Meshell Ndegeocello will be live at The Walker Art Center, Sat Dec 7, 2024 • 6:30PM & 9PM. Meshell Ndegeocello’s second Blue Note album No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin, a striking homage to the eminent writer and activist James Baldwin was released on his Centennial: August 2, 2024. The visionary work is at once a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action.
With No More Water, Ndegeocello embarks on a prophetic musical odyssey that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes explored in Baldwin’s canon.
Following 2023’s
Ten parents graduated on Saturday, November 23, 2024, from a 10-week, intensive parent-education program called “Project Murua: Premediated Parenting Boot Camp” created by Dr. BraVada GarrettAkinsanya, executive director of the African American Child Wellness Institute. The boot camp provides parents with the skills and resources necessary to parent today’s African American child (0-18 years) who disproportionately falls victim to gun violence, the streets, or prison. The African American Child Wellness Institute, Inc. (AACWI), established in 2009 by Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, is a culturally specific, traumainformed mental health agency. The institute promotes the psychological and spiritual liberation of children (infant to 18 years) who are of African descent, as well as their families by providing culturally specific mental health services, and by creating access to culture-based, holistic wellness resources, research and practices.
The Omnichord Real Book, her acclaimed Blue Note debut which won the inaugural GRAMMY Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer renders an immersive and palpable work that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin was in life.
Co-produced by Ndegeocello and guitarist Chris Bruce, No More Water features some of the bassist’s frequent collaborators including Bruce, vocalist Justin Hicks, saxophonist (and Omnichord producer) Josh Johnson, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, and drummer Abe Rounds. Also appearing on various songs are vocalist
Parents
Kenita-Miller Hicks, keyboardists Jake Sherman and Julius Rodriguez, and Executive Director of the NYCPS Arts Office and trumpeter Paul Thompson.
The album also showcases powerful spoken word by venerated poet Staceyann Chin and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and critic Hilton Als.
Nearly a decade in the making, the album’s origins began in 2016 during a performance at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse as part of their annual showcase honoring Baldwin. Ndegeocello had delved into Baldwin’s work the year before, including the seminal nonfiction work The Fire Next Time, which she considers “life-changing” and
carries with her as a “spiritual text.” Ndegeocello says, “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways.”
“Inspired by Baldwin’s most well-known essay, Ndegeocello’s piece— often staged as a church service—employs music, sermon, text, images, and movement, all of which enter into conversation with Baldwin’s monumental and delicate essay about how Black bodies were perceived not only by white Americans but by Blacks themselves,” writes Als in the album’s liner notes.
“The music you hear in No More Water, is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a
multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.”
Thematically, the album moves like a procession in a Black church—baptism, testimony, worship/praise, and ultimately, resurrection. For the album’s opening track and lead single, “Travel,” we are brought inside the mind of a man with suicidal thoughts, a recurring motif in much of Baldwin’s oeuvre. Setting a dystopian mood, Rodriguez’s organ and Chin’s echoing incantations help usher in Justin Hicks’ ominous vocals: “I’ll stay away with all the work to be done/I’ll be bleeding while you bake in the sun.”
“Raise The Roof” features Chin sans accompaniment as the intensity of her words captures the stark and harrowing reality of the pervasive racism we cannot seem to escape: “It must be in the f*****g water being forcefed to the police, the prosecutor and the politicians who care nothing for Black bodies falling like leaves in late August… in Ferguson…in Cleveland… in Staten Island, only minutes away from where my own child sits, watching The Muppets take over Manhattan.” No More Water marks a significant moment of selfdiscovery for Ndegeocello. She adds that Baldwin entered her
The Institute is uniquely recognized as the only mental health organization that can boast 100% of its mental health therapists are of African American descent. It is the only mental health organization in the state of Minnesota to specialize in serving African American clients.
The Institute provides mental health services to individuals, families, couples and groups who come from across the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, as well as from areas outside of the metro region. The Institute provides mental health services to individuals regardless of their ability to pay, which includes those who are uninsured, or underinsured. The Institute also provides home-based, schoollinked, tele-health as well as inoffice therapy services. The graduation ceremony held at theGlover-
Sudduth Center for Community and Economic Development, headquarters of Urban League Twin Cities (ULTC) was led by mistress of ceremonies, Shadlyn Cox-Bourne, the Institute’s Director of Outreach Programs. She welcomed the parents, staff and introduced the drill sergeant, Lucille HazelwoodLarson, who trained the graduates and led them through military-style drills during the graduation ceremony.
The
a community engagement initiative of the African American Child Wellness Institute, offers three intensive boot camp trainings per year, graduating approximately 45 parents.
The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Darrell Gillespie, head of Family Ministry at Hope Academy in Minneapolis.
Dr. BraVada GarrettAkinsanya awarded each parent with a graduation certificate and closed the ceremony by reading “Still I Rise,” a poem by Maya Angelo.
Graduates enjoyed a lavish luncheon catered by Lisa Anderson, owner of Events with Taste.
For more information about Project Murua: Premeditated Parenting Boot Camp, please email Shadlyn Cox-Bourne, director of Outreach Programs at shadlyn. bourne@aacwi.org.
African American Child Wellness Institute, is located at 9800 Shelard Parkway, Suite. 325, Plymouth, MN 55441.
Front row (left to right): Lucille Hazelwood-Larson, Project Murua drill sergeant, Melvin Jack Frost, Yvonne Alan, Patricia Pickering, Gail Witson, and Alaric Dahn (holding his son). Back row (left to right): Meara Allen (wearing blue blouse, she is hidden behind Patricia Pickering who is in the front row), and Kabeh Dahn.
A racial reckoning in Columbus, Ohio
By Dawn Montgomery, Culture Critic
I refuse to utter his name. Since the announcement of his presidential re-election, I’ve tried to stay calm, to remain, as they say, “very demure.”
But after what unfolded this past Saturday, when a group of masked white nationalists stormed the Short North Arts District area in Columbus, Ohio, waving swastika flags and shouting racial slurs—a ratchet display of pure hate—I just can’t.
I am annoyed, but we knew this was coming. Classic American terrorism, live and in color. And make no mistake—when “that man” ascends to his concocted throne, these events will only intensify.
Social media documented every angle of the chaos, showing what Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called a “cowardly display.” The mayor said he would not allow “our neighbors” to be “intimidated, threatened or harmed.”
Governor Mike DeWine echoed this sentiment, posting on X, “We will not tolerate hate in Ohio.”
Yet, despite these words of condemnation, the police did nothing. They were called to intervene but stood by as the violence unfolded.
Ohio’s anti-KKK law explicitly bans masked groups from committing misdemeanors, with violations carrying felonylevel penalties. Still, not one masked white nationalist was arrested—not even those who pepper-sprayed patrons during an altercation outside a local bar.
Let’s be clear: everyone has a right to their beliefs, even their bigotry. But harassment, intimidation, and violence are not rights—they are crimes.
Failing to act is more than negligence—it’s an invitation. Emboldened by inaction, white nationalist demonstrations are growing. According to the AntiDefamation League, white supremacist-organized events hit a record high of 282 in 2023—a staggering 63% increase from the 173 incidents reported in 2022. These aren’t just statistics; they’re warnings. They’re flashing signals from a society on the verge of renormalizing hate.
What will it take for this to stop?
The next day, a different group took to the same streets. This time, an influential group of Black men marched— unmasked and unafraid. They came not to threaten but to
protect, peacefully standing as a barrier against hate. “We are seeing a lot more people blatant with their racism, their hatred, and it’s just sad,” Sean Walton, a local attorney, told NBC4. “Let’s figure out how to come together and how to lead and love. There’s so much fear, and I think it’s important that
we practice community care.” This is what leadership looks like—unifying, protective, and restorative. America has a problem. And like those in Columbus, citizens must demand action from politicians who ignore the very laws designed to protect us. Words of condemnation are not enough. The failure to enforce legal protections only signals complicity.
Let me be crystal clear: Black women may have lost this battle, but not the war.
We said what we said—we are not going back. Not just for us but for generations who refuse to
By Steve Karnowski Associated Press
As feathers flew, Tim Walz accepted the symbolic presentation of a turkey Tuesday as he eases back into his duties as Minnesota’s governor following the HarrisWalz ticket’s defeat in the presidential election.
Unlike the Minnesota-grown turkeys that President Joe Biden pardoned at the White House on Monday, Walz didn’t pardon this turkey, he said, “because in Minnesota we know turkeys are delicious.”
The 41.8-pounder (19 kilograms) named Tom was raised by Paisley VonBerge, a Future Farmers of America leader from Hutchinson, and it will star in her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. It flapped its wings and shed feathers as she hoisted it onto a display table but quickly calmed down, oblivious to its fate.
“After today, this bird will go back to my farm to be enjoyed the way that turkeys are intended,” Paisley said.
“That is very Minnesotan,” Walz added to loud laughter. “We don’t hide the fact we love our turkeys.” Minnesota produces more turkeys annually than any other state. Its farmers raised
38.5 million birds in 2023, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, followed by North Carolina at 29 million. North Carolina edged Minnesota last year in total poundage, producing just over 1.07 billion pounds (485 million kilograms), compared with just over 1.05 billion pounds (467 million kilograms) for Minnesota.
The ceremony in the governor’s reception room was the first time Walz had met with reporters at the state Capitol since last summer, before Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate.
While Walz has held private meetings in recent weeks with staff, legislative leaders and other public officials, interviewed potential judicial appointees, and fielded some press questions, he’s still ramping back up with public events. He said Tuesday that he had no regrets about agreeing to run — and is proud he did.
The Walz-Harris ticket got over 74 million votes to nearly 77 million for President-elect Donald Trump. While Walz said that shows that many Americans liked the message he and Harris put out, he acknowledged it was “not quite enough.”
“I was just glad to be out there, and to be honest, glad
to tell Minnesota’s story — that we get things done together and we’re pretty hopeful people,” he told reporters.
Walz is already preparing for the upcoming legislative session, when he and his fellow Democrats will have to share power with Republicans — a contrast with the last two years when they enjoyed the “trifecta” of controlling the governor’s office and both the state House and Senate.
While Democrats kept their one-vote majority in the Senate, recounts that wrapped up Monday confirmed that the House will be tied 6767 when lawmakers convene Jan. 14, barring successful court challenges that could be filed in a few races.
That’s going to force compromises if lawmakers are going to pass a balanced budget before the session ends in May. But Walz said they proved power sharing could work in 2019, when Republicans controlled the Senate and Minnesota was one of the few states with a divided Legislature.
“We’re going to have some opportunities to continue to
said.
Gov. Tim Walz, second right,
George who?
Companies backing away from commitments to equity made during the 2020 George Floyd Reckoning
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is saying it will make changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The retail giant said it would not renew a racial equity center it created following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and it would no longer participate in an annual benchmark index from LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, according to an article in USA Today last week.
Social media phenom and YouTube influencer, T.S. Madison blasted the Walmart announcement leading with
a focus on LGBTQ+ issues was a red herring. He said the move intended to deflect attention from an overall retreat cowering to and perhaps leading conservative nationalists agendas such as the Project 25 organizing principles some say were the blueprint for Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
According to USA Today, Walmart said many of the DEI changes were in the works for a few years and that it already switched its terminology from DEI to belonging and made changes to
its supplier diversity program.
But four years after those 2020 promises, the political landscape has shifted, the USA Today story said.
Though corporate diversity efforts are broadly supported by the American public – especially younger Americans – they face growing scrutiny in the courts and in statehouses across the country as right-wing foundations, think tanks and political operatives push “race-neutral” policies, the article said.
The Supreme Court decision in 2023 to ban the
consideration of race in higher education has emboldened attacks on workplace programs. However, fewer than 10% of organizations questioned said they planned to scale back their DEI commitments over the next three years.
Proponents say DEI programs are good for business, helping companies hire and retain diverse talent and create environments that boost innovation, USA Today reported.
Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, colleagues urge Biden to use clemency power to address mass incarceration before leaving office
Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.
“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”
mass incarceration crisis.
Advocates lean on Walz to protect immigrants from Trump’s proposed raids
In the weeks before the election, the ACLU in Minnesota met with Gov. Tim Walz’s staffers in an effort to make sure protections of the state’s immigrants remained in place if Donald Trump won the White House again.
“We wanted to create a ‘bright line’ that could not be crossed,” said Julio Murphy Zelaya, an advocacy director with the Minnesota ACLU. Zelaya and others are seeking assurances that the state maintains and even strengthens a “firewall” that protects immigrants in the face of Trump’s promised crackdown on the foreign born. The ACLU has asked for a special session of the state Legislature to limit the impact of Trump’s immigration
Democrats plan to elect new party leader just days after Trump’s inauguration
The chair of the Democratic National Committee informed party leaders on Monday that the DNC will choose his successor in February, an election that will speak volumes about how the party wants to present itself during four more years of Donald Trump in the White House.
Jaime Harrison, in a letter to members of the party’s
powerful Rules & Bylaws Committee, outlined the process of how the party will elect its new chair. Harrison said in the letter that the committee will host four candidate forums — some in person and some virtually — in January, with the final election on Feb. 1 during the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. The race to become the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, while an
Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.
In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing
“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”
JoiningRepresentatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney KamlagerDove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan,
Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman. The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
Momentum builds for Shirley Chisholm congressional gold medal ahead of centennial
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior
As the 100th anniversary of Shirley Chisholm’s birth approaches on November 30, a growing effort to honor her legacy is taking shape. Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968 and a trailblazer for equality and justice, remains a powerful symbol of courage and leadership. The Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act, spearheaded by Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler, is moving closer to passage with bipartisan support.
Butler, the bill’s primary sponsor, has garnered backing from key lawmakers, including
By Ana Radelat MinnPost
By Dan Merica Associated Press
Congressman James E. Clyburn
Google
George Floyd and Walmart
TRUMP 5
AP Photo/David Calvert, File
Democratic Party chair Jaime Harrison speaks during a rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the Reno Events Center, Oct. 31, 2024, in Reno, Nev.
WALZ 5
REUTERS/Go Nakamura Donald Trump shown speaking during a visit at the frontier with Mexico in Hereford, Cochise County, Arizona, on August 22.
CHISHOLM 5
Tony Barnard, Los Angeles Times ON ‘CHISHOLM TRAIL’— Shirley Chisholm leaves USC’s Bovard Auditorium, where she said Presidency should not be exclusive domain of white males.” 24 January 1972.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon
By Anne D’Innocenzio
AP Retail Writer
Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, reported another quarterly drop in sales as Americans continued to tighten their purse strings on appliances and gadgets to focus on essentials.
The Richfield, Minnesota-based retailer lowered its annual sales and profit outlook. Best Buy’s CEO Corie Barry also warned that shoppers will likely have to pay more for purchases reflecting higher costs as Presidentelect Donald Trump pledges to impose sweeping tariffs on products from China and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s posted third-quarter results that showed a deepening slump and forecast that sales declines for the year will be worse than expected. The results came one day after the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based retailer announced that Michaels
CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan will take over its top job, effective Jan. 15.
Best Buy’s shares were down nearly 8% in afternoon trading, while Kohl’s shares plummeted nearly 19%.
As the last batch of major retailers report thirdquarter earnings results this week, winners and losers are emerging at the approach of Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season.
Macy’s reported on Monday stronger-than-expected sales for the third quarter, and said it’s delaying the release of its full quarterly results, set for Tuesday, after it discovered an employee intentionally hid up to $154 million of expenses over several years.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, last week reported another quarter of stellar sales as its low price model proved a powerful draw for inflationary-weary shoppers. But Target, whose business relies on discretionary purchases like clothing and accessories, reported sluggish
predictable and less crowded. From Dec. 9 until March 21, Metro Transit will try what is called “headway-based scheduling” on the state’s busiest route serving Brooklyn Center, north and south Minneapolis,
sales and slumping profits in the fiscal third quarter as customers curtailed their spending on nonessentials.
During a call with analysts Tuesday, Best Buy’s Barry said the chain wrestled with economic uncertainty, shoppers’ waiting for deals and the disruption during the run-up to the election, particularly in non-essential categories. Sales are rebounding, but Barry noted that the season will be very promotional.
Best Buy kicked off Black Friday sales on Nov. 21, a week earlier than last year. It’s also bringing back doorbusters — limited-time-only deals on specific products — every Friday from Nov. 8 through Dec. 20 online, in the store and on the app.
“We are managing well what we can control in what remains a volatile environment,” Barry said on the call.
Like other retailers, Best Buy is also bracing for Trump’s threat to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico,
Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
Barry said the company believes that diversification of sourcing in consumer electronics is a “good thing but it’s also very hard to do.” The supply network is complex as well as the fabrication plants for consumer gadgets, she said.
Moreover, Best Buy has very little control of sourcing, directly importing only about 2% to 3% of its cost of goods sold, she said. The majority of that has been moved out of China.
But Barry says the retailer is reliant on its vendors and estimates that 60% of the company’s cost of goods sold come from China. The secondlargest importing country is Mexico.
Best Buy has a team looking at how tariffs will impact its business, but she said that the retailer operates on very thin profit margins. So while vendors and the company will
shoulder some costs, Best Buy will have to pass on much of the higher costs of the tariffs to its customers in the form of higher prices.
“These are goods that people need, and higher prices are not helpful,” Barry said.
Best Buy earned $273 million, or $1.26 per share, for the quarter ended Nov. 2. That compares with $263 million, or $1.21 per share, a year ago. Sales fell to $9.45 billion from $9.76 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $1.30 per share on sales of $9.63 billion, according to FactSet.
Comparable sales — those sales from online channels and physical stores — fell 2.9% in the quarter.
The company said that sales of appliances, home theater and gaming declined. That was partially offset by growth in the computing, tablets and services categories.
Best Buy now expects annual sales in the range of $41.1 billion to $41.5 billion, down from prior guidance of
$41.3 billion to $41.9 billion. Analysts anticipated $41.54 billion, according to FactSet analysts.
It now expects earnings per share to be in the range of $6.10 to $6.25, which compares to prior guidance of $6.10 to $6.35. Analysts expected $6.26 per share. Kohl’s reported earnings of $22 million, or 20 cents per share, in the quarter ended Nov. 2. That compares with $59 million, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales dropped to $3.51 billion from $3.84 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 28 cents on sales of $3.63 billion. For the year, Kohl’s expects comparable sales to decline 6% to 7% and anticipates net sales to fall 7% to 8%. The company expects annual earnings per share between $1.20 and $1.50, compared with the average Street estimate of $1.78 per share.
Richfield, Bloomington, and the Mall of America.
“The goal of headway-based scheduling is to have buses arriving at bus stops at evenly spaced intervals, improving service reliability, reducing wait times and overcrowding, and ensuring operators have consistent time to use the restroom, eat, stretch, etc., between trips,” wrote Metro Transit spokesperson Drew Kerr in a statement.
Headway-based scheduling, which will happen only on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., involves drivers relying on the buses’ onboard computers to determine when to leave a terminal and to ensure they are spaced between 10 and 15 minutes apart from one another. “Those indications will help operators adjust as needed, such as holding at a stop if they are too close, for example,” wrote Kerr. That’s in contrast to a driver trying to stay on a stringent schedule for each stop. Buses will also be able to manipulate traffic signals to keep moving.
The agency plans to have extra buses available on standby to make trips, just in case of delays. The agency currently
uses at most 21 buses on the route, according to schedules obtained from the Pantograph app, an app that tracks the real-time location of buses. The D Line isn’t Metro Transit’s most reliable route. D Line buses going in the same direction sometimes operate closely with one another, with one running on time, and another running several minutes late, in a phenomenon known as bus bunching. The late bus could be slowed down by icy or snowy roads, a driver or a malfunctioning machine trying to secure a passenger in a wheelchair, a large crowd boarding a very late bus, or transit personnel trying to remove an unruly passenger.
Agency staff say its length — 18 miles — as well as its ridership of just under 14,000 average weekday riders as of September, are contributing factors.
Metro Transit says the bus has had a 75% ontime performance rating so far this year, with on-time performance meaning the bus arrives within one minute early or five minutes late to a stop. In the past month, the Transit app — which provides estimated arrival times and trip planning
information — reported that among 129 users, D Line buses arrived on time 63% of the time.
Elliot Park resident Wanda Edwards is looking forward to the change as the weather turns. “I think that’s wonderful, especially knowing the weather is going to change. It’ll be convenient. I can walk out my door and catch the bus,” Edwards said on the D Line on her way to a store.
Headway-based scheduling isn’t new to the agency. Metro Transit has used this on the A Line on Snelling Avenue over the past two Minnesota State Fairs to ensure buses arrive at stops every 10 minutes despite traffic congestion.
Headway-based scheduling is also used on high-frequency bus routes on the West Coast, with mixed results. The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, serving cities immediately to the east of San Francisco, found implementing headway-based scheduling on one of their busiest trunk lines in the early 2000s reduced travel times by 17%, an effect noticed by riders.
On the other hand, Los Angeles Metro plans to discontinue
headway-based scheduling on one of its local bus routes connecting West Hollywood with downtown Los Angeles next month because the project did not improve reliability. Metro Transit says it still plans to use a printed schedule to support trip planning and real-time information tools, as well as to divide up work to their drivers. They are also directing riders who need to make transfers to less frequent routes to use their trip planner,
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
Shoppers walk past holiday displays at a Kohl’s store in Ramsey, N.J., Oct. 10, 2024.
MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan
Transit plans to have extra buses available on standby to make trips, just in case of delays.
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File
A Best Buy logo is shown at a store in Dallas on Oct. 25, 2024.
Ndegeocello
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life at precisely the right time. “It came when I was ready to look in the mirror. I’ve had to play Plantation Lullabies at a few shows. Looking back, I had an interesting perspective, but the dialogue was limited. It was
more like a cathartic experience for a young person of color, whereas now I’m going, ‘How can I get us all to love each other? How can I get us all to see this for what it is?’”
Meshell Ndegeocello, born August 29, 1968 is a singer, bassist, and multiinstrumentalist. She was born Michelle Johnson to Army lieutenant (and saxophonist) father Jacques Johnson and her mother, Helen in Berlin,
Germany. Raised in Washington, D.C., Meshell Suihailia Bashir Shakur (as she became known) adopted the surname Ndegeocello, which means “free like a bird”, while still in her teens. She has been hailed in the music press as a redeemer of soul music. Her music incorporates funk, soul, hip-hop, reggae, rock and jazz. She has been nominated for 9 Grammys. She has frequently
toured with Lilith Fair. Ndegeocello honed her chops on the D.C. Go go circuit in the late 1980s before venturing out as a solo artist. She emerged as a recording artist in 1993 on Maverick Records/Sire Records with her debut, Plantation Lullabies. This recording presented a distinctly androgynous persona. Her music has been featured in a number of film soundtracks including How Stella Got Her
Groove Back and Batman and Robin. She has also appeared on recordings by Basement Jaxx and The Blind Boys of Alabama, among others. Her biggest hit is a duet with John Mellencamp, a cover version of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night”, which reached #3 on the Billboard charts. Her singles “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)”, “Leviticus: Faggot”, and her cover of Bill Withers “Who Is He and What Is He
To You?” have all charted in the Billboard top 20. She sang background vocals on the song “I’d Rather be Your Lover” by Madonna, on her album “Bedtime Stories.”. She also sang with Chaka Khan on the single “Never Miss the Water”, as well as providing her typical solid bass skills. Compiled from Wikipedia,and the Artist’s website.
They also want to ensure that state and local law enforcement agencies do not help enforce federal immigration law and that law enforcement officials refrain from asking the immigration status of those with whom they come in contact.
And in its request for a “firewall,” the ACLU said it wants the state to oppose and denounce the use of the federalized National Guard or military against immigrant Minnesotans and nonviolent protesters.
Since those meetings, Trump has been elected the nation’s next president and repeated his vow to slash immigration and ramp up deportations. Trump said that on the first day of his new term, he will invoke a “national emergency” to allow him to implement mass roundups of immigrants who are not citizens with the help of the military.
The threat of a crackdown has reverberated throughout Minnesota’s immigrant communities, prompting a flood of calls to immigration lawyers who say there’s been a rush in application for citizenship.
President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama took steps to tighten immigration, but Trump has taken the targeting of the foreign born a step further.
In his first term he
Trump
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From 3 insular party affair, will come days after Trump is inaugurated for a second term. Democrats’ selection of a leader after Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 loss will be a key starting point as the party starts to move forward, including addressing any structural problems and determining how to oppose Trump.
Chisholm
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Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. The legislation seeks to award Chisholm one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, cementing her place as one of the most transformative figures in American history.
Carlo Jerome Juntilla, Education and Labor Policy Advisor for Butler, acknowledged the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) for its critical role in advancing the bill.
The NNPA is the trade association of more than 200 African Americanowned newspapers and media companies, which comprise the 197-year-old Black Press of America.
“Thanks to your efforts, we have secured the necessary number of cosponsors to move the bill forward, and we are now in a strong position to pass it,” Juntilla wrote in an email to the NNPA. “With the late Shirley Chisholm’s 100th birthday approaching on November 30, we are looking for ways to collaborate further in order to elevate her legacy.”
Juntilla also emphasized the importance of continuing to amplify Chisholm’s story through additional collaborations, including op-eds and media campaigns. Juntilla even noted the value of highlighting Butler and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who is leading
also sought to end programs that gave immigrants provisional legal status, so the concerns in Minnesota’s immigrant communities are widespread.
“The fear is very palpable,” Zelaya said. He said the governor’s staff “indicated they were also concerned” about Trump’s immigration policies “and would get back to us.”
Walz has responded to one request. He says he will not call for a special session of the Legislature, currently scheduled to go into its normal session on Jan. 14.
Still, Zelaya is confident the ACLU and other immigrant advocates who were blindsided by the immigration policies of the first Trump administration are now better prepared for battle.
“They have their plan and we have our plan,” Zelaya said.
Provisional status
Those who would be the most vulnerable in an immigration crackdown are not only the undocumented, but also those who have permission to live and work in the United States on a provisional basis.
“These programs are considered more permanent than they are,” said Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center in St. Paul. “But anyone who is not a citizen can be deported under current law.”
One federal program called Temporary Protection Status (TPS) was created by Congress in 1990 to give nationals of certain countries
Members of the Rules & Bylaws Committee will meet on Dec. 12 to establish the rules for these elections, which beyond the chair position will include top party roles like vice chairs, treasurer, secretary and national finance chair. The committee will also use that meeting to decide the requirements for gaining access to the ballot for those top party roles. In 2021, candidates were required to submit a nominating statement that included signatures from 40 DNC members and that will likely be the same standard for
the effort in the House.
NNPA President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and members of the NNPA’s main office had organized a meeting with Butler where they discussed the honor for Chisholm. “The legacy of the Honorable Shirley Chisholm lives radiantly today and for generations to come,” Chavis remarked. “The NNPA stands resolutely in support of the leadership of The Honorable Laphonsa Butler to bestow to Chisholm with the Congressional honors that she deserves.”
Bobby Henry, Chairman of the NNPA, also expressed the organization’s unwavering support for the bill and its significance.
“As Chairman of the NNPA, I am honored to stand in support of the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act, a vital recognition of one of the most transformative figures in American history,” said Henry, who also publishes the Westside Gazette Newspaper in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. “Shirley Chisholm’s legacy as the first African American woman elected to Congress and a fearless advocate for equality and justice continues to inspire generations.
“We commend Senator Laphonza Butler and Representative Barbara Lee for championing this historic legislation and for their commitment to ensuring Chisholm’s contributions are celebrated and remembered. As we approach the centennial of her birth, the NNPA is proud to collaborate in elevating her enduring impact on our nation and the world.”
Chisholm’s
that are confronting war, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions refuge in the United States for a limited time, with the opportunity to renew their applications until the president thinks this protection from deportation is not needed.
Somalis, Nicaraguans, Haitians, Venezuelans, Afghans, Salvadorans, Sudanese, Ukrainians and other nationals are eligible for this status. But Trump has the authority to decline to renew these programs. The programs are administered nation-by-nation and have different deadlines for renewal. Those with the most immediate deadlines are the TPS programs for Salvadorans that will end March 10 and one for Ukrainians that will end April 20.
According to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS,) there were 4,551 immigrants with TPS protections in Minnesota last year.
Trump has already disparaged some immigrants with provisional legal status during his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, calling Haitians with that status “illegals” and falsely accusing them of eating the pets of residents of Springfield, Ohio. Another temporary program that allows people from certain countries to enter the United States is called humanitarian parole. This allows people from nations such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for temporary U.S. residence and work permits if they pass a
the 2025 campaigns. “The DNC is committed to running a transparent, equitable, and impartial election for the next generation of leadership to guide the party forward,” Harrison said in a statement.
“Electing the Chair and DNC officers is one of the most important responsibilities of the DNC Membership, and our staff will run an inclusive and transparent process that gives members the opportunity to get to know the candidates as they prepare to cast their votes.” Two Democrats
groundbreaking career includes her historic 1972 presidential campaign, during which she became the first Black woman to seek the nomination of a major political party. Her slogan, “Unbought and Unbossed,”
rigorous background check and have a U.S. sponsor who will vouch for their financial support. Like TPS, the White House has authority to end or restrict the humanitarian parole program. Trump also has the authority to end another program that protects the children who have arrived in the United States with undocumented parents from deportation. Called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the Obama-era program has helped hundreds of thousands of immigrant children. According to the USCIS, there were 4,540 DACA youth living in Minnesota as of March of last year. Not all immigrants in Minnesota with provisional status to live in the state are fearful of a second Trump presidency. Vladimir Poveda, a Nicaraguan who emigrated to Minnesota in 2005, is the president of Liga Venezolana de Softball de Minnesota. He started the league with two teams six years ago, and it has now expanded to 22 teams as the number of Venezuelans moving to the state has increased. He said some Venezuelans with TPS status or admitted to the United States under humanitarian parole are concerned it will end. But others who left Venezuela because of the authoritarian regime of socialist President Nicolas Maduro and the country’s dismal economy are confident that Trump’s opposition to Maduro
have announced campaigns for chair: Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota DemocraticFarmer-Labor Party and a vice chair of the national party, and Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor and current commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Other top Democrats are either considering a run to succeed Harrison or are being pushed by party insiders, including former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke; Michael Blake, a former vice chair of the party; Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of
embodied her commitment to justice and refusal to conform to traditional political norms. Butler, who made history herself as the first Black lesbian to serve in the U.S. Senate, has made the bill a top
will keep them safe. Poveda said he’s not sure of that.
“I’m trying to teach them that it’s not just politics; it’s your livelihood and life that you should be concerned about,” he said.
One thing that concerns those with provisional permission to live in the United States is that in filing for their special status immigrants gave federal immigration agencies home addresses, names of family members and other information that could help U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (ICE) find them in an effort to deport them.
“The government has a lot of their information,” Zelaya said.
‘Shock and Awe’ Still, immigrant advocates expect ICE to focus on rounding up undocumented immigrants in workplace raids — at poultry and meat processing plants and other places — as Trump seeks to keep his promise of massive deportations.
It’s difficult to know how many undocumented immigrants are in the United States. The Migration Policy Institute estimates the number at 11.4 million and says that 81,000 live in Minnesota. The largest group of these newcomers to Minnesota, 35,000, come from Mexico, the institute said.
Trump has signaled he means to keep his campaign promises by tapping immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as his top immigration policy adviser and Tom Homan
Wisconsin; Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan and a former Chicago mayor; Sen. Mallory McMorrow, majority whip of the Michigan Senate, and Chuck Rocha, a longtime Democratic strategist.
The next chair of the committee will be tasked with rebuilding a party demoralized by a second Trump victory. They will also oversee the party’s 2028 nominating process, a complex and contentious exercise that will make the chair central to the next presidential election.
Harrison, of South
priority. With growing bipartisan support and co-sponsors from across the political spectrum, the legislation represents a unifying effort to honor Chisholm’s legacy.
“Shirley Chisholm’s
as the head of ICE. Homan has promised to unleash “shock and awe” at the U.S.-Mexico border and Miller has said that “vast holding facilities” would serve as “staging centers” for the operation. Last week, a Texas state official offered the federal government more than 1,000 acres near the border to erect detention centers.
Trump may be on shaky legal ground with his plans to use the military to round up immigrants, and the cost of the massive deportations is expected to be prohibitive.
Lindsey Greising, policy counsel at the Minneapolis-based The Advocates for Human Rights, said that by threatening the deportations, the Trump administration may have already completed some of its mission. “They are banking on the fact that fear will result in self-deportations,” she said. Greising also said her organization, which provides legal services to asylum seekers, trafficking victims and unaccompanied minors who seek asylum in the United States, “are trying to prepare as much as possible” for Trump’s return to the White House.
Ana Radelat Ana Radelat is MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent. You can reach her at aradelat@minnpost.com or follow her on Twitter at @ radelat.
Carolina, made clear in his letter to the rules committee that the four forums hosted by the party would be live streamed and the party would give grassroots Democrats across the country the ability to engage with the process through those events. He also said he intends to remain neutral during the chair election. This story has been corrected to show that McMorrow is a senator, not a representative.
legacy continues to inspire generations,” Henry said. “As we approach the centennial of her birth, we must ensure her enduring impact is celebrated, remembered, and elevated for the nation and the world to see.”
Walz
Aesthetically It
How the gladiators inspired evangelicals’ sense of persecution
By Cavan W. Concannon Professor of Religion and Classics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
With the release of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” audiences will be plunged back into the cinematic excitement of the Roman amphitheater so vividly captured in its predecessor, “Gladiator.”
Scott’s film will undoubtedly capture the thrills of this spectacle. But as someone who studies the Roman world, I think it’s worth remembering that its cultural legacy goes beyond the cinematic pleasures of the big screen.
You might be surprised to learn that there are threads that tie together gladiators, Christian martyrs and the sense of persecution that exists among many U.S. evangelicals today.
Fan clubs and heartthrobs
Gladiatorial fights likely began as part of the funeral rites of wealthy Roman families. Over time, the fights became mass public events, regulated by the state and elites.
They included three sets of events: wild beast fights, the executions of criminals, and gladiatorial fights. The gladiators were the main event, with their forthcoming battles hyped on the walls of Roman cities. These advertisements often mentioned the names of the famous fighters, the number of gladiators fighting, and whether there would be fights to the death. Not all gladiators fought to the death: The gladiator Hilarus, for example, won 12 times but fought in 14 fights.
Gladiators were, by law, required to be slaves. Their enslavers
invested time and money in their training and upkeep. Roman games were put on at the expense of local elites, or even the emperor. Welltrained gladiators meant better shows for the sponsors and bigger profits for their owners. A gladiator who died in his first fight was not good for business. Meanwhile, a successful gladiator – meaning one who had made his enslaver a lot of money – could hope to be freed or be given an opportunity to buy his freedom. Those who won could also expect to become beloved celebrities, which somewhat offset the dishonor of being enslaved. In Pompeii, multiple inscriptions mention the Thracian gladiator Celadus, calling him a heartthrob. Gladiatorial fan clubs were common. One group was likely responsible for a riot that broke out during a set of games in Pompeii in 59 C.E. There’s even evidence of gladiatorial cosplay. One Roman senator was said to have fought duels with a woman in a leopard costume at Ostia. Meanwhile, the tombstones of gladiators in Roman-controlled Greece celebrated their prowess using language drawn from ancient athletics, which were sports that were only available to freeborn citizens. These gladiators gave themselves stage names evoking mythological heroes or their courage and bravery. These stage names were not just for entertainment; they were attempts to immortalize their respectability. By casting themselves as athletes and not enslaved fighters, they presented themselves as participants in a noble, athletic tradition.
Christians embrace ancient athletics Early Christians used descriptions of sports
and athletics because they could be easily understood by Roman society. Ancient athletic competitions shaped how people thought about beauty, the body, self-control, education and competition. For victorious gladiators, the outcast and the slave could paradoxically embody the ideals of Roman virtue.
In the Christian New Testament, the apostle Paul famously describes himself as a runner and a boxer and even as a gladiator. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews speaks of running a race before a heavenly crowd of witnesses.
By embracing this imagery, early Christians positioned themselves as outsiders who nonetheless championed Roman ideals and culture.
Gladiator as martyr
Some early Christians followed Paul’s example and wrote themselves into the culture of ancient sports, particularly in a genre of Christian writing focused on martyrdom. It is commonly thought that the earliest Christians were regularly and systematically persecuted by the Roman government. But the widespread persecution of ancient Christians under the Roman Empire is a myth that modern historians have debunked. Local persecutions did happen from time to time: There were a few short periods where the imperial government targeted Christians. However, for the most part, the Romans paid little attention to Christians. So why were Christians so focused on telling stories of martyrs?
Ancient Christians wrote violent stories about martyrs because they functioned as morality plays that taught virtue and vice.
One example is the account of the “Martyrs of Lyons and Vienne,” written sometime at the end of the second century C.E. In the story, those condemned to death in the arena are described as “noble athletes” and “noble competitors.” The author characterizes Christians – who are dying not as athletes or gladiators, but as common criminals – as those who possess the elite virtues of great athletes. The reversal of expectations gives the story its force. You can see this in the character of Blandina, an enslaved woman who is described in the account as a noble athlete and as one who has put on Christ, the “mighty and powerful athlete.” The author instructs the audience to see her as a hero, not as a slave or a criminal: through her, “Christ showed that the things that appear worthless, obscure, and despicable among men are considered worthy of great glory with God.”
In another martyr narrative, a woman named Perpetua has a dream in which she transforms into a gladiator before her martyrdom.
These early Christian martyr accounts envision games in which enslaved people display noble courage and virtue; those condemned to torture, beatings and violent deaths are
unfazed. Instead, they’re selfpossessed athletes who strive for imperishable crowns.
Forever persecuted
The draw of stories in which Christians are “thrown to the lions” has remained powerful. Most ancient martyr accounts were written after Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire. But Christians continued to write stories about martyrs even after they became the majority of the population.
In the U.S. today, evangelical, charismatic and conservative Christians continue to tap into the martyrdom mythology. Even as they’ve become a powerful force in national politics, many influential wings of conservative U.S. Christians have come to characterize themselves as a persecuted minority. And they keep writing martyr stories.
High school football coach Joe Kennedy became an evangelical hero for fighting for the right to pray on the field at public high school football games. Kennedy had been fired for leading postgame prayers on the field, in violation of school policy. His supporters viewed him as a champion of religious freedom who was being unfairly persecuted for his beliefs. Kennedy ultimately fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court, which ruled in his favor. Other conservative Christians have also returned to the arena. This time, they’re the gladiatorial fighters and not the murdered martyrs. The popular internet meme of Marine Todd taps into this particular fantasy: The fictional Marine gets so fed up with his atheist university professor that he punches him in front of the class. Meanwhile, the
Cavan W. Concannon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
U of M students learn by doing with new exhibition focused on Black joy
By Sheila Regan
Before beginning a live painting performance last weekend, artist seangarrison introduced his toy turtle, a gift he received from his daughter nine years ago.
Garrison keeps the turtle at hand whenever he has a show, to keep his family and loved ones close.
“Part of community and being joyful is that we cherish our families and our community and our friends, because those of us who live long enough know — tomorrow ain’t promised,” he said. “Lead with gratitude and happiness and as much hope as possible.”
After his opening remarks, garrison started painting the eight canvases set up in front of the audience. Beginning with a vivid blue color, the artist began laying thick strokes of paint, propelled by an upbeat soundtrack.
Moving from one color to the next, he worked quickly, and soon a silhouetted figure emerged, eventually creating a journey from darkness to light, and from chains to freedom.
The event took place at the University of Minnesota’s Regis Center for Art building, a precursor to “Layers of Joy,” at the Quarter Gallery, where garrison’s completed work is on view. Curated by students at the U, the show investigates the contours, openings and buoyancy of Black joy as a form of resistance through the lens of five local artists.
The show evolved from a two-semester course taught by Daniel M. Greenberg, an assistant professor of art history, and Dwight K. Lewis, Jr., an assistant professor of philosophy.
Early in the course, the students were introduced to a number of Black artists based in the Twin Cities, according to art history major Clare Sokolski.
“We visited them, we picked out a couple artists that we really loved the work of during
the research process, and then we compared and contrasted them,” she said. “Something that came out with a lot of them is layered materiality within the work — not just physical layers, but also layers of experiencing the world as a Black person.”
You can see this intention in the students’ curation by the mix of mediums presented in the show. With sculpture, painting, mixed media, photography and textiles, the artists investigate form and texture in different ways.
Alexandra Beaumont’s works conjure pastel silhouettes of human bodies in motion with delicate fabrics sewn together and hung from the ceiling.
Cameron Patricia Downey’s piece in the show “Jackie on the Floor” depicts a family member of the artist grinning at a formal party with party lights above and champagne glasses nearby. The screen print of the woman, wearing pearls, a floral dress, and grasping a giant cell phone, is printed on linoleum and framed with wood, with a light fixture placed at the foot of the piece.
Sania Kathi, an anthropology major who is minoring in museum and curatorial studies, said the experience was the first time she had met an artist in their studio. “It was a crazy experience watching them talk about themselves and the art,” she said. “It really changed how I understood their art and art in general.”
One of the artists they met was Eyenga Bokamba. “She was one of my favorite artists,” Kathi said. “Just the excitement she brings forth and how she likes to talk about her art is just very interesting. I could just hear her talk all day. She just has a very fun vibe.”
In the exhibition, Bokamba’s installation of glowing, translucent boxes comes at the end of the gallery. Made of silk, wood, and metal, the cubes are painted with dancing expression. A painting
by Bokamba called “I See/I Feel/Somehow I Know #1” similarly flows with movement.
Using pinks, oranges, plus moments of green and turquoise, the work evokes both creation and transformation, with an ebullience of vibrant animal force.
Another student curator, Roque E. WoodSinclair, who is getting a degree in studies in cinema and media culture, said he was especially drawn to garrison’s work. “I like performance art — I used to play in bands, so I understand the stage just like he does,” Wood-Sinclair said. “So we bonded with that, and he’s become kind of my mentor.”
Wood-Sinclair is an older student, at age 56. He went into accounting because the arts weren’t encouraged in his family. Now he’s making up for lost time. “It’s just kind of a new thing for me, understanding the value of art, the value of the person making the art, and how that translates to others and to the community at large,” he said. In their coursework, the students in the class divided up tasks, often working in teams. Shangwe Weche, an architecture major who was tasked with artist communications, said she was surprised to realize the artists were all extremely friendly. “I can just be myself,” she said. “That’s the energy they want.
So that’s the energy I’m gonna give them. Reciprocating their energy was a big part of forming relationships with them.” They also had a pitch team. “Originally we had to make a very big pitch presentation to the gallery directors and staff,” said Annie Collins, an art history and museum and curatorial student. “It became a very big labor of love, I guess, because we were all passionate about doing it.”
The exhibition holds a resonance with the exhibition currently on view at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, in the same building, called “Art and Artifact: Murals from the Minneapolis Uprising,” curated by U alum Amira McLendon. That show highlights preserved artwork created during the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder by police. According to Haleigh Keane, a senior art history major, the class didn’t know at first the “Art & Artifact” exhibition would be on view at the same time as “Layers of Joy.” Since being able to see that show and speak with the curator, they see the two points of view in relationship.
“It’s important to recognize both forms of resistance for Black people in Minneapolis,” Keane said. As one exhibition highlights pain and struggle, another “celebrates joy as
resistance as well,” she said.
The recent presidential election adds a further layer, according to Julieta Hernandez, a senior in art history. “We hope that the exhibit creates a space not only of community, but of safety and joy,” she said.
“The election— it does change things,” said Sokolski. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in the background that’s pushing this exhibition. We wanted to do things with people like Tim Walz, but we couldn’t because of the election year.” Lewis, an assistant professor, still hopes the Minnesota governor will visit the show. Having the two exhibitions on view simultaneously allows for an opening up of the conversation, Lewis said. “It shows even more the multiplicitous nature of moving through the world as Black. It’s been really intriguing to try to figure out how to move in both those spaces.
But you know, when you’re Black, you’ve been doing it.”
That duality can be seen in both exhibitions. Even with pain emitting through the raw murals painted on plywood boards in “Art and Artifact,” there are works featuring flowers, hopeful sunrises, rainbows and humor. “EQUAL RIGHTS FOR OTHERS DOESN’T MEAN LESS RIGHTS FOR YOU,” reads one board in the “Art and Artifact” exhibition, created by Free in Color, Youth Painters, “IT’S NOT PIE.” The mural boasts an image of a delicious looking pie. Meanwhile the artists in “Layers of Joy” hold both pain and lightness. For example, Leslie Barlow was heavily involved in a collective of artists making work on boards around the Twin Cities themed around justice and liberation following the 2020 civil unrest. In her paintings featured in “Layers of Joy,” she portrays moments of freedom and play, like the tangerine-hued “Snowbirds and nebula,” (2022), where a
relaxed Black figure, cat and dog in tow, poses in an outdoor scene in front of a large van.
In “Horizon” (2023), Barlow paints a scene of three young Black people hanging out, holding their phones and enjoying each others’ company. These paintings embrace connections with nature and with friends, and a beautiful relishing of leisure and relaxation. They serve as beautiful examples of the quiet resistance of everyday happy moments.
Besides choosing the artists and putting the exhibition together, the students also have been tasked with developing communications around their work and their stories. The students put together the news release and other texts for the show, including a catalog with essays about each of the artists and a narrative about the journey of their class. They have also been involved with creating media content. You can see some of what they’ve been creating on the show’s website and social media channels, and they’ll also be releasing a minidocumentary that explores the course from its beginnings in the spring semester through the final form of the exhibition.
“Layers of Joy” is open through Dec. 14 at the Quarter Gallery at the University of Minnesota. The gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Note: per new U of M policy, the building is locked if you don’t have a key card, and you have to actually call to be let in. The number is on the door: 612-624-7530.) The opening reception takes place Friday, Nov. 22, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. (free). More information here.
Sheila Regan
Sheila Regan is a Twin Cities-based arts journalist. She writes MinnPost’s twice-weekly Artscape column. She can be reached at sregan@minnpost. com.
Sheila Regan
seangarrison live painting at Regis Center for the Arts Saturday, Nov. 16.
MinnPost
Tennessee state university set to debut the first division I hockey team at an HBCU
By Mekhi Abbott Special to the
Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.
TSU held an official
press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26.
On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team. Sign up for our Daily eBlast to get coverage on Black communities from the media company who has been doing it right for over 132 years. “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a
powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose studentathletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”
Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League. After his career as a professional hockey player,
Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School.
In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.
“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.
On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.
In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko.
In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.
“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg
Vikings staying on track and in control behind Sam Darnold’s
By Dave Campbell AP Pro Football Writer
The game had suddenly gone sideways for the Minnesota Vikings, their 11-point lead on the Chicago Bears having evaporated in the closing seconds. They straightened it out in overtime, no sweat, because Sam Darnold simply hasn’t been fazed.
Save for his occasional rash of turnovers, in games the Vikings still managed to win, Darnold proved again on Sunday in defeating the Bears that he’s directing a passing attack with the potential to be one of the NFL ‘s most potent.
“I think he’s a mentally tough guy. I think he’s a physically tough guy. I think he’s confident in the guys around him, and I think he’s confident in our system,” coach Kevin O’Connell said after the 30-27 victory. “I think when he just continues to play quarterback at a high level, I think we’re a tough team.”
After the defense forced the Bears to punt on the opening possession of overtime, Darnold led the Vikings on a 68-yard drive to set up the game-ending field goal while overcoming a 7-yard sack on the first play and two subsequent setbacks with a false start and a holding penalty.
On third-and-10 from the 21, he hit Jordan Addison near the sideline for 13 yards. On first-and-15 from the 29, Darnold threaded a throw to Justin Jefferson for 20 yards after he’d muscled his way through Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson on a post route for the clutch catch after he’d been all but silenced all afternoon by a defense determined to constantly bracket him with
double coverage. On second-and-11 from the 48, Darnold connected with a wide-open T.J. Hockenson underneath for 12 yards. Then two plays later off a second-and-8 play-action fake, he found Hockenson again on a deep corner route for 29 yards to put Parker Romo in prime position for the walk-off winner.
“Just execute. It’s as simple as that. Just one play at a time,” said Darnold, who went 22 for 34 for 330 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover.
“I think I tell the guys that every single time in the huddle, but that’s my mindset every single time I’m out there on the field, especially in that situation.”
Even when Jefferson continues to draw an extraordinary amount of coverage, the Vikings with Addison, Hockenson, Aaron Jones and the rest of their crew running O’Connell’s system have proven they have an offense that can go win a game when it’s required. That wouldn’t be possible without Darnold, whose career rebirth has helped spark the Vikings (92) become one of the league’s biggest surprises in what’s now its most difficult division.
“He’s cool, calm, collected,” Hockenson said. “That’s what you want as the leader of the huddle.”
What’s working
College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”
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The Vikings’ defense ranks ninth in the league on third downs, allowing a conversion rate of 34.5% after limiting the Bears to a 6-for-17 performance. The Vikings are tied for first on fourth downs with an allowance of 36.4% after the Bears went 2 for 3. Both conversions came in the fourth quarter during touchdown drives. The Vikings also rank fourth in the NFL in opponent points per drive (1.52).
What needs help The Vikings had seven possessions that crossed the 20-yard line in Chicago, but only three of them yielded touchdowns. Their lone turnover was the type of game-altering giveaways they’ve struggled to eliminate this month, a fumble by Aaron Jones at the 1-yard line that ruined a promising first drive. The Vikings are tied for 20th in the league in red zone touchdown rate (53.9%) and are 17th in goal-to-go touchdowns (72%).
Stock up
Addison had eight catches for 162 yards, both career highs, and a touchdown on nine throws from Darnold. The second-year wide receiver has had a quieter season than his rookie year, but he stepped up in a significant way on an afternoon when Jefferson was as smothered by the opposing secondary as ever.
Stock down TE Johnny Mundt had the onside kick glance off his shin as he charged toward the coverage, and the first kicking team recovery in the NFL this season helped the Bears extend the game. Mundt also had the
false start on the overtime drive. His lone catch was a 7-yard gain when he was stopped short of the goal line, one play before the lost fumble. Mundt played 33 of 71 snaps and Hockenson took 48 snaps with Oliver out.
Injuries The Vikings lost LT Cam Robinson (foot) and LB Ivan Pace (hamstring) to injuries in the first quarter against the Bears, and O’Connell said on Monday those players were still in “evaluation
Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Chicago.
AP Photo/George Walker IV
National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman (left), Tennessee State University (TSU) Athletic Director Mikki Allen (center) and TSU president Glenda Glover share a moment after holding a press conference announcing TSU’s intent to become the first historically Black college or university with a Division I ice hockey team.
Hopkins high school expands ASL program to address interpreter shortage and inspire future leaders
By Terryann Nash, MAPL, MA ASL Teacher Hopkins High School
With a critical shortage of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters nationwide, Hopkins High School is stepping up to prepare the next generation of ASL professionals. The program, now in its second year, combines language instruction with realworld exposure to leaders in the Deaf community, offering students a unique opportunity to address the growing demand for interpreters.
According to the National Census of the Deaf Population, approximately 500,000 Deaf and Hard-ofHearing Americans use ASL, yet only around 10,000 certified ASL interpreters are available across North America. The shortage is especially acute in rural areas, where access to video remote interpretation is limited due to infrastructure challenges. This disparity has led to fierce competition for interpreters in fields such as healthcare, education, and law. Under the leadership
of Principal Crystal Ballard, who champions diversity and inclusion, the ASL program at Hopkins High School has flourished. The curriculum includes Striving to See World Change, an anthology of inspiring stories from Deaf and non-Deaf leaders who have overcome challenges. Students read these stories and engage in virtual conversations with international figures, such as Musa Darboe, a content creator from Nigeria, Abubakar Gbs, a Deaf educator from Nigeria, and Lal Daggy, a Deaf rapper from Kenya.
“This exposure helps our students see how ASL is a tool for global change,” said Terryann Nash, ASL instructor and author of the anthology. “They’re learning not only the language but also how to advocate for social change and create inclusive spaces.”
This year, the program also welcomed Romel Thurman from Gallaudet University, who shared insights about academic and career opportunities for aspiring ASL professionals. Additionally, Dr. Regina Daniels, a Deaf interpreter and faculty member
at North Central College, visited the school to talk about PSEO opportunities in ASL interpreting and her experience working as an interpreter at the Presidential Debates. Her visit provided valuable exposure to the real-world applications of ASL in high-profile settings, further inspiring students to pursue careers in the field.
The program has built strong ties with local colleges and Deaf organizations, providing students with networking opportunities and the chance to connect with influential leaders in the field.
“Dr. Daniels’ visit was a great opportunity for our students to learn about the diverse career paths available to them as interpreters,” said Nash.
“She has demonstrated how far ASL can take you and the difference it can make in both local and global communities.”
The ASL program also emphasizes the physical and mental demands of interpretation, with students learning strategies to manage the toll the profession can take on the body and mind.
“Interpreting is mentally and physically demanding, so we
focus on self-care and longterm career sustainability,” said Rebecca Demmings, Deaf ASL/Deaf Culture specialist at Hopkins High School. By integrating language learning with advocacy, career development, and cultural immersion, the ASL program at Hopkins High School is setting a new standard in education while addressing a critical national need. With the demand for ASL interpreters growing, the program
terryannnsh@aol.com.
Trump’s next HUD secretary would have a lot to do to address the history of racist housing policy – and Trump’s own comments and history suggest that’s unlikely
By Colin Gordon Professor of History, University of Iowa
Donald Trump has picked former football player Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While not much is known about Turner’s positions as he awaits confirmation by the Senate, Trump’s selection draws attention to the incoming administration’s housing policies.
Those policies, evident in both the first Trump presidency and in comments made during the campaign, suggest an abiding faith in the private sector and local government. And they are likely to include deregulation and tax breaks for investment in distressed areas.
They also show a disdain for federal fair housing programs. These programs, Trump said on the campaign trail in 2020, are “bringing who knows into your suburbs, so your communities will be unsafe and your housing values will go down.”
‘Inharmonious neighbors’
In his September 2024 debate with Kamala Harris, Trump responded to a question on immigration by amplifying the discredited rumor that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were “eating the pets of the people that live there.”
“This is what’s happening in our country,” he added, “and it’s a shame.”
As a historian of public policy focused on urban inequality, I am struck by the similarity between Trump’s diatribe and the beliefs that instituted racial segregation in housing a century ago.
Trump’s false claim echoes the long-standing anxieties of white homeowners regarding immigration in general and African American migration specifically.
Both cases pit the interests of one set of residents against those of another.
First, there are the established, overwhelmingly white, residents – in Trump’s lingo, “the people that live there.” Then come the unwanted new arrivals whose sudden presence in American neighborhoods is seen as a menace to public health, welfare and property values.
Historically, the threats posed by “inharmonious” neighbors – as real estate agents and later federal housing agencies put it –have focused on immigrants and African Americans.
The surge in immigration to the U.S. at the end of the 19th century animated a notoriously nativist response from local
governments and realty groups. It included early efforts at landuse zoning aimed at establishing economically and racially exclusive residential districts in cities. And it involved the first stirrings of white flight to the suburbs, especially in the rapidly urbanizing Northeast and Midwest.
Patchwork apartheid
But it was the Great Migration of African Americans in the first decades of the 20th century, coupled with the urban residential boom of the 1920s, that galvanized the peculiarly American alchemy of race and property.
During this period, many cities, beginning with Baltimore in 1910, experimented with explicitly racial zoning that designated neighborhoods for solely white or Black occupancy.
The Supreme Court struck these laws down in 1917 on the grounds that it invaded “the civil right to acquire, enjoy and use property.”
With the option of legally codified racial zoning closed, as I detail in my book, “Patchwork Apartheid,” the
white reaction to the Great Migration turned to the private and piecemeal action of developers, real estate agents and homeowners. The centerpiece was the widespread use of private contracts designed to prevent those “not wholly of the Caucasian race” from owning or occupying homes in “protected” neighborhoods.
This private resistance to integrated neighborhoods was occurring as new housing starts ballooned after the war, from 240,000 a year in 1920 to almost 1 million in 1925. These restrictions took a variety of forms.
Suburban developers commonly imposed prohibitions on African American occupancy or ownership of new construction, especially in the rapidly growing cities of the Midwest. Existing residents of older neighborhoods facing racial transition in places such as Chicago and St. Louis would also impose racial covenants by petition.
In all these settings, as I detail in my book, racial restrictions were routinely attached to individual home
sales by buyers, sellers or real estate agents. They hoped to ward off what white realty interests routinely referred to as “invasion” or “encroachment.”
The result was a sort of patchwork apartheid. It was crafted nationwide but stitched together parcel by parcel, block by block, subdivision by subdivision.
Stark racial segregation
My work on St. Louis has uncovered almost 2,000 racially restrictive agreements imposed between 1900 and 1950. By 1950, this patchwork of private restriction encompassed nearly two-thirds of the St. Louis region’s residential properties. Their core logic was that occupancy by inharmonious neighbors constituted a “nuisance” use of property.
Before 1920, private property restrictions commonly included a general nuisance provision barring commercial uses, often listing trades offensive to the senses, such as a slaughterhouse or a junkyard, or to one’s morals, such as a tavern.
In response to the Great Migration, white
realty firms in St. Louis and elsewhere simply appended “colored” occupancy to their list of nuisances.
For example, the uniform agreement used by the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange banned two classes of buyers or renters: “any slaughterhouse, junkshop, or rag-picking establishment” and “a Negro or Negroes.”
In the St. Louis subdivision of Cleveland Heights, a long list of proscribed nuisances was capped with the provision that no lot could “in any way or manner” be “occupied by any persons other than those of the Caucasian Race.”
Some restrictions elided racial categories and nuisances by restricting sales to residents considered simply “objectionable” or “undesirable.”
A common clause found in most Midwestern settings barred any “race or nationality other than those for whom the premises are intended.”
Such private restrictions were ruled an
unenforceable violation of equal protection by the Supreme Court in 1948. And they were prohibited outright by the Fair Housing Act two decades later.
But the damage –stark racial segregation and a yawning racial wealth gap – was done. And the core assumptions about race and property lived on in the policies of private realty, lending and appraisal.
‘Your communities will be unsafe’ Trump’s debate outburst, in this respect, reflected a racial politics shaped as much by his real estate background as his political aspirations. Trump inherited a property portfolio from his father that was already deeply committed to racial segregation and discrimination against African American tenants. Beginning in the 1970s, his family’s New York realty practice was notorious, and routinely sued, for violations of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, meant to check private discrimination in private realty.
As president, Trump continued to erode the notion of fair housing for all. In 2020, he jettisoned an Obama-era rule requiring that cities receiving federal housing funds affirmatively address local discrimination and segregation.
“The suburb destruction,” he promised at the time, “will end with us.”
Trump housing 2.0
Turner, as the next HUD secretary, is poised to pick up where the first Trump administration left off Consider the housing agenda of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s sweeping blueprint for the second Trump administration. Penned by Ben Carson, Trump’s first HUD secretary, it proposes a radical retreat from federal “overreach” that would include gutting antidiscrimination provisions in federal programs and deferring to localities on zoning. It would also bar noncitizens from public housing and reverse “all actions taken by the Biden Administration to advance progressive ideology.” At the time of Trump’s Springfield, Ohio, comments, the apocryphal specter of pet-eating immigrants seemed but one more oddity in a campaign punctuated with them. But it was more than that. It was the preamble to a new chapter in the U.S.’s long history of discriminatory neighborhood “restriction” or “protection.” Colin Gordon receives funding from The Russell Sage Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Mellon Foundation. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
AP Photo
Civil rights marchers protest housing discrimination in Chicago on Aug. 2, 1966.
Life Stories of African American Women
By W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor
EYES OF THE BEHOLDERS
Life Stories of African American Women An Anthology by the Golden Writers
Edited by Eric Brown
The wisdom of our elders is priceless, especially in these days and times. They are the living connection to our history as African Americans. Theirs are the shoulders upon which we stand. The stories they share, their life experiences, are what we can learn from going forward. Such is a group of sistahs known as the Golden Writers, ranging in age from their 50s to 80s, who created an anthology: Eyes of the Beholders, Life Stories of African American Women.
The sistahs whose stories comprise this anthology—Penny Duncan Stephens, Melvina Jordan, Dr. Ingrid Benjamin, Dorothy Kinsey, Beatress Lynn, Doris Thomas, Debora Starr, Sharon Parker, Inez Thomas, Jacqui Jones Helen Brown, and Peggy Sue Bellot—are Black women with roots in the South, with the exception of Ingrid Benjamin, who comes from Guyana.
I had the honor of meeting Doris Thomas at the Artists in the Afternoon event in Atlanta this past summer, and she is representative of the wealth of knowledge and experience of the Golden Writers. In the forward to this book, she gives us the reasons it is important for Black women of a certain age to share their stories—“to leave our footprint
in the sand, showing that we have made a difference no matter how large or small. We need to tell our stories to help others, older and younger, understand that writing purges the ghosts of the past, present, and future. We can show how we have overcome and/or may still be dealing with experiences that could have destroyed us, crippled us, made us lose our minds, yet we stand.”
Thomas, like her sistahs, shares her experiences in a variety of vignettes at different times in her life.
Through each woman, I read a tapestry of stories: life in the segregated South (urban and rural), family dysfunction, abuse, racism, colorism, favoritism in employment, what love is (and isn’t), treasured memories, succeeding against the odds, connection, found family, our thought life, forgiveness, and faith journeys. And for those writers who have children and grandchildren, stories of breaking generational curses. It was humbling to read these stories, which made me appreciate even more the stories
my late mother shared with me and my siblings during the last year of her life. We never know what someone has gone through, what has shaped their life, until they share their story. It is inspiring and humbling to read this anthology.
Eyes of the Beholders is available through Sumner House Publishing and Powell’s City of Books.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Golden Writers for the gifts you have given us through this anthology.
Insight 2 Health
How babies’ brains develop
By Katie Dukes, Director of Early Childhood Policy, EdNC
When babies are born, their brains contain billions of neurons. But how those neurons interact — and what they can do as babies grow through childhood into adulthood — is largely shaped by their experiences in the first 1,000 days of life. The architecture of the brain is built in those first three years, creating a foundation that enables thinking, learning, and adapting over time. More than 85% of adult brain volume is built during this critical period. Luckily, we know exactly what infants and toddlers need to develop healthy brains that will set them up for a lifetime of well-being.
How to support brain development
Decades of research have identified several building blocks that are essential to constructing strong foundations for the brain in the first 1,000 days. Researchers agree that the cornerstone of healthy brain development is the formation of secure attachments between babies and the trusted and caring adults in their lives. Whether these caregivers are parents, kin (including friends and neighbors), or trained early childhood professionals, they should be “knowledgeable
Advancing Equity for Black patients with serious illness to equip palliative care leaders and health equity change agents with practical tools to implement meaningful change.
about how to support (babies’) development and learning and responsive to their progress,” says a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Note the connection between caring and learning. Caring adults are crucial to developing the capacity for learning in the brains of infants and toddlers. In early childhood, care and learning were inseparable.
To strengthen the brain’s capacity for learning in the first 1,000 days, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has identified two key strategies that trusted adults can use — engaging in “serve and return” interactions and minimizing exposure to toxic stress. As researchers at the center explain, serve and return interactions occur when an infant or toddler “babbles, gestures, or cries, and an adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or a hug.” Engaging in service and return with caregivers helps babies and very young children build and strengthen neural connections related to communication and social skills in their developing brains. The absence of consistent serve and return exchanges can release potentially harmful stress hormones into the brains of infants and toddlers. And prolonged exposure to such hormones can result in what is known as “toxic stress.” Minimizing exposure to toxic stress in the
Having medical concerns dismissed, not being believed when reporting pain, and facing multiple barriers to care are just three of the experiences reported to Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) in a focus group of Black
first 1,000 days is crucial for healthy brain development.
According to the Center on the Developing Child, typical causes of toxic stress during this period include “physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship.”
However, the center also points out that trusting relationships with adult caregivers can act as a buffer against these hardships. That’s why childcare providers — whether they are friends, family, and neighbors, or licensed home-based or center-based caregivers and educators — can be so essential in the lives of families who
patients with serious illness. In fact, when Black people in the United States are living with a serious illness like cancer, heart failure, or dementia, they experience disproportionately high suffering compared to
(some available in multiple languages), The Basics offers a printable one-pager that can be posted in homes, classrooms, pediatrician offices, or anywhere else caregivers may find themselves. Adults — including policymakers — who embrace the basic building blocks of healthy brain development for infants and toddlers, are helping build a foundation that will yield benefits well beyond the first 1,000 days.
Why support brain development
may be experiencing economic hardships such as food or housing insecurity. As Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric specialist and expert in early childhood brain development, writes in her book Parent Nation, “Loving (adults) do not need a PhD or expensive gadgets to do an excellent job at supporting early brain development and building our future citizens. They need easily acquired, basic knowledge about how to best foster critical neural connections.”
To that end, The Basics is an initiative that uses a public health approach to educate and empower caregivers about their role in healthy brain development. In addition to a wide array of online resources
white patients—often due to poor pain management, low-quality communication from their care teams, and high family caregiver burden.
To address these inequities, CAPC has released a new, comprehensive guide, Advancing Equity for Black Patients with Serious Illness, to equip palliative care leaders and health equity change agents with practical tools to implement meaningful change. Drawn from research, examples of health equity initiatives from across the country, and the wisdom of health equity leaders, the guide provides a practical roadmap for transforming care for Black patients, and their families and caregivers.
“The work of advancing health equity in serious illness has never been more urgent, nor has its impact been more essential. CAPC is committed to empowering health care teams to make health equity an achievable goal,” said Brittany Chambers, MPH, MCHES, CAPC Director of Health Equity and Special Initiatives. “This guide provides actionable steps to advance equitable care for Black patients with serious illness, propelling us toward a system where health equity is
Many people, especially educators who work with children in kindergarten through third grade, can point to early learning as crucial for “school readiness,” but that term can be easily misunderstood. In EdNC’s many conversations with elementary educators, the vast majority say school readiness means young children are being prepared to participate in group learning. This includes having skills such as developing relationships with trusted adults outside their homes, sitting in a circle or standing in a line with other children, communicating about their wants and needs, sharing objects with others, fine motor control and knowing a little bit about how to regulate emotions. While school readiness may also include some basic academic skills, elementary educators assure EdNC that teaching children how to count, write, and spell is only possible when young
learners arrive at school with the social and emotional skills that make them ready to learn. And it’s the brain development that occurs in the first 1,000 days that makes this possible. In addition to helping young students be school-ready, numerous studies have shown that early learning leads to better performance in third-grade math and reading tests. But the benefits of early learning don’t stop there — they last a lifetime. Decades of studies have consistently shown that children who receive highquality early learning have better health, education, and earnings outcomes, and are less likely to be incarcerated or use government assistance programs throughout their lives. Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman found that the highest rate of economic returns comes from the earliest investments in children. More specifically, investment in early care and learning yields a 13% annual return to society. As Suskind puts it, “What happens in the first three years of
not just a goal, but a reality.”
The guide outlines a process for creating sustainable health equity interventions, including the needs assessment; patient / caregiver engagement; intervention design and partnership development; business and operational planning; making the case for funding or support; and data collection and evaluation. It also offers advice on how to overcome adversity and find community while engaging in this meaningful and challenging work.
About the Center to Advance
Palliative Care
The Center to Advance
Palliative Care (CAPC) is a national organization dedicated to increasing the availability of quality, equitable health care for people living with a serious illness. As the nation’s leading resource in its field, CAPC provides health care professionals and organizations with the training, tools, and technical assistance necessary to effectively meet this need. CAPC is part of the Icahn School
Honoring Champions of Cultural Tourism: A Recognition of Heritage, Civil Rights and Travel Excellence
The Green Book Institute (GBI) honored five organizations for their contribution to the cultural tourism industry during the inaugural Celebration of Cultural Tourism Awards. Held in partnership with the National TourAssociation (NTA)’s Travel Exchange, more than 700 travel professionals attended the event to hear from GBI leaders and celebrate these trailblazers of heritage and inclusivity. Ford Motor Company and Howard Johnson by Wyndham were unable to attend.
The award program, led by Karin Aaron and David Jackson of the Green Book Institute, opened with a moving video chronicling the history and significance of The Negro Motorist Green Book during the segregation era. The video sets the stage to acquaint the audience with the Green Book’s contribution and profound impact on cultural tourism. Representatives from the YMCA of the USA, the CherokeeNation, and local favorite Huntsville Revisited were honored and received
a standing ovation for their contribution to preserving history and fostering inclusivity in the hospitality community.
“Cultural travel is a driving force for growth, sustainability, and meaningful community engagement,” said David Jackson, Executive Director for the Green Book Institute. “We’re proud to join this global conversation that aims to amplify the value of cultural tourism while fostering education and awareness”.
Catherine Prather, NTA president, emphasized
Does the Mall of America lack a central heating system?
enters through 1.7 square miles of skylights. Heat is also generated from lighting, store fixtures, escalators and the mall’s roller coasters.
Yes.
The Mall of America does not have a central heating system. Instead, the complex maintains a temperature of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit year round through passive solar energy along with heat generated from lighting, store fixtures and body heat.
The country’s largest mall has about 40 million annual visitors contributing body heat to the 5.6 millionsquare-foot space. Solar energy
The mall, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, does have heaters near some entrances and in some department stores.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
MinnPost partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
the broader significance of cultural travel. “By celebrating and preserving the unique histories and contributions of diverse communities, we create meaningful experiences that resonate deeply with NTA members and the traveling public. Cultural tourism allows this rich history to be authentically shared, and it also financially supports local communities and small businesses around the world.” Travel Exchange, NTA’s annual convention and appointment show, attracts
representatives of destinations and tour components from all over the globe to meet with tour operators during one-on-one appointments, attend seminars, and build relationships. New to the event was the partnership between the Green Book Experience, the National Tour Association, and the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) .to honor organizations for their contribution to cultural tourism in the spirit of the historic Negro Motorist Green Book, published from 1936 to 1967.
“I’m truly humbled to receive this honor. Preserving Huntsville’s history is a passion and a privilege, and this recognition inspires me to continue shining a light on the stories that make our community unique”., said William Hampton, Founder of Huntsville Revisited For more information about NTA, visit NTAonline. com.
For more information about the Greenbook Institute or visit www. greenbookexperience.com.
Winter Keefer MinnPost
(From left to right): David Jackson, Green Book Institute; Bryce Wilson, GroupCollect (sponsor); William Hampton, Huntsville Revisited; Melanie Bench, Cherokee Nation; Terri Harvill, Birmingham YMCA; and Karin Aaron, Green Book Experience.
