Photo credit: Ann Marsden PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MINNEAPOLIS MN PERMIT NO. 32468
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Penumbra Theatre presents: RADIO GOLF• Oct. 1 - Oct. 25 Love, ambition, and secrets explode with one man’s desire to be Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor. Don’t miss this timely look at race and American politics. By August Wilson • Directed by Lou Bellamy 651-224-3180 penumbratheatre.org
October 5 - October 11, 2009 • MN Metro Vol. 35 No. 40 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Death toll rises to 17 years at MnDOT By Al McFarlane Editor-in-Chief HIRE Minnesota last Tuesday held a funeral procession to “mourn the loss of another construction season where MnDOT failed to meet their minority hiring goals.” HIRE Minnesota is a coalition of community organizations that are seeking public investments that provide access for all people to jobs, training and living wages, and promote healthy communities, including building sustainable public infrastructure and easing the climate crisis. Protest organizers said, “Our coalition has been working to ensure that MnDOT meets its minority hiring goals and it has been a challenging endeavor. We met with the communications director at MnDOT, Kevin Gutnecht, and with Bernie
Arseneau, Policy, Safety and Strategic Initiatives Director at MnDOT. They assured us that they would set up a meeting with the Minnesota Commissioner of Transportation in the coming week.” Louis King, co-chair of HIREMN said the action highlighted the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) 17 years of failure to meet its hiring goals for people of color and the funeral procession mourns the loss of yet another construction season in 2009.” Protesters met at Lao Family Community of Minnesota On University Avenue and marched to the MnDOT headquarters, where they we held the funeral ceremony to grieve for the loss of opportunity for people of color at MnDOT. A small delegation of HIRE Minnesota members went inside the MnDOT headquarters seeking to meet with Commissioner Tom
The “More Than a Game” Interview: The gospel according to King James
PAGE
Suluki Fardan
HIRE Minnesota last Tuesday held a funeral procession to “mourn the loss of another construction season where MnDOT failed to meet their minority hiring goals.” Sorel and demand that systems are put in place to bring back hope for better outcomes in 2010, King said.
“We are more powerful with more voices,” King said encouraging Minnesotans to join
Workers of color and women are missing from Minnesota’s highway construction sites! MnDOT consistently misses its goals for hiring, training and contracting with women and people of color. Meanwhile the busy highway construction season moves at an accelerated pace due to the addition of federal stimulus dollars, but there is no visible change at highway construction sites. Women account for 50 percent of Minnesota’s total population and people of color account for 14 percent. Where are
WORKFORCE TURN TO
4
and support the HIRE-MN coalition. “Make sure MnDOT hears our call for justice and equity!” The marchers, clad in black arm bands, followed musicians who led the funeral procession in songs of mourning and of hope for the future. Outside MnDOT headquarters protesters placed gravestones that showed statistics detailing 17 years of hiring failure. A final gravestone representing 2010 had a question mark symbolizing the hope for better
MNDOT TURN TO
“do”- Not a fashion don’t
PAGE 6
Target managers
By Melody Barnes White House Advisor Commentary
offer employment training to homeless, working poor
PAGE images.businessweek.com
Melody Barnes
premiums that are rising three times as fast as wages, or maybe their employer had to choose between dropping coverage and closing down shop. Whatever the reason, they live with the knowledge that one illness or injury could wipe out everything they have. They go without checkups and care that could save
REFORM TURN TO
9
McCollum’s ACORN Act goes after corporate crooks WASHINGTON, DC – US Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04) last week formally introduced H.R. 3679, the Against Corporations Organizing to Rip-off the Nation Act of 2009 (ACORN Act), which prohibits corporations with a felony conviction from receiving any federal funding. The legislation points out the inequity in legislators’ outrage over corporate fraud versus allegations of fraud leveled against the community organization known as ACORN, which faces loss of federal funding following a “sting” operation by conservative media activists. The “sting” included video which purports to show an employee of the non-profit advising people posing to be community business persons on how defraud the government.
Be a fashion
4
President Obama plan confronts threats to American prosperity President Barack Obama went before Congress and the nation to address his plan for solving a problem that not only threatens the prosperity and financial security of America, its businesses, and its families, but cuts against the core of who we are as a nation. Right now, tens of millions of Americans are living without health care coverage. Tens of thousands more join their ranks each week. Most of these people are hardworking, middle class Americans. Maybe they lost a job. Maybe they couldn’t keep up with
5
US Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04) “It’s time Congress get serious about taxpayer funding of corporate cheats, crooks, and criminals. Last month Congress took action to defund a non-profit serving poor Americans, but
ACORN TURN TO
9
7
Donna Brazile surrounded by Elder Park Center Advisory Board members (L to R) Jewelene McIntyre, Marian McElroy, Ms. Brazile, Doris Christopher, Catherine Williams, Saundra Crump, and Liz Moore
Brazile: World Class fare By Elizabeth Moore Contributing Writer Donna Brazile can cook…literally and figuratively! True to form, she delivered the world class fare that she is known for last month when she addressed a capacity audience at
University of St. Thomas’ CommUNITY 2009 Lecture Series. A weekly contributor and political commentator on CNN, Brazile was the first African American to direct a major presidential campaign. She headed the Al Gore presidential campaign in 2000. Brazile called on Americans
to be bigger and better than the ugly behaviors exhibited at some Health Care Reform town hall meetings across the country. She specifically addressed that mean spiritedness, and the insult to President Obama by a U.S. Representative who screamed
BRAZILE TURN TO
9
Project Murua Parent Boot Camp provides new arsenal for success Project Murua: A Pre-meditated Parenting Boot Camp is a community-based Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support supported violence prevention initiative. The Project Murua Alpha Class graduation last month at Minneapolis Urban League featured a Presentation of Drills by the 2009 Alpha Class, under the direction of Lucille Hazelwood, Boot Camp Drill Sergeant. Community guests and Boot Camp participants’ families saw
MURUA TURN TO
2
Motivation to exercise
PAGE
8
Is Brett Favre (left back to right): Wilfred Hudson, Rhonda Stevson, Sharica Williams, Joy Ross, Alvono Buchanan, Lorrell Heard, Anthony Martin; Front Row (Left to right) Ernestine Williams, Lakita Johnson, Rebecca Harris (kneeling), Lillian Blount, Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya
the greatest quarterback of all-time?
PAGE 11