Issue # 398
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US House bill seeks to allow F-1 visa holders to apply for green card
President Weah: Liberia is a UN success story
A F R IC A N
OCTOBER 2018 www.mshale.com
C OM MU N I T Y
N E W S PAP E R
Here are our Endorsements
The midterm elections are on November 6. We picked a few races where most readers of this newspaper live to make endorsements. For congressional races: In District 3 we endorse Dean Phillips. In District 4, we endorse Betty McCollum. In District 5, we endorse Ilhan Omar. All the candidates above responded to our questionnaire about issues important to our readers. Visit mshale.com to read on the policy questions that guided how we made our endorsements.
African bishops oppose ‘gay’ marriage
Mshale @ Chale Wote Art Festival in Ghana
For Minnesota constitutional offices (statewide): For Attorney General we endorse Keith Ellison. For Secretary of State, we endorse Steve Simon. For Governor, we endorse Tim Walz. For Messrs Ellison and Walz, they have stated policies that will protect gains and rights our readers have made and while the Secretary of State office is non-partisan, the incumbent Steve Simon has demonstrated a desire to expand and protect voter rights. Visit mshale.com for more details.
For Minnesota House of Representatives : In District 62A we endorse Hodan Hassan. In District 40B, we endorse Samantha Vang. In District 36B, we endorse Melissa Hortman. Visit mshale.com for more details.
More endorsements on page 4
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October 2018 Issue 398
House bill seeks to allow F-1 visa holders to apply for green card By Tom Gitaa Mshale
“A new bill in the United States Congress seeks to allow students on F-1 visas to seek permanent resident status “while a student or during Optional Practical Training.” The bill, H.R. 6794, known as the “Immigration Innovation Act of 2018,” was introduced on Thursday by Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman and Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Indian-American. The main thrust of the bill is geared towards the H-1B visa program that it seeks to reform and reducing what it calls the “green card backlog.” It seeks to give spouses of H-1B visa holders the authority to work. Those spouses usually have H4 visas which prohibits taking up employment. Beneficiaries of that exemption will include children of H-1Bs. Most immigration analysts however believe with midterms just two months away, passage is very unlikely before then as immigration has become a toxic issue for many lawmakers. As of the time of
publishing this story, no companion bill had yet been introduced in the Senate. There is normally a per country cap of H-1B visas each year and H.R. 6794 seeks to remove those caps. The majority of H1-B visa holders are mostly tech workers from India and China. Additionally, the bill seeks to direct fees collected from H-1B visas and conditional green cards to states to promote domestic STEM education and worker training, including financial aid and research initiatives. The states will receive 93 percent of the funds while 5 percent will go to financial aid and the remaining 2 percent to national research and development. Here are some of the key components we were able to decipher from the proposed bill: • Increasing the application fee to $10,000 for each employee. • Allowing US university-educated professionals to apply directly for conditional green cards. • Banning employers from hiring H-1B holders to replace US workers
• Introduction of a grace period to allow H-1B visa holders to change jobs without their losing legal status. • The creation of a new conditional green card category to allow US employers to sponsor universityeducated foreign professionals through a separate path from H–1B.
• The bill seeks to have employers attest that no American worker has been displaced for the green card holder. • Offering prevailing wage of not less than $100,000 per year.
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Editorial
This is the endorsement edition of Mshale In this edition you will find our endorsements for races we picked where a good number of readers of this newspaper reside. We decided to publish our endorsements in this edition to give you ample time to consider our recommendations given that the next edition will be coming out less than a week before the November 6 election. We encourage you to visit Mshale.com where we have outlined the reasons why we endorsed a particular candidate. However, you will find a common theme. The fact that a candidate is not anti-immigrant and works hard to include newcomers into the system and to also expand opportunities to realize the American dream. We sent questionnaires for mo st of the races and candidates responded if they wished to be considered for our endorsement. Stands on certain issues were automatic eliminators for some candidates. If for example you support race-baiting policies like abolishing social welfare programs by condoning or supporting anti-people of color ads as one candidate for governor has recently done. Anti-legal immigration stands are also
automatic eliminators. We have stated countless times on this page that we support candidates and public officials that want to make our immigration system work by supporting legal immigration and finding pathways for legalizing others without legal status. There are candidates running in our state that support the radical anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration that we oppose. There are also candidates who talk well about eliminating the achievement gap in our education system but speak from both sides of their mouth by making it harder for our students to thrive through other inhumane policies. We urge you to vote on November 6 and exercise your power to continue prospering our country through inclusivity. The endorsements that appear in this edition are those where candidates made the deadline for submisisons. Some responses from candidates came in after the deadline and we might include that in our posting at mshale.com
African airlines continue foray into US Shortly after you receive this edition of Mshale, a sixth African based airline will start believe it bodes well for the African Airline industry in general. By our records only flying into the United States. Kenya Airways, in a story you can read at Mshale.com Ethiopian and South African Airlines fly into more than one US, city and we believe has received FAA clearance to start flying direct from Kenya into the United States. out of the six airlines that will be flying into the US, Kenya Airways given its current management savvy might be better placed to join the other two in flying to more US It is indeed a milestone for the airline. Even though Kenya Airways is struggling cities. financially, it is the fifth largest airline in Africa behind Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Egypt Air, and Royal Air Maroc. We will continue monitoring the Kenya Airways entry into the US market and Kenya Airway’s entry into the US airspace has been a decade in the making and we
Join the Mshale Text Club: Text AFRICA to 24587 or follow us onTwitter.com/Mshale Community News, updated daily on Mshale.com © 1996-2017 Mshale Communications, Inc. Mshale – The African Community Newspaper Editorial & Corporate Office: 1 Groveland Terrace, Suite 203 Minneapolis, MN 55403 Mailing Address: P.O.BOX 80071, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Tel: 612-454-5648 Email: mshale@mshale.com www.mshale.com
President & Publisher: Tom Gitaa
Associate Editor: Faiza Abbas Mahamud
Staff Writers: Kari Mugo
Contributing Writers: Susan Budig
Columnists: Blackwell Igbanugo Law Firm
Design & Layout: Staff
Photographers: Richard Ooga
Distribution: Bluebird
Mshale is published on the 1st of every month. It is available for free at most African stores , African restaurants and metro area county libraries. Mailed subscriptions are $40 per year. Memberships: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC) , Pan African Business Alliance (PABA). The editor welcomes letters, opinion pieces and commentary on issues of interest to the African community in North America. Contributions must be typed and will be edited for clarity and space. Submissions can be mailed or submitted online at www.mshale.com
wish them success.
SAVE THE DATE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2018
AFRICAN AWARDS GALA VENUE: TARGET CORPORATION WORLD HEADQUARTERS, MINNEAPOLIS RED CARPET: 5:30 pm AWARDS DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT STARTS @ 7:00 pm
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Mshale Endorsements for November 6 elections Continued from Pg. 1
For the US Senatorial races, Mshale did not send questionnaires to the candidates as the differences between the candidates is clear in their publicly stated policies. Opponents to the above two candidates have espoused policies inimical to the interests and well-being of our readers and many recent immigrants. We therefore did not use valuable and finite editorial resources to send questionnaires to candidates running for the US Senate in Minnesota as we did with most others where we are endorsing. Therefore for November 6, Mshale endorses Amy Klobuchar (pictured above on the left) and Tina Smith (on the right) in the two Minnesota US Senate seats up for reelection this year.
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Mshale endorses Peter McLaughlin for Hennepin County Commissioner
The Hennepin County Commissioner race in District 4 is the only county level race Mshale is issuing an endorsement and we endorse incumbent Peter McLaughlin.
he took the time to thoughtfully respond to our questions.
We believe if reelected he will continue to serve the interests of our community in what possibly He is the only candidate that will be his last time running for returned our questionnaire and given reelection, as we believe time is that there is not much difference in ripe to give way for new blood and policy between him and a candidate energy. we very much admire, Angela Conley, we appreciate the fact that More endorsements on page 7
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Roseville Adult Learning Center
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Your voice is your vote. Let’s build One Minnesota together: vote for our DFL team on Tuesday, November 6th
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senator Tina Smith
Tim Walz for Governor & Peggy Flanagan for Lt. Gov.
Secretary of State Steve Simon
Keith Ellison for Attorney General
Julie Blaha for State Auditor
Question about voting? Call 1-800-999-7457 or visit DFL .ORG/ VOTE Paid for by the Minnesota DFL Party, Ken Martin, Chair, www.dfl.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
M I N N E S O TA D F L
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QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICARE? Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has been offering Medicare since it began in 1965. We have many Medicare plan options. Let us help you choose the one that’s right for you. Medicare enrollment ends December 7.
To see available plan options, talk to your agent or contact us: bluecrossmn.com/medicareready 1-866-812-1541 TTY 711 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time, daily
Plans available in the service area. Blue Cross offers PPO, Cost and PDP plans with Medicare contracts. Enrollment in these Blue Cross plans depends on contract renewal. H2461_090418JJ11_M CMS Accepted 09/08/2018 H5959_090418JJ12_M CMS Accepted 09/08/2018 S5743_090418KK02_M CMS Accepted 09/08/2018 Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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Mshale Endorsements for November 6 elections
Continued from Pg. 4
October 2018 Issue 398
THIS FALL AT THE ORDWAY
Brooklyn Park City Races GLADYS KNIGHT THU OCT 18 7:30PM CO N C E R T S E R I E S
For West District, Mshale endorses Wynfred Russell.
For Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Mshale endorses Hollies Winston.
AND URBAN KNIGHTS PRESENTED BY THE ORDWAY IN COLLABORATION WITH
SUN OCT 21 7:30PM CO N C E R T S E R I E S
For Central District, Mshale endorses Christian Eriksen.
For East District, Mshale endorses Terry Parks.
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TTY651.282.3100 This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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President Weah: Liberia is a United Nations success story UN News Service
In his address to the general debate at the Assembly’s 73rd session, President George Manneh Weah of Liberia expressed appreciation for the UN peacekeeping mission in his country, UNMIL, noting that it brought stability and helped rebuild Liberia’s institutions and communities. “We are a peacekeeping success story, and we are grateful for the support given,” he said. President Weah, who succeeded Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the country’s leader in January this year, said that it was the first time in 73 years that Liberians enjoyed a peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-
elected Government to another. “The challenges of leadership are enormous, but in each and every one of these challenges, I see opportunities to make things better, and to bring permanent improvements to the lives of all Liberians,” he added.
The key policy to that end, explained the Liberian President, is the ProPoor Agenda for Development and Prosperity, the country’s national development plan for the next five years, with a focus on youth, infrastructure and agriculture. “Our Pro-Poor Agenda is designed to give power to the people, promote economic diversification, protect sustainable peace and encourage good governance,” he explained,
Simple is better. In any language. You’ve got health plan questions. We’ve got health plan answers. In more than 200 languages. Find a plan for you at ucare.org. Medicare Individual & Family Medicaid
President George Manneh Weah of the Republic of Liberia addresses the seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly last month. Photo: Cia Pak/UN
urging all stakeholders to support his Government’s efforts. Concluding his address, President Weah reaffirmed the West African country’s support to the United
Nations and work to reinforce peace and security in the ECOWAS region as well as in the wider African continent.
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Religion
African bishops oppose ‘gay’ marriage By Michael Gryboski Christian Post
The United Methodist Church’s African bishops have recently reaffirmed their support for the traditional definition of marriage, as well as opposition over possible schism within the denomination. The UMC Africa College of Bishops released a statement Monday stemming from their official meeting held Sept. 3-7 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. According to their statement, the bishops held extensive discussions regarding the denomination’s debate over homosexuality, which many believe may lead to the UMC splitting. “... we reaffirm our position as traditionalists and view marriage as union between Man and Woman as clearly defined in scripture and affirmed in our COB 2016 statement in Lake Junaluska, and at the Africa extended cabinet (Ghana, February 2018), and at the May 2018 COB in Chicago, Illinois,” stated the bishops.
“... we remain faithfully committed to our consecration vows as Bishops of the church to ‘maintain the unity of the church.’” Next February, the UMC will hold a special session of General Conference to resolve the debate over whether to change the church body’s official stance against homosexual acts and same-sex marriage. The African bishops also stated that they reject any proposed plan at the special session that would lead to the mainline denomination splitting over theological differences. “We do not support any legislation that calls for the dissolution of The United Methodist Church. We uphold our values as a connectional and worldwide church committed to ‘Making disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world,’” continued the statement. “We further resolve that even if there is a split in the denomination, the Church in Africa will continue to exist as The United Methodist Church in Africa.”
Delegates pray during the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Religion News Service
During the UMC’s years-long debate over homosexuality, African delegates at General Conference have been a key factor in maintaining the denomination’s stance that homosexual acts are sinful. For next year’s special session, three major plans are being considered for the future of the UMC: the One Church Plan, the Traditional Plan, and the Connectional Conference Plan. Backed by most of the UMC Council of Bishops, the One Church Plan would remove language labeling
homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” and allow churches in the United States to permit same-sex weddings and gay ordination while letting clergy and some overseas conferences retain official opposition. The Traditionalist Plan would maintain the UMC’s current stance on LGBT issues while the Connectional-Conference Plan would allow regional conferences to determine what stance they will take.
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Art & Entertainment
Ghanaian art festival championing creative placemaking Kari Mugo Mshale Africa is not a place that usually comes to mind when one thinks of great art festivals. Following independence, African countries mostly focused on the area of academics that had the potential to lead to white-collar jobs. Arts education was almost nonexistent, as art was seen as something to do only after all else had failed. The idea that someone would make a living from selling art was laughable in those days. But there is evidence that Africa’s attitude towards art is changing. A recent street art festival on the continent attracted an estimated 30,000 attendees. Now in its eighth year, the Chale Wote Street Art Festival is a sensory delight featuring: films, panel discussions, live art performances, visual art, night parties, and traditional processions. This year the festival added extreme sports to its diverse list of events. Each year, Chale Wote transforms Accra’s oldest neighborhood, Jamestown, a major port during the colonial era into one large roaming party, where people go to see as much as to be seen. According to its founders, Chale Wote’s “vision is to cultivate a wider audience for the arts in West Africa by breaking creative boundaries and using art as a viable form to rejuvenate public spaces.” This year’s theme was “Para-other,” briefly defined in a statement as a, “transatlantic shortwave that transcends language and geography.” With over 200 artists from various countries exhibiting their work, hundreds of vendors selling everything from kebabs to palm wine to locally designed merchandise and of course, art, there was no shortage of things to see or love about Chale Wote. The festival is also undoubtedly one of Africa’s boldest attempts at creative placemaking. Creative placemaking is the concept of engaging arts, culture, and creativity to transform neighborhoods. It involves publicprivate collaborations that use art to revitalize spaces, create economic opportunities and strengthen a sense of community. Creative placemaking has become fully entrenched in the West (including in cities like St. Paul, Minn.) as a means to spur local economies
and create a sense of belonging for residents. However, the story in Africa is far different where the arts remain greatly underfunded and where public art is often seen as a nuisance rather than an additive to a functioning society. Yet the massive economic potential creative placemaking has for the African continent cannot be understated as one experiences Chale Wote. Hakeem Adams, one the festival’s organizers and a 2018 Chale Wote participating artist, estimates that attendance of the festival grew over the last year due to its popularity. “On Friday night, the High Street in Jamestown, the main artery of the festival, was already shut down by anticipating patrons of the festival, as work for the weekend was being installed,” Adams told me. Most of Chale Wote’s activities leading up to its main weekend took place outside of Jamestown as artists prepare their art installations to be premiered over the weekend. Come Saturday morning, a large swath of High Street was blocked closed to all vehicular traffic through the weekend. Having visited many of the Jamestown festival sites earlier in the week to familiarize myself with the venue, there was a sense of disbelief when I returned in the high heat of Saturday afternoon. Above the steady stream of afrobeat music pulsating from speakers were throngs of people where none had been. The small colorful shacks that sat next to High Street when I visited earlier in the week were barely visible through the thick of vendors, curious children running around, and the roving performers in full costumes who stopped crowds so often that I wondered how they made it from one end of the festival street to the other. There was a buoyancy in the air. People danced. Ate. Snapped selfies. Took photos of the art and performers. Everyone was there for the same purpose: to have a good time while consuming art. A sentiment that Adams shared. “I tell a lot of people that Chale Wote changed my life, and this is even before I exhibited work at the festival,” he said. “Over the past eight years, this event has almost single handedly altered the way in which art of whatever form is seen in Ghana. The impact is immense in shaping young impressionable minds like mine.” Chale Wote indigenizes creative placemaking by marrying African rituals with modern takes on visual
Body builders on High Street flex their muscles during Chale Wote. Photo: Kari Mugo/Mshale
and performance art. And this by far, is what makes it so special. Take for instance multi-disciplinary artist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi’s live performance, “agbaWnu”, held in the courtyard of Fort James. Covered in mud and appearing nude Fiatsi lay seemingly embedded amongst corroded metal spikes while a young girl in tattered clothes sat underneath him playing haunting melodies on a flute. All of this encased in a large metal frame that viewers could walk around. Serving as an eerie reminder of the imprisonment of African bodies performed in a Fort that had served as a prison up until 2008. Meanwhile around the corner from Fiatsi’s performance, visual art was exhibited in prison cells with doors flung open. And further back, a traditional healer, dressed in full traditional regalia sat taking clients in one of the Fort’s open corridors. Back on High Street, young boys on bicycles did impressive tricks – spins and flips that seemed to defy gravity – while groups of friends posed for photos in front of graffiti laden walls. This is the juxtaposition of Chale Wote: a constant reminder of the past while reflecting on the present. To begin to understand the economic impact of the festival, however, one must first understand Jamestown itself, a neighborhood whose past glory is long gone and which has quickly slipped into one of the poorest communities in Accra. So much so that as I marveled to a friend, a local, about the beach access in Jamestown, he quipped, “You know Jamestown is basically Kibera on the ocean, right? It’s a
Check out the full Chale Wote Art Festival Pictorial @ mshale.com
slum.” “Yes, I know.” I wanted to utter back that I saw how Jamestown mirrored Kenya’s largest slum. But amidst the art and the revelry that fact had been lost. Jamestown still holds some of Accra’s treasured historical monuments which form the canvasses the artists use each year. From James Fort to Ussher Fort to Otumblohm Square, the shells and hulks of buildings hundreds of years older than the residents of Accra are given new life. And this poor residential fishing community is transformed into one of Africa’s largest art festivals for just one weekend. Many of the food and beverage vendors that line the streets are from Jamestown as are the costumed performers who earn quick money with festival goers eager to take photos with them. Likewise, many participating artists, including the festival organizers, ACCRA [dot] ALT, call Jamestown home. That for the first time, the Ghana Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture offered financial support to the tune of GHc 300,000 (approx. $63,000) for the festival is proof of the potential and the impact that the festival already has. I asked Fiatsi about his experience as a first-time artist at Chale Wote. “It was, to me, pilgrimage. Perhaps Mecca where people came to renew their souls, minds and make new covenants to humanity while experiencing all forms of art.” One can only hope that in many ways Chale Wote will be the next Carnival or Mardi Gras. Each celebrating the unique remembrances of a way of being. This one, paying homage to the many ways of being African.
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Xfinity on Campus continues growth path Comcast’s Xfinity on Campus viewing data shows Thursday and Sunday are the most popular days to watch live television, and laptops are the preferred viewing devices at universities. The service is now available at 130+ schools and has doubled in size in two years. Comcast recently announced a summary of aggregated viewing data associated with its Xfinity on Campus service that shows live is the preferred method of viewing for college students, followed by video on demand, and then DVR. Students also prefer viewing on laptops over mobile devices and in particular during primetime on Thursday and Sunday. The service, which includes access to live and on demand programming from 100+ broadcast, cable and premium channels anywhere on campus has doubled in size in just two years and is now available at more than 130 schools nationwide, including Concordia University, the University of Minnesota, St. Thomas University, Hamline University, St. Catherine University, Bethel University and Martin Luther College in New Ulm.
“Tens of thousands of students use Xfinity on Campus every day to watch TV and that’s enabled us to identify some interesting viewing trends, like the significant portion of live programming college students are watching, including sports, scripted drama and reality TV,” said Mike Gatzke, Vice President, Video Subscription Services, Comcast. “Xfinity on Campus is helping us learn a lot about what, how and when students watch, and ultimately enabling us to further enhance and improve our service to offer them the best entertainment experience across devices, anywhere on campus.” The data was compiled from January through June 2018 and showed: • Live TV Matters: 44 percent of total video consumption was live, followed by video on demand at 37 percent, and DVR at 19 percent. • TGISunday and TGIThursdays: Students spend the most time watching TV on Sundays and Thursdays, while spending the least amount on Saturdays. And 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. is still the most popular viewing time across all days of the week. • Biggest Screen Wins: Even without TVs, students still revert to the biggest screen available; twice
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as much consumption happens on computers and laptops verses mobile devices. • Sports Reign: Live sports dominated the top 10 most-watched programs, fueled by the NBA and NFL playoffs, the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl, and the NCAA basketball tournament. • Must-See TV: Among the most popular live programs were This is Us, Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Riverdale, The Good Doctor, Keeping up with the Kardashians, grown-ish, Modern Family and Law & Order: SVU. Xfinity On Campus offers more than 100 live channels, including every major broadcast network, as well as channels like AMC, Bravo, Comedy
Central, ESPN, FX and MTV through Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app and portal. The service also includes access to thousands of current season TV shows and hit movies via Xfinity On Demand. The service is included with room and board for students living in on-campus housing at more than 130 schools.
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