Insight News ::: 10.24.16

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Insight News October 24 - October 30, 2016

Vol. 43 No. 43• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

‘Durades Dialogues’ at MIA seeks to expose more people to African-American artists 2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis, is offering.

“For instance, every February, the tour of the month is a tour of works by African-American artists, but unfortunately I don’t see very many African-Americans on the tours, so I’m thinking they don’t know about them,” said Durades in a recent interview on KFAI with Insight News editor-in-chief, Al McFarlane.

The interview was part of McFarlane’s “Conversations with Al McFarlane” – a weekly information program airing on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. “The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is valiantly trying to get more onboard with communities of color. That’s in their strategic plan.”

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor For the past 15 years Jean Ann Durades has been an advocate for the arts and she wants people of color to share in her passion.

“Some people are hooked on phonics, some people are hooked on jazz; I’m hooked on the arts,” said Durades.

Durades is working with the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), and through the institute presents the “Durades Dialogues.”

With her dialogues she highlights artists of African descent. The problem, says Durades, is that not enough African-Americans are taking advantage of what the Minneapolis Institute of Art,

Jean Ann Durades

Durades said MIA has made a commitment to embrace diversity within its collection and in attracting diverse patrons.

Forthcoming, MIA – through the “Durades Dialogues” – will present the works of AfricanAmerican architect and artist, Mitchell Squires. The “Durades Dialogues” is on its fifth installment at MIA. Durades will be hosting tours at MIA on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m.

Both are free to the public.

“There’s so much we can learn about ourselves and others through the works of AfricanAmerican art,” said Durades.

“We are a mirror to ourselves and to others.”

DURADES TURN TO 7

Gov. Mark Dayton

Hurricane Matthew

NASA

Hurricane Matthew proves climate change is real and here to stay SCIENCE Speak

By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor How ironic.

Almost a month ago I participated in the 2016 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference hosted by Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments.

None of us could have predicted Hurricane Matthew would strike the Carolinas. And yet, we shouldn’t be surprised. The effects of global warming and the consequences of radical climate change is a fact. All weather these days is affected by climate disruption. And right after the last presidential debate, David Leonhardt, in a New York Times editorial (“The Debates Were a Failure of Journalism”) blasted the moderator for not posing one question to the candidates on climate change, after months of

Justice Natalie Hudson

Insight News endorses Natalie Hudson for Minnesota Supreme Court With the Nov. 8 general election just weeks away, Insight News is in the process of interviewing candidates from various state,

county, municipal and local races.

A full list of our endorsements will be available in our voter guide, which will appear in

the Oct. 31 edition of Insight News. In advance of that issue,

HUDSON TURN TO 7

Gov. Dayton requests the public’s help in assuring equity in Minnesota An independent review, recently announced by Gov. Mark Dayton, will recommend solutions to ensure Minnesota state government better reflects the diversity of the people it

EQUITY TURN TO 4

CLIMATE TURN TO 4

Four things President Obama can do to help Blacks in his last 100 days Opinion

By Julianne Malveaux The countdown to President Obama’s last one hundred days began on Oct. 13.

Already, the President has committed to spending his waning

days in office by campaigning for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president. Indeed, he has put his legacy on the line, telling Black people at his last Congressional Black Caucus dinner that he will be personally insulted if folks don’t get out to vote for Clinton. Instead of staking his legacy on the results of the November elections, however, President Obama might be better advised to improve his legacy by taking bold actions in these last

Bon appétit A line formed outside of Harold’s No. 20 Chicken & Shakes on Wheels as the food truck, along with several others, made a rare stop on West Broadway Avenue this past Thursday (Oct. 20).

OBAMA TURN TO 2

HBCUs

Edelman

Farming

Houston

Obama on future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Honoring Sojourner Truth

Farming is the key to economic growth in the Black community

Decision 2016: We are in the way

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Page 2 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Obama on future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

By Freddie Allen NNPA Newswire Managing Editor Greensboro, N.C. – During a recent town hall discussion, President Barack Obama said that historically Black colleges that are producing engineers, doctors and dentists serve as the foundation for building Black middle class wealth and success, and are also important to the entire nation.

President Obama answered audience questions at North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro, N.C. about the future of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), his signature My Brother’s Keeper initiative and social activism at the event hosted by “The Undefeated,” an ESPN website dedicated to the exploration of sports, race and culture.

As the nation grows more diverse and educational opportunities that were once offlimits to Blacks are now more available, some have questioned the relevancy of HBCUs. In 2011, the Obama Administration received sharp criticism after changes in the Federal Direct PLUS loan program, disproportionately affected Black students attending HBCUs, forcing many to either delay their dreams of earning a

Obama From 1 days of his presidency.

What might he do to positively affect the AfricanAmericans he far too frequently scolds? For one thing, he might step up the pace of the pardons and sentence commutations for nonviolent drug offenders, who are disproportionately AfricanAmerican. In 2011, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said there were as many as 10,000 federal drug offenders that could be released.

While President Obama has offered pardons and commutations, only a fraction of those whose sentences could

college degree or abandon them altogether. Three years later, the Department of Education issued updated guidelines that were praised by higher education advocates and included less restrictive credit requirements for the loan program.

Obama said that the challenge with the program was that some of the loans offered were “particularly expensive” and left too many students deeply in debt without graduating.

“The notion was to try to improve the way in which young people were financing their educations,” said Obama.

“Part of the challenge here is to make sure not just that (students) enroll in college, but that (they) graduate from college.”

Obama said that HBCUs receive $4 billion a year from the federal government and noted that Pell grant funding to HBCUs increased by 150 percent, while he’s been in office.

The president also expressed concerns over state-level budget cuts to higher education that have had a significant impact on the financial stability of HBCUs. “Unless state legislatures pick up some of this slack, there’s only so much the federal government is going to be able to do to fill the void through loans, because ultimately loans mean debt and it adds up and people can get into trouble,” said Obama. “If you’re really be commuted have been. For whatever reason, the Department of Justice has moved at a snail’s pace with commutations.

President Obama could direct Attorney General Loretta Lynch to bring more pardon applications to his desk. He would make a tremendous impact if the number of nonviolent drug offenders with sentences pardoned or commuted were closer to 10,000 than 1,000.

President Obama might also consider a posthumous pardon for Marcus Garvey, the Jamaicanborn activist and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). At its peak, UNIA had millions of members in 1,100 chapters in 40 countries.

Garvey was wrongfully convicted of mail fraud and deported from

(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

President Obama challenged audience members to get involved in their communities at a recent town hall event at North Carolina A&T University. This photo was taken during the swearing-in ceremony for Attorney General Loretta Lynch at Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. concerned about more resources for HBCUs then you better vote.

If you don’t vote, you won’t have any say in the decisions that are made in state capitals or in Congress about the support that you receive.”

Obama also talked about the future of the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative, a program that was launched to address the unique challenges facing young men and boys of

color.

Obama said that the central principle of (MBK) is to have some adult who is taking interest in the young men, “to have somebody that is showing them here’s an alternative here’s a pathway here’s an opportunity that you can seize and you are worth something and you are important and you are a leader.”

“It doesn’t take a lot to transform the lives of young

men,” added Obama.

MBK has partnered with organizations such as the National Basketball Association and major corporations like Sprint have committed to make sure that one million young people have broadband Internet access to start closing that digital gap. Obama said that 250 communities and cities have launched local MBK programs.

“Some cities are doing better

the United States in 1923. Garvey was really only guilty of loving Black people and organizing us.

President Obama could lift up an organizer, correct a historical wrong, and signal that he is not as indifferent to Black people as he sometimes seems. Such a small gesture would go a long way toward contributing to his legacy.

The president might also consider the request from The Institute of the Black World 21st Century to appoint a John Hope Franklin Commission on Reparations. He could do this by executive order and the commission could potentially hold a few hearings in the month after the November election.

This would be a small gesture, but it would go a long way

toward continuing an important conversation about the origins of our nation’s wealth gap.

President Obama could also use an executive order to direct unspent Department of Education funds to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). What if he directed at least $1 million to each HBCU, pushing Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, acting executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs to go to each federal department to release unspent funds for contracting and scholarship opportunities?

These dollars would make a great difference, especially at our nation’s smallest, private HBCUs. The president made important points in his

recent visit to North Carolina A&T State University at a gathering hosted by ESPN’s “The Undefeated” and led by anchor Stan Verrett. He could combine talk with action by aggressively addressing HBCU issues as his term winds down, making amends for the ways his administration treated HBCUs earlier.

President Obama has lots of unfinished domestic and foreign policy matters, and there will be numerous demands in these last 100 days for him to address a plethora of issues. As a lame duck, he has limited tools – the executive order and the bully pulpit. Congress may return after the November election chastened, especially if Republicans lose the

than others, some corporate citizens are investing more than others and we want everybody to get involved,” said Obama.

When asked about what it takes to manage the challenges of raising a family and a successful career, Obama admitted that balancing professional achievement and family is something that he and the First Lady Michelle Obama have had to wrestle with.

Managing those responsibilities is particularly burdensome on the mom, said Obama.

“There’s no doubt that Michelle carried a greater burden than I did, particularly, because the nature of my work required a lot of travel,” said Obama, adding that soon-tobe dads must understand the level of commitment required to balance work and family responsibilities successfully.

“On my deathbed I will not remember any bills I passed, I will not remember any speeches I gave, I will not remember getting the Nobel Prize,” said Obama. “What I will remember is holding hands with my daughters and taking them down to a park. That’s one thing I know, that on my deathbed, that is what I will remember and if you approach life with that attitude then you’re going to appropriately invest in what is most important.”

presidential race, and inclined to cooperate on some legislative matters. It is more likely, however, that they will continue their obstruction to anything President Obama proposes.

Still, President Obama has the power to do more both symbolically and substantively in these last days of his Presidency.

I’d urge him to consider some of the things he can do to address the African American community that has steadfastly supported him, even when he has not been so supportive of us.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book, “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy,” is available via www.amazon.com.

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Insight News • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Page 3

Honoring Sojourner Truth: Courageous warrior for justice, equality and freedom for all Child Watch

By Marian Wright Edelman “It is important to recognize and honor those who have strived to fulfill the promise laid out in our Constitution to form a more perfect union. Those who fought in a different way for the ideals we cherish as a nation: justice, equality and freedom.” – U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus I was recently deeply honored to be asked by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to serve as sponsor for a Navy ship being named for Sojourner Truth – my lifelong heroine and North Star in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice in our land.

This ship will join others in the John Lewis class of ships named after civil and human rights leaders. The lead ship in the class honors iconic civil rights activist, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). Other Lewis class ships honor senator and Navy veteran Robert Kennedy, gay rights activist and Navy diver Harvey Milk, 19th-century suffragist Lucy Stone and great U.S. Supreme Court justice, Earl Warren. Navy Secretary Mabus, the former governor of Mississippi, had previously announced other ships honoring Navy veteran Cesar Chavez and Mississippi civil rights leader and martyr, Medgar Evers. I am so grateful to Secretary Mabus for his commitment to reflect the inclusiveness of American society and recognize each of these leaders’ extraordinary contributions to closing the gap between our nation’s creed and deed.

Sojourner Truth was a brilliant but allegedly illiterate slave woman. She was a great orator and a powerful presence

who possessed unbelievable courage and perseverance in standing up for justice as a Black woman. She challenged the racial and gender caste system of slavery by suing for the return of a son sold away from her. She got thrown off Washington, D.C. streetcars but kept getting back on until they changed the rules and let her ride. With fiery eloquence she stood up to opponents and threatening crowds who tried to stop her from speaking. When a hostile white man told her that the hall where she was scheduled to appear would be burnt down if she spoke, she replied, “Then I will speak to the ashes.”

When taunted while speaking in favor of women’s rights by some white men who asked if she was really a woman, she bared her breasts and allegedly famously retorted, “Ain’t I a woman,” detailing the backbreaking double burden of slavery’s work and childbearing that she had endured. When heckled by a white man in her audience who said he didn’t care any more about her antislavery talk than for an old flea bite, she snapped back, “Then the Lord willing, I’ll keep you scratching.” And when decrying her exclusion from America’s life and professed freedoms during a religious meeting where another speaker had just praised the Constitution, she told this story.

“Children, I talks to God and God talks to me. I go out and talks to God in the fields and the woods. This morning I was walking out, and I got over the fence. I saw the wheat a holding up its head, looking very big. I go up and take hold of it. You believe it, there was no wheat there? I say, God, what is the matter with this wheat? And he said to me, ‘Sojourner, there is a little weasel in it.’ Now I hear talk about the Constitution and the rights of man. I come up and I take hold of this Constitution. It looks mighty big, and I feel for my rights, but there isn’t any there. Then I say,

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Sojourner Truth circa 1870 God, what ails this Constitution?

He said to me, ‘Sojourner, there is a little weasel in it.’”

Edited to reflect who she most likely spoke, the language captured in an 1863 edition of the “National Anti-Slavery Standard” shares a flaw with many existing accounts of her speeches — they were often written down in the mock Southern dialect that 19thcentury readers identified with all slaves, despite the fact that Sojourner Truth was born and raised in rural New York as the slave of a Dutch-speaking family, spoke Dutch as a child, took pride in speaking correct English as an adult, and reportedly sounded like

Ready, Set, Smile receives $35,000 to extend services to two schools in Minneapolis Ready, Set, Smile will add two schools to their Minneapolis schools program, thanks to a $35,000 grant from Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation.

The grant will help expand the program, which provides on-site preventive dental services and oral health curriculum so that more children have the opportunity to be free of dental decay. The funding will be used to add Stonebridge Community School located in South Minneapolis and Ascension Catholic School in North Minneapolis. The addition of Stonebridge and Ascension will bring the Ready, Set, Smile cohort to five Minneapolis elementary schools serving approximately 850 children with dental services and more than 2,000 children with oral health education.

“The growth of Ready, Set, Smile since its founding four years ago has been amazing and we are deeply grateful to Delta Dental of

Minnesota Foundation for their investment in our work to educate and prevent childhood decay,” said Dr. Adele Della Torre, interim executive director of Ready, Set, Smile. “Our longitudinal data clearly demonstrate that we are dramatically reducing decay in children served in our program.

Serving more schools also helps us to achieve long-term stability as an emerging organization.”

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation focuses on choosing grant recipients that show strategies to expand oral health access for Minnesota’s underserved populations, demonstrate significant opportunity to promote and expand preventive and education services and show an ability to measure results.

“Education and prevention are two crucial keys to good oral health, and they are especially critical at an early age,” said

Joe Lally, executive director of Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation. “Ready, Set, Smile has done tremendous work in promoting and protecting the overall health of Minneapolis children, and we are happy to support them as they continue in their effort.”

Ready, Set, Smile was founded by the dentists of ADT Dental in 2013. The mission is to prepare and empower all children in the community to care for their oral health through education and preventative services. The vision is for every child in the community to have an opportunity to be free of dental disease. A four-lesson curriculum with hands-on activities is taught on health in every classroom of each school served in order to equip children with the information they need to make healthy decisions about caring for their teeth and gums.

white New York peers. But her messages were always crystal clear whether in proper English or in dialect.

Since Sojourner Truth’s day, Black and white and Brown and other excluded and marginalized women — and men — have been trying to ferret out the unjust and greedy weasels still eating away at the core of our Constitution and the promise of equal opportunity and justice before the law in our national life, gain the rights and freedoms they know they have been promised and build a fairer America for themselves and their children. Huge weasels are still trying to take hold of America’s Constitution and weaken its promise of equal opportunity and justice. We’d better wake up, stay awake, alert and vote — every one of us eligible — to pluck out these weasels and other pests that want to return us to our Jim Crow past whose legacies

linger. The struggle for a fair playing field for all Americans and for all of our children must accelerate and grow and reach a mighty crescendo today when our right to vote, to equal education for our children and to fair law enforcement are under attack. Let’s all stand up and fight back as Sojourner Truth did in her time and as I know she would do if she was living today.

Scholar Carleton Mabee tells us a bit more about how in 1865, one year after visiting President Abraham Lincoln in the White House, Sojourner Truth was determined to desegregate the segregated horse car system in Washington, D.C. She was working with freed slaves in Washington at the time and was often ignored by drivers when she tried to get them to stop. “One day, in 1865, Truth signaled a car to stop,” said Mabee. “When it did not, she ran after it yelling. The

conductor kept ringing his bell so that he could pretend he had not heard her. When at last the conductor had to stop the car to take on white passengers, Truth also climbed into the car, scolding the conductor (saying) ‘It’s a shame to make a lady run so.’”

The Sojourner Truth Institute said, “Sojourner Truth, who rode the horse car that day‚ and many horse cars afterward, sat where she pleased; not where she was told.

Her determination followed a lifetime of going where angels, and her contemporaries, often feared to tread.”

We need the same determination today.

Our nation is still struggling mightily to live up to its creed enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and to overcome its huge birth defects that still plague us in the implementation of our political and economic system. We have come a very long way but these deep-seated cultural, racial, economic and gender impediments to a just union challenge us still.

We must remain vigilant in rooting them out and we must be determined to move forward and not backwards if we are to become a greater nation with an opportunity to show the majority non-white world a living democracy.

Every day I wear two pendants around my neck with the portraits of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. When I think I’m having a hard day, I just touch them, remember their challenges, get up and keep going. Inscribed on the back of Sojourner Truth’s image are these words … “If women want any rights more than they’s [sic] got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it.” Those are our marching orders for building an America where none of our children, including our daughters and granddaughters, face a ceiling on who they can become and what they can achieve.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund. For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.

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ALL COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS ENCOURAGED TO COME

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2016 HEALTH AND WELLBEING: COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS AND SAFETY

COME OUT AND HELP YOUR COMMUNITY BE A SAFER AND HEALTHIER PLACE FOR OUR FUTURE.

ROBERT J. JONES URBAN RESEARCH AND OUTREACH-ENGAGEMENT CENTER (UROC) 2001 PLYMOUTH AVE NORTH MPLS MN, 55411 5:30 PM- 8:00 PM PLEASE RSVP: HTTPS://WWW.EVENTBRITE.COM/E/HEALTH-WELLBEING-DIALOGUETICKETS-27941248025 Invest in your community by joining us for the third community dialogue to evaluate and create sustainable change around the health, safety, and overall wellness of our community. Please join us to begin planning how to implement the change that has been identified. Some recurring themes are: -

Youth safety Advanced illness and resources Whole body/ Mind-body medicine

A cultural remedies book and a Youth and Elder video around Health and Wellness are also in the beginning stages of production. If you are interested in learning more or being involved please contact Kaitlin Snoddy: ksnoddy@hncmpls.org

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HAWTHORNE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL 2944 Emerson Ave N MPLS MN 55411 612-529-6033 Hawthorneneighborhoodcouncil.org Questions?

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At Medica, you’re not just part of a health plan.

You’re part of a community that believes in better health for all.

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Page 4 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

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Business Storytelling and fundraising: Make sure your story isn’t a fantasy FUNdraising Good Times

By Mel and Pearl Shaw Success is what nonprofits are supposed to project. In order to increase impact, reach new audiences, serve more people and change policies everything must be rosy. But what if it isn’t? What if our “successes” blind us to what isn’t working?

We might tell a good story, but is it real?

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

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

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane

These are hard questions. It’s important to communicate positive impact. But what about the challenges that are difficult to talk about. “Everyone wants to back a winner” is a cliché that can get in the way of both nonprofits and donors.

Here’s the truth.

Organizations and institutions can face great challenges and still be worthy of investment.

It’s not either or. In fact, investment might be most needed during times of greatest challenge. Stable funding can support an organization as it repositions itself, implements new technology, changes its staffing configuration or responds to a crisis.

At the same time there is a demand by donors to see results for their investment.

With limited resources people – and foundations – want to know their gifts are being used

Equity From 1 serves.

The audit of the state’s procurement, human rights and affirmative action practices

Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane

Climate

Assistant to the Publisher Shumira Cunningham

From 1

Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford

excessive heat waves across the country and in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Anyone who doesn’t want to believe in climate change (even presidential candidates) is delusional. And the cause of climate change is us. Human beings and our massive consumption of energy and the heat trapping gases produced (our

Managing Editor Harry Colbert, Jr. Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Associate Editor Culture and Education Dr. Irma McClaurin

wisely.

Here’s what we know.

Sometimes supporting organizational change is the most important investment a donor can make. A recent luncheon hosted by Dr. Tracy Hall, the president

of Southwest Tennessee Community College, is an example of transparent change.

Hall brought together stakeholders, students and business people for lunch and short presentation on how she

will review how the state administers existing laws aimed at ensuring equal opportunity for Minnesota businesses and individuals. Dayton appointed a working group comprised of 27 local organizations and state councils serving protected class communities to oversee the

audit.

The governor said state leaders want to know about people’s experiences with human rights violations, affirmative action issues and obtaining contracts or employment from the state.

For those who chose to

take part in the survey, some people will participate in a 30-minute phone interview, while others can complete a brief on-line survey. Both will be sharing their experiences and also their recommendations on how processes be handled.

Participation and input to

the audit will be anonymous unless the participant chooses otherwise.

For more information, or to participate in this process, please contact Clift Research at survey@cliftresearch.com or call Nancy Clift at (612) 7305552.

carbon footprint) have contributed to increased floods in the Midwest and Northeast, droughts in the Southwest and heatwaves and heavy downpours all over the United States. And, this is not just a problem of the United States, though we are largest consumers of energy, but a global issue.

in the recovery. Poor people suffer the most from climate extremes, be it hurricanes, flooding or droughts.

Why? Because they have limited resources for recovery and already live under vulnerable conditions of poor housing or shelters.

American television has bombarded us with images of the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew in my home state of North Carolina. Twenty-nine people lost their lives as a result.

However, before hitting the U.S., Hurricane Matthew had visited Haiti and the Bahamas.

Hundreds of people were killed in Haiti, one of the poorest nations today, and yet that devastation received very little media coverage. In North Carolina, we are shown stories about people who lost their homes, but what about those who live in trailer parks or apartments, and are not homeowners? Their stories, too often, never get told.

The majority of our recovery strategies are geared towards privileging people who are property owners. That’s who the millions of dollars devoted to

disaster relief historically tend to benefit. That is not to say that property owners don’t need help, but too often, we turn our attention to those with privilege and property first, and leave those with the to suffer until the end.

Katrina is a case in point. It illustrated this unequal treatment, and while we may wish to practice historic amnesia and pretend Katrina never happened, it is a fact of our history, and we must not forget that the underserved in New Orleans lost the most and suffered the most. Katrina and the inequality it highlighted should be a cautionary tale to cities and states that they have an obligation to attend to the most vulnerable people first.

This was the point of the presentation by the University of South Carolina’s Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute (HVRI) and their Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI).

SoVI is used to measure the social vulnerability of U.S. counties to environmental hazards. According to the SoVI Fact Sheet, “it shows where there is uneven capacity for preparedness and response and where resources might be used most effectively to reduce the pre-existing vulnerability.” In other words, SoVI tells us who needs immediate help the most because of their vulnerability as a result of language barriers, vehicle availability, medical disabilities, constraints of family structures and healthcare access.

Is your organization telling a real story and inviting donors to become part of the change?

Inequality in climate change impact What Hurricanes Matthew and Katrina, and other examples of climate change, prove is that there is inequality in those impacted and

You don’t have to move to get that new-home feeling.

Associate Editor Leadership and Social Enterprise Dr. Anita Davis-DeFoe Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Sunny Thongthi Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Contributing Writers Melvin Carter, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Gloria Freeman Timothy Houston Penny Jones-Richardson Michelle Mitchum Darren Moore Artika Tyner Toki Wright

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successes obscure the reality that not enough students are securing the education and skills they seek. She is not afraid to tell the truth.

“We know we’re doing things wrong,” said Hall.

She is open about the status of the college. More importantly she shared details about the road forward, inviting stakeholders to become part of the solution.

Now that’s a real story.

Think about this as you approach donors. Is your organization telling a real story and inviting donors to become part of the change?

is guiding the college through a change process. Her goal is to redesign, reinvent and reset the student experience.

Southwest is to become a student-focused culture.

“It’s not about how we teach, it’s about how students learn,” said Hall.

She made it clear the college is about change, stating “this is not another initiative. This is not about tinkering around the edges. This is not another death-by-committee project.

This is about fundamentally changing how we do business.

It’s about ensuring students and stakeholders have a voice instead of being invited to meetings.”

This focus on change doesn’t mean students aren’t already successful.

They are. Students continue to graduate and attain personal success. But Hall won’t let the

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*1.99% Introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is available on Home Equity Lines of Credit with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) or less. The Introductory Interest Rate will be fixed at 1.99% during the five-month Introductory Period. A higher introductory rate will apply for an LTV above 80%. Offer is available for new applications submitted from February 20 – April 29, 2016. After the five-month introductory period: the APR is variable and is based upon an index plus a margin. The APR will vary with Prime Rate (the index) as published in the Wall Street Journal. As of February 9, 2016, the variable rate for Home Equity Lines of Credit ranged from 3.24% APR to 8.50% APR. Higher rates may apply due to an increase in the Prime Rate, for a credit limit below $125,000, an LTV above 80%, and/or a low credit score. A U.S. Bank Consumer Checking Package account is required to receive the lowest rate, but is not required for loan approval. The rate will not vary above 18% APR, or applicable state law, or below 1.99% APR. Choosing an interest-only repayment may cause your monthly payment to increase, possibly substantially, once your credit line transitions into the repayment period. Repayment options may vary based on credit qualifications.

Interest only repayment may be unavailable. Loans are subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts.

Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Property insurance is required. U.S. Bank and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Your tax and financial situation is unique. You should consult your tax and/or legal advisor for advice and information concerning your particular situation. Other restrictions may apply. Mortgage and Home Equity products offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Customer pays no closing costs, except escrow-related funding costs. An annual fee of up to $90 may apply after the first year and is waived with a U.S. Bank personal Platinum Checking Package. The Consumer Pricing Information brochure lists terms and conditions that apply to U.S. Bank Consumer Checking Package accounts and can be obtained by calling 800.872.2657. Member FDIC ©2016 U.S. Bank. All rights reserved. 160083 2/16

Mel and Pearl Shaw are authors of the new book “FUNdraising Good Times Classics Vol. 1” now available on Amazon.com.

With an eye towards tomorrow Unequal treatment in disaster recovery efforts, especially insurance claims, and where resources are placed for recovery was an emerging theme at the 2016 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference. Many of the organizations and agencies represented are beginning to factor variables of race, gender and class into their problem solving.

Also, experts are finally recognizing that solutions to establish resiliency to climate that come from the top down (those with power to those without power) often are not sustainable.

These organizations have begun to incorporate language like “community engagement” into their vocabulary.

Many are also recognizing the need to practice what I call “authentic” community engagement. Closer to home, the University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC) is a good example.

But make no mistake; climate change is real and it affects all of us … certainly, the least of us.

Irma McClaurin is an award winning columnist and consultant.

In 2015, she received the Black Press of America’s Emory O. Jackson Column Writing Award from the NNPA. She is the Culture and Education Editor for Insight News and founder of the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. More of her works can be found at www. irmamcclaurin.com. Reprinted with permission of the author.

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Insight News • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Page 5

Page 6 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

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Tom Joyner announces Full Ride scholarships

Tom Joyner

Dallas (BlackNews.com) – The Tom Joyner Foundation announced the Full Ride Scholarship Program that will cover all the expenses of one student planning to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the fall of 2017.

“The cost of a college education isn’t getting any cheaper,” said Tom Joyner, chairman of his foundation and host of the top-ranked nationally syndicated Tom

Joyner Morning show. “So I want to help a graduating high school senior with a chance to attend a Black college to pursue (his or her) dreams.”

Past Full Ride scholars have impressive backgrounds, including last year’s winner, Morgan Taylor Brown, of Fayetteville, Ga., who is attending Spelman College, pursuing her interests to become a psychiatrist.

Students will receive full tuition and stipends for up

to 10 semesters to cover oncampus room and board and books. Students must meet the required academic standards each semester to renew the funds each year. Graduating high school seniors can apply for the scholarship by going to the Tom Joyner Foundation website at www. tomjoynerfoundation.org.

Students must have their schools mail their transcripts and recommendations to the foundation at P.O. Box

630495, Irving, TX 750630495.

To be eligible, students must be a United States citizen, a current high school seniors attending school in the United States (applicant must be anticipating completion of high school degree in the spring of 2017) with a minimum high school grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.00 grade scale, excluding home school studies) and minimum SAT score of 1400

(combined math essay and verbal score) or ACT score of 30. Applicants must apply and be accepted to an HBCU by July 1. The applications must be postmarked no later than Jan. 20. Interviews will occur in March.

For more information, contact Neil Foote, media relations, Tom Joyner Foundation at neil.foote@ tomjoynerfoundation.org or call (214) 448-3765.

Report: Cops target Black bicyclists The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition has released its report, “Bicycle Citations and Related Arrests in Minneapolis, 2009-2015,” available at www. mplsbike.org/citationreport.

The report is based on public data obtained from the Fourth District Court and the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Office of Public Information. Volunteers obtained public data for all bicycle-related citations and arrests during the six-year timespan.

The arrest data suggest that it is highly probable that Black bicyclists in Minneapolis face greater threats of police stops than do white bicyclists, especially for minor infractions such as riding on the sidewalk or without lights. Although each stop started with a bicycle-

related offense, 15 percent of stops resulted in charges and outcomes more severe than a citation for bicycle violations alone.

Prior to September 2016, the MPD did not track the race and/or ethnicity of people receiving citations, but arrest records from the Computer Assisted Police Records System did. The report reveals that arrestees were almost exclusively male (96 percent) and 48 percent of arrestees were Black. In comparison, 18 percent of Minneapolis residents are Black.

“Even though we could not track race and ethnicity with citations, we got a fairly clear picture with the arrest data. We were particularly surprised by the amount of juveniles, many of them youth

of color, that were wrapped up in arrests that started with a minor bike infraction,” said Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition project manager, Melody Hoffmann.

Utilizing interactive and static maps, the report also shows where the MPD gives out the majority of bicycle citations and the most common bicycle-related infractions.

Recommendations for the MPD and local bicycle advocacy organizations are included in the report.

The primary authors of the report, Hoffmann and Anneka Kmiecik, will present the report findings and take questions on Tuesday (Oct. 18) at Hope Community, 611 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis.

The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

fresh • local • organic Your neighborhood source for local and organic foods and wellness products

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Insight News • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Page 7

Farming is the key to economic growth in the Black community

By Armstrong Williams NNPA Newswire Columnist It is clear that it when it comes to jumpstarting the economy, generating jobs and wealth for the average American, we are in quite a fix.

The economic challenges facing average Americans cannot be solved by big government nor big business. It is really about time that we look to the past for some solutions. One of the things we should take a hard look at is returning to the land. Around the turn of the 20th century, almost half of United States workers were directly involved in the agricultural sector – whether in terms of growing food or organic materials for textile manufacturing. As late as 1930, farming constituted about 7.7 percent of the U.S. GDP. Today, less than 2 percent of American workers are engaged in agriculture. But more importantly, during the heyday of American farming, from 1900-1915, the majority of farm-produced products were consumed on the farm or by the local communities they served – with exportable commodities such as cotton and tobacco playing a supplemental role. Today, large farming operations control huge tracts of farmland that are almost exclusively dedicated to producing off-farm income. And American farming has become inextricably

Durades From 1

Hudson From 1 Insight News endorses Natalie Hudson for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice.

Justice Hudson, appointed

by Gov. Mark Dayton to fill the seat of Justice Alan Page who retired in August of 2015, has the

integrated into global commerce.

While farming has become less labor intensive and more mechanized and specialized, it has lost some of the more robust features that made it the backbone of the American economy.

Notably, American famers around the turn of the century grew at least five different commodity crops on average. Today’s megafarms produce one major crop on average, and agriculture contributes less than one percent of GDP. Farming as a viable profession is dying out with the average age of an American farmer of 65. And it is becoming a far more extractive industry, returning less than 16 percent of revenue from farm operations to the farmer.

As someone who grew up on a family-owned farm in Marion, S. C. and saw the wealth building benefits our farm brought to our community, I understand the critical importance of farming as a community-based enterprise. First was the real importance of work ethic and skilled labor. People in our community took pride in being skilled laborers – whether it was shoeing the horses, taking care of the livestock, or planting or harvesting – farm laborers developed specialized skills that made them valuable members of the entire community.

The community-supported agriculture model extended to include local markets for a variety of crops – fruits and vegetables, preserves and meat products.

Farming as we knew it did involve some cash crops – we grew and sold tobacco, for example, but we were far from a specialized farming operation. Farming created jobs, instilled youth with a work ethic, and tied people to land, family and community. This is a model that Europe has been careful to protect, no matter what the winds of globalization have blown their way. European countries understand the relationship between small-scale farming and national identity in ways that America can comprehend.

Our kinship with the land we inhabit is diminishing. Today’s school children are far more likely to recognize brand labels than common native plants. And yet our continued economic growth will require almost 70 percent more food production by 2050. This is a major overlooked opportunity for today’s workers. Farming is in need of just as many innovations as other industries – disruptive innovations in crop quality, soil quality, yield and distribution.

There are medical breakthroughs ready to be discovered in the observation of plants.

Congress should really consider including provisions in the Farm Bill that provide incentives for young people to enter into farming. We should also allow guest workers from other countries to come to the U.S. to grow the labor pool and help transmit valuable lost skills to American farm workers.

These investments must be made

with a focus on innovation and sustainability. We do not need more large farming operations. We as a nation really have no choice, but to return to a community model of farming.

The reasons for this muchneeded shift in emphasis are clear. First, we are going to have a greater need for food in the

future, and this cannot be secured with large cash crop operations.

Second, focusing on soil yields and innovations in farming that will improve quality require that more people enter the field, not less. Increasing the labor intensity of farming may seem to be less efficient up front than highly mechanized processes, but on

the back end it could yield major technological breakthroughs that will help us meet our future needs.

Trained in the art of China, Japan, Asia and contemporary art, Durades said contemporary art is where African-American artists are receiving their greatest acclaim. A native of

Chicago, Durades did not have a background in art, but later in life gained an appreciation for visual works. She said her interest in art – and in particular, AfricanAmerican art – came from a

desire to feel connected to her ancestors.

“For me it’s important as I’ve gotten older is to find a connection to those who came before me,” said Durades.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art opened in 1915 and expanded in 1974 and again in 2006.

MIA’s permanent collection has more than 89,000 objects. The collection spans about 20,000

years and represents diverse cultures across all continents.

The museum has seven curatorial areas, including the arts of Africa and the Americas and one of contemporary art.

experience (former attorney with the state attorney general’s office, 13-year appellate court judge), temperament, integrity and ability to best serve the citizens of Minnesota. We unanimously agree that Justice Hudson’s presence on the state’s High Court is one of objectivity and fairness.

We found that Justice Hudson’s opponent, Michelle

McDonald, lacked the experience needed to serve; and we believe McDonald would not be able to rule impartially, as she seems to be motivated by an agenda to rid the state of family courts – which she said are unconstitutional – saying she received a “spiritual calling to abolish family court.” She also said the Minnesota State Bar Association is “conspiring”

with the executive branch to “hide candidates from the public,” saying it is her belief that the association and governors do not find the public qualified to vote on those seeking judicial posts.

McDonald also said courts are instruments that take away people’s liberties.

In stark contrast, Hudson said it is “critical and important

for people to have trust in the judicial system,” saying she will make her decisions based on the rule of law.

“I owe that to the citizens of our state,” said Hudson.

The race for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice is critical as the judicial process has a direct bearing on our daily lives. Issues of social justice, access to education,

hiring practices, police reform, housing, sentencing guidelines and more are regularly decided upon by the state’s highest court. With that understanding, we feel it is critical to retain Justice Hudson to the court.

In addition to the race for the presidency, the race for Supreme Court Justice is the only other statewide question on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Armstrong Williams is a conservative television and radio host and author of “Reawakening Virtues.”

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Page 8 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

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Lifestyle Decision 2016: We are in the way Man Talk

By Timothy Houston The 2016 presidential election is almost here.

Your vote is needed now more that ever. In 2008, Sen. Al Franken won his Minnesota senate seat over Norm Coleman by only 315 votes.

There have been other elections that were decided by a single vote.

This truly signifies that every vote matters. Every person of color must hit the polls in resounding force.

The attempt to take the campaign to an extreme level of negativity to keep Blacks from the poll will not work. We have proven in the past two negative elections that Black votes matter, and at the polls, we are in the way.

To begin with, we are in the way because we as a people have a history of being in the way. On Sept. 2, 2013, Rep. John Lewis spoke to fast food strikers saying, “Sometime you have to find a way to get in the way. Sometime you have to use your marching feet and sometimes you have to make a little noise. Sometime you have to find a way to make a way out of no way. Sometime you have to find a way to get in the way. I know some of your coworkers may be a little afraid. But you must tell them, don’t be afraid. Be of good courage.”

Civil rights leader and activist Lewis’ words are powerful and true. On March 7, 1963 – “Bloody Sunday” – the young Lewis found himself in the way on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., and he continues to be in the way representing us in the U.S. House.

We are in the way because as a Black man in this country, I am by default always in the way. I have personally been the victim of racial profiling, police harassment and racial stereotyping that has, at times, taken me to rage. All of this has only worked to strengthen my resolve. I am not afraid to use my voice to speak against injustices.

Whether it is in the streets in protest, newspaper commentaries or the words of a sermon, I will continue to speak out against injustice and to make a demand for justice because

the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Without justice we will always be in the way.

We are in the way because we use our political power by exercising our right to vote. Our country’s judicial system is broken and taking to the polls is the only way to fix it. I have said in the past, and I will say it again, no longer can Blacks afford to be loud in protest, but silent at the polls. We need them both to enact lasting

change. On Tuesday, Nov. 8, I will be in the way at the polls casting my vote. Please join me on this day exercising your right to vote and getting in the way as well.

Finally, we are in the way because we all can be a positive influence to the next generation.

I must use my voice at home to teach my children to not lose courage. I must use the power of my influence to teach my son and grandsons to be men of integrity, high standards, character and distinction. I must

You see possibility.

We see you.

be in their way with my words and my presence, hands and heart, back and brain. I must be in their way by giving my children and grandchildren the best of me so they can be better.

They must never be afraid or feared, voiceless or violent.

We are in the way because this country continues to need Black men they can look up to.

This election is an excellent opportunity for us all to be in the way. We have not been afraid to speak, march, stand, write or vote against injustices

By Gloria Freeman

to pursue, you want to support her every step of the way. When you’re ready to plan her happily ever after, spend time with our online financial tools and resources that are designed to help you work toward your goals.

Find your possible at a U.S. Bank branch, call 800.825.BANK (2265), or visit financialgenius.usbank.com

Member FDIC. ©2016 U.S. Bank 160547 11/16 “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and “Ethisphere” names and marks are registered trademarks of Ethisphere LLC.

Timothy Houston is an author, minister and motivational speaker.

For copies of his book, questions, comments or more information, go to www.tlhouston.com.

Don’t let sugar haunt your house Child Focus

Right now, your little girl sees herself as a fairy princess. Whatever dream she decides

because like Rep. John Lewis, we as a people have found a way to get in the way. During the 2016 presidential election, the Black vote will decide the next president. What a powerful position to be in. Because of that power, we are all in the way.

Well into October, many children begin dreaming about going trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods, conjuring up elaborate plans to fill huge pillow cases with Halloween candy after sunset on Oct. 31.

Most of us can remember donning our costumes, plotting the secret hiding place we would stash our Halloween candy after returning from trolling doorto-door. Just the anticipation of the sound of one candy bar hitting another in the bottom of our pillow cases was enough to tickle our fancy and titillate the senses.

Even now, decades later, knowing much more about the hazardous effects of what too much sugar can do to our children’s teeth, or in their stomachs, it would still be considered sacrilege in many households, especially by our toddlers and school-age tots, to forbid them from celebrating Halloween by going trick-ortreating.

In 2016, I still feel like a Pollyanna cautioning parents and caregivers about the dangers of allowing our children to hoard their Halloween bags of candy, sitting by idly as they stuff their faces with candy corn, taffy and assorted candy bars wrapped in different shades of brown.

Nonetheless, I will try my best to paint a picture of what a real haunted house looks like when we let our children indulge in devouring Halloween candy in an unleashed, undisciplined manner. Only this time, the haunted house is yours.

Before the clock strikes 12 a.m., Halloween night, your haunted house opens. It starts with your child coming into your bedroom hours after trickor-treating, crying because he or she has a stomach ache from eating too much candy in one setting. It continues in the morning with your child

sick with a Halloween candy hangover, saying he or she is too sick to go to school. There goes that day’s work wages, with your child’s bile, literally down the drain. Meanwhile, you spend the next six days feeling like you are attending a convention for children with untreated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on steroids, only this time the untreated children are yours.

This is followed weeks later with toothaches and a trip to the dentist’s office where you are told your child has three cavities in his or her mouth, with the dentist only agreeing to fill the cavities when you pre-pay the bill. Sadly, even after returning from the dentist’s office, you’re still slipping on Halloween candy wrappers littered in the bedroom hallway.

Okay, so my Halloween haunted house scenario may be a little extreme. But the truth is; Halloween gives us a rare opportunity to plan new and exciting activities with our children, dreaming up events with our younger ones that are healthy in nature, pleasurable and fun.

On a serious tip, there are now all sorts of alternatives to having our children binge on oversized bags of Halloween candy. First, the biggest treat of all for your children, whether they know it or not at the time (and they probably wouldn’t know it in real time), would be the gift of you spending time with them.

Alternative Halloween activities and events can include attending a fall festival, planning a healthy party with other neighbors and friends, making homemade apple cider, taking a hay ride, making your own—or visit a real—haunted house, carving pumpkins or visiting a pumpkin patch, roasting pumpkin seeds or going to a roller rink, just to name a few.

This year, my hope would be that we avoid creating a haunted house in our own residences by making alternative, healthy, fun plans for you and your children.

Gloria Freeman is President/ CEO of Olu’s Center, an intergenerational childcare and senior day program, and can be reached at gfreeman@ olushome.com.

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Insight News • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Page 9

Community Cookie Cart to host eighth annual Chefs’ Dinner benefit On Sunday (Oct. 30), four of the Twin Cities’ hottest chefs will come together to collaborate on a four-course gourmet dinner at the annual Cookie Cart Chefs’ Dinner fundraiser that will be held at Town & Country Club in St. Paul.

Under the direction of Pat Weber, an award-winning chef, culinary educator and consultant who co-founded the Chefs’ Dinner, the culinary luminaries will volunteer their time to prepare a feast that will be paired with fine

wines. The chefs participating are all alumni of the Art Institutes International Minnesota (AiM) Culinary School where Weber is an educator. Current AiM culinary students will assist the chefs and will prepare the hors d’oeuvres selections. The dinner will be held at the Town & Country Club, located at 300 N. Mississippi River Blvd. in St. Paul. The hors d’oeuvres reception and silent auction will start at 5 p.m. and dinner and a live auction will

begin at 6:30 p.m.

The event is a benefit for Cookie Cart, the nonprofit North Minneapolis bakery that employs and empowers area teens.

Cookie Cart was founded in 1988 by the late Sister Jean Thuerauf who wanted to provide a safe, secure, creative and engaging space for area teens. In 2010 the organization served 100 teens and following an extensive renovation in 2014, the bakery program is now able to employ

and serve 200 teens. In June 2015, Cookie Cart purchased a building in St. Paul that will house a future bakery to serve teens on the city’s Eastside. That location is expected to open in 2017 and a pilot program for teens at Johnson High School began in January 2016.

Tickets for the benefit dinner are $150 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www. cookiecart.org/cookie-carts-8thannual-chefs-dinner.

Story of Jewish immigrants explored at upcoming Jewish Genealogical Society meeting The Minnesota Jewish Genealogical Society will host a meeting on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Golden Valley Public Library, 830 Winnetka Ave. N., Golden Valley.

Susan Weinberg will present “Capturing the Stories: Jewish Immigrants of the 20th Century.”

This presentation is based on the Jewish Identity and Legacy

Project, a project featuring interviews of elders within Sholom Home, a Jewish elder facility in the Twin Cities. Most of the residents interviewed were in their 90s and spanned three groups; those who grew up in early immigrant communities, those who were survivors of the Holocaust and those who were immigrants from the former Soviet Union. These three groups

represented the three strands of immigrants who came to the Twin Cities in the 1900s and explores their experience.

The presentation will make use of short video clips and artwork based on stories to understand the experience of immigrants from varied backgrounds that compose Jewish communities within the United States.

Featuring: Mitchell Squire + James Garrett, Jr. Thursday, October 27, 6:30pm The talk focuses on how Squire reflects on black selfhood through creative and academic actions, and how his creative practice examines the political complexity of material culture.

James Garrett, Jr., principal with the architectural firm 4RM+ULA, was awarded the AIA MN Young Artist’s Award in 2015.

The Durades Dialogue, honoring the actions of arts-advocate Jean Ann Durades, brings significant work by creatives of African descent to the attention of Minnesota audiences.

Co-presented with Obsidian Arts. Promotional support from the American Institute of Architects—Minnesota.

To register: 612.870.6323 or artsmia.org Free, tickets required; enter code “Durades.”

Mitchell Squire, Gladiators (detail), 2013, Mitchell Squire; World House Editions, lithograph, The Barbara S. Longfellow Fund for Works on Paper, 2014.26. ©2013 Mitchell Squire

Classifieds RENTAL PROPERTIES INH Properties manages Section 8, Section 42 and Rural Development projects in the following MN cities: Anoka – Bridge Square, 763-421-6772 Big Lake – Autumn Winds, 320-258-6000 Brainerd – Mississippi Terrace, 218-829-0274 Cold Spring – Cottage Court, 320-685-3888 Coon Rapids- Coon Creek, 763-767-7755 Eden Valley – Hillside, 320-453-5968 Fergus Falls – Kaddatz, 218-205-0644 Glenwood – Glenview, 320-634-3188 Hawley – Northside Terrace, 218-483-4524 Hutchinson – Clinton House, 320-587-5458 Isle – Isle View, 320-676-8624 Isle – Mille Lacs Manor, 320-676-8624 Mankato – Dublin Road, 507-345-3351 Minneapolis - Holmes Park, 612-378-8817 Morris – Crystal Lake, 320-589-3662 Onamia – Oakwood, 320-532-4321 Onamia – Onamia Shores, 320-532-4321 Pierz – Kamnic Lane, 320-468-2581 Rice – Benton Place, 320-630-1201 St Michael -Countryside Cottages, 763-497-4901 St Paul – Parkway Gardens, 651-771-0267 Virginia – Alice Nettell, 218-741-3650

Fax: 612.588.2031

Shields Plaza Apartments, North Branch is now accepting applications for wait list. Senior 62+, subsidized must meet income requirements. Call for appointment 651-674-7497.

JOB OPENINGS The public-private partnership between the Loppet Foundation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is being solidified with agreements to further the MPRB’s Master Plan for Theodore Wirth Regional Park by establishing a new Adventure and Welcome Center in the park.

The Loppet Foundation is hiring for the following job openings: • • • • •

Email: info@insightnews.com

Minnesota Council of Churches ACCOUNTING CLERK, 20 hours/week. General accounting, AP, AR, financial reporting. Open until filled. Appl at http://www.mnchurches.org/about/employment.html.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR WAIT LIST

Residents must meet income guidelines.

Rent based on income at some locations.

INH Properties is an equal opportunity housing company

Phone: 612.588.1313

Adventure Center Director Adventure Center Maintenance Foreperson Marketing & Communications Manager Sponsorship Sales Manager Middle School Team Coaches

For the full job postings go to: www.loppet.org/jobs

Volunteer Opportunities Harvest Network of Schools Community service is calling, no need for stalling!

The Harvest Network of Schools, a group of highperforming charter schools in north Minneapolis that includes Harvest Preparatory (K-4, coed), Best Academy (K-8, single gender), and Mastery School (K-4, single gender), is currently recruiting volunteers to work with our 3rd and 4th grade students. We have three opportunities available; Breakfast Buddies, Academic Intervention, and Classroom Support. Breakfast Buddies help with homework and reading to scholars. This option is available Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m.

-8:15 a.m. Academic Intervention volunteers help with students needing additional support in math and reading, available Monday through Thursday from 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Classroom Support volunteers help teachers as needed, tasks will vary.

This opportunity is needed any time throughout the day 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. We are requesting volunteers commit to 1-2 hours a week for a minimum of six weeks. HNS will provide training, onsite support from volunteer manager, and recognition at the end of the year. Applicants must complete an application and criminal background check. If interested please contact Marquita Butler at mbutler@seed-harvest.org or 612-876-4033.

Page 10 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

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Randy Kramer

Vie Boheme

Bianca Lewis, Shed G and Harry Colbert, Jr. present Scary, Sexy Cool pt. 3 at Darby’s

Reefa Rei

Monday, Oct. 24 HIP-HOP/PERFORMANCE Prince Carlton and Pledge Empire Records present “Children of the Corn” Honey 205 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis 9 p.m.

Oct. 24 - 30

Aesthetically It! is a list of picks from the editors of Aesthetically Speaking.

Aesthetically It! features venues, events, outings and more that are worthy of “It” status. If you have a venue, event or outing that you feel is “It” worthy, email us at aestheticallyit@ insightnews.com

Check out this Halloween themed show based on the film “Children of the Corn” with performances by Sti-Lo Reel, Reefa Rei, Sieed Brown, Juice Lord, A.C.E. and Murda Meatch.

LECTURE

Tuesday, Oct. 25 Power and Privilege series: Van Jones University of Minnesota Coffman Memorial Union

300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Free The 2016-2017 Power and Privilege series kicks off with environmental and human rights activist, Van Jones. Jones, a Yale educated attorney and former green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama, has led many social justice initiatives to find solutions to issues concerning low-income urban youth.

Wednesday, Oct. 26

visit org.

www.twincitiesfilmfest.

Thursday, Oct. 27 ART Zuluzuluu’s AstralBeat Theories Icehouse 2528 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis 10:30 p.m.

21-plus $7 Afro-futurist band Zuluzuluu’s kicks off a four-week Thursday Icehouse residency.

FILM FESTIVAL Twin Cities Film Fest Showplace Icon Theatre – West End 1625 W. End Blvd., St. Louis Park $12 per film, $50 festival pass The Twin Cities Film Fest returns showcasing some of the best in unreleased independent movies. For more information,

Friday, Oct. 28 NEO-SOUL/ PERFORMANCE “Versatility” – Vie Boheme and Color Me Kindly Icehouse 2528 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis 10:30 p.m.

Multidisciplinary artist Vie Boheme brings the second in her “Versatility” series to the Icehouse with special guests, Color Me Kindly.

Saturday, Oct. 29 HALLOWEEN PARTY Scary, Sexy, Cool Pt. 3 Darby’s Pub and Grill 315 5th Ave. N., Minneapolis 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.

21-plus $10 Thee Urbane Life and Shed G have once again teamed up for the most anticipated Halloween party of the season; Scary, Sexy, Cool. This event, which brings out more than 300 partygoers annually, features costume contests, drink specials, and the best in tunes – this year provided by DJ Advance.

205 E. Hennepin Minneapolis 10 p.m.

21-plus $5

Ave.,

Turn up again this weekend with Urban Electronic DJ. Willie Shu of Turnt Up Crew and Soul Tools.

Sunday, Oct. 30 MUSIC SALE MSP Music Expo Ramada Plaza, Minneapolis 1330 Industrial Blvd. N.E., Minneapolis 10 a.m. -4 p.m. $3 Check out dozens of dealers selling thousands of CDs, records, tapes, DVDs, posters, collectibles and much more.

Bring in two perishable items and get $1 off your ticket.

Halloween with DJ Willie Shu Honey

‘Free CeCe’ to premiere at Twin Cities Film Fest; show at Intermediate Arts

Laverne Cox and CeCe McDonald talk during McDonald’s incarceration in St. Cloud.

Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) will close out its 2016 festival with an appearance on Saturday (Oct. 29) by Laverne Cox, executive producer of “Free CeCe!” The film will also screen at Intermediate Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis on Sunday (Oct 30). Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) will appear on the TCFF red carpet between the premiere of the HBO documentary “The Trans List” and before two showings (2:45p.m. and 3:15 p.m.) of the locally-filmed “Free CeCe!” “Free CeCe!,” a documentary told through the voices of Cox and CeCe McDonald, confronts the culture of violence surrounding trans women of color. The film tells the story of the 2011 Minneapolis attack on McDonald (who is transgender) and her resulting incarceration as a result. McDonald said she

was defending her life when she stabbed and killed a man with a pair of scissors. In a plea agreement McDonald agreed to a 41 month incarceration. She was incarcerated in a men’s prison. She was released in 2014 after serving 19 months.

Cox will participate in an extended question and answer following both Saturday showings of “Free CeCe!” Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. viewing will feature a discussion with director Jac Gares and McDonald, and will be moderated by Andrea Jenkins.

For a complete TCFF schedule visit www. twincitiesfilmfest.org. Tickets for the Intermediate Arts showing of “Free CeCe!” are $7 in advance and $9 at the door and available at www.

IntermediaArts.org/box-office or by calling (800) 838-3006.

insightnews.com

Insight News • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Page 11

Sin Verguenza: The ‘Latina Theory’ podcast is unapologetically woke

Jordan Strowder/JMS Photos

The hosts of “Latina Theory,” (left to right) Arianna Genis and Maria Isa.

By Sagirah Shahid Arguably one of the most vital voices of our generation, “Latina Theory: A Spanglish Podcast Sin Verguenza” has taken the indie radio world by storm.

Based in St. Paul’s historic Westside Neighborhood, the podcast was launched in 2015 by Chicana activist and community organizer Arianna Genis and Boricua multidisciplinary artist-activist Maria Isa. Airing the podcast on SoundCloud, “Latina Theory” has singlehandedly created a platform for honest and critical dialogue focused

on Latina opinions regarding current events, health, politics, race and “edu-tainment.” The hour-long show also features an eclectic musical playlist, which they describe as “asazonado with Latina contemporary, Latina alternative, soul, hip-hop, reggae, reggaeton, cumbia, R&B, salsa, AfroLatino y mas (and more).”

“Latinadad is so complex – it’s so many different countries, it’s so many different shades.

We don’t just exist in these realities in the United States.

We are all over the place. We (Latina Theory) refuse to be only a narrow thing and we want to tell more complicated stories,” said Genis.

“Latina Theory; the theory

of it is you as a guerrera (warrior), having that opinion for yourself, having the opportunity to speak and to have someone listen,” said Isa. The intentionality of the dynamic duos’ mission to capture the diversity within Latin communities and the focus on representing women’s voices, has bolstered the podcast’s recognition in the larger community, garnering attention from pop culture icons such as activist Rosa Clemente, rapper Kap G, and Veronica Mendez-Moore, coexecutive director of Centro de Trabajadoeres Unids in Lucha (CTUL) union.

“One of the reasons people get so excited and are hungry for ‘Latina Theory’ is that we have grown accustomed to not being represented to not seeing ourselves anywhere,” said Genis about the reception of the podcast.

Genis went on explain what attracts their growing viewership. “(We went from) not having our stories and our situations and our experiences told; then all of sudden here is this podcast going all over the place and it starts to connect with me and so I just think that’s one of the most beautiful things to note, that we are creating a space that’s saying ‘we are here and we exist,’” said Genis.

Isa echoed this, recalling what it felt like to crave a space for her layered identity as a Latina.

“I remember being in high school and being one of the only Latinas in my school and going to a private school through scholarship and recognizing how the prison pipeline is developed for us to not excel because they want us to feel shame and to cállate la boca (shut your mouth) ‘you’re too loud’ and I would be like ‘yea I’m loud I got a mountain voice and I sing and my hands play drums and they play a little bit louder in certain communities because these are our tools of action and survival to speak up,’” said Isa. “Our podcast is ‘Latina Theory’ a podcast sin

verguenza and that (means) without shame, without apology,” explained Genis.

Unapologetic indeed, the show regularly tackles a montage of issues that range from providing practical natural remedies to safely cleanse areas of the female anatomy to unpacking racism and sexism. In one episode during a segment of the show called “FTP” the duo called out Joe Bovino, the author of “Chicaspotting: A Field Guide to Latins of the United States” – a book that objectifies Latinas and compares them to birds, referring to Latinas as a different “species.” During the podcast Isa educated and informed listeners on tangible calls to actions they could take to protest Bovino’s book.

Genis talked about “Latina Theory’s” role in activism.

“We have tried to present and organize and to also be

vocal about police brutality and shootings. Our community here is mobilized; we put out statements as “Latina Theory” naming white supremacy, naming anti-Blackness in Latinadad, naming our resistance,” said Genis.

Latina Theory also educates listeners on the activism of women across the world during their “Guerrera de Semana” (warrior of the week) segment.

The duo focused one such segment on the protests of activist Carmelita Torres, a 17-year-old maid who refused what she called a toxic and sometimes deadly procedure imposed on Mexicans crossing the U.S. boarder by the U.S. government, launching a series of protests dubbed “Bath Riots.

“I had one of my friends say ‘I felt so much heartbreak in your last episode.’ It was the one where we highlighted how historically Latinos have

been oppressed in different ways,” said Genis. “We just highlighted all of this history that we’re not taught. We have to go out of our way, as Latinas as people of color to be like: ‘What is our history here?

What has happened to us?’”

“I need this space just as much as our listeners,” said Isa, who also teaches music to high schoolers at Twin Cities Mobil Jazz Project. She talked about how one of her students, after listening to the podcast thanked her.

“She came up to me and said, ‘you know, I didn’t really know there was a way for me to actually ask someone how to get help for an issue that I’ve been going through at home,’” said Isa. “That right there … that makes it worth it.”

“Latina Theory” airs monthly on SoundCloud and is on Facebook and Twitter @ LatinaTheory.

TICKETS ON SALE TICKETS

GROUPS 10+ +

SAVE E BIG I

FALL2016-17 ON SALE NOW FALL2016-17 NOW SCHUBERT CLUB, THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, & ORDWAY present SCHUBERT CLUB,VIRTUOSI THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER SPHINX ORCHESTRA, & ORDWAY QUARTET present WITH CATALYST

SPHINX OCT 30 VIRTUOSI

WITH CATALYST QUARTET SCHUBERT CLUB AND ORDWAY present OCT 30

NPR’S FROM THE TOP

SCHUBERT CLUB AND ORDWAY present WITH HOST CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY NPR’S FROM THE TOP NOV HOST 13 WITH CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER NOV 13 Presented by BEST BUY THE NOV HIP 22 & HOP 23 NUTCRACKER Presented by BEST BUY A DARLENE LOVE NOV 22 & 23

CHRISTMAS: LOVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS A DARLENE LOVE NOV 30 CHRISTMAS:

TH THE T HE HI HE HIP HOP HOP NUT UT U TCRA AC CKE CK KE K ER

LOVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS* NOV 30 AN ORDWAY PRODUCTION | Sponsored by FRAUENSHUH IRVING DECBERLIN’S 8-31 WHITE CHRISTMAS* AN ORDWAY PRODUCTION | Sponsored by FRAUENSHUH DEC 8-31

651.224.4222 TTY651.282.3100

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Must close Nov 6!

Songs and stories of the ’61 Freedom Riders

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Minnesota Senate Building 95 University Ave. W. Saint Paul, MN 55155

by MIKE WILEY directed by PATRICIA McGREGOR

Now – November 6 612.377.2224 / guthrietheater.org Sponsored by

DAR DA D A LE AR LEN ENE LO EN OV OVE VE VE

Free parking and easy access from the Capitol/Rice St. Light Rail Station A better Minnesota starts with you.

mn.gov/careers

Page 12 • October 24 - October 30, 2016 • Insight News

insightnews.com

By Lorraine Hansberry Directed by Warren C. Bowles

OCT 28 – NOV 20 Drama / Andy Boss Thrust Stage

The ďŹ ercely moving portrait of a family struggling with poverty, racism, and inner conict as they strive for a better life. in photo: Darius Dotch* and Greta Oglesby*

“One of a handful of great American plays...� – Washington Post

*member, actors’ equity association

651.291.7005 | parksquaretheatre.org Historic Hamm Building, Downtown Saint Paul Photos courtesy of Step Afrika!

Re-elect Bobby Joe

Vote November 8, 2016

Champion My Priorities: Working together for a better tomorrow Improving our education system Passing a comprehensive transportation funding package

Increased equity funding Taking criminal justice reform even farther Passing Restore the Vote legislation

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For more information, visit www.Champion4Change.org

Email: Bobby@Champion4Change.org

Facebook: Bobby Joe Champion (follow)

Step Afrika powers its way onto the Ordway stage

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor Audience and critically acclaimed Step Afrika is coming to the Ordway this Saturday (Oct. 29).

Co-founded by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika combines the art of stepping – a tradition among Black Greek-letter organizations – with stories of the Black experience. The performances also incorporate South African gumboot, traditional Western African dance, and drumming. A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Williams cofounded the dance troop 22 years ago. He said he wanted to take the stepping tradition and expose it to a broader audience. “Step Afrika always honors and pays tribute to the Divine Nine (the nine recognized historically Black Greekletter college fraternities and sororities). Many of the artists from Step Afrika are members of the Divine Nine,� said Williams. “We’re always respectful of the traditions of the fraternities and sororities. As an art form, stepping is over 100 years old.

We have taken that tradition to a larger community. With Step Afrika you’ll see stepping like you’ve never seen before.�

Saturday’s performance is “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence,� which is a celebration of AfricanAmerican artist Jacob Lawrence and his series of paintings,

“The Migration of the Negro.�

Williams said Lawrence’s 60 panel series resonated with him and the cast of Step Afrika. He said one of the unique works in this performance is one titled “Train.� “The train was the primary form of transportation for African-Americans during the Great Migration and in this scene we set our steps to jazz music,� said Williams.

Associating stepping with college life, Williams and Step Afrika often visit elementary, middle and high schools in the cities in which they perform and invite students to their performances. He said stepping gets students interested in, and excited about, going to college. “An important point of Step Afrika is all of us (in the cast) are college graduates,� said Williams. “We teach if you’re going to be a great stepper, you’re going to be a great student. Whether or not (students) decide to pledge a fraternity or sorority, we want them to recognize what we do as a part of the college experience.�

Recently, Step Afrika was recognized for its contributions and was honored with an interactive piece in the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Tickets for Saturday’s performance at the Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, are $19-$39 and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org or by calling (651) 224.4222.