PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 June 3-June 9, 2021, Vol. 87 No. 44
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“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”
100 years later Tulsa still seeking justice this history, but I cannot.” The survivors are among the plaintiffs who have sued have lived through the mas- the city of Tulsa, accusing the sacre every day,” testified city of a cover-up and blaming 107-year-old Viola Ford the victims for the actions of its Fletcher before Congress last White citizens. Ford Fletcher week. “Our country may forget was among three centenarians By Mel Reeves Community editor
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who testified. It is almost as if they live to tell the story of the massacre. One hundred years ago White settlers of Tulsa, Oklahoma carried out a pogrom against a part of its population that had only been freed from chat-
tel slavery a little over 50 years before. A pogrom is “a violent riot aimed at the massacre or expulsion of an ethnic or religious group.” The pogrom targeted Greenwood, as Black Tulsa was known, a community so prosperous
and self-contained that Booker T. Washington dubbed it Black Wall Street upon visiting in 1913. The Black community included every imaginable business: hotels, drycleaners, restaurants, movie theaters, taxi service, dental offices and a medical facility.
However, among its businesses there was not one Black-owned bank or brokerage house. Blacks were employed in Greenwood’s businesses in large numbers, but many also worked as laborers, domestics and washerwomen in the White community. ■ See Tulsa on page 5
Unsolved shooting deaths leave family and friends distraught By Marjaan Sirdar Contributing writer A lot of mystery surrounds the April 12 deaths of Lyft driver Ahmed Badal and 15-year-old Jaden Blackmon in South Minneapolis. Both had been shot and found dead around 2 am near 28th Street and 14th Avenue where the cars they had been riding in crashed into one another. Police reported that Badal’s body was found about a block away from the crash. Blackmon was found dead by police in the other car in which he had been a passenger. It is not clear what led up to their deaths or who killed them. Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) spokesperson John Elder responded to an inquiry by Unicorn Riot into the killings in a statement that said, “Because this case is being very actively investigated, I am unable to disclose any
other facts of the case.” On May 14, more than a month after his murder, Badal’s family met with MPD Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who attempted to dispel rumors that police were involved in his death. “We told the chief we don’t believe them,” said Badal’s widow Gaari Abdi. However, Arradondo told Badal’s family that police do have a suspect and there is a warrant for their arrest, according to Fatah Abdi, a cousin of Badal. Abdi said the family believes the police are not telling them everything because so many questions remain unanswered. Both families of the victims say police could clear up exactly what happened that night. According to Abdi, when Arradondo was asked if the family could view street surveillance videos, police body cams and dash cam evidence, the chief denied that any of it exists.
Badal’s family believes his car was struck by a speeding silver car full of teenagers fleeing police. The family assumes that Badal got out of his car after
the crash and was then shot the accident. The friend said Ahmad’s last words were and killed. According to the family, a “there are a lot of police ahead” friend of Badal's was on the and then he heard groans and phone with him at the time of the phone dropped. “What are they hiding?” said Badal’s widow. “We don’t have any information about this. Sometimes I think that police shot him and killed him.” Police spokesperson Elder said, “We have met with numerous members of the community and a victim’s family. I am well aware that there is the rumor that this was an officer-involved shooting. That is simply untrue.”
Minneapolis police at the scene of the car crash Photo courtesy of the Marjaan Sirdar
Residents demand City shut down Northern Metal—for good
Recent fire heightens fears of industrial pollution
Roxanne O’Brien speaks at Northern Metals Recycling Photos by Sam DeLeon By Samantha De Leon Contributing writer “It affects all of us. We all feel the same pain,” Roxxanne O’Brien said during a May 18 rally at Northern Metal Recycling. “We’re
out here doing this work and we’re not safe.” O’Brien was among several Community Members for Environmental Justice (CMEJ) calling on City leaders to immediately shut down the recycling company’s operations and end industrial pollution in North Minneapolis. Northern Metal’s facility, located on the banks of the Mississippi River and near residential areas, is among many polluting the air. Last month, a stack of plastic and insulation caught fire at the facility according to the fire report, but the City ruled the fire as accidental and found that the pile was under the 20-foot legal limit. About 50 community members attended the rally, including Council Member Jeremiah Ellison of Ward 5, Mike Forcia of the American Indian Movement of the Twin Cities, and Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL). They came together outside of Northern Metal in solidarity with the CMEJ to have their demands met. “This is another form of violence,” Ellison said. Although Northern Metal shut down their shredder at the North Minneapolis facility in 2019, they continue to put up large piles of plastic and insulation. “We’re still seeing the ramifications of this pollution,” Ellison said.
“How many chances does Northern Metal get to do business as usual?” said O’Brien. “Where are all of our public officials and city, state, governmental authorities? Who is doing their jobs to protect the people? It seems like we are constantly fighting for our lives against State violence… We can't breathe for so many reasons and our Black Lives continue not to matter to our city and state government. Enough is enough.” The 55411 zip code where the plant is located has the highest rate of asthma hospitalizations in the state, according to The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA). Northern Metal moved its metal shredder from Minneapolis to Becker in 2019 after the State found the company had submitted false pollution reports. Shortly after, in February 2020 there was a fire at the Becker facility. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) ordered Northern Metal to stop accepting scrap metal at its Minneapolis and Becker facility until it adhered to fire codes; operations have since resumed. A letter from CMEJ was read aloud to the crowd demanding that the regulating agencies allowing Northern Metal to operate shut them down immediately. The group wants the company to provide a record of their ■ See Northern on page 5
firmed to a brother of Ahmed that he was killed and that they had received his body, but he was no longer at the hospital. “We were treated worse than animals,” said Mohamud Abdalla, another cousin of Ahmed, who said he was offended by the MPD’s refusal to help them find the body and provide answers about what happened. Badal’s family said they were not allowed to see the body until it arrived at the funeral home the day of the burial.
A strange visit Gaari said a group of A missing body young Somali men visited In the early morning hours Badal’s widow on May 1 and of April 12 family members one of them did most of the called the police and local talking. “The way they talked, hospitals looking for Badal, the police were after these but none were able to locate four Somali guys,” said Gaari. him. Eventually, Hennepin “He wanted to get informaCounty Medical Center con- tion from me. [He asked,] ‘Do ■ See Unsolved on page 5
Senate gridlock stalls police reform bills
By Charles Hallman Contributing writer A new poll revealed that a year since George Floyd’s murder, a large gap still exists in how Black and White Americans view racism and police violence. This gap surfaces in the congressional gridlock that threatens to derail ongoing efforts at police reform. An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted in April found 77% of Blacks say police violence against civilians is very or extremely serious compared to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith
36% of Whites. This large gap hasn’t changed much since previous polls: July 2015 (73% Blacks, 19% Whites), September 2019 (72% Blacks, 36% Whites), June 2020 (82% Blacks, 39% Whites) and September 2020 (76% Blacks, 35% Whites). The U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, but the bill is now stalled in the Senate. President Joe Biden last month strongly urged both houses of Congress to pass it and have it on his desk for signing on or before the May 25 one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death. “I’m a strong supporter [of the bill] and helped to put it together last summer after Mr. Floyd’s murder,” U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) recently told the MSR. She and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) are the bill’s co-sponsors. “I’ve been in almost daily [contact] with Sen. Booker, who is our lead in negotiating” a bipartisan police reform package with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). “It’s a complex negotiation,” she noted. ■ See Gridlock on page 5