May 17 - May 23, 2010 • MN Metro Vol. 36 No. 20 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Chanda Baker Smith A fresh voice in education
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Community members joined Dr. Robert Jones (l) and U President Bob Bruininks and Regents at UROC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
Suluki Fardan
UROC: A new beginning for North Minneapolis UROC, the University of Minnesota’s innovative research, outreach and community engagement project at 2101 Plymouth Avenue North, houses arts, health, technology and business development collaborations each designed to leverage the immense intellectual, political and financial capital attached to the U for the service of our community. An overflow crowd of
neighborhood people, leaders and workers in civic and community organizations, public officials and university employees broke bread, heard inspired music, shared business cards and warm greetings, and heard stories about the vision and value of this new partnership between the University and our community. University President Robert Bruininks and members of the
Board of Regents joined UROC staff and community partners in a ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony was the highpoint of a daylong open house that included shamanistic music from first nations artists, blues and gospel from area jazz masters, and ebullient brass ensemble music offering the Golden Gopher Fight Song to the spirit of triumph that lifted hearts and minds in recognition of the
new day at hand. UROC’s initial development phase began in 2005 with informal conversations between Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and University President Bob Bruininks about how the University might join with the city to tackle the complex problems that faced North Minneapolis, one of the most underserved communities in the metro area.
In remarks to attendees Wednesday, University Senior Vice President Robert J. Jones credited Gary Cunningham, then executive director of NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, with bringing ideas and people together with needs and opportunities, to suggest a new, vital role the University could play in the life of the urban community.
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Students express personal insight through theater
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Lena Horne dead at 92 By Pharoh Martin NNPA Correspondent Statement by the President on the passing of Lena Horne:
istockphoto
What else do we know about Haiti? By Mahmoud El-Kati Part 1 of 3 The sensibilities of many of us were shocked and saddened at the horrific devastation caused by an earthquake in Haiti (January 12, 2010). The Haitian people, already burdened by grinding poverty, disease and internecine violence for many years, are now faced with the unwelcomed visit from natural disaster. Bodies of people spewed across the land, hurt, crippled, bruised and burned beyond imaginable sight, almost unbelievable to the naked eye. The estimate of over 200,000 deaths may be a modest number. In the eyes and minds of most Americans, if not the world, the picture of Haiti as the worst of the worst has been long normalized in our minds; the poorest country in the hemisphere, if not the world; the land of disease and death, carnage from man-made political violence from a collection of political thugs,
known as the Tonton Macout, all compile a single image of Haiti as the eternal hell, a hopeless case. Now the most destructive earthquake in over two hundred years adds to the stockpile of uncalculated misery. In a few word: Haiti is beyond salvation. But, not so fast. One must always wonder, if one thinks one sees all that there is to see. Are there other dimensions to the story of Haiti? How did this nowin situation come to be? What is Haiti bestowing this impression on popular imagination? Well, the very insightful, activist-writer and human rights lawyer, Randell Robinson, dares to help us understand. In his recent book, Unbroken Agony, he gives us the back story of Haiti - the island upon which Christopher Columbus first set foot over five hundred years ago. This is the beginning of a long, complex and bewildering story which through waves of blood and glory, has brought us the present day reality. A reading of Robinson’s HAITI TURN TO 9
“Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Lena Horne - one of our nation’s most cherished entertainers. Over the years, she warmed the hearts of countless Americans with her beautiful voice and dramatic performances on screen. From the time her grandmother signed her up for an NAACP membership as a child, she worked tirelessly to further the cause of justice and equality. In 1940, she became the first African American performer to tour with an all white band. And while entertaining soldiers during World War II, she refused to perform for segregated audiences - a principled struggle she continued well after the troops returned home. Michelle and I offer our condolences to all those who knew and loved Lena, and we join all Americans in appreciating the joy she brought to our lives and the progress she forged for our country.” (NNPA) - Legendary singer, actress and dancer Lena Horne died on Sunday night at the New YorkPresbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center at the age of 92. The Brooklyn-born entertainer was the first Black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer. The cause of her death has not been reported. Horne was a mantle of African American beauty, who as a versatile and iconic performer made her name from a variety of entertainment platforms including the big screen, where she was the first African American actor to sign to a longterm contract by a major Hollywood studio; in music, where she won four
Style on a Dime: Allergy relief 101 is right in your kitchen
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Lena Horne in 1989 Grammy awards, and in night clubs, where she extensively toured despite the racism that plagued her era. As an entertainer, Horne’s light skin completion allowed her to traverse through doors that many other Black entertainers had a hard time walking through. Still, she was loved and highly respected because she refused to let herself become “an imitation of a white woman,” as she would later say. Horne got her start in entertainment as a 16-year-old dancer at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club and worked the jazz club circuit before jumping into movies with her major studio debut in 1942 with Panama Hattie. Horne’s success in
Courtesy NNPA
movies helped pave the way for actresses such as Halle Berry and Dorothy Dandridge to become silver screen starlets and for crossover entertainers such as Diahann Carroll and Diana Ross to exist. But, more importantly, her pioneering roles helped open doors for African American actors to rise above subservient roles in Hollywood. Although born in a Black upper middle-class family, Horne spent her life cutting through the red tape of racism. Although she has 22 film credits to her name, her outspoken criticism of the unequal treatment of Black soldiers during World War II
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Mr. T’s Sports Report Stadium issue is budget versus the building
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