Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale
holds ribbon cutting ceremony with expanded services
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Rep. Ilhan Omar were in Minneapolis Tuesday to celebrate the expansion of a clinic that for over 50 years has been offering lowcost health care to immigrants in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. The new improvements to the Cedar-Riverside People’s Center Clinic include a walk-in clinic, a fitness center, a prayer room, and a call center with staffers who are fluent in several languages including Oromo, Somali, Spanish, and Amharic.
Omar said her family has a special connection to the clinic because she, her father, and her grandfather – all of whom were born in Somalia – benefited greatly from the clinic’s services in the past. Also, from 2014 to 2018, her sister, Sahra Noor, was the CEO of People’s Center Clinics & Services, the nonprofit organization that runs the clinic, she said.
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“This isn’t just a clinic,” said Omar, whose congressional district includes Cedar-Riverside. “This is where you find community and people who actually care for you.”
In 1970, a group of grassroots organizers who wanted to address the health care needs of students acquired an old chapel in the West Bank area of Minneapolis. They established the CedarRiverside People’s Center, one of the first clinics in Minnesota to offer free medical services, according to the organization’s
“As we were going through the pandemic, the lines outside of People’s Center were unreal,” said Mohamud Noor, a Somali-born member of the Minnesota House of Representatives “This expansion reflects a clear need that we have in the neighborhood.”
THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that there were great disparities between immigrant and non-immigrant access to health care. In 2020, 26% of documented and 42% of undocumented immigrants were uninsured, compared to less than 8% of U.S. citizens. Such clinics became even more essential during the coronavirus pandemic when a lot of immigrants found themselves without employment.
Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were some of the leaders at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for People’s Center Clinic in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis on Tuesday, August 22, 2022. The clinic has been expanded to include a fitness center, a prayer room, and a multi-lingual call center.
Clinics like the People’s Center are important because they often step in to bridge the health care coverage gap
“As our immigrant communities continue to grow, I trust that many will seek the culturally inclusive care we offer at our facility” said Ann Rogers, the CEO of People’s Center Clinics & Services, the nonprofit that runs the clinics popularly known as People’s Center.
People’s Center Clinic
SEPTEMBER 5-11, 2022Issue # 538 www.mshale.com
Klobuchar spoke about the importance of supporting immigrants as soon as they arrive in the United States, adding that it was especially important to have policies that support medical care services tailored to meet the unique needs of immigrants.
By Panashe Matemba-Mutasa Mshale
“Immigrants don’t diminish America; they are America,” Klobuchar said.
that exists in immigrant communities and help people make easier transitions to the United States.
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Celebrating Houston White get inspired by White’sHoustonstory
To the whiners complaining about President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness announcement, I have one message: The fight for debt cancellation is not over.
Biden’s plan is undoubtedly monumental for potentially millions of people. Up to $10,000 — even $20,000 for some borrowers — of relief isn’t nothing. And capping some borrowers’ monthly payments at 5% of their discretionary income is nothing to sneeze at. But the policy as it stands doesn’t do enough for the most marginalized people in the country, who’ve been saddled with student loan debt from lenders who preyed upon their desire for self-betterment.
Activists and academics have sounded the alarm on the predatory nature of the student loan industry.
Guest Commentary by Ja’han Jones
It’s a reminder that the fight for debt cancellation — student debt and other preda tory loans — doesn’t end with Biden’s announcement this week. This is just the begin ning.
Ja’han Jones is The ReidOut Blog writer at MSNBC. He’s a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include “Black Hair Defined” and the “Black Obituary Project.”
Safo’s student loan trajectory isn’t particularly unique when it comes to Black women striving for an education. She received a graduate degree and medical degree from Harvard University ... and left with thousands upon thousands of dollars in student debt. Like others I spoke with, Safo touched on a vital point: Racism has forced Black people — especially Black women — to pursue higher degrees in an effort to be seen as equal to white competitors in the job market.
Biden’s action is thanks to coalitions of Black and other nonwhite activists, Winfield Dixon added, with a caveat: “Although this will help many, it’s modest.”
NBC News published a report in May that laid out the dire scenario many of collegegoing Black women face: “While Black students are disproportionately burdened by student debt, Black women face a particularly heavy debt load, according to a report by The Education Trust, a nonprofit that advocates closing the opportunity gap for students of color from low-income families. Besides making less than other college-educated white women and Black and white men, Black women are also more likely to be parents in school, often burdened by costs related to child care that can result in them borrow ing more for college, the report stated.”
As I’ve watched a parade of right-wing pundits and lawmakers crying to anyone in earshot over the historic news, I’ve wanted to pat them (patronizingly) on the shoulder and say, “There’s more where that came from.” There must be.
That group largely consists of Black women, who carry a majority of the country’s student loan debt.
“We have to work twice as hard to get half as much,” Safo said. “We have to take out loans to get those opportunities to even get into the arena to work twice as hard. And then once we get these loans, they are absolutely predatory in how they’re set up.”Takirra Winfield Dixon, a PR professional whose clientele is mostly Black women, also shared her story of student loan debt with me. She said her father used some of his life insurance to pay most of her undergraduate student loans from her time at the University of Maryland. But when he died, Winfield Dixon had to take out tens of thou sands of dollars to continue education at Howard University. She’s largely ineligible for student loan forgiveness under the Biden plan because almost all of her debt is from grad school. Though some graduate degree borrowers are eligible for forgiveness under the plan, like those who received Pell Grants, Winfield Dixon’s circumstances do not meet the criteria. “As Black women, we’re taught to work hard, to get a good job, and to pursue a higher education,” Winfield Dixon said Thursday. “And then when you get out, you’re like, ‘Dang, this is all a false promise.’”
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Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, made the issue plain in a statement: “In order to benefit the students of color who are most impacted, the administration must raise the canceled amount to maximize relief, create an automatic process that will be easy for students to navigate, and take further action to reform our student loan system to protect former, current, and future students from the harms of our debt-financed system of higher education.”
“The systems are set up so that it’s unequal for us,” Dr. Stella Safo, HIV physician and founder of the nonprofit Just Equity For Health, told me on Thursday.
“[Black women] have labored for this country ever since our ancestors’ feet were forced on the soil,” she added. “And we’ve been asked to show up for this country whether it’s at the ballot box or anywhere else. And the country does so little for us.”
Join the Mshale Text Club: Text AFRICA to 24587 or follow us onTwitter.com/Mshale Community News, updated daily on Mshale. com GOPers, stop whining over student loan forgiveness. The fight is just getting started. © 1995-2022 Mshale Communications, Inc. Mshale – The African Community Newspaper Editorial & Corporate Office: 2 E Franklin Ave., Suite 1 Minneapolis, MN 55404 Mailing Address: P.O.BOX 80071, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Tel: 612-454-5648 Email:www.mshale.commshale@mshale.com President & Publisher: Tom Gitaa Contributing Editor: Edwin Okong’o Staff Writers: Kari Mugo, Bethel Gessesse, Cynthia Simba, Panashe Matemba-Mutasa Contributing Writers: Susan Budig Design & Layout: Staff Photographers: Richard Ooga, Bethel Gessesse, Jasmine Webber Distribution: Bluebird Mshale is published weekly on Monday. It is available every Monday for free at most African stores , African restaurants and metro area county libraries. Mailed subscriptions are $60 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 SAVE THE DATE Friday, September 23 First day to vote early in person in Minnesota
“I just see ASUU (the union) trying to fight for the rights of its people. ... Nigerian lecturers are far behind in terms of welfare when compared to others,” said Atteh.
Talks between the lecturers and the government ended in deadlock this month, dashing hopes of a compromise agreement.
He said that when “more lecturers realize they can migrate, we will be left with unqualified lecturers to teach our children (because) all the qualified ones will run away.” It is not just lecturers who are eyeing relocation for better opportunities.
“Our situation in this country is just in a sorry state,” said lecturer Sabi Sani at the University of Abuja. After 12 years of teaching, Sani said his monthly salary is “not even enough to pay my children’s school fees.”
Amidat Ahmed, a 22-year-old economics student at the University
By Chinedu Asadu Associated Press
See
If the government has not fulfilled a promise made in 2009 by 2022, how can it be trusted? asked Femi Atteh, a lecturer at the University of Ilorin in northcentral Kwara state who now works with his wife to run a food retail business.
The latest strike, however, is biting harder on an education sector that is struggling to recover from a COVID19 lockdown and an earlier strike that lasted for most of 2020.
The striking lecturers are demanding a review of their conditions of service including the platform the government uses to pay their earnings, improved funding for the universities and the payment of their salaries withheld since the strike started.
No alternative means of learning is provided for students because “more than 90%” of lecturers in Nigerian universities are members of the academic staff union, according to Haruna Lawal Ajo, director of public affairs at Nigeria’s universities commission.
Adenekan Ayomide, 27, an undergraduate student turned a taxi driver following nationwide university strike, poses for a photograph inside his taxi in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. “Nobody is talking about school again,” said Ayomide, who said he is now working more than one job and the budget he had for getting through university now looks unrealistic.
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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP)
University strikes are common in Nigeria, which has more than 100 public universities and an estimated 2.5 million students, according to Nigeria’s National Universities Commission. The universities here have recorded at least 15 strikes covering a cumulative period of four years since 2000.
Atteh said some of his colleagues are moving abroad for better opportunities and improved pay.
Lecturers have faulted the government’s position, arguing that the government has still not provided higher pay for lecturers and more funds for the education sector which it agreed to in 2009.
Strike deadlock shuts Nigerian universities for months
— Adenekan Ayomide had been attending the University of Abuja for two years when the lecturers went on strike in February. The 27-year-old undergraduate student hoped he would return to school quickly but immediately took a job as a taxi driver to pay bills.
Unfortunately for him, the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities has now clocked six months and Ayomide’s hopes of returning to classes anytime soon grow thin.
“Nobody is talking about school again,” said Ayomide, who said he is working more than one job and the budget he had for getting through university now looks unrealistic.
Photo: Chinedu Asadu/AP Nigeria, Page 9
“I look forward to spending time building relationships in the community,” Emiru said. “Then, together with my team, we can charter a long-term plan on how we can continue to add a unique value to the communities we serve.”
Emiru, who describes herself as “a very proud Ethiopian,” came to the United States as a high school teenager in the early ‘90s with her parents and her siblings. She credits he mother for sparking the interest in medicine, which she said began long before she came to the United States. “My mother is a retired [Registered Nurse], and as a young child growing up in Ethiopia, I always knew about the impact of lack of adequate healthcare in a developing nation,” she said. “From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a physician.”
Emiru succeeds Dr. Julia Joseph-Di Caprio, who recently left UCare to open a clinic for young people in an underserved community in St. Paul. Emiru will oversee several departments at UCare, including Clinical Services, Equity and Inclusion, Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services, Pharmacy, Population Health and Quality Management. “Dr. Emiru is a skilled physician, visionary leader, and – most importantly – she is passionate about the members we serve and the communities we support,” Marden-Resnik said.
“We are thrilled to have her join our team,” said UCare President and CEO Hilary Marden-Resnik.
“I am passionate about health equity,” Emiru said. “I believe that everyone deserves to have an opportunity to be as healthy as possible, no matter where you come from or who you are.”
Prior to coming to UCare, Emiru was a critical care neurologist and chief of neurology at Hennepin Healthcare (formerly Hennepin County Medical Center) in Minneapolis, where she led a multi-disciplinary team of providers and operational leaders in transforming the delivery of care in the neurosciences. For the past five years, she has also been on the board of Hennepin Healthcare Foundation.
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By Edwin Okong’o Mshale
Emiru is educated in several disciplines. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and an MD degree from the University of Minnesota. She also recently completed an Executive Master’s in Business Administration at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
An award-winning Ethiopian American neurologist has been named the executive vice president and chief medical officer of one of the Midwest’s leading independent health care coverage providers. Dr. Tenbit Emiru was appointed to spearhead the strategic direction of UCare, an independent, nonprofit health plan providing health care and administrative services to more than 640,000 members throughout Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin.
Distinguished Ethiopian American doctor joins executive leadership at UCare
Emiru is a distinguished physician, who has been recognized by her peers for her outstanding expertise in providing care. She was named “Top Doctor” by Minnesota Monthly in 2018 and 2020. She also made Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine’s list of “Top Docs and Rising Stars” in 2017 and 2018.
UCare partners with health care providers, counties and community organizations to create and deliver Medicare, Medicaid and individual and family health plans, which are accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The health plan addresses health care disparities and care access issues through a broad array of community initiatives. UCare has been on the Star Tribune’s list of Top Workplaces for 12 consecutive years since 2010 when the rankings began.
Dr. Tenbit Emiru Photo: Courtesy of UCare
“I have cared for many people who come from underserved communities, including some who were transferred from greater [Minnesota],” Emiru said. She said she hoped to bring an open mind and “willingness to learn a lot, and fast” at her new role, and that she would focus on getting an in-depth understanding of the work that’s already ongoing.
In a statement to Mshale, Emiru said she joined UCare because the organization’s focus on health equity and commitment to making sure that health outcomes are improved for all were in line with her passion for caring for people in underserved communities.
As an immigrant in Minnesota, Emiru said she learned how important it was to offer care that was both culturally and linguistically appropriate, which further strengthened her desire to become a physician.
“It’s about being able to walk from your home and down the block with your child who needs pediatric care, and receiving that care on the spot,” Frey said.
“I know firsthand how overwhelming it is to get to a new country and not be able to speak the language,” Osman said. “People’s Center breaks all cultural barriers for their patients.”
“It’s so important for members of the community to be equally invested in the thriving of this clinic as its volunteers and staff,” Bingham said. “This provides immeasurable value in this neighborhood.” Mahad Jama, a Somali-born businessman who owns an interpretation company, said he became emotional seeing how People’s Center had grown. Jama said he was impressed by People’s Center’s mission to transcend language barriers and reach diverse populations, which he said would greatly benefit the East African community.
at ribbon cutting for expanded People’s Center website. The organization rebranded itself in 2003 to become People’s Center Clinics & Services and acquired a Federally Qualified Health Center. Today, it runs two health centers, including the Longfellow Clinic in southside Minneapolis. Together, they serve nearly 10,000 patients a year, offering services such as preventative care, chronic disease management, reproductive health care, pre- and post- natal care, STI and HIV testing, and dental care.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that integrated healthcare is a human right. One of the aspects of the People’s Center that he admired was its accessibility, he said. Nearly half of Cedar-Riverside residents do not own vehicles, mostly relying on bikes, walking, or public transportation, according to Minnesota Compass.
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After the event concluded, Paige Bingham and her friend Elsa Linke shared a hearty laugh over some Somali food. Bingham, the director of Close the Gap, a health equity program at, Boston Scientific, said she was passionate about addressing disparities in health care.
Attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expanded People’s Center Clinic in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Omar among dignitaries
Faduma Hussein, a Somali immigrant who has been visiting the clinic regularly since 2017, shared her experience receiving quick, accessible, and culturally tailored care after she acquired fractures in her leg and collarbone.
Dr. Steven Vincent, a neurologist who began his career as a volunteer at People’s Center and at one time served as its medical director, said the clinic’s impact on both patients and non-patients was what attracted him to it. As a physician, Vincent said it was rewarding to be able to serve the diverse group patients the clinic sees daily.
Jamal Osman, a Somali-born council member who represents Ward 6 in Minneapolis, said that one aspect of the clinic that resonated with him was its service to new immigrants.
Continued
“At the time I did not have medical insurance, but I received surgery that same evening,” Hussein said, struggling to hold back tears.
The People’s Center’s flexible payment plans, lax insurance requirements and sliding scale fee system allow patients to seek care with minimal financial stress.
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood has a foreign-born population of just over 36%, a majority of whom are people of color, according to Minnesota Compass, which provides research to inform the state’s policymakers. About 54% of residents speak a language other than English, and 72% of all households have an annual income of less than $35,000.
Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale
“This clinic’s patients, physicians, staff, volunteers, and the watching community around us can all vouch for me when I say that People’s Center has touched thousands of lives,” Vincent said.
“This is a remarkable clinic in a remarkable location,” Jama said. “I am eager to see what it has in store for this generation and for many generations to come.” from Pg. 1
The general LGBTQ+ population in Min nesota is just over 4%, with 28% of them
Page 8
“This is by us and for us,” said Den nis Anderson, one of the founders of MN POCThePride.new festival is an expansion of what used to be the Black Pride celebra tion to include all people of color. It was a response to city-wide calls for greater BIPOC representation, according to MN POC Pride founders. The festival featured several celebrations that began on Thurs day that included evets such as a Mr. & Miss Twin Cities Black Pride pageant, a riverboat cruise, and nightly dance par ties. It ended on Sunday with an event that included vendors and picnics at Pow derhorn Park in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota People of Color LGBTQ+ Pride, (MN POC Pride) held its inaugural Pride Festival last weekend in Minneapolis. The festival was the culmina tion of years’ worth of effort to increase the visibly of LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
Miski Noor, a community organizer and co-director of Black Visions Collective, which was founded in 2017 to addresses issues of police brutality, was one of the vendors. Noor said the organization has since worked to tailor its services to cater LGBTQ+ individuals who are seek ing to heal from the effects of police vio lence. “[Transgender] voices are often overlooked in this conversation, and we want to build a movement that can move toward safety with the premise that all Black Lives Matter,” Noor said.
Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale Festival,
Reimagined LGBTQ+ Pride inaugural festival in Minneapolis lifts voices of people of color
MN POC Pride takes place two months after the month-long national Pride cel ebration, which is held annually in June across the United States. While Twin Cities Pride has been hosting numerous events each year for the last half century, many said they wished to see a festival more tailored to fit the diversity for LGBTQ+ of color in the metropolitan area. “Most of our artists and vendors are of color,” Anderson said. “We want this event to reflect the beautiful diversity of the LGBTQ+ community in our city.”
By Panashe Matemba-Mutasa Mshale Participants gather at the Art station during the inaugural Minnesota People of Color LGBTQ+ Pride Festival on Sunday,August 21, 2022.
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See
Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendony at the inaugural Minnesota People of Color LGBTQ+ Pride Festival on Sunday,August 21, 2022. Kelly is the founder and executive director of Memorialize the Movement, an organization that was founded in 2020 to collect and preserve the plywood murals created following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Another attendee, Tim Dooley, said that he believed recognizing Black Pride was essential to recognizing LGBTQ+ Pride because lot of the pride movements throughout history have been led by the African American community, including its role in the commercialization of Pride. “There is no Pride without Black Pride,” Dooley said.
Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale Festival Continued from Pg. 7
Photo: Panashe Matemba-Mutasa/Mshale
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tive director Memorialize the Movement, an organization that was founded in 2020 to collect and preserve the plywood murals created following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police offi cer. She said that the festival resonated with her because of her unique identity as a queer woman.
“As a Black queer woman, this is a valu able place for me to reflect and learn,” KellyNeeceesaid.
8Mshale raising children, according to a poll con ducted by Gallup and the Williams Institute at University of California Los Angeles Law School. Various studies indicate that although all LGBTQ+ people generally continue to face discrimination in areas like housing and employment, the situa tion is worse for people of color. A 2018 report from the Minnesota Homeless Study, for example, revealed that 68% of LGBTQ+ people experiencing homeless ness also identified as BIPOC, an overrep resentation that illuminates compounding systemic discrimination.
Dennis Anderson is a cofounder of the Minnesota People of Color LGBTQ+ Pride Festival which held its inaugural festival the weekend of (Aug.18-21, 2022) in Minneapolis.
“A lot of drag queens of color don’t get as many opportunities, and we are trying to bridge that gap” Anderson said.
Leesa Kelly, is the founder and execu
Alain Mikli said he came the festival because he enjoyed seeing peo ple come together for the greater good of Minneapolis’s queer community. “Seeing all these queer people of color is amazing,” Mikli said. “We all have differ ent talents to contribute from vendors, to the chefs, and performers.”
Although he’s famous for his “Welcome to good burger” line, Mitchell has used his voice lately to share his Christian faith.
“Kel has a phenomenal voice for bed time stories. I remember even while we were recording in the studio, our audio engineer had mentioned it was one of the most relaxed recording sessions on which he had ever worked.”
Across Nigeria, students are looking for work to survive. Rent and other bills have accumulated, making things worse for many from poor backgrounds in this nation with a 40% poverty rate, according to the latest government statistics.
Mitchell’s stint on “All That,” Nickel odeon’s longest-running live-action series, which he also executive produced, made way for the show “Kenan & Kel” and the spinoff film “Good Burger.”
Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell reads Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for Christian app
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“I don’t have 5 naira ($0.012) in my account and I cannot go home because there is no money,” said Ayomide. His only option is to work long hours, he said. “Sometimes, I sleep at the airport or inside the car.” “We just have to double our hustle and hope for the best,” he said. “This is the country where we are, so we have no choice.”
Religion
During the COVID-19 pandemic lock downs, he told The Christian Post that he saw God capitalize on his reach as he led people from all over the world to Christ. “Now, I got people all over the world and from the U.K., fans that know me from Nickelodeon but didn’t know this love for Christ that I have, now they’re coming over just like, ‘Oh, I want to come over because he loves orange soda’ or ‘I want to see him say, ‘Welcome to Good Burger.’ But when they come, then they go, ‘Oh, wow, I see his faith. I see this love that he has, this grace that has been given to him that he keeps talking about,’” he“We’vesaid. had a lot of people give their life to Christ,” Mitchell added at the time. “We did a virtual baptism at our church for the first time, which is awesome. It’s all these kids that are getting salvation and giving their life to Christ online.” Mitchell’s coming to Jesus moment came after years of growing up in the entertainment industry.
Photo:Sunday Alamba/AP Actor Kell Mitchell Photo: Todd Rosenberg via Christian Post
By Jeannie Ortega Law Christian Post Actor, comedian and youth pastor Kel Mitchell lent his vocal talents to the promi nent faith-based streaming app Pray.com for a reading of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.Mitchell, well-known for his time on Nickelodeon as an original cast member on the sketch comedy series “All That,” read the Sermon on the Mount for the app’s Bedtime Bible Stories series.
The Bedtime Bible Stories series is meant to educate listeners about the Gospels.“Partnering with Kel is an absolute plea sure. His knowledge of the Bible brought incredible inspiration to the project and has really produced an amazing Bedtime Bible Story,” said Max Bard, vice presi dent of content at Pray.com, in a state ment shared with The Christian Post.
Nigeria Labour union protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, on the street in Lagos, Nigeria in July. A strike declared by lecturers in Nigerian public universities has now clocked six months as of Sept. 4, 2022 .
Much like his book, Mitchell joined Pray. com to encourage listeners to “release their burdens to God.” With more than 1 million followers on Instagram alone, Mitchell often uses his platform to speak about his faith.
Some students’ financial situation is better when school is in session as a small proportion of the students get funding provided by nonprofits and government agencies.
Nigeria Continued from Pg. 4 of Abuja said the strike has prevented her from getting clearance that would see her wrap up her undergraduate studies in the school because lectures are not available. She is now considering going abroad for a fresh undergraduate degree program. “My life is stagnant,” said Ahmed who said she is working two jobs including one as a shoemaker where she is learning the skill to set up a business later in life. It is a case of using the lemons to make lemonade, she said. “Apart from this (learning the shoemaking trade), I don’t think I have done anything with my life all this while and it has been six months.”
The youth pastor at Spirit Food Christian Center in Los Angeles, California, recently released his debut book, Blessed Mode, a 90-day devotional written in hopes of inspiring others who are struggling to stay“Prayerencouraged.andtime with God are so impor tant to do every day,” Mitchell added. “Finding time to unwind, destress and just relax in the Word of God is such a bless ing! This is why I am so excited about part nering with Pray.com. Prayer is a priority.”
The entertainer also credited his wife with encouraging him to share his faith openly in secular environments after he expressed to her that he wanted to tell others about Christ.
After the latest round of talks to end the strike was unsuccessful, Ayomide remained on the roads as a taxi driver.
Although the Barefoot Diva passed in 2011 when Lucibela was 25, still five years away from debuting internationally, a tremendous impression was made. “I want to continue to spread Cape Verde’s music to the world. Cesária showed us that it is possible to be a great artist even being from a small country like ours, she makes me believe that it is possible to dream and pursue this dream of making a career in our traditional music and taking it to the four corners of the world.” One of those corners will be Minneapolis. Tickets can be purchased on the Cedar website (Cedar.org). Doors open at 7 pm and the show begins at 8 pm with Douala Soul Collective as the opening act.
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Cape Verdean singer Lucibela to perform at the Cedar on Sept. 16
By Susan Budig Mshale Contributing Writer
Cape Verdean singer Lucibela will bring her world tour to Minneapolis on September 16, 2022 when she performs at the Cedar Cultural Center.
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Photo: Courtesy of Lucibela
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Lucibela performs traditional Cape Verdean music, yet she makes it her own. Drawing on the inspirational Cesária Évora, the Queen of Morna who helped bring the tiny collection of islands that comprise Cape Verde into the public’s eye, Lucibela learned that to sing the morna, “we have to feel it.” She continued, “when I sing a morna I think of the lyrics of the song, if it is sad I feel it, if it talks about love I feel it too. I try to perceive the story, feel it and convey it to the audience. That’s what makes me sing a morna; it’s my way of feeling and transmitting the music when I sing. I believe that these feelings are unique to each person.”
Cape Verde, uninhabited until it was colonized by Portugal in the 1400s, sits almost 600 miles to the west of Senegal and three times that distance from Portugal. The country asserted sovereign rule in 1975. When Cesária Évora earned a Grammy in 2004, the country pointed a spotlight on its rich musicianship.
Lucibela will bring a night of Morna and Coladeria music to the stage when she performs at The Cedar Cultural Center September 16th. This will be her second tour in the USA. A second album, Amdjer, released in June of this year will fill much of the setlist. Mshale spoke to Lucibela last week week. She reflected on the past two years. “Because of the pandemic, after being at home for so long, I started writing some texts that became my first compositions.” Although she’d attempted to write her own work previously, she admitted, “I always gave up”, but during the time of Covid, “I managed to finish about 6 songs of my own. I have now recorded two of these songs on my new album.”
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- The African Community Newspaper www.mshale.com September 5-11, 2022 Issue 53812Mshale You Fair Housing 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) 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. SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO
