RECONSTRUCT: I Self Devine’s decade album Anniversary Saturday at First Ave aesthetically speaking
MORE ON PAGE 10
Insight News July 27 - August 2, 2015
Vol. 42 No. 30 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Minnesota Orchestra appoints Roderick Cox as assistant conductor By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer L-R: Clyde Bellecourt, Dave Bicking and Michelle Gross There’s a new face at the Minnesota Orchestra and he stands out for quite a few reasons. Roderick Cox is the new assistant conductor of the orchestra – a role he took over in June. At just 27 years old, Cox is one of the youngest assistant conductors in the world of a major orchestra. Cox is also one of the few African-American assistant conductors of a major symphony orchestra. The Minnesota Orchestra is considered a Top 10 tier orchestra. For Cox, being selected as assistant conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra is a grand coup, but he said he put in the work to merit his selection. “Partly, my success at such a young age is because I sacrificed much of myself in terms of personal time,” said Cox, who graduated from Columbus State University’s (Ga.) Schwob School of Music and has a master of music from Northwestern University. “A lot of my 20s were spent practicing. Conducting is a physical and mental action. It takes a lot of sacrifice. It’s sitting in an orchestra room by yourself for hours.
Justice advocates call for end to police review agency Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) last week called for the dismantling of Minneapolis Civil Rights Department’s Office of Police Conduct Review(OPCR). Michelle Gross, a founder and co-chair of CUAPB, said data obtained from the city of Minneapolis under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act shows the city engages in a pattern and practice of ignoring citizens’ complaints of police misconduct and a lack of action to address citizen complaints. Gross said CUAPB is asking the city to abolish the OPCR and return to the Civilian Review Authority which OPCR replaced just over two years ago. The new agency should be independent of police department, she said, because “any agency controlled by police will never be able hold police accountable.” Former NAACP president,
Rev. Jerry McAfee, pastor of New Salem Missionary Baptist Church and former president of Minnesota State Baptist Convention, said citizens should demand federal intervention and should demand that the Minneapolis Police Department be placed in receivership. McAfee said the “police department should be put in receivership. We failed for not demanding that. Our call today needs to be back to the Federal government demanding that the entire police department be put in receivership.” Another solution being offered by CUAPB is to require police to carry liability insurance. “We want police to have to carry liability insurance. Insurance companies will hold officers accountable even though the city does not want to,” Gross said.
COX TURN TO 6
POLICE TURN TO 6
Shevry Lassiter/Washington Informer
President Obama, the keynote speaker at the NAACP 106th Annual National Convention in Philadelphia on July 14, discussed plans to reform the U.S. criminal justice system.
Dr. Sylvia Bartley
Gary Cunningham
President strong Cunningham, Bartley to head African American Leadership Forum in NAACP speech The Minneapolis African American Leadership Forum (AALF) (www.aalf.us) announced its formation as a non-profit organization and the election of new leadership for its board of directors. Selected as new co-chairs of AALF’s board of directors are Gary Cunningham, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), and Dr. Sylvia Bartley, senior global marketing manager for Medtronic, PLC. Out-going
co-chairs Tawanna Black, CEO of the Northside Funders Initiative, and Repa Mekha, CEO of Nexus Community Partners, will remain on the AALF board. Minneapolis attorney, Jeffrey Hassan, is AALF’s executive director. “We are very excited to move forward with a new structure for AALF, and partner with the community to create and execute an urban agenda centered on enhancing economic opportunity in the Twin Cities,” said Cunningham.
“Our focus is to solidify the infrastructure required to advance AALF to the next level,” added Sylvia Bartley. “Our intent is to partner with other Black organizations, unifying our voice when addressing challenges and opportunities in our community.” Cunningham is one of the original founders of AALF. He joined MEDA in August 2014 as president and CEO, leading the organization in its mission to help entrepreneurs
Business
Brother Amos
Robert L. Johnson: The “Urban Movie Channel” interview
On the futility of building walls
PAGE 4
PAGE 5
of color succeed. Prior to MEDA, Cunningham was vice president and chief program officer for the Northwest Area Foundation. He presently serves as board chair for the Association for Black Foundation Executives, council member for the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities, trustee for the Metropolitan State University Foundation and trustee for The Minneapolis
AALF TURN TO 6
By Stacy M. Brown Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer Even before his keynote address in front of a cheering crowd at the annual NAACP convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday, President Barack Obama was busy practicing what he had already prepared to preach. A day earlier, the nation’s
Women Leading Change Ida B. Wells’ battle against injustice
PAGE 6
first black president, and the 44th man to command the Oval Office, commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders, giving them an opportunity for freedom – 13 were serving life in prison – and a once-in-a-lifetime chance at redemption. And, when it comes to redemption, Obama clearly has re-energized an AfricanAmerican base who have largely felt abandon during the
SPEECH TURN TO 6
Man Talk Extreme sacrifice calls for extreme commitment
PAGE 8