Insight ::: 04.12.21 by Insight News, Inc

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April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 15• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Lonnie Powell

...and sometimes I hear them singing. ACRYLIC AND PASTEL ON CANVAS, 30”X30”. (PRINTS AVAILABLE) 1

Artist Lonnie Powell: In October 2013, Powell won “Best of Show” in Harlem X-Hibit on Black Art in America. Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II and his wife, Dianne Cleaver, honored Powell with a Congressional Record Statement for his artistic contributions to the community and country in April 2015. Powell received the ArtsKC Virtuoso Award in February 2020 for his volunteerism, his artistic contributions, and his work in arts education and the Kansas City arts community as a whole. (http://lonniepowell.com/)

Page 2 • April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021 • Insight News

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IT’S to keep our ON community safe. US GET VACCINATED TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES. Find out where, when, and how to get a COVID-19 vaccine at vaccineconnector.mn.gov

northsideachievement.org facebook.com/NAZMpls @NAZMpls

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Insight News • April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 15• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Birch Jones: Righteous warrior touched hearts and futures Commentary By Former Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendents Dr. Carol R. JohnsonDean and Dr. Bernadeia Johnson The Northside Polars and Greater Minneapolis community lost a precious treasure and righteous warrior whose life’s work touched more hearts and futures than he probably ever imagined or knew. While educator Birch Jones was not born and raised in Minneapolis, he would find himself teaching there after graduating from Eastern Illinois University, and eventually serving for more than a decade as principal at Franklin Middle and North High Schools in the heart of the Northside community. As former principals at the Northside’s Hall Elementary and later Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) superintendents, we both had the good fortune to know and work side by side with Birch. We saw firsthand his deep commitment to students and a community often beset with tremendous economic and social challenges not always of their own making. We both benefitted from his efforts to build a seamless pathway for Hall’s elementary students to Franklin to North and beyond. During his tenure

at North High School, Birch Jones recruited and retained talented educators and created the then-ﬂourishing SUMMATECH and Arts and Communications Programs that attracted students from across the city. He supported student ﬁnalists at nearly every state athletic competition and student scholars beyond the classroom. Because of Birch, MPS’ radio station (KBEM-88.5) exposed students to career experiences in broadcast journalism and television. History and world language departments were encouraged to support international student trips and close-up trips to the nation’s capital so students could see for themselves government policy created. Birch imagined and dreamed for his students’ leadership roles beyond 55411. Birch came to work early and stayed late, engaging in every student activity, never delegating supervision and safety, and knowing every student and family by name. While he was no-nonsense, modeling for students the professional presence necessary to navigate the post-secondary competition he knew they would face, his sense of humor helped ease the stress and strain around him, reassuring people it was okay to relax. During a more turbulent time, an already retired Birch answered the call to return to MPS to take on a leadership role, always gravitating to his passion for supporting students

Supremacists distort struggle for African American liberation Part 3 in a series Myth of Race By Professor Mahmoud El-Kati

Birch Jones and families. Birch not only served and educated thousands of students in North Minneapolis, he and his family chose to live there and invest in the Northside. He became a chief ambassador and champion for all the assets the community offered. He wanted to be close to students’ daily experiences so his knowledge and support would be authentic and timely. He rescued many students, some who had made poor choices, and skillfully guided them through the difficult and turbulent waters of adolescence – often simultaneously coaching their parents. His dear wife of more than four decades, also an educator, describes Birch as her “very best friend,” saying their life’s work together made a difference to their children and planted seeds for a better future for all of us. A man of deep faith and courage, Birch Jones represented all that is asked of us: to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly (Micah 6:8). Birch was a true statesman to our profession and his legacy will live eternally in the hearts and minds of all those he touched – students, families and staff.

Melvin Carter

By Irma McClaurin, PhD By Irma McClaurin, PhD https://corporate. target.com/article/2020/09/lakestreet-letter

Andrea Jenkins

Commentary by Dr. By Aarohi Narain By Mecca Dana Randall Harry Maya Alexa Starks Colbert, Beecham Spencer, Bos Bradley Jr. Josie Johnson By Global Latisha Information Townsend Contributing Architect Howard Mayo Managing Clinic University Editor Staff Writer Contributing Network (GIN)Writer News Service harry@insightnews.com

Birch Jones, Jr. Obituary Birch Jones, Jr., was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26th, 1949 to the late Birch Jones Sr. and Louvenia Jones. He was the second youngest of four children and the only son in the family. His oldest sister, Joyce Falkner, preceded him in death.

Jones graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Eastern Illinois University in 1971, and a master’s degree in Education from Loyola University in 197 5. While at Eastern, Birch met his best friend, Shirley, and they were married on June 5, 1971 in Chicago. Birch, Shirley and their young family moved to Minneapolis in 1975 so he could pursue a doctorate degree at the University of Minnesota. Birch left the university prior to completing this dissertation when he got the opportunity to start his administrative career in the Coon Rapids school district. Jones emerged as an educator of distinction dedicated to student success while working for the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Throughout his 30-year career, he rose through the ranks, serving as an Assistant Principal, then Principal and then Area Superintendent; he retired as the Chief of Staff to the Superintendent. An entrepreneur, Birch operated Jones & Jones, a cleaning business, and owned Young Brothers Barber Shop, a north Minneapolis institution. With his wife Shirley, he invested in other properties on the Northside, including an apartment building and an art studio. Besides his wife Shirley, Jones is survived by children, Jayatta Jones, PhD of New York, NY, Nika Jones (Silvana) of Sunnyvale, CA, and Faro Jones of Rochester, MN; sisters, Shirley Buchanan and Beverly Bradley, both of Minneapolis; grandchild, Sofia Jones; favorite uncle, George Leggs and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Services officiated by Bishop David E. Johnson of Grace Apostolic Church were March 20, 2021 at Estes Funeral Chapel, 2101 Plymouth Ave. N – Minneapolis.

Understanding Racism as an Ideology The attempt to define the justified, indignant and correct reaction of African people to “white supremacy” as “Black” racism is in effect a dishonest and deceitful expression to disguise the maintenance of “white supremacy”. Such unfounded claims are yet another attempt to distort the righteous, historical and noble struggle of AfricanAmericans for true liberation, from the legacy of the past. The institution of enslavement ended just about 150 years, a little over three generations ago. Racism is not absolutely, but is essentially an institutional phenomenon. It is prejudice plus power. And it is initiated and carried out primarily by the powerful who control the major resources in this republic. The basic tenets of racism are aggression, domination, and greed; like the air, it permeates the entire Republic. Even billionaire Oprah Winfrey is not immune to this virus. Racism does not react. Racism as an agent of aggression and itself manifests overtly (racial profiling or Stop and Frisk) or

covertly (redlining by ﬁnancial institutions). It acts - almost everywhere, almost all the time. Racism was not born in America. It was brought here. The idea had been initiated and well honed among Europeans themselves, as a collection of “races”, Nordics, Alpine, Celts, etc. This was broadened to include more people with contrasting looks during the exploration period. Practices evolved from the idea of “race” with the rise of the modern West. To deﬁne racism as “white supremacy” does not mean that white people, in the generality, are bad apples. Most white people are not mean. But some of them are. White supremacy can’t be traced to an individual psychological disorder, because it is inherent in the prevailing social order. And too often they are in high places. I am now speaking here again of a doctrine, an ideology, a system of ideas, a body of beliefs, predictable values and customs, unfair legal practices that dominate the thinking of the courts and police departments and lawyers. The big ideas are always controlled and propagated, by elites wherever they rule. Racism can be looked at in the same way that Communism once functioned in the former Soviet Union. Communism was run by elites, by bureaucrats, as was Nazi Germany, as was Apartheid in the Republic

RACE 5

Biden’s first three nominees for Federal Court of Appeals By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent Remember these names: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Tiffany Cunningham, and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi. These are President Joseph Biden’s first three nominations for the federal Court of Appeals. In 2020, Biden pledged to name the first African American woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. A number of retirements are expected from the federal judiciary now that Donald Trump is out of office. The percentage of African American judges on the federal appellate circuit is inconsistent with the makeup of the broader U.S. population

For his first three federal Court of Appeals nominations, President Biden named three Black women— Tiffany Cunningham, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi overall. Former President Trump nominated no African Americans of 54 U.S. appellate nominations. President Biden has now nominated U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. She

would replace Merrick Garland who is now U.S. Attorney General. The position is also seen as a steppingstone to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Biden nominated Candace JacksonAkiwumi to the Seventh Circuit where no African American judge has served in three years. Biden has also nominated Tiﬀany Cunningham who will now likely become the ﬁrst African American judge ever on the Federal Circuit. In December 2020, Biden said, “We are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench. Including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid

attorneys and those who represent Americans in every walk of life.” The power of the federal judiciary to be the final decision maker on policies that impacts that lives of African Americans unmatched. Former President Trump, along with Sen. Mitch McConnell, nominated many judges to the federal bench who were defined as unqualified by the leading groups who follow judicial nominees. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

The dawn of reclamation By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly .” ~Zen proverb Witness after witness for the prosecution, even the young mayor of the city, and the chief of police speak. Cold blooded MURDER in Minneapolis on a global stage.

Rep. Rena Moran Can’t call it anything else. The perpetrator glares at the

Elijah Norris

Michael Rainville

17-year-old with her phone camera in hand, seemingly not

News

Renters would get additional eviction protections under omnibus housing bill

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Rita Ortega

RECLAMATION 4

To Hell with Ageism Sixty-Nine, Black, Silver-Haired & Proud Culture and Education Editor

By Irma McClaurin, PhD I celebrated my 69th birthday two days ago. I am neither “years old” — since aging is treated in this country with much disdain — nor do I desire to be “years young” — been there, done that! What would possess me to make a wish and lose the wisdom & knowledge I have earned so that I might turn back the clock to revisit some of the most embarrassing, and. might I add, stupidest decisions in my life? Why ever, would I do that? Aging in this country is a bitch! We do not revere

nor respect the elderly in this culture! COVID-19 unearthed the fault lines in Nursing Homes, the isolation some seniors face, the contradictions of 60+ year old employees reporting to 30-something supervisors & CEOs who know nothing, have never worked outside of their celebrity jobs, and have zero contexts for comparison, and who resent our wisdom — now I have deﬁnitely been there and had that experience! Second Chances The only people in this country who seem to get second chances as they age are white men. They can work on jobs or be rehired until they have 99 years old on the calendar— and I do mean O-L-D! They are given University teaching jobs, sometimes without any credentials, if they are rich or

AGE 4

I2H

Black farmers get COVID relief they deserve

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Redesign education to foster hope, engagement, and opportunity By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams. Jimmie Carter A veteran educator worries about apathy among the youth and calls for redesigning of how we reach and teach children and what we teach in a state known for its historic excellence in academics at all levels. A beautiful young real estate agent, a product of the Twin Cities schools and Latino community, encourages home ownership as the beginning of building wealth that can be handed down to the next generation; and a legislative policy director of the state council addressing concerns of Latino constituencies seeks to close livelihood gaps caused by blatant discrimination so that we will not lose another generation and their world will no longer exist as ‘us’ and ‘them’. The Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs (MCLA) is a trusted resource and advisor to the Governor and the Legislature on concerns of the state’s Latino communities. The agency looks at proposed policies, procedures, laws, and regulations, directly and indirectly impacting Latino residents. Adrian Magana, the Council’s legislative and policy director in health, is a native of the Twin Cities and the son of

Reclamation From 3 bothered about being filmed. The young lady is fearless and so are other bystanders. They scream for the officer to stop, but the hatred spewing from his eyes is so apparent and too risky to approach no matter how badly they wanted to. The offender has used excessive force six other times, but unless there was an accidental leak, the jurors will not be privy to that important information. The 911 dispatcher calls the police on the police. That’s pretty bad. What’s really bad is a police union defending a fired officer that obviously murdered an unarmed Black man with a legal fund of a

Mexican and Cuban parents. His successful career as a middle school teacher and an advocate for academic equity credentials the work he does at MCLA. As the fastest growing and one of the youngest demographic groups in Minnesota, the state’s economic competitiveness in part, depends on Latinos’ educational attainment. 2021 MCLA legislative and policy priorities include: increasing indigenous and teachers of color; redesigning curriculums that are anti-racist, respectful, and inclusive; more funding for English Language Learners (ELL); programming that emphasizes social and emotional learning (SEL) through mental health services; mandatory availability and use of visual aids and verbal translations when communicating with families; and the Dignity and Childbirth Act. Magana says education determines whether society nurtures liberation or continued oppression. “We need a Truth and Reconciliation process in this country,” he says. “There are so many diﬀerent reasons for mistrust and having no hope including the divide and conquer tactics and often the language barriers. But no community can be left behind. None of us is getting out of these uncertain times unless we all get out. We need to learn our history. The truth needs to be taught the right way. When I consider possibilities, I look at the United

Farmers Coalition and their solidarity of unified cultures.” Magana says, “It’s like starting from ground up to get our communities involved in the legislative process. That’s where the decisions affecting our neighborhoods are made.” Contact: adrian. magana@state.mn.us Kassandra De La Cruz, of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, continues her grassroots outreach using her bilingual-bicultural skills to educate Latino communities especially on the importance of building wealth through home ownership. Currently, she is a licensed real estate agent selling new home construction for True Homes! in North Carolina. “Because many employees have been required to work remotely and children will continue getting their academics from on-line access until the fall, many families are buying homes now because they need more space. That’s a good thing for all involved,” she said in a recent Conversations with Al McFarlane interview De La Cruz graduated from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights. She was the first president of and continues to be active in Jovenes de Salud, an afterschool enrichment program connecting academics and community service. Whe she was a student, she says, it was the Jovenes program that made her aware of the world she would have to navigate; that helped keep her connected to what was important in life; and

Adrián Magaña

Kassandra De La Cruz

Aaron Benner

motivated her to channel through discouragement she often found in the challenging white St. Paul environment that she grew up in. Her youth leadership work included leading the grassroots movement fighting the tobacco industry’s efforts to recruit young smokers, including ending the tobacco industry support of Cinco de Mayo’s St. Paul Parade. De La Cruz’s award-winning message through an original song and dance, NO FUMAMOS! received local and national recognition, including being selected for Best Practices - Center for Disease Control (CDC-2006). “Social media makes it harder on kids today, but mentors and afterschool programs like I had, like Jovenes creator Carmen Robles, made such a difference. Sometimes kids feel defeated; not accepted by the community. They struggle to have a voice; to belong; and to have hope that perhaps, after we come through COVID and the George Floyd murder trials are over, things will get better. It’s still uncertain.

If we are quiet and attuned, we will hear our ancestors tell us who we are; people who have the strength to overcome; survive; and to ﬂourish. Being bi-lingual and bi-cultural is such a great asset,” she says. Contact: www.kassdlc530@gmail.com If anyone would read Aaron Benner’s bio and looked at a pretty cool picture of him, they would assume there had to be a mistake. The 25-year educator looks 25 years old. Benner says he recognizes his youthful appearance is indeed a special gift. For the past four years, Benner has served as grade 11-th grade Dean of Students at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, a private Catholic co-educational high school in St. Paul. He also holds workshops for Catholic schools, “Diversity Through A Catholic Lens.” The Minnesota Teacher of the Year nominee in 2005 says the key to a successful school is teachers and parents working together. “There’s this urgent call for help from kids in our neighborhoods. I learn so much from them. There are these self-

perpetuated barriers in the minds of kids. We’ve got to train them to think differently. Sometimes they’re so traumatized and they have few words or thoughts to describe how they feel. Some see school with skepticism. If they have a white teacher, they feel it could be a set up: They are convinced that there’s no reason to try. Their lack of hope is scary. We must do a better job reaching them.” Brenner says sometimes parents and grandparents give the wrong message to young students. “Where I came from,’ he said, “the prevailing sentiments were never to lose confidence or the will to succeed in ourselves.” “It would be good to see more school administrators in the classrooms and for leadership to understand that education will need to be redesigned. It’s all different now after the events of 2020, and specific training for jobs in the market today will be different and more competitive,” Benner says. Contact: www. aaronbenner41@gmail.com

million plus dollars while still being immersed in necessary dialogue on police reform. Is it me, or is there something terribly awry with that scenario? For Rep. Rena Moran (District 65, St. Paul), the George Floyd murder trial is intense, so she chooses to guard her spirit and soul. But as the Derek Chauvin trial rolls out, the hardworking representative sees a strong case for the 2020 Police Accountability Act. “There’s so much work to be done as the state attempts to recover from COVID19-2020 and beyond, finalizing the 2021 budget that includes raising taxes on the wealthy and companies that profited during the pandemic to pay for investments in education and recovery efforts. Like so many public officials, Rep.

Moran says “Unless community leaders step up and embrace trustworthy information encouraging vaccinations, especially for people of color and seniors, the healing and reclamation process will be slow and arduous.” Young entrepreneur, Elijah Norris, running for a city council seat in Ward 5, lives by the mantra, “Leaders Lead by Example”. That’s what he’s always been about starting in high school. Now there’s more of an urgency and millenniums especially are not stepping back. They are filling in the gaps with their voices and moving forward. It’s about equity, the sharing of wealth, and strong and determined voices echoing Minneapolis artist Rion Listman’s powerful lyrics - “We’ve Had Enough,” in one of the theme songs opening the daily Conversations with Al McFarlane 1pm webcast on YouTube and Facebook Live. Norris is about getting young people trained for livable earnings and bridging the economic gaps through manufacturing jobs. Project Restore MN, LLC, is his forprofit company where 100 percent of revenue is invested in sustaining the non-profit partner, Market X, an application in the prototype phase earmarked for posting jobs and connecting young people to them. “We are wholly committed to spending a large percentage of all profits reinvesting into our communities through direct economic development,

strategic partnerships, and community engagement,” he says. Norris recommends the reading of “Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great” by Joshua Metcalf. Michael Rainville, candidate for the 3rd Ward, says he finds it refreshing to see true leadership in Chief Medaria Arradondo and the manner in which justice, for now, is showing in the system. “And people in our communities tend to believe as I do that this is the beginning of true accountability; that Derek Chauvin was a rogue police officer. We just have to remember there are good and bad people in all segments of society. We just hope history does not repeat itself, and that justice will prevail.” “I am struck by the decency of the people who were on the scene at the time of George Floyd’s murder,” says Alicia Gibson, a candidate for Ward 10. They were not of a riot mindset. They were firefighters and EMTs; and fearless young people recording everything. This is what Minnesota is about. And can I add, Chief Arradondo is powerful and amazing, and he’s earned our respect and our support.” Right before “Conversations” went on air, Gibson said she had just returned from visiting a few Black owned businesses around 24th and Franklin in South Minneapolis. “None had been informed about the city’s plans for revitalization development in the area that

could adversely affect the business owners’ efforts to rebound and recover. Economic justice is critical as we come out of an unprecedented year and into the dawn of reckoning,” she said. Rita Ortega is a candidate for the council in Ward 9. She’s the first indigenous woman who has run for Minneapolis City Council who has lived in public housing for 15 years. “I lived in a tent for four years. Believe me, I know what it’s like to stand in those lines,” she says. An executive assistant at Little Earth Residents Association, Ortega’s work centers on providing entrepreneurship training, interpersonal connections, multi-level support, and education services to the American Indian community in South Minneapolis. The association’s mission is to create highly rated educational and social programs, preschool partnerships, elder services, neighborhood stability, health initiatives, and cultural programming that foster a vibrant and safe place to live. “Sadly, the system continues not to give us justice. Do you realize how many native women are missing or have been murdered? Because of that reality, I have mixed emotions about the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Where’s the justice for the native women? Since the 1930s, we’ve been supposedly reforming the police department,” she says.

“How long is it going to take?” Ortega says she is an abolitionist when it comes to the Minneapolis Police Department. “Let the community help create a vision; the integration of a system where local, county, and state are working together and we know what our joint outcomes are supposed to be.” The abolitionist, as she refers to herself, pointed out there had been little mention of the housing crisis throughout the program; that gentriﬁcation is happening quickly, and resources are badly needed. Victor Martinez, candidate for Ward 5, has such passionate energy and desire to change the paradigm in his neighborhood and in North Minneapolis. He believes residents, especially the seniors and children, deserve safety and peace. But he also adds there are things the communities of color can do to improve conditions and livelihoods, as well. “There are a lot of jobs in the city, and if one wants to be an EMT they could be paid to go to school. There are good paying union jobs, and community centers and associations should be enabled to help walk those interested in improving their lives through the process. And like Elijah said, there are many jobs out there in manufacturing. We just have to connect the dots and the qualiﬁed potential employees with a positive change in a way of life,” Martinez says.

Consider Clarence Thomas, only four years older me and 73 , will most likely die in his role as Supreme Court Justice, without ever having done anything noteworthy except to be complicit with a white supremacist unjust Justice system.

magniﬁcent Sistah Cecily might not have had any work as a Black woman actress in her twilight years as she gracefully aged to become 96. And yet, Hollywood and TV stories of aging white women abound — think Downton Abbey’s dowager character.

DiVahs

When the time comes, may Clarence Thomas, NEVER rest in peace. And the very few Black men who are Fortune 500 CEOs are all silver dudes. At least up until recently — when Thasunda Duckett became the “second Black woman CEO on the Fortune 500 list, since Ursula Burns departed as CEO of Xerox. Outside of Cecily Tyson playing Miss Jane Pittman, when was the last time you saw a senior, silver-haired Black woman elevated in status and put in charge of anything? And dear Sistah Cecily, were it not for Tyler Perry’s Madea movies — which I both love and hate — the

Black Silver DiVahs: Forging Our Own Path Forward So where does that leave me, and those like me, who are Black Silver DiVahs? We know the answer!

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Age From 3 famous, or both. There is always some work waiting in the wings. Aging white women are the second group who get opporrunities in their twilight years. Of course it helps if you are rich and famous of the Jane Fonda ilk or a feminist icon like Gloria Steinem. There are movie roles of silver dowagers, political careers, speaking engagements, University teaching positions — again without credentials — and also documentaries made about senior white women. I think of Betty White, who is 99 and still doing TV sitcoms and game show host Alex Trabek of Jeopardy fame, who was 80 — where are their Black counterparts? They simply don’t exist! Even a few Black men with age under their belt get a second career wind.

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By ByLee Harry H. Jordan Colbert, Jr. Minneapolis Juneteenth Managing Editor Committee - 2018 harry@insightnews.com National Juneteenth Film & Bicycling Commissions

We Black Silver DiVahs must chart our own course by aging with dignity, grace, and resilience! Below are ﬁve things Black Silver DiVahs can do to make sure we are not overlooked in the future. Call out Ageism against Black women whenever you see it. Write our own damn stories. about our lives, ourselves as “Black Wise Women” and “Black Silver

Archive our lives in places like my Black Feminist Archive! Listen to this podcast on that topic. Watch my keynote on the importance of building an archival “home” for Black women. Live our true Black Silver Lives out loud by doing what we want and with whom we want — like Ms. Tina Turner marrying a man 16 years younger than herself: go Black Silver DiVahs Ageism is a real and it hurts, but we do not have to take discrimination and oppression lying down. No apologies for doing what is natural — aging! Stand Up Black Silver DiVahs —like I just did on my 69th Birthday — and Loudly Proclaim: “I am Silver, your age (50+), Black, and Proud!” Make it your daily mantra. (c) 2021 Irma McClaurin

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Insight News • April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021 • Page 5

Renters would get additional eviction protections under omnibus housing bill By Nate Gotlieb, Minnesota Session Daily To reduce housing displacement, landlords could be barred from immediately filing evictions for late rent, and to reduce barriers to finding housing, renters could have an easier time getting past evictions removed from their records. These are among the potential outcomes of the omnibus housing finance and policy bill. The House Housing Finance and Policy Committee on Tuesday heard a deleteall amendment to HF1077, sponsored by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul). Public testimony on the bill will be taken Wednesday, at which point the committee might also vote on it.

Race From 3 of South Africa, as was the American south, by the landed gentry – the ﬁrst segregationist, or the rising pre bellum capitalist class in the north. Action is shaped by ideology. The fact that most people in the Soviet Union were not card holding members (less than 1 in 10 of the total population) of the Communist party is less relevant than the fact that the population living under a system that was dominated by Communists, and that this system controlled their very lives through the control of major institutions, or the cultural apparatus, which controlled their collective minds. The people in power orchestrated this ideology to serve their ends, i.e. the ideals of Communism. Similarly, in America, the ideology is based on the doctrine of “white supremacy”. Whether legal or de facto, whether malignant or benign, the ideas

The companion, SF969, is sponsored by Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) and awaits action by the Senate Housing Finance and Policy Committee. The bill would require landlords to give tenants who have not paid rent a notice with the amount due and information on how to get rental and legal assistance. Landlords would then be required to wait two weeks before filing an eviction. The provision would not apply under Gov. Tim Walz’s pandemic-related eviction ban. Advocates say the provision would give landlords and tenants more time to reach agreements and could allow more renters to access financial assistance. But housing providers say it could lead to more eviction filings by removing the incentive

propounded by the system of white supremacy prevail. Due to a long history of custom, habits, values, mores, ingrained beliefs, which evolve into norms. Thus “white supremacy” has acquired a life of its own. Custom is more powerful than the force of written law. Habits and social convention inﬂuence individual attitudes. A collective outlook, a collective myth, produces collective patterns of behavior. The wisdom, moral clarity, grace, and pure common sense of the honorable Nelson Mandela teaches us “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.” “Race” Racism

the Principle, the Act The root and reality of racism grows out of the fallacies concept of “race.” We do not seem to realize how recent this concept of people belonging to “races” is. It has not been much more than three centuries that the term “race” itself in reference to humans gained

photo/MattGush

The bill would require landlords to give tenants who have not paid rent a notice with the amount due and information on how to get rental and legal assistance. Landlords would then be required to wait two weeks before filing an eviction. landlords have to reach informal agreements with tenants who are

not making rent. The bill would also

traction the English language. This idea was imposed on conquered “colored peoples” throughout the world. “Race” as we currently carry such a notion in our heads, is largely a myth, a fiction or a stage of false consciousness. The construction of “race” does not correspond to reality, however much we think it does. Categories of “races” exist, but races do not. “Race” is a superstition, our modem-day witchcraft. As a function, racism is also a political principle. It has generated an effective political culture among people who unwittingly accepts whiteness or the classification of “white”. Being “white” is not a color. It is a state of mind. It’s even a moral choice. It is an idea that belongs to our epoch, our period of time. Just as the Greeks during their epoch, believed non-Greeks were barbarous, uncivilized, savages. They praised not one, but many Gods. We believe in “race”, which reigns with Godlike power over our lives. This doctrine begins with, but does not end with so called “white”

people. All people, of all colors are effected by this doctrine. Certain Black Americans can be effective agents of this doctrine. Blacks, too often see other Blacks through the eyes of white people. Long ago in The Souls of Black Folks, WEB Dubois described this phenomenon, “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.” The error in “race thinking” is that we are taught to believe that there is an intrinsic link between biology and what is essentially social. We have been taught to believe that physical traits have an intrinsic connection to all behavior. We believe that “race” has some fixed, immutable tie to individual ability and cultural achievement. From this erroneous concept of “race” we arrive at a set of assumptions about the natural superiority of one “race” over others. We are taught this belief from our formal school curricula. The American system of education is

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By LaurenofPoteat Courtesy University of Alejandra By Dr. Commentary By North Brandpoint Dr. Rhonda Nicole Rekha Kimya Memorial Winbush E.Oliveras N. Mankad by Moore (BPT) Sen. Staff Ian Roth NNPA Minnesota Washington News Staff Bobby Dennis, Incoming Joe Salem Board Champion College ChairAfrodescendientes Mayo Clinic Staff Correspondent By IanPhysician Roth NorthPoint www.TheConversation.com elect, WomenHeart Health & Mayo Clinic Staff Wellness Center

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expunge all dismissed eviction cases, all evictions more than three years old and all evictions in which the tenant prevailed or in which settlement terms were fulﬁlled. Other notable policy provisions would: prohibit landlords from imposing ongoing fees that do not relate to a service, such as parking; require landlords to provide heat at a minimum temperature of 68 degrees from Oct. 1 to April 30; require landlords to give 24 hours’ notice, as opposed to “reasonable” notice, before entering units, and only enter between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.; allow tenants to terminate leases if they enter a nursing home, hospice, licensed boarding care facility, assisted living, adult foster care, intensive mental health

residential program or an accessible unit; provide an attorney to public housing tenants who are subject to eviction actions; and allow mobile homes located in parks owned by nonprofit cooperatives to be considered permanently affixed to the property, thereby allowing the owners to access traditional mortgage financing. Funding provisions The bill would also increase the Housing Finance Agency’s General Fund allocation by over 20% next biennium, boosting funding for workforce housing, homeless and highly mobile families with school-aged children and more. It would also create a lead-safe homes grant program and a task force on the rights of people who live in homeless shelters.

a submission to the doctrine of white supremacy. No thoughtful human being will deny this fact. Careful examination reveals that this “natural superiority” has more to do with environment, nurturing, and the fortuitous turns of history, not to mention the force of arms, and a system of suppression than with genes or “pure” bloodlines. It borders on obscenity that we live in a world of marvelous material advances, and at the same time remain bound to the obsolete and dangerous idea of “race” formed during the era of ignorance, superstition, and pseudo-science. To be sure all people are creatures of habits and preservers of tradition. This accounts, in part, for the maintenance of this doctrine. The idea of “race” evolved rather gradually and uncertainly during the great geographic “discoveries” along with the “discovery” of the great variety of humanity, not to mention great fortunes in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was then that

this powerful “modern myth” took root. The widespread beliefs that we hold about “race” can be traced to the rise of this dynamic, and to the creation of modern Western Europe. There is no other real index that we can point to. Almost all of the concepts, both “scientifically” and mythically, that we know about “race” is derived from European languages, thought, and through widespread conquests, imperialism and empire building. This glaring, experiential fact would be difficult for any rational person to deny. The die has been cast. And here we are. The words/ categories of Negro, mulattos, quadroons, octoroons, mestizo, griffy, half-breed, or Indian, as in American Indian, were all derived from European languages. All categories of “race” as we know them can’t be divorced from the EuropeanJudeo-Christian world. Will continue to next week: Some Historical References

Page 6 • April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021 • Insight News

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Black farmers get COVID relief they deserve By Ben Jealous, president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation If you ever begin to doubt that elections matter, think about Black farmers. The new COVID relief law takes signiﬁcant steps to address decades of shameful discrimination against Black farmers by the federal government. And that would not have happened without voters putting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House and giving Democrats a majority in the Senate. Fewer Black farmers The discrimination is well-documented. So is its devastating impact on Black farming families. Consider a few statistics. One hundred years ago, there were more than 925,000 Black-run farms. By 2017, that number had dropped by more than 95 percent. Today less than two percent of farmers in the U.S. are Black, and 98 percent of farmland is owned by white landowners. Part of the problem

is state laws that often force the sale of inherited farmland for pennies on the dollar. But this is not a problem confined to the Confederate states or the Jim Crow era. This is largely a problem of intentional discrimination by employees of the federal government. Decades of abuse Bigoted bureaucrats and discriminatory policies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Farmers Home Administration lending agency abused Black farmers for decades. Black farms were falsely classified as unproductive. Farmers were unfairly denied loans that they were entitled to receive. The government stalled and buried their complaints about discrimination. Land was taken and given to white farmers. Senate Democrats reported recently that Black farmers in the South have lost more than 12 million acres of farmland since the 1950s. In 1982, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission said that the Farmers Home Administration’s unresponsiveness “hindered the efforts of Black small farmers to remain a viable force in agriculture.” During the 1990s, many farmers were cut out of meaningful help they should

Newly elected Sen. Raphael Warnock—thank you, Georgia voters —introduced the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, which became part of the COVID relief legislation known as the American Rescue Plan. have gotten from lawsuit settlements. Oﬃcial neglect and mistreatment of Black farmers continued into the 21st Century: one study found that from 2006

to 2016, the federal government was six times as likely to foreclose on a Black farmer as on a white one. Money handed out by the Trump administration to survive the trade war he started,

and to help farmers deal with the pandemic, mostly bypassed Black farmers. Last fall, Senators Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Justice for Black

Farmers Act. It was designed to address and correct the discrimination that “caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of farmland and robbed Black farmers and their families of hundreds of billions of dollars of inter-generational wealth.” Keep it up And then the 2020 elections created powerful opportunities for Black farmers. During the ﬁrst week of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Agriculture halted debt collection and foreclosure for thousands of farmers behind in federal loan payments, many of them Black. Newly elected Sen. Raphael Warnock—thank you, Georgia voters —introduced the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, which became part of the COVID relief legislation known as the American Rescue Plan. That measure, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden includes $10 billion to support agriculture. About half of that is set aside to help Black farmers through debt relief, education, training, and land acquisition. The law includes $4 billion in direct aid to get farmers out of debt. And it includes $1 billion to create and fund a commission to deal with the longstanding discrimination and inequity in USDA programs. These long-overdue steps toward reversing generations of wrongdoing are not just the result of a single election. They are the fruit of decades of organizing by Black farmers and their advocates to document and challenge racist discrimination and injustice. And to get Black people and their allies to vote. Organizing and elections can change the world. Together we are making—and remaking—history. Let’s keep it up! Ben Jealous is president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation. He also is the former president and CEO of the NAACP.

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Insight News • April 12, 2021 - April 18, 2021 • Page 7

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