Insight News ::: 06.02.14

Mobile Jazz Project Debbie Duncan, Pippi Ardennia and Thomasina Petrus perform at Lake Harriet Bandshell, June 14 TURN TO SECTION B

Courtesy of www.rochestercvb.org

Thomasina Petrus

Insight News June 2 - June 8, 2014

Vol. 41 No. 23 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Making it official

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer Jamil Smith Cole and Michael Cole Smith are never ones to do the ordinary.

So when same sex couples were allowed to legally marry in Minnesota on Aug. 1 of last year, the two didn’t rush out and get married on that day as many other couples did. id. The couple, who together own Talk of the Town Hair Salon, said that was too cliché, too ordinary.

“Everybody was pressuring us to do it (get legally married) on the first day but we want to do it how

we want to do it,” said Smith Cole. “Everyone was getting married at the courthouse.

We’re not courthouse people.”

“Plus in our heart of hearts we considered ourselves married anyway, so that first day didn’t really matter to us,” said Cole Smith.

MARRIAGE TURN TO 2

David Bradley

Left: Michael Cole Smith arranged for a flash mob of dancers to propose. Right: Jamil Smith Cole gives Michael Cole Smith an engagement ring.

Fighting for food justice

By Al McFarlane Editor-in-Chief Al McFarlane Nardal Stroud, how do you come to this work? What are you doing to address the question of food justice?

Nardal Stroud Food justice and knowledge of home grown foods are important to me. I’ve worked on a 3.5 mile stretch of Plymouth Avenue from the Mississippi River Road Parkway to the Wirth Parkway creating as many small sustainable gardens as possible. I put in over

two-hundred hours a year to make sure our young people look at urban farming as a gateway for entrepreneurship.

I teach gardening, recognition of weeds, keeping living areas clean. I teach entrepreneurship,

JUSTICE TURN TO 6

Changing attitudes about green living PART III IN A SERIES Peg Thomas

L-R, Rumadam Campbel Bey from Rumadam Bay Gardens; Niakeya Stroud, a resident at Plymouth Avenue Town Homes and Plymouth Avenue Green Gardens team member; Nardal Stroud, founder of the Plymouth Avenue Green Team and youth Mat and Sinah (in front) from the Project Sweetie Pie Green movement. This is the first year of turning the Humboldt Pocket Park into vegetable gardens and distribution of plants to surrounding gardens of North Minneapolis.

By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A record-high 356 temperatures were tied or broken across the contiguous United States in 2012, marking the warmest year ever in American history. Over that same period, widespread droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, snowstorms, and superstorms put a nearly $110 billion dent in the economy.

And according to environmental activists, that’s something Blacks should be concerned about.

“If natural disasters happen, or heat waves, or prices go

Commentary

Lifestyle

Business

Letter to the editor: Rejecting Ward 5 as an afterthought

Sanctuary Girl Scouts win top honor

Understanding your credit score

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up for food and gas, then African Americans get the short end of the stick in those situations,” explained Bruce Strouele, director of operations for Citizens for a Sustainable Future, a think-tank dedicated to improving quality of life for African Americans through sustainable development and environmental justice.

“When you look at research on sustainable development, before it can even take place you have to be economically situated to make those improvements. For a lot of our people it seems out of reach, or like it’s something that’s not for us.”

But it is.

GREEN TURN TO 3

Moments in Sports Vikings display their usual gift of draft

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Page 2 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Insight News

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“Bring Back Our Girls”: Why we should care

By Marc H. Morial President and CEO NNPA Columnist “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A real war on women, marked by murder, rape and slavery is raging in too many parts of the world. In fact and unfortunately, human trafficking is now thought to be among the fastest-growing illegal enterprises globally.

The latest and most grotesque example is the April 14 kidnapping of more than 200 girls from their Nigerian school by a terrorist group known as Boko Haram.

The group violently opposes any activity associated with Western

Marc Morial society and for the past several years has been waging a bloody campaign to prevent the education of Nigeria’s girls. Yet, I have been asked by several people in the past few weeks why we should continue to care about events happening so far from our borders.

The answer is simple: we cannot ignore the fact that attitudes that deny, question or compromise the value of women anywhere are harmful to women everywhere – no matter where they occur.

In many parts of the world and some cultures, outdated, patriarchal and inhumane ideas such as forced marriages, sanctioned wife beatings and even female genital mutilations continue to keep women subservient and from contributing to society and achieving their full potential.

Preventing girls from getting an education is also another unacceptable tactic used to continually oppress women around the world. As First Lady Michelle Obama pointed out in the White House weekly address in honor of Mother’s Day, “more than 65 million girls worldwide are not in school.”

In his Sunday New York Times column on May 11, Nicholas Kristof asked, “What’s So Scary About Smart Girls?”

Simply put, nothing threatens oppressive, male-dominated societies more than educated girls who are likely to have fewer children, become productive workers and boost their economies. As Kristof puts it, “The greatest threat to extremism isn’t drones firing missiles, but girls reading books.”

In addition to the issue of education for girls, this latest tragedy in Nigeria also highlights the deplorable crime of human trafficking – not just around the world, but also here at home.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) reports that from 2008-2012, it received more than 65,000 calls to its hotline and received reports of more than 9,000 unique cases

of human trafficking. Of these, 41 percent of sex trafficking cases referenced U.S. citizens as victims, and women were referenced as victims in 85 percent of sex trafficking cases.

As distressing as these numbers are, they still do not represent the entirety of the problem because this data is based on reported incidents only.

According to NHTRC, with an estimated 100,000 children in the sex trade in the United States each year, the total number of human trafficking victims in the U.S. reaches hundreds of thousands when estimates of both adults and minors and sex trafficking and labor trafficking are combined.

The awful drama unfolding in Nigeria has touched the heart of the world, and it has also raised the consciousness of an international community about the continuing fight for the rights

of girls and women. As the father of two daughters, I cannot imagine the pain that the parents of the missing girls must be feeling. As a civil rights leader, it fuels my commitment to do what is within my power and influence to ensure that we #BringBackOurGirls everywhere.

While there is no scale or moral equivalence between what is happening in Nigeria and the treatment of girls and women in America today, we cannot ignore our own responsibility to fully educate and empower girls in this country, to champion equal pay, to end violence against women, and to stop the human trafficking of hundreds of thousands of children, girls and women each year.

Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Marriage From 1 Doing it how they want to do it is what brought the couple infamy and notoriety back in 2009 when the two got married in a commitment ceremony and the pictures of the wedding went viral on the Internet and the two were the … well the talk of the town in a variety of social media outlets. Pictures of the Sept.

13, 2009 wedding showed the couple in opulent fashions with Cole Smith sporting a long, flowing relaxed hairstyle.

Cole Smith’s tuxedo was tailor made with the jacket flowing all the way to the ground. The photos made their way to several magazines and the couple was championed as heroes for gay marriage by many and jeered as a glaring reason to hold on to homophobic beliefs by many others. The two later became advocates for the NO H8 campaign to end homophobia and bullying.

Now with same sex marriage being legal, the two have decided they will renew their vows – this time entitling them to legal married status. And the second time around the two are planning something just as extravagant.

“It won’t be as large, but it will be just as grand,” said Cole Smith, who said they have again set a wedding date of Sept. 13 – this time in 2015. “This time it’s going to be a destination wedding.”

The couple is trying to narrow down a location for the wedding, but said their options are limited because they must get married in a place that also legally recognizes gay marriage.

Right now Hawaii and Paris are on the short list.

In choosing to get married again, Cole Smith decided to propose – something that wasn’t done the first time around. And by now one can gather that the proposal was far from ordinary. Cole Smith arranged for a flash mob of dancers to perform a routine and at the end, they all took off their jackets and were wearing lettered shirts that read, “Will you marry me?”

“I was so clueless,” said Smith Cole. “I knew someone was getting proposed to and I was like, oh that’s so nice, but it didn’t hit me as to who until I saw my name.”

Smith Cole was recording the flash mob dancers on his cell phone camera and later posted the video with his reaction on Facebook.

Cole Smith said pulling off the stunt was a great challenge.

“I had to convince him it was a radio sponsored flash mob and I had to get Shed G (of KMOJ) involved and the choreographer couldn’t tell any of the dancers who was getting proposed to, but then we had to get permission for a lot of the dancers because they were kids and their parents had to OK them doing the routine for a same sex couple, so it was pretty challenging,” said Cole Smith.

But that challenge was minuet compared to the obstacle of obtaining legal married status.

“Did we ever think it would be legal in Minnesota, hell no,” said Cole Smith.

“But did we fight for it anyway, yes, we did. And when it happened it was like Jesse Ventura winning and we’re like, wow, it happened.”

The couple said they will again post photos of their pending nuptials.

David Bradley

Jamil Smith Cole and Michael Cole Smith

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Insight News • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Page 3

COMMENTARY LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Rejecting Ward 5 as an afterthought

By Blong Yang, City Council Member, Ward 5 I take great exception to the notion that “I don’t know who I represent” in Ward 5 as recently claimed by an unelected city department head in relation to the racial equity toolkit (“Rights Chief: Minneapolis insincere on civil rights legislation,” May 14, 2014).

Too often the people in Ward 5 seem to be an afterthought. The racial equity toolkit and plan need to be of excellent quality; specifically they need to reflect work that is thoughtful, competent, functional, and substantive. Most importantly, the effort needs to be crafted to substantially move the needle on closing the immense disparities suffered by people of color all over the city, but especially in Ward 5. This

Blong Yang

iteration of the racial equity toolkit does not yet meet those criteria, it needs work.

I don’t want to see the people of my ward short-changed and disappointed once more. I’ll paraphrase Malcolm X who perhaps said it best: “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” Ward 5 has been the victim in that equation long enough. Either we do it right, or why do it at all.

Additionally, we might

question the commitment to racial equity of a city department head who suggests that I can’t represent Ward 5 fully because I’m Hmong and most of my constituents are African American. The suggestion is ridiculous because I was elected—she was not—by a diverse coalition of voters including African Americans. My people did not come here in chains, they came to escape political retribution.

But the truth—as a great leader said—is we’re all in the same boat now. I’m not seeking racial equity for one segment of the community; I’m seeking it with equal intensity and purpose for every single person in Minneapolis who is affected by these huge disparities.

Ultimately, I am committed to stopping the rhetoric around “One Minneapolis” and working diligently to make that dream a reality.

NAACP presidential selection process again mired in controversy

By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A search firm hired by the NAACP ranked Rev. Frederick D. Haynes, III, senior pastor of FriendshipWest Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as the top candidate five years ago to become president and CEO of the NAACP. But Haynes wasn’t the favorite of Julian Bond, then chairman of the board of directors, who preferred Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of a small, private foundation in California, for the spot.

So when the selection process shifted from the search committee to the NAACP’s executive committee, the NAACP’s legendary political maneuvering came into play. At Bond’s urging, the executive committee opted to present only Jealous’ name to the full board for an up-or-down vote.

To no one’s surprise, Jealous was elected (34-21).

Though Benjamin L, Hooks, one of the association’s most popular leaders, pastored two churches – one in Memphis and one in Detroit – while serving as executive director of the NAACP from 1977 to 1992, Haynes was told he did not reach the final round of the selection process because he wouldn’t agree to give up his church duties in Dallas.

Haynes felt that was a ruse and the experience left a bitter taste in his mouth, with him vowing the never go through that process again. He could have accepted losing in a fair contest, Haynes

Green From 1 Studies have shown that poor people and people of color are most vulnerable to pollution and its climate-altering effects.

For example, research from the University of Minnesota released last month found that

New NAACP President Cornell William Brooks.

Barbara Arnwine, a finalist for the NAACP president.

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III

told anyone who would listen to him at the time. But what was hard for him to swallow was how a venerated organization dedicated to seeking justice and fairness for African Americans could hold an election for its top office without any pretense of being fair.

When Jealous resigned last September with a year still left on his contract – after repeated clashes with Board Chair Roslyn M. Brock – applying for the vacancy did not cross Haynes’ mind. But apparently, it was on the minds of some NAACP supporters, who hoped the organization could get it right this time – if Haynes would consider going through the search process again.

“I was done with them,” Haynes said in an interview Monday. “As I told them, I do justice work without them. It’s not like I needed them to do what I had already being doing.”

This time, Haynes didn’t pursue the NAACP – they put the full-court press on him.

“Literally, from September to February, they called me every week, asking me to reconsider,” Haynes stated. “I told them, “The church thing hasn’t changed – I am not giving up my church.’

They said, ‘That’s no longer a deal breaker. Would you now reconsider?’

“They even called Jeremiah Wright and asked him to ask me to reconsider. The funny thing is the last time, my relationship with him was an issue. They got so desperate that they called him.”

Wright, who had been President Obama’s pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, became a political liability for Obama when he first ran for president in 2008 after videotapes surfaced of him using inflammatory language that was taken out of context.

Obama, after first distancing himself from Wright, eventually denounced him and resigned from the church from which Wright had already retired.

Wright had spoken frequently at Haynes church and despite the public controversy, Haynes refused to disavow him as Obama had done.

“They [members of the search firm hired by the NAACP] called me repeatedly, saying, ‘What will it take to change your mind?’ I said, ‘Nothing. I’m not interested.’

They were relentless, I’ll give them credit for that.

“They said, ‘With Julian Bond out of the picture, everything should be fine.’ And I finally said, ‘Okay.’”

To reassure the NAACP that he would devote full time to his new duties, Haynes volunteered to move from Dallas to Baltimore to be near the national headquarters, he would quit conducting revivals and the only thing he wanted in return was to be able to preach at his church in Dallas twice a month.

“Last Thursday, I got this phone call. I was supposed to be in Florida Friday [for the final vote at the NAACP board meeting].

people of color are exposed to 38 percent more polluted air than Whites, with the most stark disparities in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey.

But despite being disproportionately affected, experts say many African Americans are uninformed about or uninterested in sustainability, let alone climate

change.

However, Strouele thinks that climate change and sustainability become more relevant when framed as economic issues.

“Sustainability may look different for our community.

When we talk about Black sustainability we have to talk about issues that are more practical… some may be focused on high-speed rail, but for us it might be as simple as getting fresh food to people in the community,” Strouele says.

“So we focus on aspects that do relate, like food deserts, breastfeeding, and other little things that not only lessen your carbon footprint but also improve your health.”

Last week, President Obama turned his “pen-and-phone” power toward the deepening climate change crisis with a

new climate change plan. The goals include maximizing sustainable, affordable and lowincome housing, and reducing energy costs for ordinary Americans.

The plan directs the Department of Interior to approve permits for 100 megawatts of renewable energy capacity across federallysubsidized housing by 2020.

Federally subsidized housing includes public housing, multifamily buildings using LowIncome Housing Tax Credits, apartments and homes that accept Section 8, housing choice vouchers, etc.

This is enough energy to power 10 such households for an entire year, without ever using costly fossil fuels. (In the United States, a majority of utility companies generate electricity and heat by burning

So they called me Thursday and asked whether I was willing to make the Association my sole source of employment. I told them what accommodations I had made, what preparations I had made at the church and they said, ‘Basically, you’ve answered our question. Thank you very much.’

“Later, I got this call from the search team that they were going to do something else. I’m fine with that.”

Unlike five years ago, when the executive committee presented the name of only Ben Jealous to the full board, this time the names of two candidates were advanced: Barbara R. Arnwine, who has been president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989, and Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark.

Although he has worked as a lawyer for the Justice Department, the FCC, and at Arnwine’s organization as well as served as director of the Fair Housing Council of Washington, D.C. before heading the New Jersey nonprofit group, Brooks, a graduate of Jackson State University in Mississippi and Yale University Law School, is not well known in national civil rights circles.

According to Board members who interviewed both candidates, they have contrasting personalities. Arnwine, a frequent fixture on television and the conventions of national civil rights organizations, is bold and

has a strong personality. Brooks is more understated. Describing him to the Baltimore Sun, former board chairman Julian Bond described him as “the kind of soft-spoken and well-intentioned person I wanted to have in this job.”

Arnwine declined to be interviewed for this article. But one of her supporters on the board said, “All of our civil rights organizations have a problem with a woman serving as their chief, day-to-day spokesperson. Second, the clique that runs the board wants someone they can control, not someone like Barbara, who is talented and her own person.”

Another board member who had no favorite among the finalists said, “This is Ben Jealous all over again. They wanted someone they can control and manipulate. You would think they would have learned by now.”

Frederick Haynes said he has certainly learned – the hard way.

“I failed the test of our ancestors,” he said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. They got me twice.”

Still, he is not bitter.

“I wish Mr. Brooks the best. I really do,” Haynes said. “If what I went through is a reflection of how they do business, I hope he doesn’t have to climb over that kind of nonsense. Our people are still catching too much hell for us to be giving this much hell to each other.”

[Next week: Who is Cornell William Brooks?]

coal). Today’s upgraded homes usually use renewables as a supplement for traditional energy, instead of a replacement.

Additionally, the plan sets aside a $23 million Multifamily Energy Innovation Fund, which offers grants to rental developers, universities, and organizations to test out new ways to make costeffective, clean energy more commonplace. A separate $250 million fund program will offer loans and grants to help rural utility companies upgrade the homes and businesses they serve.

On a more privatized level, the administration is expanding its Better Building Challenge to include multi-family housing developers. With this initiative, developers are challenged to build more affordable and low-income housing with a

commitment to sustainable and green living. The developers must publicly commit to a 20-percent reduction in energy use across their properties by 2020.

Improving sustainability standards in affordable residential development also improves their quality, according to Bryan Howard, legislative director for the U.S. Green Building Council.

Howard advocates for clean energy and sustainability among the nation’s lawmakers.

“In states that have taken an aggressive approach to adding sustainability, it enhances the quality of housing in those states. It’s not only sustainability, but walkability, healthiness—like making sure there are air filters, because there’s a high level of asthma and respiratory problems in public housing—making sure public housing isn’t situated in discarded areas of town,” he says. “I think the issue of sustainability has been a gateway conversation to start permeating discussions around public housing…and starting to address some of these issues.”

It provides an opportunity for developers…to talk to the communities about their needs and what they want out of new development projects.”

Further, the president’s plan strengthens federal efficiency standards for household appliances. In short, these efforts not only cut national pollution, but also cut energy bills for all Americans. The Obama administration says it has already upgraded 1 million homes for energy efficiency, saving families more than $400 on their heating and cooling bills per year.

Howard explains, “When we talk to people about wanting to save money on heat bills… people respond to that more than talking about climate change directly. It’s far more interesting, as opposed to [climate change], or something that may not feel as directly impactful.”

Page 4 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Insight News

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LIFESTYLE Sanctuary Girl Scouts win top honor Four Cadette Scouts from Troop 13779 of Sanctuary Covenant Church were recognized for earning the second highest honor available to a young woman in Girl Scouting – the Girl Scout Silver.

Dee Dee Anderson, an 8th grader at Minnehaha Academy, Destiny Washington, a 7th grader at North View Junior High School, Jasmine Bussie, a 7th grader at Brooklyn Center Junior/Senior High School and Rachel Clifton, a 7th grader at Beacon Academy celebrated this prestigious achievement for their two-year service project known as Project 5000.

The award was presented at the Ted Mann Concert Hall (University of Minnesota) on June 1.

The Silver Award is the highest award earned by Cadette Girl Scouts. It is a national award with national standards, awarded by Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys on behalf of Girl Scouts of the USA. This award

Silver Award Team pictured left to right: Rachel Clifton, Dee Dee Anderson, Destiny Washington and Jasmine Bussie. acknowledges in leadership

achievements development,

with community-based actions outside of Girl Scouts having

Lisa Chatman

a sustainable element and incorporating personal growth.

Project 5000 involved girl led, outcome based, sustainable leadership projects based in the girls’ community. A project is considered leadership when the girls address the “root cause” of an issue they are passionate about and which incorporates the community the community.

Project 5000 was born from a desire to address the growing issue of hunger in the state of Minnesota. According to a study released by the Hunger in America/Minnesota Study, hunger has doubled in Minnesota over the past five years and 40 percent of those seeking hunger relief in Minnesota are now children under the age of 18 years.

Further research conducted by Feeding America revealed that one in 10 Minnesotans does not always know where he or she will find his or her next meal.

Project 5000 was inspired by a parable told in the book of Mark 6:30-44 in which Jesus feeds a crowd of 5,000 people.

The goal of the project is to

help end hunger by teaching people how to grow food themselves and educate adults and children on the importance of eating healthy food and what qualifies as eating health food.

Over the span of two years, the Project 5000 team spent their Saturdays learning about permaculture and working alongside urban farmers affiliated with PRI Cold Climate and the University of Minnesota’s Master Gardners’ programs. The scouts also partnered with Gardening Matters to deliver harvest to a local food shelf in north Minneapolis. To address the sustainable component of their project, the team partnered with 3rd and 4th grade students from Lucy Craft Laney School to grow seedlings over the winter months which eventually the students transferred into large containers to be housed in their back yards for the purpose of providing healthy food to their families and others in their communities.

The positive impact of mentors and role models Man Talk

By Timothy Houston “Georgia changed my way of thinking about truth... You gave me the reason, and the root...

Taught me, in order to be a man...

I needed to see a man... Gave me the spiritual guidance I so needed, and pleaded that I didn’t repeat the cycles that I had seen repeated... I want to thank you for the lessons, and blessing that

you bestowed upon me... I hope that I can someday be the man you want me to be... I’m on my way... Bottom dollar you can bet...

Because God is not done with me yet…” Eric Braylock My nephew wrote the poem above to shine light on the impact I had on his life when he came to live with me for 6 months when he was 16. Now at 40 and a mentor and role model himself, Eric is an inspiration to me because of his self-determination to win in this battle we call life.

What is a mentor? What is a role model? How do they differ?

What is a mentor? A mentor is a trusted counselor or guide who directs an individual through

their development in a career, educational pursuit or other personal challenge. The mentor’s goal is to help the mentee build the skills and discipline necessary to succeed without continued assistance. The mentor/mentee relationship is hands-on and personal. The mentor helps the mentee both with concrete, skill-related and psychological guidance, usually focusing on developing the mentee’s self-esteem and habits of responsibility and accountability.

What is a role model? A role model is a person whose behavior, examples, or success can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The ways in which we self-identify are

called “roles.” These include gender, professional and religious identities. They also include less apparent self-expectations, such as how a person of a certain age, social standing, or skill set should behave. We look to the role model to determine how a person in a similar role should conduct themselves. Individually, we identify role models as people whom we recognize as having a role in common with us, and they are usually more established in that role than we are.

What is the difference between a role model and a mentor? While a role model and a mentor are both people that individual look up to as examples of how to behave or excel, there are some

differences. The relationship between a mentor and a mentee is personal, usually face-to-face and one-on-one. The mentor is invested in the mentee and has made a commitment to guide and assist them. On the other hand, a role model may not even know the person who seeks to emulate him or her. Even if they do, the relationship is not reciprocal. The individual may admire the role model and attempt to imitate their behavior, but the role model does not actively connect with the individual. The mentor/mentee relationship has the advantage of being a real interaction, rather than a psychological concept in the person’s mind. An individual with a mentor has both a role

model and a personal guide.

We need both role models and mentors in our lives. I am glad that my nephew continues to see me as a mentor, and I know that he is aspiring to be a role model for others. It is great to know that the mentee becomes the mentors, and role models can be family members and those in our immediate circle.

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.

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Insight News • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Page 5

BUSINESS

Understanding your credit score

By Nneka Serwaa The role credit plays in our society is often misguided, misused and misunderstood, which can cause unnecessary stress and have a negative impact on our lives for many years.

First things first, you have to understand what’s on your credit report and what goes into the calculation of your actual credit score. The true formula used in the calculation of the score is a bit of a secret, but according to the Fair Isaac Corporation, the evil (or genius) creators of the

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Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Assistant to the Publisher Shumira Cunningham 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 Sunny Thongthi Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Contributing Writers Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Abeni Hill Timothy Houston Penny Jones-Richardson Toki Wright Alaina L. Lewis Darren Moore Photography Michele Spaise David Bradley 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.

FICO score, the five key factors are payment history (35 percent), amounts owed (30 percent), length of credit history (15 percent), new credit (10 percent) and types of credit used (10 percent).

The first thing lenders look at is if you’ve paid your past credit accounts on time. Making payments to creditors on time is the silver bullet, but you have to pay attention to who is reporting on time payments to the credit bureaus. Many credit-reporting agencies don’t report those items that are on time but they do report delinquencies. The length and severity of delinquencies is also said to be considered, so be mindful of that. Make a list of your creditors and identify the ones that report to the credit bureau. This will give you an awareness of which payments you’re currently making that have an impact on your credit score and that ones don’t.

The next most important component is the balance owed on your accounts, as it is 30 percent of the overall FICO score.

Lenders look at how much of the total credit line is being used and other “revolving” credit accounts that one may have.

That’s essentially how much of a person’s available credit he or she is using. If that person is trying to

Nneka Serwaa protect or increase his or her credit score that person should make sure he or she isn’t using the full credit limit available. Sticking with half of one’s available credit is a good rule of thumb. Creditors generally report to the credit bureaus once per month, so even if you’re paying off the balance every month, but you’re maxed out it could be used against you.

In the eyes of the lender small balances without missing a payment shows that you have managed credit responsibly, and for many that’s better than no balance at all. So, for all those people who close credit cards thinking that helps increase the overall credit score, think again.

This typically means there are now zero accounts in good standing and that’s not going to raise your FICO store. Think of your credit report like your high school transcript for a minute. If you had a low grade point average what was the best way to improve it – get some better grades. Your credit report is the same way. You need to find some easy “A’s” that will increase your overall credit score. Secured credit cards for some are easy A’s if managed strategically, but that’s another article.

Fifteen percent of the score is the length of credit history. The score takes into consideration how long credit accounts have been open, the age of the oldest account, the newest and everything in between. When it comes to your credit, old age and experience is a good thing and the longer the credit history the better.

Your FICO calculation looks at the amount of outstanding credit you have available, the length of your credit history, as well as the percentage of credit used. Closing older, less frequently used credit cards may be a big no-no, and can hurt your score by decreasing the length of history, as well as increasing the percentage of your total credit.

Research suggests that

opening several new accounts at once indicates a greater level of risk. New credit, which is one of the factors used in calculating the score, includes number of recent account inquiries, and number of new accounts opened. So, if you’re asked at checkout to save X percent by applying for a card just say no. In most cases the inquiry will cost you more than what you’ve saved on the discount.

When a lender checks your credit history as you apply for a new account, your score may drop by a few points – usually around five or less. To avoid lowering your score when you need a loan, condense the shopping period into a 30-day window.

Last but not least, your score considers the type of credit that is in use. This is where the whole good debt bad debt conversation comes into play. I have learned through trial and error that debt is debt. The only kind of good debt for me is when someone owes me money. That being said, mortgages, auto loans, and student loans are said to be considered “good” kinds of debt by lenders, so the score considers your mix of all the credit that has been extended to you.

Good credit is easy to get but takes discipline to maintain and sometimes a string of focus and

luck. When bad credit hits, it’s typically because life got in the way along the journey. No matter what the situation, understanding what goes into one’s score is helpful to keep things great or turn things around if you’ve hit a roadblock. It’s possible to have good credit until something happens like a job loss or loss of income and then things can take a turn for the worse very quickly. You’re too blessed to be stressed over something you can work on. Order a copy of your credit report for free from www.annualcreditreport.com, dispute the negative items that can be legitimately disputed and start focus on rebuilding. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

Nneka Serwaa Morgan is an investment professional with more than 10 years of experience.

Her portfolio includes advisement to high-networth individuals, charitable donors and philanthropic organizations. Serwaaa Morgan is a frequent radio personality and newspaper columnist on topics of financial planning, investment management, and wealth creation. In 2007, she was named one of Ebony Magazine’s “30 Young Leaders Under 30.”

Pearce named Harrison Executive Director The board of directors of the Harrison Neighborhood Association recently announced its new executive director, Shauen V. T. Pearce.

Most recently of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pearce released the following statement.

“As a native of south Chicago, I learned firsthand the power of united neighbors – from people who ensured that each family had something to eat, fought tirelessly for all and who celebrated each other without hesitation. I believe that we are strongest together, like oak trees connected at the roots, sustaining each other in the midst of storms.

For a tree to be healthy (a community in our case) there must be nourishment. Racial equity, safety and economic justice – including livable wages, affordable housing and transportation, and healthy food – are essential elements

Don’t feed the monster Plan Your Career

By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com “I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not.” She had just ended a five minute rant about an ineffective boss, the bad weather and her tight schedule. She sounded like she was complaining, and she was.

People complain all the time. It feels good to spread the misery around; it feels even better when you successfully pull someone in and they join you. Misery does love company, we all know that.

But after the rant, then what?

No one really feels better, no problem is solved and no one is better off for knowing what a jerk the jerky boss is. People just go back to their own lives and wonder, what’s she going to say about me?

Whiners are not winners.

And you’re a winner. So how do you avoid the nay-saying, back-stabbing, malcontents swarming around your workplace? The same way you avoid all the other toxins around you: you step around them, you wear a mask and you

DESMOND TURN TO 6

Harrison Neighborhood Association

Shauen V. T. Pearce

for a thriving community of residents, business owners and public officials. When any element is out of harmony, the others are threatened and so I have dedicated myself to living through love, encouraging selfdetermination and supporting grassroots leadership. In the forests of our lives every tree matters. Each has a purpose and holds the stories of our collective truth. I like to think of us all as birds of the same tree complete with our unique languages, traditions, struggles and solutions. I am excited to join Claire (Bergren) and Kennedy (Willis) and (am) grateful to gain them as colleagues.”

Page 6 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Insight News

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Vikings display their usual gift of draft Moments in Sports

By Ryan T. Scott ryan@insightnews.com Should recent Vikings first round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater turn in a Hall of Fame career over the next decade or so, then like Michael Jackson, his glove will go down in history with him.

It was the lack of a throwing glove that Bridgewater blamed for a poor showing in the NFL scouting combine in February. It was also that poor showing that mostly changed his prospects from a potential No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, to being the overall 32nd pick by the Vikings. We all have bad days at “the office,” but Bridgewaters’ bad day at the combine possibly cost him several million dollars … though I’m sure he’ll make do with the checks Vikings owner Zygi Wilf cuts for him.

Vikings fans may have found fortune through Bridgewaters’ bad day. The NFL quarterback position can turn “can’t miss” prospects into UPS delivery men.

Bridgewater began the 2013 college season as a “can’t miss” “Top 5” pick. Curiously he had a stellar 2013-2014 junior season at the University of Louisville, throwing for 4,048yards and 31touchdowns. Perhaps the ho-hum nature of his great performances, made Bridgewater less dazzling in comparison to his extravagant peer Johnny Manziel, who was drafted ten slots before him (22nd) by the Cleveland Browns. Bridgewater stands poised in the pocket, and delivers very clean passes. He certainly has the throwing gifts and general size to succeed. He’s got “the

Desmond From 5 wash your hands frequently.

Stepping around them is a good idea. You know who the

Justice From 1 financial stability and how to become independent and create a job in their own neighborhood. I continue to do this work because I believe in our children.

Al McFarlane What’s your background?

Where are you from?

Nardal Stroud

Shane Stovall

Teddy Bridgewater

Rookie of the Year.

Before Bridgewater, the Vikings first pick (No. 7 overall) was UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr.

Barr’s speed, athleticism and nose for the quarterback sack, paired alongside a youthful, but tenured Chad Greenway, makes for a gifted sideline-tosideline defensive nucleus. With potential Hall of Fame defender Jared Allen moving on to play for the rival Chicago Bears, Barr will be needed to produce much quicker than Bridgewater does on offense.

Scott Crichton of Oregon State is the unfortunate rookie drafted to specifically replace the void left by Allen’s departure.

Crichton’s greatest gift is effort.

In that the defensive end position is an arduous task in comparison to other positional roles, requiring constant pursuit, the Vikings were smart to take the type of player that can minimally match Allen’s hardnosed zeal. Talent generally wins out in sports, but effort keeps the (Viking) ship from sinking.

Jerrick McKinnon (running back, Georgia Southern) and David Yankey (offensive guard, Stanford) were the fourth and fifth picks, from an overall haul of 10 total draft picks for the Vikings. McKinnon and Yankey provide some fresh young legs on an offense that can certainly use them. Hopes are that McKinnon can compliment and rest team MVP Peterson by adding speed and role flexibility to the running game.

Pundits have generally lauded the Vikings performance in this years’ draft, and overall they did a good job filling positional holes. Bridgewater was certainly worth the early pick and projects as a really nice young man. You have to hope that the magic glove works out for the kid … even if this is Prince territory.

look.” But everyone looks good in the royal color purple, and, as they say, it’s all good until somebody gets hit in the mouth.

There are people who smile a lot, and there are football players who flash a sinister smile of appreciation after getting their block knocked off (former Vikings QB Brett Favre comes to mind).

NFL defenders can quickly take the smile away from a 21-year-old lad. If Bridgewater can maintain his poise at the professional level – and the offensive line blocks for

him – then one might say that the sky is the limit for his future in the league.

Super Bowls are won by teams, but Bridgewater projects the ability to be an efficient, perhaps quietly dynamic, young general of the offense.

Fortunate for Bridgewater, the Vikings executives have managed to assemble a very sane situation at the quarterback position. Veteran starter Matt Cassell returns along with former first round pick Christian Ponder, providing the

rookie with a safe circumstance to compete and learn. Former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, as well as Ponder, should have been afforded the same competitive comfort (Jackson just won a Super Bowl ring with the Seattle Seahawks, continuing the legacy of leave Minnesota, win a championship ring – no matter the sport).

Since Rick Spielman assumed the position of Vikings General Manager in 2012, the direction of the team, from a

management perspective, has been mostly sensible. Regardless of management inefficiencies, over the last couple of decades, the Vikings franchise maintains a stellar record of drafting valuable players. If most of the players drafted end up starting, or playing several years, then good job; if there are a couple Rookie of the Year awardees sprinkled in (Adrian Peterson 2007, Percy Harvin 2009), then great job. Last year wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson was a finalist for NFL

complainers are. Avoid them.

Choose to take your breaks at a different time and don’t engage with them socially. You can be friendly, and headed in a different direction.

Wear a mask if you have to. In other words, if you must

engage with the complainer, keep your mouth closed and keep your own complaints to yourself; don’t feed the monster. Don’t agree or disagree. You can be friendly, and silent.

Wash your hands whenever

possible. Change the subject, laugh off the negative comments and, when you can, be straightforward and say, “You’re going to have to do something about that, but I’m not the one who can help you.

Sorry.”

Complaining is contagious.

Fortunately, so is everything else.

Your confidence, charisma and positivity just might be enough to charm that complainer out of her rut, and into your winner’s circle.

Julie Desmond is IT & Software Engineering Recruiting Manager with George Konik Associates, Inc. Send your comments and questions to Julie at jdesmond@ georgekonik.com.

I was born and raised in North Minneapolis.

Everybody laughs at me because I was born into a very large family of thirteen. I was the youngest girl and out of all of us I’m the only one that stayed in North Minneapolis. At one time I did think I needed to get out of here, but at the same time something said this is your home. And I always wanted to be home and I always wanted to be around my home. So I stayed. I stayed and I fought and I became an entrepreneur myself. I’ve ran my own business for thirty-five

years.

were very great people. My mother was a homemaker and entrepreneur as well. My father was a truck driver. He is the son of two farmers. They came from Mississippi and moved to Kansas City, Missouri, then to Minnesota.

that our experience and our needs end up directing food policy for the community, for the nation, and ultimately for the planet?

Westside of Chicago and not being able to find that food that I really needed for him to survive based on his food allergies, that pushed me into the work.

Looking around me, I realized that I might have all the resources in the world: I was married, I have a college education, I have a car, but my next door neighbor doesn’t. My responsibility is to make sure not just that my family eats but

Classifieds

Al McFarlane What was the business?

Nardal Stroud I owned Scene by Scene, a drycleaning store. And being a single mother, it was very hard.

Shortly after my mother died I had to close that store due to lack of support. But I didn’t give up. I continued to work.

I continued to find prosperity.

I continued to believe in the children.

My mother and father

Al McFarlane LaDonna you’ve worked in the agriculture and food policy area. How do these personal stories end up influencing policy? How should we organize our minds and our families and communities so

Phone: 612.588.1313

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LaDonna Redmond Well you know the personal is political. I mean we do not live in bubbles and in this country, public policy has impacted our lives tremendously. Many times we don’t really feel like we can or should have a role.

But I come to my work through personal experience. It was trying to feed my son on the

Fax: 612.588.2031

Email: info@insightnews.com

Vacancies 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

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JUSTICE TURN TO 7

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Pro Se Law Clerk The U.S. District Court, District of MN is accepting applications for a full-time Pro Se Law Clerk. This position will be located in St. Paul.

Salary range is $61,436 - $134,511. For complete job description, visit the court’s website www.mnd.uscourts.gov, Employment.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Notice of U.S. Magistrate Judge Vacancies The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of one full-time and one part-time United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The salary of the full-time position is $181,332 per year and the position will be located in Minneapolis or St. Paul. The term of office for a fulltime magistrate judge is eight years; incumbents may be reappointed to successive terms. The salary of the part-time position is $13,439 per year and the position will be located in Bemidji.

The term of office for a part-time magistrate judge is four years; incumbents may be reappointed to successive terms.

The full public notice, application instructions for each position, and application form is available on the Court’s website at www.mnd.uscourts.gov.

Applications must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Time on Monday, June 16, 2014.

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Insight News • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Page 7

EDUCATION Adult learner Edith Tlaseca achieves graduation; focuses on next phase of her education journey On May 29 at Cooper High School starting at 7:00 pm, the Adult Academic Program (AAP) of Robbinsdale Area Schools will have its annual Adult Basic Education graduation. This year, AAP has served over 135 adult students helping them earn a GED or a high school diploma.

Now these students can move on to the next phase of their educational journey which may be more schooling or job training.

AAP students have all overcome a variety of life obstacles in order to achieve their diploma.

“Returning to school as an adult is not an easy task,” said Theresa Zingery, Adult Academic Program Director. “Often, adult students must juggle family and work responsibilities as well as transportation challenges.

However, these students have made their education a priority and are on their way toward their future goals.”

Edith Tlaseca is one of these goal-driven AAP students and will serve as a graduation speaker this year. Originally from Mexico, Edith moved to the U.S. for a better education and to fulfill her dream of becoming a registered nurse. After attending high school in Minneapolis for two years, Edith had to drop out so she could work to help support her parents and siblings. Edith never gave up her dream for a nursing career. In 2011, she joined Adult Academic Program’s Family Literacy program where she improved her English language skills and her children attended preschool classes. Edith did not stop there!

After improving her English skills, she moved on to AAP’s Academic Skills classes where she studied for the GED exams which she passed in December 2013.

While studying for the GED in school, Edith also took AAP’s

Edith Tlaseca and son Marcos

be consumers, but we become the prey. We have to change that dynamic and become the producers. And food is a simple place to start. Put some seeds in the ground and tend it with some tender loving care. I also say that if you don’t know anything about husbandry then you can’t know anything about humanity.

We learn to become loving caring individuals by caring for God’s creations, whether it’s a pet, or planting a rose or a

tomato that you’ve put in a pot in your window.

LaDonna Redmond We have to reclaim everything that we want.

Al McFarlane Nardal when you reach out to young people, what are you finding out? What kind of reactions are you getting? What’s your vision for the future?

online classes that allowed her to work on her math and reading skills at home. She also found time to be a part of AAP’s Student Advisory Board and Elder Care Employment & Civics Education program. Furthermore, this incredibly motivated student recently signed up for AAP’s Introduction to Health Care Careers class which will help prepare her for future nursing classes. “My teachers have given me the tools to move up in school,” explained Edith of all her teachers at the Adult Academic Program. “I am so thankful for this program that changes everybody’s life. My life is totally different now!” After finishing the Introduction to Health Care Careers Class, Edith is looking forward to starting classes at Hennepin Technical College through a cooperative program with AAP and a FastTRAC grant.

“Edith is a pure joy. She

certainly has a steady eye on her goal of becoming a nurse.

Considering her dedication and motivation while attending the Adult Academic Program, there is little doubt that she will, indeed, achieve her goal,” said Zingery.

Annually, Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program provides instruction to over 1,000 students including those seeking to improve their English language skills or to improve their reading, writing, and math skills. AAP students can also complete their high school diploma, prepare for the GED, and get ready for college. The Adult Academic Program is located in the Sandburg Learning Center at 2400 Sandburg Lane, Golden Valley 55427 with additional classes located online and at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park.

Nardal Stroud When I work with them, I see in their strength. I see a lot of sweat and tears creating smiles and hope and love for their community. It’s changing them.

Hard rough fathers become the soft gentle giants of a mother’s hope. This work is creating strong young brothers who believe that they can have a job in the bank or that they can have that beautiful house on the hill or that they can have a healthy

environment, community to live in. It doesn’t matter about the despair. It matters more about the hope, the love and the smiles.

Al McFarlane Michael, why it’s important to connect our decisions to our economic and food interests.

Michael Chaney We have to be critical thinkers.

If we’re not, it will lead to our own demise.

LaDonna Redmond

Michael Chaney

Justice From 6 that my community eats. So for me that personal story is what motivates me.

I do this work because I love my children. Of course I also love the children in the broader sense of the word. So I know that to whatever degree my family is sustainable, it will be depended upon the sustainability of my community. So these personal stories really are the way to connect to the public policy issues.

For example in many neighborhoods in the country, the lack of grocery stores or limited retail access to healthy food can help us understand how the food system is really off track. And it’s not just off track in our community, it’s off track in everybody’s community. So if you’re listening to this broadcast and you think that this is really not my problem because I can go to the Whole Foods or the Co-Op and get my food, no. This is your problem too, because we only have about a day of food in the entire food system. If the system does collapse, nobody is going to eat. Those people who have the least amount of resources are going to be impacted first. And usually that’s our community, communities of color.

Al McFarlane I garden at my home and I’ve been doing it for several years now. It’s healing for me. It’s enjoyable to walk out in the morning, decide what I’m going to have for breakfast, clip it, bring it in, wash it, prepare it and eat it. There’s nothing like it in the world. it’s important that people get back into gardening in spaces that we own or control.

Michael Chaney No question about it. I mean I think it’s even more necessary for our community. We were a very physical people as African American people.

My grandfather at one point owned a thousand acres in Wisconsin. They were immigrants from Iowa to this small place Spooner, Wisconsin.

That’s remarkable. And it’s a remarkable testament to the courage, the strength, the intellect and the vision of us as individuals. Everything starts from vision. Without vision the people shall perish.

I contend that it’s no accident that North Minneapolis has been economically deprived. That’s by design. Now the solution lies in our hands, not only for our personal health, not just for the health of our own children, but our success going forward as a people. If we’re going to survive we have to plant the seeds of change. We have change from being the consumers which we’ve been socially engineered to be.

We’ve been engineered to

“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.”

- Oprah Winfrey

Congratulations class of 2014!

Every child college and career ready

Page 8 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Insight News

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Choose well New choices in health care are here. Introducing UCare ChoicesSM, affordable new health plans from a leader in Minnesota health care, with coverage for young adults, families, empty nesters and everyone in between.

Find out more at UCareChoices.org, and look for us on the MNsure health insurance marketplace. Choose well. Choose UCare Choices.

Mobile Jazz Project

Courtesy of www.rochestercvb.org

Thomasina Petrus

Debbie Duncan, Pippi Ardennia and Thomasina Petrus perform at Lake Harriet Bandshell, June 14

D

ebbie Duncan, Pippi Ardennia and Thomasina Petrus – three of the most celebrated female artists/ singers in the Twin Cities – will perform at Lake Harriet Bandshell, June 14 from 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., to kick-off the Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project’s series.

Duncan, Ardennia and Petrus will perform individually on stage singing jazz music from their favorite artists. The series is a schedule of summer concerts in Minneapolis parks.

Band members performing with the three singers include award-winning jazz pianist Mary Louise Knutson, keyboardist, Kevin Washington on drums, Andrew Schwandt, tenor saxophonist, and keyboardist Brian Nielsen.

The Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project

Andrea Canter

Pippi Ardennia was created in 2013 by Grammy awardwinning producer Andre Fischer, and brings jazz music to Minneapolis parks to engage and youth to appreciate and celebrate jazz music, its history and artists. Fischer has collaborated with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, KBEM FM, KMOJ FM and the Dakota Jazz Club to feature top local musicians performing celebrated examples of jazz music at parks throughout Minneapolis during the summer.

“Our goal is to expose children to great music and artists and give them an opportunity to explore their potential,” said Fischer.

Fischer added that children today don’t have many opportunities to be exposed to truly great music, to be taught by an acclaimed musician how to play an

instrument, or how to read and sing music.

“We think the mobile jazz project – because it’s in the park where children play – will give children the opportunity to get exposed to and appreciate jazz music as an art form,” said Fischer.

The Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project will produce a concert in a scheduled Minneapolis park every Wednesday from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. beginning June 4 through Aug. 27. Concerts will include the 7:30 p.m. performance at Lake Harriet Bandshell on June 14, a 7 p.m. concert at Minnehaha Falls Park on Aug. 6 and additional concerts throughout the summer featuring select artists. A complete list of parks, concert dates and times can be found on the Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project website, www. twincitiesmobilejazzproject.org.

Ann Marsden

Debbie Duncan

Page B2 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Aesthetically Speaking

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“A Play Based on the Life of Paul Robeson”

Musical sheds light on civil rights pioneer benefit but to better your community, your people.”

The play, written by Phillip Hayes Dean, who also recently passed away on April 14, brings attention to the important legacy of Robeson, which had faded into the shadows of

American lore. Although the production attracted a degree of controversy when first presented in the late 1970s with James Earl Jones in the lead role, “Paul Robeson” went on to have two highly successful runs on Broadway in 1988 and 1995 with Avery

Brooks as Robeson. The current touring version is the most recent incarnation of the Broadway play. The performances in Minneapolis are part of a three-city Midwest run and a piece of a larger national tour.

Enhanced bus service + the METRO Green Line

When the Green Line opens, most routes that connect with the new light-rail line will change.

Among the bus service improvements:

Starring Jason McKinney with Christopher Bagley “A Play Based on the Life of Paul Robeson,” a musical and spoken portrayal of the world-famous scholar and all-American -athlete, actor, singer, lawyer and civil rights activist comes to the Capri Theater, June 20 – 22.

The performance stars Jason McKinney as Robeson, the African-American renaissance man who rose to prominence in multiple arenas at a time when racism and segregation was rampant in the United States. Robeson used his fame as a performer to become a voice for people who were marginalized both at home and abroad. Despite a hugely successful career on stage and in films and international popularity, he was eventually silenced

and his career effectively ended by prejudice and accusations of him being a Communist. “A Play Based on the Life of Paul Robeson” sheds light on the life of this courageous, influential and complex man whose message remains relevant for today’s audiences. Tickets are $25 for general admission seating and are available online at www.thecapritheater.org or by calling (612) 343-3390.

The show is produced and presented by United in Music. United in Music’s Christopher Bagley costars as Robeson’s longtime collaborator Lawrence Brown.

“Paul Robeson’s life story reminds us of the important work he did so bravely to

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advance the civil rights discussion,” said Bagley, “And those issues could not be any less important today.

We are reminded every day that there is still so much work to be done to end racial discrimination.”

After Robeson’s death, his son, Paul Robeson, Jr. established the Paul Robeson Foundation, which benefits arts, culture and humanities organizations. Robeson Jr. passed away on April 26 at age 86. The junior Robeson’s daughter, Susan Robeson, currently serves as the foundation’s chair. Susan Robeson is a filmmaker with ties to the Twin Cities. She credits her grandfather with influencing her career path into media.

“He had a deep impact.

I am guided by his values – strive to be the best that you can be, not better than someone else, but the best that you can be.” she said, “And use your skills and knowledge, not just for your

Improved frequency

Timed connections

of connecting routes with the Green Line

with trains at key Green Line stations

Expanded hours of service on connecting routes seven days a week

Faster, more direct service to major destinations

Get ready to ride!

Learn more at metrotransit.org/Green-Line-buses.

612-373-3333 metrotransit.org

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Aesthetically Speaking • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Page B3

Snapshots

1

One of the hottest trends in entertainment is the advent of the “day party.”

Common in Atlanta, St. Louis, Houston, Washington D.C. and other urban settings, within the past couple of years Minneapolis has joined in on the afternoon and early evening fun.

This past week it was Thee Urbane Life making its debut into the day party arena with its signature Expressions graphic t-shirt party. Here are a few of the sights from the patio at Darby’s Pub & Grill in Minneapolis.

1) DJ Willie Shu & host Lisa “Pink” Hanson Jones getting the crowd amped.

2

4

3

2) Dotado Apparel founder Sean James showing off his custom wears.

3) Ericka Collins making a statement with her t-shirt.

5

6

4) (Left to right) Out-oftowners T.Y. Rodgers (St. Louis), Michelle Johnson (Chicago), Ray Clemons (St. Louis), Tracy Lynn Deis (Chicago) and Dr. Danielle Lee (Ithaca, N.Y.) all came in town for Expressions.

5) Todd Mitchell (left) flew in from St. Louis to kick it with lifelong friend Michael Frants at Expressions.

6) (Left to right) James Burroughs, Maya Bowie and Maurice Bowie enjoying the daytime party vibe.

Beer Mugged.

Extra DWI patrols this weekend.

Page B4 • June 2 - June 8, 2014 • Aesthetically Speaking

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