CAPRI BIG BAND PLAYS HOLIDAY CONCERT Enjoy jazzy holiday music along with some of the band’s favorite standards Sunday, December 9th at 3:00 PM Capri Theater 2027 West Broadway, Minneapolis www.thecapribigband.com Free and open to the public.
INSIGHT NEWS November 26 - December 2, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 39 No. 48 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
A Farewell Requiem: Dr. Elvyn Jones-Dube
Culture and Rituals: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” Yes, some anthropologists believe that marriage has little to do with love and a lot to do with economic and political social relations, developing domestic unions, and establishing blood lines. Look at the historical marriages of the aristocracy—they occurred to cement alliances, further the accumulation of wealth, produce an heir, and solidify power. Love had very little to do with it. We might ask ourselves how much has changed in this ritual through the centuries, especially since the sticking points in most modern divorces is property division and custody of the children— sometimes in that order of priorities. Marriage has been
Photo courtesy of Antonette Taylor.
Tyan Taylor-Douglas with her children (clockwise left to right) Teajhae Williams (11), Ty’neijah Williams (13), Terrance Williams (9), Tyvion Williams (7), and Terranaye Williams (9).
Crash kills mother of five, fund established for kids By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer Tyan Taylor-Douglas’ life revolved around her kids. It should have come as no surprise that Taylor-Douglas, 32, was hurriedly headed to be with her children and take them trick-or-treating when she was killed in a traffic accident at an intersection by a crossing vehicle on Halloween. TaylorDouglas had just finished dropping off a co-worker who
needed a ride home. It should also come as no surprise that Taylor-Douglas’ five children, ages 13 to seven – all of whom are described as excellent students – are struggling to cope with the loss of their loving mother. “It has been hard on them all, but probably hardest on the youngest,” said Antonette Taylor, Taylor-Douglas’ sister. “Just the other day he broke
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NAACP polls Black voters By Joi C. Ridley For the civil rights community, Election Day was an undeniable victory. Ballot initiatives promoting equality were passed in several key states and Minnesota’s attempt to restrict voting rights was struck down. An NAACP swing state poll conducted in the days leading up to the election showed that African Americans were engaged on these issues, and offered a snapshot of the black electorate at this point in history. The NAACP’s polling found that a majority of African Americans support the Dream Act and marriage equality, both of which passed in Maryland on Election Night. The data revealed majority support for marriage equality measures. Fifty percent of African American voters favor a constitutional right to marry,
with 40% opposing it. Ninetythree percent of respondents favor the Dream Act, which allows undocumented youth to seek U.S. citizenship (71% strongly, 21% somewhat). The poll, which interviewed 1,600 African American voters in Ohio, Virginia, Florida and Georgia also suggested that, despite their very high support for the Democratic Party with President Obama at the helm, African Americans could be convinced to vote for a Republican candidate. Only 47% of respondents were “very enthusiastic” for the next Democrat candidate following President Obama and 15% are unsure of how enthusiastic they will be in 2016. Moreover, 14% percent of African Americans said they are more likely to vote for a Republican in the future if the candidate has civil rights
Photos courtesy of the Dube family
Above: Dr. Elvyn Jones-Dube circa 1981, Right: Elvyn Jones-Dube October, 2012
Artspace
By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor
“I really have no regrets. I can go freely. There are things that I didn’t accomplish that I wanted to but I have learned how to let go. I would have liked to have done more, and if I had more time, I would have done so.” Dr. Elvyn Jones-Dube Human beings, homo sapiens,
Obituary
Pepito’s Carlos Rodriguez dies
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or anthropology’s political correct AMH (anatomically modern humans) are a unique species among mammals. We have culture, which according to my colleagues, has been our primary means of adaptation. Through culture we have learned how to adapt to our environment by creating houses to shelter us from heat
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Gala honors Congressman
Rangel worked to rebuild Haiti
The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation
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and cold, clothing to protect us from the elements as well as symbolize ideas of decency and propriety. We developed sun tan lotions to protect us from the sun and solar panels to harness the sun’s power for energy. We created cooking to help us digest a variety of foods that contributed to our survival, and may have help trigger the development of our brain. And, we have created cultural rituals like marriage to facilitate the reproduction of the species and further social and economic relations.
Jim Luce called the Congressman “Haiti’s best friend in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Business
Stand out while standing up for what matters
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New York, N.Y. Congressman Charles B. Rangel was honored by The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation with its Humanitarian Award for his decades of work to encourage development in Haiti. Among his many contributions, Rangel created the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010, which provides additional trade preferences to Haitian textile and apparel imports, which is currently helping Haiti recover from the devastation of the earthquake. “I am thankful to receive this recognition for my work on behalf of the Haitian people, who have maintained a special place in my heart over a number of decades,” said Rangel. “I strongly believe that America must continue to lead an aggressive, coordinated
Lifestyle
Natural Hair Symposium
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effort to aid Haiti’s ongoing recovery. We must continue to extend tax breaks and encourage trade and development that will not only generate jobs, but also to create the kind of local and global partnerships that will empower Haitians to break the cycle of poverty.” The HELP Act of 2010 provides important protections for products considered sensitive by American textile producers and improves incentives to use U.S.-origin inputs. This legislation helped usher the development of the 600-acre Caracol Industrial Park in Northern Haiti, announced last month by Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton and former
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Full Circle
Black Student Alliance kick-off hosted at Normandale
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