Soul singer Bilal to perform at the Dakota Jazz Club MORE ON PAGE 5
January 7 - January 13, 2013
Vol. 40 No. 2• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Citing ‘naked racism,’ N.C. Governor pardons Wilmington Ten By Cash Michaels Special to the NNPA from The Wilmington Journal RALEIGH, N.C. – In what civil rights leaders across the nation are calling a signicant moment in the civil rights movement, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has granted individual pardons of actual innocence to all members of the Wilmington Ten. “I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained,” Perdue, a Democrat who leaves ofce on Jan. 5, said in her Dec. 31 statement. “Justice demands that this stain nally be removed. The process in which this case was tried was fundamentally awed. Therefore, as Governor, I am issuing these pardons of innocence to right this longstanding wrong.” The Wilmington Ten – nine Black males and one White female – were activists who, along with hundreds of Black
Wilmington 10
PARDON TURN TO 9
Gov. Bev Perdue issues pardon for Wilmington 10
News and Observer of Raleigh
Cancellation of family skate event in Coon Rapids brings charges of racism OBITUARY Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer A holiday event that was supposed to cater to kids ages 5 – 12 was cancelled when owners of a Coon Rapids skating rink insisted on $3,000 worth of police presence. That is what promoter Kimberly Holield-Jones claims happened when she booked Cheap Skate Roller Center, 3075 Coon Rapids Blvd., NW for a Dec. 26 event. Holield-Jones said though she has a signed contract and a receipt for deposit, the owner and a manager of Cheap Skate said she would have to pay for eight Coon Rapids police ofcers to patrol the early-evening event. “It was supposed to be a nice little family event,” said Holield-Jones.
Holield-Jones said there where initial trepidations from Cheap Skate owner, Rick Lund, who said the venue had been the site of a shooting years prior following a teen event. “We assured him this was not a teen party and he asked us to provide four security (ofcers), which we agreed to. (Lund) signed the contract and we came back on Dec. 1 and dropped of a deposit and got a receipt.” Things seemed to be on track until Holield-Jones had a conversation with Jeremy Keeville and he expressed concern again over who was coming. Holield-Jones said Keeville saw a Facebook posting of the event where older individuals indicated they were attending. The promoter told Keeville that of course older patrons would be on hand as the target audience was so young
SKATE TURN TO 4
New Year’s promise: “Live Simply, Laugh Often, Love Fully” Artspeak
By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor The three maxims in the title greet me each morning. They are kitchen magnets placed above my stove, meant to guide me on the attitude I should
carry into my day and into life generally. I take them to mean: 1) do not overly complicate my life (with work, obligations, possessions, other people’s problems, or needless drama); 2) nd joy and fun in my daily routines; and 3) make time to be connected and deeply embrace the passions that arise from friendships, family, and special friends/partners/lovers. They seem simple enough, but as I listen to NPR, read the newspaper, or watch msnbc, I realize that the world we wake up to each day is complicated,
Education
Evaluating tutoring programs: What to look for
PAGE 2
messy, and unpredictable. How ironic that at a time when we can deconstruct DNA, purchase a ticket on a shuttle for a future trip to Mars or Venus, or deploy drones that kill civilian children in another country, we seem unable to live a simple life, laugh enough, or love completely. Last year, in 2012, I stayed with a friend through her nal days. She was only four years older than me. What a wakeup call. At the close of the year, I learned another friend has cancer, a reminder that life
Aesthetics
Trey makes the move from CD to 3D
PAGE 5
is fragile. And, throughout last year I mentored a person terminated from a job after years of service and loyalty— life is not fair nor predictable. Such events cause me to question the fairness of life. Why does that person get ill or die? Why does another person end up unemployed? Where is the logic and “science” to explain such things? I am an anthropologist, trying to answer a fundamental question: What makes us
MCCLAURIN 4 TURN TO
Verlea Lee Barbee March 30, 1928 – December 22, 2012 Verlea Lee Barbee, mother of Twin Cities social services entrepreneur, Dr. Vincent Peter Hayden, Ph.D, and grandmother to the rst African American State Senator elected from Minneapolis, Jeff Hayden, died in Minneapolis, December 22. Verlea Barbee lived in Minneapolis since 1958 and retired from a career in Honeywell Corporation in 1991. While at Honeywell, she was an active member
BARBEE TURN TO 4
Courtesy of the family
Verlea Lee Barbee
Reuniting family: A lifelong work By Dr. Peter Hayden, Ph.D., CEO, Turing Point In growing up, I watched many of my friends with their parents, and I was often envious of what I saw. My mother was very young when I came along, and she needed time to work on her own growing up. I had
REUNITING TURN TO 4
Business This year’s resolution: Be resolved
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Suluki Fardan
Peter Hayden
Girl Scouts
Helping girls imagine engineering careers
PAGE 12
Page 2 • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Insight News
insightnews.com
EDUCATION
Evaluating tutoring programs: What to look for By Eva Heithausen TC Daily Planet
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“Mom can you help me, please? I don’t understand the homework.â€? At some point, parents also have difďƒžculty understanding the homework — or ďƒžguring out how to help their children understand it. Can a tutoring program help the student to learn better? And how can parents tell which program works? If a child struggles in school, a tutoring program can help to improve the child’s performance. Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-analysis of Findings found that the exam performance of students who were tutored was better than the exam performance of students in a conventional class. Tutoring programs have a positive effect not only on proďƒžciency, but also on the students’ attitudes toward the subject in which they are tutored. The Best Practices for Tutoring Programs – A guide to quality, published by the St. Paul Public Schools Foundation is a research-based guide to effective tutoring practices. What makes tutoring programs work best? The Center for Prevention Research and Development published background research on tutoring programs in 2009. This study acknowledges that tutoring models vary. Some focus exclusively on homework assistance or on skill-building and some combine both. Some tutoring programs work with community volunteers, others with same-age or older peers, and others with certiďƒžed teachers. The study found that: • Tutors and students who meet at least three times a week achieve better outcomes than tutors who meet twice a week or less. • The program duration is signiďƒžcantly related with positive outcomes. Tutoring
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programs with at least 45 hours of implementation time are more effective. In general, a strategic tutoring program does the most to the academic performance of students. One-on-one tutoring seems to be more effective to improve the reading skillsof students than peer-tutoring. The best results are reported for tutoring sessions from 10 to 60 minutes. Longer session did not result in better outcomes. Successful tutor-tutee relationships are characterized by strong reinforcement of progress, with reading and writing experiences ranging from being fully supported to working independently and an explicit demonstration
student. • Peer tutoring is more effective when pairs of students are taking turns with the role of tutor and tutee. The AmeriCorps Tutoring Outcomes Study supports the ďƒžndings of the previous studies, ďƒžnding that tutors and students should at least meet three times a week to be effective and that tutoring sessions should last 1.5 hours per week. What should parents look for in a tutoring program? Parents have to look for some speciďƒžc things when it comes up to picking the right place and program for their child. But most important is that the children feel comfortable and respected. They should not feel fear when they are going to their tutoring program
[...] most important is that the children feel comfortable and respected of appropriate reading and writing processes. • Effective tutoring programs do not have to focus only on academics, but also can implement social activities. • If peer-tutoring pairs are used, the teacher should monitor and supervise these pairs in order to keep students on track with their activities and goals. • A tutor-tutee relationship is more effective when a lowachieving student is paired with a higher-achieving
but have fun. The Massachusetts After-School Research Study from 2005 revealed six major qualities of a good tutoring. • The ďƒžrst quality is a strong staff engagement with youth. The staff should be actively engaged in the activities and should appear to enjoy the work. A relaxed and respectful atmosphere is necessary to motivate the children and to provide a comfortable environment. • Not only the staff has to be
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engaged but the youth, too. Youth Engagement means that the pupils should be respectful of each other and the staff. • The third quality deals with challenging activities, which should be appropriate for youth and not overwhelming. The instructions have to be clear and be part of a larger project • Even if a tutoring program provides a lot of different components, there should be a space in the schedule for Quality Homework Time. The staff should provide individual help and should help the
children to think through problems. • A good relationship between the children and the staff is always necessary. If there is no trust between these two, there cannot be a productive atmosphere. However, the parents should also be interested in developing a relationship with the staff. The parents should greet the staff and chat with them a little bit when they are picking up their child. When the students sees that parents like the staff, it is more likely that they will accept them as well.
• Appropriate Space is the sixth quality, a good tutoring program should provide. This includes environmental items related to comfortable heat, ventilation, noise, and light. If the space where the child should learn is not clean, organized and in a good shape, then there will be no comfortable environment for the child. The program should provide enough materials and supplies for all children. Š 2012 Eva Heithausen
Metropolitan State University appoints Gregory R. Mellas to Community Engagement and Scholarship director Gregory R. Mellas, Minneapolis, was appointed Metropolitan State University director for the Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship (ICES) effective Dec. 19. This is a full-time probationary position. In this role, he guides the integration of community engagement, community action and civic engagement and scholarship into the fabric of the university through curricular, co-curricular and institutional activities. As director he provides leadership to the university’s Academic Internship program; School, Youth and Family Outreach program; American Democracy Project; youth literacy initiatives; community-university librarycommunity outreach program, Individualized Study Abroad and the Community-based Learning program. Mellas worked since 2006 as service learning director/ Center for Civic Engagement leader and Spanish instructor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC). From 2003–2006 he was the service-learning coordinator at Metropolitan State University and MCTC. Earlier he worked as both an English as a second language and citizenship instructor at Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio in Saint Paul, and as a Project SHINE coordinator
Greg Mellas at both Metropolitan State and MCTC. He also served two years in Paraguay with the U.S. Peace Corps. He holds a B.A. international studies and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas and an M.S. in Spanish from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Metropolitan State
University, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, is America’s premier university for lifelong learning, providing unsurpassed, competitive academic and professional degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels while maintaining affordability.
insightnews.com
Insight News • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Page 3
What on Earth is geotourism? EarthTalk® E - The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I’ve heard of Eco-Tourism, but what on Earth is “Geo-Tourism? - Sally Kardaman, Sumter, SC “Geotourism” describes tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a given place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of local residents. The idea is that tourism can be a positive force that benets both travelers
and local environments and economies. National Geographic Senior Editor Jonathan Tourtellot coined the term in 1997 to distinguish it from “ecotourism” or “sustainable tourism,” both which more narrowly focus on travel’s ecological impacts. In addition to a “do-no-harm” ethic,
geotourism seeks to enhance prospects for sustainable development based on the specic character of a given place rather than on standardized international branding, generic architecture and food, etc. In other words, a geotourism tour won’t involve sending you to an exotic locale only to put you up at a
Hilton or Marriot and give you discount coupons to Taco Bell and McDonald’s. “Today the world’s great destinations are under assault as visitor numbers rise exponentially every year,” reports the non-prot National Geographic Society, publisher of National Geographic. “The result is damage to the sites,
overcrowding and erosion of the local culture and environment.” The Society hopes to reverse these trends with geotourism. Its Center for Sustainable Destinations (CSD) helps local communities, governments, tourism bureaus and private businesses enhance and sustain their distinct character while harnessing the
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Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Vice President of Sales & Marketing Selene White Culture and Education Editor Irma McClaurin Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Miki Noland Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Insight Intern Abeni Hill Contributing Writers Cordie Aziz Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Oshana Himot Timothy Houston Alaina L. Lewis Lydia Schwartz Photography Suluki Fardan Tobechi Tobechukwu Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55411.
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power of tourism for positive impact: “Residents discover their own heritage by learning that things they take for granted may be interesting to outsiders,” reports CSD. “As local people develop pride and skill in showing off their
3 TURN TO 7 GEOTOURISM 7 TURN TO
Page 4 • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Insight News
insightnews.com
(RE)visioning a world without violence against women Justspeak
By Irma McClaurin, PhD Culture and Education Editor The senseless murder of twenty-two year old Kasandra Perkins by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chief’s linebacker Jovan Belcher, twenty-ve, and his subsequent suicide, is a double tragedy that highlights the degree to which domestic violence has permeated our culture. Perkins was also the mother of a three-month old daughter fathered by Belcher, and according to news reports, his mother and the child witnessed the murder. What is unique about this case is that most of the original media coverage focused on Belcher, the perpetrator—who, why, what? Questions about his motivations, state of mind, etc., pre-occupied the airways. That is until some Black feminist women and (some feminist-leaning men) stepped in and said hey—this should not be about him, it should
McClaurin From 1 human? We have explanations for many things, but those that can explain some of the events above are not among them. After years of research, I’ve learned that explanations are not facts. They are constructions derived from interpretations, correlations, hypothesis testing, data collection, and sometimes just our best guess or conjecture. Explanations are our feeble attempts to exert some control over our universe and our lives by giving that there is order in our world. The truth is, most of the
be about his victim. You haven’t even mentioned her name. Thus began a campaign, in which I participated on Twitter, to say the name of Kasandra Perkins (https:// crunkfeministcollective. wordpress.com/2012/12/03/ remember-their-namesin-memory-of-kasandracherica-others/) (http://www. hufngtonpost.com/dr-david-jleonard/we-must-continue-tosay-h_b_2268699.html). The purpose was to remind people that because a killer is a high prole football star, and his victim was “just a girlfriend” that she is no less important. Domestic violence, gender violence, and violence against women strikes at the heart of our society today. It is so pervasive that it has become expected, and predictable, and our societal response is often to blame the victim and ask, “what did she do to push him over the edge?” What we don’t ask is this: What causes a person to be so enraged that they would kill a woman who just bore their child, while the child and his own mother are present? What kind of a society have we become where our only viable response to anger and rage is killing? Explanations began to surface; most speculated
on what Kasandra had done to provoke such rage—she was hanging out with her girlfriends, she was drinking, she was hanging out with the girls and drinking, she arrived home at 1am. All of these, regardless of whether they were true, in themselves might be
questionable behavior in some social circles for a new mother, but none of them alone, or in constellation with each other, warrants murder. Let’s be real, part of the message behind such speculation suggests that boyfriend felt he was losing control over his girlfriend. And what most people fail to recognize is that most domestic
time, we simply don’t know why some things happen. The truth is that we live in the midst of a natural world that we have attempted to control, but without understanding the full implications of what we do. Are the changes we witness and experience in our climate (Storm Sandy) the result of air pollution, deforestation, coal mining, “fracking”, global warming, placing pipe lines on the ocean oor, continuing to drill for gas and oil, or constructing skyscrapers that block out natural sunlight? We can explain some diseases, but not all. We are better at explaining the devastation that diseases wreak upon the body. We can explain that some people will recover
and some people don’t. But in truth, explanations are not certainties. There are many things for which we lack the deep knowledge that will enable us to know with absolute certainty. This is the dilemma of the human experience. We evolved with a brain that makes us curious. We have used that curiosity to create a culture that privileges science and technology. We want answers to the mysteries of the universe and spend millions on research. Yet, we not found a solution that prevents people from starving in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Have we been so seduced science and technology and our
since I wrote in my rst anthropology book about the “culture of gender” that “Women who speak out about matters of domestic violence (often viewed as ‘private’ or ‘family business’) incur great personal and emotional risks.” (from Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America, 2000 [1996], p. 14].
From the all evidence, not much progress has been made in this area. According to the website, http:// domesticviolencestatistics. org/ , “every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.” I add the emphasis because too often, as we are told stories of honor killings and bride burnings, we forget that domestic violence and abuse of women occurs with surprising frequency in our own backyard—next door and in our own families. And, all too often, we ignore the signs. How many people saw the signs that Kasandra was being abused—either physically or emotionally? They will have to live with the fact they did not speak up. Did Kasandra feel trapped? A young girl of 22, just barely out of high school, and now a mother, and with a football superstar, was she being told by her friends and family how lucky she was to have hooked up with someone like him? Did she feel that she could not make it on her own since everything she had was given to her by Jovan? We may never know the answers to these questions, but they are questions that we can pose as we look at our neighbors, our
daughters, our nieces and other relatives. Are we cultivating a culture once again where women are not encouraged to be nancially independent and are seduced by materiality such that they feel ill-equipped to respond to emotional and physical abuse? Who talks to young girls about the thin line that is easily crossed when a heated argument turns into abuse? While we have seen a plethora of senseless killings, and most recently (December 14, 2012) the massacre of 20 children and 8 adults in Newtown, CT, domestic violence, and more specically violence against women, remains a pervasive problem in American culture that we have yet to make signicant progress towards eradicating. Minneapolis residents may recall the horric domestic violence death several years ago (2009) of a young woman (Brittany Givens-Copeland) from one of the city’s notable African American families who was murdered by a former boyfriend. Not only murdered, but also burned to death, in an effort to cover up the crime that was ultimately a murder-
accomplishments of landing “men” on the moon that we forget more often than not that new knowledge often arises out of accidents? That is why replication is so critical to the scientic method. But let us not forget that we never hear about failed experiments or those that succeed but cannot be replicated. Explanations are not facts; they are puzzle pieces assembled in order to see what picture emerges. And each generation a new community of scientists and researchers improve upon the knowledge we believe to be factual, and it changes. I have no explanations for why my friend had to die two days shy of her 64th birthday. I can’t explain why another friend has been diagnosed with a serious illness. I can explain that the ring of my mentee is related to one of our main aws as humans—our capacity
to be inhumane to others and the petty desire to exert “power over. “ We see this ugly side of our inhumanity being played out every day in life. We are a global community of binary oppositions: rich vs. poor, educated vs. uneducated, employed vs. unemployed, white vs. black, straight vs. gay, married vs. single, the global north vs. the global south, the U.S. vs. Russia, the U.S. vs. China. None of these oppositional categories or social polarizations is innately negative. It is the value we attach to either side of the category that will determine the outcome and dictate how we treat those whom they represent. If we value wealth over poverty, then we invest our efforts in protecting wealth and penalizing the poor. The scal cliff polarization was
clear enough evidence of politicians making such value judgments. The United States of America is not so united; it is increasingly becoming a society that has lost its moral compass and forgotten its social contract of “equality for all.” The fact that this principle was not equally applied to women and Blacks is one of the major contradictions of American society. We should realize that democracy as we know and practice it in America is still very much a work in progress. The experiences I observed, shared, or personally felt in 2012 were immensely humbling. As a result, I pay greater attention to the three maxims above my stove. In 2013, I have made myself a New Year’s promise to LIVE, LAUGH, and LOVE more.
trying to have (our) event.” Capt. John Hattstrom of the Coon Rapids Police Dept. said his department did not deliver any edict that police had to be present for the event to take place. “(Providing ofcers as security) is a service that we offer to businesses, but it’s totally optional,” said Hattstrom, who said the department was contacted about the event through representatives of Cheap Skate. “It’s between the rink and the promoter. To be quite honest, other options (of security) are much cheaper.” Holield-Jones said she believes the reason the rink wanted to cancel the event is because most of the expected patrons were African-American, who said Keeville got nervous when told the promoters planned on bussing in families from the downtown area. The planned holiday event
was to have featured child performers YN Rich Kids of “Hot Cheetos & Takis” fame, 7-year-old singer, Natia Marie and the Sckool Boyz, who are ages 11 and 12. Holield-Jones has teamed up with TakeAction Minnesota in hopes of bringing resolution to the issue. She said thus far, the event has cost promoters upwards of $3,000. The promoter said she hopes the rink will reconsider its stance on the event, but if it or the city of Coon Rapids is against the event, they will work together to nd an alternate venue for the event. “I asked Rick (Lund) if he was going to pay for our expenses and he said, ‘No,’” said Holield-Jones. Insight News made repeated attempts to contact both Lund and Keeville, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
At a memorial service ofciated by the Rev. Jerry McAfee, at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church last week, Verlea Barbee was remembered as an expert bid whist card player who enjoyed winning against her husband or anyone else that played against her. She was an avid reader, family members said, up to date on current events from all corners of the world. “She never missed a day of reading her newspaper and watching the local and national news. In recent years she expanded her television viewing to include all of the judge shows,” the family said.
Verlea Barbee was born March 30, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri to Lee Edward Hayden and Arlene Hayden. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Edwin and Peter, and her husband Robert. She is survived by her son Peter (Joyce), siblings Cheryl Richardson, Michael Hayden, Hartzell Gray, Donald Gray, and Diane Huff (Christopher); and by grandchildren Jeffrey (Terri), Selena, Kelli (Tim) Taylor, Erin, and Sidney Hayden, and an extended family of great grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews and in-laws.
years ago we got on that path. That’s the day that I sobered up. January 4, the day of my sobriety, is the day I started working on me and my mom’s reunication. I had to take control- I had been waiting for my mama to do what only I could do. That was a 20 year process, and 20 years ago my mom and I met at the right place and right time. Since then others have envied me for the relationship that I have with my mom. My mother was a vessel. She brought me into this world.
Her actions, giving me to Mother Bowers to raise, shaped my life, and when we nally came together again, I was ready to understand her and her choices in ways I couldn’t as a child. I was ready to treasure our relationship in the present. Finally, let me leave you with this: my mother’s goal in life was for the Lord to call her by her name. If I can just take this time, not to play God, but just to say I know it would go something like this: “Welcome home, Verlea Barbee, my good and faithful servant.”
violence incidents stem from the perpetrator demonstrating their power and control over the victim. Just like rape is not about sex but about power, domestic violence is not about love, but is also about power and control. Sixteen years have passed
What kind of a society have we become where our only viable response to anger and rage is killing?
Skate From 1 that many of their parents would be in attendance. According to Holield-Jones, Keeville called back and said the Coon Rapids police department would not allow the event to go on without at least eight ofcers on hand. That cost would be $3,000. According to Holield-Jones, Keeville and Lund told her the Coon Rapids police chief told them he was “disappointed” that Cheap Skate would book such an event and that the venue was being racially proled by the city’s police department. “Now they (Cheap Skate) are having an event with adults and liquor and they aren’t having any police,” said HolieldJones, who said that event is a predominantly Caucasian event. “(Cheap Skate) was just not
Barbee From 1 of the Honeybelles, an employee networking group that celebrated birthdays and holidays together. A member of Zion Baptist Church, Verlea Barbee was a devout Christian who accepted The Lord Jesus Christ into her life as her personal Savior, her family members said. Verlea Barbee met and married Robert Sullivan Barbee in 1962. They remained married for 45 years, until he died in 2007.
Reunited From 1 Mother Bowers to raise me, and though I appreciated what Mother Bowers did for me, I still wanted to be with my own mother. My mother and I worked hard to get to where we ended today. It took sixty years for us to get to where I wanted to be with her, where I had wanted to be for my entire life. The good news is that 40
VIOLENCE TURN TO 10
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Insight News • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Page 5
AESTHETICS
Soul singer Bilal to perform at the Dakota Jazz Club By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer Erykah Badu said she could not imagine a world of music without his voice. The Roots’ Questlove said he is hands down one of the greatest specimens of voice in post-modern hip-hop culture. Rising star, Janelle Monet said of him, “His voice is like a Van Gogh painting … A Salvador Dali.”
The man who has had such praise bestowed upon him is none other than soul, neosoul superstar, Bilal. And for the first time, the man with one of the most distinctive falsetto voices in all of music will perform live in the Twin Cities. Bilal makes his Minnesota debut on Monday, Jan. 14 at the Dakota Jazz Club, 1010 Nicollet Ave., downtown Minneapolis. The show starts at 7 p.m. Since Bilal’s first release,
Courtesy of the artist
Bilal
“1st Born Second,” in 2001, the soulful artist has become a staple in any neo-soul fan’s collection. The classically trained singer is best known for his singles, “Soul Sista,” “Last Lane” and “Best Friends,” a duet with Tweet. What sets Bilal apart – besides his voice – is his energetic and unpredictable live stage show. During a show in London, the outrageous performer hopped inside of a grand piano and sang. The Philadelphia native’s
collaborations read like a who’s who of the music world. Bilal has recorded with Jay-Z, Beyonce, The Roots, jazz great, Boney James, Robert Glasper, Tweet, Musiq and many others. Bilal is putting the finishing touches on his new project and has recently release his newest single, “Back to Love.” Tickets for this debut show are on sale via the Dakota Jazz Club box office. To purchase tickets, call (612) 332.5299 or go online at www.dakotacooks.
Trey makes the move from CD to 3D Interview
By Kam Williams
kam@insightnews.com Born in Petersburg, Virginia on November 28, 1984, Tremaine Aldon Neverson, AKA Trey Songz, has undeniably become one of music’s hottest R&B artists today thanks to an impressive streak of hit singles like “2 Reasons,” “Can’t Help But Wait,” “Successful” (featuring Drake), “I Invented Sex,” “Neighbors Know My Name,” the platinum-certied “Say Aah” and “Heart Attack,” which was recently nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Song category. Songz’ third album, Ready, made a stunning, Top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200 charts and eventually landed a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The pop icon’s fourth studio album, Passion, Pain, and Pleasure, was released in September of 2010 and debuted at #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop Chart, thanks to the success
Trey Songz of two smash singles, “Bottoms Up” (featuring Nicki Minaj),” and “Can’t Be Friends,” both of which went platinum. His latest LP, Chapter V, debuted in 2012 at #1 on the Billboard 200. For this project, Trey tapped his younger brother, Alex, to produce “Don’t Be Scared,” and he also included such high-prole guests as T.I., Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Diddy and Meek Mill in the project. In 2011, Trey was part of
Wikimedia Commons / Eva Rinaldi
Kodak’s “SO KODAK” campaign alongside Drake, Pitbull and Rihanna, and he served as the face of Rocawear’s Fall and Spring campaigns, too. His constant touring led him to Johannesburg, Africa where he not only performed a couple of sold-out concerts but spent time with local aspiring young musicians and entrepreneurs. Trey has used his gift of music as a launching pad for various philanthropic and entrepreneurial
endeavors, like the “Angels with Heart Foundation” and the Trey’s Angels clothing line, sold exclusively at Citi Trends. Created in 2010, the “Angels with Heart Foundation” began as a call to action to engage his fan club, and it has now blossomed into a worldwide movement. Through this organization, Trey encourages members to give back to the community and, most importantly, to have a positive impact on their neighborhoods through service with local charities and random acts of kindness. Here, the versatile entertainer talks about his latest lm, Texas Chainsaw 3D, where he co-stars as Ryan opposite Alexandra Daddario. Kam Williams: Hi Trey, thanks for the interview. Trey Songz: Hey, Kam, what’s up? KW: What interested you in Texas Chainsaw 3D? TS: Oh, man, so many different things, like the opportunity to be a part of an iconic franchise. The original was one of the rst horror lms that actually petried people.
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com/event/bilal. Tickets are $30. The concert is presented by the Dakota Jazz Club, The Urbane Life and Canvas Entertainment. The event is sponsored by Insight News. Bilal at the Dakota Jazz Club Monday, Jan. 14 7 p.m. Dakota Jazz Club – 1010 Nicollet Ave., downtown Minneapolis Admission: $30
Page 6 • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Insight News
FULL CIRCLE
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The true compatibility test Man Talk
By Timothy Houston It seems that everywhere you look there is some sort of advertisement talking about how to nd a mate. They make it appear so simple. All you have to do is take a compatibility test and their high powered computer software will match you up with the right person. They lead you to believe that their database only has good, honest people in their system, but we know in reality a person that is not honest in their heart will not be honest in their prole. The true compatibility test is the one that reveals what is stored in the heart of a person. Here are a few characteristics to look for that may not show up on the computer’s compatibility test. To begin with, look to a man’s heart and not to his wallet or his brain. The true compatibility test begins and ends in the heart of man. A man’s heart is at the center of his being and is hid from the human eye. This invisible reservoir is where his values come from and it reveals more about him than a computer program ever could. The computer allows
each person to self-report, so most if not all will only put their best foot forward. This lack of information creates a mismatch waiting to happen. Someone who is successful in business, but a failure in his personal life is not compatibility with a person who is looking for both. Secondly, look for a man
life measures up to his public life, and he is able to provide for himself and stand on his own two feet. Next, look for a man that is productive. His actions demonstrate that he creates for the good of all, and not simply for himself. Because he is productive, he knows that as
The true compatibility test begins and ends in the heart of man that is centered or stable in his conduct and behavior. The person that is always in trouble in his public life will also have trouble in his private one. To be compatible with someone looking for a healthy relationship, he must understand that personal victories come before public victories, and that being honest with one’s self comes before being honest with others. The right man knows that he is compatible because his private
he shares openly and honestly from his heart that it will be returned to him in overowing abundance. The right man for you is one who works with you to convert your simple ideas and dreams into reality. This man is productive and will by nature multiply whatever reaches his heart. When you give your heart to this man, you will receive a return greater than what you ever could achieve alone. Finally, look for a man that is not materialistic. To money-
oriented man, the accumulation of wealth becomes the end and not the means so never measure a man by his material goods. If he is too materialistic, you will become just another possession that can be bought and sold at will. The right man for you knows that true riches are found in relationships rather than in material wealth. This man is compatible because he has people in his life who love and respect him, and his relationship with people supersedes his relationship with things. As you continue on your relationship journey, you should be encouraged by the volume of relationships information that is available to you. Use this information carefully. Although many people have been successful at meeting mates through the various types of social media and computer matching programs, I believe the true test of compatibility is when your hands and heart meet. For once the relationship leaves the virtual world and moves into reality, the real compatibility work begins. Timothy Houston is an author, minister, and motivational speaker who is committed to guiding positive life changes in families and communities. To get copies of his books, or for questions, comments or more information, go to www. tlhouston.com.
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Insight News • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Page 7 Lodge takes visitors white water rafting, horseback riding, hiking and on other rainforest excursions. It hires and trains locals to manage operations and teach guests about local cultures rsthand—and has launched several reforestation efforts and an education program that teaches elementary students across Costa Rica about the importance of protecting the rainforest in their backyards.
Anjum Malkana, courtesy Flickr
Geotourism describes tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a given place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of local residents. The idea is that tourism can be a positive force that benets both travelers and local environments and economies. Pictured: The Rio Tropicales Lodge, a geotourism operator in Costa Rica.
Geotourism From 3 locale, tourists get more out of their visit.” The Society’s “Geotourism Charter” lists 13 principles that qualifying sites must adhere to in order to earn a geotourism
distinction. The main current running through the Charter is appreciation for the distinctive aspects of a given place and culture, and an eagerness to showcase them to curious and supportive visitors. The term geotourism is fairly new, but several places have offered “geotourism”worthy travel for years. Costa Rica’s Rio Tropicales
Another organization is 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking in Nepal, which trains local women to be tourism professionals and trekking guides. In just a few short years the group, which promotes lowimpact treks in the Himalaya region, has trained 600 women as ambassadors to the outdoors across Nepal and beyond. Apiring geotourism professionals can learn about their future profession by
focusing on it as part of a new concentration within the geography department of Missouri State University. CONTACTS: CSD, http:// travel.nationalgeographic. com/travel/sustainable; Rio Tropicales, www. riostropicales.com; 3 Sisters, w w w. 3 s i s t e r s a d v e n t u r e . com; Missouri State University Geotourism Concentration, www. missouristate.edu/academics/
details.aspx?id=81642. EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@ emagazine.com. Subscribe: w w w. e m a g a z i n e . c o m / subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
Page 8 • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Insight News
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BUSINESS
This year’s resolution: Be resolved
Settle arguments. If you are not involved, stay out. If you are involved, you might nd an argument is most easily settled when you refuse to engage. Alix told a red-up coworker, “I’m not discussing this with you.” The other person was surprised, but the argument ended before it could begin. Recognize those people who live on the edge emotionally. Decide when to engage in an argument, and keep an eye on opportunities to negotiate a win-win agreement. Even Congress has to sign a bill once in a while. Be someone who settles arguments, and you will nd you have fewer of them to settle. Dispel doubt. Consistent actions and a positive attitude go a long way toward building up integrity at work. If you say you will, can I count on you? Resolve to be honest, kind and reliable. Resolve to be someone people trust. Change. When you should, and when your closest companions suggest that you should. There will be setbacks along the way, but realize not many people out there are perfect. Slight tweaks to your activities, habits and efforts can have enormous, long term impact on your success. Resolve to change so you can continue to grow and improve. Resolve. Re-solve. It’s a good word, and a good goal for the next twelve months.
Plan Your Career By Julie Desmond
julie@insightnews.com It’s a good word, Resolve. It covers a lot of ground and carries multiple meanings. This week, every other commercial, headline and status update refers to someone’s New Year’s Resolution. You might resolve to lose weight, stop smoking, dance more, cheat less or nish something you’ve started. But what is resolve, really? Among Resolve’s denitions, you’ll nd these: make decisions, solve difculties, settle arguments, dispel doubts, change. During 2013, let the concept of Resolve be a focal point, taking you from where you are to something better. Make decisions. Indecision steals time and energy away from progress. There might be more than one way to peel an apple or skin a cat. Choose the path that makes the most sense to you in the moment, and follow it. If you make a wrong decision, you can usually reverse course, learn from it or work your way through it. If you make no decision, you are wasting your own potential. Make decisions. Solve difculties. People steer away from challenging situations either out of fear or convenience or because they don’t realize they are capable of adding value. I watched a
Songz From 5 Also, for me, as a musician moving over into acting, it was important to have other denominators in the picture that could carry the weight. As a musician-turned-actor, you ordinarily face one of two scenarios. Either all the pressure of success or failure is on your shoulders, so if the picture does poorly, you might never get another movie role, or you have a situation
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team recently argue about how to get more money out of a budget in order to pay someone to lead them out of a problem.
What they did not realize was that they had created the mess as a team and in this case they were uniquely qualied to clean
it up. They decided to bring in someone to teach them how to resolve the issue, rather than to make it go away. Difculty
solved. Future disasters averted. Allow yourself the privilege of being a problem solver.
Julie Desmond is IT Recruiting Manager with George Konik Associates, Inc. Send your career planning questions to jdesmond@georgekonik.com.
where you already have an anchor, which allows you to work your way up the ranks. I think Texas Chainsaw is such a big brand that it’s an anchor unto itself. In fact, I wasn’t #1 on the call sheet. That was Alexandra Daddario, who is an amazing actress. So, I didn’t have the burden of carrying the lm, which afforded me a chance to learn a lot about acting while playing her boyfriend.
going, laidback, and really likes his girl. He wants to be there to support her, when she learns that her parents weren’t her biological parents, and that she’s just inherited a house from a grandmother she never knew. I’m just there for the ride. And even though I want to be a good boyfriend, like any good boyfriend, I slip up a couple times in the movie.
Chapter V? TS: I’m very busy. Besides promoting the movie, I did several concerts before taking a break for Christmas, and I have another month on tour ahead of me. After enjoying the holidays in the country with the family in Virginia, I’m heading to Stockholm, Sweden on New Year’s Day.
a good question. I call it their question and use it on other celebrities. TS: Oh, that’s gangsta’!
good laugh? TS: I been laughing all day. You can’t stop me from having a good laugh.
KW: I just got this one from Jamie Foxx: If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do? Would you do the bad stuff, you never got a chance to do, or would you do good stuff to make sure you make it into heaven? TS: If I only had 24 hours to live, I’d most likely spend it letting people know I loved them, and trying to make things right with whoever things were wrong with. One thing about life, man, once you’re gone, the only true impact you have is on the lives you affected positively, no matter how many hit songs or movies you had.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure? TS: My guiltiest pleasure? The ID channel [Investigation Discovery]. I like watching reallife murder mysteries all day long.
KW: How would you describe your character, Ryan? TS: As a likable character you get to know and love. He’s easy-
KW: One of the most common, horror movie clichés is that the black dude dies rst. But I guess it must be different in this case, since you’re playing the heroine’s love interest. TS: Yeah, that was denitely a part of the negotiations. KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How do you like making the move to acting from music? TS: I’ve been in front of the camera a million times as a musician, and even directed a few music videos. So, I know a lot about spacing, focus, blocking, etcetera. So, acting isn’t totally new for me. Still, I nd it fascinating, because you actually get to be another person. Even though Ryan wasn’t that complex an individual, I really enjoyed portraying someone else. KW: How do you divide your time between acting and music, given that you have a new album out,
KW: Director Larry Greenberg says: Trey, I used a chainsaw to defend against zombies in my last lm and it was difcult to get the splatter right. How did you guys handle that in Texas Chainsaw 3-D? TS: The splatter? I don’t know how they did it, but when they did it, they did it right. I know that they used a real chainsaw when he cut through the door and throughout the whole lm. I wasn’t scared, but I still thought to myself, “He does actually have a chainsaw in his hands!” So, if he wanted to cut through anything, he could. KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would? TS: That’s a great question! Ironically enough, I can’t think of one right now. I do have some, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head. KW: When people do give me
KW: Jamie’s co-star in Django Unchained, Kerry Washington, came up with: If you were an animal, what animal would you be? TS: [Chuckles] That’s a weirdass question. I’d probably be a monkey. KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid? TS: Afraid? I don’t know if afraid is the word. Sometimes, I’m unsure. KW: Columbus Short said nobody ever asks him if he’s happy. Are you happy? TS: That’s a very good question. Nobody ever asks me that either. I believe I am happy. I don’t think I have achieved happiness in all areas of my life yet. As far as success is concerned, my family is being taken care of. But I think the last level of happiness would be becoming a father. KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read? TS: I just started reading R. Kelly’s book, “Soulacoaster.” http://www.amazon.com/exec/ obidos/ASIN/1401928358/ ref=nosim/thslfore-20 KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to? TS: “He Can’t Love You,” by Jagged Edge. http://www. amazon.com/exec/obidos/ ASIN/B000031KFT/ref=nosim/ thslfore-20 KW: What is your favorite dish to cook? TS: Pot roast. KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you? TS: The idea of Sanaa Lathan excites me. KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer? TS: Versace. KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered? TS: As a good man. KW: Thanks again for the time, Trey, and best of luck with the lm. TS: Thanks, Kam.
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Insight News • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Page 9
COMMENTARY Social paranoia feeds U.S. gun culture By New America Media, Commentary, Rene Ciria-Cruz The gun has an indelible presence in America’s popular consciousness. The mythmaking entertainment industry has embellished and magnied the gun’s prominent role in the narrative of the nation’s founding and rapid expansion across the continent over Indian lands and trackless wilds. But reverence for history isn’t what’s really driving the soaring rate of gun ownership among Americans. Today something stronger than the hunting culture or nostalgia for an adventurelled frontier past is keeping gun fetishism alive -- social paranoia. A dread of unseen threats against one’s personal safety feeds the demand for automatic assault ries and handguns, much to the
delight of obliging rearm manufacturers. Up to 47 percent of Americans reported owning rearms in 2011, according to the Gallup Poll. Consequently, the U.S. has the highest rate of gun-related homicides among the industrialized countries. Changing these statistics is a formidable challenge. Widespread anxiety over perceived impending violence explains why there are 89 guns for every 100 American civilians, as reported in last year’s Small Arms Survey; that’s some 270 million guns nationwide, the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. Many believe the highcaliber handgun or automatic rie is their best defense against crime. Someone may want to invade your home, rape your wife and kill your children. A gun would enable you to “stand your ground,” many are convinced. The gun is also a tool for projecting personal power. This
Courtesy of NAM
function has even spawned an “open-carry” movement that would allow men and women — who no one should try to “mess with” -- to walk around like gunslingers of the old West. And while no one really believes the United States is in danger of a military invasion by any foreign power, a good many gun worshipers believe that they need to be prepared
for a social cataclysm of sorts, like mass unrest or a catastrophe that ultimately leads to widespread looting and depredation. At its core, then, is a lack of condence that the state can provide sufcient protection to its citizens. Tied to this is a profound sense of individualism, of a deeply held belief that only the individual, not the community or its laws,
is the real guarantor of one’s safety. Thus, while liberals may share some of these same insecurities, the cult of gun ownership is, as most observers already know, conservative at heart. Writing in the New York Times, number cruncher Nate Silver draws the link between politics and gun ownership: White Republicans are more likely to own guns than white Democrats; by 2010 gun ownership among Democrats dropped to 22 percent but remained at 50 percent among Republican adults. In its extreme form, gun worship is xenophobic and racist. Self-proclaimed militias and many so-called doomsday “preppers” fear a creeping United Nations “takeover” of the U.S. They also warn of an impending race war in which one must be prepared to defend one’s home and family against marauding and rapacious black and brown hordes.
This likely explains why whites are more likely to own guns than blacks or Hispanics and why gun ownership is higher among middle class households than poorer ones, according to Silver’s ndings. And while most gun-related homicides occur in urban areas, gun ownership is higher in rural and suburban areas. While owning a gun is indeed as American as cherry pie, it need not remain part of this country’s traditions. Owning a broadsword is not as British as steak and kidney pie, despite the prominent role of bladed weapons in British history. It is admittedly not going to be easy to erase the prevalent social delusions that fuel gun ownership in America, but stricter laws and regulations can and should start preventing its lethal consequences. The law of the jungle through the proliferation of guns has no place in civilized life.
Make 2013 a year of renewal, not ruin By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. The new year begins with a bad hangover from 2012’s inane debate over the “scal cliff.” The furious debate focused only on how much damage would be done to the economy and who would pay the price, how much and what would be cut, who would pay higher taxes and who would suffer the most. But this headache can’t dene 2013, which must be a time to renew, not to ruin.
Whatever nal agreement comes out of the scal cliff will slow an economy already struggling to grow. The challenge is to turn to what can be done to rebuild, to put people to work, to boost, not cripple growth. The challenges we face are great. Many neighborhoods in our cities are suffering unemployment rates of 40 percent. That is a recipe for disintegration. Chicago just mourned the 500th murder victim. Millions of homes are still underwater. Wages are still declining, not rising.
Inequality, already at extreme levels, is rising, not falling. We need a plan to rebuild America. We have a plan for Iraq. We have a plan on how to get our troops out of Afghanistan while helping to rebuild that nation — yet, we aren’t even talking about a plan to rebuild our own cities. Why not a Marshall Plan to rebuild America’s urban areas? The Marshall Plan provided long-term, low-interest loans to Europe after World War II. It put people to work, provided hope and helped to revive economies devastated
by wartime destruction. Now we need a plan for our cities that will revive them from Wall Street’s destruction. Why not take a portion of workers’ pension funds, provide them with government guarantees, and create a network of urban development banks committed to rebuilding our impoverished urban ghettos and barrios? Use the workers’ money to put workers to work building affordable housing, retrotting buildings to capture energy savings, rebuilding collapsing sewers and roads, expanding outmoded mass transit. Add basic reforms to ensure that workers share in the increased productivity and prots they help to create. Raise the minimum wage and crack down on wage theft. Give priority to companies
that make things in America and allow workers to organize and bargain collectively. Get this right, and we will begin to rebuild a broad middle class and boost the economy. With good jobs, workers buy homes and cars and send their kids to college. Their demand leads small businesses to create jobs. We all grow together. Workers move from food stamps to paying taxes. Growth is the best and necessary way to get our books in order. In 2012, Washington tied itself in knots over a selfcreated scal-cliff debate that is all about constriction, not expansion. That debate is teed up to consume the next few months, as well, as the government runs into the so-called debt ceiling while Republicans vow to hold the full faith and credit of the
United States hostage to even deeper cuts in vital domestic programs. Yet the cuts already in place will reduce domestic spending as a portion of our economy to levels not seen since the 1950s. This is the road to decline and despair. The only thing that can change the folly in Washington is the mobilization of people. Many are cynical about a Washington corrupted by big money politics. But citizens in motion can challenge big money. We saw that with the Tea Party uprising that demanded action on decits and spending. We saw that with Occupy protests that put extreme inequality and the crushing of the American Dream on the agenda. Now citizens must rise again to demand action to rebuild America.
Pardon
Publisher Mary Alice Thatch, voted to pursue pardons of innocence for the Wilmington Ten. That effort got underway in earnest a year ago. After a series of NNPA stories based on an investigation that revealed never-before-seen court records proving prosecutorial corruption, the mainstream media, including the New York Times, caught on, and began editorially pushing for pardoning the Wilmington Ten. In addition, Change.org, the NAACP and the Wilmington Ten garnered over 144,000 petition signatures for the cause. Gov. Perdue’s pardons legally mean that the accused did not commit the crimes for which they were convicted. The governor’s decision was roundly praised. “Gov. Perdue’s historic action today doesn’t remove the past forty years of injustice against ten innocent American citizens – North Carolinians who stood up for equal treatment under the law in our public education system,” the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project, a justice outreach effort of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Wilmington Journal newspaper, said in a statement. “But [the governor’s pardon] does correct the historical record, that Connie Tindall, Jerry Jacobs, William Joe Wright, Anne Sheppard, Wayne Moore, Marvin Patrick, James McKoy, Willie Earl Vereen, Reginald Epps and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, were indeed innocent of all charges falsely assessed to them by a corrupt prosecutor who, to this day, has not answered for what he did.” Gov. Perdue agreed that revelations of the racist and illegal trial tactics of Wilmington Ten prosecutor Jay Stroud – which included documented handwritten evidence of seeking “KKK” and “Uncle Tom-type” jurors; bribing witnesses to commit perjury; hiding exculpatory evidence of a witness’s mental illness from the defense; and deliberately forcing a mistrial so that he could get both the
judge and jury that would favor convictions – corrupt the criminal justice system, and shamed the state. Perdue called it “naked racism.” She said in a statement: “This conduct is disgraceful. It is utterly incompatible with basic notions of fairness, and with every ideal that North Carolina holds dear. The legitimacy of our criminal justice system hinges on it operating in a fair and equitable manner, with justice being dispensed based on innocence or guilt – not based on race or other forms of prejudice.” She continued, “That did not happen here. Instead, these convictions were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on North Carolina’s criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer.” Chavis told the Wilmington Journal, “This is a great day for the people, and the movement. This is a very rare victory.” Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton agreed. “It was a signicant victory and all of you should be commended,” said Sharpton, who pushed the pardon effort on his radio programs. North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber, who partnered with the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence, placed the successful pardons campaign in a historical context. “Not only will the civil rights and human rights communities honor this act, but history itself will record this day as groundbreaking,” Barber told reporters in Raleigh, N.C. on Monday. “On the eve of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Gov. Perdue has proclaimed a contemporary emancipation for these freedom ghters. These pardons are not only for North Carolina but also for the nation and for the world. We honor the governor’s noble, courageous and righteous decision today and we commend her heart’s steadfast commitment to justice.”
From 1 students in the New Hanover County Public School System, protested rampant racial discrimination in 1971. In February of that year, after the arrival of Rev. Benjamin Chavis to help lead the protests, racial violence erupted, with White supremacist driving through Wilmington’s Black community, fatally shooting innocent people and committing arson. A White-owned grocery store in the Black community was rebombed, and remen came under sniper re. It wasn’t until a year later that Rev. Chavis and the others were rounded up and charged with conspiracy in connection with the rebombing and shootings. The 10 were falsely convicted, and sentenced to 282 years in prison, some of which they each served. It wouldn’t be until 1977, after years of failed appeals in North Carolina courts, that the three state’s witnesses recanted their testimonies, admitting that they perjured themselves. Amnesty International issued a blistering report declaring the Wilmington Ten “political prisoners of conscience.” The CBS News program “60 Minutes” did a one-hour expose proving that the evidence against the Wilmington Ten had been fabricated by the prosecution. Then-Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt refused to pardon the Ten, but did commute their sentences in 1978. Two years later, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned all of the convictions, based on gross prosecutorial misconduct and various violations of constitutional rights. The appeals court directed North Carolina to either retry the defendants, or dismiss all charges, but the state did nothing for the next 32 years. In March 2011, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), at the urging of Wilmington Journal
Page 10 • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Insight News
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COMMUNITY
Calendar • Classieds Send Community Calendar information to us by email: info@insightnews.com, by fax: 612.588.2031, by phone: 612.588-1313 or by mail: 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411. Free or low cost events preferred.
EVENTS 5th annual Dimensions of Indigenous exhibit Now thru Jan. 12 Dimensions of Indigenous hosted by Discover This! In partnership with Intermedia Arts is a multi-disciplinary all nations visual art exhibit showcasing Indigenous artists whose work demonstrates involvement in and knowledge of decolonization, building cultural identity and resisting further colonization of any kind. In recognition of the end of the Mayan long count cycle in 2012, the 5th annual Dimensions of Indigenous exhibit will feature works that explore the theme of Time. Curated by Rebekah Crisanta. Exhibition Run: November 28, 2012 - January 12, 2013 at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis MN 55408. Gallery Hours: 106PM, Monday - Friday; 125PM, Saturday | $3 suggested donation. Resident Artists IX: Rule of Thirds at Altered Esthetics Jan. 3-24 Three is a powerful number in science, religion, music, and the arts. For the ninth annual resident artists exhibition, artists incorporate the number three or triptychs. Ae artists will be displaying their take on the number three and how it inuences their artwork. The
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pieces displayed will be in a variety of mediums ranging from watercolor to acrylic to photographs. There will be an opening reception on Friday, Jan 4 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.; Artists’ Discussion Panel on Saturday, Jan 12 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. The Show runs January 3 - 24, 2013. Gallery Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays – 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturdays – 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.; and Every First Friday – 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Altered Esthetics is located at 1224 Quincy St. NE Minneapolis MN 55413, (612) 378-8888.
public and charter schools and to explore an array of educational possibilities for school-age children, pre-kindergarten through high school. MPS’ deadline for submitting school priority request cards is Tue., Feb. 19, 2013. Free childcare for children ages 3-5 will be provided. Call the Information Line, 612.668.1842 about free parking and free shuttle transport for families. With questions about the fair, call Student Placement Services at 612.668.1840. You may also visit www.mpls.k12.mn.us.
PACER Center Workshop Jan. 12 PACER Center is offering “Families Are Important: Understanding the Early Intervention Process in Minnesota,” a free workshop for parents of infants and toddlers and for professionals on Sat. Jan. 12, 9am to 11am at PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington, Minn. Advance registration is requested. This free workshop will help parents understand the early intervention process in Minnesota. To register, call PACER at 952-8389000. In Greater Minnesota, call 800-537-2237 (toll free) or visit PACER.org.
Fix-It Clinics offer help to the unhandy Jan. 12, Feb. 9, Mar. 9, Apr. 13, May 11, June 15 Hennepin County, as part of its waste reduction efforts, is asking residents to sort through basements, closets and garages for clothing and household items that need repair. At the Fix-It Clinics, skilled volunteers will help you learn to disassemble, troubleshoot and x your broken household items and electronics, clothing in need of mending, and more. The Fix-It Clinics are scheduled: Sat. Jan. 12: 10am – 1pm Lyndale Farmstead Park Recreation Center, 3900 Bryant Ave. S., Minneapolis; Sat. Feb. 9: Noon to 3pm Hennepin County Library – Brookdale, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center; Sat. Mar. 9: Noon to 3pm TC Maker Hack Factory, 3119 E. 26th St., Minneapolis; Sat. Apr. 13: 10am – 2 pm South Minneapolis Housing Fair, Minneapolis Sports Center at the YWCA 2121 E. Lake St., Minneapolis; Sat. May 11: Noon – 3pm Hennepin County Library – Plymouth, 15700 36th Ave. N., Plymouth; Sat. June 15: Noon – 4pm Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington. The clinics are rst-come, rst-served – no pre-registration. Items must be
Minneapolis School Fair Showcase Jan. 12 Minneapolis public and charter schools are partnering to host the rst Minneapolis School Fair Showcase on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301-2nd Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. This event will bring together families of prospective students in one location to meet educators from
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carry-in (no oversized items). Please bring any tools that might be helpful, a digital camera to document the disassembly, and small boxes or bags to organize and carry home parts. These events are family-friendly. For more information, visit www. hennepin.us/xitclinic or call 612-348-3777. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Event Jan. 14 The Human Rights Commission and the Human Services Division of the City of Bloomington will sponsor Dr. Don Bartlette and his presentation, “My Journey Across Black America” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day during lunch on Monday, January 14, 2013 at Creekside Community Center. Prior to presentation, watch his lm, “Macaroni At Midnight,” which shares his remarkable story growing up as a Native American child, living in poverty, experiencing issues such as racism, abuse, and struggles with his own disabilities. The lm will show at 9:45 a.m. Following an 11:30 a.m. lunch and presentation. A question and answer session will follow presentation. The following are additional dates the lm will be shown for free at Creekside Community Center: Wednesday, January 9 at 9:30 a.m. and Friday, January 11 at 1:00 p.m. This event does require a prepaid registration 3 days in advance. Meal cost is $0-3 for guests 60+ (NAPIS form required) and $6 for guests under the age of 60. If you would like more information or would like to make a reservation, visit or call Creekside Community Center 9801 Penn Ave. S., 952563-4944, TTY 952-563-4933.
King Boreas Toastmasters Club Open House Jan. 19 King Boreas Toastmasters Club is hosting an Open House Saturday, January 19, 2013, 7:45AM – Chief Financial Ofcer 9:30AM (w/continental TCC Land Bank, a nonprot nancial service org., breakfast), @ Associated seeks CFO to perform strategic nancial planning and Bank, 176 Snelling data analysis, oversee all nancial activities including budgeting, audit, and contract and reporting compliN. (Selby/Snelling). ance. 5 yrs of experience as CFO or equiv. Letter of Toastmasters helps application and resume received at hr@tcclandbank.org men and women learn through January 14, 2013 will be considered. the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking – Lead Director/Organizer vital skills that promote The Harrison Neighborhood Association seeks a self-actualization and dynamic and experienced Director/Lead Organizer committed to grassroots organizing and social enhance leadership change. Send cover letter, resume, and writing potential. For more sample to info@hnampls.org. Call 612-374-4849 information call 651for full description. Application materials will be re603-5854. viewed by the search committee starting in January.
Manager of Finances
Sabathani Community Center is accepting applications for the position of Manager of Finances. The mission of Sabathani is to provide people of all ages and cultures with essential resources that inspire them to improve their lives and build a thriving community. The successful candidate will have the ability to work and report to the Executive Director, Finance Committee and Board of Directors. The candidate must demonstrate knowledge in nancial management, budgets, A/R, A/P, nancial forecasting, accounting policies and procedures as well as administrative processes; including HR, payroll and benets. Experience should include auditing compliance and donation and grant administration. Qualications: • Must have at least 5 to 8 years of professional experience including managing nances and administration of $1 to $2 million organizational budget. • Must have a Bachelor’s degree (MA preferred) in Non-prot management or Business Finances.
From 4 suicide. And here in Raleigh, NC, where I currently hang my hat, in September, we were reminded of how close domestic violence can be when a woman was shot to death by her ex-husband outside of the Pier I store where she worked. I shop at that store, and she may have waited on me. Domestic violence is the 800 pound gorilla in most of our lives, in this society, and globally. If you reach out and tap the shoulder of someone standing next to you, they either have their own story of abuse (emotional and/or physical—and verbal abuse counts as well) or they know someone. Ironically, October was Domestic Violence Awareness month promoted by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Begun twenty-ve years ago in 1987, the issue is still with us sufciently today to suggest that everyday should be domestic violence awareness day. Unfortunately, Jovan and
Take an in-depth look at the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum building 1 p.m. Saturdays, Jan. 19. This is the only opportunity for a guided tour through the entire museum building and the only chance to see some of its nonpublic spaces. The tour includes admission to the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower show. Fee: $14 adults, $12 seniors and college students, $10 children ages 6-17 and MHS members. Tour includes museum admission. Reservations required; call 612341-7555 or register online: http://www.millcitymuseum. org/tours. Mill City Museum is located at 704 South Second Street, Minneapolis. Northside Film Classics Jan. 20 Celebrate the new year and new beginnings right! On Jan. 20, 2013 we will screen the 1967 classic “The Graduate,” starring Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock. Dry humor is at its perfection as Benjamin faces the universal question for all college graduates, “What now?” Film to begin at 7:00pm at Homewood Studios (2400 Plymouth Ave. N.) with discussion to follow. Metropolitan State Black and White art exhibit Jan. 24 -Mar. 1 Metropolitan State University Gordon Parks Gallery presents Black and White art exhibit. The exhibit runs from Jan. 24 through March 1 with a reception on Thursday, Feb. 7, from 4:30 –7 p.m. This is followed by an artists’ talk from 7–8 p.m. Gallery hours are Mondays–Thursdays, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; and Fridays– Saturdays, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. The gallery is located at the Saint Paul Campus in the Library and Learning Center, 645 East Seventh Street, Saint Paul. NHCC Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Concert Jan. 24 North Hennepin Community College is celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in concert on Thursday, January 24th at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Theatre. The concert will feature songs of praise by the NHCC Chamber Singers, directed by Karla Miller; Sandy Hodges and Friends; and Voices of Inspiration from Macedonia Baptist Church, directed by Nerita Hughes. This event is free and open to the public, with a meet and greet and refreshments preceding the concert. Theatre seating is limited, so arriving early is recommended. Sponsored by NHCC’s Diversity Council, Student Life, and the Fine Arts department. For more information, contact Sean Davis at 763-488-0490 or visit www.nhcc.edu.
Washburn A Mill Tour Jan. 19
Housing Empowerment Expo Jan. 26 Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is holding its annual Housing Empowerment Expo at Shiloh Temple Church from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday, January 26. This event is free.
other men who have murdered girlfriends, ex-wives, current wives, and domestic partners, didn’t get that memo. Increasingly, domestic violence, in both heterosexual and in LGBT communities, is beginning earlier and earlier. For example, the domestic violence statistics website tells us that “ Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationships said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.” Say what? What are we teaching, or not teaching, our sons, and what tools are giving our daughters and women we know to recognize and resist domestic violence? There are always apologies and pledges that it will never happen again. The statistics speak to the lie within those words. And, all too frequently, the assaulted person doesn’t press charges—out of fear, out of love, out of embarrassment, or all of the above. Today in the United States, young girls especially, as well as individuals who are in the less powerful role in any partnered relationship (which in a gay relationship is assumed to be the femme)
are being conditioned to believe that acts of violence in relationships are expressions of love. If a partner doesn’t hit you, then it must not be love. Elementary and middle schools are now having to grapple with relationship violence among students—and we think all teachers have to worry about is homework! Seven years ago, in 2005, I was invited to be a keynote at a conference entitled Gendered Resistance: “Women Opposing Sexual and Economic Subjugation in Global, Historical and Contemporary Contexts” at Miami University in Oxford, OH. I was asked to speak to the future and envision the kind of world we would need to eradicate violence against women. I was also preceded by one of the most amazing quilt exhibits that visually represented the range of violence against women globally prepared by Quilter extraordinaire Carolyn Mazloomi. At the opening of the exhibition, she confessed that she had completed the exhibit in three months or so, which was amazing given the difculty of the topic and complexity of her quilt making.
Please send cover letter and resume along with salary requirements to: sturner@sabathani.org by January 14, 2013. No phone calls please. For more information; visit our website at www.sabathani.org.
Violence
The Chik’n Wing and Curly Frye Circus Jan. 19 Family Fun with The Chik’n Wing and Curly Frye Circus! Clown favorites Chik’n Wing and Curley Frye bring their mix of original music, magic and other fun stuff to J. Arthur’s Coffee Co. Saturday Jan. 19 at 4PM. Balloons, face painting and refreshments are included. Admission is $5.00. J. Arthur’s Coffee Co. is located at 2441 Rice St. in Roseville, MN.
Email: info@insightnews.com Families can get information on how to buy and own a Habitat home for less than renting. There will also be information on how to get free help making home repairs. Plus learn about free help from Habitat on saving your home from foreclosure. Shiloh Temple Church is located at 1201 West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis, 55411. This event is open to everyone. No need to register, just show up. Get information about Twin Cities Habitat online at www. t c h a b i t a t . o rg < h t t p : / / w w w. tchabitat.org> or by calling 612-331-4090. Interlochen Center for the Arts Dance Auditions Jan. 27 Students in grades 6-12 are invited to attend an open-call dance audition for Interlochen Center for the Arts Dance on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at the James Sewell Ballet, 528 Hennepin Ave., Suite 205, Minneapolis. Auditions will include ballet, pointe and modern technique. Participating students will be considered for admission to Interlochen’s world-renowned summer arts program or ne arts boarding high school. Required audition dress for girls is black leotards and pink tights. Boys should wear white t-shirts and black tights. Registration starts at 1:00 p.m. and auditions will be held from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. www.interlochen.org/ dance2013 ‘A Century of Quilts’ on display in Hennepin Gallery Now thru Jan. 30 “A Century of Quilts” will be on display in the Hennepin Gallery from now until January 30. The exhibit provides a look at historic Hennepin County quilts from the Hennepin History Museum’s Permanent Collection. The quilts, designed and created by Hennepin County residents from 18601960, include a blue ribbon winner from the Minnesota State Fair. Designs include log cabins, sunbursts, optic blocks, applique, pieced and crazy quilts. Fabrics and bers used include feathers, silk, velvet, gingham, taffeta, satin and wool. The Hennepin Gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., at the Hennepin County Government Center, A Level, 300 S. Sixth St., Minneapolis. Enrollment opens for 2012 / 2013 Saint Paul Citizen’s Police Academy Now thru Feb 27 Classes begin Dec. 19 and continue through Feb. 27on Wed. evenings 6:30–9:30pm. 25 community members will participate in training modeled after the Police Academy program that police ofcers complete. No cost to CPA participants. The CPA is not intended to serve as accredited law enforcement courses but merely to provide insight to the internal workings of the police department. Applications due by Oct. 15 are available by calling CPA Coordinator Don Luna at 651. 266.5583.
Just the Facts Please In preparation for my talk, I asked the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) to assist me with the research. The amount of data they provided me was staggering, and I struggled with how to convey to my potential audience the enormous sweep of the violent acts that women confronted each day globally simply because of their gender, simply because they were born girls. In the end, I chose to write my talk as if it were a poem, and to use the “data” as refrains in a prose poem—in effect, to weave the data into a descriptive and narrative poem. I have adjusted some of the line breaks to t into the newspaper format, however. What follows is an excerpt from a larger work of the same title, (RE)Visioning a World Without Violence Against Women. I am honored that as a result of my talk, a group of women from some of the panels decided to compile an anthology that is forthcoming from the University of Illinois press; they chose to focus
VIOLENCE TURN TO 11
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Insight News • January 7 - January 13, 2013 • Page 11
HEALTH
A look at childhood cancer and African Americans By the National Cancer Institute Childhood cancer is rare— children with cancer account for less than 1 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States. But did you know that cancer is the second leading cause of death (after accidents) among children ages 1 to 14? It is estimated that in 2012 in the United States, more than 12,000 children (ages 0 to 14) will be diagnosed with cancer and more than 1,300 will die
from it. But there is good news, too. Over the past 20 years, childhood cancer deaths overall have dropped, and many more children are surviving a cancer diagnosis. For example, only 58 percent of children ages 0 to 14 diagnosed in 1975– 1977 lived at least 5 years after diagnosis, whereas it is estimated that more than 80 percent of those diagnosed today will make it to the 5-year mark. This improvement is due to remarkable advances in treatment and to the high
participation of children with cancer in clinical trials. Although African American children are less likely than white children to develop cancer, their 5-year survival rate is poorer, according to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. The most common types of childhood cancer are leukemias (blood cell cancers) and cancers of the brain and central nervous system. The causes of childhood cancers are largely
unknown, and researchers are trying to learn about possible risk factors. You can learn more about childhood cancers at NCI’s website. Just go to http:// www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/ types/childhoodcancers. Despite the improvements in outcomes overall, some types of childhood cancer remain very difcult to treat and have low cure rates. NCI continues to try to nd more effective treatments for all childhood cancers through research and clinical trials. If you have a child with cancer, have you
thought about enrolling your child in a clinical trial? It is important to take the time to learn about cancer clinical trials and what benets they may offer, even if you ultimately decide that a trial is not for your child. You can learn more about clinical trials at NCI’s website. Just go to http://cancer.gov/ clinicaltrials/learningabout. Remember, when it comes to your child’s health, knowing the facts and the options about treatment are critical. In the ght against cancer, clinical trials can offer hope and
promise, but the only way to know whether a clinical trial is right for your child is to educate yourself and get the facts. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI web site at www.cancer.gov/espanol (or m.cancer.gov from your mobile device) or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800422-6237). More articles and videos in the culturally relevant Lifelines series are available at www.cancer.gov/lifelines.
Glaucoma cases among African Americans to increase 66 percent by 2030 By National Eye Institute As you and your loved ones watch the dawning of 2013, everyone is hopeful of what the new year will bring—reunions, graduations, marriages, and other fun family occasions. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. Make seeing your best a part of your new beginning by doing what you can to make sure your eyes are healthy. If you are African American age 40 or older or have a family history of glaucoma, put learning more about this disease on your resolution list for the new year. There has been a steady rise in glaucoma among the African American community. Currently, more than 520,000 African Americans have glaucoma, and the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health projects this number will rise to approximately 865,000 cases by 2030, a 66 percent increase. African Americans have the highest prevalence of glaucoma among minority groups. Last year, NEI invested
Violence From 10 the anthology on the story of Margaret Garner, the slave whose narrative and trial were the inspiration for Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved and later was turned into an opera of the same name, also by Morrison. My concern in writing this work on “REVisioning” is the recognition, based on the ethnographic research I have conducted in Belize (see Women of Belize: Gender and Change in Central America) and in Surinam, that violence is too often a fact of life for women, and it begins very early. As an activist anthropologist, I seek to put my research to use, and in 1999, I drafted a signicant policy document entitled the National Plan for Family Violence for the country of Belize—the rst of its kind. That plan was recently revised, but I am proud that I had a hand in shaping the original that was implemented in 2000. Additionally, I have served as an expert witness on legal cases in which women seek immigration asylum on the basis of domestic violence.
Figure 1: Glaucoma Cases among African Americans: Past and Projected, 2000 to 2050 Source: National Eye Institute, 2012 $71 million on a wide range of studies to understand causes and potential areas of treatment for glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can damage the optic nerve of the eye and result in vision loss and blindness.
Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form. In this condition, uid builds up in the front chamber of the eye, and the optic nerve is damaged by the resulting increase in eye pressure. “Glaucoma affects more than
My testimony has helped one woman remain in the United States and escape domestic abuse in her own culture. What I have present below is intended to inform, and possibly to save lives, and to get us (our society) to think differently about the use of violence against women, and for all of us to engage in working to eradicate this problem, and begin to (RE) Vision a world where violence against women simple doesn’t exist—is a thing of the past. We as a society, as a global society, must recognize that violence against women is not a private matter; it is a societal crisis that ultimately affects our social fabric. Albert Memmi in his seminal book The Colonizer and the Colonized, spoke of the linkage between the oppressor and the oppressed. He asserted that both are wounded in the playing out of the unequal relationship. And talking about the problem is NOT enough. We must take action. The National Coalition against Domestic Violence has information on how you can be involved every month of the year. The life you save may be your own, your sister’s, your daughter’s, a friend’s, a relative, or a
stranger—regardless of the relationship, it will be a saved life. The Difcult Dialog of Domestic Violence Two Meditations on (RE) Visioning a World Without Violence Against Women (Excerpt) Meditation I All writing begins with a muse. Whom shall I call upon to inspire me? The voices, remember the voices. And so I shall begin with the voices: of women, here, and around the world. The voices of women, to tell the story of a world gone mad; of a world where a segment of one-half of the world’s population wakes up each morning fearful, simply because they are who they are—Women. They may experience an absence of security. They may experience violence: of the mind, of the emotions, of the body.
2.7 million people nationwide and is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in African Americans. In fact, African Americans are at risk of developing it at an earlier age than other racial and ethnic groups,” said Dr. James Tsai, chair of the
Glaucoma Subcommittee for the NEI National Eye Health Education Program. “Primary open-angle glaucoma often has no early symptoms. However, as the disease progresses, a person may eventually notice his or her side vision decreasing. If the disease is left untreated, the eld of vision narrows and vision loss may result.” “Studies show that at least half of all persons with glaucoma don’t know they have this potentially blinding eye disease,” said NEI director Dr. Paul Sieving. “The good news is that glaucoma can be detected in its early stages through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. NEI encourages all people at higher risk of glaucoma—African Americans age 40 or older; everyone age 60, especially Mexican Americans; and those with a family history— to get a dilated eye exam every one to two years, because early detection and timely treatment may save your sight.” During a comprehensive dilated eye exam, drops are placed in your eyes to dilate, or
widen, the pupils. This allows your eye care professional to see inside your eye and examine the optic nerve for signs of glaucoma and other vision problems. A test for eye pressure alone is not enough to detect glaucoma. “It’s very important that people don’t wait until they notice a problem with their vision to have an eye exam,” adds Dr. Tsai. If you have Medicare, are African American age 50 or older, have diabetes, or have a family history of glaucoma, you may be eligible for a low-cost, comprehensive dilated eye exam through the glaucoma benet. Call 1–800–MEDICARE or visit http://www.medicare.gov for more information. To nd out about other possible nancial assistance for eye care, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/ nancialaid.asp. It’s a new year, so make sure you and your family start it off right. Keep vision in your future. For more information about glaucoma, visit http://www.nei. nih.gov/glaucoma or call NEI at 301–496–5248.
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Girl Scouts and Sigma Gamma Rho help girls imagine engineering careers Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has joined forces with Sigma Gamma Rho, one of the nation’s largest African American sororities, to help build awareness of career possibilities in science, technology, and engineering among girls and parents in the African American community. Working with local Girl Scout councils around the country, Sigma Gamma Rho’s alumnae chapters have made GSUSA’s Imagine Engineering initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, a focus of the sorority’s annual National Youth Symposium. “Girl Scouting and Sigma Gamma Rho have the same goal: to build the nation’s future leaders by helping girls dream big and accomplish much today,” said GSUSA Chief Executive Ofcer Anna Maria Chávez. “We are delighted to be part of this partnership to help girls do great things in critical elds such as science, technology, engineering and math.” “Response to Imagine Engineering has been terric,” said Sigma Gamma Rho National President Bonita Herring. “We surveyed 250 girls who took part in the program, and more than two thirds of them said they now understood how ‘someone like me’ could become an engineer.” “We will not only expand our efforts with this program, but we will reach out to girls
Girl Scouts of the USA
nationwide in our communities with a combination of our own healthy living program,
Project Reassurance, and the Girl Scouts’ program for middle-school girls on healthy
relationships and bullying,” Herring said. “Through this continued partnership, we are
going to do great things together for girls.” For more information on
GSUSA’s Imagine Engineering initiative visit www.girlscouts. org/imagineengineering/.
MDH warns of deceptive sales of water treatment systems By Minnesota Department of Health The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is reminding Minnesota residents to beware of false claims, deceptive sales pitches, and scare tactics being used by some water treatment companies to sell expensive and unnecessary water
treatment systems. High prole investigations of groundwater contamination in Washington County and elsewhere in the state have resulted in a noticeable increase in the number of complaints regarding such deceptive sales activities. Recently Richeld police issued an alert after residents reported getting green bottles left on their doorstep with a
request for a water sample. After providing a sample, a homeowner received a visit from a salesman with an aggressive sales pitch for a treatment system costing more than $6,000 and had difculty getting the salesman to leave. Ofcials in Falcon Heights also alerted residents after complaints of water testing kits and personal information requests being left at
people’s doors. The city directed residents to call 911 if they saw anyone dropping off testing kits. Several cities have complained about a website containing misleading information about municipal water suppliers and what tests are done on drinking water. The website has been used to try to sell treatment systems to homeowners. While the pitch varies in
THE NUMBER OF MINNESOTA MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE CURRENT TOBACCO USERS. = 1,000 Students
77,000 After a decade of sharp decline, progress in reducing tobacco use among Minnesota kids has stalled. Despite knowing the health dangers, too many teens are smoking, creating for many a lifetime of addiction, heart and lung disease, and worse. Learn more at stillaproblem.com.
Tobacco is still a big problem in Minnesota.
these situations, the salesperson nearly always: • Recites a list of recent groundwater contamination problems across the state, regardless of whether the contamination actually affects the resident or not. • Conducts a series of water quality “tests” that the salesperson claims indicate the presence of contamination, when in fact they may simply indicate the presence of naturally occurring minerals in the water. • Misrepresents state and federal drinking water standards, claiming the resident’s water exceeds those standards, and implying the water is unsafe to drink. • Offers a “one-time only” offer of a water treatment system at a “greatly reduced” price, when in fact the systems are being sold at grossly inated prices. In some of the worst instances, the salesperson has implied or said that he is working with the city’s water utility or the state health department. In most cases, the systems are being sold for thousands of dollars more than they would cost if bought through a reputable water treatment company. Even legitimate water treatment systems can be very expensive and if poorly operated or maintained may have limited effectiveness and, in some cases, make the water quality worse. Water treatment systems should be installed only if actually needed and selected to address the specic water problem. If you use city water, it is safe to drink unless you are notied directly by the city that the water is not safe to drink. The United States Environmental Protection Agency sets standards for public water supplies and the water is tested regularly to ensure that these standards are met. You may nd out the results of tests on a public water supply by contacting your water utility. Water from a private well should also be free of unsafe levels of man-made contaminants if the well is properly constructed, is drawing from a safe aquifer, and has not been ooded or otherwise compromised. However, the only way to be certain about the quality of the water from a private well is to have it tested by a competent water testing laboratory. To nd out where you can get your water tested, contact your community health service, local health department, or the Minnesota Department of Health, http://www.health. state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/ waterquality/test.html#labs If you are considering the purchase of a home water treatment system, MDH recommends the following:
•
Make sure the treatment system or device you are considering is certied to achieve the results being claimed. Reliable certiers include: NSF International, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the Water Quality Association (WQA). Links to these organizations can be found at http://www.health. state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/ links.html. • Work with a reputable water treatment company that has experience working in your area. • Verify that the installation is done by a licensed plumber or licensed water conditioning contractor (as required by state law). Such plumbers and contractors are licensed through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (http:// www.dli.mn.gov/CCLD/ Plumbing.asp). • Compare water treatment systems and prices. • If you obtain your drinking water from a public water supply, such as a city system, contact your local water system for more information regarding your water quality. • If you use a private well, contact your county public health agency, the Minnesota Department of Health, or the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding water quality in your area. • If you are contacted by a company to test your water and they say they are working with your city or the state, ask for the name and phone number of the company’s contact person at that agency. It is also important to remember that maintenance of any water treatment system or device is critical for long-term performance. Filters may need to be replaced, recharged or backwashed on a regular basis to ensure continued efcient removal of chemicals and to prevent the growth of bacteria or the formation of nitrite. Be wary of companies that claim their systems are maintenance free. Those who believe they have been provided false or misleading information or that they have been subjected to unfair or high-pressure tactics in the course of a sales visit should contact the Minnesota Attorney General’s ofce Consumer Complaints division at 651-2963353 or 800-657-3787 or online at http://www.ag.state.mn.us/ Consumer/Complaint.asp. Additional information about drinking water and home water treatment systems is available on the MDH website at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/ divs/eh/wells/index.html and http://www.health.state.mn.us/ divs/eh/water/factsheet/com/ pou.html