Insight News ::: 8.13.12

Northside Throwdown A dance ilm by Kenna Camara Cottman and collaborators. North Minneapolis is the stage for this journey through parenting, wrestling style.”...This dance ilm is about my relationship with my daughter through the lens of Senegalese wrestling,” said Cottman.

A must see!

Available on the Dances Made to Order www.dancesmadetoorder.com website.

INSIGHT NEWS August 13 - August 19, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 39 No. 33 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

Gabby Douglas:

Recognizing greatness To celebrate U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas’ gold medal in the women’s all-around at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Kellogg’s announced that she will be featured on special-edition boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes which will be on shelves this fall.

Kellogg Company is an official sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics.

“I’m so proud to be part of this gold-medal winning team and I’m thrilled I was able to bring home the all-around gold for Team USA as well,” said Douglas. “The support from fans around the country has been amazing, and it’s a huge honor to see ourselves on a cereal box that our fans can all own and enjoy!”

“We are proud to support the potential of our young athletes and our amazing team of U.S. gymnasts,” said Doug VanDeVelde, senior vice

president of Morning Foods, Kellogg Company. “Over the course of the past week, we have all shared in the thrilling moments and passion of USA Gymnastics, and we are excited to bring that into the homes of families across the country.”

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Photos: Harry Colbert, Jr.

Former President Bill Clinton helps in unveiling the Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Statue on the Capitol Mall.

H.H.H. speech pathway to Ellison, Obama

By Harry Colbert, Jr., Contributing Writer

T

Former President Bill Clinton shares a smile during the Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Statue dedication ceremony with civil rights pioneer, Dr. Josie Johnson.

he man who is arguably Minnesota’s most revered son is now memorialized with a statue on the mall of the State Capitol.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Statue was unveiled this past weekend with great fanfare, before a crowd of hundreds; and the man known as the “Happy Warrior” was remembered as a pioneer in the fight for civil rights.

Among those paying tribute to the former United States Vice President and U.S. Senator were former president Bill Clinton, former vice president Walter Mondale, Gov. Mark Dayton and both of the state’s sitting U.S. Senators.

Many who spoke of Humphrey often referred to his now famous 1948 speech at the Democratic Convention where he called for the party to take the lead in the fight for civil rights.

Jamaicans celebrated after Usain Bolt romped home with his 100m gold medal

Reuters

Jamaica celebrates independence day with Olympic glory

HUMPHREY 12 TURN TO

TRANSCRIPT 1948 DNC: HUBERT H. HUMPHREY

By BBC News Jamaica is basking in its independence day celebrations a day after Usain Bolt retained the Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100m, with his compatriot Yohan Blake taking the silver.

The world’s fastest man, 25, set a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds.

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller described her country’s success as “just marvelous.”

The Caribbean nation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence from British rule.

This is the text of the address Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey of Minneapolis delivered before the Democratic National Convention at Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 14, 1948, supporting his civil rights amendment to the party platform: I realize that I am dealing with a charged issue - with an issue which has been confused by emotionalism on all sides.

I realize that there are those here - friends and colleagues of mine, many of them - who feel as deeply as I do about this issue and who are yet in complete disagreement with me.

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In the Jamaican capital, Kingston, thousands gathered in the national stadium to watch the race and celebrate the Jamaican medals.

In an interview with the BBC, Simpson Miller said: “I am so proud and so happy and pleased at the victory of Usain and young Blake.

“It’s a serious achievement, an excellent achievement, particularly coming on the heels of our independence celebrations.”

Jamaica was denied a clean sweep of medals in the men’s 100m, the most keenly watched

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Harvest Prep beats state in reading and math

By Al McFarlane Editor-in-Chief North Minneapolis’ Harvest Preparatory School is the only “high poverty school” in Minnesota that has exceeded the state average in reading (79%) and math (81%). The

innovative education institution tops the list of the high poverty yet high performing schools in Minnesota.

A high poverty school is defined as one whose students’ families meet criteria for poverty. A school with 85% of students meeting the criteria for poverty is called a high poverty

Education

Freedom school keeps kids learning throughout summer

PAGE 3

school. At Harvest Preparatory School, a staggering 91% of the families are within the poverty guidelines.

Yet, Harvest Preparatory School is the number one school in Minnesota in closing the achievement gap. This is the second year in a row that Harvest Preparatory School

Commentary We must defeat voter ID

PAGE 6

exceeded the state average in reading and math.

Harvest Prep’s Best Academy also exceeded state average in math but not in reading.

With these achievements,

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Harvest Prep School students

My Pretty Ugly Truth

Pittman Memoir: Story of rape, healing

PAGE 11

File photo

West Broadway Summer Design Institute Youth offer vision for West Broadway

PAGE 13

Page 2 • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Black Enterprise Oval Office interview with President Obama Excerpts from the interview are included below: Editor-in-Chief Derek T. Dingle: As you campaign for re-election, what do you communicate to Black

businesses that will make them enthusiastic supporters?

President Barack Obama: The first thing is to understand that we have just gone through the worst financial and economic

crisis in our lifetimes. And my first job as president was to make sure that we didn’t slip into a second Great Depression.

We were losing 800,000 jobs a month. Banks were locked up.

Credit was frozen. The auto industry was about to go under.

And because of the steps that we took, we have now seen two straight years of job growth, 4 million jobs created, [the] strongest manufacturing growth since the 1990s, unemployment has started to come down, and the auto industry is back. All of those steps that we took had an impact on Black businesses just like they did businesses generally.

Let’s take the auto industry.

You know the number of Black businesses that are involved in the supply chain and that are involved in various services, whether it’s advertising or other aspects of the industry.

They have all been impacted positively by the steps that we took. Now does that mean that we’ve done enough? Absolutely not.

The African American community ends up being hurt during recessionary times

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PRNewsFoto/BLACK ENTERPRISE

In August’s Black Enterprise magazine, SVP/Editor-in-Chief Derek T. Dingle goes exclusively one-on-one with President Barack Obama concerning the needs, concerns and criticism from the Black business community.

Ellison calls for tolerance and understanding The disturbing mass shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple had prompted Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison to call for tolerance and understanding of all cultures.

The alleged shooter, Wade Michael Page, 40, is said to have had ties with a white supremacist organization and may have targeted the temple because he believed the temple

to be a Muslim house of worship.

Ellison, who himself is Muslim, released a statement calling for civility and healthy discourse among all United States residents.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrific act of violence and their community,” said Ellison.

“It is particularly disturbing

that the shooting occurred in a place of worship; where many Americans go for peace and prayer.”

The Minnesota Congressman, who was recently targeted by those on the extreme right, led by Rep. Michele Bachmann’s claims

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 3

EDUCATION Freedom School keeps kids learning throughout summer

By Sheila Regan TC Daily Planet “When I say Freedom, you say School!”

“Freedom!”

“School!”

“Freedom!”

“School!”

The 118 kids gathered in the atrium at the Saint Paul Neighborhood Freedom School enthusiastically call back to Emmanuel Donaby, who, microphone in hand, leads a good half hour of cheering, chanting, singing and dancing.

There’s no end to the number of chants the kids know, even after just a week of attending a week of camp. They’re encouraged by the 14 college-aged interns and 13 high school junior Interns.

“G-o-o-d-M-o-r-n-i-n-g! Good Morning,” they chant. After a while, Mahmoud El-Kati treats them to a story by about a monkey and a wildcat, and teaches them a few Swahili words.

St. Paul Promise Neighborhood’s Freedom School is part of a range of pilot activities initiated after SPPN received a $500,000 Federal Promise Neighborhood Planning Grant in 2010. Angelique Kedem, who was hired to direct the program nine months ago, said the funding has gone toward developing a plan using a collective impact model. This model incorporates a number of different entities, including St. Paul Public Schools, the City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Saint Paul College, Hmong American Partnership, the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, the Cultural Wellness Center, the YMCA of Saint Paul, and Wilder Foundation.

SPPN encompasses a 250-block area in the SummitUniversity and Frogtown neighborhoods.

Currently, SPPN is working with about 150 families, and about 250 children.

The SPPN has an estimated 22,214 residents; 35 percent (7,717) are children under age 18, a higher proportion than the state, where children are 24 percent of the population.

Children live in an estimated 3,084 SPPN households. People of color comprise 78 percent of the SPPN, compared with just 17 percent of the state as a whole. African-American (39 percent) and Asian (26 percent) residents include numerous immigrants, many of whom arrived as refugees, according to Jennifer Franklin, Program Director at Wilder Foundation.

Last January, SPPN learned that they did not receive a federal Promise Neighborhood Implementation Grant, which was awarded to the Northside Achievement Zone across the

river. However, the Wilder Foundation has just re-applied for the grant, and a decision will come in January 2013.

Erica Schumacher, Director of Neighborhood Initiatives for the mayor’s office in St. Paul, says that, as with any project, “the path forward will change depending on what funding we received.”

When the Promise Neighborhood didn’t receive implementation funds, the leadership team needed to decide what their priorities were, Schumacher said. Those included an early childhood education network, coordinating with Race to the Top for scholarship funds, as well as aligning Promise Neighborhood with the work funded by the Investing In Innovation

Photos: TC Daily Planet

grant, which the University of Minnesota received to improve education from pre-K to third grade.

“Funding is critical,” Kedem said. “It helps us go to scale.”

Right now, there are not enough funds to fully realize the SPPN goals. Without funding, “we won’t be able to do everything in our plan,” she said. This fall, there will be a scaled down program, with SPPN focusing on pilot activities.

The SPPN Freedom School is one of the pilot activities, a six-week, all-day program that’s aimed at preventing learning loss over the summer. Modeled on the Freedom Schools developed by the Children’s Defense Fund, the SPPN Freedom School includes reading and

academics in the morning, with cultural activities during the afternoon, and nutrition throughout the day. While CDF’s model is aimed primarily at African Americans, Wilder Foundation Program Director Jennifer Franklin said the SPPN Freedom School is aimed at a more diverse population, including, for example, a class on Hmong musical instruments.

SPPN’s Freedom School has 118 Black or African American Students, 15 white students, 20 Asian students, three American Indian students, 12 multi-racial students, and 18 students of some other race. There are also 14 Hispanic students, according to a demographics report from SPPS. Donaby, who is a behavior

intervention specialist with St. Paul Public Schools, was brought on to be the site coordinator for SPPN’s Freedom School this summer. He’s been involved with the Freedom School movement, a program operated through the Children’s Defense Fund, ever since 1999 when he was student at St. Paul Technical College and was looking for a summer job. He found an opportunity with Freedom Schools, and after being sent down to Tennessee, he’s participated every year since then.

There are currently three Freedom Schools in St. Paul, and six in Minneapolis, all focusing on out-of-school programming.

Donaby said that the program

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 7

HEALTH

Five weight loss myths: Part II Our Health

By Nicole Winbush MD In my last article I discussed five common weight loss myths. To recap these were: Myth 1 - Skipping breakfast is a great way to lose weight Myth 2 - Drinking diet or sugar free sodas, teas or fruit drinks are a good alternative Myth 3 - If it is low fat or fatfree it has got to be good for me and will help me lose weight Myth 4 - You have to feel hungry a lot. That is how you know you are losing weight Myth 5 - I do everything by myself. Losing weight is no different If you did not read the first article you can find it archived at insightnews.com or at my website functionwellmedicine. com. Here are the next five myths.

Myth 6 - A good diet is one that will help me lose a lot of weight

quickly If you starve yourself for a week, you may lose 5 or even 10 pounds.

However, you cannot starve yourself forever. Eventually you have to eat. When you eat less, your metabolism will slow down. All of a sudden that 1200 calorie a day diet that you managed to lose 10 pounds on the month before will not result in any weight loss and when you return to eating a more normal amount of calories, you are likely to gain weight.

Myth 7 - I exercised today so I can eat what I want Fact, exercise is ESSENTIAL to achieving optimal health and maintaining weight loss.

However, your diet is the foundation.

Consider this, in a few minutes you can eat more calories than you burned during an exercise session. As an example, 30 minutes of fast walking burns about 200 calories. If you then drink a 16 oz soda it has 220 calories, you have taken in more than you burned. You haven’t lost anything. When you exercise, you are going to get hungrier (especially in the beginning).

Without much effort you can eat all of the calories and more

that you burned with a poorly chosen post-exercise snack or meal. So, it is important to be aware of the increased hunger that comes with exercise and plan to snack smartly on things that will satisfy and not add lots of calories. Also, do not look at exercise as the key component to weight loss. Exercise will help you maintain weight loss through improving your metabolism but dietary changes are the cornerstone.

Myth 8 - I can eat what I want as long as I eat less of it Fact, If you want to lose weight and maintain it, there are some foods that need to be on the (almost) never list. Your body is more likely to make these food into fat storage. The foods to avoid are chosen because of their limited or non-existent nutritional value and their addictive quality and include: sodas, sweet teas, energy drinks and fruit juices (naturally and artificially sweetened), french fries and potato chips.

Myth 9 - If I only eat a few things (e.g. cabbage, grapefruit, chocolate chip cookies), I will lose weight Fact, fad diets are nutritionally unsound and not sustainable.

You may lose weight on these initially but once the novelty of being able to eat as many chocolate chip cookies or hamburgers as you like wears off, you get bored and for a short time eat less. Then, you break the diet and go on a binge and likely end up gaining more weight than you lost. Leaving you worse off than you started.

Myth 10 - That new diet pill, shot, powder or surgery is the thing that will make me thin Most of the supplements that are marketed are poorly regulated and may have dangerous side effects and often have not been shown to work in the long term.

Weight loss surgery has become more and more common. This may be a consideration for severely overweight people with critical health issues that require rapid weight loss (diabetes, heart disease, etc). However, the risks and benefits must be weighed. It also concerns me that insurance companies are often willing to pay for this expensive and risky procedure but are not willing to pay for individuals to get intensive nutritional counseling and and support that might allow them to make changes and lose weight that would make

Franken, Rothman praise $1.1 billion health insurance rebate provision U.S. Sen. Al Franken and Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said recently that a provision in the nation’s health care law, which this year sent $1.1 billion in health insurance rebates to almost 13 million Americans – including 123,000 Minnesotans – had its origin Minnesota.

In a press conference last week, the two officials said the provision, known as the “Medical Loss Ratio” was added to the federal health reform law by Sen. Franken when the law was enacted in 2010. The measure requires health insurers to spend at least 80 to 85 percent of what they collect in premiums on actual health services for their customers, as opposed to administrative costs, profits, marketing, or CEO salaries.

Insurance companies that did not meet that threshold had to issue rebates by August 1. More than 123,000 Minnesotans will receive a total of $8.9 million in rebates this year.

“The Medical Loss Ratio provision I added to the nation’s health care law was designed to bring down health costs for businesses and families in Minnesota and across the country,” said Senator Franken.

“It is based on a Minnesota law, and it has worked. Americans have not only seen more than $1 billion in insurance rebates, but the provision also has kept premium increases down. In fact, in some places health insurance premiums have been lowered because of my provision. Once again, Minnesota is showing the nation how to do health care the right way.”

“For nearly two decades, our state’s Medical Loss Ratio requirement has helped ensure that the vast majority of health insurance premiums are spent directly on health benefits and services for Minnesota consumers and businesses,” said Commissioner Rothman. “This single innovative reform effort has held insurers accountable for the rates they charge and delivered value to Minnesotans for their premium dollars.”

Thanks in large part to the state’s Medical Loss Ratio, Minnesota’s non-profit health plans lead the nation in keeping administrative costs low – with some spending more than 90 cents of every premium dollar on health services. Senator Franken and Commissioner Rothman agree that based on Minnesota’s experience, other states stand to benefit greatly from this new provision in the Affordable Care Act. As the rest of the nation prepares for this cost-saving transition, Minnesota is already well ahead of the curve due to reform efforts passed by the legislature in 1993. The Commerce Department today issued its eighteenth annual Medical Loss Ratio report, detailing how much each of the

state’s insurers have spent on actual health care services as a percent of premiums collected from policy holders in 2011. The report, developed in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, is available on the

Minnesota Department of Commerce website.

Minnesotans who wish to learn if their insurer is issuing rebates based on the new federal provision can visit www.healthcare.gov.

Select

“Get Help Using Insurance,” then click on “Your Insurance Company & Costs of Coverage.”

Minnesotans with additional questions may contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Consumer Response Team by phone at (800) 6573602 or by email at consumer. protection@state.mn.us.

surgery unnecessary.

These products and procedures also shift the emphasis from where it needs to be: on the foods that we eat, the activities in which we participate, on pressuring our local and national governments to establish systems that support access to affordable healthy food choices in our communities and a health care system that emphasizes maintaining health over treating sickness.

The information contained herein should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or

other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only. In no way should it be considered as offering medical advice. Please check with a healthcare provider if you suspect you are ill.

Dr. Winbush is a family physician practicing at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. She has a strong interest in wellness and patient education to help individuals feel empowered to optimize their health and functioning.

For more information and additional resources as mentioned in the article visit www.functionwellmedicine.com.

STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY Act FAST & Call 9-1-1 Immediately

Know how to Act FAST: Use the FAST test if you think someone is suffering a stroke. Pay attention to the person's body and actions and ask: FACE ..........Can the person smile normally?

ARMS ......... Can he or she raise both arms equally?

SPEECH ..... Can the person repeat a sentence without slurring?

TIME............ Call 911 if the person can't pass the FAST test!

To learn about the Hennepin Stroke Center visit hcmc.org/stroke

Downtown Primary and Specialty Care Clinics Brooklyn Center Clinic • Brooklyn Park Clinic • East Lake Clinic Richfield Clinic • Whittier Clinic • St. Anthony Village Clinic

Page 4 • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Insight News

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BUSINESS Blacks more likely to use payday loans Center for Responsible Lending

By Charlene Crowell Most payday borrowers use the small-dollar loans to cover ordinary living expenses instead of occasional or unexpected emergencies, according to a new research report by Pew Charitable Trusts.

Who Borrows, Where They Borrow and Why, the first in a series of payday lending reports

by Pew, also found that 81 percent of those who have used a storefront payday loan would cut back on expenses if the high-cost loans were not available.

Payday alternatives preferred by consumers included credit unions (44 percent), credit cards (37 percent) or an employer loan (17 percent). Among firsttime borrowers, 69 percent used a payday loan for recurring expenses such as utilities, credit cards, housing or food.

Although most payday borrowers are white, female and aged 25-44, African-Americans and four other groups are the most frequent payday borrowers: renters, consumers earning less than $40,000 annually and those who are either separated or divorced.

Additional Pew findings showed: • Twelve million Americans used a storefront or online payday loan in 2010, the most recent year for which substantial data is available; • The average borrower is

indebted about five months of the year; and • On average, a borrower takes out eight loans and spends $520 on interest.

“In states that restrict storefront lending, 95 percent of would-be borrowers have elected not to use payday loans at all.

Just 5 percent went online or elsewhere,” said Nick Bourke, project director for Pew’s Safe Small Dollar Loan Research Project.

Earlier payday research by the Center for Responsible Lending found that communities of color are frequently areas where payday stores are clustered. Further, states with the highest number of payday stores per 10,000 residents also had significant African-American populations. Those states are: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South

Carolina and Tennessee.

A 2011 report by the Center for Responsible Lending found that payday loan customers remain indebted double the time that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recommends.

Payday Loans, Inc.: Short on Credit, Long on Debt verified how the typical two-week smalldollar loan becomes a deepening pit of debt lasting on average 212 days in the first year of borrowing and growing to 372 days in the succeeding year.

Yet according to FDIC guidance, no payday borrower should be indebted for more than 90 days in any 12 month period.

According to CRL, much of the problem with fully retiring payday debt is because of the industry requirement that borrowers pay the entire loan within the next paycheck. For most borrowers, this specific

loan term denies them the ability to financially manage the rest of their lives.

In response to these and other payday findings, Rev. DeForest Soaries, Jr., author of dfree: Breaking Free from Financial Slavery, said, “Reputable businesses build their loyal clientele by offering value-priced products and services. Customers choose to return to these businesses. But payday lenders build their repeat business by trapping borrowers into a cycle of crippling debt with triple digit interest rates and fees.”

Soaries recently launched a Web-based community, www.billiondollarpaydown. com, where participants will learn how to set debt reduction goals and get ahead financially.

The campaign goal is to assist 150,000 individuals and 1,000 organizations to pay

down $1 billion of consumer debt by registering at least 150,000 consumers and 1,000 organizations.

The curriculum includes a workbook, trainers’ guide, activities and evaluation tools to help participants become financially self-sufficient.

As a financial safeguard, the Challenge Web site does not ask for any account information, nor does it accept payments on its site.

For more information on how to become involved in the Billion Dollar Challenge, interested parties can contact Rev. Soaries at: dbsoaries@mydfree.org.

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at: Charlene.crowell@ responsiblelending.org.

Vive la différence(s)!

Dissecting Diversity

By Cheryl Pearson-McNeil I’ve always loved the French expression “Vive la différence,” which originally referred to the difference between the sexes, then evolved to celebrate the differences between any two or more groups of people. Nielsen holds our annual Consumer 360 Conference each year, where we provide clients with more granular insights about today’s consumer. This year, one of our sessions, “Marketing that Matters,” focused on the differences in consumer behavior. Three major consumer groups were focused on: Baby Boomers, Media Moms, and Lower Income Consumers. I learned so much, I just had to share.

Baby Boomers (born

between 1946 and 1964), have been a major influence in American culture for decades – music, family structure, dress, social mores – you name it. This age group consists of almost 100 million consumers, including me.

For years, boomers have been the darlings of the advertising and marketing world. But, even the youngest baby boomers are “aging out” of the system, so to speak. The 18-49 age demographic has long been the coveted “sweet spot” for marketers and media executives.

The youngest boomers, however, are now 48.

Baby boomers are responsible for almost $230 billion in sales for consumer packaged goods (CPG). That’s more than 50 percent of all CPG sales. It is estimated that this group will dominate consumer spending even more in about five years, with control of a whopping 70 percent of all disposable income in the U.S. And, guess what? Only about 5 percent of ad dollars are geared towards consumers age 35-64. Can you say, “Missed opportunity?”

Then, we have Media Moms. This represents another very specific opportunity for marketers. You don’t need me or research to confirm what we

Seems like we use them for everything: Shopping, pricechecking, mobile banking and social networking, not to mention talking and keeping

[...]regardless of our differences, be it age, income or parental status, when it comes to consumerism you matter

moms already know – we are constantly running hither and yon, handling our business at home and out of the house – 24/7. Because we are busy, moms tend to be early tech adopters (OK, so maybe it takes me a minute to catch on.

But, I’m there now). Because, technology ultimately makes our lives a little more efficient.

Some points of comparison: • More than 50 percent of moms own a smartphone.

our girlfriends posted on everything we have to do.

• Three years ago, moms were 30 percent more likely to text. As of the end of last year 83 percent of all moms text.

• As of April of this year 1 in 3 bloggers were moms.

• On average, moms watch less TV than the average viewer (uh, hello… you can’t be watching TV while you’re chauffeuring,

cooking, out shopping, etc., or can you)? Moms’ viewing skews toward programs with a strong female lead and moms spend more than average time watching TV that was previously recorded

by DVR’s (known in the research industry as “timeshifted” TV viewing).

• Ten percent of all moms own a tablet; 71 percent of tablet-owing moms let their children use it. (Guess we’ve come a long way from crayons and coloring books.)

Income disparity in our country is a growing reality that is gaining more essential attention, which is why more than ever the Lower Income Consumer is so relevant. This segment comprises 30 percent of the American population, defined as individuals making less than $30,000 per year. All ethnic groups are represented, though they are mostly White.

These consumers are spread throughout the country, are largely comprised of the very young and the very old; and 60 percent are not in the

work force. Not surprisingly, these consumers spend less overall than average, but they nonetheless represent an important chunk of the country’s total spend and are expected to grow in numbers. So there is an opportunity for companies to grow in market share with this growing population. On average, lower income consumers watch more TV and stream more online video than other consumers, and spend more time online, averaging approximately nine hours a month on Facebook, providing various points of opportunity to be reached with advertising messages.

What does all of this mean?

It means regardless of our differences, be it age, income or parental status, when it comes to consumerism you matter. As always, use your power wisely.

Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies go to www.nielsenwire.com.

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 5

Candidate endorsements going into primary

By Abeni Hill Insight Intern Endorsements are an important part of political candidacies.

The following is a list of candidates receiving endorsements from various sources for the upcoming Aug. 14 primaries.

Womenwinning has endorsed multiple candidates such as State Rep. District 59B candidate Terra Cole, Hennepin County Commissioner District 2 candidates Tonia Johnson, Linda Higgins and Paula Pentel. Pentel is also endorsed by Hennepin

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

Johnson and Cole. Congressman Keith Ellison has endorsed Dehn and Higgins. Hennepin County Commissioner Randy Johnson endorsed County Commissioner District 2 candidate Kathleen Murdock.

Councilman Don Samuels endorsed Higgins and State Rep. District 59B candidate Ian Alexander. Higgins is endorsed by three other council members including Diane Hofstede, Lisa Goodman, and Sandy Colvin Roy. Higgins also has Sen. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.

Hofstede has also endorsed Cole. Goodman has endorsed Alexander.

While not all candidates could be reached, Hennepin County Commissioner District 2 candidate Rolf Erickson currently has no endorsements.

For a full list of candidate endorsements, please visit insightnews.com

County Sheriff Deputies Association.

Insight News has endorsed Cole and Johnson. Progressive Hmong American Democrats & Allies endorsed Hennepin County Commissioner District 2 candidate Blong Yang. State Rep. District 59B candidate Anthony Hilton is endorsed by the Ecology Democracy party.

The American Federation of State and the Sierra Club have endorsed State Rep. District 59B candidate Raymond Dehn. Earth Protectors Companies endorsed Leslie Davis for County Commissioner, District 2.

The Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) Party endorsed Higgins. Higgins is also endorsed by the Stonewall DFL caucus and DFL Veterans Caucus, Mpls. Police Federation, Mpls. Firefighters Local 82, and MN Nurses Association.

Political figures such as State Rep. Rena Moran have endorsed

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

Ellison urges voters to reject voter ID amendment

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer

CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler

Nearly 200 people turned out for a town hall forum to discuss the proposed Minnesota voter identification amendment set for the November ballot.

The forum, which took place at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park, was packed with mostly all who oppose the change to Minnesota’s Constitution.

US Rep. Keith Ellison said the proposed amendment is a clear attempt by Republicans to disenfranchise minority voters who tend to vote heavily Democratic.

“Voter ID will hurt seniors, it will hurt college students and minorities as well,” said Ellison, who said 78 percent of African-American males ages 17 – 24 do not possess state identification, yet meet state voting requirements. “We have a big decision in front of us in November.”

According to Ellison, there are nearly 200,000 Minnesotans registered to vote who do not have a valid state ID or driver’s license.

DFL State Rep. Steve Simon (44A) said the proposed amendment could have catastrophic consequences if approved by voters.

“When you put something in the Constitution [such as the proposed amendment] it’s like you’re writing it in permanent ink,” said Simon, who said if passed, the amendment would jeopardize absentee voting and all but

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.

Freedom From 3 has helped him, and he’s seen how effective it can be on the students that he teaches. One of his first students, Amira Gill, is now one of the interns.

“Donaby was my first teacher,” she said. Ever since she was in third grade, she went to Freedom School every summer.

It helped her not to forget what she learned during the year, she said. “We read every day, and I learned more about African American history. It helped me stay on top of things.” She also found a community, which helped her in the struggles of her life, especially in dealing with the death of her father while she was in high school (her mother died when she was young).

“They were there for me,” she said.

Now Gill attends St. Catherine’s University, studying early education. She said she loves working for Freedom School. “The kids give me energy. I see the kids’ whole attitude change,” she said.

Another pilot activity that SPPN has begun this year includes implementing “wraparound services” aimed at addressing the needs of children and their families to help them succeed. The “hub model,” which helps parents and families connect to resources, includes navigator staff in the schools, Schumacher said.

For instance, Maxfield elementary school has the Center for Culture, Families and Learning, run by the Cultural Wellness Center. “We’ve hired their staff to start building relationships with families,” Schumacher said. The staff there spend time meeting with families at work and at their homes. The

end same-day registration. “I floated a compromise to have voters [without identification] to swear an oath [as to their identification]; an affidavit, with the penalty of a year in prison but the Republicans in the legislature refused to compromise.”

Dr. Josie Johnson, said the proposed voter identification amendment reminded her of times in the mid-1900s when African-Americans struggled for the right to participate in the political process. “(The proposed amendment) reminds me of my early days in Texas when with my father, I went to work to repeal the poll tax,” said Johnson speaking of the then law that disenfranchised mostly poor AfricanAmericans who were unable to pay the voting fee. Johnson, the first African-American to serve on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents said, “When we talk about voter ID in Minnesota we talk about a law that finds origins in laws designed to keep my people, African-Americans, from voting.”

Alex Ericson, an Iraq War veteran, said the proposed measure would cost many soldiers serving away from home their right to vote.

Ericson said the way the bill reads, those voting absentee would need to have their ballots signed by state election judges.

“You don’t have election judges over there in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Ericson.

Ericson said witnessing the

hub has been at the school for a couple of years, Schumacher said.

Jackie Turner, the project lead for SPPS, said the wrapround support includes a navigator who is physically housed in the school to help families access resources such as food shelves, clothing items, parenting classes, etc. to “get through those bureaucracies that are sometimes prohibitive,” she said.

For example, if a student is absent in school, the navigator would be notified, and would call the child’s home to find out why. The navigator might learn the child has asthma, and hasn’t taken medication because the family can’t afford the copay. The navigator would then help the family to get medical assistance.

A navigator is different from a social worker, Turner said, in that social workers are only allowed to work with the student, and don’t get involved with the families.

The last major component of SPPN is data sharing. According to Jennifer Franklin, SPPN has developed a shared data system for the Sprockets out-of-schooltime network that marries school data with data from out-ofschool time providers.

“The Sprockets database allows us to track outcomes and improvements and share referrals,” said Franklin. “A memorandum of agreement was reached and signed by the Saint Paul Public School Board and the Wilder Foundation allowing the sharing of the data. Currently the system is tracking data for more than 2,700 children and youth that have been entered into the system.” According to Schumacher, parents will not be allowed to log on to the database themselves.

Iraqi people voting in their first democratic elections helped him to realize how important voting rights are.

“And to come home and see [voting rights] under attack, I could not stand for that,” said Ericson.

“So you’re a service member in Kandahar wearing the U.S. of A. and someone wants to scheme to take away your right to vote; that’s galling to me,” said Ellison.

Mai Thor, a member of Ellison’s staff and in use of a wheelchair to get around, said the proposed amendment also discriminates against those with disabilities. Thor said many people with disabilities do not operate motor vehicles and therefore do not have driver’s licenses.

“When you have someone who is blind or deaf or with an obvious disability, you’re going to question their worthiness to vote,” asked Thor.

Simon said the proposal is now before the state’s Supreme Court, due to challenges as to

how the bill is to be worded on the November ballot.

Ellison said further evidence that the proposed amendment is just an attempt to take away people’s right to vote is the fact that Minnesota has had zero instances of voter impersonation. He said the only instances of voting irregularities in the state occurred when convicted felons voted without properly having their rights reinstated – an issue that would not be solved by forcing people to show identification.

Tom Lehman, who attended the town hall, said under the proposed amendment his 93-year-old mother would not be able to vote.

“She has no driver’s license, no passport, no ID; she’s living in a nursing home and not near her county of birth,” said Lehman. “If this thing passes she would not be allowed to vote.”

Ellison said a common argument of those supporting the ballot measure is people

have to show their ID to go to a club or to go to the bank, so it should be no big deal to show an ID when voting.

“Going to the club is not a right,” said Ellison. “Voting is a right.”

An additional argument in opposition to the amendment was if a person loses his or her license prior to an election that person would not have a proper photo ID and would be denied the right to vote.

Those supporting the ID amendment said if someone appears at the polls without identification, that person would be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Simon rebutted and said in most instances those provisional ballots would not be counted.

He said provisional ballots would only be counted if an election were to be decided by a recount.

Citing a recent poll, Ellison said currently 58 percent of state voters favor the proposed change to the Minnesota Constitution.

Page 8 • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Insight News

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Health care law gives women control over their care Forty-seven million women are now getting greater control over their health care and access to eight new prevention-related health care services without paying more out of their own pocket, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

Previously some insurance companies did not cover these preventive services for women at all under their health plans, while some women had to pay deductibles or copays for the care they needed to stay healthy.

The new rules in the health care law requiring coverage of these services take effect at the next renewal date – on or after Aug. 1, 2012—for most health insurance plans. For the first time ever, women will have access to even more life-saving preventive care free of charge.

According to a new HHS report also released today, approximately 47 million women are in health plans that must cover

these new preventive services at no charge. Women, not insurance companies, can now make health decisions that will keep them healthy, catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier state, and protect them and their families from crushing medical bills.

“President Obama is moving our country forward by giving women control over their health care,” Secretary Sebelius said.

“This law puts women and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of health care decisions.”

The eight new preventionrelated services are: • Well-woman visits.

• Gestational diabetes screening that helps protect pregnant women from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases.

• Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling.

FDA-approved contraceptive methods, and contraceptive

Stock.xchng

education and counseling.

• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling.

• HPV DNA testing, for women 30 or older.

• Sexually transmitted infections counseling for sexually-active women.

• HIV screening and counseling for sexually-active women.

The health care law has already helped women in private

plans and Medicare for the first time gain access to potentially life-saving tests and services, such as mammograms, cholesterol screenings, and flu shots without coinsurance or deductibles.

Today’s announcement builds on these benefits, generally requiring insurance companies to offer, with no copay, additional vital screenings and tests to help keep women healthy throughout their

lives.

These services are based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, which relied on independent physicians, nurses, scientists, and other experts as well as evidence-based research to develop its recommendations.

These preventive services will be offered without cost sharing beginning today in all new health plans.

Group health plans and issuers that have maintained grandfathered status are not required to cover these services.

In addition, certain nonprofit religious organizations, such as churches and schools, are not required to cover these services.

The Obama administration will continue to work with all employers to give them the flexibility and resources they need to implement the health care law in a way that protects women’s health while making commonsense accommodations for values like religious liberty.

For women who are pregnant or nursing, the new preventive services include gestational diabetes screening as well as breast-feeding support, counseling and supplies. Health services already provided under the health care law include folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant, Hepatitis B screening for pregnant women, and anemia screening for pregnant

women.

Women Medicare beneficiaries may already receive such preventive services as annual wellness visits, mammograms, and bone mass measurement for those at risk of osteoporosis and diabetes screening.

Approximately 24.7 million women with Medicare used at least one free preventive service in 2011, including the new annual wellness visit.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, secure, affordable coverage is becoming a reality for millions of American women and families. Men and children are also able to take advantage of preventive services at no extra charge under the health care law. These services include flu shots and other immunizations, screenings for cancers, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and depression.

To learn more about the health care services you may be eligible for at no extra charge under the Affordable Care Act, go to http:// www.healthcare.gov/prevention For information about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on the number of adult and adolescent women eligible for the preventive services at no charge after Aug. 1, 2012, see http://aspe. hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/ womensPreventiveServicesACA/ ib.shtml

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 9

AESTHETICS The Campaign: A laugh a minute comedy Brady continues to sabotage his own campaign at every turn, whether by accidentally punching a baby and a puppy, or by being caught having sex with a supporter in a port-o-john. And as the polls indicate that the tide is turning decisively in Marty’s favor, the focus becomes whether he’ll be a tool of the Motch brothers or choose to do what’s best for his district.

Will Ferrell’s over-thetop approach to Cam serves as the perfect counterpoint to Zach Galifianakis’ relativelysubdued interpretation of sweet-natured Marty. The film also features several inspired support performances, most notably, Dylan McDermott and Jason Sudeikis as devious

Copyright Warner Brothers

Film Review

By Kam Williams kam@insightnews.com If you’ve been looking for a laugh-a-minute comedy as a refreshing alternative to all the kiddie flicks and bombastic summer blockbusters currently at the megaplexes, your wait is over. And what could be more timely than a picture about the dirty tricks being employed during a cutthroat political campaign?

The Campaign was directed

by Jay Roach, a proven master of the comedy genre, a brainiac best known for making Meet the Parents and

Douglas From 1 “Gabby Douglas has helped Team USA make history this week. The team gold was the first since the 1996 Olympic Games and this is the first time that USA Gymnastics has captured both the team gold and the individual allaround gold medal,” said USA Gymnastics President, Steve Penny. “She also became the third consecutive American gymnast to win the allaround gold medal, making this an even more significant accomplishment.”

The cereal company will not only bring your favorite gymnasts to your breakfast table, they are the title sponsor of the 2012 Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions, a 40-city national tour featuring Team USA’s top performing gymnasts which will kick off in San Jose, California on September 8, 2012. For tickets go to www.kelloggstour.com.

Shooting From 2 that Ellison may have ties to an organization of Muslim extremists – a claim Ellison vehemently denies – said we are more alike than we are different.

“Acts of violence like this remind us that, no matter our religion or ethnicity, we are one American family,” said Ellison. “While we do not know the shooter’s motivation, many Sikhs have been victims of hate crimes in recent years based on their appearance. We should all rededicate ourselves to the safety and security of our communities.”

According to Ellison, more than half a million Sikhs live in the United States, including over 250 families in Minnesota.

At the conclusion of a recent town hall hosted by the Congressman, Ellison asked everyone to stand and observe a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting.

At the time of press, six worshipers died in the shooting rampage with two still listed in critical condition.

The alleged shooter was shot and killed by police.

the Austin Powers trilogy. The movie stars Will Ferrell as Cam Brady, a popular North Carolina Congressman who’s running unopposed for his fifth term in office until an Anthony Weiner-level peccadillo becomes public knowledge.

That boneheaded blunder

opens the door for a nerdy, unworthy opponent like Marty Higgins (Zach Galifianakis) to enter the race because he’s being bankrolled by a couple of very wealthy businessman.

Glen (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd) are sleazy, power-hungry siblings

ostensibly patterned after the billionaire Koch brothers, notorious backers of archconservative causes.

Bragging about being “candidate creators” more than “job creators,” the Motches specifically seize on naïve Marty since he’s so malleable.

Unseen behind the scenes, they orchestrate a complete overhaul of Higgins’ image with the help of a no-nonsense campaign manager (Dylan McDermott).

Soon, Brady realizes he’s in the fight of his life, as both sides resort to increasinglydevious tactics to prevail on Election Day. For instance, we find Marty wearing what he calls a “Yamaha” on his head during services at a synagogue, while Cam sings in the gospel choir of a black Baptist Church and plays with rattlesnakes to curry favor with the congregation of a sect of serpent-handling evangelists.

But despite his best efforts,

campaign managers and Karen Maruyama as an ebonicsaccented Asian housekeeper.

Throw in amusing cameos by a neverending string of political pundits like Bill Maher, Wolf Blitzer, Chris Matthews, Piers Morgan, Joe Scarborough, Lawrence O’Donnell, Willie Geist, Mika Brezinski, Ed Schultz and Dennis Miller, and you’ve got all the makings for a bona fide election year hit. Ferrell and Galifianakis hit their stride as the funniest candidates money can buy!

Excellent (3.5 stars) Rated R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and crude humor.

Running time: 97 minutes Distributor: Warner Brothers

Page 10 • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Insight News

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FULL CIRCLE

From boys to men Man Talk

By Timothy Houston When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

(1 Corinthians 13:11) Physical growth is almost nonoptional. If a man eats the right food, he will grow. Emotional growth is a lot more complicated, particularly since his emotional development is connected to that of his spirit. This spiritual development gives man the solid foundations that he needs to grow into his full potential. Any man whose spirit, the core of his being, from which his emotions, passions, desires, fidelity, and faithfulness are generated, is stunted will not be developed emotionally. The depth of his inner being produces the depth of his character. His emotions will be generated out of this invisible spiritual reservoir.

Some males grow up physically, but never mature spiritually or emotionally which makes it easy for women, at first glance, to be deceived into thinking that they are dealing with a man. This deception can be very frustrating to women who expect the outer male to reflect the inner man. As a result of the frustration

of dealing with immature males, some women have become leery of all men, tending to see “all” men as boys needing to grow up. The truth of the matter is that real men have no connection or similarity to the emotionally immature. Immature males cast a negative shadow on real men everywhere. Though it requires effort, it is possible to separate the men from the boys.

Real men welcome this distinction, while immature males will rebel against it.

First, real men are developed emotionally and spiritually, but immature males lack internal development. The have height, but not depth, money without mission, and biceps without precepts. All of their attractive features are external while, inwardly, they are filled with instability. Real men say what the mean and mean what they say.

Their outer character reflects their inner being.

Secondly, real men accept responsibility for their actions, but immature males do not. With them, it is always someone else’s fault.

Real men celebrate the success of others while immature males cannot accept someone else’s success. They also cannot accept constructive criticism. Emotional time-bombs, they display childish behavior that often can rival that of a two-year-old. If they don’t get their way, they take their marbles and go home.

Thirdly, real men are fiscally responsible. They know that as a man, they must consistently

provide for themselves before they can consistently provide for others.

Immature males, on the other hand, are underdeveloped when it comes to dealing with finances. This is more that just simply not having money in the bank. Lacking a sense of financial responsibility, immature males view bills as snares instead of financial obligations.

Finally, real men are in control of their desires. They are committed to what is right, and they measure themselves by the value of their relationships.

Immature males are sexually immature, tending to measure themselves by what is between their legs, the place where their manhood is located. This, along with their irresponsibility and lack of internal depth, inevitably results in multiple infidelities.

Not all men are immature.

Real men exist and are adults in every sense of the word. But there are immature men among us who have not been through the fire.

As a consequence, they are like unrefined steel, waiting to become the finish product. These untested, unfinished, irresponsible models will not perform as advertised and should be returned to their manufacturer, God, as soon as possible. Boys become men not when they reach a certain age, but when they move from immaturity to maturity which implies a certain degree of physical, spiritual, and emotional development.

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.

Suluki Fardan

The Jamaica Minnesota Organization hosted the Jamaica 50 Celebration in Minneapolis. Attendees enjoyed food, music, as well as visual and performing arts presentations including Anancy story telling and Louise Bennett poetry. Rev. Linton Scott delivered the keynote address.

Jamaica From 1 race in the Games, as Asafa Powell pulled up injured during the race.

But another sprinter from the Caribbean nation, ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce, retained her women’s 100m crown.

Mrs Simpson Miller said that

her country had been “on this journey” since the late 1940s.

“We have produced outstanding sportsmen and women. For us in terms of sports we are there, and we are going to venture into other areas as well.”

Although Bolt was 0.05 seconds slower than his previous world record, he expressed happiness at his performance.

“I was happy when I went out in the first round, I felt I could do this,” he said.

Rev. Linton Scott

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 11

Pittman memoir: Story of rape, healing

By Abeni Hill Insight Intern In 2006, De’Vonna Pittman began planning her memoir, “My Pretty and its Ugly Truth.”

Her memoir captured her experiences while growing up in the projects of Ford Heights, Ill., where she struggled with pain of incest and drug addiction.

“It was very important for me to tell my story and to publish my memoir so that others could be healed from their abuse,” said Pittman. “And so that others would know that they aren’t alone.”

When Pittman was 12 years old, she said a cousin came into her bedroom and raped her. He was 20 years old. “I looked at it as this normal secret that people didn’t talk about,” said Pittman. “At that time it was happening all around me.”

In the early part of her book, Pittman remembers acts of molestation by her cousin such as fondling.

“The overnight visits by my cousins always meant that someone would be tiptoeing into my bedroom at some point during the night.”(Pittman, 2012) “In my immature, youthful mind those things were happening to me because I was pretty,” said Pittman. In the book Pittman confronts issues that affect the African-American community including one Pittman calls “colorism” – discrimination based on skin color.

“I had a sister who was 11 months younger than I, but she was dark skin so when we were out people would always say I was the pretty one,” said Pittman.

As well as battling with the prejudice of skin tones, in the book, Ford Heights residents also had a double standard for women

De’Vonna Pittman and sexual activity and that was portrayed through the word “fass.”

“At one time fass meant ‘fast.’ If a girl was sexually active, promiscuous, or dressed provocative, she was considered fass. Now everyone seemed to fall within that category. If your hips started forming, you were fass. If you were cute, you were fass. If you showed emotion, you were fass.”(Pittman, 2012) “There was a point where it really wasn’t distinguished what fast was,” said Pittman. “And it was really a stereotype. You couldn’t have your own identity and you couldn’t explore your personality, anything that made you different people labeled you as being fast.”

Pittman believes sexual abuse can lead to many other struggles in life.

“One out of three women has

Courtesy of the author

suffered with sexual abuse and one out of six men has been abused,” said Pittman. “So, it is my belief that sexual abuse is the root cause of many surface issues such as alcoholism, drug abuse and other self-defeating behaviors. Deep down inside the real cause of a lot of criminal activity is sexual abuse.

That is my belief.”

Pittman works with individuals who are incarcerated in Hennepin County.

“I grew up around drug dealers and poverty; a lot of these backgrounds that these individuals come from I have been there,” said Pittman.

According to the memoir, Pittman developed a drug addiction at a young age. Pittman said during her teenage years she was surrounded by people who were at least twice her age and on

drugs.

“It was a very confusing time for me,” said Pittman. “I was going through puberty, but at the same time I was dealing with a lot of adult issues and just struggling with a lot of things that a teenage girl should not have been dealing with.”

Pittman, who grew up in the housing projects of Ford Heights, still has memories of a well-kept neighborhood while she was growing up. “There were trees, the grass was green because people really cared about their lawns, but

that changed in the late (19)90s,” said Pittman. “When crack came into the picture, you can see the streets starting to change people didn’t care anymore.”

Pittman currently serves on the Sexual Violence Center board of directors. “They serve hundreds of men and women throughout the Twin Cities,” said Pittman about the crisis line at the Sexual Violence Center.

Pittman, who graduated from Metropolitan State University with my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice said, “This book has opened a lot of doors as far as me going into different youth organizations and speaking to teen girls about these dangers (of drugs and alcohol).”

Pittman said she did not realize until later how the early abuse she endured affected her in later years.

“When I looked around me I felt safe,” said Pittman. “Even after I was sexually abused I dressed

Obama From 2 more than the population at large. [The] African American unemployment rate is still way too high. You had a credit crunch for small- and medium-sized businesses that disproportionately impacted African American businesses.

But part of what we have been able to do is to specifically focus on disadvantaged businesses, disadvantaged communities. The Small Business Administration, for example, which is a significant source of financing for minority- and women-owned businesses, has stepped into the breach by expanding their loan portfolios and cutting their fees at a time when a lot of banks and other financial institutions just pulled back. Some of the work that we did legislatively, like the New Markets Tax Credit, makes a huge difference specifically for African American businesses.

Dingle: How do you

provocatively and I still felt safe.

At that time I know I was looking for love in all the wrong places. I didn’t attribute anything I said or did to the abuse.”

Throughout “My Pretty and its Ugly Truth,” Pittman talks about her love for God and how that helped her through her struggles.

“One of the earliest memories (I had) was me singing in a school play ‘Yes, Jesus Loves Me’”. It was a defining moment in my life,” said Pittman. “That song really resonated throughout my soul.”

Pittman offers advice to those who have been victimized by abuse or struggle with low selfesteem.

“Find someone to talk to.

Start with a professional,” said Pittman. “The journey is different for everyone. If they haven’t been able to heal within or haven’t been able to come to a place of freedom with God then they should seek professional help.”

The author said her story was meant to be told.

“I have always known since I was 17 years old that I would write this book,” said Pittman. “I am writer. I only saw myself writing one book. Sometimes, I read this book and I’m like ‘Wow, I really wrote that.’”

Pittman, who said she wrote her memoir in 18 months, said her favorite chapter is chapter 30.

“I was pretty much done at the end of chapter 29 and I really wanted to tell people about how I divulged everything that happened to my mother,” said Pittman. “I had to go back and explain to survivors how I was able to come forward.”

Pittman described the moment she told her mother about her experiences as “intense.”

“It was a tragic moment of healing,” said Pittman. “But it had to happen.”

In telling her story, Pittman said it has inspired others to tell their stories.

“A lot of people that have read the book have come out with things that have happened to them,” said Pittman. “People around me have said thank you for telling our story.”

Pittman is currently working on her second novel. respond to criticism that your administration hasn’t done enough to support Black businesses?

Obama: My general view has been consistent throughout, which is that I want all businesses to succeed. I want all Americans to have opportunity. I’m not the president of Black America. I’m the president of the United States of America, but the programs that we have put in place have been directed at those folks who are least able to get financing through conventional means, who have been in the past locked out of opportunities that were available to everybody. So, I’ll put my track record up against anybody in terms of us putting in place broad-based programs that ultimately had a huge benefit for African American businesses.

Dingle: Black unemployment still stands at nearly 14%. How do you communicate that the economy is headed in the right direction?

Obama: Most economists

OBAMA TURN TO 14

Page 12 • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Insight News

Humphrey From 1 “You have no idea how many times I watched the 1948 speech because I knew that it lead to passing of the Civil Rights Act (of 1964), the Voting Rights Act (of 1965) and eventually for Barack Obama to become president and Keith Ellison to go to Congress,” said Clinton to thunderous applause. “I was 26-years-old when I first met Hubert Humphrey. I told him I was from Arkansas and I thanked him for the 1948 speech and for the ’64 Civil Rights Act, and thanked him for raising the level of common decency in America.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the funeral of Humphrey was testament to how beloved was the Minnesota politician. Klobuchar said she was in high school when Humphrey died in January of 1978, and she stood outside in the cold in a long line to pay respects to Humphrey, whose

Speech From 1 My respect and admiration for these men and their views was great when I came here.

It is now far greater because of the sincerity, the courtesy and the forthrightness with which they have argued in our discussions.

Because of this very respect - because of my profound belief that we have a challenging task to do here -- because good conscience demands it - I feel I must rise at this time to support this report - a report that spells out our democracy, a report that the people will understand and enthusiastically acclaim.

Let me say at the outset that

body was inside the rotunda of the State Capitol building.

“That’s how much Minnesota loved Hubert Humphrey,” said Klobuchar.

Many revered Humphrey for his ability to work with people from all beliefs and backgrounds, regardless of regional or party affiliation. Clinton said if Humphrey were alive today he would be appalled at the level of acrimony in government.

“I think it would be disturbing to him when a U.S. Congressperson would say that some 78 to 81 members of Congress were Communists,” said Clinton. “And he would have been proud of John McCain for standing up against the attacks on the Secretary of State’s staff, Huma Abedin because she is Muslim.”

Civil rights pioneer and former director of the Minneapolis Urban League, Dr. Josie Johnson praised Humphrey for his courage in fighting for the rights of AfricanAmericans. Johnson said in 1948 – when Humphrey delivered this proposal is made with no single region, no single class, no single racial or religious group in mind.

All regions and all states have shared in the precious heritage of American freedom.

All states and all regions have at least some infringements of that freedom - all people, all groups have been the victims of discrimination.

The masterly statement of our keynote speaker, the distinguished United States senator from Kentucky, Alben Barkley, made that point with great force. Speaking of the founder of our party, Thomas Jefferson, he said: “He did not proclaim that all white, or black, or red, or yellow men are equal; that all Christian or Jewish men are equal; that all Protestant and Catholic men are equal; that

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Harry Colbert, Jr.

Former President Bill Clinton, along with several other dignitaries came out to honor the “Happy Warrior,” Hubert Humphrey. Seated in the front row (right to left) are Dr. Josie Johnson, Clinton, former Vice President Walter Mondale and Gov. Mark Dayton. his groundbreaking speech – lynching of African-American

men, many of whom had served in the U.S. Armed Forces, was

not uncommon and Jim Crow was the law of the South.

all rich or poor men are equal; that all good or bad men are equal.

“What he declared was, that all men are equal; and the equality which he proclaimed was equality in the right to enjoy the blessings of free government in which they may participate and to which they have given their consent.”

We are here as Democrats.

But more important, as Americans and I firmly believe that as men concerned with our country’s future, we must specify in our platform the guarantees which I have mentioned.

Yes, this is far more than a party matter. Every citizen has a stake in the emergence of the United States as the leader of the free world. That world is being challenged by the world of slavery. For us to play our

part effectively, we must be in a morally sound position.

We cannot use a double standard for measuring our own and other people’s policies. Our demands for democratic practices in other lands will be no more effective than the guarantees of those practiced in our own country.

We are God-fearing men and women. We place our faith in the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. I do not believe that there can be any compromise of the guarantees of civil rights which I have mentioned.

In spite of my desire for unanimous agreement on the platform there are some matters which I think must be stated without qualification.

There can be no hedging - no watering down.

There are those who say to

you - we are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are 172 years late.

There are those who say this issue of civil rights is an infringement on states rights.

The time has arrived for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of state’s rights 3 and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.

People - human beings - this is the issue of the 20th century. People - all kinds and sorts of people - look to America for leadership - for help - for guidance.

My friends - my fellow Democrats - I ask you for a calm consideration of our historic opportunity. Let us forget the evil passions, the blindness of the past. In these times of world economic, political and spiritual - above

“It took courage to ask the Democratic Convention to unlearn the teachings of the past,” said Johnson, who was the first African-American to serve on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents. “We are now in 2012 and we need courageous leaders like Hubert Humphrey.”

Sen. Al Franken said if Humphrey were alive, he would be leading the causes of fighting for marriage equality and against voter identification – two issues to be decided upon by Minnesota voters on the November ballot.

“His service was guided by principle and good will upon others,” said Franken.

Others on hand for the unveiling of the Humphrey statue included Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Alan Page, State Rep. Bobby Joe Champion and State Rep. Jeffrey Hayden.

Humphrey’s statue is set in the middle of several artistic plaques which have quotes from the former vice president, senator and Minneapolis mayor.

all, spiritual crisis, we cannot - we must not, turn from the path so plainly before us.

That path has already led us through many valleys of the shadow of death. Now is the time to recall those who were left on that path of American freedom.

For all of us here, for the millions who have sent us, for the whole two billion members of the human family - our land is now, more than ever, the last best hope on earth. I know that we can - I know that we shall begin here the fuller and richer realization of that hope - that promise of a land where all men are free and equal, and each man uses his freedom and equality wisely and well.

Library: Minnesota Historical Society

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 13

Youth offer vision for West Broadway

By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer North Minneapolis AfricanAmerican teens have been working for the past six weeks on a project to develop their vision of West Broadway for the West Broadway Summer Design Institute.

This project, funded by Achieve Minneapolis, YouthPrise and the University of Minnesota is a part of the ongoing work to introduce students of color to design professions and to get them involved in the redevelopment of their community. The mission of the project is to change how communities of color are developed.

“If you look at North Minneapolis organizations, you would think there are a lot of opportunities for young people,” said Paul Bauknight, director of Community Renewal through Innovative Building (CRIB).

“What I saw and heard through their eyes was there are not.”

The students recently presented their vision at the Plymouth Christian Youth Center (PCYC), 2021 West Broadway.

The opportunity came about through the STEP-UP program, a nonprofit partner of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). During the program, the students learned skills such as how to read a scale, calculate floor space and develop teamwork building skills. During the sixweek program, the students also developed prospective on area the social-economic issues.

“We got them to express what they thought about West Broadway and what the problems were,” said Bauknight. “They reported about gang violence, needing better jobs and schools.

They visited Southside corridors as well to compare and contrast other areas and developments.”

Student, Capri Lee, who showed a preference for interior design, believes her generation should be more involved in neighborhood planning and design.

“They should let younger people contribute more, because we know the neighborhood and everything going on,” Lee said.

Bauknight explained the

L-R: Otahl Saunders, Martell Owens, Capri Lee and James Pingrum importance of why professions such as design, urban planning, construction and architecture are platforms for the uplift of the community.

“First, we have to introduce them (North Minneapolis youths) to the profession, because most of them do not know an architect,” said Bauknight. “We do hands on projects in the neighborhood that they are familiar with to get them to see they can make a difference and bring the profession back home.”

Student participant James Pingrum said the program provided him the opportunity to not only get a summer job, but begin his studies in construction as well.

“This field is not as easy as people think. Your ideas get put in, and if they do not work, you keep trying and fix it. You have to listen to everyone’s opinion,” said Baker.

Martell Owens, another student in the program took interest in mechanics and interior

Paul Bauknight, director of Community Renewal through Innovative Building (CRIB) design.

“A lot of times, architects only focus on the building and structure instead of how it affects the community,” Owens said.

Bauknight said there are not enough people of color in professions of architecture, planning and design.

“The history of urban redevelopment is that planning and development are usually done by outsiders, non-community members and mostly white men,” expressed Bauknight. “They are

Best Academy Boys Grades 3-8 MCA II/III Comparison with the State

90

83

82

80

76

70

62

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Mathematics

Reading Best Boys

Prep From 1 Harvest Preparatory School has brought more African American students to proficiency than any

State

other school in the state of Minnesota.

In 2012, the state average for reading was 76% and the state average for math was 62%.

Best Academy, comprised of 99% African American boys, for the second year in

a row outperformed the state white average in reading and math. See graph.

Harvest Prep co founder, Eric Mahmoud was recently inducted into the National Charter School Hall of Fame.

PREP TURN TO 14

Harry Colbert, Jr.

In the Fighting for homeless vets article that appeared in the July 30 issue a gentleman was misidentified. Here is the corrected photo caption: U.S. Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis speaks with reporters about the department’s efforts to get military veterans employment. Solis is flanked by veterans who are either staff of MACV or have come through the MACV program including Jimmy Collier (center), Sean Patterson (behind Solis), Doran Hocker (left) and Kevin Tendall (far left).

Design model not anchored in the community and do not understand the social and cultural issues that go with what they do; whether it is policy, zoning, designing, architect, engineer or urban planning, very few engineers of color exist.”

Many believe that is what occurred with the Rondo Neighborhood in St Paul.

The predominantly African-

American neighborhood was displaced in the 1960s by freeway construction. In the 1930s, Rondo Avenue was at the heart of St. Paul’s largest African-American neighborhood. The construction of Interstate 94 in the 1960s shattered the once tight-knit community and displaced thousands of African-Americans into a racially segregated city and

Photos: Suluki Fardan

a discriminatory housing market, which erased a now-legendary neighborhood.

Bauknight said he wanted to be an architect since 6th grade, but did not meet an AfricanAmerican architect until his junior year of college.

“Sometimes you need to see people who look like you and understand where you’re coming from, because you bring who you are to the project,” said Bauknight.

Because of their involvement with the program, many of the students plan on continuing in the urban development field, which excites Bauknight.

“Really my job is to guide and support (the student). It’s their vision,” said Bauknight. “We do not talk to the young people that much and it is important for them to have a voice and show them they have opportunities.

The whole idea is to get young people to participate and make a difference.”

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Insight News • August 13 - August 19, 2012 • Page 15

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