PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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THE VOICE OF BLACK MINNESOTA SINCE 1934 September 10 - 16, 2026
Vol. 93
No. 6
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
By Lizzy Nyoike Contributor
or provided documentation on its pledge, made after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses. Community members interviewed for this story said they’ve continued the boycott by changing where they shop, long after the news cycle around it faded. Norris was raised in Texas by a family involved in the Civil Rights Movement; her father was a civil rights activist, and she grew up hearing relatives discuss the Montgomery bus boycott and remembers them helping with related fundraising. Her mother taught her to avoid businesses that didn’t re-
ineteen months after Minnesota organizers launched the National Target Boycott, the people sustaining it aren’t civil rights leaders standing at a podium. They’re shoppers who quietly rerouted their spending to Costco, farmers markets and familyowned businesses, and have no plans to go back. “I believe that boycotting is a major way of speaking and RDNE Stock project being heard,” said Makeda Norris, who began avoiding to expose. By Izzy Canizares This is the second time the bill was proposed in the Legisla- Target before the boycott ofContributing Writer ture, but Will Cooley of the Minnesota Justice Resource Center ficially started. his year has seen the introduction of more protections (MNJRC) said legislators believed there was not enough funding for Minnesotans held pre-trial, most immediately more this year to support accurate statewide data tracking. “What we learned this year at the Capitol was that it’s a mataccessible healthcare in jails, though its implementation has been delayed. As we look at our current jail system, ter of money. A fiscal note came in, and it’s expensive to set this these bills could mean slow but steady progress in decreasing up, and there wasn’t a lot of money at the Legislature this year. It was a policy year, not a budget year,” Cooley said. “Two years the large disparity of Black inmates within Minnesota jails. in a row, that’s what we found out. Legislators Activist groups like the MN Justice for All were unwilling to fund this.” Coalition and Minnesota Freedom Fund have Despite these setbacks, Jana Kooren, MNJRC lobbied for reforms in both the pretrial and im“What we associate director and PJM Steering Committee migration systems. This past legislative session, member, said the coalition remains committed these groups lobbied for multiple bills that would learned this to continuing the effort to reform the pretrial have given Minnesotans held pre-trial stronger year at the system. rights and put an end to the current prison-labor “This is not the end of anything. In fact, what system. Capitol was that we are aiming for as a broader coalition moving One such bill, the Pre-trial Data Transparency Joshua Brown it’s a matter forward is really a much larger transformation,” Act, received bipartisan support and passed in The boycott’s staying power spect her or her community. Kooren said. “We’re including the collection and the House, but ultimately died in the Senate. The of money.” “What I don’t spend with analysis of pretrial data and integrating it into a was tested again last week, bill (HF 1775/SF 1908) would have established larger scale of reforms we’re pushing for, includ- when Target pulled a children’s you might not hurt you, but I a streamlined data collection process for people ing a bill to replace the harmful practice of cash bail with a sys- Halloween costume that Black am not going to help you,” Norheld in jails around Minnesota. While some counties have updated dashboards showing tem that detains and releases people based on evidence of a shoppers online said evoked ris recalled her mother saying. Norris now shops at more racist blackface and minstreltheir current jail populations, the data varies significantly by ju- person’s circumstances as opposed to wealth.” Alongside the Pre-trial Data Transparency Act, the Inten- show imagery. (For more on the local businesses and farmers risdiction. With the delay of the Pre-trial Data Transparency Act, data on people held in county jails will continue to be harder to tional Release & Detain bill was introduced to shift Minnesota civil rights press conference markets and goes without ■ See PRETRIAL on page 5 held outside Target’s Minneap- some items she once bought track, making racial disparities within the justice system harder olis headquarters over the in- regularly at Target. For her, cident, see www.spokesman- continuing the boycott is recorder.com/2026/09/02/ about standing up for what target-racist-halloween-cos- she believes in. “It’s as much a message to tume-boycott-minneapolis/.) For longtime boycotters, the myself about pride, self-disciepisode wasn’t a surprise so pline and respect,” she said. Jim Lieberthal’s decision much as confirmation of why Hill echoed Spokesman event held Satur- cer at the Minnesota ResponBy Aaliyah Demry they started boycotting in the to boycott Target was shaped day, Sept. 5, at the NorthPoint sible AI Institute, and Chuck that sense of Digital Editor partly by his 35 years at first place. Conference Center in North Hill, president of Program- urgency. A longtime informaAmeriprise FiNekima Levy ming Solutions Incorporated tion technology professional, Armstrong, a rtificial intelligence may Minneapolis. nancial, where “I believe that Presented by Sister Spokes- and chair of the Minnesota Hill said he believes having civil rights atbe changing how peohe learned to more knowledge of AI will be- torney and cople work, learn and cre- man and the Minnesota CHILL CHILL Foundation. pay attention boycotting is a Opening the discussion, come increasingly important as founder of the ate, but Dr. Elizabeth Foundation, the gathering to the differmajor way of M. Adams wants Black com- brought community members Minnesota Spokesman-Record- the technology becomes more National Target ence between munities to think beyond just together to learn more about er CEO and publisher Tracey integrated into everyday life. a company’s Boycott, said speaking and “The more you use it, the the how AI can assist with career Williams-Dillard encouraged responding to the technology. public message incident being heard.” “I would like to see us leap- development, entrepreneurship attendees not to let fear stop more you learn,” Hill said. and its internal could not be During the panel, Hill shared dismissed as a frog and actually shape the fu- and everyday tasks, while also them from learning about the decisions. He ways AI can help with tasks single bad deciture, specifically with how we addressing concerns about pri- growing technology. remembered “Learn AI, because it won’t ranging from meeting summa- sion. vacy, bias, misinformation and engage with AI,” Adams said. when Target offered grants replace you,” Williams-Dillard ries and business documents That idea was at the center its use among young people. “Someone should have and other support to comThe event’s panel featured told attendees. “You’ll replace to job searches and resumes. recognized how unconscio- munity organizations, which of “The AI Era: What to Know In his own business, Hill said nable and racist that costume he believed showed the comand How to Use It,” a Sister Adams, chief engagement offi- yourself if you don’t learn it.” AI has helped him consider op- was, the fact that it slipped pany understood its responsiportunities he might not have through potentially multiple bility to the communities that otherwise looked toward. levels of approval and it took helped it grow. Over time, “It gives me an opportunity to Black women online calling he said he watched some of ask and get an objective look at out the costume for the com- those efforts disappear, and my business, where I can may- pany to actually pull it from Target’s pullback on DEI furbe grow in areas that I never their shelves,” she said. “It re- ther damaged his trust. even thought of,” Hill said. “It’s mostly about how they inforces exactly why there is a But throughout the discus- nationwide Target boycott to behave towards the commusion, the panel received sever- begin with.” nity that has me infuriated,” al questions about the potenThe National Target Boy- Lieberthal said. tial risks of AI and how it could cott was announced in MinLieberthal stopped shopimpact Black communities. neapolis on Jan. 30, 2025, and ping at Target in January 2025. Adams encouraged attend- began Feb. 1, after Target said Since then, he has divided his ees to remain involved in how it would end several diversity, shopping among other retailers, they use the technology and equity and inclusion efforts, in- including Costco, and smaller, how AI systems affect their cluding its Racial Equity Action family-owned businesses, and communities. During the pan- and Change initiative. Organiz- he researches companies’ poliel, she described experiencing ers have said Target has not cies before deciding where to From left to right Darcel Hill, Valeda (Hill) Huff, Chuck Hill, Tracey Williams-Dillard, Dr. Eliza- ■ See SISTER SPOKESMAN restored those commitments spend his money. He believes ■ See TARGET on page 5 on page 5 beth Adams, Cindy Hill Emmanuel Duncan/MSR
Sister Spokesman event asks how Black communities can shape the AI era
2 September 10 - 16, 2026
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St. Paul council to vote on $200,000 federal grant for drone program By Clint Combs Contributing Writer The St. Paul City Council will vote Sept. 9 on whether to accept a $200,000 Justice Department grant that would expand the city's Docked Drone Program with Skydio through the end of 2028. The city currently operates three drone docks: The Central District Dock at police headquarters on Grove Street, covering the central vices are quite expensive to and downtown core. The Western District Dock operate and utilize," Hallstrom at the Western District Sta- said Sept. 2. "Each drone can tion on Hamline Avenue near fly for 20 minutes up to a two Interstate 94, covering west- mile radius, so we don't proern neighborhoods and transit vide coverage to the full city." St. Paul began deploying corridors. the Skydio drones for first reThe Eastern District Dock sponders on May 30. In the at Fire Station No. 7 on Ross program's first 24 days, the Avenue near East Seventh city recorded 472 flights that Street, covering the city's east led to 36 arrests and helped side. locate 33 people who were The drones are part of reported missing or experia $350,000 suite of Axon encing a health crisis. As of equipment that also includes this month, the department body cameras, dash cameras and tasers. Deputy Chief Kurt reports 1,500 total flights, 75 Hallstrom told the council the arrests, and the location of technology does not come four suicidal individuals and one missing 3-year-old. cheap. Council members Hwa"There's no budget to exJeong Kim and Molly Coleman pand this program. These de-
"Our unhoused neighbors are being pushed out of Pig's Eye and so there's no money for housing. There's no money for education or affordable healthcare, but somehow we are spending money on more amid concerns over the comdrones as the chief said himpany's contracts with Israel's self, these equipments are exmilitary and Immigration and tremely expensive," Shakhsari Customs Enforcement. said. Sima Shakhsari, an Iranian Hallstrom said the departimmigrant who teaches in ment has no alternative fundthe Department of Gender, ing source if the council reWomen & Sexuality Studies at jects the grant. the University of Minnesota "We would be looking for and is a member of the Free additional resources, grant Palestine Coalition, opposes funding sources that we extending the grant. Followwould try to utilize," he said. ing the Oct. 7 attacks, Skydio "There's no means for us to do Clint Combs/MSR supplied more than 100 short this without grant funding." range military drones to the Coleman said she is consaid they plan to vote against Israeli Defense Forces during cerned that accepting the grant accepting the grant. a bombing campaign the Unit"I'm not planning on sup- ed Nations has described as a could set a piecemeal preceporting our application of this genocide against Palestinians. dent for future agreements. contract," Kim said. "I will be voting no on this “This is an important topic that we’ve grant application," Coleman been trying to push to have more said. "We have been having, transparency, more disclosure from our over the last several months, but really in a very intense way elected leaders and the police department.” over the last several weeks, a "It's really critical to me that big conversation within the "Our organizations are city and really within the against a company that has we don't make these decisions country more broadly about contracts with the IDF and kind of one after the other, how we balance our policing ICE to be operating in Saint this contract, that contract, this grant application, that needs with our surveillance Paul," Shakhsari said. grant application, but have a and our privacy and our civil Shakhsari also questioned much bigger understanding of rights." the timing of a six figure grant The Minneapolis City Coun- request while Mayor Kaohly how we want to approach this cil rejected a separate 75 day Her's budget proposal in- decision making in the future," free trial contract with Skydio cludes closing the Dayton's Coleman said. Anna Madison of the Free in a 6-6 vote earlier this year, Bluff Library.
Brianna Edwards builds legacy beyond basketball at North High By Prescott Jones Contributing Writer Some people leave home, build a life elsewhere, and never look back. Then there are people like Brianna Edwards. Nearly 17 years after wearing a North jersey herself, setting records, earning a college scholarship and eventually playing professional basketball overseas, Edwards is back in the same gym where her own story began, only now on the other side of the court, as coach Bri. For Edwards, coaching the North High Lady Polars has become about far more than basketball. It is about ensuring the young women coming behind her have opportunities, removing barriers, and giving girls somewhere to belong and someone to believe in them. “North poured into me,” Edwards said. “This community helped shape who I became, and I felt a responsibility to come back and give girls the same belief and opportunity that I received.” As a teenager, putting on a North jersey carried a meaning she admits she did not fully understand at the time. “It represented where I came from,” she said. “It wasn’t just about playing basketball. It was about representing my school, my neighborhood, my family and the people who believed in me.” Basketball took Edwards far beyond North Minneapolis, opening the door to a college scholarship and a professional career overseas. Eventually, the game brought her back home. Winning still matters to her, she said, but the scoreboard is no longer her only definition of success. “Success is when a young woman leaves our program more confident, more prepared and more aware of who she is,” Edwards said. “If she graduates, goes to college or trade school, starts a career or business, or simply be-
Palestine Coalition criticized the decision to place the grant proposal on the consent agenda, which limits public comment. "This is an important topic that we've been trying to push to have more transparency, more disclosure from our elected leaders and the police department, and we are certainly glad that they're starting to pay attention to some of our concerns," Madison said. "But there needs to be more transparency, and they need to do a much better job of engaging the public on this. It can't just be a conversation between the police and the city council." Cedar Larson, also with the Free Palestine Coalition, called on the city to disclose its full agreement with Skydio. "We demand the city reveal the contracts with Skydio that till now have remained hidden," Larson said. "Residents have a right to know how many taxpayer dollars have been spent on drones while libraries are being closed and services cut." The council is scheduled to vote on the grant Sept. 9 at 3:30 p.m. Clint Combs is a freelance reporter and contributing writer for the Minnesota SpokesmanRecorder. He welcomes reader responses at combs0284@gmail. com.
hind more than a winning record. “I want to leave behind a sustainable program, not just a successful team,” she said, with community partnerships and fundraising strong enough that future athletes A community can make the have opportunities regardless difference The $30,000 goal may of who is coaching. Years from now, she sound large, but Edwards said supporting the program hopes the young women she doesn’t require one person to coached remember somewrite a large check. A business thing simple: She believed in sponsorship, donated equip- me. “If she wants to put on that ment, help with transportation or simply showing up to a Lady Polar jersey, work hard and be part of this team,” Edgame all count. “If 100 people decide to wards said, “I want our comdonate $10 and support the munity to say, ‘We’ve got you.’” program consistently, that can make a tremendous differThis article is a conence in how many barriers we densed version of the origiNorth High Lady Polars coach Brianna Edwards with student athletes during game day. Courtesy can remove for our athletes,” nal article published online. she said. For the full-length, visit The Lady Polars aren’t ask- https://spokesman-recorder. comes a healthy, productive at home because her fam- at schools with greater finanily can’t afford a fee,” she cial resources. “Investing in ing the community to invest com/2026/08/31/briannaadult, that’s success to me.” said. “I don’t want her miss- city sports isn’t charity,” Ed- in a scoreboard, Edwards said. edwards-north-high-basketing a tournament because wards said. “It’s an investment They’re asking people to in- ball-legacy/. The work behind the jersey vest in young women. What people see at a game she can’t get transportation. in future leaders.” is uniforms, coaches and a I don’t want her coming to Prescott Jones welcomes She wants people to see scoreboard. What they don’t practice hungry.” reader responses at pjones@ her players’ potential before The legacy Edwards wants to leave be- spokesman-recorder.com. see is what it takes to get their circumstances, she said. those young women on the Building women, not just court in the first place: fun- players Edwards expects discipline draising, coordinating meals, securing equipment, and and effort from her players, sometimes helping a player but she also wants them to through circumstances that understand their value long have nothing to do with bas- before their playing days end. “I constantly remind them that ketball. Some athletes deal with basketball is a vehicle, not housing instability, transpor- their identity,” she said. Today, Edwards is also an tation challenges, financial professional stress or food insecurity that entrepreneur, most people in the stands will speaker, sports analyst and never know about. “You have podcaster who uses her platto know your players well form to discuss leadership, enough to understand the dif- identity and the person beference” between a basketball hind the athlete. “At my core, issue and a life issue, Edwards I’m a builder,” she said. “I want to build people, programs, said. communities and opportunities.” Removing the barriers This year, Edwards and the Lady Polars have set a fund- Investing in North Minneapolis As a Black woman leading raising goal of $30,000, meant to cover expenses many peo- young women in North Minple never think about: meals, neapolis, Edwards knows reptransportation, shoes, uni- resentation matters. “I played forms, tournament fees and in this gym too. I had dreams too,” she said. “Representaequipment. “I don’t believe a child’s tion makes possibilities feel opportunity should be deter- real.” But representation without mined by their family’s financial situation,” she said. “Fund- resources only goes so far, she raising is not just about raising said. Young athletes in Minnemoney for a basketball team. apolis deserve the same facilities, equipment, transportaIt’s about creating access.” “I don’t want a girl sitting tion and exposure as athletes “These girls are talented, intelligent, creative and resilient. They don’t need people to feel sorry for them. They need people to invest in them.”
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Health
NorthPoint CEO Kimberly Spates puts patients at the center of care By Tony Kiene Contributing Writer “Fifty-one percent of our Community Board of Directors is made up of patients,” notes Kimberly Spates, CEO of NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, adding that this model is vital to the agency’s impact as “the folks that come to us for services also help to guide our work, make sure we’re meeting their needs, and hold us accountable.” And while this level of engagement proved a little more difficult during and just after the COVID-19 pandemic, NorthPoint is ramping up new programs and initiatives, particularly in the wake of H.R. 1, which was signed into law last year and significantly encumbers access to Medicaid and other health care subsidies. One recent event was the NorthPoint Community Conversation billed as “Meeting the Moment Together,” featuring Hennepin County Commissioner for District 2 Irene Fernando and Minnesota State Representative for District 59B Esther Agbaje. Their discussion centered on the shifting health care landscape and how local organizations like NorthPoint can help
September 10 - 16, 2026
residents navigate the confusion and stress brought on by these policy changes. Prior to taking over as CEO in the summer of 2024, Spates served as NorthPoint’s chief operating officer, and before that worked in administration for Hennepin County. Her experience with government and helping lead a Federally Qualified Health Center, coupled with a master’s degree in public administration Kimberly Spates and nonprofit management, to create one NorthPoint.” has served her well. When Spates first arrived “We are here for in North Minneapolis some 20 everyone. NorthPoint years ago, she wasn’t immediately sure what to make of her is a generational new home. But working closeplace, and I want ly with the African American to be sure we’re Men Project and other key iniaround another 50 tiatives gave her a sense of the years and beyond.” neighborhood and, soon, the “At NorthPoint, there have realization that “this is where always been these two sepa- I should be.” She notes, with a rate pieces: human services smile, the serendipity of having and our clinical operations grown up on North Point Road around medical, dental, be- in her native Texas. Asked how her values and havioral health, and other things,” Spates explains. “As experience influence the COO, I was always thinking organizational culture she’s about the need for these two creating, Spates says, “Keep areas to support one another, it simple. It’s all about serving to break down those silo walls. others, and if you ensure that Now I’m in the position to principle remains front and make this concept a reality center, you can do some good and put the structures in place in this world. But being of ser-
Emmanuel Duncan/MSR vice means you have to show up, stand in the gaps. It’s our responsibility to speak truth to power, advocate for our community, translate when necessary, and understand that there might be some things we can’t do. Our community knows what it wants and needs. We just have to partner with others to provide the tools and resources for them to access those things.” For decades, both the Twin Cities metro and the North Star State have ranked at or near the top in almost every quality-of-life measure imaginable. However, when those indicators are broken down along racial and ethnic lines, the region maintains some of the most glaring inequities in the nation. Progress has been
made to close those gaps, but one of the more alarming trends in recent years is the significant increase in both the suicide and overdose death rates among Black adolescents and young adults. “We have to continue dismantling the negative perceptions around behavioral health,” Spates declares. “NorthPoint is partnering with North Community High School, PCYC, and other school-based clinics to make sure our young people have the support they need.” Helping parents, teachers, caregivers, and peers understand the warning signs is vital, Spates said, but there is much more to the effort, from building protective features into youth programming to connecting young people with mentors and mitigating the negative effects of social media. Spates also emphasizes the need to reach young people at an early age, which is why NorthPoint partners with groups like PICA (Parents in Community Action). “We must continue to be in these spaces,” she said. In 2018, NorthPoint expanded and modernized its campus with the opening of the Regional Acceleration Center on Plymouth and Penn avenues North, something Spates expresses deep appreciation for. “It’s given us the opportunity not only to enhance the health care services, but to build on the economic
Black Americans have doubts about the U.S. food system, new Word In Black survey finds By Jennifer Porter Gore Almost three out of four respondents to a new Word In Black survey said prices for healthy foods are too high, and just over 60% said they don’t trust that the food they buy is safe. Black Americans are intensely aware of the connection between food and health but face economic and structural barriers that limit what they can actually put on the table, according to a new report from Word In Black’s Insights and Research Division. The report, “At The Table: Food and Health In Our Community,” published Sept. 3, found that Black Americans have major concerns about the nation’s food safety and their ability to access healthy food choices at prices they can afford. Among the starkest findings, six in 10 respondents said they don’t trust that the food they buy in grocery stores is safe, and rising grocery prices are pushing families toward cheaper, less nutritious options. “What we found is a community that knows exactly what it needs to eat well and simply cannot get there on the current terms,” said Christa Mahlobo, Ph.D., insights and research director for Word In Black. Mahlobo is a research scientist who works independently from the newsroom. When it comes to healthier eating, Mahlobo said, “the barrier isn’t awareness. It’s price, proximity, and a food system that too often asks Black families to choose between what they can afford and what will keep them healthy.” The report draws on a survey of 1,249 Black Americans conducted between April 22 and June 8, 2026. Respondents were readers of Word In Black and 10 partner publishers, longtime Black news outlets operating nation-
wide. Roughly one third have postgraduate or professional degrees, and the largest income group reported earning $100,000 or more annually. Roughly three out of four respondents said prices for healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables need to be lowered. Forty two percent want more grocery stores in their neighborhoods, while 38% want more nutrition education. More than 60% reported concerns about the nation’s food safety, reflecting a broader erosion of confidence in the American food system. In July, a Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters found 55% had little or no confidence in the government’s oversight of food safety, and a KFF survey found less than half of voters approve of the Trump administration’s handling of food policy. The findings come as news headlines have been filled with weekly reports of food recalls due to salmonella and E. coli, as well as a continuing cyclospora outbreak that has killed two people and sickened more than 11,000. While many respondents did not report being food insecure, the survey found rising grocery prices are forcing difficult trade-offs. Respondents described “trading down,” swapping higher priced foods or brands for cheaper alternatives such as store brands or substituting chicken for steak. They also
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activity and creativity that has been generated in this space.” Spates revels in the possibility of replicating this development elsewhere, and wants people excited about visiting the space. “When they walk through the doors, I want everyone to say to themselves that ‘this place was built for me.’” In addition to the health services NorthPoint provides, the campus includes a wellness studio, a day care center, displays of public art, cultural events, and the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum & Gallery. NorthPoint plans to launch its new strategic plan in 2027. Perhaps more than anything else, Spates’ vision for the agency in the 21st century is to become the provider of choice for whoever needs services. “It doesn’t matter if they live on the Northside or not, or whether or not they have insurance,” says Spates. “We are here for everyone. NorthPoint is a generational place, and I want to be sure we’re around another 50 years and beyond. We have to take care of home and, whenever possible, grow to other places where people are underserved.” Tony Kiene is a contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at tkiene@ spokesman-recorder.com.
Asked what would help them eat healthier, respondents pointed to structural changes: lower prices for fresh foods, more grocery stores in their neighborhoods, and more public education about nutrition. The report calls on policymakers, community health organizations and food retailers to expand access to healthy foods through subsidies, invest in culturally relevant nutrition programs, and partner with trusted community leaders to deliver health education where Black Americans already live, work, worship and gather. “At The Table: Food and Health In Our Community” was produced by the Word In Black Insights and Research Division, which launched in 2025 with support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation.
food purchases since 2006. dents gave themselves a B, and The survey also found it’s nine in 10 agreed that what common for respondents to they eat affects their mental eat out, especially among and emotional well being. Self younger adults, with 41% of reported diet grades tracked those aged 18 to 34 saying closely with respondents’ they eat at restaurants three impressions of their overall or more times a week, com- health, with more than 85% of pared with older respondents. those who gave their diet an A The survey found Black also rating their general health Americans remain strongly as excellent or very good. tied to their food heritage. Roughly 32% said their food “Put it back or knowledge came from how ready made find a cheaper they were raised, while 29% unhealthy look for manager’s specials, said it was shaped by their use coupons and mobile apps own research as adults. About version.” for savings, and some rely on 47% said they try to balance local food pantries. The most traditional foods with healthAwareness of the Trump recent government figures ier choices, a quarter still administration’s Make Amerestimate it’s possible to meet eat mostly the same foods ica Healthy Again program federal fruit and vegetable they grew up with, and 46% remained low among responrecommendations for roughly strongly agreed that food in dents, with nearly half saying This article appeared first $2.50 to $3 per day, but that the U.S. contributes to diet re- they’d heard little or nothing in Word in Black. It has been report, using data from 2022, lated diseases such as type 2 about the updated federal edited for length. For the origiappears out of step with cur- diabetes, high blood pressure guidelines. Still, 73% said a nal, visit https://wordinblack. rent conditions. doctor, nutritionist or other com/2026/09/black-ameriand heart disease. A noticeable segment of When grading the health- caregiver had spoken with cans-have-doubts-about-therespondents said they’ve be- fulness of their own diets, a them about their diet or eat- u-s-food-system-new-word-ingun buying fewer fresh fruits, little more than half of respon- ing habits. black-survey-finds/. vegetables or meat, bypassing organic foods, and are more willing to accept lower quality food or skip healthier options altogether. One respondent described her mindset while grocery shopping: “Put it back or find a cheaper unhealthy version.” The report warns this practice could signal a widening gap in Black Americans’ access to healthy food, one that appears to be affecting the your community larger population as well. A health plan Pew Research Center survey conducted last year found 90% of U.S. adults said healthy food has gotten more expensive in recent years, and 77% of lower income adults said it’s now harder to eat healthier. hennepinhealth.org 612-596-1036 Price also shapes where people shop. Two in five respondents said reasonably or No English? priced food is the most imDHS approved X/XX/202X portant factor in choosing a 612-596-1036 TTY 711 MC-XXXX-MC grocery store, ahead of taste, Discrimination is against the law. Hennepin Health does not convenience and healthfuldiscriminate because of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, sexual ness, a reversal of national orientation, public assistance status, marital status, age, disability or sex. trends where taste has led
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presence, expand its product collections, build its social media following and eventually establish the brand well beyond Minnesota. “Five years was about proving to myself ments where I had to figure that I could build it,” she said. things out with very little re“The next five are about seeing sources,” said Okunola. “Now, how far I can take it.” five years later, I understand Asked what advice she my business and my customers would give her younger self, on a completely different level.” Okunola said she would tell herself to “stop being so afraid of being seen.” She would push extension of me… My love By Jasmine McBride herself to post the content, for beauty, fashion, culture Editor talk about the business and and creating things that make put her face behind the brand Temilola Okunola is the women feel good about theminstead of waiting until everyfounder and CEO of $INZU, selves,” said Okunola. thing looked perfect to start. Her inventory includes eva modernized Ankara fashShe also said she would tell ion brand built on her love erything from necklaces and herself to pay attention to the of beauty, fashion and cul- bracelets, to waistbeads, black numbers from the beginning, ture. Now 24, she has been soap, durags and bonnets. since understanding money, She has grown from simply When Okunola started at an entrepreneur since age 19, margins and inventory matters drawn from the start to the 19, she said she did not re- selling products into building just as much as passion. Most idea of building something ally know what she was doing. an actual brand, with a physiof all, she said, “Don’t let temof her own and creating the She learned everything as she cal location, an online store, porary setbacks convince you freedom to shape her own life went, from branding and in- and a clearer sense of how that the vision isn’t working.” on her own terms. She said ventory to customers, market- powerful social media and Customers can shop $INZU $INZU became an extension ing and finances, often with content can be for reaching online at sinzu.shop. Those in of that drive, filling a demand very few resources. She made customers. She said she is far Minnesota can also shop in for African beauty and fash- mistakes along the way and more intentional now about person at the brand’s kiosk inion wear that her customers had ideas that did not work, where she wants $INZU to side Northtown Mall in Blaine. but she kept building anyway. go, though she is still learning “didn’t even know they had.” $INZU can be found on Tik“There were definitely mo- every day and knows she is $INZU founder and CEO Temilola Okunola during her 5-year Tok and Instagram at @sinzu. “$INZU really became an anniversary brand photo shoot, Sept. 2. Jasmine McBride/MSR world, where the brand shares new products and content. “not the same businesswoman” started as an idea in her head. Okunola said she is grateful “I’ve put too much into $INZU to everyone who has supported she was at 19. Okunola said her faith is a and come too far to give up be- $INZU at any point during its major part of what keeps her cause something gets difficult,” first five years, whether through going. “I genuinely believe God she said. a purchase, a shared post, a Reaching the five year mark recommendation to a friend or gave me this vision for a reason,” she said. Though there have at 24 represents resilience, personal encouragement. She been obstacles that would Okunola said, noting that so said that support, in all its forms, have made it easier to quit, many different versions of helped get the brand to where she said she has always found $INZU, and of herself, had to it is today, and she is excited for another way forward. Her cus- exist to get here. She reflected what comes next. tomers keep her motivated on five years of meeting new To learn more, visit www. as well, she said, describing people, both customers and sinzu.shop. something special in watching collaborators, but said she still people return, recommend her feels like she is “just getting Jasmine McBride welcomes Brown satin durag made to help reduce fric- Traditional African black soap crafted for a business, wear her products started.” Looking ahead, she reader responses at jmcbride@ tion and maintain your hairstyle. Courtesy deep, refreshing cleanse. Courtesy and support something that wants to grow $INZU’s online spokesman-recorder.com.
Founder marks five years modernizing Ankara fashion
Black Business SPOTLIGHT
“The next five are about seeing how far I can take it.”
Why Black-owned businesses can’t afford to be invisible to AI By Rob McManus Many people now use AI tools to search for products and services instead of traditional search engines. If Blackowned businesses aren’t easy for those tools to find, they risk losing potential customers before ever making first contact. Businesses that make themselves visible to AI can build trust with people considering them for the first time. Black Americans run more than 3 million businesses across the U.S., according to McKinsey & Company. It has not always been easy for those businesses to stand out in their communities, and staying visible to AI tools is becoming another way to gain a competitive edge as customer search habits change. Black-owned businesses generate around $133.7 billion in total sales, according to the Department of Small and Local Business Development. A business does not need to generate huge revenue to make an economic impact. Businesses support their communities by offering jobs, inspiring future entrepreneurs and supporting other local businesses through supply relationships. Many Black-owned businesses struggle to survive due to difficulty keeping up with evolving technology and limited access to funding. Owners starting out often handle bookkeeping, customer service, supply chain management and marketing largely on their own, leaving little time to focus on growth. Businesses without customer reviews may also struggle with visibil-
ity and trust. Many entrepreneurs start their businesses with personal savings or loans from family. Those who cannot secure loans with favorable interest rates often end up borrowing at higher rates, which reduces profits over time.
“Many Black-owned businesses struggle to survive due to difficulty keeping up with evolving technology.” Staying visible to AI tools does not require a large budget. Many shoppers now begin their searches with simple questions, asking an AI tool where to find a particular product or service nearby. Businesses can improve their chances of appearing in AI-
tinue bringing in business for months or years. Businesses can support that effort by creating content that answers long-standing customer questions, updating older posts with current information and tracking which content performs best. AI tools do not recommend businesses based only on size or national recognition. They rely on reliable information, relevant content and consistent business details, meaning small businesses can compete for visibility against larger, more established brands. Visibility improvements can happen quickly. Some businesses see noticeable change within a few weeks of gaining Tima Miroshnichenko new customer reviews, since generated results by answer- marketing campaign. Helpful AI tools often look for testimoing the questions customers content posted once can con- nials to help verify a business’s commonly ask through their own content, providing accurate business details and posting quality photos of their products. A strong online presence also builds trust before a customer ever makes contact. Businesses with clear service descriptions, updated hours, active blogs and genuine customer testimonials tend to leave better first impressions. AI tools weigh these same factors before recommending a business, and content that helps customers solve problems, not just advertises products, tends to perform better. An accounting firm, for example, might post guides explaining tax deadlines for small businesses rather than only marketing its services. Once a customer finds a business through an AI-generated answer, the business still needs to guide that customer toward a next step so they do not feel stuck. Investing in AI visibility can pay off longer than a typical
authenticity. Social media profiles also provide AI tools with additional information about a business, and consistent posting and engagement with customers helps build trust and can drive more traffic to a company’s website. Black-owned businesses now have an opportunity to stand out and earn customer trust without spending heavily on marketing. Updating content to address the problems customers face, and gathering genuine reviews from loyal customers, can boost visibility with the AI tools shaping how people find businesses today. This article appeared first in Black Press USA. For the original, visit https://blackpressusa.com/ why-black-owned-businessescant-afford-to-be-invisible-to-ai/.
September 10 - 16, 2026
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spokesman-recorder.com exception allowing denial of someone’s prescription if a health care professional determines against it. For inmates, especially Black Minnesotans, that could mean more complications in receiving medication, in a system that already sees Black inmates with higher rates of medical issues. “Psychologists are so booked out, when I went in to try to get my meds in [Ramsey County jail] I was put on a seven-month waiting list to see the psych,” said Josh McMillen, a member of the End Slavery Minnesota Coalition, describing his experience trying to receive medical care while incarcerated. “There’s a lack of care and a lack of staff. There’s been staff members that have
quit because of how the inmates are treated. They’re not able to keep up with the amount of people that they’re arresting.” Within Minnesota’s prison system, mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are common. Data from the Minnesota Electronic Health Record Consortium shows the percentage of Minnesota adults experiencing depression in 2025 was 17%, but among jailed Minnesotans, it was up to 31%. Black Americans also face a separate dilemma, being consistently misdiagnosed at a higher rate than white Americans. One 2018 study found Black individuals were
2.4 times more likely to receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia than white individuals. CDC data from 2021 showed Black women experienced a maternal mortality rate more than twice that of non-Black women. “People that are already being discriminated against, minorities, indigenous population, they all got it worse,” McMillen said. “I’m white and I grew up poor, so I’m in that sector where we get targeted, but I have seen myself, even though it was hard, get access quicker than somebody who was a minority. It’s just a white supremacist system.” The next legislative session in Minnesota starts in January 2027, with activist groups
dents with resources. time,” Lieberthal said. “What you’re seeing now Nicole Kanieski’s connection to Target goes back de- isn’t the Target that I have cades. She worked for Min- been a part of for most of my neapolis Public Schools for life,” Kanieski said. Her decision to stop shopDEI should be part of a com- more than 20 years, most pany’s everyday decisions, not of it at Whittier Community ping at Target was difficult, something it promotes only School for the Arts, where she since some family members said Target employees once have worked for the company when convenient. “It’s not a one and done, you worked with staff to plan fam- and depend on it. But she said have to think about it all the ily events and connect stu- Target’s past support for local
communities made its more recent decisions feel personal. Boycott organizers point to declines in Target’s sales and store traffic, along with a more than $12 billion loss in market valuation, as evidence that sustained consumer pressure has had a significant impact on the company. They also point to the replacement of
Target’s CEO, the elimination or non-filling of roughly 1,800 positions, and the company’s absence from Fortune’s Most Admired Companies All-Star list after a 24-year streak as signs of its broader struggles since the boycott began. For Levy Armstrong, the question of whether the boycott is still active has a simple
is considering what comes next professionally. “If I am not going to be teaching anymore, how do people who are not teachers use AI?” Eichten said. Eichten sees possibilities in the technology, such as helping people access information, but her classroom experience also left her concerned about students becoming too dependent on it. She shared that students would question why they needed to learn certain skills when AI could produce
answers for them. “They were like, ‘What’s the point? AI is going to do everything. I don’t need to know that,’” Eichten said. “’I’m not even going to try because AI is going to do everything.’” That concern is nearly the opposite of Hill’s, who said he worries restrictions on young people’s use of AI could leave them behind. “Putting restrictions on their use early on, I think, could have a negative impact on their ability to learn how to
use it effectively,” Hill said. Rather than resolving or offering the right answers to both sides, the event created space for community members to raise questions about what responsible adoption should look like. Eichten said the event gave her new ideas about how she might use AI and reinforced the value of having community conversations about it. “It was good to have this discussion so people could start thinking about it,” Eich-
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away from its cash bail system toward an intentional detaining and release system. While it did not pass this session, Kooren said the coalition will continue advocating for both bills together. “The reason why is that even after a new system where we eliminate cash [bail], it’s important for us to know exactly what is happening, to make sure that any new systems that are created are closely monitored and evaluated for effectiveness,” Kooren said. “Even though we want to create a new system, we still
think that system should be analyzed and transparent.” One bill that did pass was the Larry R. Hill Medical Reform Act (HF 264), after some initial pushback. It requires all correctional facilities in Minnesota, including jails, to provide an inmate’s medication that they had before entering incarceration. The bill was initially signed last year, but the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association and Advanced Correctional Healthcare sued the state to block it before it took effect, arguing the law could force staff to give medications that could be harmful to some inmates. The amended version passed this year and took effect in August. It adds an
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SISTER SPOKESMAN Continued from page 1
racial bias while experimenting with an AI image generator for a book project involving an African American cowgirl. The experience pointed to a larger concern about who designs AI systems, what information is used to build them, and whether the technology treats communities
fairly. For Adams, responsible AI use means neither rejecting the technology nor accepting everything it produces. “We need to think about how to use it responsibly, but also kind of lean on each other and play around with it,” she said. Those questions were relevant for attendee Remi Eichten, who said she spent 17 years teaching before resigning this year. She said she attended the event because she
“We haven’t been here before. So we’re all trying to figure it out.”
preparing to present the bills that did not pass this year once again. “We definitely remain really committed to the slate of bills, so we will be focused on the transformation of the pretrial system and our slate of reforms,” Kooren said. “Talking with not only the legislators, but with community members about what that looks like, what it means and why we think this transformation is important, and will make Minnesota a better state for everyone.” Izzy Canizares is a freelance journalist and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at isabellacani0102@gmail.com.
answer. “For many, it is a permanent boycott,” she said. “It’s a divorce.” Lizzy Nyoike is a Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication student and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. She welcomes reader responses at lnyoike@spokesman-recorder.com. ten said. Adams said those conversations are especially important because there is no single roadmap for navigating a technology that continues to evolve. “We have to remember that this is so new for us,” Adams said. “We haven’t been here before. So we’re all trying to figure it out.” Aaliyah Demry welcomes reader responses at ademry@ spokesman-recorder.com.
6 September 10 - 16, 2026
Arts & Culture
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Resmaa Menakem finds his next act with 'Mothership' at Penumbra By Tony Kiene Contributing Writer "Growing up, my mom often said to me, 'From the time you arrived on this planet you always leaned in to people,'" recalls Resmaa Menakem, whose new drama, Mothership, co-written with playwright, curator and producer Kristen Adele Calhoun, kicks off its world premiere run at Penumbra this month. "You scared the hell out of me," his mother would add. "You weren't afraid of others in the least; you'd let anyone pick you up." Menakem doesn't shy away from that assessment of his youth, or how it shaped his four-decade career as a healer and psychotherapist and his philosophy of Somatic Abolitionism, which he defines as "a living, embodied anti-racist
to read this too,'" says Mena- before anything else. It's libpractice and cultural building, kem. The book climbed the eratory," Menakem explains. a way of being in the world... New York Times bestseller list "The first representation of hua return to the age-old wisand reached a global audience. manity is a Black woman in Afdom of human bodies respectHis next book, “The Quak- rica. Then there's the through ing, honoring, and resonating ing of America: An Embodied line to us. As with the cosmos, with other human bodies. This Guide to Navigating Our Na- she didn't always exist, and precept treats racism not as a tion's Upheaval and Racial then she did. Blackness is political or philosophical conReckoning”, followed in 2022. an idea of the womb, and it struct, but rather as a wickTwo years later, “My Grand- moves us forward." edness that penetrates our mother's Hands” became a chilnervous systems and physical The ancestors, he says, dren's book, made with Emmy sometimes said things that bodies, activating an innate Award-winning actor and weren't for their time, but for survival response. Somatic longtime Penumbra Company us to hear today. "It's Kristen's Abolitionism is designed to identify, tackle, and heal the Courtesy member T. Mychael Rambo, and my attempt to let people and illustrator Leroy Campbell. know that what you think is racialized trauma that whiteMenakem also found a happening, the absurdity in body supremacy has inflicted to what was happening 300 "pushing the boundaries with miles northwest of his home- songs like 'Annie Christian,' place on the radio, hosting this world, is actually happenover generations." town: the Minneapolis Sound. 'Uptown,' 'Sexuality,' 'Head,' KMOJ's "Resmaa in the Morn- ing. That you're not f*%#!@g ing," and on vinyl with two crazy. We need to plant seeds "Prince was steeped in Black and even '1999.'" Minneapolis dreaming At 18, Menakem made his albums, “Feral Dreams” and for those who come after us." A native of Milwaukee, revolutionary music. He was Menakem's earliest aspira- born into that piece," Mena- way up Interstate 94 and tried “Dismembered and Unarmed,” Menakem calls another tions were centered else- kem says, citing comparisons to "make it all happen" in the blending music, wisdom and idea he's exploring "generawhere. Classically trained as to James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, City of Lakes. With no money, spoken word. tive decay," the notion that all Looking back on the 40-plus things eventually decay but an acoustic bassist, he had Nina Simone, Sly Stone and he initially lived out of his car, dreams of making it in the mu- George Clinton. Even in those and when he did finally put a years since he moved to Min- create the nutrients for what sic business and was drawn early days, he says, Prince was roof over his head, it was, he neapolis, Menakem says this comes next. "What has to deis the only way it could have cay, not die, but decay, for the notes, "a crack house." It didn't take long for him happened. "If I would have had next thing to thrive," he says. to realize a career in music the success at 26 that I do now, "This is an elegant process. may not have been in the I'd probably be an addict today. There is peril and possibility cards. "I felt that I had talent, I'm in a much better place to- at every point, but it's still elbut I wasn't a child prodigy," day, not having achieved what egant. So how can I, before I he explains, "and I didn't have I thought I was worthy of at a return to the Blackness, leave the discipline I needed at that much younger age." something here for my babies, time in my life." and their babies, and so on. He found his footing, Blackness as principle It's not our job to have all the “Mothership,” which pre- answers, but it is our job to though, becoming a groundbreaking psychotherapist in mieres next week at Penum- leave something behind." his early 20s. In 2017, he pub- bra, is the natural evolution lished his second book, “My of Menakem's life. "I couldn't Racial Healing (270 North Grandmother's Hands: Racial- have written this at 26, 36, Kent Street, St. Paul) on Thursized Trauma and the Pathway or maybe even 46. I needed day, September, 10, and runs to Mending Our Hearts and those decades to mature, to through October 4, 2026 (preget the reps in, so to speak. To views on October 8 and 9). For Bodies.” come into myself." more information and to purFramed as an "Afrofutur- chase tickets, visit https://penInternational acclaim Although it instantly gar- istic" parable, “Mothership” umbracenter.org/event/mothnered critical acclaim, My follows five souls from a shat- ership/. Grandmother's Hands wasn't tered world aboard a sentient widely recognized beyond ac- ship that urges each toward a Tony Kiene is a contributing ademic circles until the mur- necessary, sometimes painful writer for the Minnesota Spokesder of George Floyd. "People transformation. man-Recorder. He welcomes Blackness runs through it. reader responses at tkiene@ who'd already read it started to tell others, 'Hey! You need "Blackness for me is a principle spokesman-recorder.com.
‘The Wiz’ brings confidence and community to Northside youth both confidence and closeness painting projects to the center. The center additionally partamong the kids. "It's about exposing them ners with St. David's Center for Thirty children ages 7 to 12 to activities they might not Child and Family Development brought "The Wiz" to the stage otherwise get to do," she said, and Hennepin County to build Aug. 27, the latest produc- adding that watching the final classrooms supporting chiltion from Catholic Charities performance is always emo- dren with and without disabiliNorthside Child Development tional for her. "I know I'm going ties, and counts Minneapolis Center's (NCDC) Summer Per- to cry because I see the work Public Schools and the University of Minnesota among its forming Arts Program. Count- they put in every day." education partners. The children are involved in ing those working behind the Osborn said she sees "The every stage of the production, scenes, roughly 50 kids are Wiz" as an extension of the including building their own involved in the three-month organization's broader mission: costumes and props and deprocess overall. creating opportunities for chilsigning choreography. The production is the third dren, and their parents, to see Kim Osborn, NCDC's proplay NCDC has staged in themselves beyond their curgram director for around 30 partnership with Northside rent circumstances. The center years, said the building that Achievement Zone (NAZ), following last year's "Annie" and houses the center was taken takes a whole-family approach, a first production at Sojourner over by Catholic Charities engaging parents, educators, Truth School about a decade Twin Cities in roughly 1986. children, and community partago. The program paused dur- The center holds a contract ners in supporting each child's ing the COVID-19 pandemic with Hennepin County requir- success, using a strengthsrelationship-focused before returning, with post- ing it to provide direct support based, approach to address children's services to families, includCOVID performances taking academic and social-emotional ing therapeutic support and place at The Capri. needs, she said. Children in the access to activities meant to Patricia Krause, superviprogram are funded through broaden children's developsor of NCDC's School Age the county's child care assisment. Partnerships supporting Student Program, said the tance program, and parents that work include a contract process begins with auditions and includes watching the film with V3 for swimming classes are either working or going to adaptation of "The Wiz" to- and an instructor who teaches school. Osborn measures the gether before rehearsals start. boxing. NCDC also brought program's success primarily in an instructor from AfroconShe said she has been struck by how children who did not tigbo Dance Company to teach through attendance rates and land the roles they wanted re- dance for the production, and participation in the center's regularly invites storytellers educational programming, but sponded. and authors to work with stu- also points to something less "They seemed eager to help dents. On the arts side, NCDC quantifiable: former students in other ways instead of being collaborates with NAZ, the returning as adults to enroll disappointed," she said. MacPhail Center for Music, their own children or to work Since rehearsals began, and the Big Brothers Big Sis- for the organization. She inKrause said the group spends ters Free Arts program, which troduced three staff members much of its time singing and brings drumming and mural- who were once her students, dancing together, building By Jasmine McBride Editor
For some young performers, the production marked a first foray into theater. Jae'cion Emory, who plays the Scarecrow, said he had no prior experience with plays before landing two of whom left for higher a lead role. "It feels good," he education and returned after said, adding that his friends earning their degrees. Foster and family saw a different side Grandparents from the comof him. He hopes to continue munity also volunteer onsite with theater. with NCDC's students. Ivy, who plays Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, used her character worksheet to look past the character's temper. She wrote that Evillene's hidden strength is believing in herself even when no one else does, and that the biggest lesson she took from the role was to never give up. Nyla Williams, who plays the Tin Woman, grew up around Children rehearse a scene from "The Wiz" at The Capri on Aug. music but said this is her first 26, ahead of the Catholic Charities Northside Child Develop- time acting. For her worksheet, ment Center's Summer Performing Arts Program production. she wrote an original backstory Jasmine McBride/MSR for the character, imagining a robotic carnival worker who The center's programming lum focused on building con- cares for a young daughter spans ages 6 weeks to 12 years, fidence and self-expression. across a series of diary entries including a K-12 before- and Students filled out "character spanning 1959 to 1963. after-school component and a specialist" worksheets explorIn addition to Catholic summer program, serving 129 ing what each character feels Charities Twin Cities' support, children in all. NCDC holds a inside, what holds them back, NCDC's Summer Perform4-Star Parent Aware rating, the and what strengths they hide, ing Arts Program is funded by highest quality designation in then wrote what lessons they partners including Northside Minnesota, and is accredited took from that character for Achievement Zone and The by the National Association for themselves. Sheltering Arms Foundation. the Education of Young ChilFor more information on "These kids are fearless, and dren with a 96 percent pass it is inspiring to see that, be- the Catholic Charities Northrating. More than 90 percent cause then I have to ask myself side Child Development Cenof the center's preschoolers why I should be afraid," she ter, visit https://cctwincities. met or exceeded kindergarten said. "I have seen that these org/services-and-locations/ readiness assessment stan- kids can do anything when children-and-family-services/ dards. All families served meet they put their minds to it, and northside-child-developmentHennepin County's income that these kids are talented. center/. standards for subsidized child We have never needed the care assistance. Jasmine McBride welcomes bells and whistles to be talentNAZ Family Academy Pro- ed, but I am happy to see them reader responses at jmcbride@ gram Manager Alicia Smiley, provided with it." spokesman-recorder.com. who is pursuing a doctorate and researching the impact of theater in low-income communities for her dissertation, has worked with NCDC and NAZ since the first play about a decade ago. She said working with the children has reshaped how she thinks about fear. Alongside the play, Smiley leads the NCDC students through a youth empowerment curricu-
September 10 - 16, 2026
7
Education The READ Act is a beginning, not the finish line
spokesman-recorder.com
Voices shaping Minnesota education
By Khulia F. Pringle Columnist Last month, I wrote about Minneapolis Public Schools’ Transformation process and what happens after families show up. I asked whether families understand the decisions being made, whether they can see where their voices influenced those decisions, and whether they remain partners after the meetings are over. But as I continued thinking about Transformation, another question kept coming back to me: What exactly are we transforming toward? We can change buildings. We can change boundaries. We can move programs, restructure systems, adopt new curriculum and write new strategic plans. But at the end of all of it, I am still going to ask the same question I have been asking for years: Can our children read? For me, literacy has never been just another education issue. Literacy is liberation. A child who can read has
greater access to every other subject we expect them to learn. Reading affects how children experience school, how they see themselves as learners, and ultimately, the opportunities available to them beyond the classroom. That is why Minnesota’s READ Act matters. The READ Act represented a major shift in how our state approaches reading instruction. Minnesota committed to evidence-based reading instruction, stronger screening for reading difficulties and characteristics of dyslexia, intervention for struggling readers, educator training and greater communication with families. I supported that shift. I still do. But as an advocate who has spent years sounding the alarm about literacy, I believe we have reached the point where we must say something clearly: Passing the READ Act was the beginning. It was not the finish line. This school year, implementation goes deeper. Children in kindergarten through third grade are screened throughout the year for foundational literacy skills and characteristics of dyslexia. Students in grades four through 12 who are not reading at grade level must also be screened and receive evidence-based intervention and progress monitoring. Those requirements matter. For too long, I have worked with families whose children struggled with reading for years before someone identified what was wrong. Parents were told to wait. Give it more time. Maybe it will click. Some families didn’t understand how far behind their child was until the gap had
RDNE Stock project become much harder to close. The READ Act gives us an opportunity to change that. But screening a child is not the same as teaching a child to read. Identifying a reading difficulty only matters if we do something meaningful with that information.
“Giving families information is not the same as making sure families understand it.” And this is where families need to know what they should expect. When a child is identified as not reading at grade level, families should receive information about their child’s reading proficiency, the intervention being provided, their child’s progress and strategies
they can use at home. But I’m going to sound the same alarm I sounded in my last column: Giving families information is not the same as making sure families understand it. Don’t just hand a parent a screening report filled with scores and acronyms. Tell me what it means. What can my child do? Where are they struggling? What intervention are they receiving? How often are they receiving it? How are you measuring whether it is working? When will we look at the data again? And what happens if my child isn’t making progress? Those aren’t unreasonable questions. Those are questions every family should feel empowered to ask. And we must pay particular attention to the children our systems have historically struggled to serve well: Black children, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, children with dyslexia and older students who made it through
elementary school without becoming proficient readers. The READ Act includes multilingual learners and students receiving special education services in its screening requirements. Minnesota is also navigating how literacy screening and intervention intersect with English-language development. That complexity cannot become an excuse for leaving children behind. We have to know the difference between a child learning English and a child struggling to read. We have to identify dyslexia early. And we cannot allow a student’s age or grade level to become a reason to give up on teaching them to read. This is where I believe Minnesota’s next phase of literacy work must focus. Not simply on whether we implemented the READ Act. But whether implementation is producing results. Are children who started below grade level making meaningful progress? Are racial literacy gaps nar-
rowing? Are multilingual learners receiving instruction that addresses both language development and literacy? Are families receiving information they actually understand? Are interventions working? And when they aren’t working, how quickly are we changing course? Minnesota requires districts and charter schools to develop Local Literacy Plans documenting how they will implement this work. That accountability matters. But families need accountability they can see at home. Is my child becoming a stronger reader? We can celebrate educators completing training. We can celebrate better curriculum, stronger screening and earlier identification. We should. But we cannot confuse implementation with the outcome we promised children. The finish line isn’t completed training. It isn’t a new curriculum. It isn’t a screening report. It isn’t a literacy plan. The finish line is literacy. And until every child, regardless of race, disability, language, income or ZIP code, has a real opportunity to become a strong reader, Minnesota still has work to do. Khulia F. Pringle, M.A., is founder and executive director of S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United, commissioner on the Saint Paul Recovery Act Commission on Reparations, and co-chair of the Minnesota Literacy Coalition. You can reach her directly at khuliapringle@standupmpu.org.
The unforgettable impact of Ruby Hurley By Lucy Kitcher Contributing Writer In 1939, Ruby Hurley’s voice gave hope, equality and justice to someone who nearly lost her voice and smile because of her race. This person was Marian Anderson, a world-renowned opera singer who was scheduled to sing at the nation’s capital and was denied the opportunity because of the color of her skin. Ruby swung into action, protested and helped move the performance to the Lincoln Memorial. Over 75,000 people gathered to enjoy the concert, and another million listened on the radio. Over the next three decades, Ruby made history as part of an organization that fought for justice for all through her sacrifice and resilience: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). African Americans suffered inhumane treatment and racial terrorism at the time, and Ruby embraced the challenge of studying law while continuing her work in the civil rights movement. Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJLI) is honored to make Ruby’s story known to everyone. “Ruby Hurley: Queen of Civil Rights,” part of the Difference Makers series, emphasizes her sacrifice, resilience and impact. This article explores Ruby’s leadership journey.
Ruby Hurley NAACP Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress Ruby was born in 1909 in Washington, D.C., to parents who were activists and public school teachers. Seeing her parents enrich the lives of children, she was determined to make a positive impact on her own community and took her studies seriously at Dunbar High School in Washington. She went on to Miner Teachers College to gain the knowledge and skills she needed to engage in societal reform, inspired by the example her parents had already set. She later enrolled in an evening law course at the Robert H. Terrell Law School, having seen a world where some people were given special treatment while others suffered rejection and discrimination. She knew her legal training would help her fight
racial discrimination, since the law is a language of power. Ruby became a secretary for the NAACP. As youth secretary, she participated in international youth conferences and became a leader in the National Students’ Association. She did not let her gender or race limit her; under her direction, what began as a few youth councils and college chapters grew to more than 25,000 NAACP members. Ruby rose to prominence at a time when discrimination against the Black community in America was at its peak. Her main activities were civil rights advocacy; investigations into racial incidents and murder cases; and finding justice for those without a voice. She became regional director and drove the initiative to ensure Black Americans regained their legal and fundamental human rights. With the help of NAACP members including Medgar Evers, field secretary of the organization’s Mississippi office, she compiled reports on these cases and gave them to the FBI and the NAACP. She later joined a tour to bring nationwide attention to some of these tragedies. Ruby faced constant danger and open hostility throughout her career. She was often threatened because her civil rights activism did not sit well with some local authorities and members of her community, and she received ob-
ton County NAACP hosts an scene phone calls and death on March 31, 1978. The “Queen of Civil Rights” annual Ruby Hurley Image threats at her home. Ruby traveled more than died at age 70 on Aug. 9, Award in her honor. She left a 40,000 miles by bus and car, 1980, in Atlanta. She left be- legacy for generations unborn. The forthcoming book, often alone, while working for hind a legacy of civil rights adthe NAACP in the South. Her vocacy. Her accomplishments “Ruby Hurley: Queen of Civil refusal to eat in segregated were recognized by the U.S. Rights,” will serve as a tool restaurants during her travels Postal Service in 2009 with for inspiring the next generabrought its own hardship, and a commemorative stamp in tion of leaders. At PPGJ, we the toll of her work had nega- the Civil Rights Pioneers se- encourage children to learn, tive effects on her mental and ries. Her contributions to the grow and lead. civil rights movement helped physical health. Lucy Kitcher is an intern at Ruby was discouraged advance economic, political many times but pressed on. and social opportunities for Planting People Growing Justice After 39 years of service and African Americans and many Leadership Institute (PPGJLI). dedication to the NAACP, she others. For more information on PPGJLI, The Chattanooga-Hamil- visit www.ppgjli.org/. retired from the organization
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Making November 3rd the true No Kings Day
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder July 10,the 2025 past Over
two years, millions of Americans from every walk of life have turned out for “No Kings Day” protest marches across this nation. The demonstrations have targeted the illegal practices and activities of President Trump, in violation of the Constitution and everything democracy stands for. We have watched Congress surrender its constitutional authority to this president without question. We have watched people killed by officials who called it all “the line of duty.” We have watched American citizens arrested, placed in camps, and organizers and I launched C-suite. By Nekima Levy Armstrong deported in violation of their But this reveals something citizenship, the law, and due the National Target Boycott When images of a children’s here in Minnesota, now one larger. Powerful institutions process. Halloween costume sold by of the most successful Black- have platforms to tell the public The demonstrations made Target began circulating this led consumer boycotts in what happened and whose their statement. But the week, many Black Americans recent American history. For interpretation to trust. They president and his administration saw something painfully more than 18 months, Black can interrogate institutions remained largely unmoved, familiar: the visual language of consumers and allies have when racial harm occurs, or because protest alone carries minstrelsy and racist caricature, withheld our dollars, and turn scrutiny elsewhere. The no forcible power against the imagery historically used to Target has lost over $12 billion Washington Post Editorial White House. Trump has come degrade and dehumanize in valuation. Its longtime Board recently called economic to regard himself as king, and CEO stepped aside, the pressure against Target “union the U.S. Supreme Court has Black people. Target removed the costume, company cut roughly 1,800 bullying.” But withholding done little to challenge that acknowledged it was offensive corporate positions, and it fell a dollar is not a threat; it is self-image. and said it never should have off Fortune’s World’s Most a choice, the same choice But November 3rd, 2026, been part of its assortment. Admired Companies list after available to any consumer, and the midterm general election, What Target has not explained a 24-year run. Now Target is it has always been protected, is our day of reckoning, if we is how it happened. How apologizing for a product many nonviolent speech. Calling it simply get out and vote. Our does a product like this of us immediately recognized bullying doesn’t just mislabel votes, cast together, can do make it through the internal as offensive. I believe those a boycott. It recasts the people the following: demanding accountability processes of one of America’s things are connected. ● Change control of the U.S. largest retailers? Who had the House of Representatives authority to stop it? Instead, others are already explaining Target’s failure for us. In a USA Today column, Elizabeth Grace Matthew acknowledged the costume was “unambiguously racial and racist,” but argued the real problem was historical By Sharon M. Holder, PhD., When a company retreats as the aggressors and the MPhil., MSc., MSW illiteracy, betting it wasn’t from DEI, it signals whether corporation as the victim. In made with racist intent. But intent isn’t the racial competency remains USA Today, we’re offered “We are now faced with the question. Target sold an a priority. Missing that historical illiteracy as an fact that tomorrow is today. offensive product and admits competency at the top raises explanation before Target has We are confronted with the it never should have been the risk that offensive products explained anything itself. fierce urgency of now.” — Different arguments can Martin Luther King Jr. through decisionoffered. Reuters reported the move company declined to identify making unchecked. If people perform the same function: who designed the costume or bringing products to market the corporation becomes less Watching highlights of the explain its approval process. As don’t know enough racial accountable while the people Defend the Vote march on a civil rights lawyer, I want the history to recognize degrading challenging it become more the National Mall, I thought imagery, that doesn’t suspect. This is one way the of Dr. King’s quote: a warning, evidence. This didn’t happen in a weaken the case for racial status quo maintains itself, a prophecy, a plea. Tomorrow vacuum. In January 2025, competency. It strengthens letting people disengage from is today, and today looks Target retreated from it. Historical literacy is part of the harder question of what alarmingly like yesterday. The significant DEI commitments. racial competency, and racial they owe when Black people fierce urgency King warned Days later, my fellow competency belongs in the ask them to stand together. us about has arrived again, Black people are not asking uninvited and unrelenting. America to abandon critical It is sixty-three years thinking. We are asking after the 1963 March America to stop treating on Washington, and the our knowledge as though National Mall is once again it doesn’t count. Our lived a sea of bodies, a multiracial, experience and understanding multigenerational chorus of racial history are evidence. demanding what should never That’s part of the lesson of have been lost: voting rights, the boycott: we didn’t wait for civil rights, economic justice. Target, an editorial board or a Under the same sky where Dr. corporate analyst to decide King declared a dream meant whether our concerns were to carry us forward, not circle submissions@spokesman-recorder.com legitimate. We assessed what us back, thousands stand we saw, organized and acted. shoulder to shoulder, refusing Target owes the public to surrender ground won an explanation for how this by generations before them. costume made it through, Different decades, same fight. and what will change. When It makes us wonder whether disrespect becomes a pattern, history is a lesson we refuse believe the pattern. We know to learn, or a warning we keep our history, and we know ignoring. Because here we submissions@spokesman-recorder.com what we saw. The question are, more than six decades is whether America will listen later, defending the very to Black people, or continue rights people bled, marched letting powerful institutions and died for: voting rights ads@spokesman-recorder.com explain our own experiences weakened, civil rights rolled back to us. back, economic justice denied, DEI framed as a threat. Nekima Levy Armstrong is This is not accidental. It is submissions@spokesman-recorder.com. a civil rights attorney, activist not random. It is a pattern, a and co-founder of the National pulse older than nations and Target Boycott. more intimate than family
Who gets to explain racism to Black people?
“Target owes the public an explanation for how this costume made it through, and what will change.”
In Re: Estate of
OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
FOR BILLING
Deanne Marie Hild, FILE NO. 27-PA-PR-25-934 INQUIRIES also known as, &Bratton TEARSHEETS Deanne Marie and Deanne Marie Elmquist, Deceased PLEASE CONTACT
by replacing the Republican we can end this would-be ACCOU N T I NG TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ANDDEPT CREDITORS: king’s reign before his final members who rubber-stamp @that BILLI NG@SPOKEStwoappointment years are up. representhe president’s illegal actions Notice is given an application for informal of personal tative hasof been with the Registrar.DER No will.COM has been is presented The sit Mfiled A N-R ECOR This not for a probate. call to instead providing oversight, application has balances. been granted. back and hope someone else checks, and ● At the local level, ensure handles it. Every school board Notice is hereby given that informal appointment of Michael Ryan Hild, whose adseat, cityrepresentative council ofrace, that who support DISPLAY dresscandidates is 4034EMPLOYMENT 40th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55406every as personal state legislative Donald are not elected SIZE 2 COL X 2 INCH the estateTrump of the above-named decedent, has every been made. Any heir, devisee or district other person may be entitled PCI tothey appointment personaluncontested representative or may thatas goes by an tointerested offices from which RATE: $44.60 object toimplement the appointmenthis of the personal representative and the personal represenengaged electorate is a door would policies TOTAL: $178.40 tative is empowered to fully administer the estate including, after 30 days from the left open. The same local close to home. date of issuance of letters, the power to sell, encumber, lease or distribute real estate, offices we too often skip on unless objections thereto are filed with the Court (pursuant to Section 524.3-607) and the ballot are the ones that the Court otherwise orders. proof, with email confirmation to ad “This Please is not a responddecide how aggressively Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said are spokesman-recorder.com Trump’s policies getestate carried callto present to sit back required the same to said personal representative or to the Probate Court out in our own neighborhoods, Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be and hope The MSR handles billing digitally. in our schools, our police barred. This means you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoice departments, our housing someone else unless you specifically request a hard copy. authorities. There is no such Dated: June 24, 2025 it.” handles thing Lindy as aScanlon race too small to Registrar matter this cycle. By turning out ourselves, and ProSe Sara Gonsalves ● Defeat, at every level, turning outCourt everyone around District Administrator school board, city council, us, neighbors, coworkers, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder July 10, 17, 2025 county supervisor, Congress, congregations, campuses, we state legislature, governor, the people can make November the candidates who depend 3rd, 2026, the true No Kings on our silence. The excuse Day. We can take back our jobs, that “my vote doesn’t count” our healthcare, our gas and must end now. This is how food prices, our housing, and we guarantee no king. This our guaranteed freedoms of is how we stop ICE, stop speech and movement. deportations without due Let’s be ready to vote so process, stop troops in our we won’t have to get ready streets, and stop unauthorized later. Let’s vote early, and military conflicts that put our let’s undermine every effort nation’s security at risk. to delay our vote on Election If the millions who marched Day. on “No Kings Day” join the millions already committed Dr. John E. Warren is the to defeating gerrymandered Publisher of the San Diego districts and overwhelming Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper this president’s efforts to and Chairman of the Board of suppress or intimidate voters, Directors, NNPA.
Tomorrow is today: Why the past keeps returning and demanded, even when that vigilance carries a quiet emotional toll built from generations fighting the same battles. Today, they are tested in ways that echo the very injustices the 1963 march sought to dismantle. We are living in a moment where truth is contested terrain, where history is rewritten to soothe discomfort, where “equity” is twisted into a threat, and where the vote is chipped away through legislation, litigation and calculated indifference. Still, the marchers on the Mall remind us of something “We cannot essential: we have been here pretend before, and we know how to move forward. The multiracial, democracy is multigenerational crowd is self-cleaning not a sign of despair. It is a refusal to forget, a refusal to or selfsurrender, a refusal to let the correcting.” wheel of time spin backward without resistance. Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin The fierce urgency of now Luther King III, Yolanda is not just a phrase. It is a Renee King, Hakeem Jeffries, mandate, a mirror, a reminder Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that democracy is not a and Bernie Sanders have all spectator sport. It demands raised their voices, echoing participation, vigilance, Dr. King and John Lewis, who courage and discomfort, called the vote “precious, because tomorrow is today. almost sacred,” the most So today, we are called powerful nonviolent tool in once again to stand where a democracy. Their words others stood, march where are warnings, reminders and others marched, defend what calls to action, because the others defended. Not because question hangs in the air, history is repeating itself, heavy and unavoidable: if the but because justice requires past keeps repeating, what repetition, until the dream have we learned? becomes reality, not memory. We cannot pretend Defend the Vote. democracy is self-cleaning or self-correcting. We cannot Dr. Sharon M. Holder is a assume progress is permanent. behavioral health researcher Rights are not heirlooms; they with more than 25 years of are responsibilities, surviving experience in academia and only when tended, defended healthcare. memory. Destruction begins quietly: a hairline crack in a foundation, a whispered justification, a story told in the wrong direction. A right restricted. A truth blurred. Beneath it all, trauma settles slowly into communities, the kind that builds in the body when rights are threatened and history is erased. Then the wheel of time hits hard, and the ground has shifted, not overnight, but inch by inch, policy by policy, silence by silence.
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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Assumed Name | Certificate of Assumed Name Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 333
Read the instructions before completing this form. Filing Fee: $50 for expedited service in-person and online filings, $30 if submitted by mail The filing of an assumed name does not provide a user with exclusive rights to that name. The filing is required for consumer protection in order to enable consumers to be able to identify those conducting business. Note: Information provided when filing a business entity is public data and may be viewable online. This includes but is not limited to all individual names and addresses. 1. Assumed Name: (Required) List the exact assumed name under which the business is or will be conducted: Chanson Voice and Music Academy 2. Principal Place of Business: (Required) Street Address (A PO Box by itself is not acceptable) 795 Raymond Avenue City: St Paul State: MN Zip: 55114 3. Mailing Address: If you would like to receive mail at an address other than the principal place of business address, please provide a mailing address. Street Address: ______________________________________ City: ____________ State: ______ Zip: ______ 4. List the name and complete street address of all persons conducting business under the above Assumed Name, AND/OR if the above Assumed Name is held by a business entity – such as a corporation, limited liability company, etc. – provide the entity name and address. Name: Thomas McNellis Street: 795 Raymond Avenue City: St Paul State: MN Zip: 55114 5. 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 in 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. Signature: _______________________ Date: 6-9-26 Signature (Only one Applicant or an Authorized Agent is required to sign) Print Name and Title: Thomas D McNellis, director of vocal pedagogy Email Address for Official Notices Enter an email address to which the Secretary of State can forward official notices required by law and other notices: tdmcnellis@gmail.com Check here to have your email address excluded from requests for bulk data, to the extent allowed by Minnesota law.
that.” Richardson hopes to reestablish the football Continued from page 10 success that former coach Issac Sr. built during his time school,” Richardson stressed. at Rochester, or continue the “From Coach Richardson, success he established at his you’re going to learn how to other stops in his coaching be a better student. You’re journey. “Being a Black coach, going to learn how to grow up and how to understand whether it’s at junior college things in life, and things like or any college level, we
have to wear it as a badge of honor because we know not a lot of us get these opportunities,” Richardson reiterated. “I’m blessed and fortunate that this is my fifth opportunity to be a head coach at this level, so I’m very blessed in that. It’s my calling to show others that you can do this as well. I am also showing
that we can be more than just a recruiter, more than just a position coach, more than just somebody who is what they call a player development rep.”
SOE WHITING
political office, or being a head coach someday? “I think being an assistant coach is the sweet spot,” Whiting concluded. “I get to do exactly what I want to do, of really coaching and leaning into our young people, without having to worry about all the logistics that come with being a head coach.
“I think, especially as it relates to my political career,” the first-term councilman reiterated, “I don’t think my wife would let me go any longer than I do now.”
SOE RICHARDSON
were there for me,” Whiting explained, “modeled what that looked like, modeled what Continued from page 10 success looked like, modeled how you should be holding Giovan Jenkins and others, yourself to a certain standard up close to learn how to be as a young Black man in the an effective Black coach City of Minneapolis. “I hope I can do the same for himself, and an effective role model to youngsters who the young men and women coming behind me.” also look like him. Any dreams of higher “All the coaches that
VIEW
Continued from page 10
traditional and social media outlets, and that the athletes last season did “approximately 2,300 service hours with 80 different community partners,” said Esten. “We are still in the business at the University of St. Thomas, offering our student-athletes a transformative experience while finding a way to excel in the classroom, engage in our community, develop holistically and compete in a meaningful way. “I’m bullish about our brand,” reaffirmed Esten. After his 10-minute remarks, MSR asked Esten about his “state” of UST Athletics, diversity-wise, both in his administration and among the teams. Beforehand, we did an unscientific analysis using the
JACOBS
Continued from page 10
Work Item 1657842400058 Original File Number 1657842400058 STATE OF MINNESOTA OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FILED 07/27/2026 11:59 PM Steve Simon Secretary of State
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, September 3 & 10, 2026
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score. The Governors also had Continued from page 10 three touchdowns called back. Howard, a pretty good Howard, including a two- basketball player in his point conversion that put own right, caught the Johnson up for good with game-winning touchdown pass. This was Darrough’s 27.7 seconds remaining. Senior Paris Pollard first start at quarterback. performed well as a receiver Moore, the point guard and return specialist. Fellow for the basketball team, senior Arsee Gabi provided caught a pass that put an extra-point kick after a Johnson up 13-12 in the
an MSHSL press release announcing her hiring. Picking up the mantle that Lissimore left behind is something Jacobs is proud to continue. Lissimore was MSHSL associate director for 34 years, the most visible Black person at League-sponsored events, and was inducted into the National Federation of High School Associations Hall of Fame shortly before she retired in 2022. “I always looked up to Lisa,” Jacobs said. “Just being from St. Paul and St. Paul Central, that history goes so deep. That was a really cool opportunity.” Being the only Black woman on the job is nothing
third quarter. Not a bad start for the Governors.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@ spokesman-recorder.com. Copyright © Charles Hallman
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@ spokesman-recorder.com. Copyright © Charles Hallman
school’s athletic staff directory. We found only eight Black staff members (4.7%) among the 168 people listed on the UST athletic staff: zero head coaches, but five Black assistant coaches, two Black assistant ADs and one equipment manager. “It has ebbed and flowed over the last five years,” explained Esten. “If you looked at the staff directory five years ago, that percentage would have been much higher. And if you look at the directory a year from now, it may look different from a diversity standpoint than it does today. “It starts with recruiting and making our jobs known in a very diverse way so that we can recruit, we do have nationally across the country. We hire the best person,” he stressed. Private institutions such as St. Thomas aren’t required to make their student enrollment data public, but according to
the Minnesota Private College opponent at Schoenecker Council, 11% of the school’s Arena Saturday, Sept. 12, when 6,750 total undergraduate they host Miami in the Diet population is Black, 12% Latino, Coke Classic, and are also slated 6% Asian, 5% multiracial and to play Minnesota Sunday, less than 1% Native American. Sept. 13, at Maturi Pavilion. Using team rosters that had The Tommies were selected individual player headshots to finish tied for second this (some teams did not have season in the Summit League photos available), we found 47 preseason coaches’ poll. out of 540 student-athletes (about 8%) to be Black: Finally ... The Mid-Eastern Athletic football (28), men’s basketball and men’s track (3), women’s Conference (MEAC) last week basketball, softball, women’s unveiled its new “Built By Us” tagline. It is built around track and volleyball (2). “The upcoming athletic the conference’s five pillars: season will once again Purpose, Legacy, Together, provide exciting competition, Excellence and Built By Us. “‘Built By Us’ is a reflection competitive progress, new storylines, and opportunities of who we are as a conference,” for our Tommies to extend the Commissioner Sonja Stills said university’s brand nationwide,” in a release. Esten pledged. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@ Tommies open with a Power spokesman-recorder.com. 4 test St. Thomas this weekend Copyright © Charles Hallman welcomes its first Power 4
new: Jacobs was the only Black woman in Augsburg athletic administration, and later the only Black head coach at Augustana. “We’ve talked enough over the years that representation matters,” Jacobs stressed, reminding us of our discussions on diversity over the years. “It was people like Lisa who made me think, ‘Wow, that’s such a cool thing. That’s something that I could do someday.’ And here I am 25 years later, doing it, or just about to start it. “I think it’s important for young people, especially kids, to see people that look like them in positions of changemaking,” she concluded. “I’ve always been about education and access, so creating opportunities, but also helping to create
opportunities so that all kids can have access to these awesome activities that the MSHSL supports,” Jacobs surmised. “However I can do that in this role ... I want as many opportunities as possible for all kids, but especially kids of
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader responses at mcdeezy05@gmail.com.
color, to be able to experience and be a part of.” Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@ spokesman-recorder.com. Copyright © Charles Hallman
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Coaching while Black: New chances and new voices Richardson offers new chances for athletic success
Coaching While Black This week: Junior college football coach Jeremy Richardson and assistant prep football coach Jamison Whiting
unior college football often doesn’t get the same media attention, especially in these parts. Its walk-up music easily could be the Beatles’ classic “Nowhere Man.” Jeremy Richardson was hired at Rochester Community and Technical College this past spring as head football coach. He might be the only Black junior college coach in Minnesota, but he is the school’s first Black head coach since Terrance Issac Sr. was there (2022-2025).
“I’m blessed and fortunate that this is my fifth opportunity to be a head coach at this level.” “It’s very important, it’s crucial,” Richardson said about being a Black head football coach. He was head coach at Joliet (IL) Junior College, where he won two Graphic Edge Bowl championships (2007, 2009), and led programs at Northland (MN) Community and Technical Jeremy Richardson Charles Hallman/MSR College (2019) and Erie (NY) Community College. “When I got into coaching, I never 10 years old playing Little League ball, middle thought I’d be a head coach. I always just school ball and then into high school ball. wanted to be a coordinator and just coach. “Then all of a sudden that goal is no longer “But when I got a taste of being a head coach, achievable or no longer wanted because you I loved it, liked it, and it gave me a different didn’t get recruited by Coach (P.J.) Fleck at mindset and a feeling,” he pointed out. the University of Minnesota, or you didn’t His overall goal when he’s recruiting is to get recruited by the great coaching staff at convince players that junior college football North Dakota State, or you didn’t get recruited isn’t a last resort but another opportunity for by other Big Ten schools. I try to let young success. student-athletes know your goal is still there. “Regardless if you come play for me or not,” “You still have a chance ... come to a junior Richardson continued, “I’m going to give you college, perform at a high level and show those the best advice. You’re getting a chance to coaches that they might have missed the boat achieve a goal that a lot of these young athletes on you when you were coming out of high set forth for themselves when they were 7, 8, 9, ■ See SOE - RICHARDSON on page 9
ANOTHER
VIEW
Whiting: councilman, young people’s mentor
y day, Jamison Whiting is in his first term on the Minneapolis City Council. But each afternoon during football season, the Southside native dashes off to his high school alma mater, Minneapolis Washburn, where he is a volunteer assistant varsity football coach. “People were asking me during the campaign and during the election,” recalled Whiting, who was elected in 2025 to represent Ward 11, the southernmost part of Minneapolis, “‘Are you still gonna coach?’ I was like, ‘I will drop this job before I stop coaching.’” Of course, Whiting is half joking, as he knows his primary duty is to his constituents, but he also sees working with young male and female athletes as equally important. “I grew up here in the Twin Cities, right here in Minneapolis,” Whiting said. “I went to Washburn for high school, and oh goodness, had a village of coaches around me who made sure that I was on the right track and doing things correctly.”
“I think being an assistant coach is the sweet spot.” After graduating from Northern Iowa, where he also played football, Whiting attended law school and later became a lawyer at a large local law firm. He once interned for Keith Ellison when Ellison was a U.S. congressman. Whiting also worked as a police reform attorney in the Minneapolis City Attorney’s office. But before his successful run for public office, Whiting worked on the Washburn sidelines: “I coach all of the defensive backs and now I’m in my second full season of coaching our girls flag football team as well,” he said. “I think in life you Jamison Whiting
Courtesy photo
UST’s full-speed climb to Division I
the leap from non-athleticscholarship level to the much bigger Division I, normally a 12Charles year, painstaking process that Hallman goes first to Division II then to Sports Columnist the top level. But UST asked for he University of St. and received a waiver to move Thomas was a founding directly from DIII to DI beginning member and an athletic in 2021, a five-year process. The Tommies proved to juggernaut for most of its 99 years in the Division III be quick learners and were Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic approved for full DI membership Conference (MIAC), but the smallschool league eventually grew “The upcoming tired of the Tommies’ success athletic season and pushed them out, mainly will once again over competitive parity concerns, provide exciting in 2019. They had until 2021 to competition.” leave. As a result, the St. Paul school did the unthinkable, making in 2026, and began wearing the
DI letter in 2025. We covered St. Thomas for almost two decades, and naturally we would follow them in their unprecedented and historic journey. Athletic Director Phil Esten chose the first day of September to speak to reporters, including MSR, and school staffers, giving his “State of Tommie Athletics” address at a noontime luncheon at Anderson Arena. The Tommies now compete in most sports as members of four conferences: The Summit League, Pioneer Football League, Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and, in its first season, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference as its 10th Athletic Director Phil Esten
Jacobs brings it full circle at MSHSL By Charles Hallman Sports columnist full circle chapter,” Dr. Jennifer Jacobs calls her new position as Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) associate director, for various reasons. She began her new responsibilities Aug. 3. Jacobs becomes only the second Black woman at the High School League, following Lisa Lissimore, who retired a few years ago after nearly three decades. Both Lissimore and Jacobs are St. Paul natives and Central High graduates. But according to Jacobs, the two women never formally met over the years.
get to do the things that you actually enjoy doing, and coaching is one of them. “It is a place that I think gave me my start and laid the foundation for my success,” he continued. “I’ve been telling people that once I get to 3:30, from 3:30 to 5:30 Monday through Friday, it is a place that I can kind of just escape all of the craziness of the world and entirely focus on one common goal, and that’s really building up young men and women to be productive members of society, and that’s a piece that I fully enjoy doing.” As a high schooler, Whiting watched Black coaches, including current Washburn AD ■ See SOE - WHITING on page 9
Dr. Jennifer Jacobs Charles Hallman/MSR
hiring. After Central, Jacobs attended and played volleyball at Minnesota State Mankato, where she is in the school’s hall of fame. After graduation, she went into school “I’ve always been administration (Richfield High about education School dean of students), coached high school and club and access.” volleyball, then joined the “I had reached out to Lisa Augsburg University staff as because she’s a Central grad, an assistant volleyball coach but we actually never crossed and assistant athletic director paths,” Jacobs said in an MSR (2012-17). Jacobs later was phone interview earlier this hired by the school as an summer, shortly after her assistant compliance director
under the NCAA Division III Ethnic Minority/Women’s Internship Grant. Jacobs was then hired as Augustana (SD) University’s head women’s volleyball coach, a position she held for nine seasons. But when the opportunity came to return home and bring two decades of professional experience in education, athletic administration and coaching to the MSHSL, it was too much to pass up. “I had a couple friends say it to me, and they’re like, ‘You really need to look at this. This is right up your alley,’” recalled Jacobs, on learning about the League’s posted opening. “Just reading what the job description was, and the idea of being able to have a bigger impact on a lot more people, that was the first thing I noticed, or liked, about the job.” Jacobs’ new role currently includes leading League athletic programs and supporting student leadership opportunities, according to ■ See JACOBS on page 9
Charles Hallman/MSR
member. All programs are now eligible for conference tournaments and NCAA postseason berths. The teams have “the perfect conference platform,” Esten said. “These conferences provide geographic, brand and competitive advantages while offering a shared commitment to comprehensive excellence for our student-athletes.” “We’re really in a completely different stratosphere than where we were when we started. We were initially told (it) would take 12 years,” the Tommies AD pointed out, adding that the school has received increased national exposure through ■ See VIEW on page 9
Johnson comes back to defeat St. Agnes
Sports Columnist
any St. Paul Johnson fans were wondering what the Governors football team would look like this season after graduation this past summer. The three players who walked across the stage at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul last June, quarterback Ali Farfan, wide receiver/ cornerback Justice Moody and running back/strong safety Jacoby Wiggins, were big contributors to Johnson’s 7-4 record (4-0 against St. Paul City Conference foes)
last season. Well, the Governors gave football fans a glimpse of what could be at Johnson last Friday evening, defeating St. Agnes 21-20 after spotting the Aggies a 12-0 halftime lead. Sophomore quarterback Sayvon Darrough, senior wide receiver/cornerback AJ Howard and senior running back/linebacker Colin “Chachi” Moore were the three who took over and put all on notice that the Governors, at least for one game, were in good hands. Darrough, who played linebacker last season, accounted for three scores: touchdown passes to senior Kavon Vant, Moore and ■ See PREP on page 9
St. Paul Johnson’s Arsee Gabi gives the signal after converting the extra-point kick. Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald/MSR
EDITOR'S NOTE: In last week's Gopher 100 feature on Darius Taylor and Anthony Smith, the accompanying photos were mistakenly swapped. Smith's photo appeared alongside Taylor's profile, and Taylor's photo appeared alongside Smith's. MSR regrets the error.