Insight News ::: 11.29.10

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Holidazzle illuminates downtown MORE ON PAGE 5

INSIGHT NEWS November 29 - December 5, 2010 • MN Metro Vol. 36 No. 48 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

! k c o R s l r i G Black iew v r e t in d n o B ly r e The Bev By Alaina L. Lewis Contributing Writer

Photo:The Sorensen McQueen Group

Beverly Bond

Too often when searching through mass media, Black girls aren’t always marveled by a variety of positive Black images draped in success and artistic excellence. But model, producer, DJ and activist, Beverly Bond, with her myriad of entrepreneurial hats, creates promise with every step; a picture of visual excellence that promotes, inspires and shows young girls that as a woman of color, nothing can stop a dream. Bond is a Black girl and, unequivocally, she rocks! With this ideology in mind, and a goal to ignite her steadfast reflection within the lives of our Black youth of tomorrow, she founded Black Girls Rock Inc. in 2006, an organization designed to enrich, encourage, and develop young women into leaders and future role models of tomorrow. On November 7, Bond’s organization held its annual Black Girls Rock Awards on BET. The show was hosted by celebrated actress Nia Long and an entire evening was devoted to honoring a select group of Black women who display exemplary leadership and promote positive images within our community. Honorees for the evening included Raven Symone, Ruby Dee, Keke Palmer, Iyanla Vanzant and many others. Insight News caught up with Bond to learn more about her organization, the awards, and what she’s doing to promote positivity within the lives of young Black girls. Insight News: How do you go from being a

DJ to a motivational speaker? Beverly Bond: Usually people ask me how I went from being a model to a DJ [LAUGHS] Insight News: [LAUGHS] Well a lot of people don’t find themselves scratching records and then motivating girls. Bond: I think I am in a very unique position being a DJ in this time when a lot of material that’s targeted at women has not necessarily the best stuff. As a DJ, I’m paying attention. I have a beacon for what’s going on; I’m listening to all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I’m like: oh my God, is he serious? I started spinning in 2000, and I remember that was during the time when R. Kelly had done his “thing,” and the music industry was passing out the videotape like it was a new record or something. I remember one guy coming up to me and asking: you got the R. Kelly tape? And I’m thinking, Dude, why would I want that, and why would you want that, and why are you passing that out to deejays? I don’t want to generalize, but sometimes I think the thinking process in men is different. Where they might not mean any harm, until somebody checks it, somebody might not be thinking. I’ve seen them not think about some really dumb things. In the industry people kind of get going on the way it is, and things that shouldn’t be, become acceptable. For me as a woman it wasn’t acceptable, and as a person it wasn’t acceptable because I’m the type to pay attention and thinks about the world.

BOND TURN TO 3

In the 2010 election, fear won out •An interview with US Senator Al Franken (D-MN) By Al McFarlane and B.P. Ford, The Editors Al McFarlane: Senator, what’s at stake right now for progressives and all citizens of Minnesota? What’s the likely impact of change in leadership in the House of Representatives and the rise of the conservative party? Al Franken: Well, we’re going to have to find a way to go forward that continues to build the economy, to create the economy. We’ve actually made progress since the President took office… when the President took office; we

were losing about 750,000 jobs a month. We’ve had now, I believe, nine straight months of increased private sector employment. We’ve had reduced public sector employment, but that’s what we really want to do --increase private sector employment. But we’re going to have to find a way to work together, to create prosperity, to create jobs and so people have the hope that we can rebuild our economy. It’s really, really the number one challenge. AM: And so what’s at risk? For instance the visionary healthcare reform is back on the table, isn’t it?

AF: It is. But if you look at the Pledge to America that Republicans issued during the campaign, they said that part of their pledge is to repeal the healthcare law. On the other hand, on the other right hand of the page, they said that they wanted to keep so much of what was achieved in the bill, including if you have a preexisting condition, you can’t be denied health insurance or punished for it, and, getting rid of the caps on annual care and lifelong care and a number of things that you cannot repeal the healthcare bill and keep those things without it costing an incredible amount of money.

Senator Al Franken The whole bill was a comprehensive bill which

Official photo

will insure 31 million more people. As a result the

insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies will be paying more in because they’ll be covering more people. That money will be used to subsidize folks from 0 to 400% of poverty. It’s comprehensive healthcare reform. The Republicans said, ‘We’re going to repeal it’ but keep all the things that everyone likes. You can’t do that. So even though it was a pledge, a solemn pledge of the American people, I think they knew that didn’t actually make a lot of sense. AM: And so it leads us to wonder how much of this drama

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“Wow”: The E.J. Henderson Turkey Basket Giveaway By Ryan T. Scott Contributing Writer “Wow! They give you milk and everything! Lord I needed this.” These were the words of a gleeful and appreciative young mother from North Minneapolis as she breezed by with her basket of Thanksgiving sustenance donated by the E.J. Henderson Youth Foundation, Cub Foods, and the Jennie-O food brand. In just three years, the E.J. Henderson Turkey basket giveaway has doubled in size, and judging by the masses who

braved the November morning cold, “doubled” may be a wild understatement. Standing before the North Minneapolis crowd in the east side of the Cub Foods (701 W. Broadway) parking lot, Henderson was joined by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and US Rep. Keith Ellison, to address the frigid, but thankful crowd. Ellison gave a brief opening, showering praise upon Henderson, Rybak, and the spirit of the season. “What you’re seeing in your mayor is a man known to Washington as a leading advocate for urban America. …What you have in

Edwidge Danticat

The Create Dangerously interview

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Suluki Fardan

E.J. Henderson (green jacket) with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (foreground) and volunteers

Lifestyle

Thanksgiving and Christmas together

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E.J. Henderson is more than a gifted athlete, but a real hero in America,” said Ellison with emphasis. Following Ellison, Henderson suggested that he would keep it “short and sweet” due to the weather, but spared no mention of all those who were involved to assist in the effort. Following the distribution of several initial gift baskets, Henderson whisked away to sign autographs along with his brother Erin Henderson, and then continued on to the second of the three Cub locations where he would repeat the effort to assist the local community. Added to this years’

Technology

KFAI champions community radio

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presentation were several of the most involved community organizations in North Minneapolis including, but not limited to: Shiloh International Ministries, US Bank, Bolder Options, Masjid An-Nur, Minneapolis Urban League, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, Meals on Wheels, Northpoint Gateway and First Community Church. Their purpose in attendance was to join Henderson’s platform so that attendees would have functional access to the many life changing

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More than a building

Johnson Publishing remembered

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