Insight News ::: 4.20.09

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PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MINNEAPOLIS MN PERMIT NO. 32468

April 20 - April 26, 2009 • MN Metro Vol. 35 No. 16 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

Black Americans and the Jamestown Settlement By Mahmoud El-Kati The setting for a back-story to the United States of America is the Jamestown Settlement in 1607. A tiny group of adventurers who came in the name of the British Crown were primarily in quest of the wealth to be found in “The New World.” The records that have been handed down to us tell us that a few hundred suffering souls from England survived a devastating first year before reinforcements came to strengthen this settlement with fresh bodies and necessities of food stuffs and other material goods. The land to which these representatives of a rising Europe came had been explored and settled over many centuries by a variety of indigenous peoples. Among them were a people who called themselves Powhattans, the name for their nation. This name came from their founding chief Powhattan. The Powhattans belonged to a much larger group who were linguistically akin. These were Alquankin speakers who inhabited long stretches of land along the east coast of what became the United States. The Powhattan people are the people to whom the legendary Pocahontas belonged. The popular historical myth says that Pocahontas was

JAMESTOWN TURN TO

Ben Jealous: This moment reflects an important window in our history

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American Violet film review

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Courtesy of Pablo Davis,Virginia Foundation for the Humanities,www.virginiavignettes.org

Minneapolis Urban League identifies finalists for CEO vacancy Minneapolis Urban League Board Chair Cathy Wassberg announced last week that the Minneapolis Urban League CEO Search Committee has narrowed its candidates down to two, both of which will appear at a community event scheduled for April 25th at the MUL's North Minneapolis headquarters. Former President/CEO Clarence Hightower left the MUL in the fall of last year. Since that time, the Search Committee of the Board has diligently searched for a replacement. Both candidates, Pamela Coaxum and Scott Gray, have been certified by the National Urban League. South Minneapolis native, Pamela Coaxum, is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the University of North Carolina. Most recently, she served as Local Office Director of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. in St. Louis, MO. Enterprise Community Partners provides financial and program support to public and private organizations that develop affordable housing and deliver workforce and community development programs in a highly technology driven environment. Previously, Pam was Chief Operating Officer of the Metropolitan St. Louis YWCA. Scott Gray is a native of inner city Milwaukee. He has

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completed degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and Goddard College. Scott is currently the President/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, WI. In this capacity he oversees multiple programs in the areas of education, career development, housing, economic development and workforce development. Prior to joining the League, he was Associate Regional Director for Habitat for Humanity International in Chicago, IL. Both candidates will participate in final interviews and a community forum on Saturday, April 25 at the Minneapolis Urban League headquarters at 1:00 PM CST. The community is encouraged to attend and learn more about our finalist. The MUL Board of Directors will be soliciting community input as they make their final selection. Insight News President/Editor-in-Chief Al McFarlane will host the event. An announcement of the new President/CEO is expected before May 1, 2009. For more information about the Minneapolis Urban League, visit www.mul.org or call (612) 302-3100. The Minneapolis Urban League is headquartered at the Glover-Sudduth Center, 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411.

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DNC radio ad calls for Norm Coleman to concede Senate race to Al Franken WASHINGTON, DC— Last week the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced it will begin running a radio ad in Minneapolis/St. Paul calling on Norm Coleman to concede the Minnesota Senate race to Democrat Al Franken. The ad will run on news talk radio stations in the Twin Cities and comes one day after a three judge panel decisively and overwhelmingly declared Franken the winner of the contested race and said he was entitled to an election certificate. Despite what analysts and many have called a hopeless cause, Coleman is vowing to continue his appeals and legal challenges and cause further delay in seating Franken.

“Enough is enough,” said DNC Chairman Tim Kaine. “Al Franken won the election, the recount and now the legal challenge where his lead actually grew. Minnesota deserves two Senators and the people of America deserve 100 in the U.S. Senate. More importantly, the voters who cast ballots on Election Day deserve to have their verdict stand. Sen. Coleman should not put his political ambition ahead of the will of the people. It’s time for Norm Coleman to concede and for Al Franken to be sworn in as the next U.S. Senator from Minnesota. If Mr. Coleman won’t concede, state officials should issue an election certificate to Al Franken, as the

The Greater Al Franken (L) and Norm Coleman

Minneapolis Crisis Nursery

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three judge panel said he is entitled to, so he can be sworn in immediately.”

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To listen to the ad, go to: http://www.democrats.org/page//audio/DNC_MN_Radio_Ad_04_ 15_09.mp3

George Curry to lead NNPA HIV/AIDS awareness initiative WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Awardwinning journalist George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of the NNPA News Service, has been selected as AIDS coordinator for a new NNPACenter for Disease Control partnership that targets the horrendous HIV/AIDS rates among African Americans. The program “Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative,’’ was announced by the Obama Administration at the White House last week. It partners the CDC with 14 civil rights organizations, including the NNPA News Service, a subsidiary of the NNPA Foundation. As NNPA AIDS coordinator, Curry will write a series of 15 HIV/AIDS-related articles that will be distributed exclusively through the NNPA News Service. He will also assist in the organization of an HIV/AIDS awareness event for the NNPA Summer Conference which will be held in Minneapolis, MN June 24-27. The conference falls during National HIV Testing Week.

Because of his work on HIV/AIDS, Curry was the recipient of the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute’s ‘Drum Major’ award last year at its annual “Heroes In The Struggle” event. Over the years he has attended and covered a string of International AIDS Conferences for NNPA, including in Mexico City, Toronto and Bangkok. Each organization, including the NNPA Foundation, has received a grant of $100,000 from the CDC to administratively support the project, which also includes the distribution of an NNPA op-ed series and press releases related to the initiative. The grants will be made available to the organizations each year for the next five years. “George is among the nation’s most authoritive, passionate and prolific writers on the topic of HIV/AIDS from a Black perspective,” said current NNPA Editor-in-Chief Hazel Trice Edney, who succeeded Curry two years ago. “We selected him because of his

Enjoying the great outdoors

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George Curry years of journalistic dedication to the topic. He always insisted that his Washington and national correspondents write frequent articles on HIV/AIDS. In fact, the 25-part ‘All Star’ HIV/AIDS Op-ed Series that we distributed over the wire last year was actually the result of George’s vision. We are excited about continuing that legacy.”

Chillin’ with Al Nolen Jr.

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