October 8, 2020 - MN Spokesman-Recorder

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THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934 October 8-14, 2020 Vol. 87 No. 10

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‘Good trouble’ school principals push back

By Analise Pruni Contributing writer In August, a group of Minnesota Metro Area school principals and assistant principals pledged to engage in more equitable educational practices by de-centering Whiteness in learning systems, among several other directives.

They call themselves the “Good Trouble” principals, inspired by the late John Lewis. "Do not get lost in a sea of despair,” said Lewis.

“Be hopeful, be optimistic.

Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Photos by Chris Juhn

Proprietors of the “Community Commons” businesses at Mall of America

MOA’s temporary ‘Community Commons’ aids local small businesses MSR News Service

T

he Mall of America has opened a 5 , 0 0 0 - s q u a re - f o o t space it is calling “Commu-

Joyce Sanders of Urban 29

nity Commons as a rent-free home to 17 small businesses owned primarily by proprietors of Color. Community Commons is located on Level Two on the west side of the Mall.

“Mall of America joins the efforts to help rebuild the hearts, minds, and livelihoods of our diverse retail community,” said Jill Renslow, executive VP of business development and marketing at MOA. “We are proud to welcome these businesses to Mall of America where guests will be introduced to an even greater slice of what our retail community has to offer beyond the doors of Mall of America.”

The Mall of America’s idea

Mauri Friestleben North High prinicipal ■See PRINCIPALS on page 5

Black volunteers needed for COVID trials

Art Piece Soul Gallery & Studio, LLC shares space with Llakta. was to invite into the Mall space 17 small businesses that were adversely affected by COVID-19 and/or civil un-

Dave Wanpue of 4 the Love

rest as the result of the police killing of George Floyd last Memorial Day and thereby introduce them to the broader community. Most of the small businesses were online with the exception of Urban 29, llakta and Herbal Alcehmy.

Urban 29 was located on the corner of Lake and Chicago avenues in South Minneapolis, and llakta and Herbal Alcehmy were located in the Global Market. Captain Rebel was and is still located in Uptown Minneapolis.

“I like the concept. I think it’s a great idea and a great opportunity,” said Joyce Sanders, owner of Urban 29, whose former Lake Street clothing store was burned down during the riots follow-

ing the death of Floyd.

“I miss my old location because it was mine and I had a bit more control over the presentation, but I am grateful to be at the Mall,” explained Sanders.

“Hopefully I can stay or get my own space in the Mall— that has been one of my goals.

I am hoping people shop with me, because at Urban 29 we have our own exclusive brand. Many of the items I sell are not in the Twin Cities, and most of what I sell is high quality yet trendy men and women’s clothing.

“We are getting noticed, lots of browsers, but some customers walk in and walk out,” Sanders said. “We need people who would appreciate

By Charles Hallman Contributing writer According to the APM Research Lab, one in 1,000 Blacks in this country has died from COVID-19. Because the virus has had a disproportionate impact on the Black population and the COVID vaccine research is well underway, there is a need to recruit more Black volunteers for coronavirus vaccine trials.

A clinical trial is a research study in which participants voluntary take part in supervised treatments from doctors and other research professionals. Among the selection criteria are considerations of age, gender and previous medical conditions.

The trials typically consist of three phases before the Food and

■See COMMONS on page 5

Minneapolis police chase leads to tragic crash The incident calls into question yet again the wisdom of police chases that can on occasion lead to tragedy.

It also brought into focus the Tragedy and loss followed a police chase on Monday morn- problem of youth with too much ing that ended with three young time on their hands, which the men ages 14 through 15 dead COVID pandemic has aggraon Minneapolis’ North Side. vated by forcing the shutdown

By Mel Reeves Community editor

of gyms and other facilities that usually serve as youth diversions.

Three people in a vehicle that was taken during a carjacking died when the driver crashed during a police chase in Minneapolis, according to police.

The crash scene was filled with young people who have become

all too familiar with death and loss, and older people with lots of opinions about why this may have happened. All were at an obvious loss to explain the senseless loss of life.

According to Minneapolis police, at 1:44 am October 5 officers spotted a car near Dowling and

Logan avenues that had been taken during a "carjacking with force" the morning before. When police tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver fled “at a high rate of speed,” police said.

During the ensuing chase, the suspect vehicle "got substantially ahead" of police. They saw the ■See TRAGEDY on page 5

Dr. Kumi Smith Photo courtesy of U-M School of Public Health ■See TRIALS on page 5

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October 8-14, 2020

Black Lion Foundation aims to ignite Black economic growth

By Marquis Taylor Contributing writer Creating and sustaining economic growth has long been a challenge for many African Americans in the Twin Cities. As African Americans account for less than 10% of Minnesota’s population, many have found themselves on the deficit end of the state’s celebrated wealth and prosperity. Looking to reshape this narrative is community leader and businessman James Holmes Jr. Driven by the economic plight and disparities that have afflicted the Black community, Holmes, who spent many years working in corporate finance, is responding to this call to action through the rise of the Black Lion Foundation, a nonprofit organization that intends to stabilize the economic growth of Minneapolis’ African American population.

Under the umbrella of Black Lion Inc., which also houses Holmes’ car dealership, Black Lion Auto, the Black Lion Foundation is an all-in-one mentoring program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs to establish their own businesses. Wanting to conceptualize a program that could jumpstart Minneapolis’ economy and its Black community, Holmes officially launched the foundation this past spring.

“The Black Lion Foundation is set up to be an economic development igniter in Minneapolis, particularly in the Black community,” said Holmes.

“This is a population that has been vastly overlooked throughout time, so instead of listening to fancy speeches and eloquent prose, I decided to just start where I am and become an igniter.”

Raised in South Minneapolis, Holmes is deeply rooted in the community. With the success of his car dealership and other businesses, he intended to enter into the nonprofit arena as a means to put words into action.

However, those plans became expedited following the murder of George Floyd, who was killed blocks away from Phelps Park, the area where Holmes was raised. Floyd’s murder also struck a raw nerve in Holmes and recalibrated his focus for serving

that are grounded in the vision and mission of the Black Lion Foundation. One aspect of that vision and mission is to employ or coordinate employment for at least 120 people with good-paying jobs within the 12 next months.

Another aspect of that vision and mission is launching 60 Black-owned and operated businesses within the next 16 months. With this, Holmes wants to alleviate any barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to become participants in the program.

“In the Black Lion Foundation, we spend a lot of time developing entrepreneurs and assisting them in all that they do. We cover all their costs including licensing, website design and development, logos,

“A lot of what we do is financial literacy, and quite frankly it’s badly needed in our communities.” the Black community.

“I started my car dealership a year ago, and in that original business plan was accommodations for the Black Lion Foundation, “explained Holmes.

“Initially, I thought it was going to take a while before we started with the foundation. After the murder of George Floyd, that process become accelerated. So, instead of continuing to postpone my service involvement, I got involved the next day.”

Lending his services to the Minneapolis community also equates to high expectations

you name it, we pay for it all, “Holmes explained.

“I do that for a reason, because a lot of what we do is financial literacy, and quite frankly it’s badly needed in our communities. In Black communities where there is a concentration of African Americans that live there, many do not own the majority of the homes and don’t own a majority of the businesses.

So, in essence we give our money away to people that don’t look like us, which means we don’t have anything to show for it. As one

James Holmes Jr. person and as a company, I want take a step forward and change that.”

Since its inception the Black Lion Foundation has already helped many aspiring entrepreneurs execute their vision into reality. One of those beneficiaries is local chef and caterer Bianca Cooper.

“When I first met James, I was struggling with my logo and getting my concept down pat,” said Cooper. She operates a business under the name Chef B and learned about the organization during a time when she was attempting to get her catering company off the ground.

“After telling him the

Photo by Marquis Taylor things I wanted to do, he was able to hone into an element of my business which was fresh and healthy eating.

He also helped me to get my business registered with the State of Minnesota and then helped me by purchasing a laptop because I didn’t have the resources to develop my website.”

Cooper’s experience is one of the many success stories that the Black Lion Foundation has had with its participants. In addition to working with Holmes, participants are also able to connect with industry leaders from across the Twin Cities during weekly meetings that take place at New Salem Missionary Bap-

tist Church, located in North Minneapolis.

“Going to the membership meetings has really been helpful because they’ve been able to inspire and empower Black people and the community,” said Cooper. “The meetings also help us to work and come together, which lets us realize that we can use our talents to become financially stable.

“After working 35 years in business and finance, I’ve accumulated a lot of information, knowledge, and resources,” said Holmes. “Now it’s my responsibility to share it, disseminate that information, and pass it forward. We work with people from all walks of life, and our goal is to meet people where they are. That’s why I define the Black Lion Foundation as a boots-on-theground operation, because I want to see the people, meet the people, and address their needs.”

The Black Lion Foundation hosts weekly meetings every Wednesday at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church beginning at 6 pm. New Salem Baptist Church is located at 2507 N. Bryant Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55411 For more information about the Black Lion Foundation visit their website: www.blacklionfoundation.com Marquis Taylor welcomes reader responses to mtaylor@ spokesman-recorder.com.

Obituary

Norma Jean Thomas Hancock Sunrise, May 18, 1941 — Sunset, August 21, 2020

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the peaceful passing of Norma Jean Thomas Hancock also affectionately known as “Pinky” on Friday, August 21, 2020, in San Pedro, California at the age of 79.

Pinky is remembered as a caring mother, grandmother and great-grandmother with a compassionate soul who cared deeply. She shared her abundant love for others.

Growing up, Pinky lived with her family in St. Paul, Minnesota, and she graduated from Mechanic Arts Vocational High School. She was a member of St. James A.M.E. Church in St. Paul and also a debutante.

Pinky got married and she moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, in 1966. She loved traveling back to Minnesota to visit her beloved family and for Rondo Days every year.

She lived a very healthy and active lifestyle enjoying yoga, senior activities, singing and special time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She also enjoyed cooking, loved traveling and most recently visited London and Nigeria.

Pinky was an active member of her family reunion committee—Blakey, Blakley and White— and she was excited to see her family every two years. She loved volunteering at her grandchildren’s schools, attending field trips, and her favorite event was Grandparents’ Day. Despite her joys in life, Pinky grieved the deaths of her parents Leon and Carrie Blakey Thomas, and her sister Bettye Joyce Dean.

Missing Pinky are her four children: William Hancock, III (Clarenda); Terrace Dawn Hancock; Daphne Jean Hancock Ashford and Jason Butler (Anita); her sister Colleen Thomas-Matlon; her eight grandchildren; and a host of family and friends who Pinky loved dearly—all of whom will hold her in their hearts forever.

October 8-14, 2020

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Is it safe to get a mammogram during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Dr. Valerie Lemaine, M.D., M.P.H. Contributing writer As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is why I want to address a very important topic: screening mammograms. Since the pandemic began, there has been a sharp decline in preventative medical care due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.

Many people chose to push back routine medical appointments for fear of contracting the virus. Furthermore, for approximately two months last spring, all screening mammograms were postponed in Minnesota (and in many other states in the country) during the stay-athome order.

With the COVID-19 pan-

demic, we know that there is always a possibility of contracting the virus in any public setting. With that said, skipping an important cancer screening is risky, too. Breast cancer screening is the most reliable way to detect breast cancer at an early stage, when the disease is more likely to be smaller and easier to treat.

As a breast reconstruction specialist, I am concerned that we will start seeing more advanced stages of breast cancer because people are not getting screened and diagnosed early. Delaying a screening mammogram for one or two months is unlikely to be dangerous, but postponing it for 6-12 months is enough time to allow a cancer that could have been caught early to grow and spread, making it more difficult to treat and potentially impossible to cure.

age 40? It is important to be aware of these differences to help you make informed decisions about your health.

When trying to decide whether or not to postpone your annual screening mammogram, consider your own health risks. Answering the following questions should help you make a safe decision given your specific circumstances: What is your personal risk of developing breast cancer?

• Do you have any family members who were diagnosed with breast cancer?

• Are you aware of a genetic predisposition for breast cancer in your family, such as a BRCA gene mutation?

• Do you feel a lump in one of your breasts?

What is your risk for complications if you were infected with COVID-19?

• Do you have any mediWhen should you start cal conditions, such as a getting annual screening chronic lung disease like emmammograms?

Most guidelines from physema, or a heart disease medical expert associations that make you more vulnerrecommend starting at age 40. able to COVID-19?

In addition, women at high If you have answered “yes” risk for developing breast cancer should begin screen- to at least one of the above questions on breast cancer ing at an earlier age.

But did you know that risk, or if you feel a lump in since 2015, the American one of your breasts, your risk Cancer Society modified their of developing breast cancer guidelines and now recom- likely outweighs the risk of mends that women with an catching COVID-19 while average breast cancer risk can you are getting your screenstart annual screening mam- ing mammogram. Conversely, mograms at age 45 instead of if you are at average risk for

Courtesy MGN breast cancer and answered “no” to all the questions on breast cancer risk, but if you are at high risk for developing complications from COVID-19, it is probably safe to delay your screening mammogram (especially if you had one in the previous year), as long as you clear this with your primary care doctor.

Screening mammograms are currently available in Minnesota with enhanced safety protocols in place to keep patients and employees healthy, including screening for COVID-19 symptoms, wearing face masks, hand sanitizing, physical distancing to ensure a six-foot dis-

vate practice in Edina, MN. She received her M.D. from University of Montreal, Canada, where she also completed her plastic surgery. She obtained her M.P.H. from Columbia University, NY, USA. She also completed a reconstructive microsurgical fellowship at Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Lemaine then accepted a staff position at the prestigious Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) where she worked as a plastic surgeon, taught and published clinical research. In 2018, she transitioned to private practice and joined Plastic Dr. Valerie Lemaine, M.D., Surgery Consultants and MinM.P.H., is a top-ranked, board- nesota Oncology. certified plastic surgeon in pritance from others, and disinfection of equipment between exams. Most facilities also have extended hours to avoid crowded waiting rooms.

If you are concerned about going to a hospital to obtain your mammogram, it is important to note that these tests are also available in different facilities outside of hospital settings, including radiology or imaging centers. Talk to your healthcare provider about your risk for breast cancer and the best screening option for you.

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October 8-14, 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.

Even the pandemic favors the profiteers

By Bob Hennelly

‘Worst debate’ could have been predicted by even worse politics but opposed by the candidate now representing the Party.

By Glen Ford “You just lost the left,” The incoherence of the Trump twice hollered, wishBiden-Trump debate will be fully. In an actual democracy repeated every election cycle the Democrats would, inuntil Blacks and progressives deed, have committed politibreak with the corporate duo- cal suicide by nominating a corporate hack and career poly.

The rich man’s media are race-baiter like Biden as their calling it “the worst debate standard-bearer.

But the U.S. is a corporate in modern American history,”

you different is in on the con game.

The corporate Democratic stranglehold on Black America results in Black voters electing officials to office who resist the demands put forward by Black protesters in the street. We cheer the Black Lives Matter activists that demand defunding, abolishing and community-controlling

“There is nothing smart or ‘strategic’ about falling for the same trick every election cycle and anybody that tells you different is in on the con game.” but that’s because the truth is often painful to watch. The Biden-Trump confrontation revealed, with crystalline clarity, that the real “genius” of the American electoral process is its total imperviousness to popular demands for a healthier, more just and less economically precarious society and a peaceful, ecologically stable world.

Instead, the Democratic alternative to the White supremacist Republican in the White House is—another lifelong racist, mass-incarcerating, corporate-serving, warmongering old White man.

“The party is me, right now.

I am the Democratic Party,” Joe Biden shot back at the “clown” Donald Trump, who repeatedly tried to associate the former vice president with the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and Black Lives Matter demands to rein in the police — all issues supported by super-majorities of Democrats, and even large chunks of Republican voters,

dictatorship where the rich have two parties and the rest of us effectively have none.

The voters that Trump referred to in the debate as “the left,” are actually at the center of the U.S. political spectrum, where super-majorities favor the positions taken by Bernie Sanders during the primaries. Exit polls in South Carolina and on “Super Tuesday” showed that the same Democrats that voted for Joe Biden nevertheless favored Sanders’ positions on the issues, but opted for Biden in fear of Trump and his rabid White Man’s Party. It’s a simple formula that allows Democrats to promise their base nothing—except that they are not Trump or some other flagrant racist.

The trick will continue to work until voters, especially Blacks, stop rewarding Democrats for their serial betrayals. There is nothing smart or “strategic” about falling for the same trick every election cycle—and anybody that tells

the cops, but then vote to make the president a politician who “wrote the bill” that imprisoned millions of our people and who continues to oppose cuts in police budgets.

Such political schizophrenia extends to Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors. “I think we can call for Biden and [Kamala] Harris to be challenged for their past while also being the cheerleaders for them to win the election November 3.”

In fact, you can’t “challenge” Biden and Harris for their anti-Black behavior as elected officials by continuing to elect them. The vote is the reward.

Black folks and progressives are not to blame for Trump, but do bear responsibility for the Democrats that are not much different from Trump on every issue that counts except race—and in Biden’s case, not even that.

Glen Ford is the executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic body count passes 200,000 in the U.S., many MAGA voters believe the virus is "a hoax" and public health measures that aim to stop its spread are part of a deep state conspiracy to deprive Americans of their fundamental civil liberties while kneecapping Donald Trump, who was in the process of delivering that so-called greatest economy.

So deeply held is this conviction that these folks believe letting their fellow Americans succumb to the virus is a reasonable trade off, because the more people that die and the faster the virus spreads, the quicker herd immunity will be conferred on a grateful nation who can resume basking in Trump's restoration of White male greatness.

The prevalence of this worldview, blue state or red, is most apparent when we see just what a high percentage of local police officers refuse to wear a mask, even though so many of their colleagues have died from the virus. Yet the large number of Americans who believe the coronavirus, or its concomitant public health restrictions, constitute some kind of conspiracy play right into the hands of a ruling elite that is funneling money from these very same Americans and— with their masks firmly fitted on their faces—are laughing all the way to the bank.

So far, Trump has kept his base in line of working-class Americans by promoting the notion that we can't fully recover economically unless we "downplay" the COVID death toll by resisting testing and disregarding the advice of public health experts to wear a mask.

Yet there's ample evidence that countries as diverse as Denmark and South Korea—indeed, the countries that managed to keep their COVID death toll down by taking proactive measures— were in turn able to limit economic fallout. In contrast, the United States has one of the world's highest per capita COVID death rates, and saw our GDP crater and unemployment soar as the country proved itself incapable of enacting a true quarantine.

As Greg Jericho wrote recently in the Guardian, the debate over how best to

Biden is a Republican in Democrat clothes

By Ted Rall Past performance is no guarantee of future returns, but there are few more reliable ways to predict what comes next than to examine the historical record because, most of the time, history really does repeat.

What kind of president would Joe Biden be? His centrist supporters assure progressives that he will be one of them, pushing an aggressive legislative agenda reminiscent of FDR’s New Deal.

His Republican opponents portray him as a socialist. But Biden hasn’t actually promised anything ambitious.

The last two Democratic presidencies provide a good indication of what a Biden administration would look like. Like Biden, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama hail from the centrist party establishment. If personnel is policy, the three men hang out with many of the same advisors, busi-

nesspeople and elected officials.

They’re not identical: Clinton is a charismatic retail politician, Obama is aloof and professorial, and Biden is an LBJ-style buttonholer minus Johnson’s secret idealism. But they’re ideologically and temperamentally similar to a remarkable extent.

I remembered Clinton and Obama as deeply disappointing to voters with traditional liberal Democratic values. I remembered that most of their major legislative accomplishments would not have been out of place under a Republican administration.

When I checked the historical record recently, however, it was even worse than I remembered.

Clinton used his political capital to push through free trade deals like NAFTA and the WTO, which killed manufacturing jobs and drove the final nails into the coffin of big labor.

He “ended welfare as we know

it,” making it even more difficult for people who lost their jobs to get back on their feet and adding the chronically poor to the ranks of the homeless. Clinton signed Joe Biden’s now infamous 1994 crime bill into law, codifying a racist judicial system that disproportionately punishes Black men for relatively minor offenses.

Clinton repealed the 1930sera Glass-Steagall Act, banking deregulation setting the stage for banks to wallow in the reckless predatory lending practices that tanked the global economy in 2008-09.

His most impressive achievement was balancing the federal budget and paying off the deficit, but he didn’t do it by raising taxes on the rich. He imposed austerity on social programs— just like a Republican would do.

I searched hard for Clintonian achievements that could credibly be called liberal or at least left of center, but aside from a few mi-

nor regulations here and there, there aren’t any. “So we liberals and radicals searched the Clinton administration for vast new programs to applaud. But nothing loomed into view,” Paul Berman wrote in The New Republic at the end of Clinton’s presidency in 2000. Clinton was a moderate Republican president.

In some ways—especially foreign policy—Obama was even worse. Clinton bombed with the bloody relentlessness of a Reagan or a Bush: Bosnia, Sudan, Afghanistan and, forgotten now, Iraq so much and so often that pilots dumped their bombs in the desert to cover for the fact that they were running out of fresh targets. His sanctions stopped everything, including medical supplies, from entering Afghanistan. But he had nothing on Obama.

After Col. Muammar Gaddafi signed a peace deal with Bush that ended Libya’s nucle-

counter the global economic downturn "has led some (mostly conservative) commentators to argue there is a necessary trade-off between higher economic growth and fewer deaths. It also led to a pretty morbid and generally ignorant discussion about how governments will have to decide how much each life is worth."

Jericho continues, "And yet analysis of the performance of OECD nations, which make up the major advanced economies in the world, shows this thinking is completely wrong. What we find instead is a clear link between higher numbers of deaths from the virus and a weaker economy."

That goes far in explaining the economic situation of the United States.

James Parrott, an economist with the New School's Center for NYC Affairs, sees the "economic well-being vs. public health tradeoff" as "a tortured libertarian construct," writing, “government should protect people from harm, and that means contain the pandemic and insulate people from the economic harm that public health restrictions create.

“Not containing a pandemic is an abdication of government's responsibility to provide for the general welfare, and hence, not a choice."

For Richard D. Wolff, an emeritus professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the United States' failure to control the spread of the pandemic and the economic fallout

sure for national well-being, the United States was falling further and further behind even, while the country grew more stratified.

As Business Insider reported, as the nation saw tens of millions of Americans thrown out of work almost overnight, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth rose "by an estimated $48 billion." They note that "when you add up the numbers, billionaires in the United States have increased their total net worth $637 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic" thus far.

At the dawn of the pandemic, the Federal Reserve propped up Wall Street as the U.S. Treasury extended hundreds of billions of dollars in loans to the nation's biggest corporations. In July, Trump and the GOP refused to extend the $600-a-week supplemental unemployment benefit for millions of struggling Americans, ostensibly to starve them back into the workforce.

In essence, what we have had is a diabolical repeat of how the powers that be handled the 2007-08 meltdown.

But this time, the wolf at the door is a highly contagious and deadly virus.

Economies that were able to quickly deal with the coronavirus—by closing businesses, enforcing quarantines, testing rapidly and for free, giving stipends to citizens to ensure they don't need to go to work, and so on—bounced back far quicker. But in the past half-century, American ruling elites and corporations have become habituated to

“Not containing a pandemic is an abdication of government’s responsibility to provide for the general welfare, and hence, not a choice.” that comes with it hearkens back several hundred years in Europe to the collapse of feudalism.

It's important to read the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of a national circumstance wherein life expectancy has been on the decline for three years in a row—the first time that has happened since World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Even as the rest of the world was seeing a rise in life expectancy, a reliable mea-

an American political system that bends over backwards to serve them, to ensure that nothing will stop the machinations that extract money and labor from the poor and working class and send it upward to them.

The result is a horrific catch-22 of the ruling class's own making. The 200,000 dead (and counting) are just collateral damage.

ar program, Obama bombed Libya, plunging that nation into a bloody civil war. Thanks to Obama, Libya, formerly the most literate and prosperous country in Africa, is now a failed state where slavery has been restored.

Obama similarly wrecked Syria, where he also funded and armed jihadi extremists against secular socialist leaders. Obama radically expanded Bush’s drone program, kept Gitmo open, effectively pardoned Bush’s torturers, expanded the USA-Patriot Act and NSA spying on your phone calls and emails.

With Democrats like these, you don’t need Republicans!

For liberals, there is one relatively bright spot in these 16 years of Democratic rule: the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare was the first major health-sector reform in decades and brought coverage to tens of millions of patients, most beneficially via Medicaid expansion.

Let’s face it. The last two Dem-

ocratic presidents didn’t really govern like Democrats. Compare the ACA to the achievements of Republican presidents like Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Republicans push through huge changes when they are in office.

And I’m not even going to point out—well, yes I am—that Obamacare was conceived by the right-wing Heritage Foundation.

As I wrote at the beginning of this essay, what happened under Clinton and Obama won’t necessarily be replicated by Joe Biden.

But it almost likely will be.

There’s a reason Biden considered picking a Republican running mate and a reason Republicans are endorsing him and a reason he gave Republicans more speaking time at the Democratic National Convention than AOC—he’s one of them.

Bob Hennelly writes commentary for Salon.com.

Ted Rall is a syndicated commentary writer.

October 8-14, 2020

PrinciPals

even when it makes the situation uncomfortable. “We have systems that are underserving Black, Brown, and Indigenous kids and have been doing so for a very long time, and we’re going to push on that,” White said.

One concrete example of “good trouble” pushback, White explained, looks at how honors

Standardized bias Initial access to these classes also contains inherent biases.

“Standardized tests have a history of bias that shows up especially on Black, Brown and Indigenous people,” White explained. “And so disproportionally those tests will overreport White kids as academically performing and being ready for those classes, and [they will] disproportionately show Black, Brown and Indigenous kids not being ready.

“Because we’re taking a stan-

These efforts come amidst a dardized test that has bias in it and then acting on it, even acting COVID-19 backdrop with Minon it in a way that on the surface neapolis schools operating under feels benign and objective, it full distance learning models. actually turns out to have these These educators are pushing forlasting consequences of schools ward despite a more-than-comfully separated, and sometimes plicated 2020 school year. separated within the school walls “We’re not going to accept itself,” said White. slipping back into the settings and practices that underserved No slipping back our Students of Color for genThe more than 200 ‘Good erations,” White attested. “We’re Trouble’ principals and assistant trying to make use of this opporprincipals in the group who have tunity. As much as this pandemic signed the pledge discuss their is a shock and a horror to so many, shared experiences surrounding it is also, from an educational racial inequities in the education standpoint, an opportunity to system. Where one person may pause, hit reset, and reexamine have had trouble in a specific how we do our practices.” area, another may have had success, and sharing these ideas is an Analise Pruni welcomes reader important part of their process. responses to apruni@spokesman“Being a building principal is a recorder.com. unique spot with power and also not having power,” White noted.

“But we can change a lot as building leaders, so that’s where we’re choosing to put our energy, is to operate in the places and spaces that we can impact.”

trust of doctors and the medical community. The 1932 Tuskegee Experiment, in which rural Black men were unknowingly injected with syphilis by scientists and experimental surgeries performed on Black women without anesthesia, are often cited as reasons why Blacks don’t participate in clinical trials.

A Massachusetts-based company now working on a COVID-19 vaccine recently reported that only 4% of nearly 50 volunteers are Black.

There is also a lack of awareness about trials and economic considerations. “The story is always told from one angle,” explained Assistant Professor M. Kumi Smith of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “One type of angle is how [pharmaceutical] companies with those vaccine trials don’t really know much about

how to do proper outreach in Communities of Color or outside the well-off, better-educated White folk.”

Smith nonetheless agrees that the fear and mistrust factor, which along with poor outreach by companies, logically explains the low Black participation in clinical trials. “It’s probably a combination of both things,” she pointed out.

Health Partners Occupational Medicine’s Dr. Zeke McKinney added, “We don’t want People of Color being experimented on.”

Still, Blacks and People of Color participating in clinical trials are needed, he stressed.

“To make sure that we [as Blacks] are well represented… we won’t know how these vaccines will respond to the Black community. Making sure that we are adequately represented is absolutely the reason” it is im-

portant, he said.

“The inclusion of Black folk in trials is so important because we have to be able to demonstrate that we are using an approach to the development of the testing of vaccine on all kinds of people,” concurred Smith.

McKinney also dispelled the misinformation that the COVID vaccine contain the virus. “We are not expecting to give people the COVID,” he emphasized.

“That doesn’t mean there are no risks.

“Part of phase two and phase three is to look for adverse effects,” the doctor continued.

“Our processes are safe enough that if something does happen, we can immediately figure out what is going on.”

Having a “herd immunity” to evaluate the vaccine’s side effects is important as well, Smith added. “If we can’t reach that

herd immunity, that threshold, we are not taking full advantage” of any vaccine.”

The National Medical Association (NMA) in August established a COVID-19 task force “to help address questions and concerns about efficacy, safety and allocation of COVID-19 vaccines,” said the group’s press release. The Black doctors’ group said the task force was needed because of political influence by the FDA and the White House to speed up a vaccine before the November 3 general election.

The MSR asked for comment from NMA officials, but our requests were not answered.

“It is not the first time science has become politicized,” said Smith, “but I never quite expected it to get so extreme as it has been.” She surmised that rushing a COVID vaccine too soon and without following the prop-

allows them to chase just about everyone else, including those suspected of car theft.

“The first thing that popped in my head was that he got shot,” said Thomas Wright, father of 15-year-old Jamontae Welch, who insisted his son did not steal the car. “These kids around here are doing what they want to do.” He said one of the other deceased teenagers, Demetrius Dobbins, was his nephew, and that his son and nephew hung out with one another quite a bit.

“It’s sad that everything I had as a kid to keep me occupied as a kid, they took all that away. So what is there for these kids to do?” asked the anguished father in an interview with King Demetrius Pendelton, a community journalist and videographer. “Other people who are higher than me could help get these kids gyms or something, because this doesn’t make no sense.”

The dad, who came across as sincere and concerned, said he talks “every day” to the young people, friends of his son, some of whom had gathered at the accident site. He pointed out that the kids were still grieving over

the loss of another member of the group of friends who was recently killed at a nearby store.

This familiar cycle of violence has heightened, some say, as a result of the effects of the lockdown and economic fallout of the COVID-19. Monday’s trag-

edy began when the three youth carjacked an elderly woman. No doubt the owner wanted her car back, but she may not have wanted it returned at any cost.

“It’s tragic from the beginning of the story to the end of it,” said Fifth Ward City Councilmember

Jeremiah Ellison. “There is a lot Mel Reeves welcomes reader of strain on the community right now. It’s just tragic.” Ellison was responses to mreeves@spokesmanon the scene afterward helping recorder.com. make sure Fire Department personnel covered up leftover pools of blood and recovered any leftover body parts.

preparatory work now.

“Speaking truth to power.

Where our commitment to holdContinued from page 1 ing ourselves and those who serve under us accountable to this work is just as importantly Principles and directives The group has outlined extended to those who serve its principles and directives, over us.” which can be found on its online platform. They include: “De-centering Whiteness. Understanding that traditional organized whiteness ensures domination through forms like PTAs and unions. We purposefully call out and lift up historically nonrepresented voices of color in our spaces to hold weight and power.

“Dismantling practices that reinforce White academic superiority like bias in testing and the labeling, tracking and cluster- Speaking truth in all directions Minneapolis North Commuing that reflect an Americanized version of a caste system in our nity High School Assistant Principal Steve White, who is a part schools.

“Reconstructing ‘school’ upon of the group, explained what this our full in-person returns where pushback against racial inequibusiness-as-usual, like schedules ties in educational systems can and staffing, are open to drastic look like and some of the “good changes, and engaging in that trouble” that they are making.

“The first tenet of our group is to speak truth to those who report to us and to those we report to,” White said. “Speaking truth in all directions within an organization.”

This includes calling out racial inequities in school practices

“We have systems that are underserving Black, Brown, and Indigenous kids and have been doing so for a very long time, and we’re going to push on that.”

Trials Continued from page 1 Drug Administration (FDA) approves a vaccine for mass distribution: 1) a sample size (usually fewer than 100) is selected; 2) volunteers are given the vaccine in various dosages; and 3) a larger group (tens of thousands) is selected for the vaccine to test its effectiveness.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that if “a safe and effective [COVID] vaccine” is developed and made available early next year, approximately 150,000 research participants will be needed; at least 40% of these will need to be Black or Latino participants.

Black participation in clinical trials historically has been low mainly because of fear and mis-

Tragedy Continued from page 1 vehicle lose control and roll near Emerson Avenue and 18th Avenue North. According to reports, the car struck a street light and went airborne, taking out part of a porch nearby before landing. The street light was found 30 yards away.

“Only thing I want to know is why to do they chase these cars.”

“Only thing I want to know is why to do they chase these cars,” asked the distraught father of one of the deceased teens. It’s a question that gets asked every time someone is hurt as a result of a police pursuit.

Minneapolis police supposedly have adjusted their policy so that they no longer chase anyone who is simply trying to evade a ticket. But the new policy

commons Continued from page 1 our products. The success of this experiment and project depends on the level of exposure to People of Color and whether they come out and support us by spending money with us.”

Juxtaposition Arts, a Minneapolis Northside art design center, gallery and studio, provided much of the artwork for the Commons. Community Commons opened October 1 and will remain open through the spring of 2021. The list of proprietors

5

includes: 4 The Love Art Piece Soul Gallery & Studio, LLC Belle & Virtue Collection Butters by Jay Candy Colors LLC Captain Rebel DAUREN Worldwide Ebony Gifts Fabulous Diva Boutique Herbal Alchemy Heritage Tea & Beverages La Michoacana Purepecha Llakta The Peach Eatery Twiggy Fresh LLC Urban 29 VIP Section

courses are designed in schools and how those systems can segregate students.

“If a kid is in an honors science class, for instance, and that student is also in the band or in orchestra, there’s only so many times that sixth-grade orchestra is offered during a school day.

There’s only a couple ways to get through the rest of their classes, and then for all intents and purposes they are separated from the other kids.”

er protocols is “doing a complete disservice, not just to the science community but also society at large.”

“We are trying to set up a pipeline” for more Black participation in clinical trials,” said McKinney. “I think it is the responsibility of people like myself who are trained in the field to get out there and try to rebuild some of that trust.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

6

Business

October 8-14, 2020

Continuing the legacy of a historic neighborhood Taste of Rondo

Black Business SPOTLIGHT

By Ashley Lauren Contributing writer Upon entering the upscale Taste of Rondo restaurant, customers are ushered in by the aroma of Southern cuisine and blues and jazz tunes. Charles Carter is the owner of the new establishment that opened on Concordia Avenue in St. Paul on July 5, 2020.

The idea for the business came from a moment of enlightenment, said Carter. “I went home one night and went to sleep. The spirit was so connected to me. When I woke up, I just had this feeling, unbelievable, like I wanted to get started with this restaurant, Taste of Rondo.” Shortly thereafter, he took action.

Carter is from Mississippi but felt a strong connection to the Rondo neighborhood immediately. “When I came out to Rondo, it made me feel like I was right at home in the community,” he said.

After taking time to learn about the historic Black neighborhood, he felt compelled to contribute to its history.

Carter pursued his dream of opening the restaurant. “This is the only Black American Legion

in St. Paul and the City wanted to bulldoze this.” He didn’t want the building destroyed,, so he created the Taste of Rondo as a solution.

Fortunately, “Before I started construction, I finally got everything approved. Four years later, I have a liquor license and a restaurant,” said Carter. “I’m the first Black American man to have a liquor license and a restaurant together in St. Paul.”

Carter added, “The meaning

ask questions, the top five. We also give you hand sanitizer and offer you the patio,” said Carter.

Right now they are limiting the capacity to 23% in an effort to ensure guests feel safe.

The process of opening an upscale restaurant has required patience, drive and perseverance.

Asked what served as motivation, Carter said, “To remember Rondo and the Black community.

It was really my motivation, and it took four years.” He held onto his vision, remained optimistic, and kept fighting for his dream.

Customers have a delectable range of Southern entrees to enjoy at the Taste of Rondo.

Depending on the time of day, patrons can order breakfast or dinner. They also offer mouthwatering appetizers and sandwiches.

“I’m the first Black American man to have a liquor license and a restaurant together in St. Paul.” of Taste of Rondo is to remember Rondo, reconnect Rondo, reconnect them with an open, warm, welcome compassion.” Carter called it a place to meet, gather, and enjoy live entertainment.

“Every other weekend customers can enjoy live blues and jazz,” he said.

Special precautions have been taken to keep customers safe during the COVID pandemic.

“Protocol is following guidelines from the governor. When you come in through the door we take your temperature. We also

Asked about the most popular items on the menu, Carter said, “Southern fried chicken and blackened catfish.” The sweet peach cobbler pie made from scratch is also in high demand.

The Taste of Rondo breakfast menu is exclusively served on Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to noon. The menu showcases the signature “Rondo Breakfast” that comes with a side of eggs, sausage, bacon and potatoes.

Customers can also upgrade to the “Big Rondo Breakfast” that

Photo by Ashley Lauren

The Carter family

offers larger portions and a pancake or slice of toast.

More soulful breakfast options include: biscuits and gravy, savory grits, French toast, veggie omelets, yogurt parfaits, oatmeal accented with tasty granola and fresh fruit. If you have a sweet tooth, there’s a satisfying selection of freshly baked scones, apple pie crumble and blueberry coffee cake.

The dinner menu is available Monday-Friday, 3-10 pm.

Customers can order southern fried chicken, shrimp etouffee, Cajun catfish, and “Momma’s Pot Roast,” only available on Sundays. They also offer side dishes:; “Rondo Mac & Cheese,” collard greens, pineapple slaw

and much more.

There’s a signature “Rondo Kiss” cocktail infused with Grand Marnier, soda, juice, citrus garnish and a cherry on top.

Mimosas and Bloody Marys are also offered. The non-alcoholic beverages include fresh lemonade, juice, coffee and tea.

Clarence’s wife Kasara Carter said, “The Rondo community was a thriving Black community at one given time. With this business here now, it’s another opportunity to try to revive some of that history, culture and richness that our community needs.”

She added, “Supporting this business helps feed the seedlings of hopefully more Black businesses from the same commu-

nity. It’s a great feeling knowing that we are helping pioneer the rebirth of a new generational wealth here in our community at Rondo.”

Taste of Rondo is located at 976 Concordia Avenue in St Paul.

Customers can dine in or order pick up or delivery through Bite Squad. They also have gift cards and Groupon(s). Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 11 am10 pm and Saturday & Sunday 8 am-10 pm. For reservations call 651- 364-9207. For more info, visit www.tasteofrondostp.com.

Ashley Lauren welcomes reader responses to alauren@spokesmanrecorder.com.

October 8-14, 2020

7

Sounds of Blackness percussionist keeps beat of the ancestors

“When you hear the shakers, they represent a wind sound. Or a rain stick, on the inside it is like a coil, the beads go all the way ong-time member of down, just like rain or a triangle the Grammy-award- or a cowbell.”

The “colors” by percussion winning group Sounds of Blackness, Daryl Boudreaux’s are as nuanced as any instrumany talents have taken him ment. Still, there is something around the world and back again about the drum that keeps everyquite literally. This includes Eu- thing anchored. “It’s all rhythm… rope, various countries in Asia Like James Brown said, ‘They’re and of course, the Motherland.

“West Africa—that’s where the drums came from. That was the way to communicate you know, before telephones,” said Boudreaux.

A percussionist of great notoriety, Boudreaux has played alongside other remarkable musicians and performers including BeBe and Cece Winans, George Clinton and Funkadelic, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and one of the most iconic figures in music history, Minnesota’s own Prince.

To many, the terms drums and percussion have a narrow familiarity that is often associated with the classic drum set which would typically include Daryl Boudreaux a kick drum, tom drums, a snare drum, a high hat and symbols.

As a master of percussion, Bou- [instruments] all drums.’” said dreaux fluently opens up about Boudreaux.

He also makes a nod to some the various aspects of percussion that you might not think of of his favorite musical pioright away. “Hand percussion, neers: “Ralph McDonald, he it’s color, like when you hear the played a lot of Grover Washchimes. The chimes connect dif- ington. I really liked his technique and his style, his choicferent parts of the song.

By Tiffany Johnson Contributing writer

L

es and his tone. Then there was another, Armando Perez, he played with Santana…

Prince introduced me to [Santana’s] music,” he recalled.

While Boudreaux continues to play on many different stages, his relationship with percussion has carried him into circles beyond that of performance. He reminisced about a time when he was touring in Ghana. “We’re in Africa and we’re staying in this hotel. One day I walked out and I heard this drumming. So I walk towards this community gathering of folks and I grab some rocks to just sort of beat on the side of the wall. They saw me and invited me over. They were dancing and playing these African rhythms. I learned [Kolukku drum] playing with these drummers.”

Boudreaux explains how this experience, while occurring across the world in Ghana, exposed him to a greater sense of belonging. “After we had played drums, they had representatives come down from the villages, they asked me where I was from. I said I was from the United States, and they said, ‘You are home.

Welcome home.’”

Now, as a performer, Boudreaux admits that he often does not pay attention to the lyrics of a song for sake of getting caught

Submitted photos

Daryl Boudreaux up in the feeling of the music and the rhythm of the tune. He explains how it is sometimes those unexplainable moments in life, that are the most pure. “I have grandkids. Being a parent and watching [my] babies have babies…I’m grateful,” he said.

Continuing a long-lasting legacy; Boudreaux is confident in the next generation of Minnesota drummers, many of whom are already beginning to leave their mark in the Twin Cities and beyond. Some of these names

include Brandon Johnson who’s played behind names like Stevie Wonder and local hip-hop royalty, The Lioness; William ‘Will Picasso’ Johnnies of Serenity Village Community Church and various local projects; Brandon Commodore, drummer for Mint Condition; and L.A. Buckner, who just this year, released his album “Big Homie” that topped the iTunes Jazz chart.

Like the reverberating rhythms of our ancestors that served as means of communica-

tion or signals for war, in the most trying of times, Boudreaux’s continued work reminds us that we also cannot forget to celebrate how far we’ve come as a people.

And we can’t forget to dance.

“As a people, we can do it all. We had to. We had to survive,” he said.

Tiffany Johnson welcomes readers responses to tjohnson@spokesman-recorder.com.

New music, rare performances takE center stage this fall trumpeter and bandleader Marsalis on “The Ever Fonky Lowdown,” which according to Jazz at Lincoln Center was written to address universal issues of human exploitation and suffering, and comBy Robin James bines music and narration to Contributing writer explore how we might rise In 2019, the Jazz at Lincoln above injustice and create a Center Orchestra with Wyn- better world.

The new work is a fusion ton Marsalis went into the studio to record “The Ever of Marsalis’s musical influFonky Lowdown,” a wide- ences, including New Orleans ranging new work from Mar- funk, gospel, swing, Afro salis. The album was released Latin rhythms, the blues, and

James on Jazz

Courtesy of wyntonmarsalis.org on August 21, 2020 on Blue Engine Records.

“The entire world is struggling with issues of governance, belief, wealth, and cultural integrity. This is not the time for sleepwalking,” said

Anglo American folk songs.

It’s also written in an almost essayistic style. It’s part circus and part satirical, an honest look at democratic freedom— a manifesto of sorts.

Mr. Game is the album’s

narrator/carnival barker voiced by Wendell Pierce (“The Wire”). According to the album liner notes, written

by Eddie S. Glande of Princeton University, Mr. Game “offers an account of America rooted in power, leisure, and consumption that knows no boundaries and promotes itself as the greatest gift to humankind: America is the greatest show on earth, with its carnival barkers who keep our eyes on the so-called prize while the winners rob us blind.

“He reveals how Black folk have been caught up in it all: how the horrors of slavery shaped the country and how our sounds and musings have come to make this ghastly place swing. In Mr. Game’s hands, or Wynton Marsalis’s, jazz exposes the ugly truths of American life. He wants us to see it clearly, the Apostle Paul be damned.”

The actual recording itself has 53 songs, and lasts one hour and 52 minutes. Listeners both familiar and less familiar with Marsalis’ work will enjoy getting the lowdown “The Ever Fonky Lowdown.”

In addition to being treated to the new album, fans of Marsalis were also recently able to catch him in a rare livestreamed duo performance with pianist Bill Charlap at the famed Village Vanguard in New York City on September 18 and 19. The cost of entry was only $10.

The two artists played well

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Wynton Marsalis together performing music

by Thelonious Monk, George Gershwin, Wayne Shorter and Hoagy Carmichael, among other music. The music-making shined particularly bright during the song “All the Things You Are.” Slowly but surely artists and their bands are also getting back out there in front of live audiences. The Marsalis Septet have been rehearsing new repertoire for a fall tour starting in the beginning of October that will take them to Cape May, NJ, Westport, Oceanport, NJ; Scranton, PA; West Yarmouth, MA; Shelburne, VT, wyntonmarsalis. org/tour. Some of the dates include gigs at drive-ins. This

is a significant development because few bands are able to perform together beyond streaming at socially distanced concert settings.

In more exciting news, the late great iconic pianist Dave Brubeck’s last studio session, “Lullabies,” a solo album recorded in 2010 when he was 89, is scheduled for a November 6 release from Verve Records, followed by a collection of outtakes from the 1959 “Time Out” sessions, out December 4. What a great way to honor his centennial this fall.

“Lullabies” includes five originals among the covers. Tracks include “Over the Rainbow,” “Danny Boy,” “Going to Sleep,” “There’s No

Place Like Home,” “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” and “Sleep.”

“Some of the melodies on this album are like those familiar songs. Some are original pieces that I thought would appeal to babies as well as an older generation. I hope the littlest ones will respond to this music, and that parents and grandparents will enjoy it as well,” Brubeck said.

For more information about “The Ever Fonky Lowdown,” visit wyntonmarsalis.org.

Robin James welcomes readers responses to rjames@spokesman-recorder.com.

Support the Black Press! Subscribe today!

Call 612-827-4021 or go online to www.spokesman-recorder.com Follow us on social media: Facebook:Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder YouTube: MSR News Online Twitter @MNSpokesman Instagram mnspokesmanrecorder

8

October 8-14, 2020

League of Women Voters getting out the vote “Voter registration is drastically behind where we should be for a presidential election year,” said Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters. “Any other year, our volunteers would have spent the last six months out in

850 events across the country, including setting up drive-thru voter registration booths, hosting virtual parties, teaming up with restaurants to put voting information into take-out bags, working with schools to make voter registration announcements over

and digital events, the League and partner organizations will be pushing voters to register online through sites like the League’s nonpartisan election tool VOTE411.org. Forty states offer online voter registration and deadlines will start closing in

the community, registering voters at naturalization ceremonies, farmers markets, gyms, and grocery stores, but because of the pandemic, that hasn’t been possible. We are doing all we can to register as many people as possible in time for this election. But we are just a few short weeks from registration deadlines, so it is more important than ever to reach out to people in our lives who might not be ready to vote this year and encourage them to register or check their registration.”

League members and volunteers will be hosting more than

school loudspeakers, and more.

“The pandemic has forced us to find creative ways to reach voters and we’re proud that, despite the unique challenges this year, our national network is on track to have its biggest-ever impact,” said Maggie Bush, director of programs and outreach for the League of Women Voters. “At the same time, we know that millions of Americans – especially young people and first-time voters – have been displaced by COVID-19. We need to reach them – right now—and encourage them to vote for their future.”

In addition to in-person

early October.

“Millions more voters than expected have already come to our election website, VOTE411.org this year,” said Jeanette Senecal, senior director of Mission Impact for the League of Women Voters. “That tells us that voters are seeking information, planning to act early, and turnout will be record-breaking. National Voter Registration Day is the perfect time to check your registration status and ask your friends to do the same.”

October 8-14, 2020

9

November election will decide future congressional districts and Rhode Island – there are only enough people to warrant two congressional districts, making In drawing new boundaries, it statistically impossible to maWhen voters cast their ballots in November, they won’t just de- state legislators usually have very nipulate district boundaries to cide who will be president in 2021 few constraints. The U.S. Consti- advantage one party.

But of the remaining 38 states, – they will also have a voice in de- tution requires that each congrestermining the partisan makeup sional district should represent a our analysis found that 22 creof Congress until 2030. Following roughly equal number of people ated gerrymandered districts each census, which happens ev- – except in states with too few that benefited one party or the ery 10 years, states are required to people to have multiple districts other. Other political scientists adjust their congressional district boundaries to keep district populations equal.

District boundaries can profoundly shape election results – most notably when they are drawn in ways that benefit one political party or the other.

In the 2011 redistricting after the 2010 census, for example, Pennsylvania’s Republican-led legislature drew up districts that significantly disadvantaged Democrats. In the state’s 2012 congressional elections, Democrats won a majority of the votes, but Republicans won two-thirds – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, have come to similar conclusions of the state’s 18 seats in Congress. North Dakota, South Dakota, after their own analyses. This is Our research has found that simi- Vermont and Wyoming. They all true despite the natural, nongerlarly biased redistricting – called get at least one representative in rymandered tendency for likeminded people, especially Dempartisan gerrymandering – is Congress.

But other than that, state law- ocrats, to live near each other. common across the country.

Most of the partisan gerryMost states give the power to makers make their own rules. So draw new boundaries to their it’s not surprising that congres- mandering created after the 2010 legislatures. So when voters in sional district lines tend to un- census benefited the Republican November pick among the can- fairly advantage the party whose Party. That is because Republididates for state legislatures, they members are a majority of the cans won control of many state legislatures in the 2010 elections, are choosing the people who will group drawing the lines.

In the seven small, single- and then delivered congressional make the new electoral maps.

That means the 2020 election will district states and the District of districts in their favor.

The bias from partisan gerrypotentially affect the balance of Columbia, this isn’t a problem power and the degree of partisan because the state boundaries are mandering was so high after the conflict in the House of Repre- also those of the congressional 2010 round of redistricting, pardistrict. In five others – Hawaii, ticularly in seven states – Michisentatives for the next decade.

Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire gan, North Carolina, PennsylBy Robin Best and Steve Lem From the Conversation

Legislators often draw biased lines

vania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia and Florida – that the 2012 elections produced a House of Representatives controlled by the Republican Party even though Democratic congressional candidates won more votes nationwide.

The 2020 state legislative elections will be similarly decisive of who will control the redistricting process, and what congressional elections will look like for the next decade.

There are efforts to fix the redistricting process. In 2019, the Supreme Court effectively barred federal courts from considering whether partisan gerrymanders are constitutional, so reformers must look elsewhere for a solution.

Reform movements are working to take control of district boundaries out of the hands of legislators.

Several states have pioneered ways to draw their congressional boundaries more fairly. In New York, for instance, there is a commission that will advise lawmakers on potential maps that avoid partisan advantages. In Arizona and California, independent commissions have complete control over the district boundaries.

In New Jersey and Hawaii, commissions made up of politicians and political appointees draw the boundaries. And in three states – Connecticut, Indiana and Ohio – the legislature gets a first attempt to draw the boundaries, but must relinquish

power to an independent commission if lawmakers can’t agree.

In some states, citizens have created independent redistricting commissions by popular referendum – through ballot propositions or initiatives – when legislators didn’t want to strip themselves of this key power.

Colorado, Michigan and Utah all did this in 2018. Voters in Virginia will be given an option in the 2020 election to hand redistricting authority over to an independent commission.

Our research and others’ has found that commissions of all types tend to produce maps that are less biased than legislative ones. However, redistricting

reforms in some states are now facing a backlash from state lawmakers who are attempting to reclaim power over the redistricting process through legislation, lawsuits or ballot measures of their own.

In presidential election years, the public is obviously focused on the race for the White House, but the decisions voters make in state legislative races affect the partisan composition of Congress for years to come. Without changes in who draws district lines, the U.S. is likely to enter another decade in which congressional elections are shaped not by everyday voters but by those who hold the power.

October 8-14, 2020

PAID FOR BY AARP

Minnesota

Your Vote.

Your Voice.

Our Fight.

As our nation battles a pandemic and economic downturn, the health and financial security of voters over 50 are on the line. That’s why AARP Minnesota is fighting for your voice to be heard.

AARP Minnesota wants to make sure that you know all of your voting options and that all Americans—from working parents to family caregivers to seniors in nursing homes— can vote safely whether they choose to vote from home or in-person.

For more information on how you can vote safely and make your voice heard, visit aarp.org/MNvotes /aarpMN @aarpMN

10

October 8-14, 2020

11

Legals Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Certificate of Assumed Name Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 333 ASSUMED NAME: Infinite Balance PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS: 1514 Fremont Avenue N Minneapolis MN 55411 United States NAMEHOLDER(S): Name: Erika Keaton Address: 1514 Fremont Avenue N Minneapolis MN 55411 United States If you submit an attachment, it will be incorporated into this document. If the attachment conflicts with the information specifically set forth in this document, this document supersedes the data referenced in the attachment.

By typing my name, I, the undersigned, certify that I am signing this document as the person whose signature is required, or as agent of the person(s) whose signature would be required who has authorized me to sign this document on his/her behalf, or in both capacities. I further certify that I have completed all required fields, and that the information in this document is true and correct and in compliance with the applicable chapter of Minnesota Statutes. I understand that by signing this document I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Section 609.48 as if I had signed this document under oath.

SIGNED BY: Erika Keaton MAILING ADDRESS: None Provided EMAIL FOR OFFICIAL NOTICES: is4110@outlook.com Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 1 & 8, 2020

From Classified SOE Department/MN

From Classified Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Certificate of Assumed Name Department/MN Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 333

given a platform to truly be considered,” Van Gundy said.

Spokesman-Recorder Engelbert added, “We’ve got Spokesman-Recorder Continued from page 12 ASSUMED NAME:PHONE: 612-827-4021 STEFANNIE DYSON PHONE: 612-827-4021 to make this top-of-mind even PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS: c/o 2645 James Avenue North FOR BILLING FOR BILLING before positions come open, beMinneapolis Minnesota [55411] INQUIRIES INQUIRIES United States of America cause it’s not when the position Added Van Gundy, “If we NAMEHOLDER(S): & TEARSHEETS & TEARSHEETS becomes open, it’s in the lead-up, need to adopt procedures to Name: Dyson, Stefannie Address: CONTACT PLEASE CONTACT c/o 2645 James Avenue North ensurePLEASE [more Blacks are hired], and experiences and developMinneapolis Minnesota [55411] ACCOUNTING DEPTment of individuals that, when ACCOUNTING DEPT then we should. The problem United States of America is no matter what rules that you an opening comes up, that’s how If you submit an attachment, it will be incorporated into this document. If the attachment conflictsASSUMED with the information specifically set forth in this document, ASSUMED NAME possibly adopt, it stillNAME goes to the you then place somebody in that this document supersedes the data referenced in the attachment. $150.00 FLAT RATE $150.00 peopleFLAT doingRATE the hiring to truly position.

2 WEEK RUN just interBy typing my name,2I,WEEK the undersigned, RUN certify that I am signing this document “[That is] what I’m really foconsider them versus as the person whose signature is required, or as agent of the person(s) whose cused on right now,” she said. view them. signature would be required who has authorized me to sign this document on his/her behalf, or in both capacities. I further certify that I have completed all “I think we should be long required fields, and that the information in this document true andconfirmation correct and Please proof, respond with email to display Please proof, respond withisemail to underestimating Charlesconfirmation Hallman welcomes readpast the greatin compliance with the applicable chapter of Minnesota Statutes. I understand spokesman-recorder.com display@spokesman-recorder.com er responses to challman@spokesness of so many Black coaches in that by signing this document I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Section 609.48 as if I had signed this document under oath. our league… “We need to make man.recorder.com. sure that these candidates are SIGNED BY: Dyson, Stefannie MAILING ADDRESS: c/o 2645 James Avenue North Minneapolis Minnesota [55411]

EMAIL FOR OFFICIAL NOTICES: blackdiamondllc2014@yahoo.com Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Certificate of Assumed Name Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 333 ASSUMED NAME: RAJUAN MARQUICE JONES PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS: c/o 2645 James Avenue North Minneapolis Minnesota [55411] United States of America NAMEHOLDER(S): Name: Jones, Rajuan Marquice Address: c/o 2645 James Avenue North Minneapolis Minnesota [55411] United States of America If you submit an attachment, it will be incorporated into this document. If the attachment conflicts with the information specifically set forth in this document, this document supersedes the data referenced in the attachment.

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SIGNED BY: Jones, Rajuan Marquice MAILING ADDRESS: c/o 2645 James Avenue North Minneapolis Minnesota [55411] EMAIL FOR OFFICIAL NOTICES: blackdiamondllc2014@yahoo.com Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 8 & 15, 2020

From Classified Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 8 & 15, 2020 Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder PHONE: 612-827-4021 Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State FOR BILLING Certificate of Assumed Name INQUIRIES Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 333 & TEARSHEETS ASSUMED NAME: Here We Grow Plants PLEASE CONTACT PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS: 8 East Franklin Avenue ACCOUNTING DEPTMinneapolis MN 55404 USA NAMEHOLDER(S): Name: Curl Power LLC

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State of Minnesota Hennepin County

District Court Court File Number: 27-FA-20-3376 Case Type: Dissolution without Children

In Re the Marriage of: N’yalen Cama

Summons

and

x�Without Real Estate

�With Real Estate

Bangaly Diane THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED 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 with this summons. This summons is an official document from the court that affects your rights. Read this summons carefully. If you do not understand it, contact an attorney for legal advice.

1.

The Petitioner (your spouse) 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.

2.

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 the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.

State of Minnesota Ramsey County

District Court Second Judicial District Court File Number: 62-DA-FA-20-1008

In the Matter of Yerania G Zepeda vs Notice of Issuance of Emergency (Ex Parte) Order for Diego A Parga-Rosales Protection by Publication (Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 8) To Respondent: YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an Ex Parte Order for Protection has been issued in this case. You may request a hearing if you contact the court administrator's office within 12 days of the date of publication of this notice. You may obtain a copy of the Ex Parte Order for Protection and the form to request a hearing from the court administrator's office at the following address: Ramsey County District Court 25 West Seventh Street St Paul MN 55102 Failure to request a hearing or to obtain a copy of the Ex Parte Order will not be a defense to prosecution for violation of the Court's order.

Dated: October 5, 2020

x

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Donald W. Harper Court Administrator

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 8, 2020

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

IN PRINT & ONLINE! • • • • • • •

Employment Rentals For Sale Divorce Adoption Bid Public Notices

Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Worship Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church

Bethesda Baptist Church

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

CALL

Rev. Arthur Agnew, Pastor

612-827-4021

At the Old Landmark 1118 So. 8th Street Mpls., MN 55404 612-332-5904 www.bethesdamnonline.com bethesdamn@prodigy.net

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

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

P.O. Box 8558 Minneapolis, MN 55408

Mt. Olivet Baptist Church"

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

12 October 8-14, 2020

Vikings finally in winner’s circle!

Fitz Beat Larry FitzgeraLd

I

f at first you don't succeed, try, try again. The Vikings finally reached the winner’s circle doing what the Twins could not do—beating Houston 31-23.It took them four tries to get their first win; but we all know it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Now 1-3 after one quarter of the season, can the Vikings continue to improve?

Trying to replace six starters from 2019 on defense has been the most glaring problem for the 2020 Vikings. They have been overwhelmed on that side of the ball so far, allowing 43, 28 and 31 points in losses to Green Bay, Indianapolis and Tennessee. Those three teams are a combined 10-1.

Sunday the Vikings beat the Houston Texans 31-23 on the road in what turned out to be the Desperation Bowl, two 2019 playoff teams starting 0-3 and going all out to avoid 0-4. For now, the Vikings have snapped out of it.

Last week was extremely challenging for the Vikings after being told by the NFL mid-week to stay away from their training facility because the team they played last Sunday, Tennessee, had as many as 15 players and staff test positive for the coronavirus. After 48 hours in isolation and a series of tests, the Vikings, after no positive test results, returned on Thursday and prepared for Sunday's game.

Dalvin Cook continues to

play great football after a careerbest 181 yards vs. Tennessee.

He ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over Houston. Cook leads the NFL with 424 yards rushing and six touchdowns, Quarterback Kirk Cousins played his best game, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown—and most important, no turnovers. Every team, all 32, is dealing with the same pandemic handicaps and restrictions—no OTA's, mini camps, and a lot of Zoom conferences. Obviously with no fans it's a challenge.

This week the Vikings travel to Seattle to play the 4-0 Seahawks and the brilliant Russell Wilson, right now the NFL's MVP with 16 touchdown passes.

With no fans at games, the Vikings at least don't have to worry about the famous 12th man.

Those aggressive fans really can make a difference.

Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer finally got career win number 60 Sunday in his fifth try.

By virtue of having been a playoff team last year, the Vikings have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL. They will play their fourth game against a 2019 playoff team this week.

Good luck.

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.

No quick fix likely for deep-seated sport inequities said Given in her introductory remarks.

Black males as early as grade school are often told by parents, friends and others in their immediate circle that sports is their pathway to success, noted Jackson, who regularly writes on the intersection of sports, race and culture for The Undefeated.

These young men, if they are better than average athletically, are steered on a sports track, codSixth in a series dled by teachers, and pushed by George Floyd's death sparked an parents in hopes that their skills unprecedented racial awakening in will get them into college, and this country as the half-year global eventually to the pro ranks.

Jackson said that any interpandemic still rages all around us.

Day and night, demands to finally ests these young men might address racial inequalities and social have had in academics rather justice issues took over U.S. cities than athletics “have been eroded and towns for several weeks. What and destroyed while they are in was then out front and under the elementary school. Studies show spotlight seems now to have re- Black boys lose interest in school Karen Given beginning in fourth grade,” said turned to the shadows.

The MSR sat in on numerous virtual discussions during the summer of 2020 where the panelists talked race unfiltered, uninhibited and reflective, looking at current events as well as toward the future. This multi-part series examines some of the topics discussed on these Zoom sessions.

This week: Mythbusters 2 Princeton.

Jackson.

Davis stressed, “Every se“They pour their heart, soul nly A Game, NPR’s mester my Black students tell only sports show, and intellect into these sports. me stories that they are constantwas in one of its fi- Kids…go to what society values. ly asked what sport they play.” nal acts before it ceased produc- They see on television that sociShe teaches history and African tion last month after 27 years. It ety values them as ball players.

American studies, and also co“Colleges themselves play held on You Tube “a capstone hosts a sports podcast, “Burn It event,” an hour conversation on into the stereotype of Black men All Down.” as athletes,” he continued. “One racial inequity in sports.

Dinkins, now a PhiladelIt was moderated by now- out of every 68 White students phia-based athletic recruitformer OAG host-executive on a Division I campus is an ment and education consulproducer Karen Given and fea- athlete. What is the ratio of Black tant, recalled that he ran track men on college campuses?

One tured Penn State Assistant Proin his formative years rather in two, one in three, one in four, fessor Amira Rose Davis, former than the traditional sports college athlete Russell Dinkins, one in five.

Black men often play [basket“It sends a message to them and The Undefeated’s Derrick ball and football] mainly bethat they are only on campus Z. Jackson. Let’s subtitle this cause the local track program for their athletic ability, but also column “Mythbusters 2” as the emphasized the importance sends a message to the [Black] follow-up to the third part of our of education and participants athletes that they are condiseries (Sept. 16). eventually earned college tionally accepted on campus The four “pulled back the curscholarships. because they are athletes,” said tains, examining the myths” sur“There are certain sports” rounding sports in this country, Dinkins, a former track athlete at

“We are existing in a system that makes it very hard for upward mobility, then says your value as a Black person is only entertainment.”

O

File photo such as hoops and the gridiron “that are promised as the ticket out, or the one that Black kids are supposed to play,” said Davis.

“We are existing in a system that makes it very hard for upward mobility, then says your value [as a Black person] is only entertainment, whether it’s athletics, acting or whatever,” said Dinkins.

“Sport is…deeply, deeply inequitable,” noted Davis, adding that this is clearly seen at big-time schools where the Black-White athletic graduation gap for most sports is in the double-digits.

All four on the panel agreed with this assessment of deep-seated inequity in the current sport system.

There is no quick fix, Given concluded, because the racist myths in sports, even during a pandemic and a current cry for change, are too large and systemic.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.

Plenty to anticipate in prep sports Basketball leagues offer poor excuses for poor diversity numbers Annually in all sport leagues the commissioner gives his or her “state of the league” address leading up to their league championship series or game. It typically features back-patting themselves on how great their league is before taking reporters’ questions.

Adam Silver (NBA) and Cathy Engelbert (WNBA) last week separately addressed several topics with the media after their addresses, including the issue of coaching diversity. The 30-team NBA started the season with seven Black head coaches— now there are five.

Asked should the league adopt a Rooney Rule similar to the NFL in hiring Black coaches, Silver responded, “I don’t see a way to operate a league where the league office, the commissioner, is dictating to a team who they should or shouldn’t hire, or who she should or shouldn’t fire.

We’ve looked at what might be an equivalent to a Rooney-type rule in the NBA, and I’m not sure it makes sense.

“I know we can do better, and I think we will do better,” promised the NBA commish.

The MSR asked a similar question during Engelbert’s conference call: Only two of the 12

Cathy Engelbert WNBA coaches are Black males, and there are zero Black women head coaches.

“I don’t disagree with the numbers you threw out there,” she admitted. “I think it’s not a great watermark, but we’re probably better than some leagues or many leagues.

“I think this also was a focus well before the George Floyd situation, for us as a league and for many sports leagues to get more executives, diverse execu-

MSR file photo

league office personnel in 2019 were Black.

Admitted Engelbert, “We need to work with the teams more on when there are openings like a general manager or head coaches, that we’re making sure they’re looking at all diverse candidates, all candidates, in a very constructive way. We know the pipeline is there in the coaching and GM ranks because it’s a lot of our former players and college players, and college coaches and college administrators.”

On yet another media call last week, we asked NBA Analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy about the dwindling number of Black head coaches.

“I don’t want to put in something similar to the Rooney Rule and have teams go through the

“We need to make sure that these candidates are given a platform to truly be considered.” tives into leadership positons at our teams,” continued the W commish. “We are increasing the number of Black league office employees as well.”

According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ latest data, 40% of the WNBA

motions just with a fake interview, just to make it sound like or seem like they interviewed a person, a minority,” said Jackson. “There’re so many qualified individuals out there that deserve an opportunity and deserve a chance.”

■ See SOE on page 11

PreP Scene Dr. Mitchell PalMer McDonalD

Paul Central football great Scott Howell will be back leading the Minutemen on the gridiron, as well as on the sidelines as the boys’ basket ball coach.

It is good to know that Coach Charles Adams will be leading Minneapolis North’s football team, one of the state’s premiere programs.

It is good to know that Co lin Moore will coach his first season in leading St. Paul Johnson’s boys’ basketball team after taking over for re cently retired Vern Simmons.

It is good to know that former Mr. Basketball finalist and St. Agnes great Marlon McCoy will be leading St Paul Central’s girls’ basket ball team.

It is good to know the for mer DeLaSalle girls’ basket ball standout Tanysha Scott who also coached the Island ers to the Class 3A state cham pionship in 2019, will be lead ing the girls’ team at Roseville High School.

It is good to know that Yolanda England will be in her first season as St. Paul Como Park’s head girls’ bas ketball coach.

Prep sports are back for the moment. Only time will tell the impact this decision will have.

With winter sports approved by the Minnesota State High School recently, and football and volleyball added to approved fall sports, there is plenty to look forward to in the coming months.

Here are a few things that are good to know as these seasons begin.

It is good to know that former Minneapolis North girls’ basketball standout and coach Tara Starks will lead the way in her first season in leading Hopkins High School.

It is good to know that Hall of Fame boys’ basketball coach and six-time state champion Larry McKenzie will be back to lead the Minneapolis North.

It is good to know that the nation will be able to see why 7’0” Minnehaha Academy senior center Chet Holmgren is rated as the top high school boys’ basketball player in the country.

Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDon It is good to know that ald welcomes reader responses to veteran coach and former St. mcdeezy05@gmail.com.