October 22, 2020 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

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

THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 October 22-28, 2020 Vol. 87 No. 12

FIND US ONLINE AT WWW.SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

“AS IT WAS SPOKEN ... LET US RECORD.”

2020 election hypes voting as ‘the answer’ 35W reconstruction makes workforce diversity a reality

Many others are not so sure

News Analysis

By Mel Reeves Community editor The Black community has approached this year’s election from several perspectives divided mainly by age and/or political perspective. But one of the more striking things about this year’s presidential election is not just the

race to vote. Blacks were deprived of the franchise for much of their time in the U.S. During slavery most free Blacks were not allowed to vote. After the Civil War and the subsequent end of slavery, the 15th Amendment gave Blacks—who became citizens with the passage Some history There is truth behind the moral- of the 14th Amendment—the izing and browbeating that some right to vote.

However, after the peBlacks engage in to get others of the

usual sense of duty owed to elders who, as the saying goes, fought and died for Black’s right to vote.

This time there’s a palpable sense of desperation, including calls to vote as if your life depended on it.

By Eric Hankin-Redmon Contributing writer

Courtesy of MGN riod of Reconstruction ended, Blacks in the South were slowly disenfranchised, primarily by White intimidation ■See Voting on page 5

Princess Paige Lemonade’s top secret recipe spreads the love Demand is high, supply limited

By Ashley Lauren Contributing writer Princess Paige Lemonade is the creation of one seven-yearold entrepreneur on a mission to make positive change throughout the Twin Cities. There’s an inspiring backstory to the business.

Paige’s father, Tyrone Raino, said, “She first set up shop in front of our church, Real Believers Faith Center, located at 2010 Fremont,” in North Minneapolis, he recalled. The Princess Paige Lemonade business was officially launched on June 8, 2019. From that special moment, the business flourished into a successful—and sweet—lemonade enterprise.

Many may not know about the intricate and special process that goes into making the delightful and citrus-infused beverage that Princess Paige developed with help from her grandmother, a one-of-a-kind signature lemonade. They worked as a team and formulated a top secret recipe made with love.

Her father Raino explained that no one, including him, is allowed to access their space while they are working— Princess Paige Lemonade is serious business. After Paige and her supportive grandmother finish creating the lemonade, it’s distributed into bottles and jugs. Demand for the lemonade is growing, but the supply is limited.

The unique experience as a “kidpreneur” has taught Paige invaluable lifelong lessons about running a business at her young age. “Now she’s branching off with her own ideas,” said Raino. “She loves it. She loves being bossy!”

Unfortunately, the problematic COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down production. As a result, there’s a lim-

Black Business SPOTLIGHT Princess Paige and father Tyrone Raino ited supply of Princess Paige Lemonade, but the demand remains high.

“Right now we can still do the gallons,” said Raino. They deliver locally.

The refreshing beverage has proven to be a sweet success, with the brand gaining attention from various news outlets. Although Paige loves making and selling her lemonade, she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

Paige also inspired her talented and gifted friend Ari Ella, a young author who has already published two books: “Princess Paige Lemonade” and “Ella & Kay Kay.” The storybooks are illustrated by

Submitted photo

Milena Matic. The content is educational and inspirational, and customers can purchase the books online.

Although there have been unexpected setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve continued to fulfill orders for lemonade and plan on growing the business. In the future, customers can expect to see more unique products.

For example, they are currently working on lemonade lip gloss and an inspirational clothing line titled “Better Together,” a fashionable brand that will represent unity in the face of the civil unrest in the community.

Raino also has plans to build a “5 Star Lemonade Lounge.”

He wants to use the lounge as a way to provide youth with a hands-on learning experience about running a business. Youth will have an opportunity to learn about cashiering, customer service skills, financial literacy, filling out an application, and what it takes to run a business.

Most recently, Princess Paige Lemonade became the official beverage sponsor for a local sports team known as the Minnesota Hoopers. Raino recently became the coach of the 9th- and 10th-grade boys’ basketball team.

He said, “A small percentage of what Princess makes is donated to the team. Instead of Gatorade, they’ll drink Princess Paige Lemonade for their games. They love it.

“I want her to get into more social skills,” Raino said of his enterprising daughter. “It’s important to get kids involved. Lemonade is something she can do in her free time. She started gymnastics when she was five. You have to start them young.” He emphasized the need for the community to invest in the youth.

Princess Paige Lemonade will be a featured guest at the Second Annual Youngpreneur Pop-Up Fair, hosted by Ice Cream Bow Ties and Aniki Allen. The special event is scheduled to take place on October 31, 2020, from 12-4 pm, at 967 Payne Ave. in St. Paul.

Princess Paige and her father offer this advice to young dreamers: “Don't be afraid to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.”

Currently, Princess Paige Lemonade can be purchased by placing an order over the phone—call 612403-9815. For more info, visit the Princess Paige Lemonade Facebook page at www.facebook.com/princesspaige7713.

At least partly as a result of years of community protests and demands for racial equity in the construction industry, the current 35W Downtown-to-Crosstown freeway reconstruction project of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) is raising the bar for workforce participation by People of Color. The improvement seen in this $239 million joint venture is garnering widespread praise.

“The workforce participation rates for this project look very different from past projects,” said Kim Collins, director of the Civil Rights Department at MNDOT. According to Collins, the agency went into the 35W project knowing that the freeway goes through diverse communities, including South Minneapolis, a historically African American neighborhood. This, among other reasons, is why there is a high priority to have more people of color involved in the freeway’s reconstruction.

Workforce goals regarding people of color are established on a county-by-county basis, with the goals determined in July 2017 by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MHDR).

Program. This program’s primary goal is to “to offer equal opportunity for the training and upgrading of minorities, women, and disadvantaged persons toward journey-level status in the highway construction trades,” according to MNDOT. To be eligible for the program, individuals must be People of Color, women, or members of another disadvantaged group.

Additionally, they may not be employed in any positions where they are considered a skilled journeyperson.

In an attempt to recruit more workers from communities of color for the project, the Joint Venture Partnership companies host start-up events that target community-based organizations in Minneapolis. The Joint Venture Partnership prime contractors, all based in Minnesota, include managing partner Ames Construction, Inc., Burnsville; Lunda Construction Co., Rosemount; and Shafer Contracting Co., Shafer.

This recruiting lasts throughout the duration of the project, and the events allow community-based organizations “to meet with MNDOT, labor unions, and contractors to create an open line of communication for the needs of this project,” according to Me-

“The increased presence of People of Color on this project is a step in the right direction.”

For Hennepin County, which is where the 35W reconstruction takes place, the goals are 20% women and 32% POC. Goals for the 35W project are 6.9% women and 32% POC. According to data supplied by the ALSJV, as of October 3, 2020, the workforce is 7.7% women and 28.79% POC. “These numbers are not quotas,” Collins says. “They are aspirational goals,” a distinction she emphasizes is important for legal reasons. She also notes that these numbers are unusually high for a MNDOT public works project, a testament to the agency’s and the ALJV’s commitment to increasing diversity on state public works construction projects.

“Having 29% POC participation is atypical for MNDOT,” Collins said, “and contractors have been very strategic about recruiting.”

People of color are recruited for 35W job positions through MNDOT’s On-the-Job Training

gan Holland, Regional EEO Officer at Ames.

“Ames/ Lunda/ ShaferJoint Venture (ALSJV) members then commit to continue attending job fairs, mock interviews, and graduations in an effort to recruit POC for the project. The collective also hosts career fairs in South Minneapolis, such as at Sabathani Community Center, throughout the project to which it invites subcontractors, labor unions, community-based organizations and the community, “said Holland.

One of the best aspects of the relationship between MNDOT and ALJV contractors has been the required biweekly meetings, says Collins, and it also provides accountability. Contractors are required to submit weekly payroll information to MNDOT in order for the agency to track demographic data of the 35W project’s workforce.

It is also part of MNDOT’s evaluative process for assessing ■See 35W on page 5

‘Educational brutality’ keeps MN Black-White gaps worst in nation

By Charles Hallman Contributing writer Minnesota for years has shown some of the country’s worst inequities in education outcomes: graduation rates, test scores, reading and math equivalency. These gaps are clearly defined by race, income and locality.

MPR News’s In Focus series of convenings over the next year, meant to bring awareness, dialogue and potential solutions to Minnesota’s persistent racial disparities, continued earlier this month on the topic of education.

Midday host Angela Davis led the Oct. 7 hour-long virtual event.

Participants included Minnesota Public Schools (MPS) administrator Michael Walker, 2019 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Jess Davis, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis research economist Amusha Nath, Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs’ Samantha Diaz, and Ramona Kitto Stately of We Are Still Here Minnesota.

Angela Davis said in an MSR pre-event phone interview that the panelists were selected for their longstanding work for educational equity for Blacks and

other students of color.

Nath co-authored a 2019 report that found statewide opportunity gaps between White students and Blacks, other students of color, and low-income students. Her report surmised that as overall graduation rates in Minnesota have increased in recent years, student readiness for college has declined.

“We are graduating more students, but they are not ready for college,” said Nath during the event. “Many states struggle with achievement gaps, but Minnesota has been struggling for a very long time, and we’re at the

bottom persistently. We are the 50th in the nation in terms of the White-Black gaps.”

“We had the data for years.

Now is the time to make real change, because we know there is a need,” said Davis, now a racial equity coach for St. Louis Park Public Schools. She formerly taught math in Twin Cities area schools from 2006-2020.

Walker said that K-12 students have been dealing with “educational brutality” for years.

“This is what has been happening to our Black and Brown students…since we had integration.

We have brutalized our Black

and Brown babies for so long that they don’t feel connected to schools,” explained the MPS Black Student Achievement director.

“We are invisible,” added Stately on Native American education. She noted that “28 states do not mention Native people at all in their K-12 curriculum. And the ones that do, which includes Minnesota, do not discuss Native people beyond 1900. If we don’t talk about them in schools, they don’t matter.”

Diaz pointed out, “There are so many assumptions” regarding Latino families. “Our families

are not engaged, our parents not paying attention. This is quite the opposite of what exactly is happening with our families.”

The pandemic is challenging education even more, and depending on the school district, students are either in distance learning or hybrid learning. Angela Davis stressed that the onehour event, or even her weekday morning programs, do not have quick solutions.

“Education has been a constant, and we have done several shows [on it]” since she joined MPR in December 2018, the veteran news reporter-anchor said. “It’s ■See Gaps on page 5

October 22-28, 2020

VotinG Continued from page 1 and terror and voter restrictions.

“The adoption of poll taxes and literacy tests and grandfather clauses certainly stopped the exercise of the right to vote amongst the formerly enslaved,” explained Gilda R. Daniels, associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “So as an example, in Alabama in 1890 there were 140,000 Black men who were registered to vote.

But in 1906, only 46 Black persons were registered to vote in the state.”

Passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act opened doors for many Blacks to vote for the first time. By the end of the decade in 1969, over 60% of Blacks were registered to vote.

"The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have,” said John Lewis. Based on this history and the failures of the current administration, the elders are justified in encouraging people to get out and vote to change things. But that’s far from the whole story.

Other voices According to the Washington Post, this year’s mobilization is on track to rival 2008, when historic levels of Black turnout helped propel Obama to the White House.

However, the call to vote has not stifled other voices with other views on voting.

“Trump has presided over a sweeping U.S. government retreat from the front lines of civil

35w Continued from page 1 contractors’ progress in maintaining healthy levels of workforce participation for People of Color, with such assessments taking place in real time. There are no punitive responses for not reaching goals, said Collins.

“Again, these are aspirational goals. We want contractors to demonstrate good-faith efforts, so being equal opportunity employers is more important than punishing contractors who are trying to recruit people of color.”

Accountability also comes in the form of monthly reports, which involves a group of stakeholders that includes MNDOT, the prime contractors and subcontractors, community members, and civil rights groups. This collaborative effort not only allows for MNDOT and the prime contractors to share progress; it also allows for transparency and all around good faith.

One stakeholder and source of accountability is the HIRE Minnesota campaign supported

by The Alliance, a coalition of community-based organizations and advocacy groups advancing collaborative strategic campaigns to promote racial, economic and environmental justice, along with health equity. HIRE Minnesota

Gaps Continued from page 1

rights, which advocates say has endangered decades of progress against voter suppression, housing discrimination and police misconduct,” wrote Amy Gardner of the Washington Post. Yet there is no evidence anecdotal or otherwise to support the idea that the government, whether Democratic or Republican, has ever been on the front lines in the fight against discrimination in U.S. society.

Consistent with this perspective is the view of many Black youth under 30 who appear to be less sold on the benefits of voting.

In a poll conducted by The Conversation, 31% of Black Americans under 30 say they probably won’t vote in this election. According to The Conversation, unlike their older counterparts, only half of Blacks under 30 view the Democrats as any better than the Republicans when it comes to addressing the needs of the Black community.

Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies Black youths’ political views, summed up this attitude in a recent podcast: “They’ve seen the election of Black mayors, they’ve seen the election of the first Black president, and they’ve also seen that their lives have not changed.” According to a survey conducted by The Conversation, about half of their Black survey respondents under 30 say they don’t often vote because it “doesn’t make a difference.”

“Far too many eggs are placed in the voting basket,” said Brian Tay-

lor, a longtime activist for Black and workers’ rights who has organized against police violence in Cincinnati. “The point is that if we are going to vote we should be doing so based on ideas that benefit our class. While the current administration is racist and anti-working class, the Democratic Party candidates don’t offer a solution to the problems we have, in fact they don’t even pretend to. There are 365 days of the year. What are you doing the other 364 to advance our struggles?

“They say Black people died for the right to vote, but that is not exactly true,” said anti- police violence activist Brock Satter of Boston MASS Action Police Brutality.

“Black people died for a lot of things, but the main goal has always been freedom.

“The vote is only a means to an end,” said Satter, “and if you are being given a choice of being shot in the head or stabbed in the back it makes little difference at the end of the day. That’s no choice at all. We say the most important vote we can make in 2020 is to vote with our feet in the streets and keep the protests going.”

When people say that you must vote, it helps to keep in mind that there are a variety of viewpoints on the issue. Voting for many is just a beginning, a means to an end, but certainly not end itself.

began at the end of 2008 and eventually concentrated its efforts on creating equity in the construction industry.

Maura Brown, associate director of The Alliance, explained that the relative success of equitable hiring for the 35W project is the result of many years of community protest and from strategies learned from other public works projects on which HIRE Minnesota had brought pressure, such as the Green Line and the Vikings Stadium projects.

The campaign has brought the field’s best practices and lessons to this project specifically as well as to MNDOT more broadly.

HIRE Minnesota participates in MNDOT’s monthly public meetings for the project where workforce participation demographics are shared in real time. HIRE Minnesota volunteers review workforce data on a monthly basis from the contractors and overall data disaggregated by individual racial groups.

“Overall, it is agreed that the increased presence of People of Color on this project is a step in the right direction,” said Collins.

“And one of the positive results of this project is that it provides economic opportunity to the community it affects.”

The ALSJV, too, is pleased with the level of the diversity it’s achieved on this particular

project, especially employee retention. “Retention is also a big factor to determine success, [and] we have hired and retained multiple individuals from this project,” Holland said.

Brown is also pleased with the numbers, especially regarding how much progress has been made in relation to past projects.

“There remains much work to be done to ensure that the construction workforce reflects our communities, but the focused attention on 35W made it achieve our best results on a highway project to date in Minnesota,” she said.

tance of better recruitment and retention of teachers of color.

The educational gap “is a Minnesota problem,” surmised Diaz, adding that solving it should not be solely up to students and parents of color. “We really do need our White allies, our White parents, White policymakers to see this achievement gap and the opportunity gap as a Minnesota problem. If we don’t make intentional investments in addressing these gaps: what does that mean for the Minnesota economy?”

Dealing with a pandemic has presented an opportunity to “find new ideas for old problems in regard to education,” said Davis, the mother of one high school child and one beginning college. “We can’t forget our children”

about elevating this topic and keeping it on people’s minds.”

“There is not one solution to solving the gaps that have persisted and exist,” stated Diaz.

Walker said his office has seen improvement among Black students. “We have seen an increase in GPAs [and] graduation rates for these students. We have seen that our workshops have benefited our teachers. We can see that [MPS] schools we have been in have done better with Black students than the schools we are not in.”

“One quick fix is better communication with parents and families,” said Stately.

Jess Davis recommended “changing the mindset on how Charles Hallman welcomes we approach education as educators. I hope that every teacher reader responses to challman@ can see the potential of every stu- spokesman-recorder.com. dent.” She also noted the impor-

Mel Reeves welcomes reader responses to mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

Eric Hankin-Redmon welcomes reader responses to eredmon@spokesman-recorder.com.

5

October 22-28, 2020

3

Doing the six feet U, and other helpful COVID habits

into thinking it is bigger than it is, the COVID-19 virus varies between 60 and 120 nanometers (nm) in size. That’s 1/1000th of a single strand of hair! Thankfully, although it can sometimes affect the hair causing hair loss, hair loss is not one of its most common presentations. Instead we are accustomed to the virus presenting with fevers, fatigue, decreased smell, decreased oxygen levels, GI distress, chills, extremity swelling, etc.

For the most part, treatment is supportive with hydration, rest, controlling fevers and isolation.

If symptoms are not improving after a day or two or if a high

By Dr. Inell Rosario fever is not responding to acetGuest Contributor aminophen, then please make The devastation, the number contact with your primary care of cases, the lack of containment clinic or the emergency room.

Here are seven habits that can of the COVID-19 virus reads like a horror or at best sci-fi movie. decrease your risk of contracting The COVID-19 virus is a mem- COVID -19: ber of the corona virus family and has proven more contagious 1. Believe the COVID-19 virus and deadly than many of its oth- does exist!

The virus not only exists but is er family members such as the lethal! It affects persons without SARS and MERS viruses.

The corona viruses are a regard to economic status, skin group of RNA viruses that, in color, ethnicity, religion, fitness addition to affecting humans, level or age, although people can also affect birds and animals. who are younger and in better For example, it can cause pigs or physical condition tend to have cows to develop diarrhea and less morbidity.

To clarify, I believe and most has been shown to cause brain and liver infections in mice. Its research shows that the main most famous family member, reason for people of color being the rhinovirus, causes the com- so greatly affected by the corona mon cold, and although conta- virus with worse outcomes than expected is related to healthcare gious it is typically not deadly.

They get their name because and economic disparity. What of the characteristic club-shaped this means is that it is less likely spikes that project from the sur- for a person of color to have an face similar to a crown. While its established relationship with spherical shape might fool you a care provider or have access

to care. Therefore chronic diseases are not being appropriately treated if at all, so when an illness strikes, persons of color may not fare as expected.

In addition, without an established relationship with the primary care clinic, their ability to get in and be seen except in an emergency room is significantly less. Transportation to get care may also be a compromising issue.

Certainly any language barriers, multigenerational households, not having co-pays easily accessible, not understanding how to navigate and advocate for their medical care, all increase the likelihood that a person of color will have a less ideal outcome when exposed to the corona virus.

help to decrease the amount of respiratory droplets that are shared. Even when outdoors it is a good idea to put your mask on when a stranger is approaching in addition to doing the 6 feet U.

3. Wear a mask Wearing a mask indoors is a state rule for Minnesota and many other states. It seems unthinkable that it has met with such resistance given that for years we have all been educated to sneeze into our arms to minimize spreading germs and infecting others!

Think of the mask as a covered elbow upping the effectiveness of trying to cover your cough. If you are wearing a cloth reusable mask, it is important to wash it regularly depending on your exposure. You can also sanitize it by wiping it down with a 2. Physical distancing: The sanitizing cloth or hand sanitizer six feet U While we have missed the or lemon rind.

According to the Centers for embrace and company of loved ones and friends, it is important Disease Control and Prevention to minimize direct contact or get (CDC), a cloth mask is an acceptwithin 6-8 feet of people who are able face covering in the event of not in your household. Outdoor personal protection equipment activities do help to fill the void shortage and should be made of connection, and each day I am of at least three layers, ideally grateful that people still desire cotton, a filter, and outer surface fabric that is water resistant. Idedirect human contact.

Remember, though, that stay- ally, purchasing a mask with the ing six feet apart ideally should filter built-in leads to more combe a U. That is, when approach- pliance, as having to purchase ing a stranger, go out to the side and change filters adds another of them when you’re at least six roadblock to compliance.

Mask fit and adjustability are feet in front of them and stay to the side of them until you have crucial for protection, with idepassed them by six feet. Increase ally the mask having adjustable this physical distancing when inter-loop straps to improve filsomeone is running or biking in tration and comfort. your path.

Doing the six feet U should

4. Wash more than your hands Rightfully so, there is a lot of emphasis placed on washing your hands, as people will touch surfaces, their faces, eat, and in other ways transfer potential virus from objects or other body parts to their respiratory tract.

Washing with hand sanitizer or soap and water for 20 seconds is felt to be effective in reducing the amount of potential virus on the hands.

However, recall it is a respiratory virus and is most infectious when inhaled. Therefore similarly washing the nose with a saline spray will help to decrease the concentration of potential virus that may be in the nasal passages.

The hair in the nose as well as the mucus do attempt to trap the majority of pathogens and dust, and our use of saline sprays further helps our natural trapping mechanism by removing and diluting the amount of viral load. As an ear, nose and throat specialist, I believe that people should wash their nasal passages with a saline solution at least twice a day and when with any suspected exposure, as well as when coming off an airplane.

6. Keep pets clean Clean your pet's nose, mouth, paws and bottom on returning from a walk for the same reasons stated above. Your pets are close to the ground, and while they may not become ill, their body parts, including nose and mouth, contact the pavement or ground where there has been expectorated secretions, increasing the chances of transfer to you. Wiping them down with a sanitary wipe on returning from a walk will be helpful in decreasing this potential route of transmission.

7. The basics: sleep, diet, exercise These are the basics in helping to keep your body in tiptop shape to better defend itself against an infection. Therefore it is important to get seven or more hours of sleep, eat a balanced diet that may need to be supplemented with multivitamins, and exercise routinely to improve endurance and help the body deal with the challenges and stresses of any infection.

Visit the CDC website or my website, www.maskpromd.com, for more details on masks.

Dr. Inell Rosario is a board certi5. Leave your shoes at the fied ENT and sleep physician practicdoor The bottom of your shoes ing at Andros ENT & Sleep Center may pick up and transmit many in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. infections or pathogens that She has many times been recognized people may expectorate or spit as a Top Doctor and Best Doctor in out and you may or may not various Minnesota magazines and witness. Therefore, it is a great can be reached at drrosario@androidea to leave shoes that you wear sent-sleep.com or 651-888-7800. outdoors near the door to avoid contaminating your home.

4

October 22-28, 2020

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.

So saving is now bad for the economy?

By William Rivers Pitt

Even pursuit of a COVID vaccine is steeped in inequity

By Dean Baker We are in a situation where we can be waiting several months for a vaccine, after one has already been demonstrated to be safe and effective, because the Trump administration opted to pursue a route of patent monopoly research, as opposed to open-source collaborative research.

If Trump had gone the latter route, as soon as China or anyone had a vaccine, everyone would have a vaccine, or at least everyone would be able to manufacture it.

As it turned out, Trump quite explicitly turned the development of a vaccine into a race.

He created “Operation Warp Speed,” to which he committed more than $10 billion of public funds. This effort is supposed to develop both vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus.

The funding takes a variety of forms. Several companies received some upfront funding, but are relying primarily on advance purchase agreements for an effective vaccine. For example, Pfizer signed a contract that commits the government to buy 100 million doses for $1.95 billion ($19.50 per shot), if it has a successful vaccine.

By contrast, Moderna relied largely on upfront funding, getting $483 million for its pre-clinical research and phase one and two trials, and then another $472 million to cover the cost of its phase three trials. Incredibly, after largely picking up Moderna’s development costs, the government is also allowing Moderna to have a patent monopoly on its vaccine. This means it will effectively be paying Moderna twice, first with the direct funding then a second time by allowing it to charge monopoly prices on its vaccine.

This nationalistic patent monopoly route was the one Trump choose to pursue. It should be mentioned there was little visible opposition from leading Democrats in Congress.

But, we could have taken a different route. We could have looked to pool research, not just nationally, but internationally. This would mean that all research findings would be posted on the web as soon as practical and that any patents would be placed in the public domain so that everyone could take advantage of them.

Since some folks have a hard time understanding what incentive Moderna would have if they weren’t getting a patent monopoly, let me explain: They would be getting paid.

Just as most of us work for money, not patent monopolies, Moderna, and other drug companies developing vaccines or treatments would be getting paid directly for their research.

Their incentive would be that they presumably want to continue to get paid. If they went two or three months and had nothing to show, then they would not continue to get paid.

This is the idea of working for money. I thought that most economists were familiar with it, but when it comes to financing drug research, they seem to view it as an alien concept.

If we had leadership in the United States that was committed to pursuing a path of open research, then presumably it would be possible to quickly work out a deal that countries were reasonably satisfied.

Anyhow, in this world of open research, if it turned out that China’s vaccines were showing more promise earlier than the ones developed by Pfizer and Moderna and other U.S. companies, we would be

able to manufacture and mass distribute their vaccines as soon as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved them.

No one would need permission from China since the research was open; anyone could manufacture the vaccines who had the capability.

If we had gone this route, if the Chinese vaccines are shown to be safe and effective before the vaccines developed by U.S. companies, we would not be left waiting. If China or any other country had a vaccine, we would as well. This system still leaves a problem for developing countries who lack manufacturing capabilities, but at least intellectual property concerns would not be preventing people from getting a vaccine or treatment.

It is hard to understand how, not just mainstream Democrats, but even progressive leaders like Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, were not pushing for an open research response to the pandemic. This almost certainly would have given us a vaccine more quickly.

However, an open research approach to the pandemic also could have been a very important model for biomedical research more generally. If we went a route of financing research upfront and putting all patents in the public domain, it could save us $400 billion a year on prescription drug spending.

This comes to more than $3,000 per household. It is more than twice the size of the Trump tax cut. This is real money.

Patent monopolies also have a lot to do with inequality. We are often told that technology is a big part of the story of upward redistribution over the last four decades. While this story is frequently exaggerated, insofar as it is true, it is because we have designed patent and copyright laws so that some people can get very rich at the expense of everyone else. Bill Gates would still be working for a living if the government did not give Microsoft patent and copyright monopolies on its software.

It is more than a bit bizarre that political figures who devote so much effort to combatting inequality look the other way when we design a pandemic healthcare research plan that both slows research progress and gives more money to those at the top.

In the case of the pandemic, it is not just leading to inequality, it is also costing people’s health and their lives. Progressives should be paying attention.

Dean Baker is an economist and writes a blog beat the press.

According to Motley Fool reporter Maurie Backman, “Sixtynine percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings….

Worse yet, 45% of Americans say they have $0 in savings. That’s right—not so much as a dollar socked away in a bank account.”

And there is this!

“The pandemic has upended consumer habits, with fewer people eating out and traveling and others building a financial cushion,” reported Shirley Leung and Larry Edelman in an October 10 Boston Globe article. “Economists have long worried about Americans carrying too much debt, but ironically the sudden embrace of savings comes at a time when the economy needs consumers to spend more. A prolonged period of parsimony is hampering the recovery and threatening industries that had

resources, everything would be just ducky. All of you who felt bad about yourselves for having no savings can buck up. You’re doing it right! For now.

And that’s the rub. Thanks to decades of insistent work led by Black scholars and activists and recently mainstreamed in new ways through The 1619 Project at The New York Times, a broader understanding has come into being of the umbilical connection between the chattel slavery, that birthed this nation and the economic system that sits astride it today. They are blood relatives, linked by the DNA of agony and plunder.

The fact that having a savings account during a pandemic is suddenly “bad for the economy” proves once again that capitalism is nothing more than a meticulously constructed rationalization for greed.

Yet while the claws of base

The fact that having a flush savings account during a pandemic is suddenly “bad for the economy” proves once again that there is no actual system at work here. thrived on our free-spending ways.”

Yes, yes, it’s COVID’s fault. If only this pesky pandemic hadn’t come along and exposed the unsustainable mirage of eternal consumption and growth on a planet with finite and dwindling

since humans first fashioned weapons and organized into groups. The ideology was, and remains, simplicity itself: When you win, no matter how you win, you get to take.

Adam Smith gave it a name and some fluffy words to obscure the fathomless brutality of it all, but in the end, capitalism is plunder.

COVID-19 is like water, in that it flows into the low places and finds every crack, every seam, every pinhole to pour through. The pandemic has been busy exposing the cracks in our overall health care industry— specifically regarding our perilous employment-based health insurance racket, our education system, and on and on. COVID did not damage these things so much as it washed off the paint and exposed all the deep red rust.

The fact that having a flush savings account during a pandemic is suddenly “bad for the economy” proves once again that there is no actual system at work here: Capitalism is nothing more than a meticulously constructed rationalization for greed on a planetary scale, and that rationalization will move to wherever the money is at any given moment.

capitalism were honed in the cotWilliam Rivers Pitt is a comton fields of the South and the mentary writer who contributes cotton mills of the North, it was regularly to truthout.com. not first fashioned there. Capitalism, stripped to the raw nerve, is the sacking of Troy, the taking from the weak by the strong. It has been a ruthless presence

Debates don’t address the people’s needs

By Margaret Kimberley What would someone conclude about this country if the presidential and vice-presidential debates were their sole sources of information about the United States?

Such a person would know that a pandemic caused by the disease COVID-19 struck the country and that 200,000 people died. They wouldn’t know that the death toll was tied to inherent inequities in the country and that such a catastrophe could happen again, regardless of who is in the White House.

They would know about something called hydraulic fracturing, “fracking,” but they wouldn’t know that it poisons water systems, or causes earthquakes, and produces more climate-changing fossil fuels. They wouldn’t know about the harm it causes because both sides pledge to continue the practice.

The debate watcher would not know that there are approximately 560,000 people designated as unhoused, who live on streets or in encampments or in public shelters. They wouldn’t know that two million people languish in jails and prisons and are forced to work for little or no pay at the behest of corporations.

They wouldn’t know that the federal minimum wage was a mere $7.25 per hour.

They wouldn’t know that people go broke when they get sick, even if covered by the private healthcare system. The fact that the U.S. spends more on defense than any other country, more than the next 10 largest budgets in the world combined, wouldn’t be known either.

Both of the duopoly political parties are happy captives of their respective donor classes. The names of the oligarchs change but they all believe in keeping as

much of their money as possible and making sure that there is no discussion of any alternative configuration. Their control negates the ability of the government to address the people’s needs.

Corporations don’t want employees who would feel free to quit their jobs or make demands or go on strike if they didn’t depend on employment for health care. Keeping people in a state of fear and uncertainty is more profitable to them than shedding healthcare costs.

The homeless could be housed with government spending. The federal government was the primary source of public housing creation in decades past. That is not possible when the military budget comprises 60% of discretionary spending and prevents the government from interceding on behalf of the people.

Even the party thought to be friendliest to the needs of working people adamantly refuses to consider Medicare for All, a program that would provide free care for every man, woman, and child. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are at pains to proclaim that they will not consider enacting this program which is so desperately needed.

The person who knew nothing outside of debates would think that everything is fine for most Americans. But half are low-income, and the number of jobless is never really known because the so-called unemployment rate does not count those who are no longer receiving benefits. Speaking of benefits, millions of people unemployed by the COVID shutdown crisis never received them at all or only after very lengthy delays. That information is never brought up in debates or on the campaign trail.

Democrats and Republicans agree to limit the issues that are discussed in presidential cam-

paigns. It is little wonder that only half of eligible voters are expected to turn out on election day in 2020. Of course, there is always browbeating and vote shaming from the Democratic side. Former first lady Michelle Obama is the shamer of choice this year, pleading with people to vote for “do nothing” Democrats and admonishing them against doing anything else.

If the needs of the people aren’t being addressed, what is the purpose of putting Biden and Harris into office? It isn’t hard to argue against Donald Trump, but the full-court press of Biden or bust is difficult to reconcile with reality.

Reality doesn’t conform to debates or stump speeches. Anyone who tries to reveal the lived experience of millions of people is smeared or excluded. The corporate media comply and the public are left with nothing but apathy or QAnon.

The winner will preside over a failed State, yet will not acknowledge that is the case. The two major political parties spread fantasies about greatness and democracy and leadership of the “free world” while encampments for the unhoused spread across the country.

There must be an organized struggle after election day. If Trump is gone there must be no sigh of relief, no celebration. All of the life and death issues ignored by the candidates must be pushed forward by the people.

Only then will reality be up for discussion.

Margaret Kimberley is an editor and regular columnist for BlackAgendaReport.com.

October 22-28, 2020

VotinG Continued from page 1 and terror and voter restrictions.

“The adoption of poll taxes and literacy tests and grandfather clauses certainly stopped the exercise of the right to vote amongst the formerly enslaved,” explained Gilda R. Daniels, associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “So as an example, in Alabama in 1890 there were 140,000 Black men who were registered to vote.

But in 1906, only 46 Black persons were registered to vote in the state.”

Passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act opened doors for many Blacks to vote for the first time. By the end of the decade in 1969, over 60% of Blacks were registered to vote.

"The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have,” said John Lewis. Based on this history and the failures of the current administration, the elders are justified in encouraging people to get out and vote to change things. But that’s far from the whole story.

Other voices According to the Washington Post, this year’s mobilization is on track to rival 2008, when historic levels of Black turnout helped propel Obama to the White House.

However, the call to vote has not stifled other voices with other views on voting.

“Trump has presided over a sweeping U.S. government retreat from the front lines of civil

35w Continued from page 1 contractors’ progress in maintaining healthy levels of workforce participation for People of Color, with such assessments taking place in real time. There are no punitive responses for not reaching goals, said Collins.

“Again, these are aspirational goals. We want contractors to demonstrate good-faith efforts, so being equal opportunity employers is more important than punishing contractors who are trying to recruit people of color.”

Accountability also comes in the form of monthly reports, which involves a group of stakeholders that includes MNDOT, the prime contractors and subcontractors, community members, and civil rights groups. This collaborative effort not only allows for MNDOT and the prime contractors to share progress; it also allows for transparency and all around good faith.

One stakeholder and source of accountability is the HIRE Minnesota campaign supported

by The Alliance, a coalition of community-based organizations and advocacy groups advancing collaborative strategic campaigns to promote racial, economic and environmental justice, along with health equity. HIRE Minnesota

Gaps Continued from page 1

rights, which advocates say has endangered decades of progress against voter suppression, housing discrimination and police misconduct,” wrote Amy Gardner of the Washington Post. Yet there is no evidence anecdotal or otherwise to support the idea that the government, whether Democratic or Republican, has ever been on the front lines in the fight against discrimination in U.S. society.

Consistent with this perspective is the view of many Black youth under 30 who appear to be less sold on the benefits of voting.

In a poll conducted by The Conversation, 31% of Black Americans under 30 say they probably won’t vote in this election. According to The Conversation, unlike their older counterparts, only half of Blacks under 30 view the Democrats as any better than the Republicans when it comes to addressing the needs of the Black community.

Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies Black youths’ political views, summed up this attitude in a recent podcast: “They’ve seen the election of Black mayors, they’ve seen the election of the first Black president, and they’ve also seen that their lives have not changed.” According to a survey conducted by The Conversation, about half of their Black survey respondents under 30 say they don’t often vote because it “doesn’t make a difference.”

“Far too many eggs are placed in the voting basket,” said Brian Tay-

lor, a longtime activist for Black and workers’ rights who has organized against police violence in Cincinnati. “The point is that if we are going to vote we should be doing so based on ideas that benefit our class. While the current administration is racist and anti-working class, the Democratic Party candidates don’t offer a solution to the problems we have, in fact they don’t even pretend to. There are 365 days of the year. What are you doing the other 364 to advance our struggles?

“They say Black people died for the right to vote, but that is not exactly true,” said anti- police violence activist Brock Satter of Boston MASS Action Police Brutality.

“Black people died for a lot of things, but the main goal has always been freedom.

“The vote is only a means to an end,” said Satter, “and if you are being given a choice of being shot in the head or stabbed in the back it makes little difference at the end of the day. That’s no choice at all. We say the most important vote we can make in 2020 is to vote with our feet in the streets and keep the protests going.”

When people say that you must vote, it helps to keep in mind that there are a variety of viewpoints on the issue. Voting for many is just a beginning, a means to an end, but certainly not end itself.

began at the end of 2008 and eventually concentrated its efforts on creating equity in the construction industry.

Maura Brown, associate director of The Alliance, explained that the relative success of equitable hiring for the 35W project is the result of many years of community protest and from strategies learned from other public works projects on which HIRE Minnesota had brought pressure, such as the Green Line and the Vikings Stadium projects.

The campaign has brought the field’s best practices and lessons to this project specifically as well as to MNDOT more broadly.

HIRE Minnesota participates in MNDOT’s monthly public meetings for the project where workforce participation demographics are shared in real time. HIRE Minnesota volunteers review workforce data on a monthly basis from the contractors and overall data disaggregated by individual racial groups.

“Overall, it is agreed that the increased presence of People of Color on this project is a step in the right direction,” said Collins.

“And one of the positive results of this project is that it provides economic opportunity to the community it affects.”

The ALSJV, too, is pleased with the level of the diversity it’s achieved on this particular

project, especially employee retention. “Retention is also a big factor to determine success, [and] we have hired and retained multiple individuals from this project,” Holland said.

Brown is also pleased with the numbers, especially regarding how much progress has been made in relation to past projects.

“There remains much work to be done to ensure that the construction workforce reflects our communities, but the focused attention on 35W made it achieve our best results on a highway project to date in Minnesota,” she said.

tance of better recruitment and retention of teachers of color.

The educational gap “is a Minnesota problem,” surmised Diaz, adding that solving it should not be solely up to students and parents of color. “We really do need our White allies, our White parents, White policymakers to see this achievement gap and the opportunity gap as a Minnesota problem. If we don’t make intentional investments in addressing these gaps: what does that mean for the Minnesota economy?”

Dealing with a pandemic has presented an opportunity to “find new ideas for old problems in regard to education,” said Davis, the mother of one high school child and one beginning college. “We can’t forget our children”

about elevating this topic and keeping it on people’s minds.”

“There is not one solution to solving the gaps that have persisted and exist,” stated Diaz.

Walker said his office has seen improvement among Black students. “We have seen an increase in GPAs [and] graduation rates for these students. We have seen that our workshops have benefited our teachers. We can see that [MPS] schools we have been in have done better with Black students than the schools we are not in.”

“One quick fix is better communication with parents and families,” said Stately.

Jess Davis recommended “changing the mindset on how Charles Hallman welcomes we approach education as educators. I hope that every teacher reader responses to challman@ can see the potential of every stu- spokesman-recorder.com. dent.” She also noted the impor-

Mel Reeves welcomes reader responses to mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

Eric Hankin-Redmon welcomes reader responses to eredmon@spokesman-recorder.com.

5

6

October 22-28, 2020

Voting Information You can vote early in person If you want to fill out your ballot in person and hand it to an election worker, you can — at early inperson voting locations just look up sites for early voting in your county.

Because this is considered a form of absentee voting, there will be paper work to fill out that you would not have to ordinarily deal with if

Why the apparent “delay”?

State law doesn’t allow ballots to be mailed out before Friday. Workers couldn’t get much of a head start preparing mailers because the state certified ballots Aug. 28, and counties only received the actual ballots from the printers in the past few days.

You can track your ballot via a feature on the Secretary of State’s website.

tremely high.

“The math problem is we’ve got about 3,000 polling places and we’re expecting roughly 3 million voters,” he said. “This is very rough math and it wouldn’t really be like this this, but that’s 1,000 voters per polling place. If we can lighten the numbers of people at polling places, that’s a good thing for public health.”

If you’ve already requested an absentee ballot, don’t request a second one unless you’re informed that your application has been rejected.

However, you should consider some time around Oct. 27 as a deadline, according to recommendations by the U.S. Postal Service, which has warned of potential delays to rapidly delivering a crush of mailed ballots amid a pandemic. You can mail your completed ballot back as soon as you get it.

MEDA announces third annual ‘Million Dollar Challenge for Minority Entrepreneurs’ Largest BIPOC entrepreneurial competition returns for its third year The Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) has opened up applications for its third year of the Million Dollar Challenge for Minority Entrepreneurs.

The MEDA Million Dollar Challenge is the largest BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) entrepreneurial competition in the country, awarding $1 million in financing to BIPOC businesses from across the nation.

MEDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping BIPOC businesses succeed. The past two years of the Million Dollar Challenge resulted in 12 minority businesses from five states receiving financial awards totaling nearly $3 million. Its services include business consulting, financing solutions and corporate and government opportunities, such as contracts and funding opportunities.

This year’s competition will continue to include the How soon are votes counted?

Boot Camp for Successful You can request a mailed ballot Pitches as well as the final Unlike states that have true early pitch and award ceremony, through the state at mnvotes.org now voting, no votes in Minnesota will hosted entirely online. and for some time.

The MN Secretary of State an- be counted before Election Day. Applications opened OctoIn fact, ballots mailed in by vot- ber 1, and the 15 finalists will nounced last week that the state is mailing an absentee ballot applica- ers won’t actually be touched until be announced on November How does the mail-in ballot tion to every registered voter encour- 14 days before Election Day. This 30, 2020. Finalists will virtuwork? “head start,” which was approved by ally attend Boot Camp for aging people to vote from home.

Secretary of State Simo said the state Legislature, is designed to Successful Pitches from DeAs of Friday, nearly 900,000 requests for mailed ballots have been in a recent interview, that he views speed up the process of actually tal- cember 7, 2020 until January 22, 2021. The final pitch event made to election officials statewide. the push for “voting remotely” as a lying the votes on Election Day. will take place January 27, If you’re one of those people and nexus between the democratic pro2021. are wondering when you’ll get your cess and public health in a year when voter engagement appears to be exballot, it will depend.

Over the years, MEDA has helped launch more than 500 minority businesses and assisted more than 20,000 Minnesota minority entrepreneurs. MEDA clients employ 6,000 Minnesotans.

“MEDA’s Million Dollar Challenge provides so many opportunities for entrepreneurs of color to highlight their creativity and innovation, and accelerate their business growth,” said Alfredo Martel, president and CEO of MEDA. “Investing in BIPOC

Courtesy of MGN

you were voting on election day at your polling place.

No explanation needed, and no reason needed to vote early absentee in Minnesota.

You can vote early by mail If you want to vote by mail, county officials will begin mailing ballots to people who have already requested them, as well as those who do so now. To be clear: Those ballots won’t arrive Friday, but they’ll start being mailed out Friday.

In Minnesota, all mailed ballots — both the envelope mailed to voters and the one voters mail back — are paid as first-class mail, so delivery times should be as speedy as any other first-class mail.

How do I request a ballot

Yes you can drop off your ballot in person If you received your ballot in the mail, you don’t have to return it in the mail. You can return it in person to those same locations where you can vote early.

Meda CEO & President Alfredo Martel Photo courtesy meda.net businesses is more important than ever as the economy is ravaged by the effects of COVID-19 and civil unrest.

“BIPOC entrepreneurs are resilient and adaptable,” said Martel, “and investing in them has proven to create jobs and boost economic development. We are excited to bring the Million Dollar Challenge back for a third year to continue that impact and support on a national level in these unprecedented times.”

The Million Dollar Challenge application form can be found at: https://platform.younoodle.com/ competition/meda_million_dollar_challenge_2020.

October 22-28, 2020

7

Movie Review: ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’

An enjoyable film about a woman at the crossroads

By Dwight Brown

F

orty. Something about that age puts people on a precipice. Too old to be young. Too young to be old. And if your career hasn’t taken off by that age…well. Will it ever? This is the space where “The FortyYear-Old Version” resides—a crossroads.

Radha Blank, a Harlem-based writer, is known for her NEA Award-winning plays (“SEED”), TV writing credits (“Empire”) and producing and writing TV shows (“She’s Gotta Have It”). Her side job? Sister Radha moonlights as a hip hop comedy rapper. If her eclectic resume intrigues you, so will this semiautobiographical film. And the story goes…

At the prime age of 40, playwright Blank thinks she should be a bit further along in her profession. The reality is, she’s teaching theater to students at a Harlem high school and hoping her agent and childhood friend Archie (Peter Y. Kim, TV’s “After Forever”) can get her theater piece, “Harlem Ave.,” staged by a creepy lecherous producer (Reed Birney, TV’s “Titans”). That’s where she’s at.

She has another ambition: becoming a respected rap artist. As “RadhaMUSprime,” she struggles to find her way in the hip hop world, but uses this experience as a meditation, a vessel for channeling her feelings. She gets a big assist from a young producer named D (Oswin Benjamin), who admires her talent as much as her soul. Yeah, it’s like that.

Blank, as the writer, director and central character exhibits a sage, urbane and self-deprecating persona that is simply irresistible. As the frustrated writer/ performer finds her way, there are more than enough obstacles on her path to make her journey worth the trip.

Radha Blank stars in “The Forty-Year-Old Version.”

When one particularly bitter student, Elaine (Imani Lewis, TV’s “Star”), chides her for her failures, you feel bad for her.

When Radha blows a rap debut at a club, your heart breaks.

When she wonders if her upcoming play is selling out her values as an artist, you understand her ambivalence.

It’s like nothing is going her way—unless she takes command. People in their 40s who are facing a midlife crisis will relate on a very deep level. Others will connect too.

Blank’s script is peppered with hip kids, love interests, demons, detractors and odd characters. The most curious is a homeless man, Lamont (Jacob Ming-Trent, “Watchman”), who loiters outside her apartment relieving himself on the street and verbally abusing passersby. He’s the kind of irritant that drives New Yorkers crazy. He’s also a one-man Greek chorus who watches and comments as his fortysomething neighbor faces career, friendship, love life, age, race and gender-related issues.

The dialogue is appropriate

for all the different characters from a brassy Latinx neighbor, to the kids who challenge her, the

two hours and nine minutes. At some point you’ll wish that editor (Robert Grigsby Wilson) had cut out around 10 meandering minutes.

Fortunately, the beguiling atmosphere Blank creates makes up for the film’s girth. The movie’s hip contemporary playlist is fun (music supervisor Guy Routte). The film’s look, from production design (Valeria De Felice, “Night Comes On”), art direction (Katie Fleming, “Night Comes On”) and the clothes everyone struts (costume designer Sarah Williams), thoroughly reflect the city, its vibe and inhabitants. It’s like a cool urban playland has been caught in motion (cinematographer Eric Branco, “Clemency”), making the filming of Radha’s stomping ground as alluring as a travelogue.

As a director, Blank’s style is The main storyline has enough diversions and vectors somewhat reminiscent of Sidney to keep audiences interested in Lumet’s. She takes a part of the

Radha Blank and Oswin Benjamin in “The Forty-Year-Old Version”

White directors/producers who Blank and her narrative for about just don't get her and the young- 90 minutes. However, the black er lover who could be her savior. and white footage goes on for

Photos courtesy of Netflix

neurotic campiness too, like early Woody Allen films. The drama evokes a cinema verité style, the kind that John Cassavetes and Spike Lee favor.

Blank pulls the most natural performances from the young actors: Haskiri Velazquez (TV’s “The Birch”) as the bold lesbian student, Imani Lewis as Radha’s nemesis, with Antonio Ortiz (Vox Lux) and T.J. Atoms (Hulu’s Wu-Tang: “An American Saga”) as Blank’s most ardent pupils.

They’re all so animated that they deserve their own show.

Ditto the hip hop folks—from D the romantic to the fierce women who dig into each other in the Bronx rap battle night dubbed “Queen of the Ring.” A smart producer would sign them up for a late-night cable show or streaming series.

As for Blank’s acting? Her comic thespian instincts are pretty sharp. When she just curls her face, wrinkles her nose or gives that stink eye, she says more in a glance than a page of dialogue.

Her timing is impeccable. Her antics can be as broad as Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball on the old “I Love Lucy” TV series or as nuanced as Loretta Devine on “The Carmichael Show.” Don’t be surprised if this movie spawns a cable series too.

As the film winds down, a horn section plays a moody, heady mixture of soul and jazz music. It’s an entrancing effect, one that will captivate audiences as they watch a vulnerable but resilient 40-year-old find her own voice.

“The Forty-year-old Version” opened October 2 in select theaters, and premiered on Netflix on October 9. For more info, visit www.netflix. com/title/80231356.

Dwight Brown is an NNPA city, builds a drama-sphere and News Wire film critic. Find more of plays it out with a stable con- his work at DwightBrownInk.com sistent tone. Her comedy has a and BlackPressUSA.com.

‘Bruh’ star Mahdi Cocci on how acting has humbled him said, “He takes care of everyone on set from cast to the crew, and that’s why everyone in turn strives to do their best for Model and actor Mahdi him.”

Another aspect of Cocci”s Cocci plays Dr. TheWholePackage on the Tyler Perry-pro- personal experience usually duced BET+ comedy “Bruh.” not represented on screen is Well, OK, not really. His character’s name is actually Dr. Tom Brooks.

However, the name is fitting, as Brooks is not only goodlooking and accomplished with a successful career, he’s also a really nice guy. He is one of a group of four successful 30-something Black men who have been friends since college and are now helping each other navigate the twin minefields of dating and careers.

Cocci was also memorable Mahdi Cocci as the hot, joke-stealing IT guy and potential threat to Issa his Muslim faith. It’s part of the Rae’s character’s relationship reason why he counts the Spike in the Netflix rom-com “The Lee biopic “Malcolm X” as one of his all-time favorite depicLovebirds.”

Highlighting vulnerability tions of Black men on screen. and professional success and “Malcolm X was somebody that eschewing hypermasculinity, was upheld in my household.

“Bruh” is bringing a slightly different take on Black men than television normally does.

“Some of the biggest compliments I’ve had,” Cocci explained, “are just people of all ethnicities and socioeconomic classes that told me, ‘Bruh reminds me of my buddy grow- I saw the movie as a kid and ing up’ or ‘You all are like how read the book in high school, I am with my friend group.’ and it definitely connected to That’s the ultimate goal in my my personal experience.” He counts the Alex Haley biogopinion.”

Of his boss Tyler Perry he raphy on which the film was

By Nadine Matthews Contributing writer

based as one of his favorite books as well.

Though Cocci has also appeared in small roles on shows such as “The Gifted,” “The Resident,” “Dynasty,” and even last year’s HBO blockbuster “The Watchmen,” he’s still just getting used to life as an actor and some of the existential challenges it can sometimes pose.

After successful careers in the Navy and as a model, “Swallowing my ego,” Cocci said, “has been one of the biggest challenges of pivoting to acting.”

The Minneapolis-born and raised Cocci was heavily recruited while in high school. He jokingly points to the Navy’s sartorial offerings as the main attraction for him. “I thought the white uniforms seemed pretty sharp!”

On a more serious note, he and his mother felt serving would be both honorable and practical. “The day after graduation I got a letter saying the

“You have to always be mindful of your ego and not let it get in the way of your learning and your progress.”

Navy had given me an ROTC scholarship. My mom and I just looked at each other and we both were like, ‘This isn’t a bad idea.’”

He’s never regretted the

Mahdi Cocci’s character Tom deals with the fallout from a workplace indiscretion in a scene from “Bruh.”

Photos courtesy BET decision and thinks that entering the Navy is something that might be beneficial to many young men in high school now contemplating their next step.

“I would say do your research so you know what you’re signing up for, but even on the enlisted side as well as the officer side, there are tons of opportunities opening up. I’ve seen people change their lives through this military option.”

Cocci also acknowledged that sometimes the Navy inculcated a habit of masking vulnerabilities. “At the time I always felt I had the responsibility of acting like I had things

under control even when I didn’t.” Invulnerability wasn’t exactly serving him well in a profession that demands being in touch with emotions and sharing with other actors. He had to overcome that tendency if he hoped to truly hone his craft.

“I’ve had to have people really help me let go of the pride behind my ego, and listening to them has really helped my acting journey. You have to always be mindful of your ego and not let it get in the way of your learning and your progress.

“A lot of my life I’ve been a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

That’s why acting is so interesting. Acting is almost like the first thing in my life that I’ve really chosen to do, and it was, like, difficult, and it took a lot of growing pains.”

Cocci suggested that acting has, in fact, humbled him.

“Other things that I've done I kind of happened upon and got somewhat lucky. With acting, I was the worst one in the class starting that journey. I just had to go through the pain of slowly getting better.”

Nadine Matthews welcomes reader responses to nmatthews@ spokesman-recorder.com.

8 October 22-29, 2020

Images courtesy of MGN

October 22-28, 2020

9

October 22-28, 2020

BULLETIN Apply now for energy and cold weather resources Help is available; know your rights and where to apply The Minnesota Department of Commerce and Minnesota Public Utilities Commission are reminding Minnesotans about two sources of help if home heating costs are unaffordable, the Energy Assistance Program and Cold Weather Rule.

“No Minnesotan should be without heat in their own home,” said Minnesota Commerce Department Temporary Commissioner Grace Arnold. “The Minnesota Energy Assistance Program is available to help Minnesotans pay for home heating costs, furnace repairs and fuel delivery.”

“The Cold Weather Rule is a critically important law that ensures Minnesotans don’t have their primary source of heat cut off in the cold winter months,” said Public Utilities Commission Chair Katie Sieben. “If you are having difficulties working with your utilities, please contact the Commission’s Consumer Affairs Office for assistance with Cold Weather Rule protections.”

“COVID-19 has brought financial uncertainty to all corners of the state and unfortunately more Minnesotans are now in need of, and eligible for, these programs,” added Chair Sieben.

Energy Assistance Program To get help, call 800-657-3710 and press 1, visit the Commerce Department’s Energy Assistance Program webpage or search for “energy assistance” at mn.gov/commerce for energy assistance information.

Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program can help households pay energy bills, get reconnected or prevent energy disconnection, get fuel delivered, learn about efficiency and safety, and repair or replace homeowners’ broken heating systems.

The Energy Assistance Program helps homeowners and renters with income at or below 50% of the state’s median income ($54,357 for a family of four) pay their heating bills. Last year, more than 117,000 Minnesota households received assistance with an average amount of more than $500 per household.

The program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Commerce Department administers the program in partnership with 29 local service providers across the state.

The Commerce Department encourages all who may qualify, especially families with children, seniors, disabled persons and veterans from across Minnesota to contact their local Energy Assistance Program service provider.

Households can find their local service provider by calling 800-657-3710 and at bit. ly/ColdWeaterResources. The Commerce Department recently mailed applications to households that qualified for energy assis-

Mayor Frey nominates Bryan Tyner to lead Minneapolis Fire Department Tyner has deep Mpls roots and has served the department for 25 years

tance last year.

Weatherization assistance provides homeowners and renters energy efficiency improvements to reduce energy costs for those that meet income eligibility guidelines.

Other forms of assistance may be available through county social service programs,

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (right) and Fire Chief-nominee Bryan Tyner meet in the mayor’s office.

Courtesy of the City of Minneapolis

Courtesy of Minnesota Department of Commerce community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies. To learn more about other assistance options, connect with your area’s local service provider by calling 800-657-3710.

Minnesota Cold Weather Rule Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule protects people from having their heat turned off from October 15 to April 15. All electric and natural gas companies are required to offer this protection.

Under the Cold Weather Rule, customers who have a combined household income at or below 50% of the state median income are not required to pay more than 10% of their household income toward current and past heating bills. Additionally, others who struggle to pay heating bills may be able to arrange a Cold Weather Rule payment plan and should contact their service provider to discuss their options.

To prevent heating disconnection or to reconnect service under the Cold Weather Rule, customers must first contact their utility to establish and maintain, or change, a monthly payment plan.

The Cold Weather Rule does not apply to delivered fuels such as fuel oil, propane or wood. However, Minnesotans who use these fuels are encouraged to contact the companies serving them to discuss payment options. For example, a state law requires that propane distributors offer all customers a budget plan.

The Cold Weather Rule is administered by the Commission. For more info, go to mn.gov/puc/consumers/help/ shut-off-protection or call the PUC’s Consumer Affairs Office at 651-296-0406 or 800-657-3782.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced Monday that he will nominate Assistant Chief Bryan Tyner to serve as the next chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD).

Tyner has held a litany of positions in the department prior to the nomination, including battalion chief, fire captain, fire marshal, training captain, fire motor operator, and firefighter.

“A son of the Northside, Bryan Tyner has made the safety and security of Minneapolis his life’s work,” said Frey. “Bryan has seen our city at its best and helped lead the department through some of Minneapolis’ most challenging moments. He will know how to handle whatever comes across his desk. His dedication to our city is beyond reproach, and I know that he will lead this department with integrity.”

Tyner would become the department’s second Black fire chief.

“It would be my distinct honor to serve this community as its next fire chief,” said Tyner.

“I intend to lead this organization into the future with integrity, honesty, and fairness.”

Hired in 1995, Tyner has played a pivotal role in making the department’s hiring practices more inclusive. He has also spearheaded new safety programming, worked with Minneapolis Public Schools and students to create pathways to a career in the MFD, and served as the President of the Minneapolis African American Professional Firefighters Association.

Frey’s decision to nominate Tyner comes after a competitive, national search that started in August. Tyner would replace John Fruetel, who has served the department for 41 years, including as Fire Chief since 2012.

Frey will put forth Tyner’s nomination at the Executive Committee Tuesday, October 20. The nomination will head to the Public Health & Safety Committee for consideration, with an anticipated vote from the full City Council on Friday, December 4.

—Info provided by the City of Minneapolis

Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Worship Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

Bethesda Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Billy G. Russell, Sr. Pastor

Rev. Arthur Agnew, Pastor

Rev. James C. Thomas, Pastor

451 West Central

St. Paul, MN 55103 651-227-4444

Church School 9:30 am Morning Worship 8:00 & 10:45 am Prayer Service:

Wednesday 7 pm "Welcome to

Mt. Olivet Baptist Church"

10

At the Old Landmark 1118 So. 8th Street Mpls., MN 55404 612-332-5904 www.bethesdamnonline.com bethesdamn@prodigy.net Sunday Service Times: Early Morning Service 9 am Sunday School 10 am Sunday Worship 11:30 am Wednesday Prayer Meeting, 6 pm Adult Bible Class 7 pm Children's Bible Class 7 pm

2600 E. 38th Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 www.greatfriend.org Phone: 612.827.7928 Fax: 612.827.3587 info@greatfriend.org Sundays 8:00am Sunday School 9:30am Worship Service The Friendly Church Where Everybody Is Somebody

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Doctor Charles Gill 732 W. Central Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 Sunday Worship Service: 9:45 AM Sunday School: 8:45 AM

Do you have a free event, service, or resource to share with the community? Send your MSR Bulletin submissions to msrnewsonline@spokesmanrecorder.com.

October 22-28, 2020

Legals

Employment Notice of Auctions:

Notice is hereby given that Beyond Self Storage at: 3100 Courthouse Lane Eagan, MN 55121 will sell at public auction, to satisfy the lien of the owner, personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below: Date: November 9, 2020 Time: 10:00 AM CST John Anderson 0065 Household, Doug Sowokinos 1116 Household, Jeremy Simenson 2077 Household, Deb Hagen 2142 Household, Timothy Crockett 3018 Household, Elizabeth Cruz-Cortes 3050 Household Notice is hereby given that Beyond Self Storage at 1315 Cope Ave East Maplewood, MN 55109 will sell at public auction, to satisfy the lien of the owner, personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below: Date: November 9, 2020 Time: 10:00 AM CST Margaret Curry 1063 & 1132 Household, Sheila Beverly 1045 Household, Willie Enlow 1080 Household, Johnell Moore 1145 Household, Christine Todora 1151 Household, Mark Thompson 2040 & 2277 household, Michael Malm 2053 Household, Jacques Muse 2070 Household, Heidi White 2078 Household, Jennifer Sherley 2106 Household, Brandy Bausch 2125 Household, Mong Yang 2130 Household, Jordan Tuhy 2132 Household, Jennifer Rishavy 2149 Household, Darin Mckinley 2161 Household, Spencer Anderson 2163 Household, Crystal Thompson 2223 Household, Tamika Anthony 3004 Household, Will Kemp 3148 Household, Jessica Hamilton 3166 Household, Pauline Thompson Smith 3174 Household, Tammy Brown 3215 Household, Larryana Belton 3262 Household, Angela Eder 1008 Household Notice is hereby given that Beyond Self Storage at: 345 Industrial Blvd NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 will sell at public auction, to satisfy the lien of the owner, personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below: Date: November 9, 2020 Time: 10:00 AM CST Danielle Bauman 1009 Household, Spencer Beseman 1138 Household, Ahmad McGruder 1172 Household, Dan Champagne 2031 Household The auctions above will be listed and advertised on www. storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Beyond Self Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 22 & 29, 2020

STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF HENNEPIN

DISTRICT COURT FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT CASE TYPE: REAL ESTATE

Robert Derek Burgess, Plaintiff, v.

Jerry Williams and Clarence Champion, Defendants.

SUMMONS Court File No. 27-CV-20-3516 THIS SUMMONS IS DIRECTED TO : JERRY WILLIAMS 1.YOU ARE BEING SUED. The Plaintiff has started a lawsuit against you. The Plaintiff's Complaint against you is on file in the Hennepin County District Court and has been mailed to you. Do not throw these papers away. They are official papers that affect your rights. You must respond to this lawsuit even though it may not yet be filed with the Court and there may be no court file number on this summons.

2.YOU MUST REPLY WITHIN 20 DAYS TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. You must give or mail to the person who signed this summons a written response called an Answer within 20 days of the date on which you received this Summons. You must send a copy of your Answer to the person who signed this summons located at: LAW OFFICES OF LARRY E. REED Larry E. Reed #155883 PO Box 43596 Minneapolis, MN 55443 (612) 529-3322 Direct 612-384-0076 3.YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written response to the Plaintiff's Complaint. In your Answer you must state whether you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the Plaintiff should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must say so in your Answer.

4.YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT SEND A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT TO THE PERSON WHO SIGNED THIS SUMMONS. If you do not Answer within 20 days, you will lose this case. You will not get to tell your side of the story, and the Court may decide against you and award the Plaintiff everything asked for in the complaint. If you do not want to contest the claims stated in the complaint, you do not need to respond. A default judgment can then be entered against you for the relief requested in the complaint.

5.LEGAL ASSISTANCE. You may wish to get legal help from a lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, the Court Administrator may have information about places where you can get legal assistance. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must still provide a written Answer to protect your rights or you may lose the case.

6.ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The parties may agree to or be ordered to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. You must still send your written response to the Complaint even if you expect to use alternative means of resolving this dispute.

THIS LAWSUIT MAY AFFECT OR BRING INTO QUESTION TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY located in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota, legally described as follows: [ East view Heights addition to Minneapolis Block None - Lot(s) 014 meetbounds West 75 83over 100 feet] Street address, 4201 10th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407.

The object of this action is to clear the title to the above property.

Dated: October 7, 2020.

11

LAW OFFICES OF LARRY E. REED Larry E. Reed #155883 PO Box 43596 Minneapolis, MN 55443 (612) 529-3322 Direct 612-384-0076 Fax (612) 529-5229 lereed@twincitylawyers.com /s/ Larry E. Reed

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 15, 22, and 29, 2020

State of Minnesota Hennepin County

District Court

Court File From Display AdNumber: 27-FA-20-3376 Case Type: Dissolution without Children Department/MN In Re the Marriage of: Spokesman-Recorder N’yalen Camara Summons PHONE: 612-827-4021 x and �Without Real Estate FOR BILLING

�With Real Estate INQUIRIES Bangaly Diane & TEARSHEETS PLEASE CONTACT THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED ACCOUNTING DEPT RESPONDENT: WARNING: Your spouse has filed a lawsuit against you for dissolution of your marriage. A copy of paperwork regarding the lawsuit is served on you EMPLOYMENT DISPLAY with this summons. This summons is an official document from the court SIZE: 2 COL X 8.5 INCHES = 17 that affects your rights. Read this summons carefully. If you do not understand it, contact an attorney for legal advice.

RATE $42.00 PER COL. INCH

SUBspouse) TOTAL: $714.00 The Petitioner (your has filed a lawsuit asking for a dissolution of your marriage (divorce). A copy of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is attached to this Summons.

1.

TOTAL FOR 2 WEEKS = $1428.00

You must serve upon Petitioner and file with the Court a written Answer to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and you must pay the required filing fee. Answer forms are available from the Court Administrator’s office. You must serve your Answer upon Petitioiner within thirty (30) days of the date you were served with this Summons, not counting the day of service. If you do not serve and file your Answer, the Court may give your spouse everything he or she is asking for in thewith Petition for Dissolution of Please proof, respond email confirmaMarriage.

2.

tion todisplay@spokesman-recorder.com.

x

OR � This proceeding does not involve real property.

NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING PROVISIONS Under Minnesota law, service of this summons makes the following requirements apply to both parties to the action, unless they are modified by the court or the proceeding is dismissed.

1.

Neither party may dispose of any assets except (a) for the necessities o f life or for the necessary generation of income or preservation of assets, (b) by an agreement of the parties in writing, or (c) for retaining counsel to carry on or to contest this proceeding.

2.

Neither party may harass the other party.

3.

All currently available insurance coverage muyst be maintained and continued without change in coverage or beneficiary designation.

4.

Parties to a marriage dissolution proceeding are encouraged to attempt alternative dispute resolution pursuant to Minnesota law. Alternative dispute resolution includes mediation, arbitrations and other processes as set forth in the district court rules. You may contact the court administrator about resources in your area. If you cannot pay for mediation or alternative dispute resolution, in some counties, assistance may be available to you through a nonprofit provider or a court program. If you are a victim of domestic abuse or threats as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 518B, you are not required to try mediation and you will not be penalized by the court in later proceedings.

IF YOU VIOLATE ANY OF THESE PROVISIONS, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS BY THE COURT.

Dated: 4/30/20 Hennepin County, MN

Nyalen Camara Brooklyn Center, MN

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 8, 15, & 22, 2020

Fitz

since 1988. That should finally end in 2020.

Continued from page 12

Larry Fitzgerald is a longstanding contributing columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

He can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, on WDGY-AM 740 Monday and Friday at 9:10 am, and at www.

Gamedaygold.com. He also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on “Almanac” (TPT channel 2). Follow him on Twitter at FitzBeatSr. Larry welcomes reader responses to info@ larry-fitzgerald.com, or visit www.

Larry-Fitzgerald.com.

From Classified MLB. They beat Toronto and theDepartment/MN New York Yankees in the DiSpokesman-Recorder vision Series in game five5.

And in ALCS they won game PHONE: 612-827-4021 seven over the Houston Astros, the 2019 World Series runner-up FOR and mostBILLING hated team in MLB hisINQUIRIES tory, surviving the cheating scanTEARSHEETS dal.&They are small market, small PLEASE budget.

TheyCONTACT are talented and ACCOUNTING DEPT lean heavily on power pitching.

Here we go, the Fall Classic in SUMMONS prime time. Will anybody watch RATE $200 it? FLAT The Dodgers have not won

SOE Continued from page 12 “We did all coaching positions” such as head coach, associate HC, assistant coach, director of operations, graduate assistant and others, said Tucker Center Director Nicole LaVoi in an MSR phone interview shortly after the report card was released last month.

The report “reinforces the idea that as the [coaching] position becomes more powerful and lucrative from grad assistant to assistant, to associate to head coach, we have fewer women,” she noted. “There’s something at the assistant coach level where women are dropping out to a greater degree than men. We need to understand why.”

The data for the 2019-20 report was collected between October 2019 and January 2020 by examining school athletic departments’ websites and reviewing coaching staff rosters. It also looked at “leaks” in the coaching pipeline that are having an adverse effect on hiring more women and coaches of color.

“If we are going to make any societal change, we have to understand at one point in the pipeline [why] we are losing women so we can develop policies and programs to help these women coaches,” LaVoi stressed.

The Tucker Center report,

Software Engineer VITS Consulting Corp has openings for the position Software Engineer with Master’s degree in Computer Science,Engineering any,Technology or related to design, develop, implement, maintain, test business functions, web applications using variety of languages, tools, methodologies and technologies. Develop, create and modify general computer applications software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions. Design software or customize software for client use with the aim of optimizing efficiency.

Work location is Plymouth,MN with required travel to client locations throughout the USA.Please mail resumes to 3350 Annapolis Lane N, Suite A, Plymouth, MN 55447 (OR ) email : jobs-p@vitsconsulting.com Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 15 & 22, 2020

Staff Attorneys – Family Law Central Minnesota Legal Services seeks full-time attorneys for Mpls office. Licensed in MN pref’d. Post-law school family law exp pref’d. Spanish or Somali language a plus. Salary D.O.E. up to $61,218. Excellent benes.

Resume with references and writing sample to Tina Collins-Foye CMLS 111 N 5th St #402 Mpls, MN 55403 or email to: info@centralmnlegal.org.

App. deadline: 010/30/2020 or until filled. EOE.

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

Tracey Williams-DillarD

cecil e. NeWmaN

Publisher/CEO

Founder-Publisher 1934-1976

Wallace (Jack) JackmaN Co-Publisher Emeritus

l auNa Q. NeWmaN CEO/Publisher 1976-2000

Norma JeaN Williams Vice President Emeritus

Senior Editor Jerry Freeman

Account Representatives Cecilia Viel

Community Editor Mel Reeves

Contributing Writers

Digital Editor Paige Elliott

Dr. Deirdre Golden

Desktop Publisher Jennifer Cherrier

Dr. Clarence Hightower

Contributing Photographers

Abeni Hill

Onika Nicole Craven

Dwight Hobbes

Steve Floyd

Tiffany Johnson

Chris Juhn

Brandon Jones

Travis Lee

Dr. Charles E. Crutchfield III Aleezeh Hasan

Customer Service Representative Keisha Holmes Vice President of Strategic Planning John Jamison

Tony Kiene

Abdi Muhommed Monica Zorilla Sports Writers Larry Fitzgerald Charles Hallman Dr. Mitchell P. McDonald

Juliet Mitchell Khymyle Mims

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

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

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

SUBSCRIPTION RATES:In-state $35 yearly • Outside Minnesota $40 yearly All subscriptions payable in advance.

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER

Study

“There is a lot going on,” surmised Fenton, which includes a 26-game conference schedule Continued from page 12 and two-part format. There will however, did not take into ac- coaches, and then really help us be a centralized location, known count the more recent hiring of identify the areas where we can as the Pod, at the University of Black coaches. “We will pick have an impact,” said Fenton Nebraska-Omaha where all eight up on the hires of Lawson and during the Oct. 16 media call on NCHC teams will play 10 games [Notre Dame’s Niele] Ivey, and the league’s 2020-21 season plans. each during the first three weeks all the other women [of color] Shortly after establishing the of December. Then in January who were hired after December NCHC Student-Athlete Task each team will host games on of 2019,” explained LaVoi. Force in spring of 2019 to look at their respective campuses for the The need for more Black diversity and inclusion among second part of the schedule. women coaches isn’t just at the other items of importance, FenThe continuing coronavirus college level, but at the pro level ton talked exclusively to the MSR pandemic forced such a first-time as well. There were no WNBA (Nov. 28, 2019): “Student-athletes setup, Fenton stressed. “It’s diffiBlack female head coaches this are faced with different types of cult to regionalize a conference season, and only three Black issues on a day-to-day basis. One that spans three time zones,” he females were on the two teams’ of the things I think is going to be concluded. “We looked at how coaching staffs that played for very important is diversity and we could limit our travel. It is our this year’s title—Noelle Quinn inclusion,” stressed the NCHC best opportunity to start the seafor champion Seattle, and Las commissioner. son safely.”

Vegas’ Vickie Johnson (a former After George Floyd’s death in HC) and Tanisha Wright, all May, the NCHC released a stateformer WNBA players. Lawson ment against racial injustices and Our condolences to the Sid and Ivey were among several police violence against Blacks. Hartman family. The longtime Black female assistant coaches Since then, the league task force, Star Tribune sportswriter died on NBA teams. which consists of Fenton, two Sunday at age 100. His final Minnesota this season had coaches, two athletic directors, column was published that day, two Black females and former two faculty athletics representa- the last of 119 columns and over Lynx players as assistants: Ple- tives and a member school presi- 21,000 bylines of his nearly 75nette Pierson and Rebekkah dent or chancellor, have met sev- year career beginning in 1945. All Brunson. eral times, said Fenton. of us who have been around the “We need to work with the “I do believe that in the next local sports scene have a Sid story teams more on when there are month or so we will have an or two. openings,” WNBA Commis- initiative in place and a focus for sioner Cathy Engelbert told the the year,” he announced. “We are Charles Hallman welcomes MSR before the Finals last month. doing things like campus assess- reader responses to challman@ ments on each of our campuses spokesman.recorder.com.

Next: Several Black coaches and having discussions with talk about their long journeys to each of our athletic directors on their present jobs. their understanding of what their Charles Hallman welcomes campus is like.” reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

12

October 22-28, 2020

WORLD SERIES: Tampa Bay vs.

Los Angeles

Fitz Beat Larry FitzgeraLd

W

e will have a World Series in 2020. Back on March 12 when all the games stopped, that likelihood could not have been remotely considered. But after much negotiation, MLB and the MLBPA settled on a 60-game sprint of a season, 30 games at home, 30 on the road.

Playing during a pandemic is never advised. There were many obstacles like playing games with no fans and in front of cardboard cutouts, and testing members of the media by checking their temperature before entering games.

It's been a challenge, but so far no positive COVID-19 test for me. That has been a blessing. Sitting in press boxes with a mask on is no fun—no ability to eat hot dogs and peanuts. Man, we have to overcome this coronavirus.

So far 220,000 have died in the United States. Millions of jobs have been lost. The sports world has leaned on the communications industry, radio and television, to survive.

I'm talking financially. The networks, local and regional television and radio have been

Lynx roster in review

the life blood. It has kept many from losing their minds. Television has suffered steep losses in ratings.

The viewership of the 2020 NBA Finals fell about 50 percent compared with 2019.They were not alone. MLB's playoffs he Minnesota Lynx earliDivision Series, hockey's Stanley er this month ended the Cup Finals, the U.S. Open and 2020 WNBA “Wubble” French Open, tennis, golf's U.S. season in the league’s semifinals, Open—all have fallen by at least falling to eventual champion Se40 percent. attle. Here’s a look at the roster Due to lots of factors all re- as we give each player either a K lated to the pandemic, all the (keep) or a G (gone) for 2021: sports leagues were playing si• Kayla Alexander, age 29, multaneously. The NBA Finals 6-4 C. Didn’t play much – G are usually in June in the sum• Rachel Banham, age 27, mer. The Stanley Cup Finals are 5-9 G. Became comfortable late usually in May. as sixth woman – K People are not getting togeth• Lexie Brown, age 26, 5-9 er as much for health reasons G. Dealt with concussions and due to the virus. Our habits are inconsistencies throughout year changing using cells phones – K and streaming. And with no • Bridget Carleton, age 23, fans, the events lose their impact 6-1 F. Played herself into serviceand seem not as important. It's able role – K a strange time, but football the • Napheesa Collier, age 24, NFL is king. Then comes base- 6-1 F. 2nd team All-WNBA, beball, so the World Series is usu- came team leader – K ally at this time and there will be • Crystal Dangerfield, age some fans, so we'll see.

22, 5-6 G. Surpassed all expecHere's the bottom line: The tations, won 2020 ROY, team’s National League Champion Los leading scorer – K Angeles Dodgers were 43-17 • Damiris Dantas, age 28, and hit 116 home runs, the most 6-3 F. Became reliable 2nd scorer in MLB. They are a big market – K team, Los Angeles, with a big • Sylvia Fowles, age 35, 6-6 payroll and big expectations in C. First injury-marred season in the number-two television mar- her career, should rebound – K ket. They beat Milwaukee, San • Mikiah Herbert HarriDiego, and rallied to survive gan, age 22, 6-1 F. Overseas play Atlanta in game seven. should help her growth as pro – American League Cham- K pion Tampa Bay is in the • Shenise Johnson, age 30, World Series for just the sec- 5-11 G. Never met expectations, ond time. They were 40-20, struggled to regain form – G the second-best record in • Erica McCall, age 25, 6-2 F. Late acquisition, should get ■ See Fitz on page 11

T

Lack of women coaches due to ‘leaks’ in coaching pipeline

Lynx coaching staff (l-r) Katie Smith, Rebekkah Brunson, Cheryl Reeve, Plenette Pearson

T

his year’s coronavirus outbreak didn’t stop the typical off-season firing and hiring of college coaches, but it did produce since March an unprecedented wave of Blacks hired as women’s basketball coaches. Also, all but

Duke WBB HC Kara Lawson

one of the 15 Blacks hired as head coaches over the off-season are females.

“I wanted to be a coach since I was a kid,” said Kara Lawson, who’s in her first head coaching job at Duke as the first Black head coach in school history.

“I’m really happy for the opportunities to succeed at the highest level.”

Florida A&M’s Shalon Pillow added, “This is not an opportunity I take lightly, because there have been so many coaches who don’t get this opportunity, especially coaches of color. I

“There’s something at the assistant coach level where women are dropping out. We need to understand why.” know that I have a responsibility to represent as well because that would open up more opportunities for coaches down the line.”

Yet, as Black coaches remain in relatively low numbers compared to their White counterparts, the latest Tucker Center’s Women’s College Coaching Report Card points out that men still outnumber women as women’s college team coaches.

Women overall hold 1,501 of 3,555 Division I head coaching positions across 32 conferences (42%), 0.2 percent higher than in 2018-19; but men still hold the majority (58%) of these jobs.

Photos courtesy of Twitter

■ See SOE on page 11

Rachel Banham training camp invite – K • Odyssey Sims, age 26, 5-8 G. Expect to return in top form after having baby this year – K Cheryl Reeve wears two hats, general manager and head coach.

The latter earned her this season’s coach-of-the-year honors

Napheesa Collier will look like?” she told reporters, including the MSR, at season’s end. “We have some real key pieces, and we had a good look at [others]. There are so many unknowns.”

A 2021 Minnesota frontcourt of Fowles, Collier and Dantas is

“Who knows what 2021 will look like? There are so many unknowns.”

agents this off season, but Minnesota’s success in this market over the years has been mixed at best: Alexander was the team’s only FA signing this year.

“We can’t control free agency, but we have money to spend,” declared Reeve.

Ten Lynx players are under contract for next season, including Jessica Shepard, who missed the past two seasons due to an ACL injury. If she returns and picks up where she left off before her unfortunate injury in her 2019 rookie season, Shepard gives Minnesota a solid rebounder.

And the Lynx has negotiating rights with Carleton, Cecilia Zandalasini and Temi Fagbenle—the latter two opted not to play this season. And All-Star Maya Moore is still under contract.

“I don’t know what’s next, but we certainly need more,” surmised the Minnesota GM-coach.

“You never come back exactly the same. There will be some people who will not be here [next season].”

a formable one, and Dangerfield and Sims as starting guards can be nightmarish for opponents.

Banham should be more comfortable next year and be consistent as sixth woman. Carleton played herself into a valuable reserve role, or spot starter when needed.

We like Brown, who Minnesota traded for in 2019, but her inconsistency during her two years for the Lynx has overshadowed Coach Cheryl Reeve her talent. Perhaps a third season will be the charm.

And it is too soon to pull the as she guided one of the league’s youngest teams to a fourth seed. plug on Hebert Harrigan, the “I think Coach Reeve has done team’s 2020 top draft pick who Charles Hallman welcomes readan absolutely amazing job,” said must get stronger. Hopefully er responses to challman@spokesthat will come during her over- man-recorder.com.

Lynx Analyst Lea B. Olsen.

But as GM, Reeve must not seas assignment this off season.

There will be a bounty of free stay pat. “Who knows what 2021 Photos courtesy of Twitter

New study: racism a top concern among college athletes and coaches

By Charles Hallman Contributing writer Racism remains a top concern on college campuses as well as in the country at large, says a new study. The Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), a national nonprofit started in 2015 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, last week released results from a three-year datagathering project that began in 2017.

Study authors talked to over 6,200 college athletes and 1,200 coaches and athletic staff from 50 U.S. colleges and universities about their perception of, among other things, racism and social justice issues. The findings are as follows: • 91% of college athletes and 95% of coaches and staff see racism as a concern in the U.S. • 65% of college athletes and 76% of coaches and staff see racism as a concern on campus.

• 65% of college athletes and 77% of coaches and staff say racism has directly affected somewhere close to a majority of athletes and coaches and staff.

• Nearly 80% of college athletes feel obligated to raise awareness about social justice issues.

• 85% of college athletes say they are willing to speak up and be more active on social issues.

• 74% of college athletes and 85% of coaches and staff say they want to learn more about addressing race, diversity and inclusion issues.

NCHC Commissioner Josh Fenton • 67% of coaches and staff believe college athletes have an obligation to raise awareness around social justice issues.

MSR file photo

universities (Carlton, Macalester, University of St. Thomas), the MIAC and the Sanneh Foundation. They also worked with

“It’s difficult to regionalize a conference that spans three time zones.”

RISE, an alliance of sports leagues, organizations, athletes, educators, media and sports professionals, has since its founding worked with local pro teams (Minnesota Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves), colleges and

the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), Commissioner Josh Fenton told the MSR last week.

“They are going to help us in further climate discussions, and surveying student-athletes and ■ See Study on page 11