Insight News ::: 04.14.14

Creating Home: Sarah White & Rico Mendez of Shiro Dame talk N.Y., music and parenting MORE ON PAGE 5

April 14 - April 20, 2014

Vol. 41 No. 16 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Race and racism: Myth and reality

By Kam Williams “From today’s perspective in a media-soaked world all too familiar with the genomic footprints of human DNA and the tracings of the doublehelix back to an African origin, it has become considerably easier to accept the notion that, like nations, ‘races’ are what Benedict Anderson calls ‘imagined communities’— social constructs, fabrications made in history by historical forces, and which acquire meaning only in relation to identifiable others.

But it is also easy to forget that just 20 years ago, the explanatory power of race had not yet been deconstructed thoroughly enough to prevent the best-selling publication of…

Charles Murray’s “The Bell Curve,” wherein the ancient logics of racial inferiority and domination were reconfigured in full display, with all the illusory trappings of authoritative social

science.”

-- From the Introduction by Professor John S. Wright (page 2) The Genome Project has proven scientifically that there’s only one race, the human race. But despite definitive proof that race is purely a fabrication of man’s imagination, racism continues to persist.

That confounding conundrum is the subject of “The Myth of Race, The Reality of Racism,” a collection of enlightening essays by Mahmoud El-Kati.

Professor El-Kati, a distinguished lecturer in History at Macalester University, makes the most of this opportunity to trace the derivation of the word “race” back to 1570 before chronicling the subsequent evolution of racism into an oppressive political and cultural ideology employed by Europeans to rationalize the exploitation and marginalization

RACISM TURN TO 11

studiotobechi

Professor Mahmoud El-Kati

NNPA Photo by Jazelle Hunt

UNCF President Michael Lomax deplores changes in parents PLUS loans.

Prospective PBFI students learn colors and body parts.

Photo courtesy of Pierre Bottineau school

Open or closed: What happened to Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School?

By Sarah Lahm, TC Daily Planet This is one of a series of four articles looking for lessons to be learned from Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School, the first school to open under Minnesota’s site-governed schools law, passed in 2009.

In the fall of 2012, after

more than three years of planning and preparation, Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School (PBFI), opened in north Minneapolis. Just over one year later, the school’s independent governing council, which manages the school under the authority of the Minneapolis School Board, recommended that the school be closed. Now it looks like the school will remain

open for at least one more year, but not as a language immersion school. After the high hopes and hard work that went into Minnesota’s first site-governed school, what happened? And what can Minneapolis learn from this experience?

JoElllyn Jolstad is a Minneapolis Public Schools parent and is employed by the district as a family liaison. In

2009, Jolstad was working with Gaelle Berg, a World Languages Curriculum Specialist for MPS, on how to create more “language pathways” for students. In particular, Jolstad said, they discussed the “desert of language instruction” in North Minneapolis, while Southwest Minneapolis had “lots of intact

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UNCF update: A mind is ‘a wonderful thing to invest in’

By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – For the first time in 42 years, the United Negro College Fund has altered its signature phrase. Now, a mind is not only “a terrible thing to waste,” but “a wonderful thing to invest in.”

The change is part of a UNCF’s campaign to provide emergency support in the face of a financial aid crisis facing Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their students.

UNCF President Michael Lomax

selected the National Press Club as the venue to call for renewed financial support for the 37 HBCU member institutions.

“Today our member schools are facing a financial crisis as severe as any in UNCF history,” Lomax said. “The irony of this situation is that the financial crisis comes at a time when interest by African American high school students in attending HBCUs has been on the rise for over a decade.”

Between 2001 and 2013, UNCF member private colleges have seen a 78 percent rise in

UNCF TURN TO 3

Insight 2 Health

Commentary

Lifestyle

Business

Putting in the work

Get the money out of politics

Traxler confronts social norms

Champion: Take advantage of new tax breaks

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Page 2 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Insight News

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PUTTING IN THE WORK

By Al McFarlane Editor-in-Chief

L

ast week I wrote about the private elation I held at the prospect of getting in my fitness workout as one of about 30 enrolled in the current Insight2Health Fitness Challenge. The challenge, the first of three this year, started March 15th and runs for 10 weeks into mid May. I was gloating because I answered the call. I had declared my commitment to the work, the demanding work required if you are earnest about getting fit, losing weight, and lifestyle change.

Commitment notwithstanding, I know that the spirit of the slackard also roosts comfortably in me.

So I hoped for a degree of anonymity in the crowd of 30.

I hoped for a break, an extra moment of rest, the occasional pass, the overlooking of lack of form and something akin to sympathy from the task masters, that acknowledge that I least I showed up.

No Mercy That was weigh-in day. It was a casual meet and greet affair. We connected with new friends, new trainers, and with our excellent nutritionist, NorthPoint Health & Wellness’ Karen Blanchard, and our new life coach, Michelle Magnuson, a Reiki Master and Chakra guru who owns Energized Coaching in Minneapolis.

But Monday, it was a different story.

We crowded in The Fit Lab, beginning our warm up on a 200 foot lap between the front and back of the fitness gym. Walk 10 laps. Run two laps. Change directions.

Walk 10 laps. Run 10 laps.

Hit the stairs…up and down the two flights about five times.

Oh, somebody showed up late for class? Everybody….

Burpies and squats till we say stop…..

And then we began the warm up.

This hour was so intense, I felt like throwing up. I didn’t though. I just smiled and thanked Tyrone Minor and his team of instructors.

This is all about getting the work in.

Photos by: Alaina L. Lewis

Top: Adero Riser Cobb and Charlene Bradley Middle: Rachel Shutz, Branden Cantrell and Rosanna Hudgins Bottom: Branden Cantrell

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Insight News • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Page 3

HEALTH

Keep a healthy gut

By Gerald W. Deas M.D., MPH, Special to the NNPA from the New York Amsterdam News The only time that you know you have a gut is when it either growls or cramps up, causing pain. Oh, there’s another time you know you have a gut. It’s when you look down and can’t see your knees.

That’s really not an enlarged gut, but a collection of fat in the wall of the abdomen. The abdomen is filled with many organs such as the liver, spleen, pancreas and stomach. However, the gut occupies most of the space in the abdomen.

From the time partially digested food leaves the stomach, it begins its long journey through the gut until whatever is left is eliminated with a bowel movement. After leaving the 23 feet of small intestines, the mess enters the large gut. Speaking of mess, I remember that in the hood, when someone called you a mess, it was not a compliment.

A statement such as “Child, you sure are a mess” was a common greeting when you didn’t look or act right.

School From 1 language pathways.”

Berg had a background in French instruction; together, she and Jolstad collaborated with Barbara Anderson, an experienced Edina French immersion teacher, and Patrick Henry High School French teacher Tina Maynor to put together a proposal for a new French immersion school for Minneapolis.

Jolstad, Berg, Anderson, and Maynor spent the summer of 2009 drafting their proposal, which was then approved for further consideration by a “Bridge Committee” created jointly

by MPS and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT).

This committee, which included parents, teachers, and community members, had been tasked with finding ways to turn site-governed schools into a reality. The Bridge Committee liked the French immersion school proposal and recommended that it be

UNCF From 1 applications. But this rise in interest, plus lack of funds for scholarships and increased need among families who are just now recovering from the recession, have converged to form a perfect storm that threatens students’ ability to attend.

In his remarks, Lomax condemned recent changes to the Direct PLUS loan as one of the largest stumbling blocks for current and aspiring HBCU students. The Direct PLUS loan is a low-interest, credit-based, federal loan for parents to fund their children’s college education.

The newly-required credit check bars only those with significant “adverse” credit issues, such as a tax lien, home foreclosure, or 90-day-late debt payment. The PLUS loan was particularly beneficial to families of color with little to no credit, as well as those with too much income to qualify for need-based aid, but too little to foot the bill.

In October 2011, the Department of Education toughened its definition of adverse credit, in response to an internal report warning against granting loans to those who may be incapable of repaying them.

Now, parents with any accounts in collection within the last five years; any unpaid collection accounts (ever); any loan defaults, (ever, even if the claim has been paid); and any defaulted contracts or leases, are ineligible for a Direct PLUS loan.

Consequently, many Black colleges are complaining that they are losing students who otherwise would be on campus.

Parents and colleges were neither consulted during decisionmaking, nor informed of these changes in advance. Many families who had been initially

Dr. Gerald Deas The mess that enters the large gut is a semi-liquid, and the process of compacting it by the absorption of water begins. In other words, the large gut is known as the great compactor. The lining of the large gut is very sensitive to toxins, as well as to certain food items such as lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. For example, if you are lactose sensitive, your gut will begin to growl and cramp, and all I can say is, don’t be in a place where there is no toilet or you will be embarrassed.

Another sugar found in beans can also insult the gut and make you run in a different direction. In fact, we had an old saying in the hood: “Beans, beans, when you eat a lot, the more you eat, the more you fart.” My mom wasn’t

PhotoXpress

particular about that expression.

Another bean rhyme stated, “Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot.” Beans, however, are full of rich fiber and are excellent for a healthy gut. Fiber, insoluble and

soluble, does magic in the gut by keeping the walls protected from toxic substances, thereby preventing irritation and the beginning of cancer cells forming.

The large gut works 24/7. You may not even recognize that you

have a working gut until you put your ear to the abdomen either literally or with a stethoscope and hear mild gushing sounds.

On the other hand, if you are experiencing abdominal pain and hear no sounds of gut function,

submitted to the Minneapolis School Board for approval.

It was at this point, according to Jolstad, that her group’s original vision for a new French Immersion School began to take on a different look. Jolstad says that she, along with Berg, Anderson, and Maynor, had originally imagined that the new school would be placed in the district’s empty Tuttle building in southeast Minneapolis, as she says the neighborhood there was “begging for the school.” The thought was that Pierre Bottineau, as the city’s only French immersion school, would attract families from all over Minneapolis, who would be bused there by the Minneapolis Public Schools. Looking back, Jolstad now calls this a “fantasy.”

Reality hit, according to Jolstad, when Minneapolis Public Schools employee Jill Stever-Zeitlin, who was the Director of Strategic Planning, jumped in to help “ensure the proposal fit with the district’s Strategic Plan.”

This plan was very focused on using new schools—including

charter schools—to tackle the “achievement gap.” This included moving the school’s location from the Tuttle building to shared space with the district’s Hmong International Academy on 30th Avenue North. Rather than growing the school’s enrollment through citywide busing, the district would bus only students in the immediate neighborhood to the school.

Jolstad’s group presented the revised plan to the Minneapolis School Board in January, 2010; the board approved the French immersion school proposal two months later. It then took two and a half more years to get the school up and running because of all the details that needed to be ironed out, such as hiring a director for the school, establishing a curriculum, finding qualified French-fluent teachers, and recruiting enough students to meet a 100-student enrollment goal. Problems with the school’s structure soon emerged.

What is a sitegoverned school?

in Lakeville, and a new career and technical education high school program was recently created in the Staples-Motely school district.

According to the language of the law, site-governed schools are not charter schools because they must operate within an established public school district, while charter schools become their own district.

Site-governed schools employ unionized teachers, although any negotiated contract with a teachers union can be altered,

awarded funds for the 2011-2012 school year were surprised to find themselves suddenly no longer eligible for the 2012-2013 year.

“We were blindsided by the changes that, literally, from one day to the next, made many thousands of these parents ineligible for parent PLUS loans,” Lomax said. “The impact on students who depended on PLUS loans was immediate, and devastating. Many who arrived at their college dorms after summer break, in fall 2012, were literally turned away at door.”

According to Lomax, approximately 28,000 HBCU students were affected, accounting for more than half the PLUS loan denials that school year. UNCF member schools reported a $155 million loss in revenue. As a result of public outcry, largely led by HBCUs and the Congressional Black Caucus, the Department of Education pledged a review of its credit requirements, and established a process for parents to appeal their loss of eligibility.

In the meantime, there is not enough money to go around among private aid organizations.

UNCF, for example, has raised $3.6 billion in it existence to send more than 400,000 students to college. But for every student it awards today, nine more applicants are denied.

Those who are awarded are likelier to graduate, compared to African Americans students in general. According to a report, “Building Better Futures: The Value of the UNCF Investment,” 70 percent of UNCF scholarship awardees in 2006 were likely to graduate within six years.

Lomax elaborated, “The [national] six-year graduation rate for African Americans is 40 percent. If we could increase that rate by just 7 percentage points, we would graduate close to 16,000 more African Americans with bachelor’s degrees each year.”

Additionally, 94 percent of African American freshman who were awarded loans in 2006 re-enrolled the following year.

Nationally, the retention rate was 78 percent for all students.

In addition to scholarships for Black students, HBCUs themselves are also valuable.

African American students, particularly first generation and low-income students, tend to view HBCUs as a more affordable and more welcoming option for quality higher education. On average, tuition at UNCF member HBCUs is 30 percent less than that of comparable institutions.

And there are more intrinsic draws, Lomax said.

“First, [high school students] say [HBCUs] feel like home – they feel like family. Second, they believe HBCUs will help them explore themselves as an individual, rather than as a statistic. And finally, at an HBCU, they feel they can learn more about where they come from,” he explained. “This is a powerful set of motivations…but desire and high motivation however, are not the same as scholarship funding.”

Lomax also discussed the preparation level of today’s incoming freshmen, the value (and lack thereof) of for-profit colleges, and the balance between trade schools and college.

Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Danny Davis (D-Ill.) were also in attendance at the National Press Club event. Both Congressmen are HBCU alums, and took the opportunity to speak in support of renewed investment.

“If it hadn’t been for these colleges and universities, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” Lewis stated. “Without these colleges and universities, we wouldn’t have a modern-day Civil Rights Movement. These colleges and universities bring about a nonviolent revolution, a revolution of values, a revolution of ideas.”

Minnesota’s site-governed schools law, passed in 2009, was an attempt to create autonomous, teacher-led schools within existing school districts. . Minneapolis’ Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School became the first new school authorized under this bill. Two more site-governed schools have now opened: a K-4 “school within a school” opened in 2013

medical attention is warranted because the gut may be paralyzed from exposure to a leak in the abdominal cavity from the gut itself.

Now, getting down to the nitty-gritty: If certain areas of the wall of the gut become weak, small sacs develop, which are known as diverticula. These sacs often become infected by bacteria, resulting in the condition diverticulitis, which causes cramping of the gut, resulting in loose stools and oftentimes bleeding.

Blood in the stool that is the result of bleeding in the large bowel is usually red. Blood found in the stool that originates from the stomach is usually black due to a reaction of the hydrochloric acid and the blood. In medical jargon, black stools are known as tarry stools. In other words, they’re as black as tar. Whether the blood in the stool is grossly apparent or microscopic, it can be detected by a simple chemical test. The test should be negative if the bowel is healthy. Blood in the stool should always be evaluated with diagnostic tests to determine its origin.

as site-governed schools create their own “Memorandum of Agreement” that establishes conditions of employment for any teacher hired by the school.

According to a 2009 interview with Minneapolis teachers’ union president Lynn Nordgren, “’teachers know students best and know what works for them,’” and would therefore be willing to adhere to “accountability” in order to gain more autonomy and flexibility.

SCHOOL TURN TO 4

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Page 4 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Insight News

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COMMENTARY Get the money out of politics Nobody Asked Me

By Fred Easter Nobody asked me, but, watching television commercials these days has become an exercise in suspended intelligence and memory.

It seems impossible these days to get through an entire program without having at least

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two financial companies ask you if you are readying yourself for retirement. “Will you be able to maintain your lifestyle? How long will your retirement nest egg last you?

Am I the only person in America that remembers the billions of dollars these same, under-regulated companies converted into thin air and upper management bonuses less than a decade ago? Those billions were the retirement hopes and dreams of millions of American employees. Financial companies were also selling questionable mortgages, packaging them for resale and then profiting on bets that the loan packages they had sold would fail.

“Too big to fail” banks and investment companies have wiped out homeowners and working folk. Now they beg you to forget their misdeeds and bring them your retirement dreams again, in the form of your hard earned folding money.

Other commercials I find particularly galling are clustered under the heading “energy.”

We have to get money out of politics and its puppets out of legislative houses.

Companies selling natural gas and oil are jamming the airwaves with claims of “safe extraction,” “job creation,” and “safe product transportation.”

Twenty-five years after the Exxon Valdez ran aground, and days after a collision near Galveston, Tex. is fouling beaches there, BP is telling us about their double-hulled tankers.

It is also difficult to avoid

Clarence Hightower, Executive Director, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties In January 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson stood before the nation to deliver his first State of the Union.

During his address he proclaimed, “This administration declares unconditional war on poverty in America. The richest nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it.

For the war against poverty will not be won here in Washington (D.C.). It must be won in the

Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams

field, in every private home, in every public office, from the courthouse to the White House.”

This bold pronouncement affirmed many elements of President John F. Kennedy’s blueprint for a “New Frontier.”

Likewise it supported the vision and aspirations of the late President’s brother-in-law, the American statesman and antipoverty crusader Robert Sargent Shriver.

Consequently, the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was established and the Community Action movement was born in America.

That summer, St. Paul Mayor George Vavoulis and United Way planner, Bill Hoffman, traveled

Homebuyer Education

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Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Contributing Writers Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Timothy Houston Penny Jones-Richardson Toki Wright Alaina L. Lewis Darren Moore Alysha Price Photography Michele Spaise Corey Collins 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.

in researching the possible “unintended consequences” of their latest profit making plan.

Coal ash is flowing in rivers in West Virginia and Ohio. Oil is still present on Alaskan shores from a 25-year-old spill. I would be surprised if one couldn’t find oil on Spanish and Portuguese beaches from an accident in the North Sea nearly 50 years ago.

We all know they will screw it up sooner or later. Sooner or later, they will screw it up.

Many of the jobs they create will be jobs cleaning up their messes. And, if we all survive the next accident; there they’ll be, like the current GM CEO, apologizing and promising to pay closer attention next time. We need to pretty please just either don’t create stiffer penalties and regulations or put the regulators in the hands of a Congress (but they’ve already bought and paid for most in the House). Our only solution is to get money out of politics and its puppets out of our legislative houses.

Agency provides critical services to low-income populations

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hearing how America leads the world in natural gas production and what that means for job creation and “safe, affordable” energy. I wonder if these commercials are being aired in communities where oil from leaky pipelines is bubbling up in the streets. Or in Oklahoma, where over 100 earthquakes were recorded during one weekend last month; or in Pennsylvania, where folks are

developing rashes from the water in their showers.

Apparently, the combination of having billions of dollars and having spent a lifetime being white and “entitled” blinds those folk to the principles of physics and geology. They seem to think that, for millions of years, the process of evolution has been pointed toward creating them. Recent events in the state of Washington and the continuous activity of volcanoes around the world should suggest to thoughtful individuals that this earth we walk around on is, in point of fact, a dynamic organism. Burrowing deep into the earth’s crust and setting off explosions is lunacy.

Earthquakes are caused when the earth’s tectonic plates shift relative to one another. When this happens at sea tsunamis can result. Building a huge pipeline over the continent’s major water aquifer is also lunacy.

These guys have developed the technology to blow up gas and oil shale strata but not the wisdom to or interest

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to Washington, D.C. to request OEO funds to launch a new poverty program in the greater St. Paul area. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of the Ramsey County Citizens Committee on Economic Opportunity (RCCCEO), which became one of the first community action agencies in the State of Minnesota. As a voice for the poor in the community, the RCCCEO set out to help low-income and minority communities reach their full potential, while making sure Head Start and other vital programs in the areas of education and employment got off the ground.

In November 1968, the RCCCEO was cited as “one of the best organized and most efficiently run local OEO offices” by regional standards and was recommended to administer manpower programs in Washington and Dakota Counties. By 1970, the agency had changed its name to Ramsey Action Programs (RAP) and significantly expanded its services to include several year-round Head Start centers, multiple programs for seniors, legal assistance, emergency support and community based health services. In 2004, RAP changed its name to Community Action Partnership of Ramsey &

Washington Counties (CAPRW) to signify a refocused strategy as a catalyst for change as well as to better reflect the agency’s entire service area and its four-decade history as part of the community action movement.

Since its inception 50 years ago, CAPRW has been a forerunner in providing critical services to low-income and historically underserved populations including the African-American, NativeAmerican, Asian-American and Hispanic-American communities. The mission of the agency is to reduce poverty and its impacts on people in Ramsey and Washington counties.

CAPRW has been recognized for both its innovation and best practices and has previously spearheaded or partnered on a number of other antipoverty initiatives and studies, including Opportunity St. Paul, the Community Blueprint to End Poverty, the Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 and the Northwest Area Foundation’s Community Perspectives on Poverty.

Today, community action programs provide direct services to almost 25,000 lowincome households each year.

Agency programs include Head Start, Early Head Start, energy

assistance, energy conservation, and multiple self-sufficiency strategies designed to meet the social, cultural, educational, economic and employment needs of low-income citizens.

CAPRW’s self-sufficiency programs include Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM), Project Success, Car Ownership, and Food Support.

Other agency initiatives such as You Be the Change are designed to increase civic engagement, develop community leaders, and foster new and innovative partnerships to fight poverty.

As the demographics have changed over the years, CAPRW continues to evolve in order to provide responsive and accessible programming to an increasingly diverse service area that now includes new Americans from East Africa, Southeast Asia, and eastern Europe. In 2014, both program participants and agency staff are fundamentally every bit as diverse as is the agency’s service area. Currently, CAPRW employees collectively speak more than 20 separate languages, most of which are required to perform specific job duties and further reflect the diverse populations that we serve. To learn more about CAPRW’s programs and services, please visit us at www.caprw.org.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Please don’t touch my hair

By Zora Rabb I am a biracial woman (AfricanAmerican and European descent).

I have voluminous curly hair that I wear naturally. I am always surprised by the reactions I get from people about my natural hair. I have had complete strangers touch my hair, making me feel violated and I have had numerous hair salon tragedies.

Women of color with Afros and curls are raised in a society that tells them there is something wrong with their natural hair.

From a young age, we are told our hair needs to be changed or tamed. We are taught that society will not accept us naturally and that we need to change our hair to resemble the straighter hair of people of European descent. I have had debates in the mirror before job interviews on whether or not I should change my hairstyle that day in fears that my natural hair may be too intimidating for the interviewers.

If you look at a timeline of

School From 3 The Minneapolis Public School district then received

Zora Rabb

Adam Hester

African-American women’s hair throughout history, wearing natural hair was only a popular hairstyle during slavery and in the 1970s, which is probably why my natural hairstyle has led to people telling me that I look progressive. I have talked with other AfricanAmerican women who wear their hair naturally about their experiences and there is always a similar factor of people being very curios. This curiosity about our natural hair plays out in many ways, from people with similar hair asking about how to achieve it, or curious about how to maintain it, to an

a $75,000 development grant, which was state-funded and facilitated by the Minnesota Department of Education. Some of this money went to St. Paul education advocacy group, Education Evolving, which promotes teacher-led charter and

outsider feeling the urge to uninvitedly touch it.

Curiosity is understandable due to the history of AfricanAmerican hair and the fact that it is almost taboo. However, its how we handle that curiosity that I believe is very important.

When a person comes up to me and touches my hair out of curiosity – especially when that person is of European descent, I feel degraded. It is inappropriate to touch a stranger, and when someone touches my hair without asking I feel as though they feel a certain amount of entitlement.

African-American women and girls, and women and girls of color should be able to wear their hair naturally if they want to without having to worry about how they will be received – or random people touching it.

There has been a history of our bodies being owned by others and it is about time that we have ownership of our bodies and our hair.

Zora Rabb is a senior at Augsburg College majoring in social work.

district schools, so they could create guides and application materials for site-governed schools. The rest of the grant money went to site-based teams who wanted to put forth an application for self-governance.

creating

home

Sarah White & Rico Mendez of Shiro Dame talk N.Y., music and parenting

By Toki Wright Twitter - @mrwrighttc

Sometimes you have to leave where you’re from to find your place.

The story of Sarah White and Rico Simon Mendez is a journey through the creative process. This creation manifested itself in various forms including giving birth to new ideas and the two children they share.

The two are parents, partners, band mates and visual artists all wrapped into one. Mendez and White’s band, Shiro Dame, aims to create an alternative space with a new sound dubbed “neon

soul.” I recently spoke with the two about their experiences and the direction of the band.

Recently returning to the Twin Cities after years of living in Brooklyn, White and Mendez have been at the forefront of a new movement of eclectic tastemakers in town. The pair effortlessly blends their unique sound with a striking visual presence. Sarah White (also known by her DJ name Sarah White Black) splits time between singing, emceeing, photography, parenting and her

Photo by Iza (their 9 year-old daughter)

creative events production company, Scenery Events. Mendez is also a father, DJ, music producer, and musician. It seems the interest in having their hands in all things creative has heavily influenced their mixed-bag sound.

“As a collective we are at a place where we continually change our sound and were really hungry for a sound we are not hearing,” said Mendez. “I do a lot right now. I’m really busy.”

SHIRO DAME TURN TO 6

International Film Festival St. Anthony Main Theater 115 Main St. SE, Minneapolis Runs thought April 19 www.mspfilmsociety.org The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) is the largest film event in the region, and one of the largest and longest running film festivals in the country. The MSPIFF annually presents some 200 feature length and short form narrative and documentary films from 60-plus countries.

April 14 - 20

Tuesday, April 15

Aesthetically It! is a list of picks from the editors of Aesthetically Speaking.

Aesthetically It! features venues, events, outings and more that are worthy of “It” status. If you have a venue, event or outing that you feel is “It” worthy, email us.

Monday, April 14 Minneapolis

St.

Paul

From Mambo to Hip-Hop: Film Screening and Discussion Augsburg College 2211 Riverside Ave. S., Minneapolis Science Building room 123 Free admission Save The Kids Augsburg College and Augsburg Latin American Students (ALAS) are hosting a film screening of the documentary “From Mambo to Hip-Hop” followed by a discussion on the film and

Toki Wright and Big Cats Latino contributions to hip-hop culture.

Directed by Henry Chalfant, the film presents a panoramic view of the music that blossomed in the Latino community of the South Bronx from the late 1940s, when Mambo burst onto the New York scene, through the

birth of hip-hop in the 1970s.

Felipe Cuauhtli of Los Nativos will be a special guest speaker.

Wednesday, April 16

Soul Birthed Us w/ Lia Renee Dior, BdotCroc, Danami and The Blue, DJ KEEZY Honey 205 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis 7:00 p.m.

21-plus,

$7 Advance, $10 door Soul Birthed Us is a bi-annual music event honoring soul music of the 1950s – 1980s featuring video screenings and original music performances

IT! TURN TO 7

Page 6 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Aesthetically Speaking

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9th Annual Jazz In The Gardens sets attendance records with first class performances and surprise celebrity appearances MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Record breaking numbers attended the two-day total Miami Gardens 9th Annual Jazz in the Gardens music festival at Sun Life Stadium that featured among others Mint Condition.

This year’s attendance surpassed last year’s, jumping from 63,000 to 68,000.

Organizers credited its A-list performers, and extraordinary weather for the remarkable tickets sales.

Fans from all across the nation and abroad, danced in aisles to performances from Mint Condition, LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, Anthony Hamilton, Stanley Clarke, Rachelle Farrell and Boney James. The festival was hosted by comedian, actor, author, political commentator and syndicated radio host D.L. Hughley.

This year’s star-studded

lineup featured surprise appearances by Nelly who appeared to support Kelly Rowland’s performance of the duo’s 2002 hit, “Dilemma.”

Superstar comedian, Kevin Hart had the crowd in stitches before Trey Songz took the stage.

“The Human Beat Box,” Doug E. Fresh was the weekend’s hardest working artist with performances at the Friday night pre-party, Saturday with Jamie Foxx and Sunday with Stanley Clarke. Crooner, Tank added more R&B to Foxx’s Saturday set with a performance of, “Please Don’t Go.” Foxx’s “Unpredictable” set showcased his wide array of talent with a mixture of R&B,

Photo courtesy of the artist

Mint Condition comedy and theater. His Ray Charles-like performance of “ Georgia “ was spot-on and “Blame It” was appropriate for the ladies that participated in the onstage dance contest for

$5,000 cash.

The crowd went wild for three-time NBA Champion, Dwyane Wade and BET’s star of “Being Mary Jane,” Gabrielle Union’s introduction of LL Cool J. LL Cool J energetically graced the stage and performed all his old school hip-hop classics including “Rock The Bells” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Rachelle Ferrell’s show was a tough act to follow; her six-octave range had the crowd on their feet with her performance of her signature hit, “Nothing Has Ever Felt

Shiro Dame From 5 Being curious about their introduction to music I asked the duo about their path.

“I first started singing at two or three (years old),” said White.

“I would pray for stuffed animals and push my brother over with the Holy Ghost. I studied voice in elementary and middle school and I found hip-hop in high school and wiped the slate clean.”

A south Minneapolis native, White moved to Brooklyn after falling in love with the city on tour. Mendez, originally from St.

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Like This.” Boney James’ mastery of the saxophone was only matched by Stanley Clarke’s genius on the bass.

Mint Condition showcased their range and gave the crowd what they wanted with an incredible performance of, “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes).”

Anthony Hamilton’s soulful performance was a weekend favorite.

D.L. Hughley delighted attendees by bringing fellow comedian Sommore onstage late Sunday night before the final performance of the weekend, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly.

Syndicated radio host Tom Joyner stopped by to catch a few Saturday performances and living legend and social activist Harry Belafonte was also in attendance.

All of the action at Sun Life Stadium was preceded by performances on Friday night from S.O.S. Band, Dazz Band and Doug E. Fresh at Calder Casino’s Turf Club at the inaugural Jazz in the Gardens Friday Night Pre-party.

Paul, gravitated to learning more about his indigenous culture and incorporating those histories into his music.

“My Chicano roots go back to indigenous people from Aztec and Mayan, to Huichol Indian,” said Mendez (also known as DJ Don Cuco), who blends guitar, synth sounds, and percussion with indigenous instruments. “I think spiritually even if you aren’t accustomed to them I think they can grasp you. That rain stick might alter your mood because it’s more of a natural element.”

Being different was an early influence on White. She studied Japanese for two years and that influenced in the naming of the group. “Shiro means white, which is my last name. When I grew up everyone called me ‘White Girl.’

People always said that I didn’t act the way I was supposed to act because of the school I went to – the way I talked, and the way I dressed was like a white girl,” said White.

The second half of the group name is more straightforward.

“Dame is like a woman, or a broad … or a queen,” said White.

I asked the two about their stint in New York. Though it was definitely a positive experience it wasn’t without struggle. The two threw a party before leaving the Twin Cities and that was all of the money they had in the world. White said, “we had a truck and filled it with all of our clothes and went to Bed-Stuy, (short for Bedford- Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn).

It was hard but we always felt we were equally filled up by the energy of the people in that place.

It kept us equally full when the city would drain us.”

“It’s a head-trip,” said Mendez.

“In New York it made me think a lot about what we are doing in life; just being a musician out there as far as work and hustle – whether you are in the subways or playing in a club. I put it in my head that I could be hustling all day whether in the club or on the street. Fortunately, I got to work at a music school.”

When asked how that hustle affected his choices parenting he said, “It makes you think about your future – what you want to teach them; how you were raised (and) certain ways (you) don’t want them to be. I feel like the newer generations are closer to the truth spiritually.”

To hear more of Shiro Dame’s unique grooves check them out with their band mates Blayr Alexander on drums, Damien Strange on synth/keytar, and Ike on bass, playing at Triple Rock Social Club (629 Cedar Ave S. in Minneapolis) Saturday, April 18. Tickets are available at www. ticketfly.com.

You can also hear more music at www.facebook.com/ ShiroDame, www.shirodame. bandcamp.com, or on Twitter @ shirodame.

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Aesthetically Speaking • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Page 7

IT! From 5 from local Twin Cities hip-hop, R&B, and pop artists.

Also, check out hometown artists covering or remixing once classic soul songs.

Proceeds from the show support the programming and services of Face Forward MN. The event is hosted by Anahita.

Advance tickets are available at www.danami.ticketleap.com/ soul-birthed-us/.

Ground-breaking cinema coming to Walker Art Center in May

Fresh from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, renown for celebrating groundbreaking new voices in independent filmmaking, Walker Cinema will host a variety of screenings and guests over the first two weekends in May. Whether featuring first-time directors and non-actors or seasoned casts and crews, each film uniquely plays with elements of the dramatic genre—offering new examples of how fluidly the medium evolves.

Sundance director John Cooper introduces the Walker screenings on May 2 and 3.

He will also be present at the

Independent Filmmaker Project Minnesota Conference.

Unless otherwise noted, all films and programs are in the Walker Cinema, and tickets are $12 ($10 Walker members and seniors). Tickets go on sale April 15 at 11 am.

“Dear White People” Directed by Justin Simien Friday, May 2, 7:30 pm In person: Director Justin Simien, Producer Effie Brown and Sundance Director John Cooper “Bristling with arguments about the complexities of black

Come have lunch at the Dakota 11:30 - 2 Monday through Friday From Chef Derik Moran, find daily specials, salads, sandwiches and more, and never forget dessert by Pastry Chef Katie Elsing.

Prices starting at $8 View our complete menu at

dakotacooks.com

identity in a supposedly postracial America, this lively and articulate campus-set comedy... heralds a fresh and funny new voice on the scene in writerdirector Justin Simien.” —Justin Chang, Variety Justin Simien’s directorial debut is a witty satire about four African American students on a university campus (shot at the University of Minnesota), where a controversy over race breaks out when a contested student election sets in motion “a plot that is full of intrigue and surprise in a mood of sly, knowing satire” (A.O. Scott, New York Times). Nothing is simply black and white in this playful portrait of race and examination of how mass culture shapes an individual’s identity. 2014, DCP, 100 minutes. Limited tickets available.

“Obvious Child” Directed by Gillian Robespierre Saturday, May 3, 7:30 pm In person: Sundance Director John Cooper “Well made and wickedly bold —James Rocchi, The Playlist “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Jenny Slate plays Brooklyn comic Donna Stern who gets dumped, fired, and pregnant right before Valentine’s Day, forcing her to wade through a series of complicated decisions and emotions.

Gillian Robespierre’s romantic comedy is one that uses standup

Thursday, April 17 The Bungalow The Record Room/First Ave Nightclub 701 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis 10PM www.first-avenue.com

Qigong (Life Energy Cultication) is a Chinese practice of balancing the body, breath control, and the mind.

Taught by Peng Her, Qigong is for health, meditation, and training.

DJ Verb X leads the weekly dance night specializing in reggae, dancehall and hip-hop, always with a low cover charge and a loose dress code.

Sunday, April 20

comedy to explore the theme of abortion. Slate keeps her character consistently honest in her relationships—best friend, ex-boyfriend, one night stand—while making jokes about her life onstage nightly at comedy clubs. 2014, DCP, 85 minutes.

“Like a Coen Brothers film set on the high seas, “Fishing Without Nets” thrusts us into a man-made prison of greed, hopelessness, and violence.” — Travis Hopson, Examiner A Somali pirate tale told from the view of the pirates, examining how economic conditions can lead fishermen to change their work on the high seas. Needing to support his wife and child, the character of Abdi makes life changing decisions. Shot with all Somali non-actors, the film humanizes the pirates by exploring their moral dilemmas. 2012, DCP, in English and Somali/French with English subtitles, 109 minutes.

would love to help you plan your perfect

“War Story”

The Embassy Suites is a great location for: Wedding Receptions Rehearsal Dinners Fundraisers Family Celebrations Call : 763.560.2700 for availability or to schedule a tour

www.minneapolisnorth.embassysuites.com

Beenie Man

Friday, April 18 Toki Wright & Big Cats (Tour Homecoming)* W/ K.Raydio and Shiro Dame – hosted by Up Rock Triple Rock Social Club 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis 18-plus $10

The Cabooze 917 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis 8:00 p.m.

Grammy award winning reggae and dancehall artist, Beenie Man, returns to Minneapolis as part of the Hottest Man Alive North American Tour.

Beenie is known for such hits as “Who Am I,” “Girls Dem Sugar,” “Dude” and more.

Schoolboy Q Mill City Nights 111 5th St. N., Minneapolis 7:00 p.m. www. millcitynights. com

“Memphis” Directed by Tim Sutton Friday, May 9, 7:30 pm In person: Producer John Baker

day! We are here to cater to your needs and can customize menus for your event.

Beenie Man

“Fishing Without Nets (Jallaabasho Shabaq La’aan)” Directed by Cutter Hodierne Sunday, May 4, 1 pm In person: director Cutter Hodierne

“A film of quiet intensity and poetic imagery.”—Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter Mysticism envelops a talented singer as he wanders through the city of Memphis making music as he encounters the various people that live there; a preacher, a hustler, a beautiful woman and a pack of kids. Avoiding the recording studio, he studies the difference between a life of happiness and one of destruction, alongside a blues soundtrack that makes the change of locations and landscape effortless. Willis Earl Beal plays the moody musician Willis in a film described as an “eccentric, dreamlike pic” (Variety). 2014, DCP, 79 minutes.

The Embassy Suites Minneapolis North

Saturday, April 19 Martial Qigong Martial Arts Capri Theater 2027 West Broadway, Minneapolis 3:00 p.m.

Justin Simien’s Dear White People

NEXT LOOK

the Welcome to MN Tour with Toki and Big Cats, along with Atmosphere, K. Raydio, Sarah White and Rico Simon Mendez and Shiro Dame.

The show is hosted by Up Rock and sponsored by Insight News, Hydrive Shows and KFAI Radio.

Presale tickets are available at www.ticketfly.com.

Schoolboy Q Catch the critically acclaimed new Toki Wright and Big Cats project at Triple Rock on April 18. Back in Minneapolis to follow up their sold out show on

Directed by Mark Jackson Saturday, May 10, 7:30 pm $9 ($7 Walker members, seniors) “A dense and taut drama… strikingly tense.”—Mark Adams, Screen International Catherine Keener plays a seasoned war photographer named Lee who flees to Sicily to deal with her trauma after a brutal and tortuous assignment in Libya. Lee deals

A member of TDE (with Ke nd r i ck Lamar, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock), Q returns to Minneapolis following his No. 1 album, “Oxymoron.” The early show sold out and a second show has been added.

with her demons in a hotel room, eventually leaving to photograph nearby refugee camps. There, she meets Hafsia —a woman she is convinced she has met before and now must help her escape. Kristin Gore’s first screenwriting credit explores the interior world of reality and memory as she finds a way to understand what she has been through. 2014, DCP, 90 minutes.

Page 8 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Aesthetically Speaking

insightnews.com/aesthetics

Snapshots

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1

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Hundreds of the Twin Cities best dressed turned out for The Dandies Project launch. The Dandies Project is a photo montage designed to highlight the positive impact that men of color have brought to their community, with a sense of purpose and style.

The Dandies Project will be a yearly coffee table book highlighting selected “Dandies” from year to year. The concept is a creation of area fashion icon, Richard Moody.

Some of this year’s Dandies include Nick Hooks, Will Shuford (DJ Willie Shu), Raynardo Williams, B Justin Parker, Corey Collins and Chris McDuffie.

The launch that took place at Handsome Cycle, 115 Washington Ave. N, downtown Minneapolis truly brought out some of the area’s most stylish and beautiful people.

Aesthetically Speaking captured a few of the beautiful faces in the crowd.

5

4

1) Beautiful ladies, Lelle Young, Michelle Miller and Shlynn Hayes were on hand to party and support The Dandies Project.

2) Dandy, Nick Hooks points to the reason he was chosen to be a Dandy.

3) The Dandies Project

visionary, Richard Moody 4) One of the newest members of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc., Norman Bell (far left),

with Nikki McComb (center left), Bell’s Kappa line brother, Sean Burress (center right), and Lisa Hanson Jones (far right).

5) Anise McDowell (left) and Janvievre Kamara (right) make jeweler Mike Gittelson feel like the man of the hour.

BMA Multicultural Channel 937 on Xfinity/Comcast service is Minnesota’s exclusive 24 hour urban video, music, arts and news channel.

Tune in for: Minneapolis Sounds Video Show Monday, Tuesday “Titans of Soul,” “Women Who Rock” Wednesday, Thursday “Old School Video Show,” 100 Black Music America Hits Friday, KMOJ TV Show Saturday, Conversations with Al McFarlane, Backstage at The Dakota, Gospel Vision Sunday.

Experience the Cities Best Looking Sounds on Xfinity/Comcast BMA Channel 937

Watch What We Play. find us online: www.BlackMusicAmerica.com

follow us on social networks:

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Insight News • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Page 9

LIFESTYLE Traxler confronts social norms

By Abeni Hill For some, food can be as deadly as crack cocaine.

St. Paul native Cindy Traxler’s most recently published book, “Fried Chicken, Watermelon, and You,” confronts the social norms and practices that have weakened the AfricanAmerican community to deadly measures. The inspiration for the book was sparked when Traxler’s mother began to go blind as the result of Type 2 Diabetes.

“It really hit home that this disease had serious consequences,” said Traxler. “I was dealing with my own health issues at the time also.”

Traxler said she herself was 326 pounds and had high blood pressure. She knew it was time to change for the better.

When she began organizing her life in a manner for positive change, Traxler noticed some underlying themes.

“I put my health on the front burner and in that process, I discovered that there were a lot of unwritten rules that I was following – a lot of cultural rules and a lot of things that I did out of tradition especially around diet, exercise and my hair,” said Traxler.

The insightful writer said she realized unhealthy eating was engrained as a part of African-American culture the more she researched it. Traxler considers her new book a way to bring awareness.

Cindy Traxler “’Fried Chicken, Watermelon, and You’ was my attempt to try compartmentalize some of what I discovered and what I had incorporated as part of

me because of my culture,” said Traxler. “When I started thinking about our diet and stereotypes I was like we have to stop this.”

Traxler recalls one memory that she considers a catalyst for her book. Her nephew, who was 10-years -old at the time, came to visit her and her family after she had made the lifestyle change. He stated that he was hungry and Traxler told him he could have a piece of fruit.

“He told me that was white people food,” said Traxler.

At that moment, the conscious author saw herself in her nephew and realized she used to have the same thoughts.

As Traxler furthered her research, she began to discover more factors such as denial that contribute to this phenomenon.

“Everybody believes ‘it’s not me, I’m not that number,’” said Traxler. “When people in the African-American community hear stereotypes

and stigmas about themselves, they just brush it off. Even if it is not specifically you, you don’t have to go too many people over in your circle to see that – to see that single parent, to see that person under the poverty line,” said Traxler.

According to the author, acknowledgement and opening up to the issues of the Black community is one solution.

“I think one of the biggest solutions is to understand that it doesn’t take a huge movement to start a process,” said Traxler.

“That first thought leads to a conversation. You have a dialogue, then it spreads to other people having a dialogue about what they heard Then you create the meme of ‘I am not a slave, I am a human being.’”

The anatomy of the male psyche Man Talk

By Timothy Houston One of my goals for this column is to provide insight about men from a man’s perspective.

This insight is necessary for healthy interaction with men.

The way a man thinks, though not always predictable, is based on his very basic design. Man’s psyche is not only predicated on this design, but is a direct reflection of it. I would like to provide you with four very basic

principles of the male psyche that I believe everyone should understand.

The first principle is men have an emotional suppressor.

Although men are not void of emotions, they do have a temporary emotional storage container provided to them at creation. The brief period between man being formed and God breathing life into him provided him this shell.

Man would need this emotional suppressor to hunt, fish and, if needed, wage war. Man would now be able to stare down the lion without fear in his eyes, or put his feeling for family aside while he guarded the wall on foreign shores. Because the world we live in still requires men to execute justice, or even

kill in protection of others, this part of the male psyche is still needed.

The second principle is man’s feelings are processed though logic.

Because if this, a man’s true response to his feelings are delayed. If a man is overtaken with emotions, his first response is not “what” but rather “why” is he feeling this way. After he has time to logically think about it and connect the “what I am feeling” to his emotions, he will most likely need to change his first respond. To avoid this, give the man time to think about the question before he is prompted for an answer.

The third principle is all men have two natures.

Men have an external nature

that desires what he sees and an internal one that desires what is in his heart. When a man see’s externally what is stored in is heart, good or bad, he will go after it. Because the desire of man’s heart will manifest itself in external behavior, this desire has led some men to greatness and brought others to ruin. The two natures of a man is one of the greatest unseen forces that impact his psyche. When faithfulness is in a man’s heart, he will be faithful. If it is not there, what he sees will distract him from logic, and he will be led him astray.

Finally, men have unlimited potential.

What you see in a man is only a fraction of what he can be.

The ground that man was created

from gave birth to everything you see with the naked eye.

Everything you use from cars to computers, to oil and nuclear energy came from the ground.

So no matter what a man has accomplished, he like the earth from which he came, is capable of producing more. This belief directs his psyche. When a man sees himself as limited, he will become selfish and insecure.

But when a man draws energy and passion from his unlimited potential, his psyche is healthy and whole. As a he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverb 23:7).

Understanding the male psyche is a very important part of healthy male interaction. A baby boy has everything he needs.

He will not get any new hands, heart, back, or brain. But the

ones he has must be developed in a healthy way. Everyone that comes in contact with that baby boy impacts his psyche in some way. Be careful. The male psyche is very fragile. You can foster it our crush it, and the rest of his life will be impact by it.

This will have an impact on his emotional health, and his future potential. Plant wisely. From that baby boy’s heart, the world will reap with others have sown.

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, for questions, comments or more information, go to www. tlhouston.com.

Know when it’s time to move on Motivational Moments

By Penny JonesRichardson Do you ever think about things from your past that you can’t do anything about today?

I have been known to do that on occasion. I recently found myself thinking about events from when I was a young child.

Some of my thoughts revolved around what I didn’t have or what didn’t go my way. But most of all, I found myself being grateful for my past, which helped me to develop into the woman I am today. These are the steps that I use in my practice to help others accept and move on from their pasts.

Stop dwelling on the past There comes a time when you need to realize that the past is over and there is nothing you can do about it. This is hard for some people. Have you ever met a person that all they seem to talk about is what happened to them years ago? Be it bad or good, they seem to relive the events of their past on a daily basis. They seem to be stuck in a time warp that may or may not be healthy for them. If you continue to stay in that mindset and dwell on what happened, then unfortunately you will never be able to appreciate the greatness of this day.

Appreciate the lessons learned One way I have learned to appreciate my past is to identify the lessons that I learned. Now I ask you to think about how your life would be if you hadn’t learned some of those valuable lessons. The lessons of your past taught you how to be strong today. Some of those lessons shaped and molded you into the person you are today. Appreciate those lessons and be thankful for them.

Turn the negatives into positive Now I do understand that not everyone had a past that was healthy or one that they really enjoyed. I also understand some people had a past that would be

hard for anyone to imagine some of the things they had to endure.

This breaks my heart when I think of how terrible it may have been. But if that is your story then you have a story to tell. There is probably someone right today who could benefit from hearing your story and would love to know that you made it through and so can they. Turn your negative story into a positive helpful story for someone.

Know when to move on Although, some people may need extra time to change their thought pattern and the way they view life, most people need to move on and accept what’s next for them on life’s wonderful journey. It’s hard to walk into your greatness when your feet won’t move from your past. But once you make the decision, then your past will lose the hold it has on you.

Embrace it and know when it is time to move on.

And as always, stay focused, stay determined and keep striving for greatness.

Penny Jones-Richardson is a published author and life coach. She can be reached via her website at www. thequeensproject.com or email at penny@thequeensproject.com.

FINISHES AND INTERIORS SUBCONTRACTOR INFORMATION SESSION Minnesota Multipurpose Stadium Project • Meet the project team • Project scope of work and timeline • Procurement opportunities and schedule Date:

April 17, 2014

Time:

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Location:

Metropolitan Club Ballroom 5418 Wayzata Blvd.

Minneapolis, MN 55416

RSVP:

Erika Dixon-Goss, (763) 287-3631 erika.dixongoss@mortenson.com

Page 10 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Insight News

insightnews.com

COMMUNITY Project Superhero gets Sullivan Ballou Award Keynote speaker: William J. Haynes, Jr., Chief District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee.

17th Annual Julian Parker Lecture Series:

Social mobility in diverse communities The University of St. Thomas College of Education, Leadership and Counseling is set to host the 17th Annual Julian Parker Lecture Series.

The lecture series will focus on issues and values in education and will honor Julian Parker, the longtime chair of the education department and dean of the graduate school at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Parker was also instrumental in dealing with issues of race and diversity when he worked at the University of St. Thomas in an exchange program between the nation’s historically black colleges and private colleges in Minnesota.

The event takes place on Thursday, May 8 at the Minneapolis Campus of the University of St. Thomas, 1000 LaSalle Ave. The focus of this year’s

lecture is Social Mobility for Diverse Communities, and will feature Chief Dist. Judge William J. Haynes, a 1970 graduate of the University of St. Thomas. His keynote address, “St. Thomas – An Education for Life,” will touch on how the University of St. Thomas prepared him for the world and how he has used the teachings in his personal and professional life.

The evening will include a public reception from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and a short program to present Haynes with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. Thomas. The keynote address begins at 7:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested online at www. stthomas.edu/celc/newsevents.

On Thursday, March 13, 2014, Nnamdi Okoronkwo and Jonathan Palmer received the Sullivan Ballou Award for their volunteer work on Project Superhero in a small ceremony in North Minneapolis.

Project Superhero is an initiative that utilizes superheroes and comic books as a way to engage at risk you and steer them towards positive paths, and promote literacy and civic engagement to all youth.

The Sullivan Ballou Fund gives $1000 awards to celebrate and affirm people acting from the heart. Recipients provide compassion, services, or advocacy to their local communities, the poor, homeless, children, victims of violence and mistreatment or the disabled. Some give of themselves to those around them through their art, their music, their words, or their presence.

The Fund seeks to recognize and honor those individuals in keeping with the spirit of Sullivan Ballou, a soldier who died in the Civil War leaving behind a letter to his wife that perfectly expresses both the kind of soulful commitment to others and the pure joy of being alive that reflect our highest nature.

Read about the selection of Okoronkwo and Palmer at the Sullivan Ballou by visiting http://www.sullivanballoufund. org/pages_recipients/NnamdiOkoronkwo-Jonathan-Palmer. htm .

For more information on Project Superhero, visit http://project-superhero.org/ ProjectSuperhero.htm

Nnamdi Okoronkwo from the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office and Jonathan Palmer pose for a photo with Council Member Barb Johnson, 4th Ward. Okoronkwo and Palmer are suited up as Nicky Fury and World War II Captain America to provide positive role models for at risk children.

Robbinsdale Mets win championship The 7th grade girls MN Stars team walked onto the NDSU basketball court(s) and took charge. The girls were crowned champions on Sunday. The girls won all four games and walked away with 1st place in their division beating the returning champions the Mandan Haulers. In the championship game with one minute left Dlayla Chakolis block one shot, deflected a pass, and sunk two keys free throws with 58 seconds left to hold on to the victory. The Stars won the game 42-40 upsetting the Haulers in front of a loud North Dakota crowd.

These girls are from all parts of Minnesota (Prior Lake, Forest Lake, Big Lake, Minneapolis, Lakeville, Burnsville, Richfield.) The MN Star’s are coached by Jamal Guy, W.H. Nelson, and Tiffany Anderson.

Community Calendar • Classifieds 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 Forum: Reducing Racial Disparities in School and Work - Apr. 15 A forum on “Reducing Racial Disparities in School and Work” will be held at the Brooklyn Park City Council Chambers, 5200 85th Avenue N on Tuesday April 15.

Forum topics of discussion include: The move from suspension to alternative interventions that will keep

students in school; Incarceration in the U.S.; Legislation passed in 2013 and legislation currently under consideration that would help people who have completed prison sentences or probation get jobs and housing. Arrive for pizza and social time at 6 p.m.

The program begins at 6:30 p.m.

This forum is sponsored by the Brooklyn Park, Osseo, Maple Grove, and Brooklyn Center Chapter of the League of Women Voters; Think Again MN; and the Brooklyn Park Diversity Team.

For further information, contact Carol Woehrer, (763) 537-0816.

Military Academy Night – Apr. 15 On Tuesday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m.

Representative Betty McCollum will host a military academy

Phone: 612.588.1313 night at Mounds View High School, 1900 Lake Valentine Road, Arden Hills, MN 55112 for the Fourth Congressional District. Students interested in attending any military academy are welcome. Representatives from all academies as well as from Senators Franken and Klobuchar’s offices will also be present. This event will be held in the Forum beginning at 6:30 p.m. Come learn how to obtain a congressional nomination and how to complete an application for a military academy.

The Mountaintop – thru Apr. 19 The Mountaintop by KATORI HALL directed by LOU BELLAMY, March 28-April 19, 2014 at the Guthrie Theater.

On April 3, 1968, in Memphis,

Assumed Name 1. State the exact assumed name under which the business is or will be conducted: Charger Ride Heavenly Transport Service 2. State the address of the principal place of business: 6043 Hudson RD Suite 372 Woodbury, MN 55125 USA 3. List the name and complete street address of all persons conducting business under the above Assumed Name OR if an entity, provide the legal corporate, LLC, or Limited Partnership name and registered office address. Attach additional sheet(s) if necessary: Apostle Anatha, 1714 8th Ave North Minneapolis MN 55411 4. I certify that I am authorized to sign this certificate and I further certify that I understand that by signing this certificate, I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Minnesota Statues section 609.48 as if I had signed this certificate under oath.

Signed by: Apostle Anatha Date Filed: 04/02/2014 Insight News 04/14/2014, 04/21/2014

RENTAL UNITS AVAILABLE

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Housing Authority has rental units available in Cass County, MN. Please call 218-335-8280. Must meet certain qualifications.

African American Community Specialist The City of Minneapolis is currently seeking an African American Community Specialist – Exam #21438/Annual Salary $49,257 - $68,931 in the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department. Required Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in African American Studies, Communications, Public Relations, Urban Studies, Public Administration or an equivalent; with three years of experience working with African American communities in an urban setting, including one (1) year of experience with policy or program development, project management or equivalent and one (1) year of experience working with community engagement work in underrepresented communities for a local government. To view a full job description or apply to this position go to www.minneapolismn.gov/jobs. Applications must be received by Friday, April 25th for consideration.

West Falls Estates Rent based on 30% Of adjusted income Call Patricia Brown At 218-283-4967 TDD 800-627-3529

RENTAL UNITS AVAILABLE The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Housing Authority has rental units available in Cass County, MN. Please call 218-335-8280.

Must meet certain qualifications.

Fax: 612.588.2031

Tennessee, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a large crowd gathered to glean hope from his boundless optimism. He told them he’d gone with God to the mountaintop; he’d seen the Promised Land and assured them that they would get there. In 24 hours, he would be dead at the age of 39-struck down by an assassin’s bullet.

Winner of the 2010 Olivier Award for New Plays and a Broadway sensation, “The Mountaintop” is an intimate, fictional portrait of Dr. King on the eve of his death.

This Penumbra production will be presented at the Arizona Theatre and at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina before its regional premiere at the Guthrie. Tickets for “The Mountaintop” must be purchased through the Guthrie

Vacancies

Theater Box Office at (612) 3772224 or guthrietheater.org.

Refugee Nation at Intermedia Arts - Apr. 17-20 A mother lives alone in the darkness. A father struggles to forget a lost war. A son battles in the streets of urban America. A daughter searches for answers in her community. “Refugee Nation” is a play about a young generation seeking to understand their history and a community healing from the traumas of war.

Thursdays-Saturdays, April 1719, 2014, 7PM. All performances at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis. For more information: (612) 871-4444.

Second Chance Saturdays – Apr. 21 Bring any documentation pertaining to your claim of discrimination, police

Cokato Apts, Cokato, MN (a seniors complex 62 or over or handicapped) has vacancies on 2nd Floor for one BR apts. Waiting list open. Contact Don at 320-286-2758. E-Mail cokapts@embarqmail.com

Section 8 Housing for Seniors 62 and older Bergstad Properties is accepting application for Seniors 62 and older. Applicant must be income eligible and must qualify for Section 8 Housing. Please visit our web site at www.bergstad.com for a virtual tour and application.

The following sites are currently accepting application.

Park Street Apartments 321 West Park St. Cannon Falls, MN. 55009 507-263-4773 200 Levee Drive Apartments 200 Levee Drive Shakopee, MN. 55379 952-445-2001

Email: info@insightnews.com misconduct, or your public criminal record on Saturday, Apr. 21, 2014 (3rd Saturdays) 11:30 am – 2:30 pm at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center 2001 Plymouth. Find your record at z.umn.edu/recordworkshop. For further questions contact: Joshua Esmay, esmayj@crimeandjustice. org or 612-353-3000.

Community Meeting – Apr. 24 New Salem Missionary Baptist Church and ‘Peace of Hope’ welcome the entire community and Minnesota Department of Corrections-Commissioner Tom Roy to a community meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2014, from 6pm - 8pm.

This historical forum will take place at New Salem M.B. Church, 2507 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis.

For more information contact ‘Peace of Hope’ at 612/220-4678.

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Insight News • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Page 11

BUSINESS Champion: Take advantage of new tax breaks State Senator Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis) urges area residents to file their tax returns now to take advantage of tax cuts that were passed by the Legislature just over one week ago.

“For those who waited to file their tax returns, the Minnesota Department of Revenue says they can now file with forms and software that include the new tax law changes passed on March 21,” Sen. Champion said. “Many area residents will benefit from the tax cuts and I

State Senator Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis)

urge you to claim the tax cuts and credits you are eligible for.”

According to the Department of Revenue, about 300,000 taxpayers qualify for the new 2013 middle-class tax breaks passed by the legislature and signed into law. Some changes include: • Working Family Credit for taxpayers earning up to $47,000.

• Mortgage Insurance Deduction for taxpayers earning up to $110,000.

• Student Loan Interest

Deduction for students who paid student loan interest.

You may deduct up to $2,500 of the interest if you are a taxpayer earning up to $75,000.

• Teacher Deduction for K-12 teachers or school employees who bought classroom supplies with their own money can deduct up to $250 of their purchases.

• Employer Provided Assistance for those who employers helped with college or post-secondary

training, adoption and/or transit expenses.

• Education Savings Account for those with a child in grades K-12 who used distributions from an education savings account to pay for their education.

• Tax-Free IRA Distributions for those who are 70 ½ or older and made a contribution to a qualified charitable organization directly from their IRA. • Mortgage Debt Forgiveness for homeowners whose

lender agreed to accept less than they owed in a “short sale” or foreclosure of their home can exclude the amount of debt forgiven by the lender.

If you’ve already filed your return, the Department of Revenue will review it and if you qualify for a new deduction or credit, they will either adjust your return, will request more information from taxpayers to adjust your return or notify you if you need to file an amended return.

Business cards as a prospecting tool FUNdraising Good Times

By Mel and Pearl Shaw Nonprofit CEOs, board chairs, and college presidents are constantly out and about meeting people and picking up business cards. Here’s what we know: you can use those cards to stack the deck in favor of your fundraising success. Business cards also hold the key strengthening your relationship with your development director or vice president for advancement. Our recommendation is tried and true: collect the cards, when you have a moment at the end of the day write short notes about each of your meetings. Send the notes and a photo of the cards back to your staff when you are on the road. Or submit them when back in the office. This gets the names, contact information, and notes about relationships

Racism From 1 of so-called “inferior races.”

Defining racism as “prejudice plus power,” the author sees it as “largely an institutional phenomenon” based on “aggression, domination and greed.” However, he warns that it can also be observed on the individual level in a variety of everyday social “habits, nuances and traits,” like in a condescending look or a halfhearted handshake.

Nevertheless determined to eradicate the false notion of “race,” Professor El-Kati assails it as a superstition no less ridiculous than the belief in witches that once led to innocent women being burned at the stake. For, he would argue that it is patently farcical to associate a host of negative stereotypes with black skin ranging from criminality to laziness.

The book comes equipped with viable solutions for the

PhotoXpress

and opportunities into your database. Next step: partnering with your development person.

problem, too, as it suggests we not only create a new vocabulary, but condemn racist institutions and become actively involved in overhauling society.

After all, as in Ralph Ginsburg’s encyclopedic study “100 Years of Lynchings,” until relatively recently, “no white person had ever received the death sentence for taking the life of a black person in the whole history of capital punishment in the United States.”

An insightful tome repositioning America in the Age of Obama as less a post-racial utopia than a work in progress in terms of dignity for all and the demise of white supremacy.

Call a debriefing session with your development director or vice president. Review

each of the business cards you collected. Share with her the key insights you learned from

each of your meetings. Working together, prioritize next steps for how to engage each person you met. Some follow up items are simple: sending a report or web resource you discussed; making an introduction; ensuring an invitation to upcoming events is sent. Others are more complex.

Perhaps one of the people you met with could assist in evaluating a partnership you want to pursue. Maybe you met a corporate manager who wants to engage her employees in a day of service at your nonprofit.

Determine who is responsible for taking the relationship to the next level and by when. Set check-in and follow-up dates with each other and keep them.

This practice gives you a “door opener” for regularly meeting with your development person, a way to be actively engaged with her in developing new relationships and partnerships. You are sharing contacts and information with her – “bringing something to the table” instead of always asking her how much money she has raised. You are increasing the prospects you both can work with, sharing some details of

your work, and creating an opportunity for the two of you to strategize together. This process can be a stimulus for new ideas and perspectives. You can work shoulder to shoulder, learning from each other, co-creating goals and opportunities, and making commitments to each other regarding how to follow up with and engage the people you have met. It can energize you, expand your mind-set and help build a culture of fundraising.

Here are two truths about business cards and fundraising: a card can’t open a door if its sitting in a pile on your desk.

Your development person can’t turn a pile of cards into relationships. The two of you need to work together, be creative, and follow up.

Copyright 2014 – Mel and Pearl Shaw Mel and Pearl Shaw position nonprofits, colleges and universities for fundraising success.

For help with your campaign visit www. saadandshaw.com or call (901) 522-8727.

Get a mortgage loan that’s move-in ready.

“The Myth of Race, The Reality of Racism”

by Mahmoud El-Kati Papyrus Publishing Paperback, $8.00 92 pages ISBN: 978-0-9882883-3-1 To order a copy of The Myth of Race, The Reality of Racism, visit amazon.com

At U.S. Bank, it’s our priority to make the mortgage loan process easy.

Our Mortgage Loan Originators are helpful and our rates are low.

So whether you’re shopping for a first home or a dream home, trust U.S. Bank to do the heavy lifting. Put our strength and stability to work for you today.

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branch usbank.com/mortgage 855.434.HOME (4663)

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Page 12 • April 14 - April 20, 2014 • Insight News

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