Insight ::: 08.28.2023

Assistant

Cultivating hope; creating equity

By Pulane Choane Contributing Writer (pchoane@insightnews.com)

Patrice Bailey, who grew up on the streets of New York, just five blocks from the Apollo Theatre, said he didn’t want to work in agriculture at first. He wanted to be a lawyer. But with six months left in his senior year of high school, his mother changed his mind, saying, “There are too many lawyers. Why don’t you find a way to support yourself in any part of the world you may find yourself?”

When he asked what her profession was, she said agriculture.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t want to be a farmer,’” he says, recounting how his mother went on to tell him that agriculture was more than just farming.

state representatives at Minnesota State Fair

Fairgoers are invited to weigh in on hot political topics and meet with legislators during their visit to the House of Representatives’ booth at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. Located in the Education Building on Cosgrove Street, highlights of the House booth include the informal, unscientific opinion poll that draws responses from around 10,000 participants annually. Fairgoers can let their opinions be known this year on several issues, including sports gambling, budget surpluses, armed school staff and banning plastic water bottles. Results are expected to be available on the House website (www.house. mn.gov) Sept. 5, the day after the fair closes.

Also back is a photo opportunity as you stand behind a replica of the House Speaker’s desk. Complete with flags and the Abraham Lincoln portrait, the display gives you a feel for what it is like to stand in this position of power. And be sure to find out why Lincoln’s image hangs in the House Chamber. The following is a list of representatives planning to attend.

Tuesday, Aug. 29

10 a.m. to noon:

Rep. Peter Fischer (DFLMaplewood), Rep. Danny Nadeau (R-Rogers)

Noon to 2 p.m.: Rep. Leigh Finke (DFL-St. Paul), Rep. Emma Greenman (DFLMinneapolis)

Wednesday, Aug. 30

10 a.m. to noon:

Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFLBloomington), Rep. Peter Fischer (DFL-Maplewood)

Noon to 2 p.m.: Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFLMinneapolis), Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFL-Bloomington)

Thursday, Aug. 31 10 a.m. to noon:

Rep. Patty Acomb (DFLMinnetonka), Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina)

Want to make your voice heard? Take the MN House’s annual opinion poll at the 2023 MN State Fair!

Noon to 2 p.m.: Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura (DFLMinneapolis)

Friday, Sept. 1 10 a.m. to noon: Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple

Grove)

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove)

4 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove)

Sunday, Sept. 3 10 a.m. to noon: Rep. Sandra Feist (DFL-New Brighton), Rep. Duane Quam (R-Byron)

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove)

4 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove)

Monday, Sept. 4 10 a.m. to noon: Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center)

Grandmothers & theatre: Silver linings in our communities

By Pulane Choane Contributing Writer (pchoane@insightnews.com)

Black communities in America and worldwide face many challenges that stem from slavery, segregation, and discrimination, which have left lasting effects like systemic racism, economic inequality, limited access to quality healthcare and education, and over policing. And yet, despite a dark cloud hanging over it, in every Black community resilience and perseverance reveal two silver linings: grandmothers and theaters/ community art centers.

It’s in this spirit that Signe Harriday, a worldclass multidisciplinary artist, performer and director at the Pillsbury House Theatre (PHT) teamed up with Amọké Kubat, Yoruba Priestess, writer, teacher, artist and founder of YO MAMA- art-making support groups for mothers of all ages, to create a block party like no other.

Titled “Inside Out 2”, the celebration was the second

annual Block Party of its kind and it was held on July 29th at PHT, with all the outside markings of a traditional block party: free food, fun family activities and a fun house. However, the inside twist was that, it metaphorically sought to, much like grandmothers and theaters do in Black communities, offer a safe, healing space for those who came to immerse themselves in it.

Inspired by the book “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?”, which was written by Junauda Petrus who visited PHT as toddler, the event borrowed on the concept of the importance of Black matriarchs in Black communities, which Petrus captures very well in her poem. In her homage to grandmothers that was written in the wake of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, she offers alternatives to incarceration and policing, that only Black grandmothers (and fathers) have the love, wisdom, and courage to muster. Her poem is one that highlights the joys and pains of Black communities,

with grandmothers being at the heart of each of these with their communal values and though sometimes fierce yet undeniable love styles.

Speaking to Al McFarlane, the host of The Conversation with Al McFarlane, on KFAI’s 90.3FM and simulcast on social media platforms including YouTube, Harriday said that ironically, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that reminded her of how important it is for communities to be together and how even

historically, this had always been the case. “We call it ‘Inside Out’, because oftentimes in Minnesota, we get stuck on our one-way street and we’re moving from here to there… But during the pandemic, we were reminded of our ancestral technology and what it means as Black folks in particular to just be together.”

And in Minnesota, she says, the summertime is

He admits it wasn’t a vision he shared with her until he ended up at Prairie View A&M University in Texas.

After seeing all of the different aspects of the field, he realized that his mother was right and followed her advice.

Today, it is his mother’s wise, knowledgeable advice that has earned him a B.S. in Agriculture as well as a Master’s Degree in Agriculture from Iowa State University.

Bailey now is

Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture att he Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

The department began as the Minnesota State Dairy Commission in 1885 to eliminate the sale of adulterated milk and block the sale of oleomargarine as a substitute for butter. Since 1921, all commissioners, deputy commissioners, and assistant commissioners have been white.

It wasn’t until June 2019 that the first African American MDA Assistant Commissioner was named.

“I am the first Assistant Commissioner of color since 1885. And so there’s a lot of responsibility with that in terms of leaving a legacy for those that are coming behind us to be able to do amazing things”, he says with an earnest

Earlier this year, Arkansas

Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in challenging the College Board’s oft criticized AP Black History standards.

Sanders, like DeSantis, chose to appeal to the “Know Nothings” among her MAGA base by suggesting that teaching the truth about the Black experience in American history is “divisive” and only serves to “indoctrinate” students in a way that teaches them to “hate America.”

As a proud holder of two degrees in history (Morehouse/Florida A&M), and as one who studied Critical Race Theory when it emerged in seminars at the University of Florida College of Law in the 1990’s, I continue to find this latest Republican culture dividing talking point to be sick and simplistic. Sick in that facts are facts, and simplistic

in that one doesn’t need to be a Mensa Society member to understand how we, the people, interpret objective historical facts depends greatly upon our individual and collective life experiences! Life experiences, at least for all non-whites, that are now being whited out by right wing politicos in red states across the nation. Seriously, I can remember all the way back to my first grade year (1978-79) at Apple Grove Elementary School in Oxon Hill, Maryland and how my teacher, Ms. Susan Hasenclever, captured my entire imagination as she held her Tab soda in one hand, while holding paintings of Christopher Columbus—the man she claimed “discovered” America—in her other hand. Her lesson would be replicated in most of the social studies and history textbooks that I read all the way through high school, with the juxtaposition of the greater “historical facts” and “historical indoctrination” being as follows:

Objective Historical Facts: European settlers sailed to the Western Hemisphere in droves in the 16th and 17th centuries and by the end of the 19th Century, dominated

Arkansas

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Twitter

Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL-Brooklyn Center)

Black Children’s Book Fair

Sharing Our Stories

By: W.D. Foster-Graham

Book Review Editor

Whether on the air with The Conversation With Al McFarlane or in my column, I have stated what it was like, as a Baby Boomer, to only find books like Further Adventures of Dick and Jane during my childhood of the 1950s and early 1960s.

Author Crown Shepherd noted

Bailey

From 3

on TCWAM that the primary reason Black boys started to fall behind in reading was because there were no characters in children’s books who looked like them, which was one of the motivations for her to write and publish her children’s book Black Boy Black Boy. That being said, as an author myself, I was honored and delighted to meet and connect with Black authors of children’s books at the Black Children’s Book Fair, held at the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul on August 12, hosted by Dr. Talaya Tolefree, the founder of Sankofa Moments Publishing. Among the group of

voice that conveys his humble pride.

Leading up to this title, Bailey has served the Twin Cities in several positions focused on bridging

The DisproportionateImpact of Long COVID on African Americans: Why Us Again?

COVID-19Vaccine

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amazing authors were Shayla Michelle Reaves, Rosemond Sarpong Owens, Lehman Riley, Josalyn Thomas, J. Darnell Johnson, Nadvia Davis, Thomas Davison, Mizz Mercedez, and of course, Dr. Talaya and NiaImani Tolefree. In addition, representatives of the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent were also in attendance. As one who was a voracious reader as a child, I am wholeheartedly in line with their motto, “Reading = Success!”

From the sharing of stories to the author panel, the event was fun, educational, and engaging. There were games and prizes for the kids, plus the

underrepresented communities of color to various available resources and advocating for them legislatively at the Capitol.

His position plays a vital role in the department’s operations as he assists the Commissioner in carrying out important agriculture initiatives and roles. The two work to support and promote the State’s agricultural industry, ensure food safety and quality as well as provide resources and

Grandmother s Grandmothers

From 3

the time to do that and through a block party, that’s exactly what they did. Between drinking lemonade and fanning away the humidity in Minnesota’s warm summer weather, those at the event were offered solace in the cool shades of wisdom pearls shared by grandmothers who sat warmly sharing their ancestral knowledge and life lessons of survival to the younger generations.

opportunity to meet and greet the authors. I wholly appreciate the need for authors of Black children’s books to have an affirming space to share their work and let the community know about it, and I thank Dr. Tolefree for making this event possible. For further

assistance to farmers, producers and consumers. His position is also especially important in driving the growth and development of Minnesota’s agricultural sector and maintaining its reputation as a leading agricultural state. Minnesota ranks fifth in the country for agricultural production, despite having only the 14th largest land mass. Minnesota’s largest agricultural commodities are

information about Sankofa Moments Publishing, check out Dr. Tolefree’s website at sankofamomentspublishing.org.

Let’s continue to support these events in our community, and encourage our children in the joy, value, and

corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, and dairy. The state is also a top producer of sugar beets, oats, turkeys, and wild rice.

Bailey says his Department’s Emerging Farmers office, which opened a year and half-ago, is leading the United States in creating an office dedicated to helping emerging farmers.

“We are looking for the best of the best energetic, we are looking for people that want

power of books and reading for success. That being said, check out my latest column for a review of one of the extraordinary authors who participated in the Black Children’s Book Fair, Mizz Mercedez. Representation matters!

to be world changers. So we are looking for, for people from all over the state, all over the region. But we really do need to be able to have the best person in this role in order to show that agriculture does have an entry point and this Emerging Farmers office would actually be able to help farmers that are not able to advocate for themselves,” he says.

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“If you sit down long enough to listen to people and give them that space, give them that rapport, breathing together, our hearts beating together and that hug and that touch, the stories come and the richness comes,” which Kubat explains is how she and Harriday were able to facilitate a safe space of healing to the community in that one sitting.

But while it may sound like this was a gendered exercise, Harriday explains that the notion of “transcendental grandmothering” isn’t limited to genders or family roles, but rather speaks to the transfer of ancestral knowledge from one generation to the next.

“There are many revolutionaries who came before me who I feel I have adopted in some ways as grandmothers. I think about Audrey Lorde, I

think about Toni Cade Bambara.

I think about Alice Walker and so many others who, I don’t have a personal familial relationship with them, but there’s a way in which their work has grandmothered me. And I think about important people in our community, that are also mothering in their own way. And that doesn’t have to be a solely a gendered or familial relationship.”

While today, for many communities, theater is a dying art form, Harriday said that it was important to preserve it as a space in which

Black communities spend their time and resources as it is one of the mediums that continue to allow for communities to be enlightened not only about their own humanity and divinity but of the humanities and divinities of others around them too. She also said that theater remains important because it continues to remain a gateway to imagining and creating different possibilities and futures. “If you have the feeling that everything is not quite right, right now… you have to activate your imagination to dream a different alternative.

Dream a world that we don’t currently have right now. And imagination is the tool that gets us there. And theater activates the imagination.”

To find out more about the programs offered by PHT, visit https:// pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org/. To also find out more about Signe Harriday, visit https:// www.signeharriday.com/ Find out more about Amọké Kubat’s works and her YO-MAMA organization, at https://www.yomamashouse. com/amoke-kubat.

Dr. Talaya Tolefree

A fund that aims to create new pathways to wealth for the Souls of Black Folk

By Pulane Choane Contributing Writer (pchoane@insightnews.com)

“He felt his poverty; without a cent, without a home, without land, tools or savings, he had entered into competition with rich, landed skilled neighbors. To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships”.

These words were written by prominent American sociologist, intellectual and civil right’s activist, W.E.B. Du Bois in 1902, in his work “The Souls of Black Folk”, and yet 121 years later, every word rings true. Black men and women in America continue to bear the burden of being a “poor race in a land of dollars”. There’s even a term to describe what Du Bois had termed the “very bottom of hardships” and economists refer to it as the “racial wealth gap”. Leading financial platform, Investopedia refers this gap as the “difference in assets owned by different racial or ethnic groups”. The gap measures not only the disparity in income between various racial groups, but also the disparities in opportunities, means of support, and resources.

Considering the slave history of Blacks in America as well as the economic oppression that occurred during the Jim Crow era, it’s then not suprising to note that African Americans are still lagging behind other racial groups on the wealth gap scale.

This as the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances reported in 2020 that “White families had eight times the wealth of Black families and five times the wealth of Hispanic families”.

This assessment was made by examining the homeownership, savings, investments, pensions and retirement assets of the ethnic groups concerned. Even in cases where African-Americans succeed at the same level as their white counterparts, disparities in outcomes persist.

However, Nexus Community Partners, through it’s $50 Million Open Road Fund for hopes to change this by bridging the wealth gap, particularly in Black communities. Speaking to Al McFarlane, the host of the The Conversation with Al McFarlane, Grant Manager for the Fund, Duaba Unenra, said that this fund intends to over the next eight years award $50 000 grants to atleast 800 eligible

applicants, who will use

will use the funds for several wealth-buildin g projects.

Applicants were given the choice of applying either as individuals, making them eligible for a $50 000 grant, while those applying in groups of

the and South enslaved who to are also eligible. specifications in mind, the Fund seeks to empower disadvantaged as

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Duaba Unenra says it’s important for communities not to think of the Fund as a lottery but rather as a project that will catalyze a process for everyone in community to begin thinking about the ways they want to build wealth and to move towards that.

either families, co-workers or individuals working towards a common goal were limited to five people and these are eligible for a $250 000 grant. The application process was only open to individuals and groups and not to those with tax entities such as LLC, S-Corps or C-corps.

While applications for the Fund are now closed, they opened in mid-June and applicants were required to meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply:

- Be age 14 and up.

- Be a resident of Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota.

- Be a descendant of the Atlantic slave trade,

including the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. Descendants of formerly enslaved people who repatriated to Africa are also With these cations in mind, the Fund seeks to empower disadvantaged communities such as formerly incarcerated persons, single parents, senior citizens, those living with disabilities as well as those from the LBGTQ+ communities.

“This project is fundamentally about invigorating black imagination, creativity, and also cooperation in our communities again. We have the benefit as well of not doing this work alone. And then there’s also a larger community that guides and supports that work in the form of an advisory committee. And we’ve had the honor of doing this work of dreaming what a process for redistributing wealth to black community would be together,” Unenra says.

Funded by the Bush

dation, the almost e to support cts from Black in pathways to y and prosperity gh wealth ribution to urn s munities s t ng

Foundation, the almost decade long project seeks to support projects from Black folks in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to create pathways to liberty and prosperity through wealth redistribution, to overturn the trillions of dollars Black communities lost during slavery by creating opportunities to reimage, rebuild and restore wealth in these communities.

“It isn’t only about rebuilding wealth, reattaining wealth lost over generations but also seeks to defend and secure the wealth that they do have,” Unenra says.

Meanwhile, Project Manager of the Open Road Fund, Lavasha Smith says that at the heart of the project, are the communities Nexus Community Partners serves and with them in mind, they decided to work on an expansive definition of wealth, that cuts across several areas that these communities can invest in as they set out

to wea to c “ F th started dre we firs told that we stewards of th all the way up now, we’ve mad that community at center o so like our ad co mm

to build their wealth for generations to come.

“From the time that we started dreaming when we rst were told that we were stewards of the fund all the way up until now, we’ve made sure that community was at the center of that.

And so that looks like our advisory committee.

to be able to create new wealth pathways. However, perhaps even more important than the monies that the applicants will receive from the grants is the change of ideologies that they will over the course of that time begin to develop, which will invigorate the imaginations of these and other communities around these states to consider the possibilities for wealth creation that lie ahead.

Nexus Community Partners

Project Manager of the Open Road Fund, Lavasha Smith says that for her, the Open Road Fund is just about black joy, healing, seeing Black communities being in the right relationship with each other and collaborating towards wealth-building.

That looks like the community helping us to shape our definition of black wealth, as well as our five black wealth-building themes, which are housing and shelter, education, health and wellbeing, ownership, and financial well-being, as well.”

Despite it’s best intentions, the Open Road Fund will help 100 applicants every year over the course of the 8 years, with these being limited to only Black communities in the three states previously mentioned, which is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions in America, who also need this kind of project in order

The two principals of the Open Road Fund said that they had received over 5900 applications, reaching 10% of their intended population.

“The next step is to support these folks in developing their wealth-building plans. And we want to celebrate and support those folks because we know no matter what happens, there will be some benefit that’s extended to the rest of us,” Unerna says. He concludes by encouraging those who haven’t applied or weren’t selected to apply in the coming years, as this will be an ongoing project until 2031. The next applications for the fund will re-open in Summer 2024.

To find out more about Nexus Community Partners and the Open Fund Plan, visit for more information. Contact ORFSupport@nexuscp.org with all application-related questions. You can also call the Open Road Fund at 612-886-3449.

University of Massachussets Amherst Libraries

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years later, W.E.B Du Bois’ words ring true for many Black communities America.

Black Americans are less likely to move up the wealth ladder than other other racial counterparts, especially if they are white.

commerce and politics throughout the Americas and the Caribbean/Atlantic isles.

Subjective Historical

Indoctrination: White settlers from Europe, simply wanting to freely practice their religion as they saw fit in what they deemed the “New World,” were ordained by God (Manifest Destiny) to take lands from Indigenous Peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere and to import stolen Africans to clear the swamps, plant the crops, and build the buildings of the mighty American Colossus.

Thinking back again to Mrs. Hasenclever’s 1st grade social studies class, I distinctly remember that she taught a short segment on slavery prior to a field trip that I later took to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Once more, the juxtaposition, from first grade on forward, was:

Objective Historical Facts: European businessmen built commercial ships for the purpose of capturing and bartering African men, women, and children to transport them across the Atlantic Ocean to be enslaved throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Millions of Africans did not make it to the Americas alive due to unsanitary conditions, malnourishment, and violence from their European captors. For ship captains who lost human “cargo,” insurance companies, like Lloyd’s of London, provided compensation.

Subjective Historical

Indoctrination: European colonizers brought Christianity to “heathen” African people who were transported to the “New World” to learn “valuable job skills,” taught the “Protestant (or Catholic) Work Ethic,” all the while being “taken care of” and “provided for” by wealthy plantation owners. The enslaved Africans were a happy lot…

To break through the web of lies, as I often proudly write, I was blessed to have two parents, Charles and Vivian Hobbs, who were avid readers of history and, most crucially during my educational

journey, Jim Crow survivors!

I distinctly remember that it was in 4th grade when my father showed me an old Jet Magazine photo of Emmett Till’s lynched remains, and after almost losing my dinner upon seeing his grotesque visage, from that point forward, both of my parents got real—and really graphic—in their “supplements” to what was NOT being discussed in the social studies and history textbooks that were assigned to me each year!

Digressing to first grade indoctrination, I actually have to give credit to my older sisters, Terri, Tarrah, and Traci, who were in 8th, 7th, and 6th grades, respectively, for telling me at the dinner table one night that Christopher Columbus didn’t “discover” anything because Native Americans were already living here—while also explaining what they knew about slavery from watching Alex Haley’s “Roots,” which first aired on ABC in 1977!

So, thanks to my entire family, I was that kid who knew that much of what was being taught in school from a social sciences perspective was some one-sided non-sense! Such is why as an adult, I ALWAYS provide objective facts in my essays and blogs before arguing my opinion, because facts are concrete no matter what perspectives I—or my readers—draw from those facts.

But the problem today is that with blissful ignorance being promoted in the public square, it has become easy for those in power to provide Orwellian “alternative facts” or, whole lies that, in time, could replace the real truth!

That’s why it makes me ill to think that over in Arkansas this month that Little Rock Central High School, the battleground for a pivotal Civil Rights era standoff in 1957 that forced then President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) to send Federal troops to protect nine Black students as they integrated the previously all white school, will now be forced to have its history teachers submit lesson plans to the modern “Dixiecan” education department to determine whether certain “facts” will “hurt the feelings” of young white students—or “indoctrinate” all students into

“hating America.”

Real history lessons, when taught properly, do not vilify the white descendants of the Little Rock Nine’s tormentors, rather, they compel all students to consider why something as arbitrary as skin color compelled state level policies to run contrary to Federal law while discriminating against a whole race of people that simply wanted the best education possible during the Jim Crow era?

But with truth being stranger than fiction, suffice it to say that the Critical Race Theory critics like Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ron DeSantis don’t really object to indoctrination, because you won’t hear these leaders calling into question whether the 12 American presidents who owned enslaved Blacks were “great” men—or evil men; you won’t hear these leaders demanding that President Abraham Lincoln’s views on the inherent inferiority of Black people be taught in comparison to popular (and wrong) sentiment of “Honest Abe’s” love for the same; you won’t find these leaders suggesting that history courses question whether race was a factor in the decision to drop Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.

No, the reason you won’t hear these “leaders” raise their voices about all forms of indoctrination is because to them, the “American” perspective, one that has always been told from a Eurocentric or white vantage point, is all that matters. Hell, even the crux of the United States’ National Motto, “E Pluribus Unum—Out of many, One” (1782), was THE original form of indoctrination in which the dominant culture (European) was designated to subsume all others.

Lest we forget…

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DAAWADA COVID-19

Daawada afka laga qaato ee ka hortagta fayraska

Daawada KOFID-19 ee kahortagta fayraska waxay ka caawiyaan dadka inay iska caabiyaan jirrooyinka. Paxlovid waxaa loogu talagalay dadka jira 12 sanno iyo ka weyn; molnupiravir waxaa loogu talagalay dadka waaweyn ee

Haddii aad la jirran tahay KOFID-19, daawada ka hortagta fayraska waxay kaa joojin kartaa inaad sii xannuunsato waxayna yaren kartaa muddada aad jirran tahay. Waxa laga yaabaa in aad daawadan hesho haddii afartan shay run yihiin:

Haddii lagaa helay cudurka KOFID-19.

Astaamahaagu bilowdeen wax yar 5 maalmood kahor.

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Summertime – A Time for Reunions

mix of tunes that drew many to the dance floor and transporting attendees back to their high school days.

Washburn Class of 1983

Turns 40! Minneapolis Washburn High School’s 40-year Class Reunion was a poignant gathering held on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at The Machine Room of Malcolm Yards, near the SE campus of the University of Minnesota.

The thoughtful planning committee orchestrated a heartfelt affair, seamlessly blending nostalgia and joy –so much so that classmates have requested a 45-year reunion. The event beautifully honored cherished memories of classmates who have passed away – way too soon, reminding everyone of the bittersweet passage of time. The evening provided an opportunity to rekindle friendships and share stories of the years gone by.

The DJ for the night, Walter “QBear” Banks, of 89.9 KMOJ Radio, curated a vibrant

As the evening unfolded, a lot of laughter and a few tears intertwined, celebrating the shared journey of those who walked the halls of Washburn High School four decades ago. It was a night that beautifully encapsulated the essence of reunion – fondly remembering the past while embracing the present.

Tune in to an upcoming episode of CoachLeah’s After the Whistle on the Insight News or Black Press USA YouTube channels or your favorite podcast platforms including Amazon, Apple, and Spotify to hear more about the Washburn Class of 1983 reunion.

Subscribe and download YouTube: https://YouTube.com/@ InsightNewsMN/streams

The 14th Anniversary of “Back in the Day at McRae”

The 14th Anniversary of “Back in the Day at McRae” was a resounding success on Saturday, August 19, 2023. The annual community/

neighborhood organized reunion of sorts drew a large crowd while reuniting southside community members, former McRae Park youth team players, and their coaches.

A joyous celebration of the park’s storied history and ongoing legacy took center stage. The event brought together generations, fostering a sense of nostalgia and camaraderie. Attendees were treated to great food, heartfelt reminiscences, and a renewed sense of community spirit. Overall, the anniversary gathering was a heartwarming tribute to McRae Park’s impact on the community over the years.

You can find out more about the reunion’s shenanigans, other announcements, and McRae’s surrounding community news by joining the “Back in the Day at McRae” Facebook group. https://m. facebook.com/groups/Backinth edayatMcRae/?ref=share&mib extid=S66gvF. Check out year round McRae Park program offerings here: https://www. minneapolisparks.org/parksdestinations/parks-lakes/mcrae_ park/

By: W.D. Foster-Graham

GOING BACK TO RONDO

By Mizz Mercedez

It’s a pleasure to read comic books and graphic art featuring BIPOC characters front and center, and Mizz Mercedez does it with panache. When the subject is our local community, something extra is added. In this her latest edition, she encompasses the science of time travel in Going Back to Rondo.

The story begins with Mizz Mercedez teaching history to her students. The students in question are complaining about how boring it is, so she engages the power of her Time Machine watch and takes them back to 1827 in Red River, Canada, where they encounter Canadian immigrant Joseph Rondeau and his Native American wife Josephine. Ultimately, they settle in St. Paul years later, and it is he for whom St. Paul’s Rondo community was named. Their next time trip takes them to the Rondo community of 1910, where they encounter Pullman porters, segregated schools, historic figures like William Jackson, landmarks such as the original Maxfield Elementary School and the Hallie Q. Brown Center, and various clubs, organizations, and businesses that made the Black community thrive. When the class stops in 1956, they witness the eviction of Rev. George Davis as part of the “eminent domain” plan to build I-94 through the Rondo community,

thus impacting and displacing Black residents and businesses in St. Paul.

With a blend of comics, actual news articles, and photos, Mercedez makes the history of the Rondo community highly engaging for young readers. Being of African descent, ours is an oral tradition, so it’s vital to pass down the history and the wisdom through our elders, as her acknowledgment of DeeDee Ray shows. Also important to children and adults are the Magic Glasses. Mizz Mercedez

(aka #YoKidzFavoriteTeacher) states, “We all have Magic Glasses power! We just have to believe it, to see it. Control our minds to think positive. What we think and speak will become our reality.” Going Back to Rondo is available through her website, www.MizzMercedez. com. Thank you, Mizz Mercedez, for the positive difference you are making through your work, and for being the change we want to see in our community. Let’s all put on our Magic Glasses!

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