W I N N E R : 2 017 N N PA M E R I T AW A R D S : 2 N D P L A C E B E S T S P E C I A L E D I T I O N
Insight News November 13 - November 19, 2017
Vol. 44 No. 46• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Woke at the polls Seismic shift signals rise of new dynastic political order
Melvin Carter
Carter, Ellison build family brands; Cunningham, Jenkins
Uchechukwu Iroegbu
Jeremiah Ellison
build inclusiveness By Harry Colbert, Jr., Managing Editor Twitter @HarryColbertJr
It’s basic science … for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I know there are some in politics who refuse to believe in science (i.e. climate change, evolution … a woman can’t prevent getting pregnant in instances of rape, etc.), but the reactions of Nov. 7 may be making some believers out of there. Sure, they may still deny some basic applied sciences, but they are becoming true believers in political science. Newton’s Third Law of Physics deals with mass, force and energy in the most literal sense. Drop a basketball and it will bounce back. Drop it harder and it will bounce back with greater force. Throw it against a brick wall and prepare to duck because that ball is headed directly for your face. Newton’s law clearly applies to politics as well. Promote a platform of hate, fear and divisiveness and expect an equal – in your face – reaction. But remember the opposite of hate is love. The opposite of fear is embrace. The opposite of divisiveness is inclusion. We saw that equal and opposite reaction the past week when candidates near and far were swept into office by a mass force of mobilized and energized citizens asserting the ties that bind are stronger than the ones that are old and frayed, choosing to go it alone. Mass … force … energy. Melvin Carter had one goal … to represent all of St. Paul. He had the support of most of the African-American community, and equally important, he had the support of members in the Hmong community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community and of our white brothers and sisters. The ties that bind. Yet with that support, it wasn’t his politics people chose to attack, it was his skin. No, it wasn’t said outright, but trust, the dog whistles were heard when a police union attempted to smear Carter over guns (legally held guns) that were stolen … stolen ... from his home. It didn’t matter that Carter’s father served honorably as a police officer … more importantly, a peace officer. The tactic was clear: tie the Black candidate to crime. Place fear on the minds of voters. But St. Paul said loudly, fear on the mind doesn’t compare to love in the heart. Yes, Carter is the city’s first African-American mayor, but he will govern for all. Andrea Jenkins once told me in an interview she feared violent encounters for simply being. As a transgender person of color, she is sometimes targeted for her skin color and for her choice of gender identity. But the fear on her mind didn’t overrule the love in her heart that has made her the outstanding advocate for people of color, women, those who identify as LGBT and others who benefit from her much needed voice. The residents of Minneapolis’ 8th Ward returned the love, electing her with more than 70 percent of the vote to serve as the ward’s councilperson. The ties that bind. Those who were asleep are now fully awake. Those hipper than me would call it woke. In Minneapolis’ 4th Ward … a ward in North Minneapolis … a ward heavily populated by people of color and white progressives … it had been long ruled by the old, established guard. The councilwoman in the ward was also the president of the council. She was firmly entrenched … or so she thought. She occupied her seat for 20 years. But on Nov. 7 the people of the 4th reminded her it was not her seat … it was – and is – the people’s seat. And the people said now is the time for Phillipe Cunningham to serve. Cunningham is not established. He’s not entrenched. Not the old guard, he’s a part of the new era. Oh yeah, Cunningham, like Jenkins, is too a transgender person of color. The ties that bind. There’s a difference between the “old guard” and a continued legacy of progressive action. Jeremiah Ellison represents the latter. Yes, Ellison is the son of Rep. Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Public Schools board member, Kim Ellison, but Jeremiah Ellison
ELECTIONS 2
Uchechukwu Iroegbu
Andrea Jenkins
Uchechukwu Iroegbu
Phillipe Cunningham