WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE
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August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020
Vol. 47 No. 31• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
STORY ON PAGE 4
Ta-coumba Aiken
Page 2 • August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020 • Insight News
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Protect your health and your vote. Vote from home. Apply to vote absentee. A lot has changed due to COVID-19, but not your right to vote. State leaders are encouraging all Minnesotans to stay safe and vote absentee in the August 11 State Primary Election. Voting absentee is easy. Just follow these steps: • Apply online to receive your absentee ballot application • Fill it out and mail it back • Completed ballots must be returned or postmarked by August 11 We are working to ensure that voters 50-plus have access to safe voting options including early and absentee voting. Learn more at mnvotes.org or 1-877-600-VOTE.
facebook.com/AARPMinnesota @aarpmn aarp.org/mn Paid for by AARP
photo/AP Photo_Alex Brandon
The surgeon general US Surgeon General Jerome Adams recently told BlackPressUSA that wearing face coverings could help speed up a safe recovery, school re-openings, and save lives.
U.S. Surgeon General:
‘The Debate is Over — We All Should Be Wearing Face Coverings’ By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia It was only recently that U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams suggested that a national mask mandate wasn’t necessary for the American public to combat the coronavirus pandemic. However, the surgeon general recently told BlackPressUSA that wearing face coverings could help speed up a safe recovery, school reopenings, and save lives. “The best science we have available right now tells us the debate is over we
all should be wearing a facecovering to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Dr. Adams told NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., during the interview streamed over BlackPressUSA’s Facebook and YouTube channels. “Science is all about making the best recommendations you can with the best information you have and then having the humility and vigilance to continue to look at data,” said Adams. “As data change, the recommendations change.” Adams added that Americans should follow what he called are the three W’s: Wear facemasks, wash your hands, and watch your distance.
“We know if you do these things, we can turn around this epidemic very quickly,” Adams declared. “Italy is now open for tourism again, playing soccer games and opening schools. So, we can do it even without a vaccine. This [wearing a facemask] is a small inconvenience that will provide big benefits for you, the one you love, and your communities.” During the interview, Adams discussed the importance of African Americans participating in clinical trials for potential coronavirus vaccines, health disparities, and the importance of the speaking to people of color through BlackPressUSA.
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Insight News • August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020 • Page 3
Keith Ellison Weighs in on the DFL Primary Neighbor – While this is a Democratic primary, I am concerned that attacks are coming from Republican donors pushing millions into this race to defeat a progressive voice who has consistently fought for our community. These attacks will be poll tested and try to attack Ilhan and her family, her voting record and her commitment to you. But, we should all know better. Ilhan didn’t just start showing up to community events when her name was on the ballot – she has been organizing for a more just and prosperous America from a young age.
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When they were trying to take away our right to vote in a constitutional amendment or declare who we could marry – Ilhan was out organizing Vote No Twice! In the wake of the Pittsburgh, Pulse and New Zealand mass shootings, Ilhan joined together with Minneapolis communities to stand united against hate § DQG LQ MXVW KHU ²UVW IHZ PRQWKV LQ &RQJUHVV XVKHUHG WKH SDVVDJH RI EL partisan legislation to try to prevent gun violence. :KHQ WKH 0XVOLP %DQ ZDV ²UVW DQQRXQFHG ,OKDQ RUJDQL]HG WKRXVDQGV of Minnesotans of all faiths to gather in protest against Trump’s hateful, xenophobic decision – and when kids were being locked in cages, illegally detained from their families, Ilhan organized. :KHQ &RYLG KLW DQG GHYDVWDWHG RXU VFKRROV § ,OKDQ HQVXUHG SDVVDJH RI WKH MEALS Act into law guaranteeing school meals for all of our district students and 20 million students nationwide. I am proud to watch every day as Ilhan, her campaign organization and her RI²FLDO RI²FH QRW RQO\ ²JKW IRU SHRSOH OLNH XV EXW OHDG KHU FROOHDJXHV LQ WKH House towards a more just America. She has the right priorities and her bold vision is our shared vision – Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, achieving affordable housing for every American and standing up for Main Street against Wall Street. The Democratic primary is already underway. I am asking you to vote for \RXU ')/ HQGRUVHG FDQGLGDWH ,OKDQ 2PDU VR VKH FDQ NHHS ²JKWLQJ IRU RXU SURJUHVVLYH YDOXHV 5HTXHVW \RXU PDLO LQ EDOORW DW G³ RUJ YEP YRWH HDUO\ LQ SHUVRQ DW \RXU FRXQW\ RI²FH RU VKRZ XS RQ 7XHVGD\ $XJXVW WK Your friend,
Keith Ellison The Democratic primary is underway. Support Ilhan Omar by requesting \RXU PDLO LQ EDOORW DW G³ RUJ YEP YRWH HDUO\ LQ SHUVRQ DW \RXU FRXQW\ RI²FH RU VKRZ XS RQ 7XHVGD\ $XJXVW WK
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WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE
Insight News August 3 2020 - August 9, 2020
Vol. 47 No. 31• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Greater Twin Cities United Way, Minnesota United FC Co-Host Virtual Action Day Event and One of Twin Cities’ Largest Volunteer-at-Home Initiatives
Action day to help 40,000 local students head back to school Each year, about 100,000 kindergarten through twelfthgrade students in the Twin Cities region don’t have the school supplies they need to start the year ready to learn. That’s because many families face difficult decisions about buying those supplies or buying necessities like food and medicine, and the impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated this challenge even more. To help 40,000 students get the school supplies they need – whether they’re learning from home or at school – Greater Twin Cities United Way and Minnesota United FC are teaming up to host the fifth-annual Action Day, with a twist. Instead of thousands of people gathering on one day to assemble backpacks with school supplies, those interested can participate in one of the largest volunteer-at-home initiatives in the Twin Cities by: • Assembling school supply packs from the safety of their homes through Aug. 6. • Making a monetary donation through Aug. 13 to help fund 40,000 backpacks filled with supplies. Those who volunteer or donate at www. actionday2020.com will be entered into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a Polaris Slingshot and VIP experiences from Minnesota’s professional sports teams. Virtual Action Day will take place on Aug. 13 from noon to 1 p.m., and to participate from home, people can sign up at www.actionday2020.com. During this virtual event, 84 metro area nonprofits as well as school districts will pick up
photo/Jason Armond_Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Minneapolis, a city still split along racial lines.
Urban planning as a tool of white supremacy – the other lesson from Minneapolis By Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University
the backpacks and supplies at Allianz Field, which they will distribute to students in need. The event also will feature nonprofit leaders and how they’re preparing local students for academic success as well as mascots from Minnesota’s professional sports teams. “While COVID-19 has changed the way we’re approaching Action Day this year, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to helping students of all ages start the school year with confidence, ready to learn,” said John Wilgers, President and CEO of Greater Twin Cities United Way. “Our vision is all students thrive academically, personally and socially, and Action Day is one
of many ways we’re partnering with the community to help our students succeed.” “While we aren’t able to host Action Day at Allianz Field the way we hoped to this year, the need in our community has never been bigger,” said Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright. “This event is still about looking after the youth in our market, now even more so, and making sure they have the supplies they need to push forward and excel in their school work.” Created by United Way in 2016, Action Day 2020 is made possible through: • A partnership with all seven Minnesota professional sports teams,
including the Minnesota Wild, Timberwolves, Lynx, Twins, United FC, Vikings and St. Paul Saints as well as Fox Sport North. • Sponsors including Allianz, Comcast, Land O’Lakes, Liberty Diversified International (LDI), Marathon, Polaris, Post Consumer Brands and UPS. • Now through Aug. 12 families and others are volunteering at home. On Aug. 13, eight UPS semi trucks will unload backpacks and school supplies at Allianz Field where nonprofit partners and school district personnel will be picking up backpacks to distribute to students.
The legacy of structural racism in Minneapolis was laid bare to the world at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, the location where George Floyd’s neck was pinned to the ground by a police officer’s knee. But it is also imprinted in streets, parks and neighborhoods across the city – the result of urban planning that utilized segregation as a tool of white supremacy. Today, Minneapolis is seen to be one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. But if you scratch away the progressive veneer of the U.S.‘s most cyclable city, the city with the best park system and sixthhighest quality of life, you find what Kirsten Delegard, a Minneapolis historian, describes as “darker truths about the city.”
As co-founder of the University of Minnesota’s Mapping Prejudice project, Delegard and her colleagues have been shedding new light on the role that racist barriers to home ownership have had on segregation in the city. ‘Racial
cordon’ Segregation in Minneapolis, like elsewhere in the U.S., is the result of historic practices such as the issuing of racialized real estate covenants that kept nonwhite people from buying or occupying land. These covenants began appearing in U.S. cities from the early 1900s. Before their use in Minneapolis, the city was “more or less integrated, with a small but evenly distributed African American population.” But covenants changed the cityscape. Racist wording from the city’s first racially restrictive covenant in 1910 stated bluntly that the premises named “shall not at any
WHITE SUPREMACY 6
New column: The Way I See It
Quests and Visions Brenda Lyle Gray
photo/Evan Frost_MPR News
The gag order was prompted by the submission of police body camera videos filed with the court earlier this month by former officer Thomas Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, as part of a request to have Lane’s case dismissed.
Judge lifts gag order in Floyd case Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill has lifted a gag order in the criminal case against the four former officers charged in the death of George Floyd. He also said he would take under advisement a news media coalition’s request to make body camera footage more widely available. Cahill agreed with defense attorneys’ arguments that a gag order would be
unfair to their clients and limit their ability to defend against negative publicity. According to Associated Press, Cahill said the gag order wasn’t working, adding that certain unnamed parties were attempting to “tiptoe around the order,” and some media outlets spoke to anonymous sources. The judge said attorneys would still be subject to Minnesota court rules
relating to pretrial publicity and professional conduct. The Judge ruled that he would not hold the lead prosecutor in the case, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, in contempt of court as requested by two defense attorneys. Cahill determined that Ellison did not violate the gag order during an announcement regarding the additional attorneys assisting
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Sanneh Foundation gets $2 Million grant from Delta Dental to advance health and equity
PAGE 5
the prosecution. The gag order was prompted by the submission of police body camera videos filed with the court earlier this month by former officer Thomas Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, as part of a request to have Lane’s case dismissed. Gray said he wanted the videos to be made public. Cahill issued the gag order and
FLOYD 5
Editor’s Note: Insight is pleased to introduce Santa Fe, New Mexico journalist and educator, Brenda Lyle-Gray as a regular columnist and writer. Her column entitled “The Way I See It.” launches today, accented by the Cover artwork by one of Minnesota’s preeminent artists, Ta-coumba Aiken. Aiken’s, No Words perfectly compliments Lyle-Gray’s rich, textured use of words to describe, reveal, and reflect authentic feelings. Al McFarlane You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are; what you can rise from; and how you can still come out of it. Maya Angelou I often compare my life, the good and bad roads I have taken, and the ones I ignored in the years gone by to that of the powerful Japanese art technique known as kintsugi. The process entails repairing broken ceramics with an emboldened gold . . . the fractures quite visible. Some historians have written that artisans and repairers often broke a clay or ceramic pot intentionally so they could create something new and more stunning. The broken pieces thus became a new form of art created from shattered matter and resulting in a magnificence
Ta-coumba Aiken
all its own. In a philosophical light, the Japanese regard breakage of the spirit caused by hardships, traumas, loss, and disappointments that often puncture our way of life (the coronavirus) as a time to build new foundations and tell a new story . . . a time to muster toughstyle grit and resilience. I have made it thus far – with all the risings up and then suddenly taking hard falls down - with the kind of doggedness and will power required to endure intervals of indescribable and harsh physical and emotional pain lasting far too long. I continue to re-create my existence, starting all over again and again, but with so much gratitude and appreciating I am still on earth and able to recognize my many blessings . . . those that have been given to me and those I have gladly given to others. It is said of Kintsukuroi faith . . . creations can be beautifully broken but once repaired in gold dust, the piece . . . the person . . . becomes
INSPIRATION 5
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Attorney General Ellison wins relief for tenants without utilities during pandemic
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Insight News • August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020 • Page 5
U.S. Postal Service to review stamp honoring Florence Ballard, Supremes founding member early career
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Supremes legend Mary Wilson is on a crusade that she hopes will end with the United States Postal Service commemorating her late bandmate and close friend Florence Ballard on a Forever Stamp. “I get so emotional when I speak about Flo,” said Wilson, who received a 2020 NNPA Lifetime Achievement Award during the Black Press of America’s recently completed virtual convention. “I’ve been working hard to get that recognition for her because she deserves it.” Wilson noted that the U.S. Postal Service has done a brilliant job of issuing commemorative postage stamps honoring iconic pop culture heroes who have helped shape the world. In the past, there have been U.S. Postage Stamps to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of several music legends, including Elvis Presley, Sarah Vaughn, Patsy Cline, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye and Janis Joplin. Wilson’s quest to get the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp to celebrate Ballard, a founding star of The Supremes,
photo/Wikimedia Commons/
The Supremes at a Hilton Hotel in the Netherlands, 1965. From left: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross. Mary Wilson’s quest to get the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp to celebrate Ballard, a founding star of The Supremes, has gained momentum. has
gained momentum. “We have received a proposal from the public, and it will be reviewed at our next Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee meeting,” Roy Betts, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman, told BlackPressUSA. The U.S. Postal Service and the members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) have set specific criteria used in determining the eligibility of subjects for commemoration on all U.S. stamps and stationery, Betts added.
Among them are that stamps and stationery would primarily feature American or American-related subjects. The Postal Service will honor extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture, or environment. U.S. stamp programs are planned and developed two to three years in advance and, consideration would occur if suggestions are submitted three or more years in advance of the proposed stamp. In 2018, the
Postal Service began considering proposals for deceased individuals three years following their death. Officials noted that the stamp program commemorates positive contributions to American life, history, culture, and environment. Born in Detroit in 1943, Ballard was the eighth of Jesse and Lurlee Ballard’s thirteen children. Almost from the start, music played an essential part in her life, according to her biography.
Her father was her first teacher, and a young Ballard displayed a keen interest in his music. Jesse Ballard would play particular songs and teach his daughter to sing them. Those early lessons made a deep impression, and legend has it that Florence Ballard was soon out-singing her father. Ballard’s musical gift was hard to go unnoticed. As she grew older, she found an outlet for her singing in school music classes and choirs. While in her
teens, Ballard’s was set in motion. Two of her neighbors, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, sang in a group called the Primes (later to become the Temptations). They introduced her to manager Milton Jenkins, who was so impressed with the 14-year-old’s voice that he asked her to perform as a soloist along with the Primes. After Ballard appeared with the group for a few engagements, Jenkins knew he had found an outstanding talent, her biography read. Since groups were popular in the late 1950s, Jenkins suggested that Ballard form a sister group to the Primes. Immediately she asked her friend, Mary Wilson, to be a member of the group. Betty McGlown and Mary’s friend, Diana Ross, were also recruited. After gaining their parent’s permission, the four teenagers, in the spring of 1959, became officially known as the Primettes. They began rehearsals with Ballard as the lead singer. McGlown departed just before the group found fame at Motown with the name, The Supremes. Ballard died in 1976 at the age of 31. “The memories are so vivid,” Wilson said. “Florence Ballard was such a wonderful person. It’s my sincere hope that we can get the Postal Service to honor her now.”
Sanneh Foundation gets $2 Million grant from Delta Dental to advance health and equity
Tony Sanneh Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation Board Chair. “We are committed to enriching our community by providing opportunities to learn, grow and succeed. We look forward to the
continued development of the Community Center.” Delta Dental of Minnesota and the Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation have been major supporters of Sanneh’s free week-long community camps for many years, and during that time have helped provide inclusive physical activity for over 20,000 diverse youth. In 2003, while still at the height of his professional soccer career, Tony Sanneh created The Sanneh Foundation to leverage what he saw as soccer’s unique potential to create positive social change for youth. The organization supports community-based organizations and has assembled a supportive network within the community that provides positive environments for urban youth to become positive and productive adults.
Delta Dental of Minnesota and the Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation have been major supporters of Sanneh’s free week-long community camps for many years, and during that time have helped provide inclusive physical activity for over 20,000 diverse youth. The Sanneh Foundation recently announced the award of a $2 Million transformational grant from Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation. This investment will advance the Sanneh Foundation’s Lead The Way Campaign which has been an on-going commitment to improve the physical and social
Floyd From 4 made the videos available for inperson, by-appointment viewing only. Leita Walker, an attorney for the news media coalition which includes The
Inspiration From 4 a new and gorgeous artistic and valuable object or person . . . a being who has weathered many storms and now joyously celebrates a victory of sorts. There is a stronger and more intimate connection to life’s ‘what is’ that is out of my control . . . to nature and its magnificence everywhere I turn, especially in Santa Fe, NM . . . and it all becomes an animated testimony of determination for others to see as I continue to walk with God. The story line is that it takes the ‘glue’ . . . a person like my late grandmother known as Mohvuehn (Queen Mother in
environment of Saint Paul’s East Side through modernization and revitalization of the Conway Community Center. The Sanneh Foundation supports the belief that everyone has the right to a safe place to live, work, learn, and play. Yet, studies show that 70% of primarily African American
Associated Press, and Gray both argued for wider dissemination of the body camera footage. Walker said making the footage widely available would not further harm the court’s effort to impanel a jury because the public already has access to bystander video, transcripts of the footage and reporting by the press who watched the videos.
Buea, Cameroon), the matriarch who kept our family happy and functioning as best we could. There was a commitment to survival and familial bonds, especially in times of trouble. In recognition and thanksgiving for free Grace helping to shape the broken pieces - the chips and fractures, we end up with a thing or a person of sturdiness, power, and beauty to behold. Without the ‘sticky stuff’ holding the intended entities together, there is no wholeness. It isn’t complete. The activation of personal fortitude and wise decision making has taught me to use the cracks in my earthly path as opportunities to seek out the contentment and joy available for us all, even in these unprecedented and uncertain times. I have
neighborhoods and 81% of Hispanic neighborhoods lack recreation centers, compared to 38% of predominantly white neighborhoods. Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation is responding to these disparities by making the investment that is required to address community
Gray alleged the body camera footage shows Floyd stuffed counterfeit bills in his car seat and put drugs in his mouth. Two AP writers who viewed the body camera footage at the courthouse last week did not see Floyd put drugs in his mouth, as Gray described. The issue of whether audio and visual coverage of the
become this creative, artful, and hard-working individual with mystical veins of gold lacquer and appearing more pleasing for having been broken. My physical flaw, resulting from my being born with a disability caused by the drug thalidomide, is not covered up. Instead, as with the art and philosophy of kintsugi, it is accentuated in the richness of idyllic reflections making the object or the person stronger and more adaptive. Our only alternative to the world’s current crisis or my physical impediment is to crumble and fall into pieces like broken ceramics rather than to embrace the rages of our lives . . . every imperfection and flaw of our being while refusing to bow before the enemies of our new reality. In the midst of broken
health as a combination of factors that include community centers, education, food and economic stability. “We are honored to partner with The Sanneh Foundation and make this transformational investment in The Conway Community Center,” said Kimberly Price,
trial will be allowed was also discussed at the hearing. The defendants’ attorneys made no objection. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank said prosecutors will weigh in on that issue by day’s end Monday. You can read the original story as reported by Mohamed Ibrahim on the AP.com site.
promises; broken spirits; and broken hearts, there remains an immense hatred from a large segment of white Americans that parallels and continues from the very beginning when those of African and native descent were de-humanized with fraud, corruption, and financial ruin running rampant and suicides, especially among our youth, rising like the cases of an invisible viral adversary, there is still prayer and there is still hope. I will leave yesterday’s sorrows in the past, and welcome the rising suns of my tomorrows . . . one with God, gratitude, love, safety, and peace within reach . . . in clear sight of new horizons. An excerpt from my current project, “Mohvuehn: A Face of Thalidomide” (the memoir of Cameroonian Cecilia (Ceci) Tadfor)
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MDE and MDH consider strategy for the new school year Insight News Staff The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced the state’s strategy for the 202021 school year last week. . Gov. Walz issued a mask mandate while the White House has waffled about the importance of masking. The issue of reopening schools is one of the most controversial in Minnesota and nationally, amid ongoing concern surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. School districts have been advised by MDE to prepare for three potential scenarios for fall 2020: in-person learning for all students; hybrid learning with strict social distancing; or
distance learning only. A new survey of the members of Education Minnesota found distance learning was the most popular choice for delivering education through public schools in the fall and that educators were extremely concerned about the safety of students and themselves during the pandemic. Forty-nine percent of the respondents said they preferred distance learning while 29 percent preferred hybrid classes and 17 percent favored a return to in-person classes. The survey was open to the 86,000 members of the union from July 16-20. The number of educators to respond was 20,524. “Learning safely
is the goal,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, at a news conference last week. “It should be done in-person when we can, and at a distance when we must. What is safe must be defined by the latest data, the best scientific analysis and with an eye on the racial disparities that haunt our society. We cannot be bullied by an arbitrary start date on the calendar nor can we settle for ‘safe enough’ because that’s all that’s in the district budget.” Follow Minnesota Department of Education on Twitter (https://twitter. com/MnDeptEd) and Insight News (https://twitter.com/ insightnews) to receive updates.
photo/jetcityimage
School districts have been advised by MDE to prepare for three potential scenarios for fall 2020: in-person learning for all students; hybrid learning with strict social distancing; or distance learning only.
Attorney General Ellison wins relief for tenants without utilities during pandemic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison recently announced that his office has resolved two enforcement actions against landlords who had denied utilities to their tenants, in violation of Executive Order 20-14 and Minnesota’s landlord-tenant laws. The State sued Aitkin County landlord David LaPlant in April, alleging that LaPlant failed to respond to his tenants’ repeated requests to fill the propane tank used to heat the home they rented from him, even while temperatures dipped below freezing. The Aitkin County District Court granted the State’s motion for a temporary restraining order and later converted the TRO to a temporary injunction pending the outcome of the litigation. The consent judgment entered by the court requires LaPlant to pay a $1,000 civil penalty and provide a rental credit to the tenants, while also requiring LaPlant to timely supply propane to the tenants and remain in compliance with the Governor’s executive orders
protecting tenant rights. The State sued Lyon County landlord Greg Taylor in July, alleging that Taylor failed to respond to his tenant’s repeated requests to restore electricity to the apartment for a long period of time, causing all of the food in the refrigerator to spoil and rendering the unit uninhabitable and a health hazard due to the odor and presence of spoiled food. The Lyon County District Court entered a consent judgment and order requiring Taylor to provide a rental credit to the tenant, restore electricity in the apartment, maintain the habitability of the apartment, and remain in compliance with the Governor’s executive orders protecting tenant rights. “Having a safe, affordable roof over your head is essential to living with dignity and respect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential to protecting people’s lives,” Ellison said. “The vast majority of landlords and tenants are doing the right thing by each other and their communities during
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison the pandemic, and I thank them for it. My office has received nearly 1,000 housing complaints in the last several months. We’ve taken that opportunity to
educate landlords and tenants around Minnesota about their rights and responsibilities during the peacetime emergency. In almost every case, we’ve
won voluntarily compliance with Minnesota law and the Governor’s executive orders. But when landlords won’t comply, my office will continue
White Supremacy
the gap between the performance of white students and students of color is among the highest in the U.S. Likewise, segregation limits access to transportation, employment and quality health care.
From 4 time be conveyed, mortgaged or leased to any person or persons of Chinese, Japanese, Moorish, Turkish, Negro, Mongolian or African blood or descent.” As a result, African Americans, especially, were pushed into a few small areas of the city such as the Near North neighborhood, leaving large parts of the city predominantly white. Some of the city’s most desirable parks were ringed by white residential districts. The result was an invisible “racial cordon” around some of the city’s celebrated parks and commons. ‘By design, not acccident’ As a scholar of urban planning, I know that Minneapolis, far from being an outlier in segregation, represents the norm. Across the U.S., urban planning is still used by some as the spatial toolkit, consisting of a set of policies and practices, for maintaining white supremacy. But urban planners of color, especially, are pointing out ways to reimagine inclusive urban spaces by dismantling the legacy of racist planning, housing and infrastructure policies. Racial segregation was not the byproduct of urban planning; it was, in many cases, its intention – it was “not by accident, but by design,” Adrien Weibgen, senior policy fellow at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, explained in a 2019 New York Daily News article. The effect was and still is devastating. The Urban Institute, an independent think tank, noted in a 2017 report that higher levels of racial segregation were linked to lower incomes for Black residents, as well worse educational outcomes for both white and Black students. Other studies have found that racial segregation leads to Black Americans being excluded from high-performing schools. In Minnesota – which ranks as the fourth most segregated state –
Income
and wealth gaps According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in Minneapolis the median Black family income in 2018 was US$36,000, compared to nearly $83,000 among white families. After Milwaukee, this is the biggest gap of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Mirroring the city’s income gap is a huge wealth gap. Minneapolis now has the lowest rate of homeownership among Black American households of any city. Residential segregation in Minneapolis and elsewhere is still stubbornly high despite more than 50 years since the passing of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, among other factors. But while some residential segregation is now incomebased, racial segregation across the U.S. is more ingrained and pervasive than economic segregation. Zoning
out Residential racial segregation continues to exist because of specific government policies enacted through urban planning. A key tool is zoning – the process of dividing urban land into areas for specific uses, such as residential or industrial. In the introduction to her 2014 book “Zoned in the USA,” urban planning professor Sonia Hirt argues that zoning is about government power to shape “ideals” by imposing a “moral geography” on cities. In Minneapolis and elsewhere, this has meant excluding “undersirables” – namely the poor, immigrants of color and African Americans. With explicit racialized zoning long outlawed in the U.S. – the U.S. Supreme Court ended the practice in 1917 – many local governments instead turned to “exclusionary”
to bring enforcement actions to secure tenants’ rights,” Ellison said. Under Governor Tim Walz’s Executive Order 20-14, property owners are prohibited from filing eviction actions or terminating residential leases for the duration of the COVID-19 peacetime emergency. Ellison’s office, which has the authority to enforce this Executive Order, has fielded nearly 1,000 consumer complaints since this Executive Order took effect. It is illegal under Minnesota’s landlord-tenant laws for a landlord to interrupt or cause the interruption of electricity, heat, gas, or water services to a tenant and the disconnection of such services is considered a constructive eviction. Ellison encourages Minnesotans to report suspected violations of Executive Order 20-14, which suspends evictions and notices-to-vacate during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency, by filling out the dedicated Tenant Eviction Complaint Form available on the Attorney General’s website.
zoning policies, making it illegal to build anything except singlefamily homes. This “back door racism” had a similar effect to outright racial exclusions: It kept out most Black and low-income people who could not afford expensive single-family homes. In Minneapolis, single-family zoning amounted to 70% of residential space, compared to 15% in New York. Buttressing this, redlining – the denial of mortgages and loans to people of color by government and the private sector – ensured the continuance of segregation. Anti-racist planning Minneapolis is trying hard to reverse these racist policies. In 2018, it became the first large city to vote to end single-family zoning, allowing “upzoning”: the conversion of single-family lots into more affordable duplexes and triplexes. This, together with “inclusionary zoning” – requiring that new apartment projects hold at least 10% of units for low- to moderateincome households – is part of the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. Central to that vision is a goal to eliminate disparities in wealth, housing and opportunity “regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, religion, or zip code” within 20 years. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, Minneapolis City Council acted quickly in advancing plans to dismantle the city’s police force. Dismantling the legacy of by-design segregation will require the tools of urban planning being utilized to find solutions after decades of being part of the problem. Professor Julian Agyeman centers his research on critical explorations of the complex and embodied relations between humans and the urban environment, whether mediated by governments or social movement organizations, and their effects on public policy and planning processes and outcomes, particularly in relation to notions of justice and equity.
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Insight News • August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020 • Page 7
Taking action on our commitment to The Twin Cities We know we must do more to address the very real consequences of systemic racism that exist in society today. The impact on communities across the country is clear, including where our teammates live and serve our clients. To drive progress, Bank of America has committed to invest $1 billion over four years to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, building on work we’ve had underway for many years. We’re partnering with community and corporate leaders to create sustainable change. Our actions will help address critical issues and long-term gaps, including: • connecting workers to new skills and enhanced job readiness • increasing medical response capacity and access to health care • powering minority-owned small businesses through access to capital • helping people find a place to call home they can both love and afford
We know there’s a lot of work to be done, but we promise to keep listening as we work together on this shared mission.
Katie Simpson The Twin Cities Market President
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender
© 2020 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
Page 8 • August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020 • Insight News
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Kanye West talks Harriet Tubman, abortion and divorce at first campaign rally Kanye West’s first presidential rally just wrapped up and he stirred up lots of controversy by discussing Harriet Tubman, abortion and the possibility of divorcing Kim Kardashian West.
Ye held his first event as a candidate Sunday at the Exquis Event Center in North Charleston, SC — and right off the bat … it was unorganized and rowdy. He didn’t even have a podium or a microphone to
address the crowd, which was right up in his face. At any rate, Kanye rambled through a number of topics — oftentimes incoherently — but one thing he said that came through crystal
ANTONE MELTON-MEAUX Progressive Democrat for Congress
Bringing Us Together in the 5th Congressional District
Dear Neighbors, In this time of unprecedented crisis, we need leaders who will bring us together, not tear us apart. We need leaders who are devoted to public service, not public spectacle. And above all, we need leaders who always seek justice, not just in their tweets, but in the everyday lives of our people. I am that leader. Aȸĉ ĊĴðďĊăăř īÐÆďæĊðšÐÌ ĉÐÌðĴďī ðĊ īÐĮďăŒðĊæ ÆďĊŦðÆĴȘ Aȸĉ Ċ ĴĴďīĊÐřș ĮďÆðă þķĮĴðÆÐ minister, husband, father, and lifelong progressive Democrat. I’m running for Congress to unite us in the struggle for racial, social, and economic justice. What’s more, I’m the only candidate with the skills and temperament necessary to repair the damage that Trump has caused. We don’t need more politics of division and distraction. I’m a uniter, not a divider. I bring people together. I’ve done that my whole life. That’s what we need now and what we deserve. I’d be honored to have your support – and your vote – in the DFL Primary Election for Congress by August 11, 2020.
For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit AntoneForCongress.com
Sincerely,
By August 11, Vote for Leadership that Brings Us Together. Prepared and paid for by Antone For Congress, PO Box 582859, Minneapolis, MN 55458
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clear … him suggesting that Harriet did NOT free slaves in her day, but just siphoned them off to other oppressive white folks. That line drew jeers and groans from the crowd almost instantly — we gotta say, it seriously reminded us of his “slavery was a choice” moment at TMZ a few years ago. There’s more. At one point, Ye launched into a rant about abortion, a woman’s choice, etc. — and he got incredibly emotional recounting a story about his then-girlfriend (now wife) Kim once telling him she was pregnant and how they considered not having the baby. Kanye broke down sobbing while telling the story, saying that it hurt him because he confessed he did not want to have it … which reminded him of his own father, who apparently didn’t want him either when his own mother, Donda West, was pregnant. It was a very personal thing to share, and Ye seemed to acknowledge as much when he followed up by saying it’s possible Kim might wanna divorce him after this. He continued that train of thought, saying if she ever did … he’d be thankful for her delivering North. Ye went on to touch
photo/WCIV-TV
Kanye broke down sobbing while telling the story, saying that it hurt him because he confessed he did not want to have it … which reminded him of his own father, who apparently didn’t want him either when his own mother, Donda West, was pregnant. on a number of other subjects, including the fact that there weren’t enough Black people in true positions of power — including at Adidas, where he says he wants to sit on the board of directors, or else. Of course, he also talked about God and Jesus. During the chaotic rally, Ye tried fielding questions from onlookers — all of whom had to wear masks, but hardly any of whom were socially distanced — but it mostly turned into a shouting match between himself and the rambunctious crowd. It was all hard to follow. Probably not the greatest start for the Birthday Party campaign, but Kanye doesn’t seem to mind … he said he doesn’t care if he wins the presidency or not. Why run then, right? Anyway, up until
today, Kanye seemed pretty serious about his presidential bid. TMZ broke the story … Ye has filed docs with the Federal Election Commission, and he’s also filed docs to get on the ballot in Oklahoma. He tweeted Saturday, “Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations,” and he went on to list various places, in addition to his 2020 website. The first poll shows Kanye is pulling 2% of the vote. What’s unclear … between Biden and Trump, who gets hurt more and who benefits the most? What’s also unclear … if Ye’s gonna go the distance after the train wreck that just occurred. This article originally appeared on The Washington Informer.