Insight News ::: 7.16.12

Flow, Northside 365 MORE ON PAGE 2

INSIGHT NEWS July 16 - July 22, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 38 No. 29 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

Heritage Park Senior Campus Assisted living and memory care

By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer A first of its kind senior public housing campus has opened its doors in North Minneapolis’ Heritage Park Senior Campus.

Serving more than 400 elderly public housing North Minneapolis residents, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA), developed the Thomas T. Feeney Manor, located at 901 N 4th Ave. Just south of Olson Highway, Thomas T. Feeney Manor is a 48 unit assisted living and memory care community for low-

income seniors, ages 55 and over. A comprehensive senior services health and wellness center for residents recently opened at the complex as well. The Thomas T. Feeney Manor aligned with a 102 unit senior community called Heritage Commons at Pond’s Edge completes Heritage Park.

The unique initiative brought together several distinguished partners including MPHA, Augustana Care, YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, Courage Center, Neighborhood HealthSource and the Minneapolis High-

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OCTOBER 27, 1945 - JULY 7, 2012

Dr. John Williams D.D.S. Entrepreneur focused on building community WILLIAMS TURN TO 7 Suluki Fardan

Dr. John Williams

African Union must respond to destruction of sacred sites Commentary by Dr. Ama Mazama and Dr. Molefi Kete Asante of Afrocentricity International Afrocentricity International condemns the destruction of historic monuments in the ancient city of Timbuktu and calls for an immediate response by the African Union to the Ansar Dine criminals who have chosen to bring their destruction to the heart of West African culture. Led by Ag Ghaly, a Tuareg nomad who converted to the Pakistani style Islam, Ansar Dine is allied to MUJUAO of Algeria and Boko Haram of Nigeria. Since it is not clear if the African Union has either the will power or the military capability to respond to the assault against one of the most sacred of African cities then we call upon the nations of Africa, acting in their capacity as regional powers, to arrest this destruction. However,

Suluki Fardan

Heritage Park Senior Services Center

Poet warrior, Mazi Johnson dies Mazi Elizabeth Johnson, 78, died July 7, 2012 at her home in St. Paul.

Born in Chicago, Johnson spent her entire adult life in St. Paul’s Rondo (SummitUniversity) neighborhood. A community leader, activist, writer/poet, actress, co-founder of Mutima Radio Theater, founding member of Penumbra Theatre Company, mentor and friend to many, Johnson was a warrior, fiercely confronting the enemies of truth.

Johnson was proud of her years spent at the University of Minnesota. She respected book scholars and street scholars. She was a talented wordsmith who relished the most mind-bending crossword puzzles. She loved

to learn and loved to share knowledge with others, especially youth. She spent many years at the helm of S u m m i t - Mazi Johnson University Free Press. She listed her musical favorites as Jackie Wilson, Booker T, Ray Charles, The Spinners, Bob Marley and Smokey Robinson, along with recent hit-makers the Black Eyed Peas and LMFAO. Johnson was generous and patient, always putting others before herself. “We were the best travel companions, be it road tripping, cruising or horseback

Buy Black.

Resist oppression.

When reflecting upon the day to day struggles and hardships of African Americans, the words of rapper, Tupac Shakur come to mind: “Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. It’s hard to be legit and still pay your rent.”

This quote symbolizes the dilemma that many African Americans face while trying to survive and support their families in today’s global economy. Here in Minnesota and across this nation, African Americans are underrepresented amongst those who are gainfully employed and over-represented amongst those who are incarcerated in local jails and in state and federal prisons. What it boils down to is the fact that Black people need jobs, not jails.

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MCTC leads its two year and four-year college peers

PAGE 4

Justice & Money

By Nekima LevyPounds, Esq.

we demand in the name of African people the immediate response of the African Union to this crisis!

Afrocentricity International does not believe it is the responsibility of NATO, the European Union, or the United States AFRICOM to save Africa.

Africa must save itself!

If Africa cannot save itself and will not save itself, then it cannot be saved. The rampant campaign against the monuments in the north represents another strand of death to African culture. Over the past millennium we have lost the indigenous treasures of some of the world’s greatest civilizations to the outrages of foreign religionists. They have even fought among themselves for the honor or dishonor of claiming to be better than the others who support these foreign invasions of Africa’s culture.

In their attacks and assaults

Education

riding in Mexico,” said daughter Sheila Johnson. “If you knew my mom, drop a line on her Facebook page and let people know how she influenced your life.”

Johnson is preceded in death by parents, Henrietta Bryant and Ruben Floyd, and eldest son, Charles Seiter. She is survived by daughter; Sheila Johnson (St. Paul); son Daniel Seiter (WI); granddaughters Roberta Brown & Tondra Seiter (TX); and Celeste Seiter (IL) and by greatgrandchildren Tamara, Billy, Donn, Aaron, Sierra, Seandell, Zhate’, Ariann and Charlisse; and great-great grandchildren La’Naisa and Sedrick.

Memorials may be sent to Penumbra Theatre Company, or St. Paul Intervention Project.

Stock.xchng

Aesthetics

Frank Ocean confronts antihomosexuality in urban music

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Full Circle

The world needs your light

PAGE 10

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Health

Breast cancer: One woman’s struggle

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Page 2 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

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Flow, Northside 365

Photo compositions by Bill Cottman

Business Leadership Profile

By Erin Jerabek, Executive Director West Broadway Business Area Coalition FLOW, the Northside Arts Crawl has teamed with Northside 365 to bring storefront pop-up gallery to the windows of West Broadway businesses.

The seventh annual FLOW Northside Arts Crawl is Sat., July 28, 2012 from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. FLOW is a self-guided art tour featuring North Minneapolis visual and performing artists showing at businesses, studios and organizations along West Broadway.

FLOW is excited to introduce its partner, Northside 365 to corridor businesses and visitors.

Northside 365 is a cohort of 15 to 20 Northside photographers, amateurs and professionals who are residents of North Minneapolis. The photographers have collaborated to share their North Minneapolis stories through a daily photo exhibit.

The seven lead photographers on the project selected a day of the week and pledged to take and share a photo for each date and share their photo on their websites and Facebook. The project spanned 12 months from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.

“The project is all about what is unique and inviting about North Minneapolis,” said Northside 365 photographer Ariah Fine. “Even if people have been following the project online they should check out the storefront gallery, the photos will be larger and showcase the 40 best.”

A goal of the project is to show off all of the daily life, amenities, and culture to those outside the community; the

Beverly Cottman

Bill Cottman

project accomplished just that but it did so in a critical time for the community.

“Although the project was not directly related to the tornado that hit North Minneapolis in May 2011, it happened to coincide with the devastation and recovery,” explained Fine.

Several of the photos document the impacts of

the tornado and the spirit of rebuilding.

Bill Cottman, Northside 365 photographer, became passionate about taking photographs in 1969.

“In high school I wanted to be a commercial artist but my school did not offer guidance in this area so I became an engineer and photography became my tool for self-expression,” said Cottman. “I make exposures intuitively, memorizing each one and routinely reviewing them through my filter of daily living.”

As part of the project, Cottman took a photo every Monday for 52 weeks. Several of Cottman’s photos captured a changing landscape of North Minneapolis and faces that were impacted from those changes both positive and negative.

“I selected Monday as my day to make photographs because I wanted to begin each week with a focused inspection of the Northside. I see the Northside every day, because

I live here,” said Cottman. “I make photographs that I call ‘social landscapes.’ Everything is subject-matter for me. Everything that you read about the Northside contains truth, but the reality of the Northside is within what you see, how you feel about it and what you do. NorthSide 365 is only a representation of this reality. If you wish to form an opinion, you must visit.”

FLOW brings thousands of visitors to the West Broadway corridor for one day. Northside 365 is daily documentation of the North Minneapolis community.

This intersection creates the opportunity for thousands of people to see 365 days of North Minneapolis all while standing on the West Broadway corridor.

“FLOW has been at the forefront of the cultural corridor work happening throughout the metro area. We have been leaders in such efforts as popup galleries, storefront art and public art as part of the streetscape that you are now

seeing across neighborhoods in the U.S.,” according to Dudley Voigt, FLOW Artistic Director.

“FLOW has a seven year history of involving business along the avenue creating unique partnerships between you and Northside artists.”

FLOW was born out of the idea to create a place where all of the Northside assets could connect and thrive including businesses, artist, and residents.

“West Broadway Businesses have exhibited and installed art both inside and outside their buildings during FLOW and throughout the year for the past seven years,” said Voigt.

There is still time to get involved in FLOW and Northside 365. To host storefront art or a pop-up gallery, or for more information about FLOW contact info@flownorthside. org. Northside 365 will soon be launching year two of the project. The complete Northside 365 gallery can be found at www. northside365.com.

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Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 3

Ellison calls Obama Tax proposal right policy at right time Washington, D.C. — The Congressional Progressive Caucus is in support of President Obama’s plan to extend middle-class tax cuts, while raising taxes on the wealthy.

Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released a statement following the President’s call on Congress to cut taxes for Americans making under $250,000. “(The) announcement from the president is an opportunity for Congress to give middle-class American families what they need to put food on the table,” said Ellison and Grijalva in a joint statement. “Extending tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 will benefit 98 percent of American households and will boost the recovery as American families can purchase basic items like groceries and school supplies. A fair, targeted, one-year tax reduction

for working Americans will help the entire country.”

The two went further and said, “Unfortunately, the Republican U.S. House majority Representative has repeatedly Keith Ellison put the concerns (D-MN) of millionaires and billionaires ahead of middle class families.

GOP lawmakers believe a struggling economy will help them politically and put a Republican in the White House. The American people have already been on the losing end of their gamble for more than a year. And we can’t afford to let them continue to hold the country hostage.”

According to Ellison and Grijalva, asking the rich to pay a bit more is not a new idea.

“All Americans, including

the very wealthy, benefit when everyone contributes their fair share,” said the two Representatives. “When presidents (Ronald) Reagan, (George) Bush, Sr. and (Bill) Clinton told millionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share, the country saw millions of new jobs and strong economic growth for decades.”

The Congressional Progressive Caucus called on the House to act and approve the President’s tax plan.

“That’s why the President’s announcement is so important,” said Ellison and Grijalva. “It’s time to focus on the needs of working Americans instead of the partisan needs of the wealthiest few and their friends in Washington. This is the right policy at the right time and we support it wholeheartedly.”

The Republican controlled House has yet to consider the President’s tax proposal.

Courtesy of Xcel Energy

Pictured from left to right: Elise Griffin, Eco Education program advisor; Paul Adelmann, Xcel Energy community relations manager; Lea Favor, executive director of Eco Education.

Eco Education gets $10,000 Xcel Energy Foundation grant The Xcel Energy Foundation recently awarded a grant check for $10,000 to Eco Education, a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of sustainability learning experiences for school children.

The presentation took place at the Seward Neighborhood Peace Garden in South Minneapolis, where Eco Education teaches children how to grow a variety of vegetables

and fruits, which, after being harvested, are used in a local café and also in the Minneapolis School Lunch program.

Xcel Energy Foundation’s grant-making is focused in four areas: economic sustainability, education, access to arts and culture, and the environment.

Recently announced 2012 Xcel Energy Foundation grants in Minnesota include more than $550,000 in educational

grants and more than $350,000 in environmental grants. A total of 77 Minnesota nonprofits will benefit.

Xcel Energy, its employees and retirees invest in the communities they serve through the Xcel Energy Foundation, United Way, matching gifts and volunteerism. For more information visit www. xcelenergy.com and click on Community then Foundation.

Mandela’s birthday clouded by leaked email from Winnie to ANC Jul. 10 (GIN) – As preparations get underway for the July 18th, 94th birthday of former president Nelson Mandela, hurt and angry feelings were expressed by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who claimed ‘shabby treatment’ by the ruling ANC party.

The Mail & Guardian newspaper reported that Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela accused the ANC of disrespecting the Mandela family and of “never having any interest in celebrating Tata’s (Mandela’s) birthday except to gate crash on the family’s arrangements.”

President Jacob Zuma is expected to deliver a lecture on Mr. Mandela on Tuesday at the ANC centenary commemorations in Limpopo province. Winnie has reportedly rejected an invitation to

attend.

“No one has cared to establish how we are doing as a family. It is quite clear that we do not matter at all, we only do when we have to be used for some agenda,” she was quoted to say in an email purportedly sent to ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu.

Further, she complained, neither Zuma nor spokesperson Mthembu visited her when she was in hospital, let alone called her to wish her a speedy recovery.

The email was sent to the Guardian by a dissident faction of the ANC. Neither the party nor Madikizela-Mandela’s office denied its authenticity, though it could not be independently confirmed.

The 75-year-old, regarded as the “Mother of the Nation” by

her supporters, is known to be at odds with President Zuma, and has publicly called for a change of leadership.”

Meanwhile, Mandela’s Nelson g r a n d s o n Mandela Luvuyo Mandela said that he and his family will hand out blankets and plant trees on July 18, which was declared Mandela Day in 2009. People around the world are encouraged to devote some time to community service in his honor on the day. A birthday video has been released by his office and can be seen online on youtube.com

Nigeria and Russia clash over rights to aluminum plant Jul. 10 (GIN) – Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled against one of the most powerful industries in Russia, promising what could be a very nasty fight.

Moscow-based Rusal, the world’s biggest aluminum producer, claims to have bought the former state-owned Alscon aluminum processing plant, fair and square. It was sold by Nigeria’s privatizing agency that now faces scrutiny for selling off Nigeria’s state assets for less than their worth.

But this week, Nigeria’s highest court ordered that Rusal be stripped of its ownership, noting that the US-based firm Bancorp Financial Investment Group had offered double Rusal’s amount.

BFI sued Nigeria’s Bureau

GIN

O. Deripaska, chief Rusal shareholder

of Public Enterprises, the agency overseeing the asset sell-offs, when their bid of $410 million was denied over Rusal’s offer of $205 million.

Rusal, meanwhile, maintains they are still the rightful owner and that the Nigerian

government must “bear responsibility” for the court ruling. The aluminum plant, gasfired power station and a port, based in the southwest Akwa Ibom state, is one of Rusal’s core assets in Africa.

Meanwhile, at a state of the nation lecture in Lagos this week, scholars and politicians discussed the country’s deeply entrenched culture of corruption.

English Prof. Niyi Osundare, called for more street protests such as the type that forced President Goodluck Jonathan to back down on “his callous, inequitable fuel price hike… Let us begin to ask: Why are a few Nigerians so rich and all the rest of us so poor?” The conference was organized by the opposition Save Nigeria Group.

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Page 4 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

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EDUCATION Minneapolis Community and Technical College leads its twoyear and four-year college peers in hiring employees of color Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), a public, two-year community and technical college, leads the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system in its hiring rates of employees of color, according to recent MnSCU data. The MnSCU system includes 31 two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Minnesota.

According to data collected

by MnSCU and presented to the College in May of this year, MCTC has 23.7 percent employees of color, far above the statewide average.

In addition, according to hiring data from MCTC, the percentage of permanent faculty of color has doubled, rising from 11% in 2006 to 22.7% currently in 2012. The total number of permanent faculty is 180 and 41 are people of color. Of the eight new fulltime faculty hires the College made for fall 2012, six are people of color.

“MCTC is deeply committed to hiring faculty and staff of color,” said President Phil Davis. “We’ve experienced outstanding growth in overall enrollment of 34 percent in the past six years,

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Courtesy of MCTC

(Left to Right: Ronnie Russell-bey, Louis Fobb, Jesse Mason, Ramon Zanders and Benjamin Hunter). Jesse Mason, faculty in MCTC’s psychology program, is one of the founders of African American Education Empowerment Program (AME) at MCTC. He is pictured with students who represent members of AME’s Student African American Brotherhood program (SAAB). The first chapter of its kind in MN, SAAB at MCTC supports academic progress and character development so every member can achieve academic program completion while strengthening their role as an engaged and productive member of their community.

Teaching literacy: Fulfilling, exciting

By Tiffany Renando Special to Insight News I have spent the last ten months of my life in a flurry of excitement. I spent this past school year working with kids

at Sheridan Global Arts and helping them learn. I have to admit, it’s tough to sustain such a level of excitement when you know that your responsibility is to change lives. I watched children who could barely speak English on the first day

of school grow to be successful readers by the end of the year. I helped kindergarteners with no experience with letters become readers. These things happened, in part, because I was there as a literacy tutor. I watched these kids grow daily, feeling so

blessed that I could be a part of their growth and success.

This flurry of excitement and amazement at the impact of being a literacy tutor wouldn’t have happened without the Minnesota Reading Corps.

There are a lot of big

problems in our world, and it can be overwhelming to think about what we can do about it.

It is a lot easier to not think, not worry and not act. Last year, however, I was too bothered

by Minnesota’s achievement gap to not do anything. When

I heard that nearly one in five third graders in Minnesota is failing to reach basic levels of literacy, I was shocked. That’s 13,000 children each year who

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Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 5

Black youth, social media, & criminal justice: What parents don’t know might hurt

By Nekima Levy-Pounds, Esq. In today’s technology-driven society, anybody who is anybody has a profile on one or more social networking sites such as Facebook, My Space, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. Black youth are no exception and may be amongst the most frequent users of social networking sites and the internet. Although social networking sites can be a fun and exciting place to fellowship and network, there are dangers and pitfalls that exist as well. Some of the dangers exist when young people use social networking sites without regard for the potential consequences that posting certain types of information and photographs may cause. Such information may include the location of a fight or confrontation between rival groups, threats, and boasting of alleged crimes that have been committed.

In addition to the written posts that may appear on a social networking site, a subset of young people routinely post photographs that depict such things as marijuana use, gang signs and affiliations, or other questionable activity. Often, when young people post such photos, their goal is to earn street credibility or to impress their “friends” and may not be the best evidence of a young person’s true character.

While the social media fame and popularity that flow from such photos may last for a short while, unbeknownst to a young person, the damage and hidden consequences that flow could be long lasting. The information and photos that a young person posts on a social networking site could lead to unintentional involvement with the criminal justice system and a young person’s personal information being placed in a gang database by law enforcement.

This happens because some law enforcement agencies, and specifically gang units within those agencies, routinely scour social networking sites for evidence of criminal activity and gang-related activity and affiliation. Generally speaking, photographs that might depict gang-related activity are then downloaded and placed in either a paper file or an electronic database that stores data on “suspected” gang members. Each jurisdiction operates somewhat differently depending upon the laws that exist regarding gang data collection, but the general premise is usually the same. In some jurisdictions, affiliation with a known or “confirmed” gang member may be sufficient for a young person’s data to be entered into a local law enforcement agency’s gang database.

Affiliation could include posing in a photograph with other young people who are wearing

colors that may symbolize gang involvement or who are flashing supposed gang signs. Once a young person is seen in such a photograph, he or she may be inextricably linked to a gang in the mind of law enforcement.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult for law enforcement officers to distinguish between a “wannabe” gang member and an actual gang member in a photograph. When this happens, a “wannabe” who is affiliated with gang members in a photograph is at risk of being mislabeled and placed into a gang database. Once a young person’s data has been entered into a gang database, he or she may never be told that such a record is being kept, thus making it difficult, if not impossible, for a young person to contest the information if it is inaccurate or misleading.

Further, most state legislation that authorizes law enforcement agencies to collect gang data do not require parental notification, so a parent may never be made aware that confidential data is being kept on a child.

In our work in the State of Minnesota, we saw firsthand the effects of gang data collection and its disproportionate impact on African American males.

Beginning in 2009, our office worked collaboratively with the St. Paul Chapter of the NAACP to contest the use of gang databases and the secrecy surrounding their existence. One of the gang databases that we came across, called GangNet, was being maintained by the local sheriff’s office and contained over 16,000 names and personal data of individuals such as birth date, race, address, probation status, employer name, school name, criminal history notes, nicknames, diagrams to other suspected gang members and photographs. To be entered into GangNet, a person need only to have met one of ten broadly-written criteria and the data would be stored for up to ten years. Examples of the criteria include: admits gang membership or association, is observed to associate on a regular basis with known gang members, has tattoos indicating gang membership, is in a photograph with known gang members and/or using gang related hand signs, and is identified as a gang member by a reliable source, to name a few.

In contesting the use of the ten point criteria, we argued that it is relatively easy for an African American youth who lives in a low income urban community to meet one or more criteria, based upon neighborhood affiliations.

Indeed, while African Americans are roughly four percent of the population in Minnesota, they were 45 percent of those whose data was being stored in GangNet. In addition to the racial disproportionality that existed, the criteria failed to distinguish between “wannabes” and genuine

PhotoXpress

gang members.

In contesting the use of GangNet, we also raised concerns about the lack of parental notification, the lack of due process for individuals who have been mistakenly placed in a gang database, the lack of adequate training of those who had access to the gang database, the lack of transparency that existed within the process of gang data collection, and allegations of racial profiling of African American youth. After a two year battle, the GangNet database was ultimately shut down. What we came to realize however, is that there are several similar gang databases still in existence in Minnesota and around the country.

Given the racial stereotypes surrounding gang involvement, coupled with unsavory images being posted on social networking sites, African American youth are prime targets for inclusion in gang databases. The potential risks to unsuspecting youth will only grow worse as more and more law enforcement agencies begin using social media sites as tools to gather criminal intelligence for electronic databases and possibly to assist in criminal prosecutions.

Beyond inclusion in a gang database, the photos and images that young people post on the internet could lead to negative impacts in current and future employment opportunities, as employers are becoming savvier about checking employees’ profiles and affiliations on social

networking sites. Additionally, some college admissions offices have occasion to review a prospective student’s online activities when determining admissions decisions. Even prior to a student’s decision to apply for college, increasingly middle school and high school personnel may monitor students’ online activity, which sometimes leads to suspensions or expulsions for negative online conduct.

Depending upon the severity of the conduct, a student might even be referred to the juvenile justice system by a school resource officer, also known as an SRO, for juvenile prosecution.

In light of the myriad harms that may flow from a young person’s decision to post certain

information and photographs online, parents must take extra precautions to monitor their children’s social networking activity and to warn them about the perils that exist. In order to protect their children, parents must educate them about the importance of making use of privacy settings on sites like Facebook, being careful about whom they select as “friends”, thinking carefully about what information they “tweet”, being selective about whom they share information and photos with on the web, and to use good judgment about the content of such photos. Each interaction with a social media site creates a cyber footprint that may be difficult to fully erase. Additionally, parents

are encouraged to share with their children the notion that what happens in the virtual world may have long lasting effects in the real world and could lead to unintentional involvement with the juvenile or adult criminal justice systems. Given the alarming racial disparities that exist within the criminal justice system, we cannot afford to allow our youth to risk their livelihoods through negative online activity.

They are, after all, our future.

Nekima Levy-Pounds, Esq. is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas and the Director of the Community Justice Project, an award-winning civil rights legal clinic.

Page 6 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

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COMMENTARY Ending the cradle to prison pipeline Child Watch

By Marian Wright Edelman

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests.

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Vice President of Sales & Marketing Selene White Culture and Education Editor Irma McClaurin Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Natalie Benz Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Insight Intern Abeni Hill Contributing Writers Cordie Aziz Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Oshana Himot Timothy Houston Alaina L. Lewis Lydia Schwartz Photography Suluki Fardan Tobechi Tobechukwu Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55411.

A Black boy born in 2001 has a one in three chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Latino boy a one in six chance of the same fate. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world: 7.1 million adult residents. One in 33 are under some form of correctional supervision, including prison, jail, probation, or parole.

Michelle Alexander writes in her best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness that there are more adult African Americans

under correctional control today than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began. In 2011, our state and federal prison population exceeded that of all European nations combined. Something’s very wrong with this picture.

The numbers are frightening – and there’s more. That’s why the Children’s Defense Fund will focus on this unjust crisis in one of the main plenary sessions at our national conference in Cincinnati on July 24. This epidemic of mass incarceration has created one

of the most dangerous crises for the Black community since slavery and affects everyone in our nation. Black males have an imprisonment rate nearly seven times higher than White males, and Hispanic males have an imprisonment rate over twice that of White males.

Mass incarceration is tearing fathers and mothers from children, and economically and politically disempowering millions by taking away the right to vote and ability to get a job and public benefits in some states after prison terms

are served. One in nine Black, one in 28 Hispanic and one in 57 White children have an incarcerated parent.

Mass incarceration has also become a powerful economic force and drain on taxpayers.

Annual state spending on corrections tops $51 billion and states spend on average two and a half times more per prisoner than per public school pupil. I think this is a very dumb investment policy. Federal spending on prisons totaled $6.6 billion in fiscal year 2012.

An added danger driving

mass incarceration is the privatization of prisons for profit. The Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison corporation, has proposed to 48 state governors that it will operate their prison systems for 20 years with a guaranteed 90 percent occupancy rate.

A majority of all those incarcerated have committed nonviolent offenses. Some young prisoners I recently visited are in prison for use or

PIPELINE TURN TO 12

Blame Republicans for high unemployment Opinion

By Julianne Malveaux The unemployment rate has hovered above 8 percent for several months, most recently holding ground at 8.2 percent, the same as last month.

Meanwhile, the African American unemployment rate went up, officially to 14.4 percent, and we all know that means the real rate is even higher, probably in excess of 25 percent.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney interrupted his vacation to gloat about the number of Americans who are experiencing misery, and his gloating might be at least somewhat amusing were this not the same man who says he likes to fire people.

The 8.2 percent unemployment is not in President Obama’s best

interest.

Many who are feeling the misery and pain are open to an alternative, even if it is one as muddled and confused as Romney who doesn’t support health care reform now, although he engineered a similar plan as governor of Massachusetts.

This man has so talked out of his mouth, that a simple reel of his contradictory quotes would make it clear how confused, or deliberately deceiving he is.

The good news for President Obama is that the lower the unemployment rate goes, the better his chances for re-election.

The better news for President Obama is that many people don’t snap into campaign mode until after Labor Day. People want jobs, to be sure, but the summer numbers even if they are level, don’t alarm everyone.

The employment reports that our president has to pay the most attention to are those released the first Friday of September and October. This is when Republicans will get all cranked up and suggest that President Obama can’t handle the fractured economy he

inherited.

Can the unemployment rate drop? Well if Republicans would pass the American Jobs Act, an actual plan for employment, it might. It is in the interest of the nation’s

the money down in the interest of fiscal conservatism. There the Republicans go again, hurting their constituents to thwart President Obama.

Part of the reason Republicans can get away

“Whenever Romney says the president has no plan, somebody needs to remind him of the American Jobs Act.” unemployed, but not in the interest of Republican chicanery, for the American Jobs Act to be enacted. In some ways, Republicans are starving their constituents to thwart President Obama.

Similarly, when state and local governments have to lay people off because their budgets are tight, the federal government has previously stepped in to help. Part of the recovery funds went to state and local governments, some who turned

with this is because no one is pressuring them. Just like the Tea Party has pushed these people to the right, somebody needs to push them back to center. The Tea Party has virtually obliterated the notion of a moderate Republican, but there must be some out there, and what has to happen is that somebody needs to push back.

The African American community has to push, too. While few of us are Republicans, many of us live in districts with Republican representation.

These representatives need to hear from us, and from our neighbors, not only African Americans.

And these representatives need to hear from our mayors, not only Democrats, who can pressure them to do the right thing by cities.

Meanwhile, Republicans fiddle while Rome burns because no one has called them on it. Whenever Romney says the president has no plan, somebody needs to remind him of the American

Jobs Act. Whenever Romney starts babbling about health care, someone ought to throw Massachusetts in his face.

And when the braying bunch of bobbleheads who call themselves the Tea Party get worked up over the economy, we need to ask them: How many people in your family are unemployed? How much Social Security does your mama have? Don’t your kids have student loans? Does everyone in your family have health care?

Fuelled by race matters and rhetoric, working class White people are organized for Romney, someone who would cut education, health care, and Social Security and put those “savings” into military spending and tax cuts for the wealthy. In other words, and not for the first time, working class White people are working against their own economic interests.

Meanwhile, if House Republicans want to move an economic agenda that helps some 14 million unemployed people, perhaps they can see their way clear to pass the American Jobs Act. We don’t need all the Republicans, maybe just a third of them, and I’ll wager that perhaps that many have sense enough to see what their leader, John Boehner (R-Ohio], does not.

In any case, let’s make it plain.

The unemployment rate is stagnant because Republicans have failed to act.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer.

She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.

Things Mitt Romney failed to mention to the NAACP

By DNC Blog Mitt Romney said this at the NAACP convention today: “If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him.”

Really.

But he neglected to mention a few important things during his speech to the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

Like this: He opposed the President’s auto rescue. When the industry was on the brink of collapse, Romney told anyone who would listen that we should “let Detroit go bankrupt,” even though experts have said that would have been “nothing less than catastrophic for African Americans.”

We also didn’t hear anything about how 2.2 million African American families would face a tax hike under Romney’s plan while millionaires like himself would get a handsome 25 percent tax cut.

There was no mention of Romney’s plan to slash investments in education or how he’d let college costs spike for millions of African American students—nearly half of whom receive Pell Grants—and leave public school students stranded without a plan to improve their schools.

And while he had the gall to claim the Obama presidency has made it “worse for African Americans in every way,” Romney didn’t mention that President Obama’s Recovery

Wikimedia Commons

Mitt Romney

Act helped lift 1.3 million African Americans out of poverty in 2010 alone. Or that President Obama cut taxes for every working family and has put $3,600 back into the pockets of typical middle-class families. Or that when it comes to education, President Obama is boosting our investments in historically black colleges and universities and Pell grants.

Romney’s one honest moment? He told the NAACP that he’d repeal Obamacare— and was soundly booed.

That’s because the Affordable Care Act is already covering lifesaving preventive care for 5.5 million African Americans, and when fully implemented, as many as 7 million otherwise uninsured African Americans will have health care.

The guy who is actually working to make things better in the African American community—and not just talking about it—is President Obama.

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 7

BUSINESS Career stalled out? Work at becoming creative at work Plan Your Career

By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com Summer has its dog days.

So do careers. When work becomes too routine, or too complicated, daily tasks can seem like those heat waves that smother the lungs and keep

Williams From 7 By 1974 John Williams, playing for the Baltimore Colts, had two NFL Super Bowls under his belt, while attending college during the off seasons to earn a dental degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Williams had been drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Colts and went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams.

He played in three Super Bowls, winning one in 1971.

He left the NFL in 1980 after 12 years to launch a dental practice on West Broadway in North Minneapolis.

Williams had played for the Minnesota Gophers in the mid1960s, earning All-Big Ten honors while helping lead Minnesota to a co-Big Ten championship in 1967.

Williams, 66, died Saturday, July 7, 2012 near his Northside neighborhood home while he was taking a walk.

Williams had kidney disease and underwent kidney transplant surgery last month at Mayo Clinic.

Williams’ longtime friend, former Gophers trainer Steve Nestor,

us all from doing anything productive. Infusing a little creativity into your summer – a picnic, a beach trip, a new fan – can spice up a day; infusing some creativity into your work can spice up a career. Eugene Randsepp of Princeton Creative Research offers suggestions that can inspire even the most lackluster employee. A few of my favorites: Keep track of your ideas at all times. For some, a good idea is easy come easy go.

Keeping ideas organized allows a person to come back and think

again about a passing notion or solution. A notebook and pen can be tough to carry around all the time, unless yours is small and you carry a purse, which many of us do. An alternative is to call your voicemail with great ideas so you can retrieve them later.

Pose new questions every day. Constantly asking new questions, such as, “Where did this process come from?” or “Why do we put those tools way over there?” can spur you to new approaches to routine processes.

Learn about things outside of your specialty. A comfort zone is nice, but interesting experiences are waiting just outside of it, too. Talking to people outside of your industry about your challenges or taking up a new hobby for a month or two will arouse ideas that help you get ahead.

For example, a chemist, not a packaging engineer, figured out how to get toothpaste into tubes. Employees from a big local company were out last week taking sailing lessons paid for by the employer. As

this corporation knew, stepping completely outside of your box can pay off when you step back in.

Improve your sense of humor. In the Army, soldiers are told, “If you don’t have a sense of humor, cultivate one.”

Laughing easily and often releases tension and helps people keep perspective, which in turn fosters creativity.

Finally, adopt a risk-taking attitude. Afraid to fail? What if you do? What if you don’t?

Don’t bet the farm, but do take a calculated risk every day. It

might be as benign as ordering the number 5 instead of the number 6 at lunchtime. Or it might be something more chancy, like approaching a long-time client with a new proposal. Failure is an option.

So is success. You’ll never know unless you open yourself up to new ideas.

donated the kidney. Nestor was a trainer for the 1967 Gopher team on which Williams earned All-Big Ten lineman honors.

William English, retired Control Data executive, educator, and businessman described Williams as “probably one of the best of all the men I have known in my life.” He called Williams a “great friend and great human being.”

Williams’ legacy, said English, is anchored in the 35 years he invested on West Broadway at his dental practice. Being a retired pro football player, he could have lived anywhere and started his business anywhere. But because of his background, he wanted to serve his own community so he chose to live and build a business on West Broadway in North Minneapolis.

Williams was president of the West Broadway Business Association (now West Broadway Business and Area Coalition WBAC) and a past board member of the Minneapolis Urban League. He served as President of the American Odontological Forensics Society of America, served as the Chair of NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center,

and several other nonprofit organizations in Minneapolis. He was also a Fellow of the American Society of Forensic Odontology, member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the Monitors.

Diana Hawkins, former Comcast Cable executive, and vice-chair of Minneapolis Urban League Board of Directors echoed the sentiment. “From a community standpoint he was simply a very committed person.

He was always reliable. He was an everyday hero and everybody loved him. He was the type of person you could go to,” said Hawkins, who served with Williams on the Board of West Broadway Business Association.

Current WBAC chair Jackie Cherryhomes said Williams’ “monumental commitment to the community was absolutely unparalleled. Everywhere I have gone this week, every meeting I was engaged in was part of what ‘Doc” was working on. Even so, he was not one to draw attention to what he was doing. It was all about and for the community.”

“The kind of person he was, ‘worked’ in every context. He was entrepreneurial with a focus

on building our community,” said Cherryhomes, former president of Minneapolis City Council elected from North Minneapolis’ 5th Ward. “He was integral to the growth of the West Broadway business community. He was the center of the renewal of West Broadway.”

Williams also a pilot who flew small planes as a hobby, was appointed to Metropolitan Airports Commission and served on the commission under Republican, Democrat, and Independence Party governors.

He was honored as Minneapolis Volunteer of the Year in 1992 for his work with prison inmates.

He led a prison ministry team for almost 20 years.

Reverend Randolph W. Staten called Williams an “extraordinary human being… a humble man who did so many good things.”

Staten said Dr. Williams and he were part of a small group of men who held Bible Study at 6am every Tuesday morning.

“Through the Bible study we grew by talking about ourselves and our life experiences.”

“He always talked about reaching out. His prison ministry

was an important part of his life.

He said, ‘they gave more to me than I gave to them.’”

“As close as we were, I didn’t know he was a pilot. And I knew him well. Most people would not know about his successful professional sports career. He did not talk a lot about his athleticism.

That did not define him,” Staten said.

“He was, however, what we need more of,” Staten said. “He had talent, skill and achievement and he chose to remain in the community. He remained committed to the community and was embedded in

economic development of North Minneapolis.”

With training in forensic dentistry, Dr. Williams was a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, a program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Following the September 11 tragedy in New York City, he participated on the identification team at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.

He lived and practiced a credo of service in the community and nationally. In an interview posted on his company’s website, Dr.

Julie Desmond is a Certified Staffing Professional.

Send your career planning questions to julie@insightnews.com.

WILLIAMS TURN TO 12

Page 8 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

LIFESTYLE Give summer stressed plants a helping hand

By Melinda Myers Don’t let summer stressors ruin your landscape’s good looks.

Instead give your plants’ natural defenses a boost and keep both vegetable gardens producing and flowers blooming.

Busy summer schedules can lead to plant neglect and lessthan-picture-perfect gardens.

When you team this with summer heat and drought that can lead to wilting, brown leaves, and poor growth, and add insects and diseases that can further weaken and damage plants, gardens can really suffer.

An exciting new organic tool for gardeners is now available

to help. Plant strengtheners, like JAZ sprays, help boost plants’ natural defenses so they are better able to deal with environmental stress, neglect, as well as insects and disease attacks.

Scientists found that when plants experienced stress from drought, temperature extremes, insects or diseases they produced certain molecules that activated their natural defenses. They isolated these molecules, applied them to other plants, and found that the treated plants were better able to tolerate stress.

Plant strengtheners contain such molecules that increase natural defenses in plants. One such family of molecules is the jasmonates, originally identified in the jasmine plant, that increases

Pest damage hundreds of natural defense molecules in treated plants.

Some of the natural defenses make the plants more resistant to pathogens and others help reduce damage from drought, heat and salt.

While proper care can

Melinda Myers, LLC

help increase a plant’s natural defenses, plant strengtheners give them an extra boost to help plants thrive even during periods of environmental stress. These organic products act like vitamins or immunizations, helping plants deal with extreme and often

unpredictable weather, pest, and disease challenges.

You can even keep healthy plants performing their best by proactively using a plant strengthener. By doing so, you’ll boost a plant’s immune system before environmental stresses hit and ultimately help it thrive as it faces serious challenges throughout the remainder of the season. It’s a great way to protect plants before they become threatened.

Make sure to give your plants proper care throughout their lifetime. Water thoroughly and as needed. Then mulch the soil surrounding your plants with shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic materials.

These conserve moisture, keep roots cool and moist, suppress weeds, and improve the soil as they break down.

And, if your plants experience the same problems each year, it is time to make a change. Move stressed plants to more suitable growing conditions. Match the plant to the light, soil, and moisture it prefers. Replace diseased plants with resistant varieties and provide proper care.

By taking these steps and investing a bit of time and

energy you’ll be sure to create a beautiful, healthy and productive landscape.

Nationally known gardening expert, TV/radio host, author & columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on over 115 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and writes the twice monthly “Gardeners’ Questions” newspaper column.

Melinda also has a column in Gardening How-to magazine.

Melinda hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as seven seasons of Great Lakes Gardener on PBS. She has written articles for Better Homes and Gardens and Fine Gardening and was a columnist and contributing editor for Backyard Living magazine.

Melinda has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist and was a horticulture instructor with tenure. Her web site is www. melindamyers.com

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 9

AESTHETICS R&B star Frank Ocean confronts antihomosexuality wall of repression in urban music Dom’s Music Beat Dom Minor Insight News Music Critic Google Lonny Breaux, you’ll see his hit song “Novacane”.

Follow him on Twitter and you’ll be adding to one of his 1,000,000 plus followers. Skim his Wikipedia page and you’ll see his affiliation with one of the hottest up and coming hiphop minds of today’s youth, Tyler the Creator as well hiphop collective, OFWKGTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All), dubbed the next Wu-Tang Clan. He’s featured on the critically acclaimed album Watch the Throne, arguably the most important hip-hop record of 2011. He’s worked with platinum stars such as Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Pharell to name a few.

On Wed., July 4, rising R&B star Breaux, who goes by the moniker Frank Ocean, posted a letter via his Tumblr page, revealing his previous love for a man. What he has not done is simply claimed an identity or taken the cliché route of “outing” himself. Instead he used the Internet as a platform to share a letter of recollection of past feelings. The sexual fluidity of his music works hand-in-hand with his moving confession. Though he has not come forward with a title for his sexuality, in a sense he has delivered the heaviest blow on the wall of repression built by

Wikimedia Commons

Frank Ocean hatred, and anti-homosexuality in urban music. This as well as other artists publicly asking for tolerance of the gay community, is a huge step for our world.

Here is a passage from his letter: “4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together.

Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence.

Until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him.

By the time I realized (sic) I

was in love, it was malignant.

It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love. It changed my life.”

What could this mean, particularly to urban music?

It could break the barriers of almost required misogyny. He is the Elton John of hip-hop and R&B. Before, idols such as Michael Jackson and Prince were praised in the urban community obviously for their talent. Yet, a defense for their androgynous and even feminine styles was undoubtedly the number of women these artists attracted.

Even possible attraction to men

has been shucked aside and disregarded. Frank is the first to openly direct lyrics of love without ambiguity to a man.

In his song “Forest Gump” he sings: My fingertips, and my lips, they burn From the cigarettes Forrest Gump, you run my mind boy Running on my mind boy Forrest blues I remember you If this is love, I know it’s true I won’t Forget you (you) (oh you you) it’s for you Forrest

Ocean’s proclamation drove Chely Wright, country music star and one of the first gay county singers to announce it to the public world, to tears. She herself can attest to the backlash of a community after coming out of the closet. In an interview with TMZ she notes that her sales have dropped dramatically since her revealing she is gay.

Even rapper Lil B used music as a platform to send an anti-homophobic message to the world of hip-hop when he released his album entitled, “I’m Gay”. Not gay himself; he professed the controversial title simply referred to the original

meaning of the word, “happy”.

He discussed with CNN that he was trying to spread a message of positivity and tolerance.

Although he is often disregarded as a serious contributor to hiphop, the message he was trying to provide was as serious as can be.

Despite the potential pitfall his career could take revealing this secret, Ocean let revelation go in close proximity of his highly anticipated album “Channel Orange” being dropped. Could it be a publicity stunt? Hopefully not, but whether or not this declamation has any link to his album sales, it is undoubtedly courageous to make such a statement public. The singer has received cosigns from Jay-Z, Andre 3000, Beyoncé, Russell Simmons, members of his affiliated collective OFWGKTA, as well as GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and Brad Wete, writer for Complex magazine who wrote, “It’s 2012 now. Our country is marching forward to the point where coming out of the closet should be no big deal.”

In urban music we still have a ways to go before orientations of all kind are treated and respected equally, but this is a huge step in that direction. So cheers to Mr. Ocean. Dear Frank, thank you for your courage, you may have just changed music forever.

-To see the letter’s original post visit: http://frankocean.tumblr. com/post/26473798723 http://frankocean.tumblr. com/post/26885717440/ channelorange Dom can be reached at dom@ insightnews.com or Twitter: www.twitter.com/tkfayt

Michael Beach stars in David E. Talbert play A Fool and His Money

memorabilia on fire, and made a knife yielding Vanessa

Williams almost unleash the fury on her entire family at what should have been a peaceful dinner get together.

Since those roles, Michael Beach has padded his laundry list of film credits with some of the biggest and best productions to ever grace a screen anywhere. At nearly 50 years old, and having been a major factor in the success of television series like ER, Third Watch and The Game, you’d think Beach would be ready to take a break, but after our conversation at the 16th Annual American Black Film Festival

MCTC community. Program highlights are as follows: The Power of YOU

program helps make college possible for those who may not otherwise have the chance

By Alaina L. Lewis Contributing Writer When it comes to famous fictional Hollywood husbands, no one is more known in the Black Hollywood spectrum than veteran actor Michael Beach, whose played in a laundry list of motion pictures throughout the years, but is famously remembered for his portrayal of a cheating husband in both Waiting to Exhale and Soulfood. He is in fact the man who caused Angela Bassett to set a car full of relationship

MCTC From 4 while increasing students of color by 61 percent. This is the direct result of programs like the Power of You, our Student African American Brotherhood program, and others.

“MCTC has a long tradition of serving people of color, including having the first African American to serve as president of a community college in Minnesota, Earl Bowman,” said Davis.

The student population at MCTC is now among the most diverse of all higher education institutions in Minnesota. Of 14,609 students enrolled at MCTC in 2011, 53 percent were students of color, 58 percent experienced low income, 26 percent were firstgeneration students (defined as neither parent having received post-secondary education) and more than half were female.

“Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is dedicated to ensuring that communities traditionally underserved by higher education, including students of color and families of modest financial means, have access to an extraordinary and affordable education,” said Whitney Harris, executive director for diversity and equity.

“Minneapolis Community and Technical College is among the most diverse of all higher education institutions in Minnesota, both in terms of student population and employment.”

Given the diverse makeup of MCTC’s population, College administrators, faculty and staff have taken steps to meet the needs of the

Michael Beach

IMDB

it’s become as clear as day that this celebrated thespian is just beginning.

Beach arrived at Black Hollywood’s biggest film festival to promote and discuss his latest acting fete, “David E. Talbert’s A Fool and His Money.” “A Fool and His Money” is a play, by famed author Talbert, and charts the journey of the Jordan family whose luck has just changed after winning a million dollars in a radio contest.

Unfortunately for the Jordan’s, the price of these overnight riches quickly makes them

MCTC TURN TO 10

Northside Family Pops Concert Featuring Northside children from Lundstrum Center performing “Cinderella Updated!” with the Minnesota Sinfonia

Thursday, July 26 7:00pm North Commons Park 1801 James Ave North Minneapolis *Rainsite: North High 1500 James Ave N, Mpls

Free Admission!

Sponsored by:

www.mnsinfonia.org | 612-871-1701 | mnsinfonia@mnsinfonia.org

a target for every friend and long lost family member who will do anything to get close enough to them to get a piece of their money. Aside from Beach, the film also stars Eddie Griffin, Ann Nesby and Cindy Herron from En Vogue.

“I’ve never done a stage play before, but I had a ball doing this. After having been around for over thirty years, to do something like this is exciting.” Beach shared with Insight News. “David E. Talbert made it easy for me to transition because the production had multiple

camera’s like a film, even though you rehearse it like a play. The whole thing was fresh and exiting and you can’t beat the energy of having a live audience there supporting you as an actor.”

Apart from this incredible production which is currently available for purchase on DVD, you can expect to see Michael Beach in this fall’s highly anticipated reboot of “Sparkle”, the film “Red Dawn” with Chris Hemsworth, and riding alongside Mark Wahlberg next year in “Broken City.”

Page 10 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

FULL CIRCLE

The world needs your light When you let your light shine by affirming others, they are able to follow in your footsteps and their life is illuminated by your words.

Thirdly, your light helps you to make good relationship decisions. These decisions should never be made in the dark. When you fail to listen to your inner voice, you walk in darkness. You need light to evaluate. People do the most harm to themselves when they lack the knowledge needed to change their current situations.

Your inner voice and your inner light are one, and they will show you how to attract those that will add to who you are and what you can become.

Finally, your light influences the world. You are the light of the world, and you are that city that cannot be hid.

The small changes you make inwardly produces exponential changes outwardly. The world benefits from your success.

Changing you, changes the world. Success in life is an external product of internal activity. Every day your life runs on the internal program you create. Changes to the inner you are the changes that will give you the real success you desire and the real success that the world needs. You have always been the light of the world, now you must be a light unto yourself!

Man Talk

By Timothy Houston You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

(Mathew 5:14). If you have been following the local and world news, you know that the world needs light now more than ever. Matthew 5:14 tells us that we are the light of the world. This is a powerful truth because all of us begin life full of power and potential. We all have the power to emit a light that cannot be hid, a light that illuminates our pathways and gives meaning to our journeys.

No darkness or sadness can overtake us when we let our light shine. This powerful outlook on life is our gift to ourselves and to the world.

First and foremost, your light benefits you. Your life is influenced by what you take in. Watch the company you keep. Changing who you associate with changes your point of reference. Your light illuminates your life’s direction. Associations with people who are not heading in the direction that you are will take you off course. Pay attention to your inner light, and listen to your inner voice.

Nothing will help those who

Stock.xchng / PhotoXpress

ignore their inner light. We cannot help others without first

helping ourselves.

Secondly, your light is a benefit to others. You share your light with others through your words. Your words are your most powerful output.

They are the gift others receive

from you and are an external reflection of the inner you because they speak to what is in your heart. You do not need to produce light to give light.

The light the moon gives off is a reflection of the light it gets

from the sun. In just such a way, the choices and decisions you make serve as stepping stones for others to follow. They will watch and imitate you. The world is a dark place, and your encouraging words are needed.

MCTC

to pursue a higher education.

The program covers the cost of tuition and fees for two years or up to 72 credits at Minneapolis

Community and Technical College (MCTC) or Saint Paul College through state and federal grants and private scholarships. Nearly 70 percent of program participants are students of color. Enrollment of Minneapolis and St. Paul public high school graduates at MCTC has more than doubled between 20005 and 2009.

You can learn more about our Power of YOU program at http://www.minneapolis.edu/ Admissions/Power-of-YOU MCTC’s African-American Education Empowerment Program (AME) consists of four distinct programs to create opportunities for the educational success of students of color who are attending Minneapolis Community and Technical College. One of the programs, Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB), works to improve the quality and outcome of education by developing scholarship, accountability, commitment, success, determination, character, community and identity in MCTC student member participants. SAAB is an initiative supported by MCTC students, staff, faculty

From 9

Timothy Houston is an author, minister, and motivational speaker who is committed to guiding positive life changes in families and communities.

For questions, comments or more information, go to www. tlhouston.com. and administration.

The MCTC chapter of SAAB won a “Stellar Chapter” award this past March from the National SAAB founder and CEO Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe. Learn more about SAAB at http://www. minneapolis.edu/Student-Life/ Student-African-AmericanBrotherhood-Brother-2Brother MCTC recently expanded its Resource and Referral Center. In the center, students can obtain referrals for housing, childcare and other urgent needs. Personal counseling

by MCTC counselors and direct service from community agency staff is also available to help meet critical needs.

MCTC is the only twoyear college in the country to support eight TRiO programs that assist low-income students and community residents in enrolling in college and in completing an education. Learn more about TRiO programs here: http://www.minneapolis. edu/student-services/trioprograms MCTC’s Student Life program includes 40 different clubs, including 10 multicultural clubs.

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 11

Model Cities celebrates 45 years

By Abeni Hill Insight Intern Model Cities, 839 University Ave., St. Paul, is celebrating its 45 year legacy of community service with the celebration “Back to the 60s Party” on Sat. July 21.

“I am hoping this event will bring people from our generation out to have fun,” said Office Manager Judith Aminmentse.

The band, Urban Cadence, will sing songs by Aretha Franklin and Evan Brown and the Twin Cities Steppers Association is helping promote the event.

Since 1969, Model Cities has helped the St. Paul Summit

and University Avenue area through housing and educational programming especially those geared towards youth.

“I think that the program has been very successful,” said Youth Services Program Manager Shennika Sueduth.

Sueduth said in the community there is “disparity young people find themselves in” and many of them aspire to change their lifestyles. “Just because that is the environment they were brought into, it is not the environment they have to remain in.”

According to Model Cities 2011 Highlights , 205 youth between the ages of 13 and 18 were enrolled in Model

Cities’ enrichment and early intervention programs; Youth Enrichment Services (YES) and Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI).

The YES program took 75 young people on a college tour and half of the seniors who attended had enrolled in college.

Sixty-five youth participated in a North Minneapolis cleanup project for victims of the tornado.

“The motto here is train, instruct and prepare for launching,” said Sueduth. “See what you put into them (youth) and they give it back.”

Sueduth said past YES and JDAI participants have returned to help with current participants.

The 2011 highlights also stated 46 families lived in one of the Model Cities’ five apartment buildings and were provided education about topics such as financial literacy and domestic abuse prevention. The Families First Supportive Housing program provides support for homeless families who have “a chronic disability, which includes chemical addiction.”

Last year 25 families were helped.

According to the Model Cities website, Members of St. James AME Church decided to have a Model Cities’ projects in 1967 to aid St. Paul Summit and University Avenue lowincome residents with health

care. Aminmentse said Model Cities started in the basement of St. James. In 1972, the Model Cities health project began operating as the St. Paul Division of Public Health’s satellite clinic. Aminmentse said a project Model Cities also provides services to charitable organizations in Syria and Uganda. Although Model Cities has worked with international organizations, Aminmentse said they are still community oriented.

“We will move forward in providing resources for the community,” said Aminmentse.

“Model Cities will be doing building redevelopment projects. We want to be part of

Tutors

Minnesota, including in North and Northeast Minneapolis.

In addition, its sister program Minnesota Math Corps will nearly double to more than 100 math tutors. Tutors work individually, in pairs or in small groups to implement researchbased strategies to help catch kids up to grade level. Of course, these programs can only achieve when people like you, neighbors, grandparents, parents, college students, or even just someone looking to make a difference, apply.

So give it a try, after all, the life you change just might be your own. Learn more about full-time positions at www.

MinnesotaReadingCorps.org or www.MinnesotaMathCorps. org.

From 4 aren’t reading at grade level and who are not on track for future success in learning. I loved reading as a child, and I couldn’t believe that this was such a huge issue. So, I joined Minnesota Reading Corps as a full-time literacy tutor.

The program is seeing results. It saw 80% of its successfully exited students pass the standardized reading assessment. This surpasses the statewide pass rate of 78%!

They are expanding to place more than 1,000 literacy tutors like me this August. This past school year the program reached approximately 20,000 students with 780 tutors. Imagine what the Minnesota Reading Corps will achieve this coming school year with its expanded corps in 600 sites across

the redevelopment of University Avenue.”

Model Cities will build commercial spaces for eight to nine businesses. After the redevelopment project is complete, Model Cities will provide low-income housing to the community.

“Back to the 60s Party” will be held at the Crown Plaza Riverfront, 11 East Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tickets are $45.

For more information call Judith Aminmentse at 612-632-8341. For tickets to the “Back to the 60s party” call 651 -632-8350 or email 45thanniversaryevents@ modelcities.org

Tiffany Renando served this year as a Minnesota Reading Corps literacy tutor at Sheridan Global Arts school.

Scott Streble

Page 12 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

Mali From 1 they have smashed everything of value, all treasures from the past, manuscripts, sculptures, evidences of ancient African art and culture, and stamped their feet on our ancestors’ graves.

These are not men with a divine mission; they are pure and simple criminals whose ambition is to rule and they will use any ruse to destroy monuments and manuscripts that were created by Africans out of our own tradition.

The people of Mali Africanized many of the symbols that came

Pipeline From 6 possession of marijuana.

The toxic cocktail of poverty, racial disparities in child serving systems, poor education, zero tolerance school discipline policies, racial profiling, unbridled prosecutorial discretion, and racial disparities in arrests and sentencing are funneling millions of young and older poor people of color, especially males, into dead end, powerless and hopeless lives. So we are bringing an extraordinary

Williams From 7 Williams said, ““Part of our responsibility as dentists is to motivate and educate, as well as treat. We cannot turn our backs on people who are suffering from health care disparities. If all dental and medical professionals participate, we can address the

insightnews.com

with invaders; they did not accept the idea that Africa was devoid of culture prior to the coming of the Arabs and whites.

Afrocentricity International looks at this situation as we have looked at other instances of this destruction to our culture. It is a political and mental war, carried on for ages against the best that is Africa, and in Mali we are seeing the latest, but not the last, attempt to ruin Africa. As in Sudan, now in Mali, the attackers and the attacked are both Muslims. But in Mali we know that the ancient graves of the 333 saints include many African philosophers and thinkers who made the civilizations of Mali and Songhay

the rivals to the world’s greatest cultures. But what do these Ansar Dine criminals do? They destroy the monuments of the greatest ancestors of African people and claim they are doing it in the name of Allah. But Allah has given them no such command; they must be condemned, captured, and brought to justice for their crimes against humanity.

The attackers who have sacked the mausoleums of Timbuktu allied themselves to the Tuareg MNLA, a group fighting to have the government recognize legitimate grievances of the northerners. Soon after the Taureg rebels seceded the northern part of Mali from the rest of the country

in March 2012, the little known Ansar Dine group supposedly with support from Al Qaeda in Libya drove the secular MNLA out of Timbuktu and Gao and took over as the absolute rulers of the north. They have taken rights away from women, killed people they claim were violating the Koran, and imposed Sharia law.

These Neanderthalian activities have plunged Mali deeper into the closet of ignorance than almost any other nation in Africa.

Afrocentricity International blames Malian leadership for the crisis because that leadership did not practice equality, justice, and respect toward its own people and opened the door for this

throwback gang of terrorists who have now laid hold to the land of Sunni Ali Ber. Once again the crisis in Mali has proved what Afrocentricity International has always claimed that when you accept the religion and ideology of foreigners, you will end up fighting against your own interests. Indeed, the rumble in the ancient cities of Northern Mali, Timbuktu, Jenne, and Gao, is nothing more than a down payment on the problems that Africa will face in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Niger, Chad, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. Indeed, we have already seen this problem in Nigeria and Ivory Coast. It is yet to be resolved and will not

be resolved until Africans, any Africans, some Africans, have the courage to speak up in the interest of Africa and not in the interest of Europe or the Arabs.

The dilemma is real; the task is our responsibility. Afrocentricity International supports any effort to bring the crisis in Mali to an end, but we insist that the criminals who destroyed the precious historical monuments must be brought to justice. Unity is our aim; victory is our destiny!

Dr. Ama Mazama, Per-aat International Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, International Organizer w w w. A f r o c e n t r i c i t y international.org

group of experts together at our national conference to talk about how to halt the epidemic and get our nation back on course and our children into a pipeline to college and productive work.

The panel will be moderated

by Charles Ogletree, the Jesse Climenko Professor at Harvard Law School and founder and executive director of Harvard’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

The panelists are legal scholar Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness; Elaine Jones, former Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational

Fund, Inc., and chair of CDF’s strategic planning committee on mass incarceration and the privatization of prisons; the Honorable Patricia Martin, Presiding Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Child Protection Division and President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Michael A. Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia and incoming chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Dr. John Rich, professor and chair of Health Management & Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at Drexel University School of Public Health; and

Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative, who successfully argued the recent cases before the U.S. Supreme Court ending mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for juveniles.

They’ll share their thoughtful research and experience about how to better ensure public safety through prevention and early intervention and fairer law enforcement policies. They’ll also examine mass incarceration as a continuing method of racial control and discrimination and recommend measures to replace the Cradle to School to Prison PipelineTM one to college and

productive work.

The panel will lead into an interactive town hall discussion with various speakers, including formerly incarcerated participants, to focus on how we can close off the major feeder systems fueling the Cradle to Prison Pipeline and mass incarceration and create new hope and opportunity for children in their place. It will be a critical chance to hear from leading experts, identify how we’ve reached this point, and determine how together we must build a focused, effective movement to say no more.

Join us in Cincinnati to learn more and add your voice.

It’s time to reroute our children, youths, and parents from prison to college and productive work.

And it’s way past time to stop the uniquely American blight of mass incarceration permanently.

problems.”

Williams was born October 27, 1945 in Jackson, Mississippi to Reverend Reuben Williams and Bessie Rodgers. He was preceded in death by his two brothers, Charles Williams and Earl Williams; his mother, Bessie Williams; his sister, Susan Smith, and his father, Reverend Reuben Williams.

Williams is survived by his wife, Barbara Butts-Williams,

three sons, Jay Williams, Justin Williams, and Michael Baccus Williams; his grandson, Liam McKay Keiser Williams; his brothers, Allen (Sharon) Williams, Dr. Jerry (Joyce) Williams, Reverend James (Coretha) Williams; his sisters, Dr. Ruby (Antoine) Hunt, Wanda Smith-Lee (Tommie) Lee; his father-in-law, Sollie Butts; his brothers-in-law, Eugene Butts, Lewis (Margaret) Butts, Vincent

Butts, Raymond (Mary Alice) Talley; his sisters-in-law, Lucy (Albert) Jones, Carista Wilson, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

Barbara Butts-Williams is the dean of the School of Education at Capella University in Minneapolis and was recently appointed to the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which will work on the development of the Vikings’

new stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Funeral services were Saturday July 14, at Speak the Word Church International, 515 Jersey Avenue South, Golden Valley, Minnesota 55426.

Memorials and donations can be made to NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, 1313 Penn Avenue North, Minneapolis, 55412; North Community YMCA Youth and

Teen Enrichment Center, 1711 West Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55411; Mayo Clinic Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Program, Attn: Department of Development, 200 1st Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905; Children’s Dental Services, 636 Broadway St. NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. Please note on all memorials/ donations “In memory of John McKay Williams.”

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.

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Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 13

HEALTH Breast cancer: One woman’s struggle

By Eliz C. Dowdy Special to the NNPA from the Precinct Reporter The Precinct Reporter sat down recently for a one-on one chat with Joshlyn Earls who has worn many hats, but is now in the toughest fight of her life—the battle with inflammatory breast cancer.

Earls has sold real estate; she was the first African American to sell residential real estate in Orange County. She and her husband Dennis opened a beauty distribution business where they developed the first low-odor acrylic product for nail sculpting and helped raise six children belonging to a family member, and did it all with sass. Now, Earls is bankrupt, disillusioned about the way her treatment options were handled and is reaching out to help others avoid the quicksand she traversed.

Earls encountered difficulty swallowing her food; it was stopping in her chest region and she had to lightly pound the area to get it down, but tests showed

nothing out of the ordinary. The medical community is sometimes quick to label women’s issues as emotional, psychosomatic- it’s all in your mind!

On May 26, 2011 Earls’ world started rumbling and crumbling, as she absorbed the full impact of the doctor’s words to her. The odyssey had begun in the summer of 2010 when Earls had visited a chiropractor. Because this was her first visit he ordered a full body digital picture that when viewed delineated an area of concern. He printed out the photo, gave it to her and suggested she visit an internist. The internist laughed at the possibility that a chiropractor could locate cancer with a digital picture, and ignored it. However in February 2011 while pulling a tee shirt over her head she noticed a tiny lump above the right nipple. She had an appointment for February 8, 2011 that had been made in December 2010. At the February 8 visit to her primary care physician, he ordered a mammogram, which was scheduled for March 16, 2011.

Now Earls is asking questions, pulling her medical records because she is now experiencing

Courtesy of the author

Joshlyn Earls, founder of Fighting 4 The Tatas pain in the right breast. On May 16, 2011 she received the news that she indeed had high grade infiltrating ductal carcinoma.

She informed her daughter and daughter-in-law, and they had started asking questions of their medical associates. On May 26, 2011 the ceiling fell when she marched into the doctor’s office already aware of the fact that she had breast cancer but totally unprepared to hear him say, “put inflammatory in front of ductal carcinoma.” It is a very rare form of breast cancer that is not detected by mammograms

because there is no lump in the breast; the cancer cells travel in the ducts. As a woman of color the prognosis is grim; there are only three documented African American women alive who have inflammatory breast cancer. It is very aggressive–the survival rate is 40%–and instead of the five year life span afforded by other forms of breast cancer this type cuts that expectancy to 2 and 1/2 years. Earls had immediate removal of the right breast, high dosages of chemotherapy, radiation and endocrine therapy, which is basically chemotherapy

African Americans surviving beyond cancer By the National Cancer Institute

weight and make dietary changes, and whether it changes markers of breast cancer progression.

Editor’s Note: The following article is part of the Lifelines education and awareness series.

More articles and videos in the culturally relevant Lifelines series are available at www.cancer.gov/ lifelines.

Childhood Survivors Dr. Stolley is also interested in African American survivors of childhood cancer as they grow older. In another NCIsupported study, she and her colleagues will compare African American, Hispanic, and nonHispanic white adult survivors

More and more people in the United States are living for a long time after being diagnosed and treated for cancer. Survivorship begins when cancer is discovered, and it continues for a lifetime.

It is focused on the quality of a patient’s life and often involves family and others affected by a patient’s cancer diagnosis.

African American cancer survivors can experience a number of ongoing social, psychological, and financial challenges and concerns, some of which may be different from those experienced by whites. The quality of a patient’s life can depend on identifying these problems early and addressing them effectively.

As a result of improved diagnosis, treatment, and followup care in recent decades, two in three adult cancer patients – and four in five children with cancer – will survive for at least 5 years after their diagnosis, and many will live long lives. Close to one million African Americans are now cancer survivors.

“Research in this area is becoming increasingly important as the number of cancer survivors grows,” said Dr. Julia Rowland, Director of the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Survivorship Weight, Culture, and Breast Cancer Dr. Melinda R. Stolley, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been studying the impact of diet and physical activity on the lives of African American cancer survivors. Although African American women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than white women, they are 39 percent more likely to die from it. Some of this difference may arise from differences in lifestyle factors after treatment.

For example, one major study showed that approximately 82 percent of African American women are overweight or obese, compared to 58 percent of white women. Other studies suggest that African American women gain more weight than white women after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Moving Forward With support from NCI, Dr. Stolley and her colleagues developed a weight loss program called Moving Forward, which incorporates the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of urban African American breast cancer survivors in Chicago. The foundations of Moving Forward are culture, family lifestyles, community traditions, and social support.

A total of 240 African American breast cancer survivors will attend exercise and educational sessions twice a week.

Researchers will evaluate whether the program helps the women lose

of childhood cancers with others in those populations who did not have cancer. The researchers are looking at health behaviors such as diet, physical activity, and smoking, and at factors that may influence these behaviors (such as cultural beliefs and practices, spirituality, health knowledge, attitudes, social support, and others) to understand how race/ ethnicity and having had cancer relate to health behaviors.

For people who want to learn more about cancer survivorship, an NCI booklet can help: Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment. A companion booklet for caregivers is also available: When Someone You Love Has Completed Cancer Treatment.

For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI web site at www.cancer.gov (or m.cancer.gov from your mobile device) or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800422-6237

in pill form.

Searching for answers why the death rate for African American is greater than the death rate for Caucasian women has led Earls and her daughter to start a non-profit organization, “Fighting 4 the Tatas.” Since she lost her private health insurance, her business and home, she is acutely aware that cancer care must extend beyond just raising funds for research; that is important, but Earls is part of an email network of 1500 women with inflammatory breast cancer, and she is the only African American woman in the group.

Coping with a cancer diagnosis is devastating and frightening. Earls’ purpose in raising up the organization is to function as a resource center, offering assistance with utilities, helping women to feel positive about the image that stares back from the mirror; knowing what questions to ask the doctor, getting their medical records,

and the clinical notes the doctor wrote; all of these can determine whether they can qualify for assistance.

Because this type of cancer is lumpless, many younger women are dying from it, because by the time they are diagnosed it has taken full control of their bodies.

These are all flaws Earls hopes to address for other women, as she continues to tread softly, determined to live. In addition to the disease, she is fighting the stereotype attributed to women of color, that is, that they don’t get the life scans, they don’t follow up etc. Earls states that at age sixty she was dutiful to get mammograms, was eating healthy, exercising regularly and keeping a positive attitude.

Interested individuals may contact Earls at: (909) 874-4709 or at info@fighting4thetatas.com.

Visit website: http:// www.fighting4thetatas.org/ Inflammatory_B.html

Page 14 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

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COMMUNITY Gathering of descendants of the first 85 Blacks to the Northwest On August 11, 2012 at 4 p.m. in Minnehaha Park 4801 South Minnehaha Park Dr., descendants will come together to “Embrace and Celebrate” their heritage.

Bring your family and a dish to share.

Around April 1897, 65 Black men and boys and 25 women and girls left Kentucky and arrived in Fergus Falls, MN to engage in farming. It was the largest influx of Blacks the Northwest had ever seen. Some traveled onto Aitkin, Hinkley and Sioux Falls, SD. The heads of the families were Civil War pensioners.

Family names included: Prince Honeycutt, Joe Robinson, Oscar Vaughn, Frank Marshall, John Lewis,

Allen Webster, Reuben Fitch, Joe Himsly, Gene Strader, Alexander Penick, Frank Curry, John Taylor, Lulu Drew, Jean Frazier, Hans & Max Denham, Thomas Anderson, Simon, Minor & John Anderson, Luens Anderson (Teamsters), Arthur Edwards, Mattie Patterson, Betty Wench, William Gaines, Harden Tate, Henry Johnson, Frank Taylor, Loraine Crockett, Elizabeth Goodall, Albert Mitchell, Eliza Patrick, Raymond Patrick, and others. If you are related in any way, please join us on August 11. For more information, call Sylvia Amos at 612-522-7508 or Jon Anderson at 612-9196735.

Fred Anderson (87), the oldest living direct descendant of one of the First 85

Courtesy of Sylvia Amos

Teens can hang out, mess around, and geek out The Saint Paul Public Library and the Science Museum of Minnesota are partnering to bring teens and technology together. The two organizations are training a group of teens, called the Teen Tech Crew, to introduce other teens to new technologies. The Teen Tech Crew hosts weekly workshops for teens at three libraries June 20 - August 24.

Area teens are welcome to attend just one or all of the Teen Tech Crew workshops, called CREATECH Labs.

The workshops occur at three different libraries and address different topics each week.

Topics have included video

game creation, long exposure photography, and animation.

CREATECH Labs embrace the idea of HOMAGO (Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out). HOMAGO is a new concept in teen education that was developed by cultural anthropologist Mizuko Ito. It acknowledges the importance of giving teens time and space to learn. It’s okay to just hang out in the room, building social ties and passively absorbing the lesson of the day. Interested teens can mess around with the activity. They may not produce very much, but they’ve gained a comfort level with a new technology that will serve

them in the future. A select few will geek out and dive into the activity, building a full-fledged skill. The important thing is that each level of involvement is valid. Just as attending storytime helps toddlers become good readers later in life, attending technology workshops prepares youth to live in a world where comfort with technology will be essential in school and at work.

“We are rethinking what educational spaces for teens look and feel like,” said Marika Staloch, Saint Paul Public Library’s Teen Technology Project Manager. “Research suggests that informal, casual learning is incredibly important

Calendar • Classifieds Send Community Calendar information to us by: email, natalie@insightnews.com, by fax: 612-588-2031, by phone: (612) 588-1313 or by mail: 1815

Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411, Attn: Natalie Benz. Free or low cost events preferred.

Job Placement Manager

Help Prevent Identity Theft Apr. 26 Northeast Bank Partners with the Minneapolis Police Department and Shred-it© to Help Prevent Identity Theft Thur.

Apr. 26. A presentation featuring Minneapolis Police Department staff will take place in the Walter C. Rasmussen Community Room from 10am – 11am. This event is free and open to the public. From 11:00 a.m.

Events

Summit Academy OIC, a non-profit adult education Summit Academy is seeking a full-time well accomplished and motivated relationship builder to manage the day-to-day operations of the Job Placement Department, as Job Placement Manager. This important management role requires someone who is well practiced in forming partnerships with hiring agencies, is familiar with job readiness skills training, job placement and recruitment trends and processes, and is passionate about the work of assisting individuals in overcoming various barriers in life necessary to acquire and maintain gainful employment. This position is responsible for ensuring alumni placement into viable living wage paying jobs and that our weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual hiring goals are continually met.

Candidates will have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Project Management, or a similar degree or specialization. Candidates must have at least 5 to 7 years of progressive management experience leading staff and managing the operations of a department in a fast paced, results driven environment. Salary is commensurate with skills and experiences.

Valid Driver’s license required.

Position is open until filled. Please send resumes with cover letter and salary requirements to the attention of Human Resources Manager at hresources@saoic.org or by fax at 612-278-5242. No phone inquiries please. Summit is an EEO/AA Employer.

for this age group.”

The Teen Tech Crew leads these valuable workshops.

While this group of teens helps other teens develop valuable skills, they are also developing valuable skills themselves, learning about the technologies they are teaching and learning to become teachers and leaders. Members of this crew, along with mentors from the Science Museum, are attending and presenting at a national conference on Scratch computer programming at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts July 25-28. Scratch is a programming language designed to introduce youth

Phone: 612.588.1313

to 2:00 p.m., Northeast Bank has partnered with Shred-it© to provide free document shredding services to customers and members of the community. Both events located at Minneapolis office, located at 77 Broadway Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

Contact: Suzanne Sjoselius, 612-362-3219: or sms@northeastbank-mn.com Create A Band Auditions Mar. 26 – Apr. 25 Auditions for solo musicians and singers performing all types of music. Pre-registration is $25.00.

To schedule an appointment by/before Apr. 4 and/or Apr 25 contact Penny Wallace 612.333.6618.

Fax: 612.588.2031

professionals, foster care youth, and agencies about “What Happens to Youth who Age out of the Child Welfare System”.

Thursday Apr. 26, 6pm -7:30pm, Rondo Library (Community Room) 461 Dale Street N. Saint Paul, MN 55103.

School Integration April 26 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Anwatin Middle School Media Center 256 Upton Avenue South, Minneapolis.

Hear from Minneapolis families about how the district’s integration policies have impacted them directly.

To RSVP or learn more, contact Regan Smith at 612-455-1535 or rsmith@ achievempls.org.

High School Career Fairs March through May Accountant & Accounting AchieveMpls Career Fair.

Technician Connect with Minneapolis High Mid Minnesota Legal Aid has a 75% position open in the Accounting Dept. DOE, one of the positions School students and represent your listed on our website will be filled at 75% time. For career or industry. Professionals more info, go to www.mylegalaid.org/jobs. from all sectors are welcome to participate.

Looking for Christian Roommates? Contact Rebecca Noecker North & South Minneapolis * $400/month + utilities at 612.455.1571 or urbanhomeworks.org/housing/urban-neighbors rnoecker@achievempls.org What Happens to Youth Who Age Out of the Child Welfare System?

Apr. 26 Hear from

612-910-6054 / un@urbanhomeworks.org

to the creative and rational thought processes necessary for computer programming.

“The Scratch conference is an interesting mix of youth and adults, all learning from each other,” said Keith Braafladt, the Science Museum’s Learning Technologies Center Director.

“Teens have a lot to teach adults, as well as other teens.

We’re here to help facilitate this process.”

Any interested teen is welcome to attend the Teen Tech Crew’s CREATECH Labs from June 20-August 24. The schedule is below. (CREATECH Labs will continue in the fall, but the schedule has not yet

been set.)

Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Rice Street Library 1011 Rice St. Saint Paul, MN 55117 651-558-2223 Thursdays, 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Arlington Hills Library 1105 Greenbrier St. Saint Paul, MN 55106 651-793-3930 Fridays, 2:00-4:00 pm Rondo Library 461 N Dale St. Saint Paul, MN 55103 651-266-7400 Please visit www.sppl. org/teens/createch for more information.

Email: natalie@insightnews.com

Red Balloon Bookshop Events Apr. 7 – Apr. 30 April at The Red Balloon Bookshop is filled with story times, celebrations, and parties.

Events include National Poetry Month with MN poet Joyce Sidman- Apr.13, 7pm, Giggle, Giggle, Giggle, Quack story time with actress/ playwright Jennifer Kirkeby-Apr.14, 10:30am, A Secret Keeps publication party with author Marsha Wilson Chall- Apr. 21, 10:30am, and much, much more. For more info contact Holly Weinkauf 651.224.8320 or holly@redballoonbookshop. com. For a list of events visit www.redballoonbookshop.com MACY’S Twin Cities Events Apr. 10 – May 17 A variety of events including Star Spangled Sing-Off, Oval Room Event, Designer Capsule Collection Launch featuring Alberta Ferretti for Impulse, CosmoBella Bridal Trunk Show, Find your Magic Event, ThankA-Mom Movement, Francisco Costa For Calvin Klein Collection Launch, Brasil: A Magical Journey Launch Party,

and much more. Please visit www.macys.com/events for all event details or visit your Downtown Minneapolis or Southdale Macy’s for more info.

Teatro del Pueblo and Pangea World Theater present The House on Mango Street, Apr. 13 – Apr. 28 A story based on the young adult novel by Sandra Cisneros, chronicling the challenges of a young woman coming-ofage in “El Barrio.” For tickets and more info call 1-800838-3006 or purchase online at brownpapertickets.com For group sales, please call 651-2248806. The Southern Theater is located at 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454.

National Volunteer Week Apr. 15– 21 Volunteer with Greater Twin Cities United Way throughout the Twin Cities. All are welcome (13 years and older) for any day from Apr. 15 – 21, to lend a hand to people in need in our community. To RSVP visit http:// www.unitedwaytwincities.org/ caringconnection or for more info call 612.340.7440 or visit https://www.

Healing Justice Program Director unitedwaytwincities.

The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and juso r g / e v e n t s _ tice organization, is seeking a highly qualified person to fill the position b l o g / 2 0 11 / 0 7 / 0 9 / 6 7 5 / of Healing Justice Program Director in the Twin Cities. national_volunteer_week Using her/his skills to convene, this person will support collaboration among restorative justice workers and volunteers to rebuild the movement for healing justice and advocate for systems and communities in Minnesota that respond to harm primarily with healing practices, and not punitive practices. This person will also facilitate training and shared learning about healing justice.

Respondents should submit their resume along with cover letter to https://jobs-afsc.icims.com/jobs/1249/job. All responses must be received by midnight, CDT, August 13, 2012.

Assumed Name 1. State the exact assumed name under which the business is or will be conducted: Freddie Louis Dillard 2. State the address of the principal place of business: 1230 Queen Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411 3. List the name and complete street address of all persons conducting business under the above Assumed Name OR if an entity, provide the legal corporate, LLC, or Limited Partnership name and registered office address. Attach additional sheet(s) if necessary: Freddie Louis Dillard, LLC, 1230 Queen Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411 4. I certify that I am authorized to sign this certificate and I further certify that I understand that by signing this certificate, I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Minnesota Statues section 609.48 as if I had signed this certificate under oath.

Signed by: Freddie Louis Dillard, Owner Date Filed: 06/20/2012 Insight News: 7/9/2012, 7/16/2012

Voter ID: The Civil Rights Implications Apr. 17 Panel will explore the consequences of the proposed amendment and give attendees an opportunity to ask questions and register to vote on-site. Reception at 6pm followed by Panel discussion 7–8pm. Tue. Apr. 17. William Mitchell College of Law 875 Summit Ave, St Paul, MN 55105.

Command Steppers North side dance class 3-year anniversary celebration Apr. 19 Music by DJ RV and special guest DJ’s.

Everyone is welcome.

Free Steppers Set and free food. Thur. Apr 19, 6pm– 10pm at Louisiana Fried Chicken 904 W. Broadway, Minneapolis, MN. visit http://www. commandsteppers.com for more class and event info.

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Page 15

Book review: Help Me To Find My People Book Review

By Kam Williams kam@insightnews.com “This is a book about slavery and family and loss and longing… It is about the forced separations of African-American families, about their grief and their determined hope to someday see each other again… It takes courage to look at the humiliation they suffered…

It is worth saying that this is a book about separation, resilience and survival, and about the

texture and contours of despair…

In the end, it is a journey into their feelings... The stories I recount are raw, emotional and dramatic... That’s what these people’s lives were.”

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. xiii-xiv) One traumatic side-effect of slavery left unaddressed by the history books is the tragic toll the evil institution exacted on the African-American psyche.

After all, for hundreds of years, not only were Black families routinely ripped apart at the whim of their owners, but males and females were even forced to breed like beasts of burden at the direction of avaricious traders.

However, in the face of such inhumane treatment, slaves never

forgot the fond memories of loved ones, and always held tightly onto the faint hope of a sweet reunion one day. Proof of this is that in the wake of Emancipation, newspapers all across the country were flooded with classified ads placed by folks looking for children, parents, spouses and other missing relatives.

Help Me to Find My People: The African-American Search for Family Lost in Slavery is a heartrending opus which chronicles the desperate efforts of some of the inconsolable souls undertaking that noble quest.

For instance, consider the urgent appeal published in a Black newspaper on October 14, 1865 by recently-freed Charity Moss: “Information is wanted of my two boys, James

and Horace, one of whom was sold in Nashville and the other was sold in Rutherford County. I, myself, was sold in Nashville and sent to Alabama by Wm. Boyd, and my children belonged to David Moss…

Any information sent to Colored Tennessean office, Box 1150 will be thankfully received.”

Author Heather Andrea Williams must be credited for conducting the painstaking research yielding such irrefutable proof that slaves did indeed feel some very deep emotions as a consequence of the horrors they experienced. Witness the words of Thomas Jones, as he recounts what happened to him as a child when he was told he’d just been

sold to a faraway plantation: “I was very much afraid and began to cry, holding on to my mother’s clothes, and begging her to protect me, and not let the man take me away… Mother wept bitterly and in the midst of her loud sobbings, cried out in broken words, ‘I can’t save you., Tommy; master has sold you, you must go.’ She held me, sobbing and mourning, till the brutal Abraham came in, snatched me away, hurried me out of the house where I was born, and tore me away from the dear mother who loved me as no other could.”

To add injury to insult, when his mom attempted to give her son a last hug goodbye on the porch, the cruel overseer struck

her “with his heavy cowhide” and “fiercely ordered her to stop bawling and go back into the house.” To think that that awful image was his last for life of his beloved mother.

A touching collection of narratives chock full of sentimental reflections leaving no doubt that slavery was nothing more than a neverending nightmare for its millions upon millions of our African ancestors.

Help Me to Find My People: The African-American Search for Family Lost in Slavery

by Heather Andrea Williams University of North Carolina Press Hardcover, $30.00 264 pages ISBN: 978-0-8078-3554-8

Exercise machines

Kimiesha Paul, YMCA branch coordinator

Seniors From 1 rise Representative Council.

The complex is named after Thomas T. Feeney, the long-time face of Housing Urban Development (HUD) in Minnesota. Feeney was head of the Minnesota field office of HUD from 1971 until 2004.

“It is an honor to join with the distinguished partners of giving the gift of dignity to some of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Cora McCorvey MPHA Executive Director. “MPHA’s Senior Campus provides an opportunity for us to respond, not just meet the needs, but to the aspirations of our seniors.”

According to McCorvey, Heritage Park Senior Service Center, which serves the residents of Thomas T. Feeney Manor, was previously the

Buy From 1 According to a report

by Algernon Austin of the Economic Policy Institute, Minnesota leads the nation in the gap in unemployment between Blacks and whites by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1.

While some may choose to attribute these racial disparities to a poor work ethic or moral deficiencies amongst African Americans, I propose that the limited access to employment opportunities contribute most to these intolerable disparities.

Too often we are the recipients of charity rather than the beneficiaries of economic justice and equal opportunity.

Charity cripples and creates a cycle of dependency, while a focus on economic justice uplifts and empowers.

When people lose hope in their futures and see few opportunities to become successful through legitimate means, they may be more likely to commit survival crimes or other petty crimes to get ahead. Moreover, people who lack hope and opportunity may also be less likely to value their own lives or the lives of other people. When this happens, our entire community is in jeopardy, as we have seen recently with some of the senseless gun violence that has occurred in our most economically depressed

home of Sumner Field and Glenwood-Lyndale public housing communities.

“What happened in the early 1990s [was] a major lawsuit filed against Housing Urban Development and the Public Housing Authority for concentration of poverty,” she said. “It was agreed to rebuild the community.”

Sue McLilly, who has lived in the complex since March 2012, previously stayed at Heritage Park, says the caregivers take care of their residents. They bring back my laundry, fold it for me, and make my bed every morning, she said. McLilly also uses the therapy pool to assist with her hip movements.

The therapy pool consists of a treadmill, and underwater cameras.

There are only four therapy pools in all of Minnesota; The Minnesota Twins training facilities, the Courage Center, a small one in

neighborhoods.

One way to reverse these alarming trends and to restore hope to the hopeless is to strategically use the power of the Black dollar to support Black-owned businesses in our community. There are literally thousands of Black-owned businesses in Minnesota, but very few have the resources to expand their businesses and to hire workers from the community. When Blackowned businesses are unable to hire Black workers, this limits our ability to develop economic and social capital and to improve the conditions within our own community. As African American business owners are able to hire more workers, families and communities will reap numerous benefits as there will be more money in the home to meet a family’s basic needs and will reduce the likelihood of involvement in illicit activity to supplement a family’s income.

Making a conscious decision to spend our dollars in Black-owned businesses will cause our dollars to circulate multiple times within our community, which will give us more leverage, will increase our economic prosperity, and produce a feeling of selfdetermination and the power to resist oppression. We have at our disposal what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the weapon of cash” to use in this fight against racial discrimination and economic

Therapy pool

David Copple Duluth and now the Heritage Park Commons Center.

“People in North

injustice. How and where we spend our money will either positively or negatively affect future generations to come.

Currently, the money that is flowing into our community is flowing through our hands and right back out of our community.

Although Black buying power has increased dramatically in recent years, our money cycles out of the Black community in a matter of hours, compared to multiple times over weeks and months in white and other racially and ethnically diverse communities. This is a travesty of justice and keeps us in a perpetual state of disempowerment. To put this into perspective, take a moment and think about where we buy our groceries, toiletries, beauty supplies, vehicles, insurance, pharmaceuticals, cell phones, electronics, and clothing.

Chances are, not from a Blackowned business. And herein lies the problem. It is not a stretch to believe that many of the problems that plague the Black community have a direct correlation to how and where we spend our money.

Times are hard for our people, but they will only grow worse if we continue depending upon others to solve our problems. Being intentional about buying Black puts the power to address the issues within our community in our own hands.

Minneapolis have access to a unique form of therapy that does not exist in many places,”

said Bob Boyd, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Director of Policy & Special Initiatives.

Other features of the complex include an indoor and outdoor community space, raised bed resident gardens, a library, café, beauty salon, exercise room, nurse station, social services, and internet access.

David Copple, who moved to Thomas E. Feeney Manor in April, previously lived at Texas Terrace Care Center in St. Louis Park. He is impressed with his new digs.

“This is like a mansion.

The spot is brand new,” said Copple. “The previous apartment was the size of my bedroom and I had a roommate.

This is much better. Everyone is nice, the staff is friendly and the food is good. I cannot think of anything negative I can say about this place, which is hard for me because I am quite the

Photos: Suluki Fardan

critic.”

Thomas E. Feeney Manor and Heritage Park Senior Services were funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and grants awarded to MPHA by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The project received New Market Tax Credit Equity, HUD Replacement Housing Factor Funds, energy rebates, support from the Hennepin County Environmental Remediation Fund and a grant from the Metropolitan Livable Communities Fund provide by Metropolitan Council.

For more information on the complex or services center, contact Bob Boyd at 612 342-1437 or visit http:// www.mphaonline.org/. For a digital tour, visit http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=xv-FH_ CET6k&feature=youtu.be.

Page 16 • July 16 - July 22, 2012 • Insight News

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