Mshale Newspaper August 7 2023

Community celebrates full state funding for Office of New Americans

By Milkee Bekele Mshale

Since its establishment in 2020, Minnesota’s Office of New Americans has grown in popularity for spearheading efforts to integrate the state’s newest residents into the workforce by helping them navigate barriers to securing employment. But until recently, the office commonly known

as ONA has been a temporary initiative operating under the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and relying mostly on grants.

On Aug. 1, however, leaders from the government and the immigrant community gathered at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis to celebrate ONA’s qualification for permanent funding, thanks to the One Minnesota Budget that Gov. Tim Walz signed

into law on May 24.

DEED Assistant Commissioner for Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Abdiwahab Mohamed said the new permanent ONA will continue to work on expanding state resources into immigrant and refugee communities, so that they have a voice in policy recommendations. ONA will also work in collaboration with the state’s ethnic councils so that its work reflects the communities it serves.

“We will also continue to expand language access which is a major barrier for people to access state resources and to develop and provide for their families,” Mohamed said.

Offices for New Americans are becoming important channels for some state agencies and local governments across the country to assist immigrants and refugees to transition seamlessly into the foreign culture they encounter when they settle in the United States.

Several studies have shown that Minnesota’s immigrants have made significant impact in the state’s economy. An estimated 10% of Minnesotans are immigrants, and 7% of U.S.-born citizens have at least one immigrant parent, according to the American Immigrant Council. A DEED report revealed

between 2010 and

P.8 Isaak Rooble in race for Bloomington City Council seat

Black Business Week: African immigrant women entrepreneurs P.4

P.9

P.10 Uganda’s People’s President feature film

Global protests over countries that allow Quran burnings

DEED Assistant Commissioner for Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Abdiwahab Mohamed, speaks at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis during an event to celebrate full state funding of Minnesota’s Office of New Americans (ONA) on Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

ONA is a result of the One Minnesota Budget that Gov. Tim Walz signed into law on May 24, 2023.

Photo: Richard Ooga/Mshale

that

A section of community members that turned out to celebrate full state funding for Minnesota’s Office of New Americans (ONA) on Tuesday, August 1, 2023.. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

Introducing Twin Cities artist Kprecia Ambers

As part of Artist Spotlight, Kprecia hopes people will nd themselves in her illustrations and feel the con dence to nd their shine.

“The whole point of it is to be able to connect with people, and I feel like I do that through my words and my visions, or through the visuals I use.”

Guest Commentary by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis

“Wake Up America” in remembrance of Queen Mother Joann N. Watson

Last week, I was blessed beyond measure to witness and to join in the remarkable homegoing celebration of the life, legacy and liberation of The Honorable Reverend Dr. Joann Nichols Watson (1951-2023) in the splendid sanctuary of Fellowship Chapel United Church of Christ in the heart of Detroit, Michigan.

The Reverend Dr. Wendell Anthony, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Chapel and President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, rendered an impassioned and affirming eulogy for Queen Mother Joann N. Watson.

During the homegoing service, I was privileged to sit next to The Reverend Mark Thompson, a devoted colleague in the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). While there were many important and timely affirmations made throughout the service from elected officials, civil rights associates, family members, and during the transformative eulogistic sermon by Reverend Dr. Anthony, there was one enduring message: We all still have work to continue to do. We have to keep fighting for freedom, justice, equality and equity at all levels as exemplified by the life of Joann N. Watson.

This is not the time to relax, retreat, or to revise our centuries-long struggle for liberation, empowerment, and sustainability. The legacy of Sister Leader Watson was her consistency, her courage, and her compassion for the least of these among us in America, in Africa and throughout the Diaspora.

Simply put, Joann Nichols Watson was a gifted, multitalented, ordained preacher, freedom fighter. She was one of a long line of committed Queen Mothers of our global freedom movement. Joan Watson had a very long list of “records” highlighted by Rev. Anthony. This sister leader had real “receipts.” Joann Watson had the grassroots and street credibility of Fannie Lou Hamer and the fearless courage of Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks along with the theological vision of Coretta Scott King and Winnie Mandela.

Watson was the first woman Executive Director of the Detroit NAACP, an elected member of the Detroit City Council, founding President of the National Association of Black Talk Show Hosts, and a leader of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA).

“Wake Up Detroit” was one of the famous and outstanding quotes from Queen Mother Joann Watson that hundreds of thousands of Detroiters would hear each morning on the radio throughout the city and Wayne County, Michigan.

Given the fact that today in America, Black Americans and other communities of color are being told to shut up, stay asleep, don’t stay woke, keep quiet, enjoy the benefits

of enslavement, don’t vote, engage in self-destruction, be hopeless, and to accept consignment to poverty, police brutality, racial hatred and indignity, l believe that Joann Watson’s reverberant call on Detroiters to “Wake Up,” should be extrapolated to a national call to all Americans to “Wake Up.”

“Wake Up America.” We must defend the civil rights of all. We have to come up and get out of the slumber of do-nothingness and get up out of the long-suffering coma of hopelessness. We have to stay awakened. We have to stay woke!

“Wake Up America.” We must get up and reject the miseducation of the Negro. We must demand that the educational system in Florida and in every state across the nation teach the truth about the centuries-long genocide and the brutal enslavement of African people in America and throughout the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

“Wake Up America.” We must continue to demand and to ensure voting rights. Our fundamental right to vote is a God-given right that the U.S. Supreme Court cannot take away. We oppose all forms of voter suppression. In 2023 and certainly in 2024 we must GOTV (Get-Out-The-Vote) in record-breaking numbers in every precinct, in every congressional district, in every state, and across the nation in the upcoming national elections. The future of our families and communities is at stake. The future of American democracy is on the ballot.

“Wake Up America.” We must not relent. We cannot give up. We cannot get too tired. We must keep marching for freedom. It is time to end poverty in America. We support the Poor Peoples Campaign led by The Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, The Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III and many others. We support attaining financial literacy led by John Hope Bryant and Operation Hope. We must continue to demand equal justice, social justice, racial justice, economic justice, environmental justice, and climate justice.

“Wake Up America.” In remembrance and in tribute to the indefatigable spirit of Queen Mother Joann N. Watson, we all have to stay woke, stay committed, stay active, and to stay involved as we strive to raise up a new generation of young freedom-fighting Generation Zs and millennials. Long live the spirit of Joann Nichols Watson.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade association of the more than 200 Black-owned community newspapers from around the United States. He is also executive producerand host of The Chavis Chronicles on PBS TV stations and executive producer and host of The Good News daily audio commentaries on local radio stations.

Black Business Week: African immigrant women discuss barriers to entrepreneurship and growth of business in Minneapolis

By Milkee Bekele Mshale

Businesswomen from Minneapolis’s East African immigrant community said lack of access to networking resources, training, and capital were some of the greatest barriers to starting and sustaining their businesses.

The women were speaking during the East African Panel Discussion and Resource Fair, which was part of the Black Business Week summit, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Council President Andrea Jenkins hosted in the week beginning July 24. The purpose of the conference, which was held at the Brian Coyle Community Center in the CedarRiverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, was to spotlight and promote Black owned businesses in the city.

One of the panelists was Abyan Nur, the founder and CEO of Faceless Pro, a company that wants to eliminate discrimination during the application process by creating a job board that that removes identifiers from candidates’ resumes and only highlights their qualifications, skills, and experience.

“Raising capital is the biggest struggle that I’m having,” Nur said. “Being a Black woman, you’re overlooked constantly.”

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, East Africans, whose population is estimated at 85,000, have been able to establish about 3,000 small businesses in Minnesota. However, due to the pandemic, their small businesses have been struggling. Nationwide, just over 12% of businesses that do not have paid employees are owned by Black entrepreneurs, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in May. Black Business Week is the latest effort of civic and community organizations to ensure that Black-owned businesses get the resources they need to flourish.

Private sector organizations such as the African Development Center and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers teamed up with Minneapolis city agencies like Community Planning and Economic Development, and Finance and Property Services, to provide resources to entrepreneurs at the summit.

“Women are our fastest growing business owners in this country and in this city” said Jenkins, the council president.

Although shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic adversely affected business across the United States, the number Black women-owned businesses that had employees rose to 52,374 between 2017 and 2020, accounting for about 37% of all Black-owned businesses, ac-

cording to research from the Brookings Institution. However, the same report found that Black women, who account for 7% of the U.S. population owned less than 1% of all businesses and only 4.23% of businesses owned by women.

This year’s Black Business Week explored the idea of entrepreneurship as a way of creating generational wealth in Black communities. Frey, the mayor, said the purpose of the summit was to celebrate the incredible entrepreneurs that exist throughout Minneapolis for “adding vibrancy” and having economic growth and culture at the same time.

“And at the forefront of so much of that great work is our East African entrepreneurs that are women,” Frey said.

Ifrah Jama, the founder of fashionable and modest activewear catering to Muslim women and girls who was on the East African panel, said she founded her company because she believed that Muslim women should not compromise their faith or value to live an active lifestyle. She said women like her in business needed mentors and networking skills to help them succeed.

“It would be really helpful if we can have access or procurement opportunities for us to really compete for grants or just training,” said Jama. “This whole path of entrepreneurship it’s been [me] really just utilizing the resources that are available and really having people to guide me through.”

The third panelist was Amani Ahmed, the CEO and founder of the East African Business Association, which provides immigrants from the region support, advocacy, and resources to encourage business growth. Like Jama, she said East African women could be a successful entrepreneur and still maintain their faith and culture.

“I’m very proud to be a Somali woman,” said Ahmed. “If you’re not proud to represent your culture, and you’re not proud

to represent your religion, people feel it when you walk into the room. People will notice like you’re not even secure.”

The East African panel was hosted by Jamal Osman, a council member of Somali descent, who represents Ward 6 in Central Minneapolis, which is home to the largest population of residents who have their roots in East Africa. Yusra Mohamud, a business advisor for Lake Street Council and founder of Minnesota’s Eat and Talk podcast, was the panel’s facilitator.

Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins makes remarks at the start of the East African Panel Discussion and Resource Fair held as part of Minneapolis Black Business Week at the Brian Coyle Community Center Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Sitting, left to right, Yusra Mohamud, Abyan Nur, Ifrah Jama, Amani Ahmed and Councilmember Jamal Osman.

Photo: Milkee Bekele/Mshale

2020, about half of Minnesota’s growth in the labor force was driven by immigrants. They own 19,000 small business that generate $17.5 billion in household income, contributing $4.8 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

The One Minnesota Budget proposed an annual amount of $750,000 to support ONA. The funds include $250,000 per year for translation services to ensure non-English speakers are aware of employment opportunities. So far, ONA has established outreach programs that connected employers to protentional employees and successful ensured that they retained 300 employees, according to DEED.

ONA will also work in collaboration with Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), a St. Paul-based organization that trains entrepreneurs and supports their small businesses. DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said the agency had confidence in NDC because it had already helped many of the business owners operating at Midtown Global Market.

“Lots of the folks that are in here got their start through the training and technical assistance and financing as well as space that make up the NDC model,” Varilek said.

Henry Jiménez, the executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center, which supports Latino entrepreneurs and small businesses in Minnesota, talked about the importance

of cultivating immigrant-led businesses. Jiménez, who is a son of immigrants, said there was a lot of untapped potential within immigrant communities that is wasted due to the absence of offices like ONA and spaces like Midtown Global Market.

“The most important business corridor in Minnesota is not Hennepin,” he said. “It’s

Free Summer

not downtown. It’s Lake Street.”

Anjuli Mishra Cameron, the chief executive officer of SEWA-AIFW, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring total family wellness within the South Asian community spoke about his organization’s collaboration with ONA. Most recently, they worked together in the resettlement of Afghan refugees by helping them find

employment and housing.

“What the Office of New Americans did was they saw these people as whole people and brought together coalitions of government [and] community organizations to really step up [and] pool resources [to] meet people where they were at.”

Mr. Matt Varilek, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, speaks at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis during an event to celebrate full state funding of Minnesota’s Office of New Americans (ONA) on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Behind him are Mr. Henry Jiménez, executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center and Ms. Anjuli Mishra Cameron, the chief executive officer of SEWA-AIFW.

Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

JOIN US!

Join Books For Africa supporters from near and far in Minneapolis, Minnesota to celebrate 35 years and launch our newest initiative: A Book For Every Child.

The event features dinner, live music, and the chance to connect with BFA supporters from around the world.

SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2023

Unite to Fuel Change

We live in a world where divisions and poverty affect everyone but when we unite as changemakers we can create a community where all people thrive.

Businessman Isaak Rooble seeks open Bloomington City Council seat

By Mohamud Farah Dulyadeyn Mshale

With the District 4 Bloomington City Council seat open after incumbent Patrick Martin decided against seeking reelection, Mr. Isaak Rooble, a businessman and past recipient of the “Community Leadership Award” at the 6th annual African Awards, is running to represent the northeastern part of the city that includes the area that Mall of America sits on.

A native of Somalia, Rooble, 36, came to the U.S. in 2011. He and his wife and children have called Bloomington home for the last 10 years. He has an associates degree in applied science from Rochester Community and Technical College.

Mr. Rooble spoke to Mshale after a recent Saturday door knocking exercise accompanied by outgoing two-term Councilmember Martin who has thrown his support behind him, as has the city’s mayor, Tim Busse who has been on the Council since 2011.

This is his first time running for elective office and a win in November will make him the first Somali to serve on the Bloomington City Council. The city is Minnesota’s fourth largest after Minne-

apolis, St. Paul and Rochester.

“I’m running to make Bloomington an even more attractive and stronger city,” Roble said. “As a community organizer and volunteer, I (have) tirelessly worked to make a positive impact on people’s lives and enhance their quality of life. My unique quality lies in bringing people together and setting a tone for good governance and leadership.”

The seven-member City Council, which includes the mayor, is up for election this year following redistricting. City voters will elect a mayor and six council members—one for each of the four districts, one at large and another twoyear term at-large seat. Unlike the four district council members, at-large candidates are elected by voters citywide.

In 2021, the city implemented ranked choice voting for local elections following a charter amendment by city voters in 2020. The system eliminates the need for a primary election which allows for an unlimited number of eligible candidates to file and run for office.

“Our records show this is the first time in Bloomington’s history that the entire seven-person council has been on the ballot at the same time,” City Clerk Christina Scipioni said in a statement

posted on the city’s website when candidate filing commenced on August 1. The filing period runs through August 15.

Those that follow him on social media know that Rooble likes sharing updates on what the city is up to, in terms of service delivery for those that might need them, although since campaigning got

in high gear, campaign messages have also taken center stage.

His plans for the City Council however go beyond informing his fellow neighbors of what is going on.

Insured by NCUA

See Rooble on Pg. 10

Businessman Isaak Rooble is running for a seat in the Bloomington City Council in the November 2023 election.

Photo: Courtesy Fowzi Media

Islamic group suggests that member nations downgrade ties with countries that allow Quran burnings

By Abby Sewell and David Keyton Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The Organization for Islamic Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of ambassadors.

The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The organization’s 57 member countries should “consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations” with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries that allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.

It encouraged civil society organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits “before taking their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.”

It also called for more efforts at outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in Sweden.

Many of the points in the final statement echoed recommendations made by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who also called on the United Nations to “take measures to prevent these incidents.”

Ahead of the meeting, two men who had previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counter-protesters.

In both Sweden and Denmark, t here is no law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high regard.

But as the recent Quran burnings have sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries, offi-

cials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that the government is seeking a “legal tool” to prohibit such inflammatory acts without compromising freedom of expression.

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

Before Monday’s meeting, the OIC had already suspended the status of Sweden’s special envoy over the Quran burnings.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in OIC countries to explain how Sweden’s freedom of expression works and that police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that “the government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.”

The Danish foreign minister said his “government condemned and denounced the insult” to the Quran and “that it is studying this issue with great interest.”

Keyton reported from Stockholm. Associated Press staff writer Qassim AbdulZahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Iraqis raise copies of the Quran, Muslims’ holy book, during a protest in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Hundreds of protesters have attempted to storm Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government, following reports of the burning of a Quran by a ultranationalist group in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.

Photo: Hadi Mizban/AP

Bobi Wine, Uganda’s People’s President, comes to America with a new feature film

By Banning Eyre Afropop

There are few musicians in modern history, certainly modern African history, who can hold a candle to Fela Kuti when it comes to brazen courage in standing up to powerful despots. Uganda’s Bobi Wine is one. Since his election to the Ugandan Parliament in 2016, the 41-yearold popular musician has spoken out fearlessly for the rights of his country’s poor and repressed citizens. It seems abundantly clear that Wine actually won Uganda’s 2021 presidential election, in which he challenged the 35-year despotic regime of Yoweri Museveni. For all this, he has been arrested and beaten numerous times, confined to his home, and subjected to assassination attempts. His followers have been beaten, tortured and killed.

Anyone even casually following Ugandan news in recent years knows something of Bobi Wine’s saga. But that saga, still unfolding today, is now being told in a powerful new film, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, by Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo, and presented by National Geographic Documentary Films.

Rooble

Continued from Pg. 8

“My governance starts from the bottom where I engage my neighbors and discuss issues and decisions that will impact the neighborhood and community at the neighborhood level. I’m not someone who will say decisions will be made at the city hall, I will bring those discussions to the community level environment, where voters and residents can understand what’s at stake and decide. Then, they can send us to city hall to make a final say on what they want and how they want things to be done.”

Rooble says his top priorities are public safety, small business, affordable housing and accessible city services. He believes being intentional in harnessing public input is key to making Bloomington a thriving city.

“In both my public and professional lives, I’ve been a positive, decisive and compassionate advocate for our residents and small business,” attributes he says he will bring to the Council for the benefit of the city.

Rooble says what motivated him to run is the city’s “fast growing, diverse and vibrant community, and the many plans for our city,” the latter a reference to “Forward 2040,” the city’s comprehensive plan adopted in 2018 that guides development and public investments in city facilities and services such as parks, trails, fire stations, roads, sewer and water systems, and housing.

The film had its New York debut at Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage in Central Park last night (July 27), preceded by a spirit-raising performance by the artist, backed by an impressive band of local musicians. After just two days of rehearsal, they came off as more than comfortable in Wine’s music, which ranges from dancehall and reggae to Afrobeats, township jive, and even a gospel number (“When the Struggle is Over, We Will Wear the Victor’s Crown”) rendered as a Polka! Wine was accompanied by his long time musical partner Nubia Lee and the two of them projected joyous certainty and confidence that quickly animated the assembled crowd.

Then came the film, a riveting tale captured by some extremely brave cameramen willing to wade into ongoing violence to document the appalling brutality of Museveni’s police state. The screening was particularly effective following Wine’s set and unfolding beneath a moody, New York summer sky at dusk.

During the film, Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe and I were honoured to interview Wine, and were mightily impressed with his passion and clarity. That interview will be featured on Afropop’s upcoming new

Rooble says he was disappointed when Bloomington lost the bid to host the 2027 World Expo but believes the loss provides the city with a great opportunity to explore other uses for the parcel around the Mall of America that was to be the site for the expo, referred to as the South Loop.

“We have a discussion going on about the South Loop already (and) once elected I am looking forward to bringing the community together on how we can use those resources to move the city forward for the benefit of our residents,” Rooble said.

Register to vote

Election Day is November 7.

While in Minnesota the law allows voters to register on election day at their voting location, registering in advance is highly recommended. October 17 is the last day to register in advance as a voter.

Register in advance at the Secretary of State website: https://www.sos.mn.gov/ elections-voting/register-to-vote/

Election Judges: The City of Bloomington is also looking for election judges and will provide paid training. Check required qualifications and apply at https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/cl/ election-judges

podcast, hosted by Georges Collinet, Mukwae and myself.

Meanwhile, with some 25-minutes left in the film, lightning flashed. A storm was coming. The site had to be evacuated immediately. Attendees fleeing for cover missed the film’s uplifting conclusion, as well as the planned Q&A with the artist and film directors.

However, you may be able to catch one of these upcoming screenings. If you can, don’t miss it. It’s a landmark in African music history and documentary film.

Mshale Editor’s note: Find out if the film is screening in your area at this link: https://films.nationalgeographic.com/ bobi-wine-the-people-s-president

Bobi Wine performs at Central Park SummerStage on July 27. Photo: Banning Eyre/Afropop