Insight News ::: 7.29.19

WINNER: 2018 NNPA MERIT AWARDS: 3RD PLACE BES T COLUMN WRITING

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Insight News July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019

Vol. 46 No. 30• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Pitch Perfect!

Dr. Duchess Harris is in perfect form throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Twins July 20 game against the Oakland A’s. The pitch was thrown in honor of her grandmother’s work with NASA and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon mission.

Minnesota Twins

STO OR RYY ON 2

Page 2 • July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019 • Insight News

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Four upcoming outings seek to attract multicultural anglers to the Mississippi River.

Fishing, sharing: Mississippi River connects everybody in DNR family events

Minnesota Twins

Dr. Duchess Harris and Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson at Target Field prior to the July 20 game against the Oakland A’s.

‘Minnesota, we have lift-off’ All systems were a go for Dr. Duchess Harris when she threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Minnesota Twins’ July 20 game at Target Field against the Oakland A’s.

The honor was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing that took place July 20, 1969. Harris’ grandmother, Miriam Mann, was one of 11 Black women mathematicians

recruited by NASA to assist in the agency’s quest to put a man on the moon. The story, which in part came to light due to Harris’ research, turned into the box office smash, “Hidden Figures.”

Harris, an author, professor and department chair of American Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, said she worked with a trainer to perfect her form on the mound for her pitching debut.

She said the honor of throwing

out the first pitch was special for many reasons.

“My family and I are huge Twins fans, so I was thrilled. I did the pitch five days before what would have been my grandmother’s 112th birthday. I think she would be delighted that people now know about the work that she did,” said Harris.

Mann began working for NASA in 1943 during

World War II. She worked for the agency until 1966, passing away in 1967, two years prior to the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. Nineteen sixty-nine was also the year Harris was born. Harris’ book chronicling her grandmother’s achievement, “Hidden Human Computers: The Black Women of NASA” is available on Amazon. com and BarnesAndNoble.com.

Anyone who wants to try fishing is invited to multicultural, family fishing events happening at four locations in four days along the Mississippi River from Coon Rapids to Hastings.

“These events are a way to get people excited about fishing, especially from communities traditionally underrepresented in our angling public,” said Ray Ruiz, Department of Natural Resources fishing and hunting skills liaison.

“I see a lot of people fishing the river, and if you think about it, the river connects everybody – from Coon Rapids to Hastings, they all share the same water.”

The events will include interactive and practical fishing methods and techniques and are geared toward anyone who doesn’t much have experience with fishing, lacks fishing equipment or wants to learn how to fish on the river’s edge.

Attendees will learn how to tie fishing knots, practice casting, making baits, and fishing, with fishing gear and bait provided. People can attend one or more of the four days of events.

The scheduled events take place Aug. 15 at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park in Coon Rapids, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., Aug. 16 at Boom Island Park in Minne-

apolis, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., Aug. 17 at Hidden Falls Regional Park in St. Paul, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Aug. 18 at Lake Rebecca Park in Hastings, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The events will let people try river fishing, which can be different from lake fishing because of the moving water and the variety of fish to catch. Each location includes playgrounds, places to grill and amenities near the river. Ruiz also plans to go over fishing techniques and how to fish for different species of fish – from smallmouth bass to panfish to catfish.

“The river flows through our major metro area and it’s a tremendous resource for anyone who wants to give fishing a try,” Ruiz said. “We’re bringing fishing to the people, all you have to do is show up.”

Potential anglers who want to learn how to fish can visit the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/GoFishing.

The page covers fishing basics, where to fish, how to catch different types of fish, fishing programs to join and the importance of fishing ethics and being stewards of Minnesota’s natural resources.

The Cold Civil War in America

By Dr. Corey Yeager

As the Minnesota summer swings into full effect, with blistering heat and humidity, a storm is brewing.

No not the storm that we have come accustom to that drops torrential rain pour and thunderstorms. No, a more menacing storm is on the rise. A cold front if you will. A cold Civil War is brewing in America. A war that pits two differing sides against one another. A coldness that will not allow for one side to even

see the other simply as human beings. Although this is not in any way a new phenomena, it is however a new and updated version of the racial struggle that the great W.E.B. Du Bois wrote of in his literary legend, “The Souls of Black Folks.” Dubois wrote in 1903 that, “The problem of the twentieth century, is the problem of the color line.” Du Bois’ discernment was eerily accurate, not only for the 20th century but even more so for 21st century. The question facing us, as “Black folks,” is not if the issue of color remains a problem but

rather, what we will do about it.

The civil rights activist Queen Assata Shakur once stated, “Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” Let us consider Shakur’s words here.

What have we gained from our continuous pleas to our oppressors for fairness and equality?

Have we learned nothing from 400 years of cries and begs? We ask for our freedom from slavery and appealed to their moral compass and for our whimper-

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ing begs we received and empty emancipation. This “emancipation” led us directly from the chains of slavery to the bondage of Jim Crow and a promise for a better tomorrow. Have we been able to cash the check of freedom that this country wrote to us some 154 years ago? Simply, no.

We can no longer stand by with our hands outreached asking for someone to be kind and moral in their dealings with us as a people.

The moral account appears today as bankrupt. When we show up at the bank to cash the check they have long promised, we are told

that the funds are insufficient.

As we watch a president stir the coals of contempt against all races, we cannot ask him or them simply to stop, it will not gain us even a second of relief. We must take our destiny into our own hands. We must organize ourselves. We must support one another. We must vote in one unified bloc.

We must stand boldy, demanding a brighter future for our babies, our grandbabies and ourselves. We must demand better.

My father would say, “We have a long way to go and

a short time to get there.” We must heal our own pain so the following generations are not left with this work. It is time for us to take our own destiny into our hands. Are we capable? No one but us can answer this and answering it will do little to nothing, but rather standing together in action is the answer.

The great Malcolm X put it perfectly when he said, “Nobody can give you freedom.

Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man…you take it.” We have work to do, lets ride.

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019 • Page 3

Insight News WINNER: 2018 NNPA MERIT AWARDS: 3RD PLACE BES T COLUMN WRITING

July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019

WINNER: 2019 GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 3RD PLACE, COLUMN WRITING, 2ND PLACE

Vol. 46 No. 30• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Minnesota addresses police shootings Co-chairs:

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor

•

harry@insightnews.com

• In the wake of several highprofile police shootings in Minnesota – in particular, those of Jamar Clark, Philando Castile and Justine Ruszczyk (Damond) – Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington and Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the formation of a working group to address the issue.

Harrington and Ellison will serve as co-chairs of the 16-member body, which is made up of both members of the community and law enforcement. The group will solicit statewide feedback and convene a series of hearings on prevention and training, community healing and officer wellness, policy and legal implications and investigation, oversight and accountability. The community meetings will take place Aug. 17, Sept. 28 and Oct. 17 at yet-to-be-announced locations.

Harrington said the discussion of this working group has been ongoing since he assumed his role at the beginning of the year.

“As a cop for 40 years, I learned that the time to create a partnership wasn’t in the middle of the crisis and the time to discuss deadly encounters is not after one has occurred,” said Harrington during a July 22 press conference to announce the working group. “We want to know how do we, as a state, reduce deadly force encounters.”

Harrington said the working group will evaluate all input to come up with a best practices framework

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington

Members: • •

• • • • •

Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington (at podium) along with Attorney General Keith Ellison (front left) announced the formation of a working group to address police shootings. They were joined by (left to right) Anika Bowie, vice president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Elizer Darris, ACLU, St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin and Clarence Castile, uncle of slain motorist, Philando Castile. to reduce officer involved shootings and on how to investigate once one has occurred.

“We’re looking at everything from top to bottom,” said Harrington. “We’re looking at state and local changes, legislative initiatives, (officer) training, technology … community healing.”

Ellison agreed with Harrington’s assessment that the time to talk about police shootings isn’t in the aftermath of one.

“There’s no doubt when we see an officer involved shoot-

ing there are deep emotions there. We’ve got to talk about this when the waters are calm and we can have constructive dialogue,” said Ellison, whose son, Jeremiah Ellison, had an officer hold a gun to his face during the protest of the killing of Jamar Clark in 2015.

Clark, who was unarmed, was killed by Minneapolis Police Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze.

They were never charged in the case as Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman de-

clined to present the matter before a grand jury and decided solely not to prosecute.

One of the members of the working group has a personal connection to police shootings.

Clarence Castile is the uncle of Philando Castile. Philando Castile was shot seven times

by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop for a supposed broken taillight. Clarence Castile said it is important that he serve to honor his nephew.

“As the uncle of Philando

Castile it’s an honor to bring something to this table; and having community and cops working together is what we have to do to bring back trust,” said Clarence Castile.

Not everyone is excited about the announcement of the working group. In a letter sent to media and community, the group Communities United Against Police Brutality expressed several concerns.

“At the time you announced

POLICE SHOOTING 5

•

•

• • • • •

Medaria Arrandondo, Minneapolis police chief Clarence Castile, public representative on Minnesota Peace Officers Standards and Training board Elizer Darris, Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Matt Gottschalk, Corcoran, Minn., director of public safety Hodan Hassan, state representative (DFL, Minneapolis) Bill Ingebrigtsen, state senator (R-Alexandria) Mark Kappelhoff, Hennepin County District Court judge Brittany Lewis, University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Brian Peters, executive director, Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association Mark Rubin, St. Louis County Attorney Chanda Smith Baker, Minneapolis Foundation Kevin Torgerson, Olmsted County sheriff Artika Tyner, University of St. Thomas law school Tribal law enforcement representative to be named later

Medicare for all: ‘We can’t afford to not do this’

By Josh Cobb Twin Cities Association of Black Journalists/ Insight News Intern Americans pay the highest healthcare taxes in comparison to other industrialized nations; however, thousands of citizens die each year due to preventable causes.

Americans have struggled with the costs of preventable, emergency, mental health, vision, dental, hearing care and prescription medicine. As a result, the nature of healthcare has struck an ongoing political conversation that has only intensified in recent years.

After Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” efforts during his 2016 presidential run,

Josh Cobb

Sen. Melisa Franzen (DFL-Edina), Rose Roach, executive director, Minnesota Nurses Association, Rep. Omar, Rep. Jayapal (DWA), Dr. Dave Dvorak and former Minnesota representative, Erin Murphy during a Medicare for All town hall at Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis.

Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) decided to revamp the

bill. In the summer of 2018 Jayapal help found the Medi-

care for All Caucus, which now has more than 70 Democratic

every day is that their new best insurance plan is GoFundMe,” Jayapal said during a recent town hall held in Minneapolis along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). “For the richest country in the world to not provide healthcare as a human right, that is unacceptable and that’s what Medicare for All fixes.”

The idea has since gained traction nationally and she, along with Omar, agreed to host the town hall on July 18 at the Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis to bring awareness, inform, support and address concerns regarding the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All bill.

Rose Roach, executive director of the Minnesota

MEDICARE 7

representatives as members.

“What Americans see

Philadelphia fires 13 officers for racist Facebook posts Driving while Black: Police continue to

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire profile, stop and search Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia African-American drivers Police officers in Philadelphia and St. Louis are paying a heavy price for their acts of racism.

Weeks after a scathing analysis by the nonprofit Plain View Project, the two departments have responded. In Philadelphia, several officers have been terminated while in St. Louis, prosecutors have barred a number of police personnel from bringing cases against suspects.

“I continue to be very an-

YouTube

Philadelphia Commissioner Richard Ross, Jr.

I2H

Dr. Patrice Harris elected AMA president

PAGE 4

gered and disappointed by these posts,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr., said on July 18.

Ross said the department terminated 13 officers who made “posts that advocated violence.”

He said 17 other officers still face “severe disciplinary action,” while another four will receive 30-day suspensions.

In St. Louis, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner said she added 22 officers to her “exclusion list” of authorities banned from bringing cases to her office after the Facebook posts were made public. In a letter sent to Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden,

Gardner said seven of those 22 were “permanently banned.”

Hayden and Gardner have said they are still investigating the Facebook posts.

In June, the Plain View Project determined that at least 328 active-duty police officers in various cities, including Philadelphia and St. Louis, posted content that championed violence against Muslims, immigrants and African-Americans.

In the posts, officers from rookies to the highest of rank, said the viewed African-Americans as “dogs,” and some wrote that they would arrive

ROSS 5

News

Panel examines diversity and inclusion in tech industry

PAGE 5

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Two new recently published reports show that racial profiling – particularly “driving while Black” – remains a crisis in America.

A recent report is-

sued by Missouri’s attorney general Eric Schmitt revealed Black drivers across that state are 91 percent more likely than white motorists to get pulled over by police. What’s more, the profiling usually takes place in the motorists’ own community, according to the attorney general’s report.

The Missouri re-

DRIVING 7

AS

Roderick Cox Music Initiative looks to play a bigger tune

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Page 4 • July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019 • Insight News

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Insight 2 Health Atlanta psychiatrist promises to lead conversations on mental health and diversity in the medical field

Dr. Patrice Harris elected AMA president

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Dr. Patrice A. Harris, a psychiatrist from Atlanta, was sworn-in in June as the 174th president of the American Medical Association (AMA).

She is the first African-American woman to hold the position.

During her inauguration ceremony in Chicago, Harris said she plans to implement effective strategies to improve healthcare education and training, combat the crisis surrounding chronic diseases, and eliminate barriers to quality patient care. She also promised to lead conversations on mental health and diversity in the medical field.

“We face big challenges in health care today, and the decisions we make now will move us forward in a future we help create,” Harris said in a statement. “We are no longer at a place where we can tolerate the disparities that plague communities of color, women, and the LGBTQ community. But we are not yet at a place where health equity is achieved in those communities.”

According to her biography on the AMA’s website, Harris has long been a mentor, role model and an advocate served on the AMA Board of Trustees since 2011, and as chair from 2016 to 2017. Prior to that, Harris served in various

leadership roles which included task forces on topics like health information technology, payment and delivery reform, and private contracting. She also held leadership positions with the American Psychiatric Association, the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association, the Medical Association of Georgia, and The Big Cities Health Coalition, where she chaired this forum composed of leaders from America’s largest metropolitan health departments.

Growing up in Bluefield, W.V., Harris dreamt of entering medicine at a time when few women of color were encouraged to become physicians, according to her bio. She spent her formative years at West Virginia University, earning a BA in psychology, an MA in counseling psychology and ultimately, a medical degree in 1992.

It was during this time that her passion for helping children emerged, and she completed her psychiatry residency and fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry at the Emory University School of Medicine, according to her bio.

“The saying ‘if you can see it, you can believe it’ is true,” Harris said during her swearing-in ceremony. “And I hope to be tangible evidence for young girls and young boys and girls from communities of color that you can aspire to be a physician. Not only that, you can aspire to be a leader in organized medicine.”

Reginald Duncan

“We are no longer at a place where we can tolerate the disparities that plague communities of color, women, and the LGBTQ community. But we are not yet at a place where health equity is achieved in those communities,” she said.

Black women 42 percent more likely than white to die of breast cancer

By Ricki Fairley Vice President, Sisters Network, Inc. Though Black women get breast cancer at a slightly lower incidence rate than white women, Black women are 42 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. That is an astounding number and indicative of a variety of factors, many reflecting racial disparities.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black women, and an estimated 33,840 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2019. An estimated 6,540 deaths from breast cancer are expected to occur among black women in 2019.

Women do not need to die from breast cancer. It can’t be prevented but early stage breast cancer (meaning it has been localized within the breast) has a 99 percent five year survival rate. Note the inequity here. The overall five-year relative survival rate for breast cancer diagnosed is 81 percent for Black women versus 91 percent for white women. And, 54 percent of breast cancers in Black women are diagnosed at a local stage, compared to 64 percent in white women.

To add more fuel to

the fire, Black women under age 35 get breast cancer at two times the rate of white women and die from breast cancer three times as often as white women.

So, what’s the problem? Why are Black women dying unnecessarily?

Higher death rates among Black women reflect the following.

Black women are not taking action. While 92 percent of Black women agree breast health is important, only 25 percent have recently discussed breast health with their family, friends, or colleagues. And, only 17 percent have taken steps to understand their risk for breast cancer.

Black women lack information about the severity of breast cancer, breast cancer symptoms and the need for screening. Oftentimes, Black women take care of others at the expense of their own health. Also, Black Women are often at a more advanced stage upon detection and Black women may not have access to health care or health insurance so may have lower frequency of and longer intervals between mammograms. Because they may not have health insurance, Black women may not follow up on abnormal mammogram results because they can’t afford the diagnostic testing.

Black women often don’t have access to the same prompt high quality treatment that white women have. They express that they are often feel disrespected by physicians and staff and Black women face logistical barriers to accessing care (such as transportation issues or not being able to miss

iStockphoto /NNPA Ricki Fairley

Black women need to demand the attention and care of health care professionals. work or arrange for child care).

An uncomfortable truth, Black women fear a cancer diagnosis. Maybe because Black women have the highest odds (two times more likely) of getting triple negative breast cancer, a kind of breast cancer that often is aggressive and comes back after treatment. It has the highest mortality rate and is the only breast cancer sub-type that does not have a therapy to prevent recurrence.

Note that younger women and women diagnosed at later stages are more likely to get triple negative breast cancer.

We must stop the silence Early detection saves lives.

Black women of all ages need to check their breasts monthly.

We need to know what our “normal” feels like so if there is some abnormality, immediate action can be taken.

Black women need to understand the severity of this health crisis. We need to be talking about our health, our family histories, and educating all of the women in our lives.

The ongoing conversations in this country around access to affordable health in-

surance must include acknowledgement and action regarding the inequities for Black women.

Black women need to demand the attention and care of health care professionals.

We at Sisters Network, Inc., a sisterhood of survivors, will continue to fight like girls and be the voice of Black women. We are committed to increasing local and national attention to the devasting impact that breast cancer has in the African-American community. We are working diligently to reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer

among Black women by generating awareness, garnering attention, providing access to information and resources, and supporting research efforts in the ecosystem.

Sisters Network Inc. (SNI) founded in 1994 by Karen Eubanks Jackson, 25-year and three-time breast cancer survivor. Membership includes more than 20 survivor- run affiliate chapters nationwide.

To learn more about Sisters Network Inc., visit www.sistersnetworkinc.org or call (866) 781-1808.

insightnews.com

Insight News • July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019 • Page 5

Panel examines diversity and inclusion in tech industry

By Josh Cobb Twin Cities Association of Black Journalists/ Insight News Intern For the first time, the city of Minneapolis sponsored a Black business week to highlight and support local Black-owned businesses.

As part of the week, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) hosted a July 21 panel discussion focusing on diversity and inclusion in the tech industry at the Gold Room Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Minneapolis.

Gold Room is Black owned.

Along with the congresswoman, panelists included Antoinette Smith, co-founder of Techquity, Caroline Karanja, founder and CEO of 26 Letters and CEO of Hack the Gap and Sam

Ndely, co-founder of Graveti.

As tech becomes more essential in our daily lives, it also continues to be a lucrative field that is growing rapidly nationally and globally, however, there is a disparity in the amount of people of color working in this field.

Omar, Smith, Karanja and Ndely all emphasized the need for diversity in the tech industry and proposed ways to combat the workplace disparity.

“We constantly have to show up, make our voice heard and get as loud as we can because we can no longer live under a system that doesn’t recognize our dignity and humanity,” said Omar.

Karanja zeroed in on the nature of this issue and called for immediate action from executives.

“Let’s figure out what’s going on and take steps to ad-

Josh Cobb

Rep. Ilhan Omar (left) poses question to fellow panelists, (left to right) Antoinette Smith, Caroline Karanja and Sam Ndely. dress that today,” Karanja said.

The tech industry workforce is currently sitting at 83 percent European-American and 80 percent male, which raises concerns for representation of people of color and women.

Due to the underrepresentation

in the tech field, young students may not see working in fields such as tech as a tangible goal.

“What we are lacking is just the thought,” Smith said. “We often seond guess ourselves.”

Another challenge to combating the imbalance

in the tech industry and entrepreneurship is capital.

“Generational wealth is a big issue of ours too. A lot of families in our communities don’t have the resources internally to go to the next level,” Ndely said. “If you’re trying

to go to someone who doesn’t look like you and ask them for money it’s going to be hard.”

The panel also addressed microaggressions as well as sexism and racism in the workplace. They shared stories, ways to report them and what the tech industry can do to help alleviate this issue in the office. Smith asserted corporations need to take a look in the mirror and emphasize being proactive allies for a more effective onboarding process.

“We need to make sure that process includes mentors or other people similar to them,” Smith said. “The other thing I think we need is more education as a society on history and how did we get here. I think that will give us a lot more empathy and a lot more space to work on this.”

New initiative to stimulate growth of local, minority-owned businesses

Center for Economic Inclusion receives $400k investment from JPMorgan Chase The Center for Economic Inclusion (the Center) will receive a $400,000 investment from JPMorgan Chase to strengthen local minority-owned businesses and accelerate diverse spending.

The Center will use the funding to stimulate spending growth of the region’s largest employers with at least 15 local minority-owned suppliers to drive revenue, generate employment and build wealth in communities of color.

In 2016, Minnesota spent less than 1 percent of its purchasing with businesses owned by people of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, restricting

regional economic growth and inclusivity. While similar reports are not available for private sector spending, the limited growth of these enterprises in our region illustrates a similar trend.

“Collectively, Minnesota’s minority-owned businesses generate over $5.2 billion in annual revenue and grew at 3.5 times the rate of all Minnesota businesses in 2017, said Tawanna Black, founder and CEO of the Center for Economic Inclusion. “Strategic, intentional spending decisions by Minnesota’s largest employers will fuel our economy and accelerate progress to close our

racial and economic disparities.”

“We are proud to invest in the Center for Economic Inclusion’s efforts to create growth opportunities for minority-owned businesses, helping them expand, generate jobs and wealth in Minneapolis-St. Paul,” said Owen Washburn, vice president, Global Philanthropy with JPMorgan Chase. “Driving that inclusive growth locally means having equal access to the supply chain and procurement process.”

The Center’s strategy is modeled after the Itasca Project’s Business Bridge partnership where procurement executives from 15 of the region’s largest

corporations establish leadership commitment to buy local to spur economic growth, operationalize principles and systems for internal spending growth and measure change over time.

Over a six-year period the Business Bridge moved nearly $3 billion in annual procurement spend to Minnesota-based suppliers, creating transformational impact on the state’s economy.

Unique to the Center’s initiative is strengthening the success rate and scalability of minority-owned suppliers by partnering with agencies such as Metropolitan Economic Development Agency, Neighborhood

Police shooting From 3 the formation of this work group, we were hopeful that the issue of poor quality, biased and inadequate investigations into police deadly force encounters, and routine refusals to prosecute these crimes would finally be addressed and that alternatives to the continued reliance on the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and county prosecutors would be developed. However, given the makeup of this work group, its compressed schedule, and the probable lack of meaningful input opportunities by the community, it is all but certain that this will be yet another wasted effort meant to appease people rather than create meaningful change,” said the

Ross From 3 at work believing that, “it’s a good day for a chokehold.”

Still, others posted their beliefs that women in hijabs were tantamount to “trash bags.”

Plain View Project officials counted more than 3,000 offensive posts from departments across the country, including Dallas, Denison, Tex., Lake County, Fla., Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Twin Falls, Idaho and York, Penn.

“We found a very high and concerning number of posts that appear to endorse, celebrate or glorify violence and vigilan-

Jamar Clark

Justine Ruszczyk (Damond)

Philando Castile

group’s statement. “If there is to be any forward progress at all, we must remove investigations of police deadly

force incidents from the BCA. County prosecutors, who rely on police departments to gather evidence for their

prosecutions, should not be the decision makers on prosecutions of members of those same police departments.

tism,” said Philadelphia-based attorney Emily Baker-White, who heads the Plain View Project. “We included posts that we thought could affect public trust and policing. We also included posts that seemed to emit some sort of bias against a group of people – whether if that’s a minority faith, a minority race, ethnicity, immigration status, whatever it is. We saw a number of posts that appeared to denigrate those groups of people.”

Pennsylvania State. Rep. Chris Rabb said the move by the Philadelphia Police Department to fire the officers is the right thing to do.

“We rely on police officers to protect us, all of us, and to serve as an example of appropriate behavior in our community,” said Rabb, a Democrat who repre-

sents the Philadelphia area. “Unethical, racist, inappropriate behavior or comments by police officers, like that exhibited by these officers from the Philadelphia Police Department, undermines the public’s trust in an institution that is supposed to serve us all.”

Further, Rabb said he agreed with sending the message that such behavior will not be tolerated in any police department.

“But it’s not enough if those police officers are able to find employment in another community that’s unsuspecting of their past behavior,” said Rabb, who has introduced legislation that would ensure that officers like those being terminated cannot simply be moved to another department without leadership and the community being

aware of their past behavior.

He said his bill would prevent a department from hiring a police officer who separated from their last job after a pattern of allegations, complaints or charges for inappropriate behavior. It would also ensure that the hiring departments are fully informed about whom they are hiring.

“This legislation would empower police chiefs and municipalities to make fully informed decisions about the officers who serve their communities,” Rabb said.

“Accountability and transparency, which this legislation would promote, are assets in agencies and departments that strive for integrity.”

Philadelphia Fraternal

HIGHWAY 252/I 94 OPEN HOUSE Please join us for an open house to learn about Highway 252/Interstate 94 improvements in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and North Minneapolis. Concepts are being developed to reduce congestion and improve safety and reliability along Highway 252 and I-94. Proposed designs will be presented for: Highway 252 between Highway 610 in Brooklyn Park and I-694 in Brooklyn Center I-94 from I-694 in Brooklyn Center to downtown Minneapolis Can’t make it to an open house? For project information and to comment on the project, please visit: www.mndot.gov/metro/projects/ hwy252study/index.html To request an ASL or foreign language interpreter: 651-366-4720 To request other reasonable accommodations: 651-366-4718 Or call the Minnesota Relay service toll-free at 1-800-627-3529 (TTY, Voice or ASCII) or 711 or email your request to: adarequest.dot@state.mn.us

How can you participate?

The same information will be provided at all three open houses, which will be held at the following locations: OPEN HOUSE #1 BROOKLYN CENTER Monday, August 5, 2019, 4:30–7:30pm Evergreen Community School 7020 Dupont Avenue, Brooklyn Center OPEN HOUSE #2 BROOKLYN PARK Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 4:30–7:30pm Brooklyn Park Community Activity Center 5600 85th Avenue North, Brooklyn Park OPEN HOUSE #3 MINNEAPOLIS Thursday, August 15, 2019, 4:30–7:30pm Folwell Recreation Center 1615 North Dowling Avenue, Minneapolis

Development Center, other local small business serving organizations, and major investors like JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

“We are grateful to JPMorgan Chase for believing in the power of entrepreneurship to move an economy forward,” said Black.

“Communities like Chicago and Baltimore have proven that when large employers commit to intentional systemic changes and local spending with businesses owned by people of color, they produce unparalleled economic results. We’re thrilled to lead this partnership and know that our employers will do the same.”

The funds are part of JPMorWe would recommend the creation of an independent state agency staffed with attorneys and investigators who do not work for or have ties to other law enforcement agencies.

This free-standing body would be tasked with investigation and potential prosecution of law enforcement officers.”

Communities United Against Police Brutality also questioned the make-up of the 16-member panel due to its being comprised of seven members from law enforcement and five public officials.

“Further, although 50 percent of people killed by police are experiencing mental illness at the time of their death and disabled people are 16 times more likely to be killed by police than the general population, there is not a single person on this workgroup representing the disability community,” cited the group.

Order of Police Lodge No. 5 President John McNesby said the organization was “disappointed” in the decision to fire the officers in part because they were deprived of due process.

“The overwhelming majority of our members serve this city with integrity and professionalism,” McNesby said.

None of the terminated officers were named, but Philadelphia authorities confirmed that the highest-ranking officer fired is a sergeant.

“We have a duty to represent ourselves and our city,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.

“We will not allow this incident to break down the progress we have made and we pledge to do better.”

gan Chase’s $150 million Small Business Forward initiative to support women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses.

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

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

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Managing Editor Harry Colbert, Jr. Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Coordinator Sunny Thongthi Yang Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Intern Kelvin Kuria Contributing Writers Maya Beecham Nadvia Davis Fred Easter Abeni Hill Timothy Houston Michelle Mitchum Inell Rosario Latisha Townsend Artika Tyner Toki Wright Photography David Bradley V. Rivera Garcia Uchechukwu Iroegbu Rebecca Rabb Artist Donald Walker 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,

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Roderick Cox Music Initiative looks to play a bigger tune creating eight music scholarships for students. This initiative is geared towards AfricanAmerican and Latino youth finding an outlet to grow their love for classical music, even if they do not have the money for instruments or lessons.

Cox, a Georgia-native, ended up in Minnesota when he was chosen to be the associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra from 2016 to 2018. He has since been selected to be one of four participants in the 2018 Daniele Gatti Masterclass and is now based in Berlin. In 2018 he was honored with the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

Cox knows the im-

By Josh Cobb Twin Cities Association of Black Journalists/ Insight News Intern Classical music is known for having a European hegemony, but Roderick Cox is looking to change that.

On July 19, the Minikahda Golf Club was the home of the fundraising reception for the Roderick Cox Music Initiative. The event was for the production of “Conducting Life,” a documentary highlighting the lifelong journey of conductor Roderick Cox. It also helped in

Roderick Cox

portance of financial aid for cultivating his musical talent as he too struggled with his first French horn. When Cox first picked up a French horn, he loved to play it but it was shabby and held together by duct tape. He would play in recitals and orchestras with it until the Otis Redding Foundation provided him with a new one.

He has since grown to be a trailblazer in the world of classical music and is one of the few African-American conductors in the United States.

Given his early struggles, he said it is important that his initiative can aid those who have a strong music passion

but are in need of assistance.

“It’s important in terms of thinking about the future, giving back, spreading much of the knowledge and information you’ve learned through the years and giving others an opportunity to achieve and soar as well,” Cox said.

“We all have to help each other.

It’s a rigorous and elusive profession, everyone needs help through this process. That is the main goal of this initiative.”

For more information or to make a charitable donation contact Yvonne Cheek at YvonneCheek@gmail.com or visit www.myfilmnorth.org.

Strive Publishing literary fête celebrates Black authors Strive Publishing will host its second annual Literary Dinner on Aug. 16 to celebrate local African American authors and showcase their recently published works to the Twin Cities’ literary community.

The evening will include a keynote presentation

by Carolyn Holbrook, adjunct professor of creative writing at Hamline University’s College of Liberal Arts Creative Writing Program, founder of More Than a Single Story, and co-author of Dr. Josie Johnson’s new memoir, “Hope in in the Struggle.”

Guests attending the event will dine, meet local authors and learn about each author’s published works.

Driving From 3 port arrives on the heels of one out of Kentucky where a study found that Black motorists are searched at a rate of three-times more than whites in Louisville.

African-Americans account for approximately 20 percent of Louisville’s driving age population, but they still accounted for 33 percent of police stops and 57 percent of the nearly 9,000 searches conducted on motorists, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, which conducted the study.

Their findings were

Prof. Carolyn Holbrook (L) and Mary Taris

“130,999 traffic stops in Louisville from 2016 to 2018 and found that an overwhelming number of African-American drivers were profiled and pulled over by police.”

The newspaper also found Black motorists were searched 12 percent of the time they were stopped, while white motorists were searched just 3.9 percent of the time.

“Aside from the alarming and devastating findings, we have always known that racial profiling is all too prevalent throughout law enforcement and our society as a whole,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told NNPA Newswire.

“What we need is to implement

sequences, Johnson added.

“Our faith in our criminal justice system will continuously be challenged if we are constantly targeted by discriminatory practices just by doing simple tasks - walking down the street, driving down an interstate, or going through an airport without being stopped merely because of the color of our skin. Living as a person of color should never be crime,” he said.

American Civil Liberties Union Attorney Carl Takei told NNPA Newswire racial disparities in the new data are similar to what courts have relied on around the country to find unconstitutional racial profiling in traffic stops.

people yet found contraband in only 41 percent of searches of Black people compared to 72 percent of the searches of white people. In other words, the police have a pattern of stopping and searching Black people in circumstances where they would simply let white people go. This unjustly interferes with Black people trying to live their everyday lives – subjecting them to humiliating, intrusive stops and searches in circumstances where white people would

They also will receive a free copy of Strive Publishing’s curated catalog of local AfricanAmerican children’s books, authors and collaborators.

Strive Publishing, LLC. was founded in 2016

by Mary Taris to fill the void she recognized during her 15 years as a teacher – the lack of works published by AfricanAmerican authors and the persistent need for more diverse books that provide children with real-life perspectives of African-American culture.

“I believe every child should have the experience of seeing their lives validated in the books they read,” said Taris.

Since its inception,

Strive Publishing has published a number of children’s picture books, including “Under the Cloven Sky,” by Ricardo G. Peters, “Isaiah’s Sunglasses,” written by Linda S. Miller and “Red’s Adventures: The Egg Pie,” written by Donna Gingery. Later in 2019, Strive Publishing will introduce its next publication, “A Wild Nature Embraced,” the second in the series written by Peters.

The dinner will be held at Earle Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Dr. in Brooklyn Center. Tickets for the event are $50 to $60, and can be purchased in advance on Strive Publishing’s Eventbrite page.

not be stopped or searched.”

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Police Chief Steve Conrad acknowledged before the Metro Council Public Safety Committee that the department has disproportionately stopped Black drivers.

The newspaper reported that Conrad reasoned that AfricanAmericans are disproportionately represented in all aspects of the criminal justice system, including in arrests and incarceration.

“This is not all sur-

prising based on my over 35 years of practice defending drug cases after traffic stops,” Randall Levine, a Kalamazoo, Michigan attorney told NNPA Newswire. “I would say that DWB – Driving While Black – is still as prevalent today as it was in 1980,” Levine said, before opining what could occur to affect change. “Diversity, sensitivity training and some type of real enforcement for violations might help.”

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Driving While Black highlighted in a tweet by the Thurgood Marshall Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.

The Louisville Courier Journal said it reviewed

Medicare From 3 Nurses Association, Erin Murphy, former Minnesota House member and former executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association and registered nurse, Sen. Melisa Franzen (DFL-Edina) and Dr. Dave Dvorak, emergency medical physician, accompanied Omar and Jayapal on the panel.

The Medicare for All bill proposes to cover all medical care expenses of American citizens, legal residents and im-

proper training for law enforcement officers on how to more efficiently carry out essential policing without threatening the lives of people of color.”

Racial profiling is an insidious practice and serious problem in America that can lead to deadly con-

“Disparities of this kind suggest that officers are using race not only in deciding who to pull over, but who to single out for searches,” Takei said. “What’s particularly damning about this data is that police were more likely to search Black people than white

migrants from the moment the bill is implemented. Supporters say it will eliminate co-pays, deductibles, privatized insurance restrictions, keeps doctors independent and keeps electronic health records confidential.

“I went to school to help patients, but I realized at some level it’s simultaneously hurting them,” said Dvorak. “Personally, I didn’t want to be part of a system that harms our patients while we’re allegedly helping them.

The bill will allow Americans to choose their health care provider, support long term care and cuts administrative costs, supporters say.

“We know the American healthcare system is broken,” Omar said. “This is unacceptable. It is a moral imperative that we fix (the high costs of healthcare) and Medicare for All will do that.”

The proposed comprehensive healthcare bill aims to be funded by a Medicare trust fund, current Medicare, Medicaid and public health dollars. Medicare for All is now co-sponsored by more than 110 members of the House of Representatives.

“It is time for this, it is time for healthcare for all,” Murphy said. “This is no time for tippy-toe politics.”

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Page 8 • July 29, 2019 - August 4, 2019 • Insight News

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