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February 14, 2022 - February 20, 2022
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STORY ON PAGE
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Murder charges in St. Paul shooting reveal more details about SWAT raid that killed Amir Locke By Shaymus McLaughlin Bring Me The News Feb. 8, 2022
Documents explain how investigators traced a murder suspect to the Bolero Flats apartment building. Murder charges filed against a 17-year-old are revealing more details about the SWAT team raid that resulted in the death of Amir Locke. The teen, who is from Minneapolis, was charged in Ramsey County District Court Tuesday with two counts of second-degree murder. Prosecutors allege in a juvenile petition filed Tuesday that he fatally shot Otis Elder during a drug transaction the evening of Jan. 10. St. Paul police officers had arrived to the scene on Prior Avenue to find the 38-yearold with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Regions Hospital and pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. This teen suspect, according to the petition, is the cousin of Amir Locke, the 22-year-old shot and killed by a Minneapolis Police Department SWAT team in a Bolero Flats apartment on Feb. 2. Locke had been sleeping on the couch in the living room of one of the three apartment units targeted by search
Photos by Uchechukwu Iroegbu
Bolero Flats Apartment Homes, 1117 South Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis warrants early that morning. Authorities had closed in on the downtown Minneapolis apartment building in the weeks following Elder’s death. Investigators used CCTV MnDOT camera footage to track a suspect vehicle, seen speeding away from the Jan. 10 crime scene, to the Bolero Flats apartment building, according to the juvenile petition filed against the teen. Witnesses, video
footage and criminal history tied the suspected gunman to three units: 7th floor apartment— Where the suspect’s brother lived with his girlfriend (and the unit in which Locke was later killed) 14th floor apartment — Where the suspect lived with his mother. Another 14th floor apartment — “Associated with”
one of the people that returned to Bolero Flats with the suspect following Elder’s fatal shooting. This led the St. Paul Police Department to request search warrants for those three units. The Minneapolis Police Department oversaw the raids, with MPD reportedly insisting no-knock warrants be an option despite SPPD not requesting them. The petition states
the officers had ‘’probable cause pick up and holds’’ to arrest the suspected gunman on suspicion of murder, and two of his associates on suspicion of aiding and abetting an offender after the fact. At 6:48 a.m., a SWAT team quietly unlocked the door to the 7th-floor unit and entered, with armed officers then beginning to announce they were conducting a search
warrant. Just 9 seconds later, Officer Mark Hanneman shoots Locke, who was wrapped in a blanket having spent the night on the couch, and who was holding a gun that his family says was legally owned. Bodycam video shows he was not pointing the gun in the direction of any officers. The Bolero Flats search warrants have not yet been made public, but reports have said Locke was not listed on the documents. The juvenile petition filed against the 17-year-old Tuesday say the suspect’s brother and his girlfriend were also in the apartment that morning as MPD executed the search warrant. Investigators found a jacket the teen suspect may have been wearing when he drove the suspect vehicle to a parking ramp the day after Elder’s death. In the first 14th-floor unit, neither the suspect nor his mother were home at the time of the raid. Investigators found clothing and items possibly connected to Elder’s killing. And in the second 14th-floor apartment, officers did not locate the suspect acquaintance they were looking for, but did find another male, according to the petition. The 17-year-old charged Tuesday was arrested earlier this week in Winona, police have said. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said it will move to have the teen tried as an adult.
Mayor Frey, city address confusion over no-knock policy in the wake of Amir Locke’s killing By Shaymus McLaughlin Bring Me The News Feb. 8, 2022
They’re working to answer questions about what was — and wasn’t —banned. Questions about the City of Minneapolis’ policy on no-knock warrants continue to churn following Amir Locke’s killing by a city police officer. Mayor Jacob Frey took questions about the policy during Monday›s Minneapolis City Council Policy and Government Oversight Committee meeting, with council members pressing the mayor on the shifting set of no-knock warrant rules and the confusion that has followed. The policy — and the language surrounding it — has been heavily scrutinized since a SWAT officer shot and killed 22-year-old Locke on Feb. 2. Bodycam footage showed officers quietly open the door to the apartment Locke was in, and only begin announcing their presence as they entered the downtown Minneapolis unit. The killing led the city to institute a new moratorium Friday that bars the Minneapolis Police Department from requesting or executing a noknock warrant in most situations. Which raised the question: What about the supposed ban on no-knock warrants Frey and the city announced, to much fanfare, in November of 2020? As city leadership now explains, that policy was not actually a ban on noknock entry search warrants. Rather, it required officers to always announce their presence and purpose for being there before entering a residence — even when executing a no-knock warrant. “The November 2020 policy change, what it did was ended the practice of entering unannounced while serving no-knock warrants, barring dangerous circumstances,” Frey told the committee Monday. It echoes what the mayor’s office said in a statement Friday evening, which characterizes Frey’s policy as “banning the execution of unannounced entries while serving no-knock warrants.” But that’s not how the
regulations were championed by Frey’s campaign and one of the key groups publicly supporting his re-election bid. Through at least Oct. 23, 2021, the priorities section of the Frey campaign’s website jacobfrey.org (archived here via the Wayback Machine) provided a list of, “Some of our administration’s top achievements,” beneath which was the phrase: “Banning the use of no-knock warrants in the city of Minneapolis.” The language was removed sometime between that date and Oct. 26, 2021. And All of Mpls — a well-funded, high-profile political committee that supported Frey’s re-election and urged voters to reject the public safety ballot question — used this phrasing as well. “Banned no-knock warrants” was listed by the group as a “key accomplishment” during the mayor’s first term, all the way up through at least Nov. 3, the day after the election. That page was deleted between then and Feb. 4, 2022, two days after Locke’s killing. Council Member Jeremiah Ellison asked the mayor Monday about the public’s perception of the no-knock policy and the actual substance of the November 2020 changes. Frey pointed out the initial news announcement and policy materials published by the city did not use the word «ban.» (Indeed, it characterized the change as a «new policy» governing the use of these noknock or «unannounced,» search warrants.) The mayor also said comments he made in interviews captured the “complexity and nuance” of the policy. But, he continued, “throughout the campaign and certainly as more and more people and outside groups began weighing in, language became more casual, including my own, which did not reflect the necessary precision or nuance.” “And I own that,” Frey added. This roundabout way of saying that he and his campaign hadn’t been entirely truthful about the “ban” on noknock warrants was called out by some Democrats including 5th District Rep. Ilhan Omar, who tweeted: “Mayor Frey lied, Amir died and he needs to own that!” The mayor, during
Photos by Uchechukwu Iroegbu
his opening remarks of the committee meeting, said the new no-knock moratorium will remain in place as the city works with two national figures
— Dr. Pete Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University and DeRay McKesson — to review and revise the warrant policy. The mayor, when
asked by Council Member Aisha Chughtai if they were doing the work voluntarily or being contracted, said he did not believe Kraska or McKesson
were yet under contract to do the work described.
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February 14, 2022 - February 20, 2022
Vol. 49 No. 7• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Swimming safely and confidently
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On Amir Locke: No More Words... By MN Council of Churches No
more words … A young Black man, Amir Locke, was killed by Minneapolis police on Wednesday morning, February 2, 2022. Reminiscent of Breonna Taylor, Minneapolis police used a no-knock warrant to silently enter the private residence where he was asleep and they shot and killed Amir. They were looking for someone else. We have no more
words … First, we are still numb and in shock. Second, with the police killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, we made statements, quoted Scripture, protested, and called for action. Our colleagues around the country who are speaking out about police killings of Black people, Native people, and other people of color in their communities are also feeling like they have said all that needs to be said already. We have no more words … Yet Amir’s family needs our prayers. We have no more
words … Yet Black women, many who were Mothers, gathered on Monday to cry out for justice, accountability, and the transformation of public safety. So, we must join these courageous Black women and once again find the words, the Scriptures, the protests, and the actions to demand that the City of Minneapolis account for its racism and incompetence in policing. We must demand from the Mayor of Minneapolis to use his newly gained powers to transform public safety in Minneapolis. And we use the prophet Isaiah’s words to
demand, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed” (1:17). Minnesota Council of Churches Presiding Elder Stacey Smith, President Bishop Richard Howell, Vice President Rev. Curtiss DeYoung, Chief Executive Officer Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs, Co-Director of Racial Justice Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri, Co-Director of Racial Justice
Ayanna Rakhu, Ph.D. was just a toddler when she looked up at the lifeguard at Minneapolis’ lake Bde Maka Ska and told her mom “I want to do that!” Her mom listened, and Rakhu started swimming lessons when she was six before later swimming competitively until age 12. She got her first job as a lifeguard at 16. And though she chose basketball as the sport she would play through college, her love of swimming has never waned. “I have held several different positions in aquatics over the years,” says Rakhu, who recently defended her dissertation in the University in Minnesota College of Education and Human Development. She is also a certified USA Swimming Coach at Lifetime Athletic. Not surprisingly, her doctoral research is focused on swimming, specifically how to encourage African American mothers to swim,
On the death of Amir Locke at the beginning of Black History Month
photo/University of Minnesota
Ayanna Rakhu, Ph.D with her mother and daughter.
which would hopefully inspire their children to swim too. “It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter seven years ago that I noticed how few of my peers were spending time at the pool,” she recalls. “I started wondering if that was a real issue, and a passion rose up in me to get African American moms and kids swimming.” Through her research project, “Mother May I Swim,” which is supported by UROC, Rakhu has been working to understand the reasons why many African American parents
RAKHU 4
Photo by Uchechukwu Iroegbu
Killed for being Black NAACP calls By Dr. Nerita Hughes. Board Chair Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage (CMAH) Amir Locke lost his life at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department at approximately 7 a.m. on February 2. He was a young man who at just 22 years old had plans to start a music business. We mourn the loss of another Black man killed by a police officer in our state. Our sympathy goes out to Mr. Locke’s family, friends, and
community. It is Black History Month, a month when we are encouraged to reflect and recognize the triumphs, successes, and contributions of African Americans in the United States. It is not lost on us that some of our brothers and sisters are not here to celebrate because they were killed by police. African Americans have been fighting for equal rights and treatment under the law for decades, yet here we are in 2022 still being killed for being Black. So, while Black History
month represents how far we’ve come as a society, Amir Locke is another reminder and reality check on how far we have yet to go in this state. It can be hard to find joy as our community continues to struggle for equity and inclusion in the United States. It is an especially traumatizing and painful time for Minnesota’s residents, particularly those of African heritage. The Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage is here to support, champion, and create lasting systemic change. We push
for firing of cop who killed Amir Locke
Amir Locke
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Liberate ourselves from a vocabulary that can no longer bear the weight of reality Columnist
By Brenda Lyle-Gray Whether we should champion democratic ideas continues to be subject to debate. Many conservatives are deeply skeptical saying, Islamic and Arabic countries aren’t quite ready for freedom. However, late former President Ronald Regan wrote, ‘Democracy already flourishes in countries with very different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural condescension, or worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to
Mahmoud El-Kati democracy. We must be staunch in our convictions that freedom is not the sole prerogative of the lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings.” But Abraham
Lincoln warned a century prior, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms, it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.” There was this flash
News
A Valentine’s tribute to our children and others, too!
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across the TV screen with the words, “if re-elected, Trump teases he will pardon the January 6th protestors.” Marjorie Green Taylor, a racist GOP spokesperson and stanch Trump supporter announced that civil war will be necessary. OMG, I thought. This is exactly what global scholar, Mahmoud El-Kati just talked about on Friday’s Conversations with Al McFarlane Healing Circle, cohosted by Dr. Bravada GarrettAkinsanya, founder and CEO of the African American Child Wellness Institute (AACWI). “We are the most vulnerable and most targeted population in the world,” Professor El-Kati said. “Our enemy and the enemy of
HEALING 5
A city that was marred by the public lynching of George Floyd less than two years ago has once again been thrust into the spotlight for what can only be described as unforgivable police practices. Amir Locke, 22, was not the subject of the MPD’s warrant, had no prior police record, was in possession of a legal firearm, and is now the latest victim of what has become known as “police executions” across the country. Our communities cannot be asked to trust law enforcement on a consistent basis when the dead provide more answers than the living. Our communities cannot be asked to be patient as all the facts emerge, while law enforcement omits facts in the hopes of avoiding media backlash. (National NAACP) A life was taken, which demands transparency, but perhaps more importantly, accountability. We demand that the MPD officer who killed Amir Locke be fired from the police force immediately. Additionally, the State Conference calls on Governor Walz, as the chief executive in the state, to immediately undertake the following actions: 1. Direct every police department in the state and every state law enforcement agency to suspend
all use of no-knock warrants, pending a determination by the Minnesota Board Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) as to whether the no knock procedure is an appropriate use of police power. 2. Direct the POST board to hold an emergency session and under its regulatory powers, immediately declare that the use of no-knock warrants is not an allowed police procedure in the state of Minnesota. No-knock warrants are one of many tactics from the racist “war on drugs” and should be eradicated from our police practices. Other government agencies should do their part in banning this reckless and lethal practice, including the state legislature, whose police reforms last year clearly did not go far enough. Local city governments, including the St. Paul City Council and St. Paul Mayor, and individual police departments should also ban this practice, just as other communities have already done (e.g., Breonna’s Law in Louisville). During this difficult time, the NAACP would like to send thoughts, prayers, and comfort to Amir Locke ’s family. We are dedicated to ensuring that a badge is never used as a shield for accountability.
I2H
Increased suicides in Black Americans rings alarm for increased mental health awareness
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Juxtaposing Joe Rogan and Whoopi Goldberg
children born to parents Henry McDaniel, a formerly enslaved man who had fought for the Union Army in the Civil War, and her mother, Susan, who also had been enslaved. McDaniel’s family moved to Denver, Colorado when she was a child, where she graduated from Denver East High School. Upon finishing high school, McDaniel helped form a troupe with several siblings that performed traveling minstrel shows. For the next decade, McDaniel performed both live and on radio until the Stock Market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression. With funds from performing low, McDaniel took up work as a washroom clerk and waitress at a night club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1931, McDaniel moved to Los Angeles, where she again worked as a laundry attendant while seeking work in the entertainment industry. By 1934, McDaniel had joined the Screen Actors Guild and was finding regular work playing maids in numerous Hollywood films. Her work allowed her to become close friends with many of the leading actors and actresses of her time, including Lionel Barrymore, Gene Harlow, Olivia De Havilland and Clarke Gable, the latter two who would appear with her in the classic film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind (GWTW).” Producer David O. Selznick selected McDaniel to play the role of “Mammy,” a perspicacious maid to the O’hara family who serves as both surrogate mother and conscience to the film’s leading female character, Scarlett. When the film debuted in Atlanta in 1939, the strict nature of Jim Crow
segregation prevented McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen, who played the role of the maid “Prissy,” from attending the premier. Infuriated, Clarke Gable, who played the role of the debonair Rhett Butler, threatened to boycott the premier until McDaniel urged him to reconsider. The following year, McDaniel made history by becoming the first Black to win an Academy Award, as she took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her efforts in GWTW. Despite her success, McDaniel was still the subject of criticism from some within her own race, many of whom felt that her playing a maid in so many films was demeaning. Undaunted, McDaniel once snapped back in an interview that, she “would rather play a maid than to be one.” McDaniel later earned two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for her work in radio and the other for her work in film. McDaniel died in 1952, and in 1975 she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Black College Feature This Black History Month, each day I will feature one of America’s top HBCUs. Next up—Howard University. Founded: Howard University was founded in March of 1867 in Washington, D.C.—barely two years after the end of the Civil War with the goal of training preachers and teachers. Named for Union General Otis Howard, head of the Freedman’s Bureau, the University quickly rose to prominence as a comprehensive University offering rigrorous liberal arts education in multiple disciplines. Academics: Howard,
a Tier 1 national university, is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top five HBCUs and over the past several years, ranking second behind only Spelman College. Howard is the only HBCU ranked in the top 40 of the BloombergBusinessweek college rankings. Howard is the most comprehensive HBCU in the nation, with undergraduates pursuing degrees in multiple disciplines within the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Communications, Engineering, Pharmacy and Social Work. The University’s legendary Schools of Dentistry, Divinity, Law, and Medicine, and Dentistry have been at the vanguard of producing professionals who have healed, ministered to, and fought for Black civil rights and medical care since their inception. Howard is one of four HBCUs with a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society ( along with Fisk, Morehouse, and Spelman). Since 1986, the University has produced four Rhodes Scholars— second among HBCUs to only Morehouse College. The University’s MoorlandSpingarn Research Center (MSRC) is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent repositories of Black History and culture,for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent. Motto: Veritas Et Utilitas Mascot: Bison Colors: Blue, Red and White Athletics: MEAC-Division 1 in men’s and women’s sports. Famous Alumni/ Figures: Civil rights legend and first Black US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil rights legend and famed Howard Law Dean/Professor Charles Hamilton Houston, Political Science Professor and first Black Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Ralph Bunche, Civil rights legend Kwame Toure (Stokely Carmichael), Civil rights legend, US Ambassador, and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young; US Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Patricia Roberts Harris, first President of Nigeria Nnamdi Azikiwe, New York City’s first Black Mayor David Dinkins, President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, US Rep. Elijah Cummings, first Black woman lawyer Charlotte Ray; Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning writer Toni Morrison, social critic Ta-Nehesi Coates; entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, Academy Award winning actress Taraji P. Henson, entertainer/producer Debbie Allen, actress Phylicia Rashad, actor Ossie Davis, actor Chadwick Boseman, and actor/ comedian Anthony Anderson. Thank you and please subscribe to the Hobbservation Point. Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
and their children don’t swim. “UROC has been really supportive of my research both financially and through their mission of bringing research to the community,” she says. “That’s why I wanted to partner with them, and I see myself doing talks and workshops at UROC in the future.” The information Rakhu and her research team have gathered will eventually be used to help develop a curriculum for teaching African American women and their families to swim. “I have collected a lot of data from
African American mothers in the Twin Cities, and across the country, who have talked very openly about their swim experiences and their children’s experiences,” she explains. “The goal is to get parents and kids into the water and give them the confidence to swim safely. If parents aren’t onboard, it’s hard to get the kids to do something.” Ultimately, Rakhu plans to create a swim school that is culturally relevant and trauma informed, meaning the curriculum and teaching style would focus on overcoming many of the barriers to
swimming that African Americans face. She is a recent recipient of the FINNOVATION fellowship. Supported by the Bush Foundation, the fellowship is an immersive program that supports social entrepreneurs with building skills and to develop their business ideas. “Swimming is such a great way to maintain your health or come back from an injury; and knowing how to swim could save your life or your child’s life,” she says. “We need to address the barriers to swimming so more people can enjoy it safely.”
within the State of Minnesota to protect and uplift people of African heritage. What can you do? Join our efforts by calling and writing to your state elected representatives in the House and Senate to express the need for police accountability
measures that protect the rights of all Minnesotans and address community recommendations for systemic change in policing and human rights protection. Find out who represents you at https://www.gis.lcc. mn.gov/iMaps/districts/.
Hobb servation Point
By Chuck Hobbs ***Is multi-millionaire podcast host Joe Rogan a racist? Well, I was always taught that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. And, knowing that Spotify quietly removed over 100 of Rogan’s podcast episodes last week because he was firing off the “N-word” left and right confirms that at a minimum, he is way too comfortable with saying a word that most Black people find highly offensive and, at maximum, he is a damnable racist, straight up! Part of the problem is that Rogan has quite a few Black men who actually love his program; add to that the typical “I’ve got Black friends” statement that is often bandied about by white racists when they are caught in a racist cauldron of their own creation, and you get defenses like the one former Democratic presidential contender Andrew Yang Tweeted (and deleted) this past weekend: “I don’t think Joe Rogan is a racist - the man interacts with and works with black people literally all of the time...” Yeah, whatever Mr. Yang. But what’s funny to me is that Mr. Rogan seems to select the right Black folks to say that word in front of because if I was on his podcast and he uttered it, the next sounds his listeners would hear would be furniture moving and the unmistakable sounds of fists on face. But that’s how I and my friends roll, and it is clear that some Black men will check their dignity at the door just to be adjacent to some popular jerk that excites them for reasons that totally escape my understanding. ***The juxtaposition between how Spotify removed the Rogan podcasts with the “N-word”—but didn’t suspend him—with how ABC suspended Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for statements that may have lacked nuance but were far from anti-Semitic, is rich with irony. Such is why Black owned and supported media organizations are SO very critical in this modern era, so that our voices cannot be muted
Joe Rogan by corporate powers who could not care less about our views on matters great and small! ***For months I have told you that there was a looming Republican civil war on the horizon, and with the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) heading to Orlando later this month, the opening battle between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron Desantis will be worth watching for all politicos. At issue is Trump’s oft stated belief that he “made” Desantis, which in a manner of political speaking, is somewhat true. Before Trump endorsed Desantis in 2018, most Florida folks figured that Adam Putnam, a longtime state legislator, was a shoo-in for the Republican nod. Desantis, a congressman at the time who often appeared on Fox News to defend the Trump administration, soundly defeated Putnam before
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narrowly winning the general election against Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum. In the time since Trump was beaten by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, there have been a number of conservatives who have been looking to an alternative in 2024 due to their fears that the January 6th MAGA Riots, encouraged by Trump, coupled with Trump’s quixotic quest to claim that the 2020 election was stolen, could mean defeat to Biden or some other Democratic nominee in 2024. Enter Desantis, a governor who is as popular among conservatives for being anti-mask, anti-social distancing, and anti-mask mandate as he is despised for the same reasons by Democrats. As to the looming battle, The Hill this morning quoted an anonymous major GOP donor who has given to both Trump and Desantis as saying: “I think (Trump) definitely feels threatened by the governor...I can’t necessarily blame him, because there are a lot of people right now who are very interested in what Ron DeSantis has to say, and I think that’s especially true at CPAC.” The donor added, «...while Trump has clung to the same talking points – most notably his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him – DeSantis is talking about Joe Biden, he’s talking about freedom from COVID lockdowns, he’s looking forward and not backward.” Which man will prevail in a 2024 GOP primary? Stay tuned… Black History Hobbservation: Hattie McDaniel, actress The late Hattie McDaniel was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1895, one of 13
Rakhu From 3
Whoopi Goldberg
Killed From 3 for police accountability and reform and equity and inclusion
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Students are suspended less when their teacher has the same race or ethnicity By Matthew Shirrell Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Administration, George Washington University The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Black, Latino and Asian American students are less likely to be suspended from school when they have more teachers who share their racial or ethnic background. This is the central finding of a research study that two colleagues – Travis J. Bristol and Tolani Britton – and I released in October 2021 through the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. To figure out if a teacher’s race or ethnicity affected suspensions, we analyzed 10 years of data – from 2007 through 2016 – on suspensions for every student in fourth through eighth grades in New York City public schools. We followed individual students over time. We examined whether the proportion of teachers of the same race or ethnicity these students were assigned in a given year affected how likely they were to be suspended.
We found that the decrease in suspension likelihood caused by having teachers of the same race or ethnicity as students was roughly the same magnitude for Asian, Black and Latino students – about 3%. Our results suggest that if the representation of Black teachers for Black students in New York City went from 40% to 80%, and from 20% to 50% for Latino teachers for Latino students, suspension rates for Black and Latino students would drop by roughly 3%. This is because the percentage of Black teachers overall in New York City is not 40% — that is the percentage of Black teachers for Black students in the city, according to our estimates. Similarly, we found that 20% is the percentage of Latino teachers for Latino students. Such a change during the decade we studied would have resulted in 1,800 fewer suspensions of Black students and 1,600 fewer suspensions of Latino students, with these students spending approximately 9,000 and 8,000 more days in their classrooms, respectively. Why it matters Black and Latino students are suspended from school at higher rates than their white peers. These disparities
Black and Latino students are suspended at higher rates than their white peers. are apparent as early as preschool. The disparities are connected to lower academic achievement and lower levels of civic participation later in life. Although Black and Latino students comprise 43% of public school students nationwide, the teacher workforce is only 16% Black or Latino. Compared with white teachers, racially and
ethnically matched teachers have been found to raise student test scores and improve the chances of graduating from high school and attending college. The relative lack of Black and Latino teachers who teach Black and Latino students, then, could also contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in school suspensions. What still isn’t known
Our findings demonstrate the importance of learning more about the effectiveness of efforts to hire and retain teachers of color. Our findings also show the importance of investigating why Black, Latino and Asian American students are less likely to be suspended from school when they are taught by teachers who share their racial and ethnic
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backgrounds. Learning about the practices of these teachers will help educators design training for teachers that can help all teachers – regardless of their backgrounds – approach student discipline in ways that do not harm students of color. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
A Valentine’s tribute to our children and others, too! Nutbrown Hare, swinging him up over his head. “I love you as high as I can hop!” laughed Little Nutbrown Hare, bouncing up and down. “But I love you as high as I can hop,” smiled Big Nutbrown Hare. And he hopped so high that his ears touched the branches above. That’s good hopping, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I could hop like that. “I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river,”
Columnist
By Brenda Lyle-Gray Almost 30 years ago, author Sam McBratney and illustrator Anita Jeram published one of the most unique board book with a simple message expressing ‘true love’. I’d like to share it with the “Insight News” readers. Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare’s very long ears. He wanted to be sure that Big Nutbrown Hare was listening. “Guess how much I love you,” he said. “Oh, I don’t think I could guess that,” said Big Nutbrown Hare. “This much,” said Little Nutbrown Hare, stretching out his arms as wide as they could go. Big Nutbrown Hare had even longer arms. “But I love you this much,” he said.
Healing From 3 the human fabric is not the modern invention of the myth of race, but is the doctrine of white supremacy created from the rise of capitalism and the Transatlantic slave trade. This false construct contends people are separate and distinct, bringing about the mindset and practices of bigotry, bias, and prejudice. The world sees us through the lens of this doctrine of white supremacy, an assumed power that has raised hell for 400 years throughout the modern world.” El-Kati said there’re not too many places in the world where there is not a manifestation of this doctrine and system. “We are a people, a culture, and a product of a unique history which makes us different,” he said. “No ‘Negro’ came out of Africa. Humankind’s identity is defined by geography, language, and customs, not by the way we look. Everyone in this country is adversely affected by this white supremacy doctrine. It is the greatest affliction in America. It is anti-human to believe and say that white folks are the only full-fledged humans. We are a human family which comes in varieties with unique gifts.” El-Kati describes America as a key country and African Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) as key people. He said we know more about the U.S. than the average white person. “We have to continue to study and articulate that knowledge
Hmm, that is a lot, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. “I love you as high as I can reach,” said Little Nutbrown Hare. “I love you as high as I can reach,” said Big Nutbrown Hare. That is very high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I
had arms like that. Then Little Nutbrown Hare had a good idea. He tumbled upside down and reached up the tree trunk with his feet. “I love you all the way up to my toes!” he said. “And I love you all the way up to your toes,” said Big
of who we are as survivors in a historically unique and now more critical time in our country’s current state-of-affairs. The future of this world depends on everyone and that depends upon the extent and the means in which we liberate ourselves from the vocabulary that can no longer bear the weight of reality which the world has produced. We are a loving and forgiving people who grew up in the bosom of slavery,” El-Kati said. Clinical psychologist Dr. Akinsana said, “There is a wellspring of deep feelings caused by this week’s gun murders of two young men. Our children and community residents are frightened and traumatized. No one should be at risk and live in fear.” “We were already holding our anger,” she said. “For many, it hasn’t dissipated. We’ve held it since the Derek Chauvin trial and conviction. Now, there is the additional trial of the other three officers involved in the execution of George Floyd. There was the Kim Potter trial and the murder of Dante Wright right in the middle of the Derek Chauvin trial. We’ve never had a chance to rest. Our sufferings are fresh and continuous. It feels like the community is more like a pressure cooker just waiting to blow. We can’t begin to heal if we’re traumatized over and over. Systemic change will not occur until we start getting in people’s faces. But when we act, we need to be able to support ourselves being safe in our own communities. Leaders must demand calm and order in ways that stop the pain and keep it from rising again. We
have to start caring and taking responsibility for each other.” A member of United Community Mediation Team (UCMT), Al Flowers Sr. described the dilemma. “When they talked about ‘dismantling the police,’ we recognized there would be chaos. We need police protection. But we also knew we didn’t have a plan and obviously some officers had not changed their opinions of people of color. Then we had a 15-yearyear Black male murdered and two others shot in front of their school. Imagine the fear and the trauma of the students who either heard the gunshots or witnessed the tragedy. The next morning, the police killed another Black male while executing a noknock property warrant. They entered the downtown apartment with a pass key, kicking the couch where Amir Locke, 22, curled under a blanket, was in deep sleep. He had a legally permitted hand gun which officers saw as Lock stirred from sleep. An officer shot him three times, killing him,” Flowers said. “Locke wasn’t a suspect. His name wasn’t on the search warrant. Still he was killed within 9 seconds after the cops’ initiated entry.” Recommended Reading: Dr. Ashley Montagu, ‘Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race’, published in 1942. Smithsonian Institute series on the Smithsonian Channel: ‘One Thousand Years of Slavery Behind Closed Doors’ announced by Lonnie G. Bunche, the 14th Secretary, first educator, historian, and African American to lead the organization.
cried Little Nutbrown Hare. “I love you across the river and over the hills,” said Big Nutbrown Hare. That’s very far, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. He was almost too sleepy to think anymore. Then he looked beyond the thornbushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be farther than the sky. “I love you right up to the moon,” he said, and closed his eyes. “Oh, that’s far.” Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little
Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him good night. Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, “I love you right up to the moon and back.” Read this tender story to your child(ren) or your young students. Have them draw what their image of Little and Big Nutbrown Hare might be. Candlewick Press, 1994
Page 6 • February 14, 2022 - February 20, 2022 • Insight News
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Insight 2 Health
photo/TRAVELARIUM
SPRC stats also showed that young adulthood suicide is the highest among young Black Americans. From 2010 to 2019, between the ages of 25 and 34, Black suicide rates were just over 10 per 100,000.
Increased suicides in Black Americans rings alarm for increased mental health awareness By Stephon Johnson, Amsterdam News A couple of suicides by public figures have added to the conversation about young, Black Americans and mental health. In January, actress Regina King’s son, Ian Alexander Jr., died by suicide at the age of 26. Prior to his death he labeled social media as “unhealthy.” And said, “I don’t think Instagram is healthy for me.” Last weekend, Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst, 30, died after jumping from a highrise apartment complex in New York. On Instagram, the Miss Universe Organization said that
Kryst was “one of the brightest, warmest, and most kind people we have ever had the privilege of knowing, and she lit up every room she entered. Our entire community mourns her loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.” While suicide rates have decreased among Americans overall, Black suicide rates have gone in the opposite direction. According to the Suicide Prevention Resources Center, “At 7.4 per 100,000, the age-adjusted suicide rate for Black populations in 2019 was over half the overall U.S. suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000.” SPRC stats also
showed that young adulthood suicide is the highest among young Black Americans. From 2010 to 2019, between the ages of 25 and 34, Black suicide rates were just over 10 per 100,000. Among Black populations, suicide rates peak during adolescence and young adulthood, then decline. Michael Lindsey was recently named the dean of New York University’s Silver School of Social Work. He said that while the pandemic may not have helped, there still needs to be a focus on mental health and suicides among young Black Americans particularly. “It’s important for the social work profession to
meet this moment of urgent need, especially in vulnerable communities who have been especially hard-hit by the pandemic,” said Lindsey. “My own research into youth mental health has focused my awareness on how our young Black children and teens, in particular, are affected. For instance, at McSilver we saw self-reported suicide attempt rates rising by 73% in Black adolescents between 1991 and 2017, and later research shows that disturbing trend continuing. There are many reasons for this trend, but the pandemic has only hastened the urgency to act.” A Journal of the American Academy of Child &
Adolescent Psychiatry article published last September, using information from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that between 1991 and 2017 more than 1,800 Black children between the ages of 5 and 17 died by suicide. And current suicide rates aren’t equally distributed by gender. According to the Pew Research Center, between 2009 and 2019, Black suicides rates have increased among Black women and Black men 65% and 9% respectively. Dr. Jeff Gardere told the AmNews that there are still barriers to discussing mental health in the Black community and that more discussion
leads
to weaker barriers. “We’ve learned that success by itself does not define happiness and that it is important to have a proper worklife balance, number one,” said Gardere. “And number two, we still need to continue to smash the stigma by discussing mental illness, and we need to make psychology and counseling much more accessible.” If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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Insight News • February 14, 2022 - February 20, 2022 • Page 7
WHAT YOUR COVID-19 TEST RESULTS MEAN If your test is positive, you have COVID-19. • Stay home and away from others. Jayce Ellis
If You Love Something Sharing Our Stories
By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor By Jayce Ellis February, as we know, is Black History Month. February also includes Valentine’s Day. That being said, it is my pleasure to include in this month’s reviews author Jayce Ellis’ romance novel If You Love Something. DeShawn Moore Franklin is a minor celebrity chef at a starred restaurant in Washington, D.C. His dream as Chef DeShawn, however, has included the baggage of an irritating agent and tabloid press, and the strain is beginning to show. Malik Franklin is the accountant for Franklin’s, the family soul food restaurant that is currently struggling financially, in part due to younger brother James’ refusal to adopt new ideas and strategies to generate more business. An introverted man, he has tended to run away from his problems, never telling his family that he and DeShawn
were married. Between DeShawn poised to follow his dream and Malik’s reluctance to come out, the couple divorced, but the pain never went away. After seven years and no contact, the brothas are brought together by DeShawn’s ailing grandmother Annie, whose ne’er-do-well son is eager to get his greedy fingers on her money. She has willed her house to DeShawn, and her money to Malik. Oh, and there’s one pesky little detail—through an error, DeShawn and Malik are still married. In the bigger picture of protecting Grandma Annie’s will and her legacy, they agree to act like they’re married for public consumption—until they aren’t acting. Yes, these 40-something men have communication problems and they do behave like idiots at times (don’t most romance novels have that?) but Ms. Ellis’ storytelling skills kept me rooting for their second chance, and witnessing DeShawn and Malik overcome their internal road blocks to fall in love all over again. There is a quote, “If you love something, set it free.” In the case of Malik, did he do it for the right reasons in the first place? I loved that D.C. flavor Ms. Ellis brings to this story, and
the way she navigates the family dynamics, coupled with the growth of her main characters. Annie Mae Belle Moore is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, be it fighting for her family or her matchmaking scheme to get DeShawn and Malik back together. I have no doubt that many of us have or had such a grandmother; when she spoke, you listened, and she is never to be underestimated. Granted, not all divorced couples are meant to reunite, but some deserve that second chance, since, in the wisdom of Annie Mae Belle Moore, they never should have divorced in the first place. If You Love Something is available on Amazon. For this Valentine’s Day, score another victory for Black Love, Jayce!
NUNNABOVE
FEB 16
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Tina Schlieske Sings Sinatra to Simone
Connie Evingson “Peggy Lee– Happy with the Blues”
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William Duncan & Friends
Stanley Jordan
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An Evening of Torch and Swing
Play Billy Preston & William Duncan Songbook
Inspiring Progressive Pop
Visionary Guitar Wizard
ŸŕńĭƼ û ŕŴɫ ŕûŀ Troubadour
The Dreadlock Cowboy
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FEB 24–25
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Take 6
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FEB 27–28
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• Call 911 if it gets hard to breathe or your symptoms get worse.
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Page 8 • February 14, 2022 - February 20, 2022 • Insight News
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Winkler, Moran, announce bids for county positions in Hennepin, Ramsey Columnist
By Brenda Lyle-Gray A change is brought about because ordinary people
Conservation Minnesota
Rena Moran
Member Profile
Ryan Winkler
do extraordinary things. It will not come if we wait for some other person or for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek. Barack Obama Ryan P. Winkler is the Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He has represented District 46A which includes portions of St. Louis Park, Plymouth, and Golden Valley since 2019. He recently announced he is stepping down from his role at the Capitol and will be running for Hennepin County Attorney. “I’ve held that position long enough, Winkler said in the KFAI broadcast of Conversations with Al McFarlane last Tuesday. “It’s time to make room for some of the up-andcoming, diverse, and talented future leaders.” “One of my top priorities if elected, will be championing transformation in the juvenile and criminal justice system and strengthening programming for our youth and their families in a way that reduces racial biases that have historically led to overpolicing and the targeting of African Americans. I intend to carry out components of my platform through engagement, not promising, but identifying resources, and advocating for equity, fairness in sentencing and various addiction treatments, and looking long term as to how we can close the intentional disparaging gaps in almost every aspect of normal and quality living for people of color,” Winkler said. Winkler said he’d work on halting the cycle of senseless violence not just afflicting the Twin Cities, but nationwide. He said that calls for true leadership and having trust in law enforcement. “Incidents like the killing of Amir Locke definitely enhance the mistrust,” he said. Transformational change depends on who shows up at the decision making table and on how insistent people are in being part of the process, not just coming as guests or an outside force, he said. Six-term House Member, Rena Moran (St. Paul, 65A), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee is running for the Ramsey County Commissioner seat being vacated by Toni Carter who is retiring. Moran said she is proud of the ‘good work’ that has been accomplished by her dedicated colleagues but has grown weary of the House-Senate divide that has historically stifled progress in the state. Like House Majority Leader Winkler, Moran said she wants to work even more directly with the people, listening to their concerns, making every effort to address their needs such as housing and food insecurities, and letting the political agendas reflect accountability from the top down. Moran said given the nearly $8 billion state budget surplus projected, not enough investment has been earmarked for St. Paul and the Rondo community. “It’s imperative that leadership and the governing bodies come to a reasonable, bi-partisan consensus as to how to widen the circles of opportunity and equity. One of the focuses must be on generational wealth,” Winkler said.