Insight ::: 02.27.2023

¡CUBA SÍ! ¡CUBA SÍ!

Afro-Cuban All Stars & Minnesota Cuba Film Festival

Cuban Film Festival returns to Main Theater

This year’s Minnesota Cuba Film Festival (MCFF) festival takes place at the MainTheater six consecutive Wednesdays, March 1-April 5, 2023. MCFF features films that address the achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the eyes of its filmmakers. The festival highlights diverse and challenging films of social change, human struggle and the boldness of the human spirit.

Film Festival organizers say the festival gives Minnesotans a chance to learn about and appreciate Cuban films and culture, and to people of the onerous burden that the US blockade inflicts on the Cuban people.

In spite of ongoing economic challenges and the US blockade, Cuba shows the way forward with its medical research, environmental sustainability, and the new progressive Family Code.

The 14th. Minnesota

Juan de Marcos

Led by Juan de Marcos (cocreator of Buena Vista Social Club), the Afro-Cuban All Stars (ACAS) returns to Dakota Jazz Club Tuesday night, February 28 for performances at 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

The Afro-Cuban AllStars is a unique orchestra; devoted to promoting the complete story of Cuban music. With each show the orchestra exposes Cuba’s rich musical history interpreting all of its musical genres.

With the Afro-Cuban All Stars, Juan de Marcos has developed much more than a musical group, he created an institution. With this formula de Marcos stretches his creative wings; fusing contemporary, traditional and in essence, the future styles of Cuban music.

Juan de Marcos Gonzalez is the architect of the Buena Vista Social Club. After gaining international fame for reviving the classic sound of Cuban son, the tres master turned the Afro-Cuban All Stars into a sensational showcase for Cuba’s most prodigious young musicians. While long revered in Latin America and Europe as a founding member of Cuba’s

great son revival band Sierra Maestra, de Marcos first gained notice in the US as creator, founder and musical director of the Buena Vista Social Club. It was de Marcos who assembled Ibrahim Ferrer, Pio Leiva, Manuel Licea “Puntillita”, Omara Portuondo, Ruben Gonzalez and the rest of the crew for World Circuit after he and Nick Gold agreed to produce a couple of albums in Havana featuring illustrious old timers and tributing the golden period of the Cuban Popular Music.

But de Marcos is just as interested in promoting Cuba’s brilliant young musicians as in highlighting Cuba’s senior talent. The Afro-Cuban

All Stars not only features a multi-generational cast, but the group also draws on both classic Cuban styles like son and danzón and contemporary dance rhythms like timba. AfroCuban All Stars is the band you can watch on stage in films such as Wenders’ Buenavista Social Club and Knox’s Afro-Cuban All Stars at the Salon of Dreams

LEARN MORE: http://afrocubanallstarsonline. com/

Cuban Film Festival, the event is organized by the Minnesota Cuba Committee, with the collaboration of MSP Film Society, and ICAIC (Cuban Film Institute)

For more information on the film festival visit https:// www.mspfilm.org/minnesotacuban-filmfestival/

Film lineup: Vicenta B (Drama)

Vicenta B is a respected “santera” in Havana, who has the gift of clairvoyance, lives harmoniously with her only son until he decides to leave the country. While her business thrives, she hopes that her son continues the family tradition of helping others. But he decides to emigrate and Vicenta finds herself in a crisis of faith and loses her gift.

Habana Selfies

(Comedy) Two men compete for the affection of a woman in a taxi. An employee of an airport who intends to travel to Rome becomes a loving counselor. Three actors working in the kitchen of a restaurant await the arrival of a film director. A theater instructor and an aspiring actor get caught in a blackout. A young French woman does not stop dreaming before her plane

lands in Havana. María Victoria de Las Tunas, confuses a man with a famous actor and kisses him in the light of an eclipse. Six love stories in Havana of the 21st century. The film’s plot includes human dramas crossed by love, eroticism and social and spiritual conflicts.

Cuba’s Life Task –Combatting Climate Change (Documentary) As a small Caribbean island, Cuba is disproportionately affected by climate change through extreme weather events. Up to 10% of Cuban territory could be submerged by the end of the century, wiping out coastal towns, polluting water supplies, destroying agricultural lands and forcing one million people to relocate. Finding solutions is now essential. In this documentary, Dr Helen Yaffe goes to Cuba to find out about ‘Tarea Vida’ (Life Task), a longterm state plan to protect the population, environment and the economy from climate change. The Cuban approach combines environmental science, natural solutions and community participation in strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Chico and Rita (animation, musical) This beautifully designed 1940s-set animation about Cuban jazz musicians who head from Havana to New York is a wonderfully passionate film. Sexy, sunny and sweet-natured, this lovely animation love story is set in the nightclubs of

Havana and New York. Rita is a beautiful Cuban singer who has to scrape a living; Chico is a talented, underemployed pianist thunderstruck with love for Rita when she meanders on stage for a solo. Their passionate affair and professional partnership is endangered when a smoothtalking Yankee impresario tells Rita he can take her to showbiz glory in New York, but has no interest in lover-boy Chico coming along as well. The great names of both Cuban and American jazz are invoked, and Chico and Rita’s tragicomic love story meshes very pleasingly with this musical backdrop. There is heartbreak, but a happy ending.

Bongó Itá

(Documentary) This film offers a rare close-up of the Ecoria Enyéne Idia Abakuá religiousmutualist society, founded by black slaves in 1836. Cuba is the only country where the Abakuá secret society is present. The practices of the Abakuá groups or powers, exclusively for men, only developed in Havana, Cárdenas and Matanzas, where they adapted to a hostile environment and survived to this day. The documentary reveals the Abakuá reality through the various points of view of members of the cult, who argue about their influence on current Cuban society, while showing the generational differences in their membership.

Cuentos de un día más (Tales of one more day)

(Fiction) Under the guidance of Fernando Pérez, an awardwinner filmmaker, who was in charge of coordinating six stories, we can find different narratives that show from fiction the common reality lived by millions of Cubans in more than a year of confinement, suffering, quagmire and crisis due to the COVID 19. Perhaps “Cuentos de una día más” has been one of the few happy moments in all this time of coexistence with the coronavirus, not only for bringing together the talent of seven creators at the head of six work teams (one for each story), but also for show us how much talent exists in Cuban cinema made by young filmmakers.

Niño RiveraCuerdas de Oro (Golden Strings) (Documentary) Andrés Echevarría Callava, better known as “Niño Rivera,” was a renowned Cuban “tres” player, songwriter and arranger. Early in his career he played with the Sexteto Boloña and Sexteto Bolero, before forming his own band in 1942. His music was based on popular Cuban forms such as the son montuno and the chachachá, often with notable jazz influences. Rivera became part of the nascent “filin” movement and started working as a composer/arranger. This documentary was produced by his daughter Gloria “Niña” Rivera, a well-known Cuban singer based in Minnesota performing with “Salsa del Soul”.

Margaret Stevens House Session Daily

According to a 2021 McKinsey & Company study,” Minnesota a leader in the nation in shameful and disparate racial economic inequalities.

Addressing the issue of financial inequity, The Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE), a consortium of over 50 organizations, last week launched its “MBCRE $1 Million Deposit Challenge” an initiative to support First Independence Bank, Minnesota’s first Minority Deposit Institution.

Less than 1% of FDIC-insured banks nationwide are Black-owned and across the country, communities of color experience generational impacts

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905

“History repeats itself endlessly for those who are unwilling to learn from the past.” Leon Brown

“Daily the Negro is coming more and more to look upon law and justice, not as protecting safeguards, but as sources of humiliation and oppression. The laws are made

and continued discrimination in banking.

“We are at a pivotal historical point as there’s significant change occurring in the region, and we have an opportunity to build on the momentum. This extraordinary MBCRE initiative is part of that change, and it reflects the deep commitment from numerous Twin Cities institutions that believe in the success of First Independence Bank. The bank’s success strengthens the financial wellness of communities, the region and Minnesota, particularly marginalized, underbanked, or unbanked households and individuals,” said Senior Vice President and Twin Cities Regional Market

by men who have little interest in him; they are executed by men who have absolutely no motive for treating the black people with courtesy or consideration. …” W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903 I am having difficulty processing the fact that in the dawning days of 2023, one awakens to an explicit racist affront to American citizens’ ability to think critically about racism. That is precisely what The College Board AP African American Studies course was designed to do, give American

President, Damon Jenkins.

“After making my deposit, it reaffirmed to me the importance of Minority Deposit Institutions in our community,” said Tiffani Daniels, Managing Director for the MBCRE, “Deposits can make a physical impact on our communities immediately, increasing the lending capacity of the bank. That lending potential can help close the homeownership gap and empower local businesses.”

Experts indicate that supporting MDIs can be vital to a just and prosperous Minnesota with and for Black Minnesotans. Deposits can fund mortgage loans that help ease the homeownership gap. Deposits can also fund loans

to support small businesses. Community investment is central to financial wellness –and First Independence Bank is dedicated to investing in the Twin Cities.

The MBCRE is encouraging businesses and individuals to get involved in the deposit challenge. Businesses can make deposits at one of the two Twin Cities FIB locations, while individuals may open personal accounts in-person or online at the bank’s website.

The $1 Million Deposit Challenge continues through Juneteenth 2023. Learn more by visiting http://mbcredepositchallenge. com/

A proposal for nearly $1.9 billion in capital projects across the state was unveiled Monday to the House Capital Investment Committee. Most of the funding — $1.5 billion — would come from bond sales and the remainder –$391.75 million – from the General Fund. The proposal came in the form of delete-all amendments to HF669 and HF670, both sponsored by Lee. “It’s long past time to bring in the public on this important bill,” Lee said in a statement. “Hundreds of critical infrastructure projects have gone unfunded. These are projects that are crucial to communities throughout the state, and inflation causes them to go up in cost the longer we delay this unfinished work. It’s time to complete the work of 2022. Minnesota can’t wait any longer.”

Several members expressed appreciation for the work that has gone into the bill. Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul) noted hundreds of hours of hearings and tours held across the state.

First-term Rep. Roger Skraba (R-Ely) appreciates how the bill reflects what he’s heard in committee this session. “I’m learning and it’s sticking.” The committee plans to take testimony Wednesday and mark up the bill Feb. 20. The hope, according to Lee, is to move the bill onto the House and Senate floors by early March. The Senate Capital Investment Committee plans to take up the bill Tuesday. Once this bill is passed, Lee said, the committee could then clear the decks and turn to other projects in the queue.

White supremacist gets life in prison for Buffalo massacre

from the Bible or said they were praying for him. Several pointed out that he deliberately attacked a Black community a three-hour drive from his home in overwhelmingly white Conklin, New York.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after relatives of his victims confronted him with pain and rage caused by his racist attack.

Anger briefly turned physical at Payton Gendron’s sentencing when a victim’s family member rushed at him from the audience. The man was quickly restrained; prosecutors later said he wouldn’t be charged. The proceeding then resumed with an emotional outpouring from people who lost loved ones or were themselves wounded in the attack.

Gendron, whose hatred was fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, cried during some of the testimony and apologized to victims and their families in a brief statement.

Their remarks ranged from sorrow to outrage, shouts to tears. Some vehemently condemned him; others quoted

“You’ve been brainwashed,” Wayne Jones Sr., the only child of victim Celestine Chaney, said as sobs rose from the audience. “You don’t even know Black people that much to hate them. You learned this on the internet.”

“I hope you find it in your heart to apologize to these people, man. You did wrong for no reason,” Jones said.

Gendron’s victims at the Tops Friendly Market — the only supermarket and a neighborhood hub on Buffalo’s largely Black East Side — included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86.

Gendron pleaded guilty in November to crimes including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, a charge that carried an automatic life sentence.

“There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances,” Judge Susan Eagan said as she sentenced him. She called his rampage “a reckoning” for a nation “founded and built, in part, on white supremacy.”

Gendron, 19, is due in a federal court Thursday for a status update in a separate case that could carry a death sentence if prosecutors seek it. His attorney said in December that Gendron is prepared to plead guilty in federal court to avoid execution. New York state does not have the death penalty.

The gunman wore bullet-resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14 attack with a semiautomatic rifle he purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with illegal high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Gendron was hustled out of a courtroom Wednesday after someone in the audience at his sentencing rushed at him. (Feb. 15)

“Do I hate you? No.

Do I want you to die? No. I want you to stay alive. I want you to think about this every day

students the tools to think critically about race and racism, until it was derailed by Florida Governor, Robert DeSantis and “The Stop W.O.K.E [Stop T.R.U.T.H] Act.” It is this derailment that The Florida Standard journalists, Zac Howard’s and Josh Miller’s expose in their January 19, 2023 coverage, “Exclusive: Rejected African American Studies Course in Florida Features CRT, Intersectionality and Queer Theory.” (https://bit.ly/ WOKEExclusive ). Among the

of your life,” Tamika Harper, a niece of victim Geraldine Talley, told Gendron. “Think about my family and the other nine families that you’ve destroyed forever.”

Gendron locked eyes with Harper as she

Michael L. Blakey, PhD Anthropologist I N S I G H T N E W S I S A U D I T E D B Y T H E A L L I A N C E F O R A U D I T E D M E D I A T O P R O V I D E O U R A D V E R T I S E R P A R T N E R S W I T H T H E H I G H E S T L E V E L O F M E D I A A S S U R A N C E INSIGHT NEWS IS AUDITED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR AUDITED MEDIA TO PROVIDE OUR ADVERTISER PARTNERS WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF MEDIA AS SURANCE. Commentary A tale of two presidents PAGE 5

Daniels Managing Director for the MBCRE Review Roots Four Zero PAGE 7

I moved my family to Minnesota (Twin Cities specifically) from the south side of Chicago in late 1989. Since then, I’ve had the honor and privilege of interacting with, learning from, being influenced by, and associating with great Black leaders, politicians, activists of social justice, religion, education, science, technology, social service, and a myriad of other professions. This Black History month, I would like to recognize and pay tribute to the black leaders in Minnesota -past and present- that have had, and in some cases still have, an impact on my life and the lives of black Minnesotans as a whole. Though we may not always agree on how to best address the conditions and concerns of Black people, each in our own uniquely qualified, well-meaning way, fight for the best interest of all Black people. The exception of course lies with “Black leaders” who hold anti-Black sentiments and subscribe to harmful tropes about Black people. This is an entirely different form of disagreement. Nevertheless, it is a subject for another time. In this piece, I’m talking about Black leaders who honestly and authentically want the best for Black people. To be clear, we are not a monolith. We

don’t all think alike. We have disparate ideologies within the Black community. But don’t all communities? I’ve had strong disagreements with some of the most effective Minnesota Black leaders. But I have great respect for each of them and appreciate their work. Our collective pain, suffering, and struggle can cause us to fight each other and disagree on everything.

The glue that binds us regardless of ideology, that we recognize and understand, is that we have a common struggle and a common enemy; that enemy is global white supremacy - the substratum of racial inequities, oppression, and repression. Given this reality, there have been times when our differences have played out on the national and world stage.

Two examples come to mind.

First, during the 1984 presidential campaign, Coretta Scott King, widow of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, threw her support behind the White presidential candidate Walter Mondale, along with other prominent Black leaders, over Reverend Jesse Jackson, the Black presidential candidate, I would have thought that since Jackson worked with Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches, he would have earned the support of Coretta. But unfortunately, that was not the case.

Secondly, no greater

Entrepreneurs focus on wealth, fitness to promote health equity

By Pulane Choane Contributing Writer

“More than 30% of the black population in Minnesota is obese, and 72% are likely to have diabetes. In addition, 56% of Minnesota children are obese, and those numbers are significantly lower in the northern part of the state.”

This is according to Minnesota entrepreneur and founder of VF Solutions, Valerie Fleurantin.

Health equity has long been controversial in Minnesota.

A report titled Advancing Health Equity in Minnesota, submitted to the legislature in 2014, highlighted that structural racism and unequal social and economic factors contribute to health disparities between African Americans, American Indians and whites.

While it’s true that socio-economic factors such as education, income and housing also contribute significantly to how healthy someone is, it’s also true that to become healthier, people should generally make healthier food, physical activity and mental wellness choices. . Fleurantin, or Coach Val as she’s affectionately

known, offers her training on a donation basis. She started her business in 2014 to reduce health disparities between Minnesota and its northern neighbours and curb the high rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases and improve the lives of people in Minnesota through health and fitness. These efforts resulted from an innovation she developed called “Afrokaribe”, a dance fitness class with a mix of reggae, Afro beats and hiphop.

In an interview with The Conversation with Al McFarlane, Coach Val explained that she wanted to create a culturally significant product that paid homage to her Haitian roots but also got people in Minnesota fit and healthy in a fun way.

“I wanted fitness to be something you don’t have to think about. It’s like just dancing and having fun while doing it. That’s how I got into Afrokaribe, which I created to celebrate my culture and have a thing for us where we don’t need a code switch and can just show up as ourselves and have fun.”

What started as a class of five has grown into a community of participants of all ages who understand that fitness is more than just physical

Valerie Fleurantin

activity and is also beneficial for mental and emotional wellbeing by reducing depression, anxiety and stress.

When she’s not

offering community wellness classes, she’s helping to create jobs in Twin Cities communities by training trainers to teach Afrokaribe. She also helps small and large businesses develop a wellness programme focusing on employees’ physical and mental well-being.

Another entrepreneur contributing to the socioeconomic health of Black Americans in Minnesota is

David McGee, founder of Build Wealth Minnesota. This company has since 2004 been working on addressing financial disparities between African Americans and their white counterparts.

A 2019 report by APM Research Lab revealed that 77% of whites in Minnesota own their homes, while only 19% of African Americans own their homes, making the gap between the two communities over 58%.

Having been a banker for over 40 years, McGee is too familiar with these disempowering numbers, which

he says he was exposed to in his work as an underwriter who was also training underwriters.

“That’s the person who decides whether or not you’re going to get a loan. And at the time, when there were only 15 black ones in the nation, I was one of those. And so we really started Build Wealth Minnesota spun from a company that my wife and I started to start training underwriters to get into the financial services field,” McGee says.

Then while building their company, McGee and his wife became increasingly aware of predatory lending practices that were targeting people of color and in a sense setting them back and harming them. At that point, they began to teach people in Minnesota how to build sustainable, social and economic wealth through their Family Stabilization Plan.

“It’s a real comprehensive curriculum that we provide as well as. It’s a model where there are ten weeks of classes that families take, and then up to two years’ worth of coaching.”

Over the last two decades, Build Wealth Minnesota has helped thousands of families own homes. Now, through their initiative, 9000

Equities, the company aims to take this to another level by helping 9000 families in Minnesota become first-time homeowners.

Through a loan pool and an excellent partner program with stakeholders such as the Bush Family Foundation, North West Area Foundation and others, the company aims to do its part by closing the disparity gap with at least 15%. As stated earlier, personal choices make up one’s destiny. Still, it is also true that structural hindrances such as prejudicial lending and underwriters make attaining that destiny harder. However, with community leaders like Coach Val and the McGees, there is evidence that communities need to work together to make better choices and build organisations that empower and educate the communities they service too to make better choices.

To join in on Coach Val’s Afrokaribe classes, visit her website at https://www. vfhealthfitnesssolutions.com/. Or if you’d like to find out more about the 9000 Equities program for Black Homeowners, visit the website at https:// www.9000equities.com.

Lee From 3 W.O.K.E

$67 million for local bridge replacement programs and $18 million for the port development assistance program.

What’s in the proposals Lee said the proposal includes $185 million from the General Fund and $94 million in bonding as placeholders for minority caucus and Senate proposals. These are listed as library construction grants. Among higher dollar projects proposed is $245.16 million for the Department of Transportation, which includes $79 million for local road improvement fund grants,

From 3

first to report on The Act, they write:

“National outrage ensued after the state rejected an AP African American Studies course, but a copy of the syllabus obtained by The Florida Standard shows the course sought to teach progressive doctrines such as intersectionality and Critical Race Theory.” As one of the many

Nearly $235.4 million in bonding would go to drinking water and wastewater projects. There is $10 million proposed for lead service line replacement.

The bill would provide $178.45 million in bonding and $5.5 million from the General Fund for the Department of Natural Resources. Of that, $36 million would be for asset preservation, $30 million for building upgrades, and $27.37 million for flood mitigation projects.

Also in the proposal

scholars who advised The College Board in the preparation of the course, I felt the AP African American Studies course was a hopeful-if-modest next step in elevating Black Studies in high school curricula.

Below, I have included an excerpt of The Act signed by Gov. DeSantis followed by my own opinion. I offer my perspective as a Black anthropologist who works on the interface of human biology and culture. For several decades, my research and scholarship has focused on a critical examination of the social history of theories in

INSIGHT NEWS

www.insightnews.com

Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests.

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane

Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane

Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford

Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD.

Associate Editors Afrodescendientes

Jesús Chucho Garcia

Mestre Yoji Senna DaBahia

Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray

Book Review Editor

W.D. Foster-Graham

Sports Editor Leahjean M. Denley

Content & Production Manager Sunny Thongthi Yang

Distribution/Facilities

Manager Charles Royston

Receptionist

Lue B. Lampley

Intern Naomi Thomson

Photography

Uchechukwu Iroegbu Lou Michaels Roy Lewis - Washington D.C.

Artist Donald Walker

Contact Us: Insight News, Inc.

Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis. 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031

Member: Minnesota

Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC) Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA)

National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)

Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis,

is $108.62 million in bonding for the Met Council, including $72 million for bus rapid transit projects. The Met Council would also receive $21.5 million from the General Fund for grants to more local projects, such as the Wakan Tipi Center in St. Paul and the Minnesota River Regional Greenway in Dakota County.

Higher education help Minnesota State would receive $177.33 million in new spending, including $49.58 million of a $173.68 million request for asset preservation and replacement. The University of Minnesota would receive

anthropology and the sciences that connect biology, “nature,” social inequality, and behavior. I also look at the clear connections between human biology, racial ideology, public policy and the political economy of health in industrial society.

The Florida “Stop W.O.K.E Act

Below is an excerpt of the DeSantis law as presented by Howard and Miller in their article:

Florida Law

In April 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law known as the ‘Stop W.O.K.E Act.’ The bill was also known as the Individual Freedom Act (IFA). The law prohibits teaching or instruction that ‘espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels’ students or employees to believe any of the following eight concepts. Prohibited teachings include:

1. Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin or sex.

2. A person by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.

3. A person’s moral character or status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex.

4. Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race, color, national origin, or sex.

5. A person by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex.

6. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion.

7. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, bears personal responsibility for and must feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex.

8. Such virtues as merit,

fairness,

$132.13 million, including $92.6 million to renovate Fraser Hall on the Minneapolis campus for undergraduate chemistry teaching, and $39.53 million for asset preservation and replacement. It requested $200 million for the latter. Other projects to be funded in the bill include:

 $90 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs, including $77.77 million to update the Hastings campus;  $72 million for public housing rehabilitation;  $34.29 million for the Department of Corrections, with almost all slated for asset preservation;

neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindness are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race, color, national origin, or sex to oppress members of another race, color, national origin, or sex ( (Howard and Miller)

Trust No One: My Counterpoint to Florida Governor DeSantis “The Stop W.O.K.E Act”

In my humble opinion, what Governor Ron DeSantis and his supporters really object to is the truth telling of African American history. They are clever enough in the language of The Act to not openly position themselves against the AP African American Studies course, since an overt obstruction of the truth would be too obvious.

But if you read the law it should be evident that it rarely describes anything about the course itself. Instead, it is an accounting of White people’s fear of discovery, which I consider to be a defensive emotional panic predicated on their sense of entitlement that they have a God-given right to make others overlook their history. People should be wary of this law. In a nutshell, it is simply saying, “Let’s forget about the past,” and it has been my experience that when someone suggests that we put the past behind us, it is quite probable that the person is up to no good.

Why We Need an Undiluted AP African American Studies in Schools

In The Stop W.O.K.E Act list above, Number 5 of the “Prohibited teachings” is worth noting; it prohibits teaching that: A person by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex. This prohibition frames the act of telling the truth about the harms committed by enslaving, genocidal, and eugenical White people, as some type of cultural bullying, the latter word defined by Webster as “seek[ing] to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable” (my emphasis). Yet, we know that most White people in this United States of America are anything but “vulnerable.” Thus, the high moral ground ascribed to the victimized White voice of The Act is false.

 $31.48 million for the Department of Military Affairs, including $24.72 million for the Rosemount Readiness Center;

 $22.7 million for the Board of Water and Soil Resources;

 $22.47 million for the Department of Administration, including $9 million for security upgrades at the Capitol Complex;

 $18.03 million for the Minnesota Zoo, mostly asset preservation, but also $1.23 million for its animal hospital;

 $17.42 million for the Department of Public Safety with most for increased costs at the state emergency operations

What The Act is intended to do is legitimize Whites being able to reap present-day benefits of historic, and ongoing, economic, political, health, and other disparities, yet not be held accountable for those actions in the past that contributed to their current collective power and financial gain. In fact, White people have been the historic and present-day aggressors, the encroachers, the poachers, the enslavers, the bullies, staunch defenders of White Supremacy, segregation, and the ongoing oppression of Black and Indigenous people, all bolstered by laws and systems like Jim Crow and racism that define their group privileges. It is really ludicrous to accept the premise of The Act, which is that America’s White majority can be “harmed,” “intimidated,” and “coerced” by the simple truth telling of America’s history in the AP African American Studies course. When Black people seek only justice, White people often project their fears of retribution upon it.

According to The Act, no “White person” (who DeSantis disguises as “members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex) “…bears personal responsibility for and must feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part.”

The societal group whose point of view DeSantis chooses not to define as “White people” in his law, however, was invented as a group identity long ago, according to archaeologist, Terrence Epperson. In his article, “Critical Race Theory and the Archaeology of the African Diaspora,” (https://link. springer.com/article/10.1007/ BF03376636 ) he notes that the ancestors of those defined as “white person[s]” were first identified as such in 1691. That is the moment when the designation of “white” is invented and comes into law. Says Epperson, “white” replaces “Christian” as the term to describe those in Virginia with full human rights, giving all its members a unique entitlement to normal lives. Because families are continuous, those in that privileged category of whiteness continue to pass down the spoils taken from Black and brown people whose own inheritance was legally denied (through slavery, Jim Crow, de facto segregation, and today persistent racist discrimination) by White people who have a vested interest in maintaining

center;

 $10 million for the Pollution Control Agency for capital assistance in Olmsted County; and

 $9.6 million for the Amateur Sports Commission for asset preservation.

Paying Cash

About 50 projects managed by nonprofits and local units of government would receive a one-time cash infusion for capital projects. This can get to projects that are ready to go, so they can serve their purpose in helping out local communities, Lee said.

systems of inequality. Like other White Americans who live in denial, DeSantis’ shifting of fault and responsibility to the transient individual – a dead slave-holder rather than his living descendants who carry his stollen booty across generations – is evasive of the facts, shady. The anxious behaviors described in The Stop W.O.K.E Act, whose causes are now criminalized by DeSantis, is what any social psychophysiologist would call the “normal” response when a human being recognizes that he or she has committed a wrong and seeks to make things right. Like the victim who justly cries rape (as Harriet Jacobs does in her slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl) is made to appear to be the bully (framed as those who claim “moral superiority”), anyone who promotes telling an authentic African American history are also called bullies.

Under the institution of slavery, White men were presumed to have a special legal right to rape Black girls and women. This is the history that DeSantis wants removed, and yet must be taught.

The Stop W.O.K.E Act promotes a form of false White vulnerability or what Robin DiAngelo calls, ”White Fragility.” In her popular book of the same title, DiAngelo defines it as a “range of defensive moves” by whites to “…reinstate white racial equilibrium,” in which they ALWAYS have the advantage.

The Act is intended to deny that White people ever did anything seriously wrong and have no responsibility to the past, even as they benefit from it. To accomplish such a denial of facts requires preventing any serious high school student from reading the complete stories of Black people in America. Our stories reflect a historical and continuing legacy of inequality, and serve as factual evidence of the wrongs perpetrated by Whites in the past and the present. They also make clear who is the vulnerable group.

Silencing Black History—

Whose History is Next?

In my estimation, The Stop W.O.K.E Act is nothing less than an educational silencing and intellectual lynching designed to simply shut Black people’s mouths and deny the facts of their full humanity and White people’s abuses This political muzzling infringes on the free speech

gethealthyutv

Build Wealth David McGee

A tale of two presidents

superior forces—here’s hoping that the Biden administration and NATO will continue to do their parts to equip them in their titanic struggle for selfdetermination—and survival!

By Chuck Hobbs

This Friday marks the anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; for my faithful readers, you may recall that around this time last year, I predicted in this blog that Russia›s President Vladimir Putin was merely «saber rattling» and harbored no real intention to invade—I was wrong and admitted as much not long after Europe›s first major land war in decades commenced.

In the months since, a much larger and better equipped Russian Army found that a quick campaign to recapture its former satellite state was not in the offing as Ukraine, led by President Volodomyr Zelensky, fought back with an aggression that’s historically typical when people prefer death over tyranny.

Surely, the world has seen this narrative time and again over the past 75 years, whether it was French Armed forces being soundly defeated in Indochina (Vietnam) in the 1950’s, American armed forces being soundly defeated by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in the 1960’s-70’s, or, the Soviet Union’s (Russia) armed forces being routed by the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan in the 1980’s, the message that’s been crystal clear is that invaders/colonizers are NOT welcome in the modern era.

What’s made the Russia-Ukraine War fascinating, however, is that each of the above-mentioned conflicts were proxy fights that pitted the Democratic West against the Communist East during the Cold War—with local guerillas fighting off the invading major

power with arms assistance freely and gleefully given by the opposing ideological side. Make no mistake, Ukraine has received funding and arms from the U.S. and her NATO allies over the past year, but not hardly to the level that Ukraine’s Zelensky has repeatedly requested, particularly with regards to air support. The West’s reticence to get too deep into direct action in Ukraine makes sense when realizing that Russia’s Putin has repeatedly hinted that nuclear weapons are within his realm of possibilities should NATO cross whatever imaginary line exists in his head. Thus, the prospect of global nuclear war—and the end of life as we know it—is the primary reason that this wholly unnecessary war, one that has left over 200,000 Russians dead or wounded to date, will likely continue in this stagnant form for the foreseeable future.

Yesterday, President Biden, fresh off of his surprise

visit to Ukraine earlier this week, blasted his Russian counterpart Putin for igniting a war that has gone so badly that he has been forced to draft conscripts and mobilize convicts to replace the Russian troops that have perished over the past year. Biden, in his strongest rebuke in months, called Putin a “tyrant,” adding, “Autocrats only understand one word: No, no, no...Every day the war continues is his choice. He could end the war with a word.”

Indeed... Undaunted, if not defiant, President Putin strode to the lectern in Moscow to give his State of the Nation address and blasted the West, in general, and the U.S., specifically, by stating that both are attempting to “shift a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation...The more long-range weapons the West delivers to Ukraine, the farther we will be forced to move the threat from our borders.”

Putin’s words may have seemed confident to the various Russian oligarchs and political cronies that are funding his war while staying out of the front-lines of the fight, but students of history will recognize that this is the age-old rhetoric that dictators have always used to justify the unjustifiable; whether it was Benito Mussolini claiming that he needed to invade Ethiopia to protect Italy’s interests on Africa’s east coast in the 1930’s, or, Adolf Hitler’s annexation of Austria, the Sudentenland, and Czechoslovakia in the run up to a full-scale invasion of Poland in 1939, or, Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait— which he called an Iraqi state— the record reflects that autocratic bullies are only defeated when their targets fight back!

To that end, as year one of the Ukraine War comes to a close, the Ukrainian people have shown that they have the resolve to fight back against

Hobbservation Point is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support

Blues for an Alabama Sky

by PEARL CLEAGE directed by NICOLE A. WATSON

Now – March 12

A bold character drama

In Depression-era Harlem, a close-knit group of four friends have their lives upturned by a newcomer whose arrival shifts the trajectory of everyone’s futures and long-held dreams.

You are Black History in the making.

U.S. President Joe Biden is greeted by Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky prior to their joint press conference in Kyiv.

of Black scholars who have presented rigorous and welldocumented critiques of White America; it also limits Black students’ access to a history in which they have a voice. The Act legitimizes ONLY White people’s version of history as “the truth” or as civil discourse in order to preserve the status quo of White entitlement. Decades ago, Albert Einstein understood White people’s agenda when he published a 1946 Pageant Magazine article on racial bias entitled “The Negro.” He concluded that White Americans who believed that “the Negro” was not their equal suffered from a “fatal misconception,” and had but one simple reason for racism—to retain power over Blacks and solidify White privilege. He wrote, “The modern prejudice against Negros is the result of the desire to maintain their unworthy condition” (https://onbeing. org/blog/albert-einsteins-essayon-racial-bias-in-1946/) . The implications for how The Act will impact the educational freedom of teachers and students are enormous and troubling. And, the question others should be asking is, whose historical lessons will be diluted next?

The College Board’s Political Farce I consider the actions taken by The College Board (TCB) to be nothing short of a political farce. On February 2, 2023, TCB held a party at the

Gendron

From

gently spoke. Then he lowered his head and wept. Minutes later, Barbara Massey Mapps excoriated him for killing her 72-yearold sister, Katherine Massey, a neighborhood activist. As Mapps shouted and pointed at Gendron, a person in the audience took a few steps toward him before getting held back.

“You don’t know what we’re going through,”

National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on the Mall in Washington, DC to celebrate the release of their new AP course. The NMAAHC as the backdrop was both symbolic and moving since its exhibits reflect the brilliant and humane “way”

African Americans made “out of no way,” which is at the very heart of all courses on African American Studies.

Yet some of us were aware that behind the festivities was a festering annoyance that on February 1st and 2nd, The College Board had seemingly capitulated to DeSantis’ trumped-up fears at the eleventh hour as reported by the New York Times (NYT) (https:// www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/ us/college-board-advancedplacement-african-americanstudies.html ).

According to this article, The College Board had agreed to soften the real history in the AP African American Studies course by making the discussion of many hard facts (such as Reparations, the Black Lives Matter movement, and incarceration) ‘optional” in what is already an elective course.

Beyonddisappointment, as one of the many Black scholar consultants on the AP course’s content, I had to ask myself, to whom and what should The College Board be accountable in making such changes? White fragility?

What happened next can only be described as political theater. On February 7, The College Board organized a webinar orchestrated to presumably “correct” the press coverage about its capitulation to DeSantis.

a man shouted as he was led away by court officers. For several minutes thereafter, family members hugged and calmed each other.

Eagan then ordered Gendron back in after admonishing everyone to behave appropriately.

In his short statement, Gendron acknowledged he “shot and killed people because they were Black.”

“I believed what I read online and acted out of hate, and now I can’t take it back, but I wish I could, and I don’t want anyone to be inspired by me,” he told the victims and their relatives.

However, instead of addressing the critiques head on, TCB invited three Black faculty members to speak to the “value” of African American Studies for much of the broadcast.

This is only responsive to DeSantis’ criticisms of the course as lacking ‘significant educational value.’ By the end of the broadcast, it was quite evident that The College Board intended to side-step the critiques of Black scholars and others on their watering down of the AP African American Studies course. They paraded the number of Black scholar’s work that could be found in their bibliographies, not that it was required topical content.

One person present in the webinar scoffed at the idea that the Board had yielded to DeSantis, since the AP Course changes had come a few weeks before the controversy around The Act. While that may be true, we must continue to wonder about informal conversations that might have taken place before The Act was signed into law, on which the TCB and the Florida Department of Education disagree.

And, even if it is true that no backroom deals were made, that fact alone does not absolve the Board of having seemingly succumbed to political pressure that led to weakening course content on reparations and other topics characteristically uncomfortable for White people. Moreover, during the webinar, moderated by the AP Program’s White director, NO reference was made to the explicitly political changes that remained in the courses framework (on page 218, see below), which now

His own parents didn’t attend.

One woman in the audience stood up, screamed “we don’t need” his remarks and stormed out of the courtroom.

There were only three survivors among the 13 people he shot while specifically seeking out Black shoppers and workers.

Deja Brown said her father, Andre Mackniel, was blindsided “at the hands of a selfish boy who’s obviously not educated on the history of African Americans.”

Mackniel’s young son still calls for a father who was gunned down while shopping for a birthday cake for him,

made certain hot-button topics “optional.”

Apology Not Accepted The College Board, after the webinar, did issue a statement entitled “Our Commitment to AP African American Studies, Scholars, and the Field.” The wording expressed “regret” for not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander [e.g. saying it falsely reported communications with The College Board].

TCB stated, “We should have made it clear the framework is only an outline…to be populated [by scholarship].… We should have made it clear that contemporary events like the Black Lives Matter Movement, reparations, and mass incarceration were optional topics in the pilot course.” The statement was intended to reassure that the changes made to the AP African American course occurred well before the signing of The Stop W.O.K.E Act by DeSantis. What they failed to explain is why in an April 29th pilot of the AP course, teachers were told to pick only one such topic as optional. In the February 1st release of the framework for the AP African American Studies, there are now three optional topics; also, the choices “…can be refined by states and districts,” or denied. In other words, students might choose any of these topics, but the states and districts have the authority to deny them the ability to write Reports on any of them. According to The College Board, “These topics are not

said his brother, Vyonne Elliott.

Christopher Braden, a Tops employee who was shot in the leg, said he was haunted by seeing the victims where they lay as he was carried out of the store. “The visions haunt me in my sleep and every day,” he said. In documents posted online, Gendron said he hoped the attack would help preserve white power in the U.S. He wrote that he picked the Tops grocery store because it is in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Prosecutor Justin Caldwell said Gendron hoped to start a race war, but instead

a required part of the course framework that is formally adopted by states and defines the exam. This list is a partial one for illustrative purposes and can be refined by states and districts (under Course Framework, Project, and Exam Overview, p. 218).”

Also, marginalizing the topics of Black Lives Matter, reparations, and unjust incarceration as “current events” – therefore optional - is somewhat spurious. Doing so disconnects topics like BLM from its historical antecedent— the Black Freedom Movement that began when the first Africans were enslaved here. I see BLM as a continuation of Ida

B. Wells Barnett’s anti-lynching campaigns a century ago. Indeed, the quest for reparations is neither new nor singularly current. African Americans have sought compensation since the denial of the promised 40 acres and a mule (Special Field Orders No. 15, cited in the AP African American Studies framework). As Robin D.G. Kelley points out his February 3 The New Yorker interview with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on “The Meaning of African American Studies” (https:// www.newyorker.com/culture/qand-a/the-meaning-of-africanamerican-studies), The discipline [of African American Studies] emerged from Black struggle. Now the College Board wants it to be taught with barely any mention of Black Lives Matter.

The current AP African American Studies Framework dilutes its impact by making certain topics optional by classifying them as “current

the community came together.

Reacting from Washington, NAACP President Derrick Johnson called on federal leaders to acknowledge “the constant threat of violence” to Black communities and urged the media to stop spreading misinformation that feeds racist conspiracy theories.

The mass shooting in Buffalo, soon followed by another that killed 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, amplified calls for stronger gun controls.

New York legislators quickly passed a law banning semiautomatic rifle sales to

events.” As Robin D.G. Kelley writes, it has also made Critical Race Theory optional on the flimsy basis that it (theory) is a “secondary” source. Would human natural history be taught without a discussion of Darwinian natural selection? I bet other AP courses include that “secondary source” abundantly. The exclusion of “secondary sources” in this case is but an evasive excuse. Marginalizing CRT and its many related ideas erases some of the brilliance of Black scholars (Black people’s intelligence) which exposes the White racism with which they contend. For the reasons cited above, I must say to The College Board, without any hesitation, Apology Not Accepted!

Link to AP African American Studies Framework by The College Board https://htv-prodmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/files/ ap-african-american-studiescourse-framework-1675287062. pdf

Michael L. Blakey, PhD, is a biological anthropologist, bioarchaelogist, and science historian. He is NEH Professor of Anthropology, Africana Studies, and American Studies and Founding Director of the Institute for Historical Biology, William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia (https:// www.wm.edu/as/anthropology/ people/blakey_m.php ). He is a member of the Scholarly Advisory Committee of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Smithsonian Institution, and was Scientific Director of the African Burial Ground Project in the City of New York.

Roots Four Zero

Sharing Our Stories

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor

ROOTS FOUR ZERO

By J. Darnell Johnson

“Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” (African proverb)

In my previous review of Stephanie Shider’s I Think I Like My Natural Hair, she illustrates the importance and empowerment a strong family narrative has. Knowing who we are and where we come from has always been an integral part of Black History Month. To round out this month’s reviews, I gladly bring to you J. Darnell Johnson’s Roots Four Zero

Monolith

From 3

two Black leaders exemplified how polarizing our thinking can be about our struggle and what needs to be done to address it more than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. Dr. King believed in nonviolence as the only solution to solving our problems even in the face of constant brutal assaults on peacefully marching black men, women, and children. King wrote in Stride Toward Freedom, “true pacifism or nonviolent resistance is a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love.”

Contrasting King’s dogged stance for nonviolent resistance, Malcolm X believed in violent self-defense, if necessary, in our struggle against the oppressor. Malcolm said in a 1964 speech, “I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don’t call it violence when it’s self-defense; I call it intelligence.” The contrasting philosophies between the two men were palpable. Yet, both strategies are relevant and necessary when applied in the right situation, time, and space.

another stellar example of his skill at combining fiction, fantasy, and reality for children.

Johnson’s central character and protagonist is 14-year-old Zero, separated from her family as an infant and sold to a slave master. Never knowing her true name, she was given the name Zero because the slave master regarded her as a nothing; she had no roots.

The oppression becomes unbearable to the point where she runs away, encountering a magical butterfly-appearing sistah named Queen Azina, from the people of Azziza. Queen Azina recognizes that as a slave, Zero has lost her essence, and instructs Zero to travel to the North via the Underground Railroad and find the town Griot (storyteller), who can restore her essence and her roots.

On her dangerous journey to freedom, she meets a couple—Period (who has no history) and his wife Question (who has no identity). Rounding out their group is a teenage

As we can see, Martin and Malcolm, probably the two most prominent civil and human rights leaders of our time, held opposing views about how to best address the Black struggle in America. Their strategies could have been informed by their lived experiences and how their upbringings shaped their view of the world. Whatever the case, their differences influenced how Black leaders who came after them engaged in the struggle. Although we have different philosophies, we can still respect and appreciate one another’s approach. For example, Malcolm disagreed with King’s strictly nonviolent resistance stance but respected him as a Black leader. In 1965, while Dr. King was jailed in Selma, Alabama, during a march for voting rights, Malcolm X came to Selma to meet with King but instead had a meeting with Coretta. In that meeting, Malcolm said to Coretta, “I did come thinking that I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.”

Dr. King also respected Malcolm as a Black leader.

According to the Stanford University, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute,

man named Blank (who has no culture). They are guided by Harriet Tubman (aka Moses), the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. Step by step, the group makes their way north, stopping at the Underground Railroad stations hosted by Black and White persons alike, avoiding slave catchers and slave masters with a little help from Queen Azina, until they reach the North to find the town Griot. But the Griot herself doesn’t grant their wishes so easily… When I read this story, it was easy to compare it to The Wizard of Oz, but only up to a point. The cruel reality of slavery and its attempts to crush the roots, history, culture, and identity of the African people who were brought here involuntarily is sobering. However, the ending of this story is a pleasant and heartwarming surprise.

I appreciate Johnson’s work and the way he teaches as he is telling this story. He does so in the fashion of a modern-

King wrote a letter to Malcolm’s widow, Betty Shabazz, shortly after his assassination in 1965, saying, “While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem.” Some of us believe religion (attending church or a synagogue, Mosque, etc.) or spirituality is the way to achieve equity, equality, and freedom for Black people. Some believe that civic engagement (voting, registering people to vote, being elected to public office, passing legislation) is the way. Some considered protesting, marching, demonstrating, and civil unrest as the answer to our plight. And some believe that working hard, getting good grades in school, going to college, and having a reliable, high demand, seemingly highly influential career is the way. All these are important and necessary to blunt or minimize the effects of racism and oppression. However, none of them erases racism’s deep seeded impact on our lives. We all have thoughts and ideas about how to best address the problems Black

day Griot, reminding us that the tradition of people of African descent is an oral tradition. I was certainly rooting for Zero, for her quest for freedom, her courage, and ultimately getting her essence back. Roots Four Zero is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and his website, jdarnell johnson.com. Thank you once again, J. Darnell, for your wordsmith and storytelling skills. Our descendants richly benefit from them.

people face, and we should be able to discuss our various opinions, whatever they may be, without the need to destroy each other while working towards the same goal.

However, our differences are consequential to how we see and treat one another -good or bad. Whatever philosophies, strategies, or methods we believe to be correct, we should do vociferously and powerfully. We must resist the tendency to condemn and publicly scrutinize the way others of us do things. Again, I am talking to those who are not harming our people.

There is a diversity of opinions among us, and we will always have differences. No -one- black leader knows what all black people want. But all Black leaders must work towards the best interest of all Black people. We are interconnected. If we think about what it looks like to realize we are connected and that all strategies for addressing our issues have value, our differences won’t seem so different?

Kwame Ture (fka

Stokley Carmichael) of SNCC

“The major enemy is not your brother, flesh of your flesh and blood of your blood....... Whenever anybody prepares

Traditional Celtic Masters

MAR 9

THE BELFAST COWBOYS Van Morrison & Beyond

MAR 11

TUBA SKINNY Stars of the NOLA Renaissance

MAR 14

JON CLEARY NOLA Piano Master

MAR 17

JAMECIA BENNETT: A SOULFUL EVENING OF JAZZ, RHYTHM & BLUES

MAR 19

KRASNO/MOORE PROJECT NOLA Organ Funk

MAR 23

for revolutionary warfare, they concentrate on the major enemy. We are not strong enough to fight each other and fight him.”

Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr., The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

“Certainly, we will continue to disagree, but we must disagree without being violently disagreeable.” Here are some of the Black men and women leaders in Minnesota that have affected my life since moving here. They are not in any specific order. Some are now ancestors, but their spirit still lives among us. Any omission of anyone is purely unintentional.

Earl Craig, Sharon

Sayles Belton, Rev. Clarence Hightower, Robert Baily, Peter Bell, Matthew Little, David

Petiford, MN State Rep. Richard

Jefferson, Rev. Randolph Staten

Sr, Pastor Curtis Herron, Pastor

Brian C. Herron, Apostle Rufus

Thibodeaux, Pastor Diane

Thibodeaux, Attorney General

Keith Ellison, Chris Nissan, Gary N. Sudduth, Spike Moss, Bernadette Anderson, Tyrone

Terrell, Lester Collins, Roger

Banks, Clarissa Walker, Neva

Walker, Jim Cook, Judge Pamela

Alexander, Rev. Jerry McAfee, Nekima Leve Armstrong, Chris Stewart, Sondra Samuels, Don

Samuels, Louis King, Garry Cunningham, Stella WhitneyWest, Dr. Rose Brewer, Dr. Keith Maze, Professor Mahmoud ElKati, Elder Atum Azzahir, Bobby Hickman, Robin Hickman, Kedar Hickman, Peter Hayden, Jeff Hayden, Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, Louis King, Eric Mahmoud, Ella Mahmoud, Bill Wilson, Willie Mae Wilson, Paul Williams, Corey Byrd, Nathaniel Abdul Khaliq, Yusef Mgeni, Edward McDonald, Sam Grant, Walter “Q Bear” Banks, Ramsey County Commissioner Rena Moran, Sam Cooke, Theresa Charles, Al McFarlane, Tracey WilliamsDillard, Mel Reeves, Sheri Pugh, Lorraine Smaller, Alfred Babington-Johnson, Wesley Walker, Lance Knuckles, Natalie Johnson-Lee, Minister James Muhammad, Bill English, Lissa Jones, Corey Day, Ron Edwards, Russel Balenger, Paul Bauknight, Nick Muhammad, Mary K. Boyd, Shane Price, Dr. Verna Cornelia Price, Resmaa Menakem, Melvin Carter Jr, Toni Carter, Tene Wells, Ferome Brown, Dr. Sheronda Orridge, Titilayo Bediako, Veronica Burt, Marcus Harcus, Sina Black, Gayle Smaller, Nickyia Cogshell, Brian Smith, DeVon Nolan, Michael Chaney, Rev. Andre Dukes...

MUNSON-HICKS PARTY SUPPLIES Groovily Bookish Pop

MAR 10

DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND w/ special guest RED HOT DJANGO PEPPERS

MAR 12

STRINGS FOR PEACE: SHARON ISBIN w/ Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash

MAR 15-16

SHEMEKIA COPELAND Transcendent Blues Vocals

MAR 18

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN Titan of Modern Jazz

MAR 21-22

MAE SIMPSON BAND w/ special guest Zoofunkyou

MAR 24

visit northpointhealth.org/covid

J. Darnell Johnson

2. That the Governor hold his appointed State Commissioners and the state departments they lead accountable for measurable and reportable processes and strategies to eliminate disparities that exist in and that are supported by policies and procedures of state governance.

3. That the Minnesota Legislature prioritize intentional solution making that can occur when Legislators, Committee Chairs and Committees engage Minnesota’s Black community at the table of decision.

4. Housing Invest now in multiple housing options for the Black community to close the home ownership gap.

Multiple housing options are an important part of any community. It provides a safe and affordable place for people to live and can help reduce poverty and homelessness. However, there are many challenges associated with providing low-income housing, such as limited resources, high demand, and the need to ensure that the housing is safe and secure. Minneapolis has one of the widest homeownership gaps in the country between whites and Blacks.

of new businesses among all races do not receive any outside investors. Most people use the equity in their homes to start their firms. This is a huge disadvantage to Black folks in Minnesota because of the home ownership gap. Further, the report stated that minority owned businesses experience higher loan denial probabilities and pay higher interest rates than white-owned businesses even after controlling for differences in credit-worthiness, and other factors. Limited access to investment capital in its many forms is inextricably linked to systemic discrimination in lending, housing, and employment. It cripples Black business development.

2. Employment Invest now in creating employment opportunities for the Black community

In an article published by the Urban Institute, the issue of Black employment was addressed.

It stated that, “while many are heralding the drop in the national Black male unemployment rate, which recently fell below 10 percent for the first time in seven years, joblessness remains much higher in many poor African American communities. It stated that for many low-income Black men, finding and keeping work is a constant struggle, never far from their minds. Black job applicants might not even make it into the queue if they have had an encounter with the criminal justice system. Helping Black folks secure steady employment at decent wages will require resources to break down the institutional barriers that separate people from decent job opportunities and to enable Black people to build the skills needed for well-paying jobs

3. Public Safety

Invest now in Public Safety in the Black community.

Public safety exists to protect citizens, organizations, and communities by preventing them from being in danger and guarding their well-being. Abraham Maslow defined safety in his famous “Hierarchy of Human Needs“. He said that to function as a society public safety is needed. He said this safety goes beyond just physical safety but also safety when it comes to health, money, possessions, and family. Less we forget, there’s an Emotional Impact on Public Safety. When folks feel unsafe, it could have major effects on individuals, their loved ones, and the community they live in. Violence has been way to prevalent in the inner cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Playgrounds are unsafe, the streets are unsafe, and the shopping malls are unsafe.

5. Education

Invest now in ensuring that our Black students are educated at the same level as White students.

Dr. Sinclair Grey lll stated that education is without a doubt crucial to the success of our students competing for jobs. Quality education that enforces and reinforces math, science, writing, and cognitive thinking will separate those who desire a prosperous future from those who are simply content with getting by. Yet, in Minnesota, reading test scores for Black students are over 20 points below state average and math test scores are 20 points below state average. Minnesota ranks 50th in the nation for Black students who graduate on time. Minnesota has one of the worst college-readiness gaps in the nation by race and ethnicity – only 25% of Black students are prepared for college. Thus, Black students who attend college must take significantly more remedial courses than their peers as their starting point.

6. Health & Wellness

Invest now in efforts that will impact the health and wellness of the Black community.

The Black community is faced with escalating social, economic, and life-style problems, which threaten the life and well-being of current and future generations of Black people in crisis proportion. The rising number of deaths due to heart disease and stroke, homicide and accidents related to substance abuse, AIDS, cancer, and infant mortality are among the leading culprits. They interfere with prospects of longevity and contribute to joblessness, poverty, and homelessness and further complicate the crisis in the Black community. The magnitude of the problems dictates the need for support from the Minnesota State Legislature.

7. Policy Each member of the legislature, regardless of political affiliation, is involved in setting public policy. These policies should reflect the will of the people and is carried out by those elected to vote. Because of conflicting interests and capacities, some policies have disenfranchised the Black community. There is therefore a need for coherence of interest/capacities in an attempt to pass policies that reflect the needs of the Black community.

Every time another national “quality of life” is broadcast or published about the best places to live in the U.S., Minnesota and the Twin Cities always rank at or near the top. The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson once referred to this as the miracle of Minneapolis.” Likewise, every time those lists are parsed out further, the state and the metro fall all the way to the bottom when it comes to quality of life measures for Black people, or, what some have called the “Two Minnesotas.” But to ensure that all those in our state have the opportunity to thrive, we cannot forget about the communities that have been systematically abused, persistently underrepresented, and long underserved.

Minnesota is now the seventh (7th) worst state in the country for Blacks to live. This dubious recognition alongside the May 2020 murder of George Floyd has brought the State into an era of racial reckoning and has put racial inequity at the center of the national conversation, and Minnesota on the racial map. Today Black folks are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to live below the poverty line. Additionally, the typical Black household earns just 63 cents for every dollar a typical white household earns, and African American workers are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. created an index to measure socioeconomic disparities between Black and white Americans to identify the worst states for Black Americans. High on the list of cities that have extremely troubling disparities is Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minnesota’s urban core boast these disturbing rates:

• Black population: 290,210 (8.2% of total)

• Black median income: $36,127 (44.0% of white income)

• Unemployment: 9.2% (Black); 3.2% (white)

• Homeownership rate: 25.2% (Black); 75.5% (white)

• Black poverty rate of 28.3% in the metro area, 5.9% (white)

• Black medium household earn $36,127 a year — the median income among white area households is $82,118.

The profound racial wealth gaps for Blacks in Minnesota is structural, as they are across the United States. Structural racism is inherent in intersecting and overlapping institutions, policies, practices, ideas, and behaviors that give resources, rights, and power to white people while denying them to others. The roots of racial wealth gaps can be traced back centuries through racialized public and private policies and practices, which fueled economic boosts to white families that allowed for intergenerational wealth transfers and created barriers to Black families. Past discrimination and injustices accumulate and build across generations, making it hard for communities that have been harmed to catch up. As one example, the losses from unpaid wages and lost inheritances to Black descendants is estimated at around $20 trillion today. The NAACP Twin Cities 2019 Economic Inclusion Plan states: “There are two Minnesota’s, one white, one Black – separate and unequal.”

Data from the 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard shows that 40% of Americans are liquid asset poor—meaning they do not have enough in savings to make ends meet at the poverty level for three months ($6,275 for a family of four in 2018). This problem is even more stark when disaggregated by race. 31.7% of white households are liquid-asset poor compared to over 62% of Black households.

Recent trends in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are moving in the wrong direction. The share of Black families who own a home has declined from 31 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2018. The racial homeownership gap in the Twin Cities is the highest in the nation and has only widened over the past two decades, especially in neighborhoods where investors have acquired hundreds of single-family homes to now use as rentals, according to a June 2021 report from the Urban Institute.