Issue # 481
INSIDE
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African rising stars honored at Minnesota Refugee Awards
A F R IC A N
C OM MU N I T Y
N E W S PAP E R
Liberians kickstart capital campaign to expand community center
South African firm to make Pfizer vaccine, first in Africa
Designer who refused to make same-sex website loses case
The chairman of Liberia’s ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Mulbah Morlu delivers the keynote address during the Liberian Independence Day celebration the night of Saturday, July 24, 2021 outside the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
By Tom Gitaa Mshale
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Bomba Estereo teams up with Yemi Alade
The Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM) officially launched their Community Center Capital Campaign on the grounds of the community center on Saturday during their country’s Independence Day celebrations. OLM board of directors’ chairman Abraham Brima Bah said the early fundraising effort has achieved some success with early pledges which started coming in on the day of the celebration. The organization has set a goal of raising $60,000 which is the down payment required for a $280,000 purchase of additional adjacent space so they can expand their existing community center. The organization purchased the community center in 2009 in part through the help of then US Senator Mark Dayton which he included in Congress’s FY2005
Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The center is now home to a burgeoning list of programs that the organization runs, including after school programs and a nursing assistant teaching program, and is one of only a handful of community centers owned and controlled by African immigrant organizations in the state. The center owns part of 1.15 acres almost 50,000 sq ft alongside four other owners, including the Nigerian-owned Crown Medical Center. A National Guard recruiting center occupies an adjacent office. Kamaty Diahn, the OLM executive director, said the capital campaign will allow the organization to purchase an additional 2,800 sq ft of space which will more than double its current space of 2,200 sq ft. “We have so many programs here now that this space is just not enough,” Diahn said in a
follow up phone conversation with Mshale. Liberians in Minnesota were marking 174 years of Liberia’s independence two days early on a weekend to ensure wider participation from the community. The chairman of Liberia’s ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Mulbah Morlu delivered the keynote address as darkness fell outside the grounds of the community center. He brought greetings from the president of Liberia George Weah, whom Morlu said is “committed to maintaining unity in the country by promoting national reconciliation and respecting rights and privileges of all citizens.” “I call upon all Liberians to demonstrate patriotism and nationalistic fervor. And so while I remain thrilled for the honor to speak here tonight I am not surprised by the level of
organization of this program to celebrate the birth of our nation under the auspices of OLM,” said Morlu. “This is evident not only by the warm welcome you have accorded me and my team but also by the presence of these distinguished and accomplished statesmen and women of the state and city governments, and other citizens of the United States.” Chairman Morlu was joined on stage by the first Liberians to serve on the Brooklyn Park and Falcon Heights City Councils, Wynfred Russell and Yakasah Wehyee , as well as the two candidates on the ballot in the August 10 special election for Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Hollies Winston and Lisa Jacobson. Morlu commended OLM on its desire to expand the community center saying it would be insensitive of him not to contribute towards the capital
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August 2-8, 2021 Issue 481
African rising stars honored at Minnesota’s ‘Outstanding Refugee Awards’
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By Tom Gitaa Mshale ST. PAUL, Minn. – African rising stars Oballa Oballa and Nasra Ali Farah were among 22 individuals honored during the state’s “Outstanding Refugee Awards” ceremony at the Minnesota History Center last week. The two received the Young Leader Award, which recognizes young people who have achieved great milestones and are making a difference in their communities. The event, hosted annually by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, recognizes civic engagement, entrepreneurship, young leadership and resilience shown by the state’s refugees. This year’s awards ceremony included recipients from 2020 following last year’s awards ceremony cancellation due to the pandemic. Farah is this year’s recipient of the Young Leader Award while Oballa was for 2020. Farah and Oballa’ s rise to prominence in Minnesota has been nothing short of meteoric. Oballa was elected to the Austin City Council last November, less than eight years after coming to the United States.
“For someone like me whose last hope was America and find myself living the dream, I always tell my wife that if anyone cannot succeed in America, they cannot succeed anywhere,” Oballa said as he received his award. Farah, a social worker, spoke to Mshale after receiving her award and recalled her first year in the United States when she had to walk four miles at night from work at a meat packing plant in Willmar. “I was just 18 when I came by myself and it was very difficult then,” said Farah. She recalled how her college advisor invested time in making sure she enrolls at Saint Cloud State University by personally driving her there. “Sometimes when you think there is no hope, someone like my former college advisor surprises you,” Farah added. Governor Walz who spoke at the ceremony said the state has “been lucky to be the recipient of over 100,000 refugees in the last 42 years.” Walz said the contributions refugees make to the state far outweighs “what we give (them),” pointing to their contributions in science, medicine and Awards on Pg. 6
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Guest Commentary by Ron Busby
Black-owned businesses look to the FDA to protect them A year ago, in a quick fix reaction to the pandemic, the FDA released emergency guidance that lowered the standards for germ-fighting products like hand sanitizer in order to get more on the market. This led to an ongoing wave of hand sanitizers that both smell horrible and seem to do virtually nothing. Now, a year later, city streets are refilling, businesses are starting to operate at full capacity, and we have a more reliable supply of hand sanitizer. Yet, businesses are still providing questionable products, and we are even seeing reports of products with toxic carcinogens steadily pop up. What many of us have dreamed about for the past year may be turning into reality. Almost half of the nation has been fully vaccinated, the CDC has announced businesses can reopen along with lifted mask guidance, and the glimmer of hope is shining brighter each day. However, as we cling onto this hope and adjust to what many are calling the “new normal,” we must not forget what we have learned and what practices we must bring into this next chapter with us. The reality for many Black communities, especially Black-owned businesses, is that they must continue to rely on lawmakers and regulators to protect them from virus spread and outbreak. A year ago, in a quick fix reaction to the pandemic, the FDA released emergency guidance that lowered the standards for germ-fighting products like hand sanitizer in order to get more on the market. This led to an ongoing wave of hand sanitizers that both smell horrible and seem to do virtually nothing. Now, a year later, city streets are refilling, businesses are starting to operate at full capacity, and we have a more reliable supply of hand sanitizer. Yet, businesses are still providing questionable products, and we are even seeing reports of products with toxic carcinogens steadily pop up. With this in mind, I look to lawmakers and regulators to resolve this issue. As we come out of this emergency, it’s time for the FDA to withdraw the temporary guidance, and for Congress to use its power of oversight to ensure these toxic products are off the market for good. We want to provide our patrons and employees with a safe experience;
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however, we are not public health officials. Clear and consistent guidance from those in power is vital to deciphering what hand sanitizer products are safe and effective, where they should be positioned in our stores/offices/etc. Because as is the case with many issues in this country, it is no surprise that the Black community has been hit the hardest by the ripple effects of COVID-19. As the President of the Black Chamber of Commerce, it is my responsibility to advocate for the 310,000 U.S. Black-owned businesses we represent. With reports of hand sanitizer products containing high levels of methanol, benzene and other toxins, how can these employees, customers and business owners feel safe? Not only are Black people more likely to contract and die from COVID-19, but because of systemic inequities, Black-owned businesses more likely to lack sufficient resources needed to stay afloat and protect their customers. This shows that while safer, more effective products may be available again, without clear guidance and access, there is a barrier to entry for them to arrive at small, often Black-owned, businesses. The latest census shows that 28 percent of U.S. businesses are Black-owned. The U.S. economy relies on their success and health, and we will not see them flourish if they continue to be ignored. The FDA fought to get more hand sanitizers on the market when we needed it most, but now we must deal with the unintended consequences that came along with it and rescind the emergency guidelines. I hope that along with the FDA, lawmakers, especially those on the Congressional Black Caucus, are as concerned about this as I am and will use their power to stop it. Black business owners have enough on their shoulders. They do not need to worry about the toxicity of hand sanitizer products they put out to protect their patrons, but instead should feel confident that they have the support of regulatory bodies to keep them safe. Ron Busby is President & CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. He wrote this for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)’s Black Press USA.
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South African firm to make Pfizer vaccine, first in Africa with goal to reach 100 million doses By Andrew Meldrum and Carley Petesch Associated Press A South African firm will begin producing the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the first time that the shot will be produced in Africa, Pfizer announced Wednesday. The Biovac Institute based in Cape Town will manufacture the vaccine for distribution across Africa, a move that should help address the continent’s desperate need for more vaccine doses amid a recent surge of cases. Biovac will receive large batch ingredients for the vaccine from Europe and will blend the components, put them in vials and package them for distribution. The production will begin in 2022 with a goal of reaching more than 100 million finished doses annually. Biovac’s production of doses will be distributed among the 54 countries of Africa. The development is “a critical step” in increasing African’s access to an effective COVID-19 vaccine, Biovac chief executive Dr. Morena Makhoana said. Lara Dovifat of the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, called the agreement “a first step” but said it is “clearly not enough to achieve vaccine independence on the African continent.” She criticized the agreement’s failure to share Pfizer-BioNTech’s technology and know-how to independently manufacture vaccines with the South African company. Pfizer’s goal is to provide access to its vaccine to people everywhere, CEO Albert Bourla said. But the vast majority of its vaccine doses have been sold in bilateral deals to rich countries and only a small amount was made available to the U.N.-backed effort to share COVID-19 vaccines fairly.
In this April 21, 2021 photo an elderly patient gets registered for a COVID-19 vaccine when the Limpopo provincial government launched a vaccine registration drive in Tooseng village for those over 60. Photo: Mukurukuru Media/Shutterstock
For its mass inoculation drive, South Africa is relying on the Pfizer vaccine and has purchased 40 million doses, which are arriving in weekly deliveries. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is already being produced in South Africa. Aspen Pharmacare’s factory in Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, is making the J&J vaccine in the same “fill and finish”
process and has the capacity to make more than 200 million doses of the vaccine annually. The J&J vaccines made in South Africa are also being distributed across the African continent. South Africa’s vaccination drive is ramping up, with more than 220,000 people getting shots on weekdays. More than 5.5 million of South Africa’s 60 million people have received at least one jab, with more than 1.4 million fully vaccinated, according to official figures Wednesday. South Africa’s goal is to vaccinate about 67% of its population by February 2022.
see Africa be resilient and thrive.” Currently, Africa is 99% dependent on imports for its vaccines, she said. The U.S. is investing in both South Africa and Senegal to help increase the speed and ability of Africa to produce its own vaccines, she said. Senegal, the European Union and the U.S. recently signed an investment agreement to build a new vaccine manufacturing plant in Dakar, which will lead to the production of COVID-19 vaccines in Senegal.
To help alleviate the vaccine shortage on the continent, the U.S. is delivering in the coming weeks the first batches of 25 million doses of vaccines it is sharing with the African Union.
Many African countries depending on vaccines from the U.N.-backed effort known as COVAX, have been left waiting for months. The effort has delivered only 200 million vaccines globally since February, while the U.S. alone has administered more than 338 million doses. After COVAX’s biggest supplier — the Serum Institute of India — halted exports in March to deal with an explosive surge on the subcontinent, the agencies behind COVAX, including the World Health Organization, resorted to begging rich countries for donations.
Senegal, Burkina Faso and Gambia have received about 151,200 doses of the Janssen jab as part of a first delivery that will be increased in coming weeks. Ethiopia and Djibouti are also receiving doses.
Most of the promised doses won’t arrive until next year and although Group of Seven countries pledged to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccines, that is far short of the 11 billion WHO says are needed to protect the world.
Gayle Smith, the U.S. Global COVID19 Response Coordinator, said the U.S. is working with African partners to move the vaccines out as quickly as possible.
Carley Petesch contributed from Dakar, Senegal. Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.
Vaccination levels are low across Africa, with less than 2% of the continent’s population of 1.3 billion having received at least one shot, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are doing this with no strings attached,” she said. “We want to see Africa defeat this pandemic. We want to
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Liberians sing the national anthem outside the Liberian Community Center on Saturday, July 24, 2021 during celebrations marking the 174th Independence Day for Liberia. Below, attendees at the Independence Day celebrations partake in the day long grilling that was available. Photos: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
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Jackson George, Jr., the Honorary Consul General for Liberia in Minnesota gives a thumbs up as he joined in festivities held outside the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota to mark the 174th Liberian Independence Day. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Liberia from Pg. 1
campaign. He gave $2,000 towards the campaign. The Minnesota chapter of the CDC matched his contribution. The presidents of the Nigerian and Kenyan associations in Minnesota that spoke, Zee Nagberi and Huldah Momanyi, each pledged $500 from their respective organizations. As of the writing this story Diahn said $8,500 had been raised towards the $60,000 goal. The honorary consul general for the Republic of Liberia in Minnesota, Jackson George, Jr., was among the speakers. Hon. George urged his fellow Liberians to work with the consulate which is based in Brooklyn Park to
coordinate their COVID-19 relief efforts for Liberia. To learn more about the capital campaign to expand the Liberian community center and how to donate, visit the OLM website at www.olmn.org.
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Awards from Pg. 2 entrepreneurship. The governor said those being honored on Monday embodied the spirit of Minnesotans and Americans at large that this the best place to get success. ‘We don’t expect you to leave the best of your cultures at home, we expect you to bring them here, practice your religion and culture as you see fit,” Walz said. “Keep those languages alive for your children so they understand where they came from and let us take part in that diversity.” 2020 Outstanding Refugee Award recipients The Civic Engagement Award recognizes individuals who make their communities stronger through civic participation:
Entrepreneurship Award goes to individuals who contribute to their communities in business, the arts or education: • Amran Abukar of Willmar, a cultural liaison at Kennedy Elementary School and an author. • True Thao of Cottage Grove, a mental health advocate and founder of True Thao Counseling Services. Young Leader Award acknowledges the contributions of young people who have achieved great milestones and are making a difference in their communities:
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Working Group in St. Paul, and a board member of the Multicultural Autism Action Network and Minnesota International Non-governmental Organization Network in Minneapolis. • Novia Josiah-Isaac of Maplewood, a licensed social worker at the Center for Victims of Torture in St. Paul.
• Dr. Obsa Abdulla Hassan of Spring Lake Park, a physician at Mercy Hospital • Ku Mo of St. Paul, a University of Minnesota student and community in Coon Rapids, founder of the Axis supporter. Family Clinic in northeast Minneapolis, • Oballa Oballa of Austin, a student and a volunteer at Hadi Medical Clinic, a free community clinic in Brooklyn Center. at Riverland Community College, an advocate and leader in the statewide • Hani Haybe of Minneapolis, a nurse LeadMN student organization, and an at Hennepin Healthcare and the founder honorary member of the Austin City of Street Soccer Twin Cities. Council. • Farhiya Iman of St. Cloud, a social worker for Stearns County and owner of New Beginnings Award recognizes Nori Cafe and Creamery. individuals who have been in the • Rufo Jiru of Shakopee, a chemist country two years or less and exemplify and humanitarian, founder of the Anole resilience and courage while rebuilding Sisters nonprofit in Minneapolis, an their well-being and making Minnesota active member of the Disability Support home: International Advisory Working Group 202136_KL_HennepinCounty_Printad_Mshale_Hibo_4.875x7.125_RD1.pdf 1 5/13/21 2:10 PM and the Minnesota Autism Council
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Oballa Oballa, a refugee from Ethiopia, accepting the Young Leader Award during the Minnesota Department of Human Services Outstanding Refugees Awards ceremony at the Minnesota History Center. Looking on is Children and Family Services Assistant Commissioner Tikki Brown. Photo: Alex Hall/DHS
• Bugondo (Blaise) Ntibonera of Minneapolis, a refugee resettlement case worker at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota in Minneapolis. 2021 Outstanding Refugee Award recipients Civic Engagement Award, which recognizes individuals who make their communities stronger through civic participation: • Michael Yang of St. Paul, Southeast Asian community specialist for City of Minneapolis Neighborhood and Community Relations.
• Mamady Konneh of Golden Valley, CEO for We Network Now. • Fatima Molas of Columbia Heights, chairperson of Multicultural Autism Action Network. • Mohamed Abdulkadir of St. Peter, refugee training specialist at MRCI • Maylary Apolo of Austin, legal assistant at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. • Armin Budimlic of Rochester, executive director for the Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association. • Kahin Adam of St. Cloud,
Awards on Pg. 11
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August 2-8, 2021 Issue 481
In breakthrough, Tanzania’s President Hassan kicks off COVID-19 vaccinations By Cara Anna Asscoaited Press
In a major breakthrough for one of the world’s last countries to embrace COVID-19 vaccines, Tanzania’s president kicked off its vaccination campaign Wednesday by publicly receiving a dose and urging others to do the same. But she immediately met some hesitation in one of Africa’s most populous nations. The East African country’s government under former President John Magufuli had long worried health officials by denying the pandemic. Magufuli, who insisted the coronavirus could be defeated with prayer, died in March. The presidency went to his deputy, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who has since changed Tanzania’s course on COVID-19. Hassan, who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, expressed confidence in the safety of vaccines and said the country of more than 58 million people will pursue more. The United States on Saturday announced the delivery of more than 1 million doses via the COVAX global initiative aimed at supplying low- and middle-income countries. Now the Tanzanian government’s challenge is to reverse the skepticism the previous administration promoted about COVID-19 vaccines. “Why don’t we consider our traditional solutions? Why do we have to use foreign medicine? Is there something that is hidden here?” asked one resident of commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Kelvin Mmari, who said
Wednesday he’s not willing to be vaccinated. Tanzania’s president stressed that the vaccine is voluntary, and other citizens welcomed the arrival of doses. “The action by the president to take a new direction in the battle against the coronavirus has brought relief to Tanzanians,” said Dar es Salaam resident Hawa Bihoga. Tanzania went well over a year without updating its number of confirmed virus cases but has now resumed reporting the data to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which showed 858 cases in the country as of Wednesday. Critics of Tanzania’s past stance on COVID-19, however, have long warned that many more people have been infected. The country is trying to catch up as many parts of the African continent face a devastating resurgence of infections. “We are making efforts to ensure that we import more vaccines to meet the demand,” Hassan said. Tanzania’s president has even pledged to invest in vaccine manufacturing, according to the Africa CDC; the agency’s director, John Nkengasong, met with Hassan on Tuesday. African countries, hit hard by so-called vaccine nationalism as rich nations prioritize doses for their own citizens, are embracing the need to have more control over vaccine production.
A nurse vaccinates Tanzaian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dodoma, Tanzania, Wednesday, July 28 2021. In a major breakthrough for one of the world’s last countries to embrace COVID-19 vaccines, Tanzania’s president has kicked off her nation’s vaccination campaign by publicly receiving a dose and urging others to do the same. Photo: Domasa Sylivester/AP
Just two African countries still have yet to start COVID-19 vaccinations, Burundi and Eritrea. Burundi, whose late President Pierre Nkurunziza also had been criticized for downplaying the pandemic, has said vaccines aren’t needed yet. And Eritrea
has long been criticized by human rights groups as one of the world’s most closedoff, repressive countries.
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Religion Designer who won’t make same-sex wedding websites loses case at U.S. appeals court By James Anderson Associated Press DENVER — A U.S. appeals court has ruled against a web designer who didn’t want to create wedding websites for same-sex couples and sued to challenge Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, another twist in a series of court rulings nationwide about whether businesses denying services to LGBTQ people amounts to bias or freedom of speech. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Monday denied Lorie Smith’s attempt to overturn a lower court ruling throwing out her legal challenge. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Smith, argued that the law forced her to violate her Christian beliefs. In the 2-1 ruling, the panel said Colorado had a compelling interest in protecting the “dignity interests” of members of marginalized groups through its law. The anti-discrimination law is the same one at issue in the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips that was decided in 2018 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Motor cyclists ride along along the Denver Pride Parade route on June 16, 2019 in Denver.
The high court decided the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had acted with anti-religious bias against Phillips after he refused to bake a cake for two men who were getting married. But it did not rule
on the larger issue of whether a business can invoke religious objections to refuse service to LGBTQ people. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom also represented Phillips. Founded in 1994 by Christian leaders concerned about religious freedom, the group said it would appeal Monday’s ruling. “The government should never force creative professionals to promote a message or cause with which they disagree. That is quintessential free speech and artistic freedom,” the group’s senior counsel, John Bursch, said in a statement. Lambda Legal, a group that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ people, had submitted a brief supporting the Colorado law. “This really isn’t about cake or websites or flowers,” Lambda Legal senior counsel Jennifer C. Pizer said in a statement. “It’s about protecting LGBTQ people and their families from being subjected to slammed doors, service refusals and public humiliation in countless places — from fertility clinics to funeral homes and everywhere in between.” In arguments before the three-judge panel in November, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich asked what Smith would do if she was approached by a straight wedding planner asking her to create four heterosexual wedding sites and one for a same-sex wedding. Kristen Waggoner, a lawyer for the alliance, said Smith would not take that job. Colorado Solicitor General Eric Olson questioned whether Smith should even be allowed to challenge the law since she had not started offering wedding websites yet. But if she did, Olson said, her argument would mean she would refuse to create a website for a hypothetical same-sex couple named Alex and Taylor but agree to make the same one for an opposite-
Photo: Philipp Salveter/Shutterstock
sex couple with the same names. He said that would be discrimination under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In the case of Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Olson said the Supreme Court could not agree on whether cakes are a form of expression. However, he said a subjective decision about whether a company’s service amounted to speech was not a workable way of determining discrimination. Judge Mary Beck Briscoe wrote in Monday’s majority opinion that “we must also consider the grave harms caused when public accommodations discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Combatting such discrimination is, like individual autonomy, ‘essential’ to our democratic ideals.” In his dissent, Tymkovich wrote that “this case illustrates exactly why we have a First Amendment. Properly applied, the Constitution protects Ms. Smith from the government telling her what to say or do.” In 2019, a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of two Christian filmmakers who said they should not have to make videos celebrating same-sex marriage under Minnesota’s anti-discrimination law because the videos are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. The court reinstated a lawsuit brought by Carl and Angel Larsen of Telescope Media Group in St. Cloud. They also are being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.
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Art & Entertainment
On new EP Bomba Estereo team up with Nigeria’s Yemi Alade for “Conexion Total” By Afropop The song may be bilingual but it doesn’t matter what you language you speak when you’re this fluent in pop. Two of our favorite stars have come together to deliver some late summer bliss, as Nigeria’s Yemi Alade joins up with Colombian electropop stalwarts Bomba Estereo for the new single “Conexion Total.” The song comes from Bomba Estereo’s sneak-peek of an EP, titled Tierra, which anticipates the four-sectioned, full-length album, Deja, due in the fall. From palenque to champata to its salsa and cumbia, Colombian music wears its African influences and indebtedness right out in the open, and Bomba Estereo is no exception. “Since we started, our music has been deeply inspired by Africa in all senses,” the band’s founder and producer, Simon Mejia, says. “Colombia’s folk music owes a lot to the mother continent, that powerful mix of African drums and marimbas, with indigenous flutes and chants is the base of the incredible soundscape of this country.” Thanks at least in part to this intertwined
musical tradition with Africa, or maybe just continuing it, Yemi Alade’s English verse fits right into the track. “For real, the collaborations between Africa and Latin America are too few, and one can say almost non-existent,” Alade says. “I was blown away by the idea of exporting my African urban culture to the Latin world and promoting Latin American culture in Africa. It’s like a homecoming. This type of experience is unique and shows us how music knows no borders.” Out Sept. 10, Bomba Estereo’s new album Deja is divided into four parts named for the four classic elements— we’ve heard Agua and now Tierra, leaving us anticipating “Aire” and “Fuego.” The band has long been fascinated by and concerned for the natural world and the human alienation from both it and each other, so the album was crafted with both the Earth and the need for community in mind, and the track list features guest turns from Lida Pimienta and OKAN, as well as Alade. “Collaborating with Yemi is a huge honor for us,” Mejira says. “Yemi is a great artist and has an amazing voice. We’re really happy to keep on extending the cultural and ancestral ties that bond Africa with South America.”
His first football season, Isaiah told us, ‘Wear a jersey with my name on it. I want everyone to know you’re here for me.’ Darnell and Denna, adopted 16-year-old Isaiah LEARN ABOUT ADOPTING A TEEN YO U C A N ’ T I M AG I N E T H E R E WA R D
A D O P T U S K I D S . O R G
Colombia’s Bomba Estereo collaborated with Nigeria’s Yemi Alade in her new single “Conexion Total.” Photo: Courtesy Afropop
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Awards from Pg. 6 psychotherapist and community health specialist for CentraCare. Entrepreneurship Award, which recognizes individuals who contribute to their communities in business, the arts or education: • Salman Elmi of Blaine, president and founder of Tavolo and Top Figure. • Ayan Abukar of Bloomington, executive director for Action for East African People. Young Leader Award, which recognizes young people who have achieved great milestones and
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are making a difference in their communities: • Nasra Farah of Waite Park, speaker, writer and board member for Unite Cloud. New Beginnings Award, which recognizes individuals who have been in the United States for two years or fewer, and exemplifies the resilience and courage it takes to rebuild their wellbeing and make Minnesota their home: • Cani Adan of Moorhead, program manager for the Afro American Development Association. • Abdikarim Hassen of Rochester, volunteer for Family Service Rochester. Gov. Tim Walz poses for a photo with 2021 Outstanding Refugee Award recipient Ayan Abukar (right) and guest Fartun Warsame. Abukar, of Bloomington, the executive director of Action for East African People, which houses two health care centers in Bloomington and Burnsville that aim to eliminate barriers to health care, employment, food, and housing. Photos: Alex Hall/DHS
Children and Family Services Assistant Commissioner Tikki Brown with the Minnesota Department of Human Services poses with the 2021 Young Award Leader recipient Nasra Ali Farah. The Minnesota Department of Human Services held the Outstanding Refugees Awards ceremony at the Minnesota History Center. Right photo: Salman Elmi (right) with 2019 winner Mohamed Malim.
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+ Fair Housing
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A Better Community
The solution to housing discrimination starts with you. If you have been trying to buy or rent a house or apartment and you believe your rights have been violated, contact HUD or your local fair housing center. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or disability.
Fair Housing Is Your Right. Use It. Visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing or call the HUD Hotline 1-800-669-9777 (English/Español) 1-800-927-9275 (TTY)
SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO A public service message from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability. For more information, visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing.