own lives. But since 2001, more active duty service members (including Reserve/Guard) have killed themselves than have died in combat. Those numbers are dwarfed by the number of veterans who complete suicide. According to the Military Times, veterans account for a total of 14 percent of all adult suicides in the U.S., even though only eight percent of the population has ever served. The alarming disparity in suicides is undoubtedly driven by equally alarming disparities in the underlying mental health conditions that lead to suicide itself, including
depression and anxiety, psychosis and substance abuse. In fact, nowhere is the connection between suicide and an underlying mental health condition more obvious than with substance abuse. Medical providers, members of the public health community, community organizations, politicians, and the media have collectively been unable (or unwilling) to acknowledge the massive scope of the mental health issues that affect men. As a result, tens of thousands of American men and boys are dying and suffering from what many experts believe are preventable or treatable behavioral and mental health issues. The effects of this collective mismanagement of mental health issues in men and boys extend into nearly every aspect of American society and have broad implications for the ways we provide (or don’t provide) preventive mental health services to our fathers, sons, brothers, partners and friends. The Affordable Care Act, for example, provides girls and women with annual, free, well-woman visits, which include mental health screenings. No such
coverage exists for boys and men. At the very least, the lack of adequate mental health care negatively impacts men’s and boys’ academic endeavors and achievements, their productivity in the workplace, the overall quality of their family life, their ability to care for their children and spouse or partner, and their level of community engagement and the contributions they make to the social capital of their communities and our nation. So what can we do about the male mental health crisis? First, most experts agree that in order to help boys and men manage the behavioral health and mental health issues, particularly those that are inextricably linked to violence, we need male-focused tools, programs, social support systems
and clinical care, We need this care not only in primary care providers’ offices, but also in our schools, work environments, social support networks, and community organizations, both on the hyper-local and national levels. Second, rather than criticize “toxic masculinity,” we need to celebrate fathers and other male role models. From a very young age, boys grow up hearing that “big boys don’t cry,” “play through it,” and “man up.” Those powerful messages keep boys and men from recognizing that they need help and from reaching out to get that help — especially with regard to mental health issues. Fathers and other adult male role models can help boys and young men under-
stand that expressing emotions and asking for help are signs of strength, not weakness, and that caring and nurturing are far better ways of showing you’re a man than committing senseless acts of violence. Armin Brott writes for the Men’s Health Network, an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health awareness messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities, and patient navigation. Men can learn more about their health through MHN’s online resource center, www. MensHealthResourceCenter. com.
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June 20-26, 2019
The economic trauma of housing discrimination
This common, but little-known practice, took root in the period of the housing boom that followed World War II, and grew out of federal endorsed redlining policies that denied most Black homeowners access to the conventional mortgage loans enjoyed by their White counterparts. —Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity Housing discrimination is as quiet as it is deadly. It can be pursued through violence and terrorism, but it doesn’t need it. Housing discrimination is hard to detect, hard to prove, and hard to prosecute. Even today, most people believe that Chicago is the work of organic sorting, as opposed to segregationist social engineering. Housing segregation is the weapon that mortally injures, but does not bruise. —Ta-Nahesi Coates In a recent installment of this column (March 28, 2019), I highlighted the Twin Cities Public Television documentary, Jim Crow of the North. Detailing the cutting-edge research of the University of Minnesota’s Mapping Prejudice project, this film is a
deep dive into the history of racial housing covenants in the City of Minneapolis that date back more than a century. Many experts have suggested that these treacherous policies and practices have decisively contributed to the ubiquitous racial inequities (among the worst in the nation) that plague Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the larger metropolitan area to this day. Naturally, these restrictive covenants were not a phenomenon unique to the Twin Cities. Take, for example, our Wisconsin neighbor some 300-plus miles to the southeast. During his latest episode of the CNN documentary series, United Shades of America, comedian and social commentator W. Kamau Bell visits Milwaukee, a city’s whose own history of redlining has helped to render it the most segregated municipality in the United States. Just a short distance south of Milwaukee is Chicago, a city whose shameful legacy of racist and rapacious zoning strategies are perhaps second to none. Famously, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other representatives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference spent the better part of 1966 in Chicago to help wage the struggle against housing discrimination and de facto segregation, particularly on the city’s west and south sides (known both as the Chicago Campaign and the Chicago Freedom Movement).
A new study published by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University sheds new light on just how devious and destructive such practices were.
The report, The Plunder of Black Wealth in Chicago: New Findings on the Lasting Toll of Predatory Housing Contracts, expands on previous research to illustrate how African American homeowners in Chicago were defrauded out of today’s equivalent of at least $3.2 billion through what were called “home sale contracts.” As Carlos Ballesteros of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, “Those contracts allowed the seller to hold the deed until the buyer paid off the home in full. Until then, buyers did not accumulate equity in the home and owners were allowed to evict them for missing a single monthly payment.” The report estimates that
$600 more per month (in today’s dollars) “compared to what they would have if they paid the fair price for their home and had a conventional FHA mortgage.” If this wasn’t reprehensible enough, 50 years after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, a story penned in the Chicago Reader by award-winning investigative journalist Rebecca Burns reveals that “the infamous practice of contract selling is back in Chicago.” In fact, a number of limited liability companies, often backed by Wall Street firms and other private equity companies, have not only resurrected this wicked, racist, and avaricious system in Chicago, but throughout the country. One such company, the Courtesy of TPT Texas-based Harbour Portfolio Advisors, has bought approximately 7,000 homes (in
from 1950 to 1970, somewhere between 75 percent and 95 percent of all homes sold to African American families in Chicago were done so via housing contracts. Not only were Black home-
“Housing segregation is the weapon that mortally injures, but does not bruise.” buyers preyed upon with contracts that provided absolutely no protection, but the prices they paid for these homes (as well as the interest rates) were substantially inflated. The average sale price through home sale contracts was marked-up approximately 85 percent, meaning that African American homeowners paid nearly
states like Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio) that it is selling or already re-sold through “contract-for-deed” arrangements. Another, Vision Property Management of South Carolina, has 5,500 such homes. Collectively, these kinds of firms manage tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of properties that they have sold or are selling
on contracts. And, according to the geospatial database company, Environmental Systems Research Institute, an overwhelming majority of these homes are located in majority non-White and/or majority Black census tracts. Noted author Ta-Nahesi Coates once wrote: “If you sought to advantage one group of Americans and disadvantage another, you could scarcely choose a more graceful method than housing discrimination. Housing determines access to transportation, green spaces, decent schools, decent food, decent jobs, and decent services.” When you put this in context — coupled with the revelation that more than $3 billion in wealth was plundered from Chicago’s Black community (over just two decades: the ’50 and ’60s) — it makes you wonder how much money was “appropriated” from African Americans across the nation during the same time, and for that matter, since. And this doesn’t even begin to address the slave labor of four million human beings over the course of 246 years, the “Black Codes” and nearly a century of Jim Crow laws. 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
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June 20-26, 2019
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.
Remembering the Stonewall riots By Rev. Irene Monroe Guest Commentator
Central Park Five exposes a remorseless system By Mel Reeves Contributing Commentator Ava Duvernay put her foot and all 10 toes in her cinematic retelling of the American horror story of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five. The true-crime drama, When They See Us, follows the wrongful conviction of Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Khorey Wise, along with the lengths prosecutor and lackeys — went to prosecute them. The film exposes ”a system” of individuals who were thuggish, savage, monstrous, barbaric and downright demonic, refusing to repent or
system saw them all as guilty because, in the parlance of White supremacy, there is no such thing as an innocent Black person. The Central Park Five case was a near lynching, mirroring the Red Summer of 1919, the Scottsboro Boys and Emmit Till — the only difference was the boys lived. Just like in the “good-old-days,” practically everyone was complicit: law enforcement, the judicial system, elected officials, and the corporate press whose steady drumbeat of racist categorization and disparagement painted them as guilty before their trials. Much of the public gave quiet assent to their lynching. Donald Trump publicly advocated for their murder.
important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.” What feeds this need to see Blacks as criminals? Blacks have no record of giving diseased blankets to Native Americans or wiping entire North and South American civilizations off the map. There is no record of Black people transferring human beings in hulls of ships packed liked canned sardines, guaranteeing that a third of their “human” cargo would perish, while not being concerned with losing lives, because their losses were covered by insurance. Blacks did not enforce the “Trail of Tears,” or mass
What was it that caused such inhumanity? apologize for their crimes against these men. It exposes a system that operated as a “wolf pack” seeking to destroy the lives of these five Black youth, out of its predatory need to denude, degrade and denigrate Black life. According to the dictates of White supremacy, the Central Park Five were guilty yesterday, are guilty today, and will be guilty tomorrow. It also uncovers the sickness hanging over an America that is unable to accept or face up to its sins, instead, projecting them on to the Black body. How else to explain this gross miscarriage of justice, civility, and decency? People were shocked by actor Liam Neeson’s revelation earlier this year that he believed in Black corporate responsibility, i.e., if one Black person is guilty, or commits a crime, then all are guilty — so when it comes to punishment, any one of them will do. Apparently, this same belief motivated the criminal justice system’s response to the rape of a White woman, Trisha Meili, and other assaults on April 19, 1989. The
And even Black people, with the exception of a few brave activists and the Black press, voiced little to no opposition. After the youth’s exoneration more than a decade later, many insisted on their guilt despite evidence wthat unequivocally proved their innocence. Local newspapers continued to imply that the youth must have still been involved somehow. Despite acknowledging she did not see her assailants, Meili also expressed doubt about the boys’ innocence. More troubling, the prosecutor who knew they were innocent continued to uphold the wrongful charges. Why were so many people and institutions invested in the guilt of these five Black youth? One explanation is cognitive dissonance. “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong,” explained philosopher Frantz Fanon in Black Skin, White Masks. “When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable: cognitive dissonance. And because it is so
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murder indigenous peoples or create a record of lynching Whites. And, there is absolutely no record of Blacks murdering millions of Jews in gas chambers and ovens. There is no history of slavery among Black and African people that demanded that humans be treated as chattel. Furthermore, there is no corresponding Black Ku Klux Klan, despite FBI lies about so-called “Black identity extremists.” There are no corresponding Black Rosewoods, Tulsas or Elaine, Arkansases involving Black massacres of Whites. To support the theory of inherent Black criminality, the system even intentionally established ghettos, making it as difficult as possible for Black and Brown people within to live. This resulted in impoverished, underserved and undernourished environments almost guaranteed to produce anti-social nihilists filled with burning rage and internalized self-hatred. And instead of striking out at their oppressors, they attacked their neighbors, as Fanon noted that they because they see the oppressor in one another. What was it that caused such inhumanity? Was it because taking these boys down from their cross left them with no one to bear the sins of White supremacy? Or is it White society imitating primitive society, wanting to a Black life to satisfy the gods when a White life is lost or damaged? Deep down most of us know the truth. The task at hand, should we have the guts to accept it, is to work on creating a system that does not allow such injustices to occur. A system in which there is no need for scapegoats — instead, providing justice, equality, and prosperity for all. Justice, then peace. Mel Reeves has a blog fighthepowerjournal.com and welcomes reader responses at mellaneous19@yahoo.com.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riot that galvanized LGBTQ+ activist organizations and movements in the U.S. and abroad. When I look back at the first night of the riots, which took place from June 27 to 29, 1969, I could never have imagined their future importance. I couldn’t have imagined their Whitewashing, either. As with all icon-
During this tumultuous decade of Black rage and White police raids, kneejerk responses to slights quickly set the stage for a conflagration — creating both instantaneous and momentary fighting alliances in these Black communities across gangs, class, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientations — against police brutality. That night started no differently than any other hot and humid summer Friday evening in my neighborhood. Past midnight, folks
including myself by failing to depict an accurate story. Instead, the film presented a Whitewashed revisionist history. Emmerich apparently felt a more captivating narrative should center around a blond, blue-eyed, “straightacting” Midwestern protagonist, likely in order to appeal to mainstream audiences. “I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people,” he told Buzzfeed. “As a director, you have to put your-
The Stonewall turbulence started on the backs of working-class African American and Latinx queers. ic narratives, though, apocryphal tales abound, along with questions about the truth. The Stonewall turbulence started on the backs of working-class African American and Latinx queers who patronized the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Those Brown and Black LGBTQ people are not only absent from the photos of that night, but they have been bleached from its written history. The first night of the riots played out no differently from previous riots with Black Americans and White law enforcement officers. And, so it was underreported. But I was there! Friday, June 27 was the last day of school that year. My middle school cronies and I looked forward to a summer reprieve from rioting against Italian, Irish, and Jewish public school kids for being bussed into their neighborhoods. Summer months in Brooklyn’s African American enclaves, however, only escalated a different kind of rioting — against the New York Police Department. In the ’60s, riots between White police officers and Black citizens took place in our neighborhoods, just as they still do today: Ferguson, Mo., 2014 (Michael Brown); Baltimore, Md., 2015 (Freddie Gray); Louisiana, 2016 (Alton Sterling); and Falcon Heights, Minn., 2016 (Philando Castile), to name a few.
with no air conditioning or working fans in their homes were hanging out. Then news came from one of our neighbors that “pigs” — a term we called White police officers in the 1960s — across the bridge in Greenwich Village were beating up on Black [F-word]s right now!” The inn being raided was nothing new. In the ’60s, gay bars in the Village were routinely raided. And, the Stonewall Inn was a stable domicile for homeless youth and young adults who slept in nearby Christopher Park and African American and Latinx patrons frequented the Stonewall Inn heavily. As one commenter on TVOX, an LGBTQ+ support forum, noted, “Race is said to have been another factor. The decision by the police to raid the bar in the manner they did may have been influenced by the fact that most of the ‘homosexuals’ they would encounter were of color, and therefore even more objectionable.” African American and Latinx patrons also comprised the largest percentage of protesters on the first night of the riots. So, many of us went to the Village to retrieve our loved ones and leave. It takes White privilege to fight the police, expect to walk away alive and create a hagiographical narrative of White heroism. Take, for instance, Roland Emmerich’s 2015 film, Stonewall. The film spurred both shock and disappointment from moviegoers, historians, and LGBT activists,
self in your movies, and I’m White and gay.” In doing so, Emmerich’s “Danny” reinscribes the trope of the White savior and action hero. Danny throws the first brick, setting off the riots while shouting “GAY POWER!” — while, in real life, the brick throwers were poor and working-class Black and Latinx LGBTQs. According to many LGBTQ Blacks and Latinx, one of the reasons for the gulf between them and Whites is how the dominant White queer community rewrote and continues to control the narrative of Stonewall. It is also prevented a united front against homo/transphobia in local and national politics from forming for events such as Pride. The White-dominant control of the Stonewall narrative must be relinquished to give way to a broader, and more accurate, truth. Still today, trans communities of color are relegated to the margins of Greenwich Village and stories of Stonewall Riots. Nonetheless, many force their way in to become a visible and influential presence in our lives, leaving indelible imprints despite being confronted with transphobia and “trans-amnesia.” Rev. Irene Monroe is an African American lesbian feminist public theologian, soughtafter speaker, and preacher.
Watching a father and son By Bill Fletcher, Jr. Guest Commentator A video of DJ Pryor speaking with his toddler son about the season finale of Empire recently went viral. I watched it and loved it. What especially struck me is that Pryor does not speak “baby talk” to his son, Kingston Jierre. He is holding a conversation and his son is attempting to do likewise. The son looks back and forth between the television and his father, moves his hands around and offers commentary. It does not matter that his words make no sense. This video, filmed by his wife, sits in contrast to what I frequently see with parents who ignore
their children in favor of a cell phone call or listening to music or yelling at their children on the other hand. This was just the sort of interaction that needs to happen with a child at that age. When my daughter was about the same age as Pryor’s son, I remember being out of town and calling home. I would always make a point of asking my wife to put my daughter on the phone so that she could hear my voice and so that I could hear hers. One evening I called, and my daughter got on the phone, and just like Kingston, held a conversation with me…in gibberish! But she did it so well with changing intonation, chuckling and seemingly asking me questions. I realized at that moment that
she was on the verge of talking. It is not just that the video is adorable. It reminds us of the various components of love between a parent and child. Pryor took his son very seriously and you could tell that the son felt that in a very deep manner. Pryor and his son, Kingston Jierre, are lucky to have one another. And, although she is not in the video, I am sure that his wife contributed immensely to a situation whereby the son was ready to engage his dad. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a proud father and grandfather. Check out his mystery thriller The Man Who Fell From the Sky. For more info, visit billfletcherjr. com.
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June 20-26, 2019
THE HOT LIST:
A summer TV snapshot
S
ummer TV viewing is in full swing with many returning favorites, as well as fresh offerings. Below, find a snapshot of a few hot shows on the tube to spice up your start to summer.
The D. L. Hughley Show (TV-One) – D.L. Hughley and co-host Jasmine Sanders Weeknights, 8 pm CST Catch comedian, political commentator, and author D.L. Hughley lead “unfiltered, unafraid and unapologetic” conversations about today’s news, politics and pop culture trends that speak to the African American community. In Hughley’s trademark style, this onehour show fuses biting socio-political commentary with humor. She’s Gotta Have It (Netflix) – featuring DeWanda Wise, Anthony Ramos, Lyriq Bent, Cleo Antony, Chyna Layne Season 2 available now Billed as a “seriously sexy comedy and rousing celebration of female empowerment,” this series based on Spike Lee’s 1986 movie continues to follow the exploits of Brooklynbased artist Nola Darling, as she learns to bal-
ance her dreams, career, and circle of friends, all the while juggling a trio of lovers who wrestle with accepting her sexual freedom. The 30-minute dramedy features musical interludes and sharp and provocative dialogue. Lee directs the dramedy and also serves as co-executive produced with wife Tony Lee Lewis. When They See Us (Netflix) – featuring Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse Available now Ava DuVernay continues to offer unflinching critiques of the U.S. justice system with this mini-series based on the true story of the infamous 1989 case of the “Central Park Five” — five Black teens falsely convicted of raping a White woman jogging in Central Park. This four-part series lays bare the horrors of the justice system and has renewed public outcry against Linda Fairstein, the prosecutorturned novelist who oversaw the case. Claws (TNT) – featuring Niecy Nash, Judy Reyes, Karreuche Tran, Jack Kesy Sundays, 8 pm CST If the first two episodes of the new season are any indication, expect another wild ride
with Densa Simms and the other nail artisans as they venture deeper into the world of crime to get their piece of the pie. Led by Niecy Nash, Claws boasts a diverse cast and writing that routinely serves up colorful camp with sprinkles of heartfelt drama. Mix in outlandish fashion and random dancebreaks and it’s no wonder this hour-long dramedy has quietly carved out a niche and audience. View the previous seasons on Hulu. Queen Sugar (OWN) – Rutina Wesley, DawnLyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Nicholas Ashe, Bianca Lawson, Ethan Hutchison Wednesdays, 8 pm CST Now in its fourth season, this popular scripted series is set in Louisiana and follows the lives of Bordelon siblings, Nova, a worldly-wise journalist-activist; Charley, the savvy wife and manager of a professional basketball star; and Ralph Angel, a formerly incarcerated young father in search of redemption. The siblings are estranged, yet bound by their family’s sugar cane farm. The one-hour drama is based on the book by Natalie Baszile, and produced for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, with executive producers Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey and
Monica Macer. Catch up with previous seasons on Hulu.
BONUS PICK:
The Good Fight (CBS; All Access CBS) – Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo Delroy Lindo, Erica Tazel Sundays, 8 pm This The Good Wife-spinoff first aired on paid subscription service CBS All Access in 2017, and was recently renewed to the fourth season. CBS is airing it in primetime this summer starting with season one, which picks up a year after The Good Wife’s last episode. The legal drama has gotten high marks from critics thanks to laser-sharp writing and strong acting from Good Wife alumni Christine Baranski, Sarah Steele, and Cush Jumbo, along with some fresh faces. List compiled by Paige Elliott
WEEKEND TOP 5 | JUNE 28-30 Here are the editors' weekend picks of free or low-cost community events around town.
Johnnie Brown rocks the Dakota; the Twin Cities Water Lantern Fest; Somali Independence Festival Day
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Legacy Boat Cruise 2019 Saturday, August 3, 12 – 4pm
Cruise includes:
Live entertainment from
Wenso Ashby Jazz & Beyond & Phyllis “Showtime” Braxton
Sponsored by
Plus, an all-you-can-eat buffet!
ONLY
$60!
Enjoy a four-deck sailing experience: • Deck 1: Smooth Jazz Lounge • Deck 2: Golden Games/Shoppers’ Delight
• Deck 3: Q-Bear Old School/R&B Lounge • Deck 4: Community Rooftop
To purchase tickets, vist MSR office or msrnewsonline.com • Info: 612-827-4021
JUNE 28 Being An Unapologetic Black Artist 7-9 pm @ Mixed Blood Theatre Company, 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls. Free Hear from artists from various fields and mediums on how they shape their futures on their own terms, work as professional artists, and embody various forms of Black power in their work. This event is one of many in preparation for this year’s Because Black Life Conference in August. Info: blacktablearts.com JUNE 29 Somali Independence Day Festival 11 am-8 pm @ East Lake Street, Mpls. Free Come celebrate Somalia’s 59th Independence Day right here in Minneapolis. This year, the fest is part of a week-long event series under the umbrella “Somali Week” hosted by Ka Joog in various locations from June 29 to July 6. The festival will be held on Lake Street between Blaisdell and Stevens avenues. Enjoy live performances, food, and games and more. Info: bit.ly/2IPR2Sn
JUNE 29 Twin Cities Water Lantern Festival 6-10:30 pm @ Lake Phalen, 1400 Phalen Drive, St. Paul. $30-40 Savor the glow of lanterns at sunset and create some sweet summer memories at this popular familyfriendly event. Design your own lantern, enjoy music, food trucks and other summer fun. Entry into the festival area includes a floating lantern, commemorative drawstring bag, marker and wristband. The price also covers the cost of lantern removal and clean up. Info: waterlanternfestival. com/twincities.php
JUNE 30 25th Eagan Art Festival 10 am-5 pm @ 1501 Central Parkway, Eagan. Free Venture out and explore this free, juried art show of 100 artists, billed as one of the premier events offered south of the river. Enjoy corn dogs, gyros, and other traditional fare at a picnic table or near the entertainment now onstage at the Rotary Band Shell. Located at Central Park in Eagan, just minutes off interstates 35E and 494, the festival is easy to access with ample parking for all. Info: bit.ly/EaganArtFest2019
JUNE 29 Johnnie Brown Experience 7 pm @ Dakota Jazz Club, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls, Mpls. $20-30 If you love the full sound and quality of old school R&B, you’ll love smooth sounds of The Johnnie Brown Experience. Brown’s raspy baritone voice and showmanship will take you back to the heights of R&B music. Info: bit.ly/JohnnieBrownExperience
Find more events, or add your own, at msrnewsonline.com.
June 20-26, 2019
BULLETIN
BIKING SEASON IS IN FULL EFFECT! Know the rules to share the road safely
The City of Minneapolis routinely gets top marks on the “Best Cities to Bike” roundups due to the its many bike routes and accommodations. With the official start of summer upon us, even more bikers are hitting the streets. So, there’s no better time to refresh your understanding of the many bike markings.
VARIOUS TYPES OF BIKE DESIGNATIONS Bike Lanes are striped, signed lanes marked with a large, white bicycle stencil on the pavement. They are typically 5 feet wide. A solid line means drivers cannot cross into the bike lane except to park or pull into a driveway. A dashed line means drivers may cross while turning or to make way for an oncoming car. Green bike lanes let drivers know that they may be crossing a bike lane, so they should look out for bicyclists. They also show bicyclists where they should be. Buffered bike lanes add a little extra space for bike traffic. Bikes should avoid this area, as well as cars, except when turning onto another street after yielding to bikes first. Shared lanes markings are designated bike routes placed in the travel lane that encourage bicyclists to ride in a safe position outside of the door zone (where driver’s side doors of parked cars open). Protected pathway markings offer bikers a space that is protected from motor vehicle traffic, curbs, parked cars, planters, posts or other barriers. Bike boulevards are found on lower-volume, lower-speed streets that have been optimized for bike traffic. The purpose of a BLVD is to provide bicyclists, especially those who are not comfortable riding on busy streets, a safer and more relaxing place to ride. Motor vehicles are permitted on almost all portions of bike boulevards, unless signs or pavement markings indicate otherwise. Advisory bike lanes are usually found on quieter streets that are too narrow to handle driving lanes, parking, and ordinary bike lanes. Advisory lanes are marked with a solid white line on the right (next to parked cars) and a dotted line to the left. These markings give bicyclists a space to ride but are also available to motorists if space is needed to pass oncoming traffic. There is no law which requires bicyclists to use bike lanes, but using them makes it easier for bicycles and motor vehicles to share the road by providing separate lanes of travel. Bike lanes also allow bicyclists to safely pass motor vehicles during periods of heavy traffic.
For more details on bike lanes and safety, visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles. —Info and graphics provided by the City of Minneapolis
St. Paul inviteS Public commentS on Ford Site
As the Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU), the City of Saint Paul is ordering an Alternative Urban Area-wide Review (AUAR) for the Ford Site and adjacent parcels. The AUAR study area includes approximately 139 acres along the Mississippi River in the Highland Park Neighborhood of Saint Paul — consistent with the Ford Site Public Realm Master Plan. The project is located south of Ford Parkway and east of Mississippi River Boulevard. Local governments use AUARs as planning tools to understand how different development scenarios will affect the environment of the community. The State of Minnesota requires environmental reviews on proposed developments of a certain size and scale. Two development scenarios are proposed for study in the AUAR, both of which are consistent with the Ford Site Public Realm Master Plan as amended by the City Council on April 10, 2019. • The Ryan Companies Development Scenario includes 3,800 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail and service, 265,000 square feet of office and employment, and 50,000 square feet of civic and institutional. • The Ford Site Master Plan Maximum Development Scenario includes 4,000 residential units, 300,000 square feet of retail and service, 450,000 square feet of office and employment, and 150,000 square feet of civic and institutional property. The public is invited to comment on the proposed development boundary, scenarios, and scoping document prior to issuance of a Final AUAR Order. The comments must provide reasons why a suggested development scenario or alternative to a specific project is potentially environmentally superior to those identified in the RGU’s draft order. The 30-day comment period will begin on June 10, 2019. Comments will be accepted through July 10, 2019 at 4 pm and should be addressed to: Menaka Mohan Ford Site Planner Department of Planning and Economic Development 25 W 4th Street, Suite 1400 Saint Paul, MN 55102 Or by emailing: FordSitePlanning@ci.stpaul.mn.us —Info and graphic provided by the City of St. Paul
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June 20-26, 2019
NAACP
lective Black people fight. I can’t help everyone on an individual level. We have to change the system. So, if there are good people — it doesn’t just have to be Black people — help us. Work with us to create changes.” She further called for communities to stop living in silos. One place to connect, she said, is at the church. “I know people have different perspectives, but the church is fundamental to any revolution, any movement,” she said. “You can find Black people on Sunday in the church. There would be no Civil Rights Movement if it wasn’t for the church. There would no NAACP if it wasn’t for the church.” Redmond added, “In addition to that, we can support Black businesses and plan. So let’s go to the Sammie’s Avenue Eateries, let’s go to the Heritage Tea Houses. Let’s go to the Golden Thymes and just be intentional.”
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their mouth is…to make sure that their officers know that you can’t interact with the community like this. We need better results.” Redmond described the roadblocks she faced after the incident was brought to her attention by a Mankato State University employee (who requested anonymity), where Kueng is a student. She began her inquiry by contacting Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. “Yesterday, I had a meeting with Chief Arradondo. He looked at the video and was very concerned.” She said Arradondo sent a text to Hennepin County Sheriff Mike Hutchinson, who simply responded that he was out of town. She was then sent to Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Tracey Martin. “I give her [Martin] a high overview [of the incident] — she doesn’t even ask to see the video,” said Redmond. “So now the top boss [Hutchinson] didn’t want to see the video, the second one [Martin] didn’t see the video, and they send me to internal affairs.” Redmond said after not receiving a satisfactory response from the sheriff’s office, she took her complaints to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), requesting they use their relationship with the county prosecutor’s office to address the issue. This eventually led to the dismissal of all charges against the two witnesses. “Record, record, record,” said Redmond regarding any interactions with police. “Get your own data. Don’t wait on theirs,” she said. “This video saved the day.” Redmond noted that many people are afraid to record such incidents because of potential repercussions. “The people recording typically get arrested, too — if not on the scene, later on. They [police] don’t want you recording their activity. They don’t want anybody questioning their authority. We must question their authority. We must record. “They are trying to silence us. I personally want to advocate for people to not be silent. When you see something, say something.
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your face, your body. Within the body butters, Daydream is my number-one seller. It’s like a light, sweet scent [mixed] with sweet orange and lemon with melon and other ingredients for the skin, like tea tree oil and jojoba. Second is my facial foam wash. It helps with blemishes, acne, razor bumps, pimples. And most of my customers are able to see a difference within a week. I have a lot of testimonials based off of that, and I am working to get a patent [on the formula]. MSR: How did you know this could be a business? JS: Well, I would not be here and my company would not have grown
Stephanetta Harmon welcomes reader responses at sharmon@spokesman-recorder.com. Makala Moore & Taylor Kueng MLK said, ‘Our life ends the day we remain silent about the things that matter.’” Moore said that despite the arrests, “I would do it again. It was definitely traumatizing to go through all of it, but I am not going to stop speaking up for people who don’t know their rights and [have] police bullying them.” Kueng added, “We need to keep speaking up so that this doesn’t become normalized.” After viewing the video, City attorneys dropped the charges hours before the young women were to appear in court. In addition, after pressure from the NAACP, fees for the women’s expungement process were also waived. “My disgust is with the sheriff’s office and how they handled it,” said Redmond. “My disgust is with the officers and the dismissal of the NAACP’s inquiry. If you handle the NAACP like this when they come to you with an issue, what are you going to do with a regular civilian when they come to you?” The sheriff’s office released a statement following the press conference: “The sheriff’s office treats all matters of this nature seriously and will thoroughly investigate all formal complaints.”
Front photo (l-r) Makala Moore, Leslie RedActivating community mond & Taylor Kueng Photos courtesy of FaceRedmond also is using this incident to en- book courage more proactive versus reactive responses from members of the community. “It can’t just be me. It can’t just be the NAACP. This is not my fight — this is a col-
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said White. “It’s the most straightforward example of police abuse. I think the reason why it hasn’t gotten more uproar is because he survived.” “Why do we need to have our young Black boys hashtagged in order for people to care?” continued White. “We have to continue to make noise in order for us to see changes.” In another recent incident in Phoenix, police drew guns and violently arrested Dravon Ames and his pregnant fiancee, Iesha Harper in front of their two young children. The officers were responding to a call that the couple’s four-year-old daughter walked out of a store with a doll without her parents’ knowledge. The mom was so frightened for her children’s safety that she gave them to strangers who witnessed the event. Both events were captured on video. Front photo (l-r) Dravon Ames & Iesha Harper Photo by Tom Tingle/The Republic
JS: The community response! Businesses grow with consumer support. I support my business capitally, but it’s because of the consumers why I’m doing it. With the demand and MSR: How does your business im- the increasing partnerships that I’m having with other businesses, it’s pact the community? JS: With friends and family and re- become a point of pride. ferrals coming through, I started to see how it was positively impact- MSR: Tell us about the partnering others and in the community. I ships. started getting invited to different JS: I have some local business partevents in the community, like pop- nerships [where you can purchase ups, events on wellness and health, my products]. One is Heimies Habas well as to talk about aromather- erdashery in Saint Paul. They carapy and how it can help as an al- ry my aromatherapy balls. Priviternative, or a supplement, to over- leged Barber Lounge in Saint Paul, the-counter medicines. I love that as well. And then I have a new partnership with Andros Med Spa in educational piece to it. I also donate some of my pro- Mendota Heights. We have a launch ceeds to organizations within child on July 16th. Those are places locally welfare that provide programming that have also supported me in my growth. I’m also at Market at Macy’s for youth. at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta. I’m MSR: What has been the most re- there until August. warding part of owning your business? over four years without word-ofmouth referrals, because this truly started out as a hobby for me. And then the word started to get out.
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Possibly [we will] have conversations with some city council members who are trailblazers themselves, to talk about what kind of ordinances have created barriers to having a successful life as an African American, and how they’ve worked to get rid of those ordinances, and what we can do at the federal level. MSR: What are your thoughts on reparations? IO: We [CBC] are going to have a conversation about the push for reparations. We are one of the cosponsors of that legislation. It’s a commission that is going to be tasked with a study. With that study, we are hoping proposals will come out of it to address the social effect of slavery and segregation, the kind of implications it’s had on the Black economy. MSR: How does that tie in? IO: We all talk about the promise of prosperity for all. I remember former Senator [Al] Franken used to say of “Pull yourself from your bootstraps” that there are so many people who were not born with one and to whom that was never given. I think about the African American community. For so many years, there has been a conversation about the injustices, the cruelty, the brutality of slavery. But we really haven’t had
a focus on the social effects of slavery, segregation, and its continued economic implications. If we’re really to go back to that thought of prosperity for all, we can’t expect the African American community to have an opportunity for that prosperity if we’re not looking at the root causes of the economic barriers they might have. Whether it is the lack of access to proper education, the sort of generational trauma that has really impacted their health and lack of access to health care, the brutality of our criminal justice system and the sort of entry to that system having never really been closed… The policing system — we’ve spent a lot of time while I was at city hall and the state house having lots of conversation about what community policing looks like and having members of the community be part of the police force. And none of those things will ever make any sense unless we are able to have a conversation about how traumatizing the presence of police is to the African American community. If we are not going to talk about generational trauma and the way people access social, economic and political power, we are not going to have any sort of prosperity for all of us. You really have to be an actor. Justice is rooted in fighting for actual liberation internally and externally. You cannot really be at peace to be able to lead a healthy, fulfilling life if you don’t feel you have justice. And so, this quest for reparations is about undoing injustice and really making sure that internally and externally people feel like their
MSR: What has been the biggest challenge? JS: Stepping up my game as far as making our products more accessible and becoming more visible. Yes, I’m in Minnesota, locally known; I want to be nationally, if not internationally, known. So really [it’s about] figuring out that you have this masterpiece and how do you get others to be able to learn about it as well. And then too, with any business it’s [about] capital, because I fund my own business and I’m a mom, I’m a wife, have my home life, and then I have my business. So, it’s how to keep things going without going under and not stretching yourself so thin that there’s no sustainability. I’m still trying to figure that out. MSR: What does success look like for you? JS: I think the short-term success is obviously sales — not in the form of profit, but in the form of somebody taking a step towards their own
history is accounted for, that they feel seen, that their pain is noted, and that we are going to do everything we can to restore the full being. If we don’t do that as a society, I don’t think we will get to where we want to see ourselves. MSR: Is there a timeline for this study? IO: The legislation hasn’t really gotten a hearing or moved. That’s the first step in putting the occasion together to study it. That’s what we are really pushing for. The hope is to continue to have the conversation like I’m doing now with you and for you to cover it and to have more constituents around the country to push their members in being a co-sponsor and pushing the issue to be a priority.
self-care and wellness. When they purchase one of my products, I see that as success because they’re taking control of that for themselves. It means to me that I didn’t do this in vain. MSR: And long-term success? JS: Legacy. Eventually, I want to be able to solely work for myself and create a sustainable business that my son can take over, or I shall I say my grandkids can take over. MSR readers can use coupon code Love Yourself receive $5 off $25 purchase. For more info, including local locations, visit bodyloveproducts.com. Interview conducted by Stephenetta Harmon.
health, the destigmatization of mental health, particularly with our youth, the increased rates of suicide and attempted suicide by Black youth. In regards to health care, we know that many of our communities are uninsured or underinsured. I’ve been fighting for Medicare for all and am one of the vice chairs of the caucus. We are a few steps ahead in trying to get that to a floor vote. With that, we’ve also created a task force to look at Black maternal health. Many of our mothers — regardless of what their socioeconomic status is — are still [facing] challenges during pregnancy because of their Blackness and in the way that doctors interact with them. We are addressing this particular issue in our task force and by working on legislation with Rep. Ayann Presley [D-MA], who has been a leading champion on this particular issue, and Rep. Lauren Underwood [D-IL]. It’s a shock to anybody’s system. Black women are 243 percent more likely to die than White women. It’s an epidemic and not talked about. So we have come together to amplify this particular crisis and want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can — whether it is the expansion of Medicaid coverage to pregnant women to have access to doula services and support systems, or just raising awareness and making sure that the implicit bias that some healthcare providers have isn’t impacting the health of Black women.
MSR: What other issues related to Black communities are you targeting? IO: Housing is a top issue in the district, so we are addressing that with the Homes for All bill. Our other proposal is student debt cancelation. We know that every single community struggles with student debt, especially in the Black community. By canceling out student debt, we believe it’s going to be an economic stimulus for our community, as well. We are also proposing a jobs guarantee bill that will make sure that the 1.2 million Americans who want to work but can’t find jobs have the opportunity to have that be guaranteed for them. I think it is going to be very impactful in our community. Solomon Gustavo welcomes reader responses at We’re also addressing a lot of taboo issues within the community — things like mental sgustavo@spokesman-recorder.com.
June 20-26, 2019
Legals
Employment
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825 Nicollet Mall, Suite 925 Minneapolis, MN 55402 I, the undersigned, certify that I am signing this document as the person whose signature is required, or as agent of the person(s) whose signature would be required who has authorized me to sign this document on his/her behalf, or in both capacities. I further certify that I have completed all required fields, and that the information in this document is true and correct and in compliance with the applicable chapter of Minnesota Statutes. I understand that by signing this document I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Section 609.48 as if I had signed this document under oath. SIGNED BY: Emily Cooper EMAIL FOR OFFICIAL NOTICES:emily@cooperlawmn.com DATED: 9/13/2017 11:59 PM
Minnesota Spokesman Recorder June 20 & 27, 2019 STATE OF MINNESOTA
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Minnesota Spokesman Recorder June 20 & 27, 2019
DISTRICT COURT
COUNTY OF ANOKA
TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT FILE NUMBER: 02-FA-CV-19-812
Attention: Disadvantage Business Enterprises (DBE) Knutson Construction will be submitting a bid on the following project and invites you to submit your subcontractor and supplier quotations to us.
Bobbie Jeanne Wilson, Petitioner NOTICE OF HEARING
Vs.
We seek to increase business opportunities with Minority Owned, Women Owned Businesses and Disabled Businesses.
BY PUBLICATION
Dijon Allen Wilson, Respondent
Minneapolis Bus Garage TO: Dijon Allen Wilson, THE ABOVE NAMED RESPONDENT: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Respondent personally appear at the Anoka County Courthouse, 2100 3rd Avenue, Anoka, Minnesota 55303 on July 9, 2019, at 9:00 (a.m.) and explain why the relief sought in the Petition for the Order for Protection should not be granted.
ed as a default matter. Failure to appear will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court’s Order. BY ORDER OF THE COURT; LORI O’BRIEN, COURT ADMINISTRATOR DATED: JUNE 11, 2019
BY: G. O’Fallon, Deputy
MN Spokesman-Recorder, June 20, 2019
View Continued from page 10
“It’s a lot of work planning this tournament,” Landry added. She said it also lets Black kids “come out and see that there are people like them out there doing this.” “This tournament might not be as high ranking as the PGA Tour,” Stubbs observed, “but a lot of amateurs play this and they feel like they’re pros.” The Par Seekers is a “flighted” tournament where golfers’ first-round scores are bracketed for the subsequent round or rounds. Two 18-hole courses are scheduled, one each on Saturday and Sunday. Also scheduled is a banquet Friday night at Bloomington’s Airport Hilton “whether you play golf or not,” Blue said. Landry said the entire weekend event is “like family. We’ve gotten so spread out over the country that it’s harder and harder for us to come together.”
All three longtime golfers admit that the sport’s historically exclusionary image still exists. Yet Blacks still find a way to play it anyhow. “You see more [Blacks] doing it recreationally,” Landry said. “Yes, that image is always going to be there,” Stubbs agreed. “Tiger [Woods] actually opened a few doors.” “We have 27 trophies to give away,” Blue said of this weekend’s tournament. “You want to validate your game, play in this tournament.” Proceeds from the Par Seekers tourney will go to the Sannah Foundation, a local youth development organization. “Each successive year we continue to grow and donate part of the proceeds to charity,” Blue noted. “This is the only amateur tournament of its kind in the Twin Cities,” he added. “This is where you want to come… the third week of June.” Our discussion on Blacks and golf will continue next week. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.
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The work of this project includes: Construction of a 575,700 GSF bus operating
An Equal Opportunity Employer Sr. Financial Systems Analyst Sr. Financial Systems Analyst. Medtronic, Inc. Mounds View, MN. Req. Bachelor or foreign equiv. in Finance, Information Technology, Engineering, or related degree & 5 yrs. prog. exp. in business intelligence develop. Must possess 5 yrs. exp.w/: SAP Business Objects, sales data warehousing & enterprise class reporting tools; financial systems analysis; developing, defining & documenting user requirements for business reporting; SAP HANA & HANA BW; creating End User Training; developing business warehouses to support users’ needs; & creating functional specifications, building use cases & perform tests. Must have legal authority to work in US. Apply at www.medtronic.com/careers, select Req. #190009VE. No agencies or phone calls please. Medtronic is an equal opportunity employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. All individuals are encouraged to apply.
and maintenance facility on an approximately 11-acre site in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Functions of the building include bus maintenance bays, fueling, washing, bus parking, administrative offices, and structured employee parking. The build-
Sr. Hardware Engineer
ing construction is comprised of pile foundation system, cast in place concrete,
If you do not appear at the scheduled hearing, the Petitioner’s request may be grant-
Senior Editor Jerry Freeman
Bid Date: July 11th, 2019 @ 1:00 PM
The U.S. District Court, District of MN is accepting applications for a full-time IS Specialist in Minneapolis, MN. Salary range is $48,584- $78,940. For more information visit the court’s website, www.mnd.uscourts.gov, Employment.
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Contributing Writers 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.
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
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structural precast concrete, architectural precast concrete, concrete masonry units, structural steel, metal framing, metal bar joints, metal decking, gypsum board on metal framing, and interior finishes. Sitework includes grading, bituminous paving, concrete paving, retaining walls, utilities, stormwater, and landscaping. Work includes make ready electric bus infrastructure to support fleet electrification. The COUNCIL has established a 15% goal for DBE participation. We are specifically using companies that are within the MNUCP Directory, per the Council requirements. Please contact Amy Jansen for additional information or assistance. Knutson Construction Services, Inc. 7515 Wayzata Blvd Minneapolis, MN 55426 Phone: 763-546-1400 / Fax: 763-546-2226 Email: mplsbids@knutsonconstruction.com
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Fitz Continued from page 10
This should be a great week with a strong, talented field and a truly tough test at Hazeltine National.
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 Larry-Fitzgerald.com.
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SOe Continued from page 10
[since joining the Lynx] is a confidence I haven’t had since I left college,” the three-time All American from Duke pointed out. Brown began her college career at Maryland, played two seasons there, and appeared in consecutive Final Fours (2014 and 2015). She later helped Duke reach the Sweet 16 in her senior season (2017-18), when she averaged almost 20 points a game. “I think it’s a right fit to be in Minnesota,” Lexie’s father Dee Brown told me. Like his daughter, he too was a firstround pick by Boston in the 1990 NBA Draft and played seven seasons for three clubs; he also won the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest. “As she developed and grew, it was her dream to become a professional basketball player,” Dee said of Lexie. “I tried tennis, baseball, soccer — I danced a little bit,” Lexie recalled. “My dad has been one of my role models, and I wanted to do what he did. He trained me in the gym, but it wasn’t hours and hours and wasting time.
Sr. Hardware Engineer for Medtronic, Inc. at its facilities located in Mounds View, MN. Duties: Design and develop verification environments, test benches, tools, and methodologies used to evaluate a medical device based on an embedded architecture. Requires a Masters’ Degree in Electrical Engineering or closely related and two (2) years post-bachelor’s progressive experience in all of the following: Conducting hardware RTL development using Verilog, System Verilog and C++; Using computer assisted engineering and design software to integrate a hardware RTL into an evaluation environment.; Working with hardware assisted verification using HW emulation and RTL acceleration; Using verification methodologies to include directed test, assertions, constrained random, UVM/OVM; Translating hardware requirements from device architects, chips architects, digital designers, analog designers, and firmware designers to integrate a device model in simulation; Working with embedded Systems Programming; Conducting microprocessor and microcontroller architectures and operations; Utilizing development tools such as Hardware Debuggers, Logic Analyzers, JTAG ICE (In Circuit Emulators) and Oscilloscopes. Apply at www.medtronic.com/careers, Req.190009UO. Medtronic is an equal opportunity employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. All individuals are encouraged to apply.
“We watched a lot of basketball together,” Brown remembered. “He has trained me like a pro. He was teaching me things that at 10, 11 years old kids aren’t learning about.” “When I learned I was coming to Minnesota, I was excited,” Brown said. “I’m super happy to be here.” Finally… Two now-former Gophers, senior Jordan Murphy and junior Amir Coffey, are both in Thursday’s NBA Draft. But according to ESPN Draft Analyst Mike Schmitz, neither player is likely to be drafted. “I think Murphy is, at the worst, going to have a really strong career in Europe,” Schmitz told the MSR during a media conference call. “He’s a little bit undersized” for the NBA, he said of the 6’-6” Murphy. “Coffey had kind of an up and down showing at the G-League elite camp combine,” Schmitz said. “He’s a guy who could potentially get a two-way contract. I see them [Coffey and Murphy] as probably not draftable players.” Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.
Sr. Supply Chain Program Manager for Medtronic, Inc. at its facilities located in Mounds View, MN. Duties: The Sr. Supply Chain Program Manager is an active member of our Center of Excellence (COE) team within Medtronic’s Global Supply Management organization that is responsible for leading, managing and implementing cost and value driven programs across the Medtronic businesses. Requires a Master’s degree in Business Administration or Engineering and five (5) years of post-bachelor’s progressive experience in all of the following: Program and Change Management; Lean principles including Kaizen, Lean Sigma, Six Sigma and DMAIC concepts utilizing applications to include MINITAB; Working with Oracle or SAP based ERP software packages to include purchasing, material management, production management, demand planning and PLM modules; Product line responsibilities as a Planner, Buyer or a Sourcing Manager; Collaborative and workflow technology platforms to include Microsoft Sharepoint or IBM Connections; Analyzing large sets of data from supply chain management systems using Excel, Access, or other database tools and converting into meaningful information; Product tear downs and VAVE’s and develop business cases for implementation of product change over; Developing total cost of ownership (TCO) and net present value (NPV) models and negotiation plans linkage to P&L and balance sheet. 25% travel required. Apply at www.medtronic.com/careers, Req.190009V2. Medtronic is an equal opportunity employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. All individuals are encouraged to apply.
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9
10 June 20-26, 2019
Another major Minnesota sporting event
W
e’ve hosted the Ryder Cup, Super Bowl LII, the X games, and the NCAA Men’s Final Four; now the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is here this week at Hazeltine National. Make no mistake about it — the biggest names and brightest stars on the LPGA Tour, one of the strongest fields in golf, will be here trying to win one of the LPGA’s five majors. This is the 65th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The historic Hazeltine National has most recently hosted the thrilling 2016 Ryder Cup, two PGA Championships, two United States Opens, and one U.S. Amateur. Tiger Woods has won 15 Major Championships and could easily have won 17 had he not twice finished second in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine. I’ll never forget the historic 1992 U.S. Open won by the great Payne Stewart in a playoff over Scott Simpson. That was the week professional golf changed in how to deal with bad weather and protecting the fans and players after two spectators were struck by lightning
and killed at Hazeltine when a tornado ripped through Chaska. I was on the course when the storm came through. I was so lucky I was close to a bunker near the 10th hole when the storm came up, and I remember diving in. It was such a helpless experience. The storm came from nowhere and was freighting and intense. Now they have the best weather people and equipment, using radar to get ahead of bad weather if and when it comes to get the players and thousands of fans off the course. Many of the biggest names in women’s golf are here, like Inbee Park, a seven-time Major Champion. She won the U.S. Open in Minnesota at Interlachen Country Club. Red-hot Brooks Henderson has already won nine times on tour, including a win last week. Long-hitting Lexi Thompson won two weeks ago. Sung Hyun Park is the defending champion, plus we’ll be seeing play by Lydia Ko, Paula Creamer and Christie Kerr. ■ See Fitz on page 9
PreP Scene
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald’s column will return next week..
Black golfers scarce at Hazeltine, plentiful at Emerald Greens First of a two-part column
ANOTHER
T
he Twin Cities this weekend will see golfers all over, but will any Blacks be among them? As it Charles happens, there will hallman be quite a few. Although Mariah Stackhouse is expected to be the only Black golfer in the field of 155 for the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine (she is No. 139 on this year’s LPGA money), fortunately another tournament offers greater di- (l-r) Dennis Blue, Lynnette Landry, Glen Stubbs versity. Photo by Charles Hallman Organizers of the fifth annual Twin “It [the tournament] gives us a chance Cities Par Seekers tournament are ex- Kevin Foote of the Traverlers; Ramona pecting Blacks of all genders, locals as McCree, Lisa Lissimore and Lynnette to put Minnesota on the map and to well as out-of-town golfers of color, on Landry of Black Women On Course; and bring some of our better golfers out to June 22 and 23 at Emerald Greens Golf Everett Pettiford, Henry Rucker and play…to compete against other [Black] Course in Hastings. The tournament Glen Stubbs of the Twin City Golf Club. golfers from the Midwest,” Blue exBlue, Landry and Stubbs stepped plained. planning committee, save for finance director Kenneth Carter, are all local Black away from a meeting at Hiawatha Park ■ See View on page 9 golf club members: Dennis Blue and last week to talk with the MSR.
VIEW
New Lynx shooter grateful for green light Sports odds and ends By Charles Hallman Contributing writer Lexie Brown recently became the 13th player in Minnesota Lynx history to make five threepointers in a game and the third WNBA player to do so since the arc was pushed back to 22’ 1¾” prior to 2013. She’s grateful to the Lynx for giving her the opportunity. Lexie Brown Minnesota traded a Photo by Charles Hallman 2019 draft pick to Con-
necticut, where Brown was the ninth overall pick in the 2018 Draft and averaged nearly a basket a game in 22 games in April. “I’m very ap-
if I’m open, they are going to get me the ball.” “She’s a shooter,” Lynx center Sylvia Fowles said of her new teammate. The veteran post player told Brown, “Shoot when you’re open.” We asked the 5’-9” guard if she had such a green light
“I could miss five straight, but if I’m open, they are going to get me the ball.”
preciative of the organization to get me here,” said Brown, who is averaging 10 points thus far this season. “They just told me to keep shooting. I could miss five straight, but
last season with the Sun. “I didn’t have any light,” Brown recalled. “I accepted my role on that team. That confidence
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IF I CANNOT DO GREAT THINGS, I CAN DO SMALL THINGS IN A GREAT WAY. – MARTIN LUTHER KING
■ See SOe on page 9