March 28 — April 3, 2019 Vol. 85 No. 34 www.spokesman-recorder.com
THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
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Coach McKenzie helps diversify Final Four operations By Ray Richardson Contributing Writer The last time Minneapolis hosted the Final Four in 2001, Minneapolis North Boys’ Basketball Coach Larry McKenzie helped the NCAA run a camp for local youth. That was essentially McKenzie’s only contribution to Photo by Chris Juhn one of the world’s most celebrated sporting events. ic for those who can’t. Those unEighteen years later, McKenfortunate ones wind up subsistzie’s connection to the Final Four ing under bridges, in cars and has gone through a major uptrucks, and in makeshift engrade: from the gym to the board campments like the tent village room. South Minneapolis saw this past “We needed to reach into some winter, amongst other last-ditch networks that we weren’t a part resources. of,” Kate Mortenson, CEO of the “The number of people who Final Four local organizing comcan’t even get into a shelter has mittee, said of McKenzie. “Larry spiked dramatically,” said Leff. “They’re living outside.” MCH hosted Homeless Day on the Hill on March 13 to publicize the dilemma and bring pressure to bear on politicians holding the purse strings. “It was really powerful,” Leff told MSR. “About 850 people turned out from across the state. We filled a hearing room to capacity and they opened an overflow room for us, then a second overflow room. More than anything, people with [homeless] ex-
State action urged to curb rising homelessness The estimation is that, since line will continue,” said Leff in 2015, there was a 62 percent in- a press release. “Encampments crease in homeless who were not will become more frequent, and omelessness, ever-pres- in a formal shelter, and the rate of the number of Minnesotans ent though it is, doesn’t unsheltered children went up 56 sleeping outside in life-threatening temperatures will continue have to be everlast- percent. ing. “It is a totally solvable issue,” said Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) Executive Director Senta Leff. “This is about correcting the system.” Said system, however, has seen a 10 percent increase in the state’s homeless population over the past three years, according to Wilder Research’s 2018 Minnesota Homeless Study released earlier this month. Wilder deployed thousands of volunteers to conduct more than 4,000 in-person interviews with A mother testifies during Homeless Day on the Hill individuals about how they bePhoto by Thai Phan-Quang came homeless and what they “Sixty-three of Minnesota’s 87 to climb.” need to get back on their feet, Leff told the MSR that as bleak which, Leff acknowledged, can’t counties do not have a fixed site take into account those who shelter. If we maintain the sta- as conditions are for those who tus quo, this dangerous trend can find shelter, it is catastrophweren’t surveyed. By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer
H
■ See Homeless on page 8
has made a huge difference with his wisdom, support, encouragement and inspiration to make sure the Final Four here is inclusive.” Mortenson reached out to McKenzie two years ago to become a part of the committee’s Impact Advisory Council (IAC), a select group of business and community leaders brought together to ensure the Final Four provided economic and employment opportunities for people of color. McKenzie has been an integral part of strategies that helped the IAC identify minority contractors and young people of color to work on the business side ■ See CoaCH on page 8
Larry McKenzie (c) coaching North High boy’s basketball team Photo by Steve Kotvis
BLACK BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: K’S REVOLUTIONARY CATERING
Food that satisfies body and soul
sentially, just through conversation and figuring out that we both had such complementary skills, [realized] that this would be an awesome venture to take on. MSR: Had either of you worked in catering or any sort of food services before? MO: We have a combined total of almost 40 years of working for other people and making them rich. I’ve been in the food service industry for about 23 years. Chef K: I grew up with food. My family’s from New Orleans and Florida, so it’s in my blood. I’ve been cooking since I was a kid, but professionally since I was probably around 18 or 19. I opened up a Mariam Omari (l) and Kotiareenia Taylor (r) meal prepping few local places in Minneapolis and St. Photos by Chris Juhn Paul and worked for some pretty awesome chefs both in New Orleans and Northsiders Mariam Omari and is food,” said Omari. Whereas soci- Minneapolis. Kotiareenia Taylor (known as Chef K) ety looks at it as “Oh my God, you’re a have turned catering into a movement. healthy eater,” we’re saying, “No, I’m MSR: What’s it like working in a partnership? Though they have earned a powerful just eating food.” MO: It’s no different than driving on the word-of-mouth reputation for custom Here, the MSR chats with the two cafreeway. You’ve got to stay in your lane. taco bars and vegan- and meat-friendly terers about their passion for food and Chef is the chef and I am the sous chef East African dishes along with an ever- community and the mission behind and the marketer. We keep our roles disrotating menu of foods from the African their business. tinct. diaspora, the two are more focused on MSR: How did you get started? “normalizing” the idea of healthy eating. Mariam Omari: We were just brain- MSR: What kinds of food do you “To us, it’s not healthy [food], it just storming. We just came together and, es- prepare?
MO: Our main focus is the African diaspora — that includes Asian, African, Latin America, East Africa, and West Africa. CK: One of our most popular entrees is Maharagwe, which is an East African dish made with beans, coconut milk and some other spices.
Kotiareenia Taylor and Mariam Omari MO: It’s inspired by my mother and my aunt. Because we focus on whole foods, we can create menus — vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian — and offer meals that will, as much as possible, satisfy vegans as well as meat eaters. So, if you had Maharagwe and rice you’re going to be just as satisfied whether you’re a meat eater or not. MSR: How did you come up with the name? Revolutionary is a pretty strong term. MO: The thing about K’s Revolutionary
Catering is that [healthy eating] is a revolution. We’ve been conditioned in our community to not understand what authentic food is right now. We’re in an era that boxed food is everything. CK: We want you to eat things that are essentially going to help you with circulation and just uplift your spirit. We use ingredients that will feed your soul. MSR: What’s that process been like in building a business? MO: Chef and I have been building this very organically, meaning that we’re learning the language of business and learning the functionalities of it. Understanding your role within your business, all that stuff is very different. So, we have mentors like NEON [Northside Economic Opportunity Network], and I take classes. MSR: What were some of the challenges in opening? MO: When I say organic, we don’t owe anyone. We don’t have loans out. The first year of business, we committed every dollar we got, we just put it right back in the first year. So, the sacrifice was real, it was gangster. The second year, we made a couple of dollars but nothing regular. This year, we have payroll, we have checks that come every two weeks. We had to take steps, small baby steps. ■ See BBs on page 8
These Minneapolis women broke cheerleading color barriers By Kenneth Foxworth Contributing Writer Few people realize that not only did women’s athletic cheerleading originate right here in Minnesota, but also that several strong African American women made history by breaking the cheerleading color barrier. Until 1923, cheerleading had been an exclusively White male activity. That year, the University of Minnesota became the first school in America to allow female cheerleaders. It remained an allWhite activity there, however, until Dana Purdue Williams became the first African American cheerleader at the U of M in 1975. Below is Williams’ story, along with those of two other earlier cheerleading firsts that inspired her to pursue her own dream. Dana Purdue Williams This 1975 Washburn High School graduate who went on to become the
U of M’s first Black cheerleader. She says that at an early age she watched her mother, Harriet Bowman Solomon, cheerleading in the kitchen, living room, or anywhere else where she had space
and a chance. She watched her mother and her mother’s best friend Gwendolyn Morrow Fraction making moves, all while having fun. Williams recalls her mother enroll-
(l-r) Harriet Bowman Solomon, Gwendolyn Morrow Fraction were honored at St. Peter’s Church in Mpls. by Rev. Carla Mitchell
ing her in ballet classes at the tender age ■ See CHeerleaders on page 8 of six. At age 10, she attended the Minnesota Dance Theater children’s workshop where she became an apprentice and mastered the program by age 15. She thought all of that experience and her mom’s example put her in position to make Minnesota Gopher history. “When I saw the 1975 tryout poster for the University of Minnesota cheerleading squad, I truly knew that I was ready to go complete,” says Williams. “I saw myself being a Gopher cheerleader at the age of seven. I planned this all my life, and no one was going to stop me from pursuing my dream!” As Williams took her inspiration from her mother and Fraction, so did she take their career advice, becoming a flight attendant for 40 years at Delta/ Dana Purdue Williams in 1975