Insight ::: 06.21.21 by Insight News, Inc

WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News

June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 25• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com 3. Act ﬁrst, talk later Rather than making lengthy announcements about her plans and taking years to give away large sums of money, Scott chose to distribute this money rapidly and directly. Unlike philanthropic peers like Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Scott’s initial three rounds of giving haven’t been channeled through a large-scale foundation or other entity, like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, bearing her own name or that of another billionaire. And when she makes her public announcements, the gifts are already made.

By Elizabeth J. Dale Associate Professor of Nonprofit Leadership, Seattle University The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on June 15, 2021, that she and her husband Dan Jewett had given US$2.7 billion to 286 organizations, including universities, arts organizations and other nonprofits. It was her third announcement of this kind since she first publicly discussed her giving intentions in May 2019. Scott has donated about $8.5 billion to a constellation of nonprofits she calls “high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked.” She’s emphasizing racial justice, women’s rights and LGBTQ equality. The $5.8 billion Scott gave to charity in 2020 amounted to nearly 2% of the $324 billion donated by individuals over the course of the year. In early 2021, she emphasized arts organizations much more than in her prior funding rounds, noting that her goal was to lift up arts nonprofits that focus on diverse communities. She also supported a number of organizations like the Donors of Color Network and Native Americans in Philanthropy, which aim to grow civic engagement among communities of color, and charityresearch leaders like the Urban Institute and the Bridgespan Group, which has been advising her. As in the two previous blog posts she wrote to break news of the donations, Scott again encouraged donors of all means to join her, whether those gifts are money or time. Scott, who was previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has left it up to the causes she’s funding to reveal precise totals for each gift. As a scholar of philanthropy, I believe that Scott is modeling five best practices for social change giving. 1. Don’t attach strings All of Scott’s gifts – many in the millions or tens of millions – were made without restrictions. That’s unusual, especially for her largest donations. For example, she gave $40 million to California State Fullerton, a public university, in 2021. In 2020, she gave $40 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which advocates for and builds affordable housing. Rather than specify a purpose, as many large donors do, Scott made it clear that she trusts the organizations’ leaders by providing absolute flexibility in terms of how to use her money to pursue their missions. This hands-off approach gives nonprofits an unusual amount of freedom to innovate while equipping them to weather crises like the coronavirus pandemic without stringent restrictions imposed by

4. Don’t obsess about scale Many of the organizations receiving these gifts are relatively small in scale and lack widespread name recognition. The multiracial justice group Forward Together and the Campaign for Female Education, a global aid group often called CAMFED, for example, until recently operated on annual budgets of $5.5 million or less, while the Millennial Action Project had an even smaller budget. While she’s made some gifts that support relatively large public institutions of higher education, her focus has remained on schools that educate students from underserved communities. In addition to donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges, Scott has supported schools like the University of California, Merced, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, both of which have Latino majorities.

5 ways MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 billion commitment to social and economic justice is a model for other donors donors. 2.Champion representation In Scott’s initial round of giving, she highlighted organizations whose leaders represented the communities they served, such as the Movement for Black Lives and Latino Justice, which are run by leaders of color, and the National

Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center. She says this approach brings “lived experience to solutions for imbalanced social systems.” Backing groups led by people directly aﬀected by an issue is a common tenet of social justice giving at a time when organizations led by people of color receive

less funding than whiteled groups. Scott emphasized her philosophy in this latest round of funding, writing: “people working to build power from within communities are the agents of change.” Organizations like Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and Solidaire, which work at the intersections of multiple identity groups,

embody this principle. In addition, some of the grassroots organizations she’s funding, like Southerners on New Ground, an LGBTQ communityorganizing nonproﬁt, and Southern Partners Fund, direct support to a region of the U.S. that is often overlooked by donors and foundations.

5. Leverage more than money Philanthropy that’s intended to bring about social change inherently expresses the donor’s values, Scott acknowledged in her announcement. She continues to highlight the inequitable social structures that have put her in a position to make such signiﬁcant gifts, saying “it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands.” And like the many women donors I’ve interviewed and studied, she is using her position as one of the world’s wealthiest women to amplify the voices of the leaders and groups she supports. Her goal is to encourage others to give, join or volunteer to support those same causes. As Scott keeps noting, her philanthropy addresses complex issues exacerbated by systemic inequality that will require sustained and broad-based eﬀorts to solve. This is an updated version of an article published on Dec. 20, 2020. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Page 2 • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Making a lasting impact in the Twin Cities At Bank of America, we have long been committed to advancing racial equality and economic opportunity in the communities where we work and live. Recognizing the urgency of the moment, we’ve expanded our longstanding efforts to drive progress by committing an additional $1.25 billion over five years to create opportunity for people and communities of color.

Working together

By partnering with organizations here in the Twin Cities, we’re continuing to align our resources to help drive sustainable progress locally. Our investments and partnerships will help address critical issues and long-term gaps including:

EMERGE

We’re collaborating with a variety of organizations to help our community move forward. They include: City of Lakes Community Land Trust Neighborhood Development Center

• connecting workers to new skills and enhanced job readiness • expanding affordable housing options for more people • ramping up lending and support to local small businesses • increasing access to healthcare and addressing food insecurity

Second Harvest Heartland

We know there’s so much more work to be done. My teammates and I remain committed to the job ahead. Together with our local partners, we can make a real difference. What would you like the power to do?®

Katie Simpson President, Bank of America Twin Cities

Go to bankofamerica.com/twincities to learn more about the work we are doing with our incredible partners.

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

insightnews.com

Insight News • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 25• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Smith seeks Systemic Change that Promotes Equality & Justice

Senate passes Senator Tina Smith Juneteenth Federal Holiday bill U.S. Senator Tina Smith (DMinn.) last week celebrated the Senate passage of legislation to commemorate Juneteenth as a federal holiday during a Senate ﬂoor speech. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act–led by Sen. Smith and her colleagues Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas)–passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday afternoon. The measure now moves to the House, where it is expected to be taken up and passed soon, before being sent to the President to be signed into law. “Juneteenth,” observed on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is also known as Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which announced that, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, “all slaves are free.”

In her remarks, Smith thanked Opal Lee, who at 89 years old walked halfway across the country to raise support for Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Smith said while making Juneteenth a federal holiday is an important step, the United States has much farther to go. She encouraged Congress to use this victory to create momentum for systemic change that promotes equality and justice for all. “The end of slavery in this country is a critical milestone in our history, and Juneteenth should be commemorated nationwide as a day of celebration, reﬂection, and rededication to the cause of racial justice in this country,” said Smith in her remarks from the Senate ﬂoor. “I am forever grateful to the generations of activists who made this possible. In particular, I want to thank Ms. Opal Lee, who at 89 years old, walked halfway across this country to raise support for Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

Opal Lee

U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.)

“I know there will be times when that path seems impossibly long, because the scale of the injustice is overwhelming. When that happens, I will think of Ms. Opal Lee – of her long walk to Washington DC, and the joy in her voice when she heard the news that the Senate had taken one more step towards her dream of federally recognizing Juneteenth – and draw inspiration and strength from her example. I am proud to walk this path with her, and with all of you. Let’s keep going,” she said.

“Commemorating Juneteenth as a federal holiday is an encouraging and deeply meaningful step – but we have much farther to go on the path towards justice. Let’s use this victory to build momentum for the systemic change we need – like protecting voting rights and safeguarding our democracy, passing meaningful policing and criminal justice reform, pursuing economic and environmental justice, and working towards a more just and equitable world,” Smith said.

KIDS COUNT Data Book provides the most comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the United States

Minnesota ranks third overall for children’s well-being, but fault lines in systems exacerbated by pandemic; Black, indigenous and children of color experience vast disparities in outcomes SAINT PAUL, Minnesota — Minnesota ranked third among states for overall child wellbeing, improving in health and education rankings but falling in the Family and Community domain from 2020, according to the latest edition of the national 2021 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This year’s Data Book shows nearly a decade of progress that could be erased by the COVID-19 pandemic unless policymakers act boldly to sustain the beginnings of a recovery from the coronavirus crisis. “While we are happy that Minnesota is ranked third based on the KIDS

COUNT indicators, when we disaggregate the data by race and ethnicity, we find that our Black, Indigenous and children of color are having a very different experience of Minnesota. Our state has some of the most pronounced disparities in outcomes for the children,” said Bharti Wahi, executive director of Children’s Defense FundMinnesota (CDF-MN). “As we move out of the pandemic and take a look at our longstanding disparities, we have an obligation to rebuild a stronger and more equitable Minnesota where marginalized children can flourish, policymakers center child and youth wellbeing, and communities wield power to make change.”

The Data Book shows simply returning to a pre-pandemic level of support for children and families would shortchange millions of children and fail to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities. Even with an overall Minnesota rank of three (rankings based on 2019 information and without the negative compounding consequences of the pandemic), too many Minnesota children are not receiving the support they need to thrive:  143,000 lived below the poverty line ($25,000 for a family with two adults and two children)  261,000 lived in a household where no adult had full-time, year-round income

Melvin Carter

By Irma McClaurin, PhD By Irma McClaurin, PhD https://corporate. target.com/article/2020/09/lakestreet-letter

Andrea Jenkins

Commentary by Dr. By Aarohi Narain By Mecca Dana Randall Harry Maya Alexa Starks Colbert, Beecham Spencer, Bos Bradley Jr. Josie Johnson By Global Latisha Information Townsend Contributing Architect Howard Mayo Managing Clinic University Editor Staff Writer Contributing Network (GIN)Writer News Service harry@insightnews.com

 268,000 were in unaﬀordable housing (30% or more of income)  74,000 (or more than half) of Minnesota 3- and 4-year-olds were not in school (a rank of 18th)  42,000 did not have health insurance COVID-19 has hit Minnesota households with children, particularly Black, Indigenous and communities of color, harder than those without and public programs and policies have been an even more critical bridge to family economic stability — beneﬁtting children across the state. During 2021,

CHILDREN 4

Racial bias makes white Americans more likely to support wars in nonwhite foreign countries – new study By Vladimir Enrique Medenica Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Delaware and David Ebner Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware The effects of American racial bias and anti-Asian sentiment do not end at the nation’s borders. The racial attitudes of white people also influence their support for American military intervention abroad, according to our working paper on U.S. foreign policy and racism. White Americans who hold racist beliefs are significantly more likely to endorse aggressive military interventions over diplomacy or economic strategies in foreign countries at odds with the United States, if the residents of those countries are perceived as nonwhite. This is particularly true when it comes to China. Race and public opinion Researchers have long known that race and racism powerfully shape white Americans’ views on domestic issues like social welfare and criminal justice.

Scholars have given less attention to how the racial resentment harbored by white people influences their foreign policy views, in part because the typical voter cares less about foreign policy than about domestic policies that affect their everyday lives. But when tensions between the U.S. and another country escalate, as they have lately with Iran, North Korea and China, popular interest in foreign policy rises. That can influence policy decisions. To analyze how racial attitudes affect support for U.S. military action abroad, we examined 30 years of public opinion data collected by one of the country’s longest-running national public opinion surveys, the American National Election Study. Our analysis focused on answers by white Americans from 1986 to 2016. Specifically, we examined their responses to the “racial resentment” scale. Social scientists use this meticulously tested set of questions to assess anti-Black prejudice in the post-civil rights era. In recent decades, white Americans have become less willing to express explicitly racist views, such as opposing interracial marriage or supporting segregation. But they may still harbor bigoted perceptions, doubting Black Americans’ work ethic or commitment to self-reliance, for

Frank Rossoto Stocktrek via Getty

White Americans who hold racist attitudes are likely to prefer military action over diplomacy in foreign countries like Iran and, in particular, China. example. The racial resentment scale is designed to capture this kind of discriminatory antiBlack views. Social scientists have repeatedly demonstrated that white people who hold such views are also likely to hold negative views of other nonwhite U.S. populations, including Latinos, immigrants, Muslim Americans and Asian Americans. Based on responses to the racial resentment scale in the most recent American National Election Studies – administered in 2012 and 2016 to about 3,000 non-Hispanic white respondents each – we found that racist

News

White inferiority and white self-loathing complexes

PAGE 5

attitudes are correlated with and meaningfully inﬂuence white Americans’ support for U.S. military interventions in other countries. For example, people with racist attitudes favored more aggressive action against Iran. Thirty-ﬁve percent would support bombing Iranian suspected nuclear development sites, compared with 15% of whites with less racist attitudes and 31% of white Americans overall. White Americans with racist views also favor military engagement against Muslim populations. For example, they

RACIAL BIAS 5

County commissioners approved new face covering requirements inside county buildings

Hennepin County changes face covering requirements in county buildings Visitors and employees who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear face coverings in Hennepin County buildings. Visitors and employees who are not fully vaccinated remain required to wear face coverings. Fully vaccinated is defined as 14 days after the last dose in a person’s vaccine series. Children under 5 years of age are exempt from this requirement. Regardless of vaccination status, some locations will continue to have more stringent face covering requirements for visitors and employees— including correctional facilities, courtrooms, health care settings, and homeless shelters. Please follow building and office signage to best know the requirements for each specific building. Hennepin County continues to request that all visitors who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 or who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms not enter

county facilities. Hennepin County does not require visitors to have received a COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter a county facility. Face coverings will be available for people who need one, and visitors who can’t wear a face covering can request an accommodation. In addition, people in county buildings should practice adequate physical distancing of at least six feet whenever possible. Household groups are not required to practice physical distancing measures with each other.

Courtesy Photo

Congressman Kweisi Mfume

The American Jobs Plan can rebuild our nation’s physical infrastructure while creating opportunities for small and minority owned businesses to employ more people By Congressman Kweisi Mfume As each day passes, we feel closer to the moment when we can ﬁnally say this pandemic is behind us. While we are not there yet, the sacriﬁce and fortitude it has taken us to make it this far should not go unrecognized or go unappreciated. As we prepare to build back a better America after the pandemic, I convened a congressional hearing this week as Chair of the Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee for the U.S. House Small Business Committee to discuss the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses and to examine how federal investments in American infrastructure networks can help small and minority owned businesses. People across America rely on our infrastructure networks to commute to work, access clean water, communicate with each other, light their homes, transport items by rail, and more. Despite the importance of our national infrastructure, it arguably has become an afterthought to some policymakers over the past several decades in many respects. Fortunately, there is a growing understanding that our existing infrastructure networks

and their limited lifecycles require immediate attention. That is one reason why President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and many members of the U.S. House of Representatives plan to revitalize the American infrastructure networks through major federal investments over the next decade. The investments would modernize 20,000 miles of highways and roads, repair 10,000 bridges, improve airports and ports, and expand transit and rail into new communities. The investments would also eliminate lead pipes in drinking water systems, provide high-speed broadband, upgrade schools and federal buildings, replace buses and rail cars, and so much more. By all accounts, these eﬀorts represent a new vision for America that will be good for the environment and make our nation’s infrastructure more equitable community by community. Investing in America’s infrastructure networks will also beneﬁt the nation’s small businesses because small businesses rely on our infrastructure systems to access customers and suppliers, boost business operations, and create new demand for goods and services. Beyond that, investing in America’s infrastructure networks will mean new business opportunities for

MFUME 5

I2H

COVID testing in schools: What you should know

PAGE 6

Page 4 • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Bank of America invests in Black-led businesses and nonprofits SEATTLE — The Black Future Co-op Fund, University of Washington Foster School of Business’ Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC), and Bank of America today announced a new partnership to build generational sustainability of Black-led businesses and nonprofits across Washington state. “Black businesses and organizations have long been vital contributors to Washington state, yet purposeful and persistent anti-Blackness has undermined their opportunity to thrive,” says Angela Jones, J.D., Fund architect and Washington STEM CEO. “Through this partnership, we’re intentionally investing in Black well-being and building the infrastructure for generational wealth.” With support from the Black Future Co-op Fund and a $500,000 grant from Bank of America, the CBDC is working with Black-led businesses and organizations across Washington to provide tailored technical assistance, leadership development training, financial management guidance, and help accessing funding. “The CBDC was founded 26 years ago by the first Black tenured faculty member at the Foster School and the first Black Dean of the Foster School,” said Frank Hodge, Orin and Janet Smith Endowed Dean of the UW Foster School of Business. “This partnership with the Black Future Co-op Fund

focus on supporting the growth of businesses owned by people of color. For more, visit: foster. uw.edu/consult. and Bank of America will enable us to take the next big step in removing systemic barriers and creating opportunities for wealth creation in Blackowned businesses. The initiative also brings crucial support to Black-led organizations that are leading powerful work to enrich Black generational prosperity and well-being.” A recent listening tour conducted by the Black Future Co-op Fund identified more than 500 Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations across Washington, and found at least 65 of identified businesses have closed in the last year. The Fund interviewed Black business owners who shared they have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession. Most are under-resourced and operating with little to no profit margin. Black-owned businesses also face significant hurdles accessing resources, such as small business grants, loans, or lines of credit, or culturally informed technical assistance. While Black small business owners in particular have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic, recent research from Bank of America based on a national survey of 300 Black business owners found those still in

partnership. “Pervasive economic and social disparities only intensified during the global health crisis, and we see a clear and urgent need for intentional investment in and resources directed to Black businesses and nonprofit organizations,” said Jeremey Williams, market executive, Bank of America Seattle. “This investment is a further demonstration of Bank of America’s commitment to build local partnerships that help foster job creation, economic growth, and stability for Blackled Washington businesses that contribute so much to our community and economy.” Bank of America’s contribution is aligned to the company’s $1.25-billion, fiveyear commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity. This commitment builds on steps the company has already taken, including program support for nonprofit community partners and lending assistance for small and minority-owned businesses through community development financial and minority depository institutions. Bank of America also recently increased its goal for equity investments in minority-focused funds to $350 million, including an equity investment in Portland-based Elevate Capital,

operation remained resilient and flexible as they navigated through an evolving and uncertain business landscape. In response to the impacts from the pandemic, 48 percent of Black entrepreneurs reported retooling their operations – double that of the national average. However, Black business owners have needed to overcome numerous obstacles, with 82 percent reporting that they have worked harder to achieve success than their non-Black counterparts. In response to the Black community’s feedback, this partnership is working to build the kind of support that will bolster Black prosperity over generations. As part of this initiative, CBDC is expanding its board fellows program. Black graduate students at the UW will be matched with Black-led nonprofits for a 9-month board placement, bringing new skills and building the next generation of Black nonprofit board leaders. Artists in Activism in Snohomish County and Takeall Foundation in Spokane are two of the Black-led organizations recently paired with graduate students. Both organizations are also working with the CBDC to strengthen their financial management and operations through the newly-formed

which will put capital to work supporting minority and women entrepreneurs with early-stage funding across the Paciﬁc Northwest and beyond. ABOUT THE BLACK FUTURE CO-OP FUND Created by and for Black Washingtonians, the Black Future Co-op Fund is a new paradigm for philanthropy to ignite Black wealth, health, and well-being over generations. Through intentional investment, the Fund works to connect Black communities for collective power, promote a truthful Black narrative, and uplift Blackled solutions that foster Black generational prosperity. For more, visit: blackfuturewa.org. ABOUT UW FOSTER CONSULTING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER UW Foster is a world-class business school in a pioneering city perched on the Paciﬁc Rim. The world’s best and brightest leaders are here, applying ingenuity to better humanity. The Consulting and Business Development Center, now in its 26th year, advances student careers and grows businesses and jobs in communities where they’re needed the most with a core

ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in, and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer, and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about. bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@ BofA_News).

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity offers innovative mortgages and education during national homeownership month

St. Paul—June is National Homeownership Month and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity has an innovative program for first-time homebuyers that makes homeownership possible for many more families. The first step is to sign up for a weekly information session on Wednesdays at noon: BuyWithHabitat.org/ info-session. Habitat has been a partner to more than 1,500 successful homeowners in the Twin Cities area. Buyers can work with a Realtor to find a home on the open market or buy a home built or renovated by Habitat. Other features of the program include: • Monthly mortgage payments are capped at 30 percent of income. • The mortgage is

Children From 3

a low-interest 30-year mortgage, fixed rate. • No down payment required; closing costs and affordability assistance is available. • Buyers earning $40,000-$89,000 or more have qualified and closed. • Habitat provides guidance through each step of the process and a homeowners’ education workshop. • Habitat also provides post-purchase support that includes maintenance tips, resources, and ways to connect with the homeowner community. The Habitat mortgage program was made possible by a partnership with Bremer Bank that has provided 382 home loans worth $70.3 million over the past four years. Mortgages are originated by TCHFH

Lending, Inc., a subsidiary of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, then Bremer Bank buys the mortgages. The Habitat program seeks to address some of the barriers facing prospective homeowners. One in four Minnesota households are costburdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, leaving less money for healthcare, transportation, education, and savings. And the state’s racial gap in homeownership is among the nation’s worst. Seventy-seven percent of White households own homes compared with 24 percent of Black households. Forty percent of all households of color own their homes. “The need to open access to aﬀordable homeownership for underserved

CDF-MN has encouraged policymakers to continue the extraordinary leadership and vital public investments in

families necessary to meet this moment and to support families going forward in the following ways:  Supporting economic stability for 64,000 children on the Minnesota Family Investment Program through increased flexibility, coordination and simplification of program requirements and inflationary annual adjustments;  Creating a more equitable unemployment insurance system that includes hardworking high school youth that support themselves and their families;  Ensuring an equitable recovery from remote learning through investments in culturally relevant and affirming out of school time programs, non-exclusionary discipline models and greater diversity in the teaching workforce;  Expanding access to Medicaid coverage for a year post-partum and tackling implicit bias in maternal health care;  Addressing racial and geographic economic and health disparities through a Paid Family and Medical Leave social insurance program; and  Using federal and state resources and a state mandated process to transform a fragmented and underfunded childcare system. CDF-MN plans to build upon these and other legislative and administrative advocacy efforts in the future to ensure the state’s budget and policies put children and families first. “Particularly as we build a post COVID-19 state, overcoming the economic crisis and contending with the racial reckoning, we want to send a strong message to communities that we support children and families through critical investments, and the benefits of these investments far outweigh the costs to ensure that every child in Minnesota has a fair and equitable start in life,” said

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests. Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD. Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray Book Review Editor W.D. Foster-Graham 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 Inell Rosario Latisha Townsend Artika Tyner Toki Wright Photography 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,

4217

Face2FaceAfrica.com

By Lee H. Jordan Minneapolis Juneteenth Committee - 2018 National Juneteenth Film & Bicycling Commissions

communities and first-time homebuyers in the metro area has never been greater,” said Chris Coleman, President and CEO of Twin Cities Habitat. “The Habitat homeownership program serves more than 100 local families a year. We encourage people to explore partnering with Habitat—it’s an amazing opportunity to buy a home you love with a mortgage you can afford.” Prospective homebuyers can find out if they qualify and more information on the mortgage program at BuyWithHabitat. org or by signing up for a weekly information session at BuyWithHabitat.org/infosession.

About Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity: Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity brings people Wahi. The 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book is the most comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the United States. Sixteen indicators measuring four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community context — are used by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in each year’s Data Book to assess child well-being. The annual KIDS COUNT data and rankings represent the most recent information available but do not capture the impact of the past year:  Third in economic well-being. While up to the pandemic Minnesota’s families experienced signiﬁcant progress in economic security, 143,000 children were still living in poverty and their ranks likely swelled during the pandemic as economic stability and security declined.  Seventh in education. Only 48% of children ages 3 and 4 attend preschool despite widespread research pointing to the positive impact that high-quality early childhood education has on longterm educational outcomes. Increased state and federal investment in recent years has improved access, but we must do more to address shortages in high-quality early childhood education opportunities and the aﬀordability of these programs.  Sixth in the family and community domain. Teen birth rates are at an all-time low nationwide, and while Minnesota rates remain low, progress has stalled, with 1,791 births to 15-19-year-olds in 2019.  Second in health. As of 2019, Minnesota’s rates are among the highest in the nation in regard to the percentage of children who are covered by health insurance, though 42,000 children remain uncovered and sharp disparities exist for Latino and American Indian children.

together to create, preserve, and promote aﬀordable homeownership and advance racial equity in housing. Since 1985, more than 1,500 families have partnered with Twin Cities Habitat to unlock the transformational power of homeownership. Twin Cities Habitat is one of the highest-

regarded Habitat for Humanity aﬃliates nationwide. www. tchabitat.org Contact: Doug Stone, 651-336-9907 (mobile) Kaitlyn Dormer, 612305-7123

We expect the pandemic to exacerbate the need and disparities. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey from the last year add to the story of COVID-19’s impact on Minnesota’s children and families:  Around half (46%) of Minnesotans in households with children lost income since March 2020.  An estimated 341,000 Minnesotans with children in their household have beneﬁtted from Unemployment Insurance (UI) since March, but another 64,000 applied and were unable to access the program.  Since March, Minnesota households with children are twice as likely as those without children to report food insuﬃciency within the past seven days.  Access to paid leave to care for oneself or a family member is more important than ever, yet 73% of Minnesotans in households with children that were not working in late August were receiving no pay. Investing in children, families and communities is a priority to ensure an equitable and expansive recovery. Several of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s suggestions have already been enacted in the American Rescue Plan, and additional recommendations include:

Permanently extending unemployment insurance eligibility to contract, gig and other workers and expanding state tax credits would benefit parents and children. ● States that have not done so should expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The American Rescue Plan offers incentives to do so. ● States should strengthen public schools and pathways to post-secondary education and training.

● Congress should make the expansion of the child tax credit permanent. The child tax credit has long had bipartisan support, so lawmakers should ﬁnd common cause and ensure the largest oneyear drop ever in child poverty is not followed by a surge. ● State and local governments should prioritize the recovery of hard-hit communities of color. ● States should expand income support that helps families care for their children.

Release Information The 2021 KIDS COUNT® Data Book will be available June 21 at 12:01 a.m. EDT at www.aecf.org. Additional information is available at www.aecf.org/ databook. Journalists interested in creating maps, graphs and rankings in stories about the Data Book can use the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.kidscount.org. About Fund

Children’s Defense – Minnesota Children’s Defense Fund – Minnesota releases an annual state KIDS COUNT Data Book each fall. Download the 2020 Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. About the Annie E. Casey Foundation The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s children by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org.

insightnews.com

Insight News • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Page 5

White inferiority and white self-loathing complexes

Racial Bias From 3 are five percentage points more supportive of continuing the global “war on terror” than the overall white population, 46% to 41%. Because a number of factors influence people’s foreign policy opinions – including educational status, income, gender, ideology, military service and partisan affiliation – we adjusted for these in our study. We also controlled for respondents’ reported attention to political news, their level of white ethnocentrism and

Mfume From 3 many small businesses that directly and indirectly support the development, modernization, and maintenance of the infrastructure networks in question. In the construction industry for example, it is estimated that there are 3 million small businesses which employ over 82 percent of all employees in this sector. Put simply, a federal investment in infrastructure is an investment in small businesses. That’s true because there are a number federal safeguards in place to ensure small businesses participate in the competitive procurement processes for federal contracts and earn their fair share of federal contracting dollars. For instance, there is a government-wide goal requiring that 23 percent of all eligible prime contracting dollars be spent with small businesses, and the Small Business Association (SBA) works to ensure that this goal is met or surpassed. Other goals exist for speciﬁc subsets of small contractors at the prime and subcontracting level. We seek 5 percent participation by small and disadvantaged businesses, 5 percent by women-owned small businesses, 3 percent by service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and 3 percent in Historically Under-utilized Business Zones. Once again, the SBA

Power, it intimates that some people are above and beyond the truth, and we must come humbly to them in supplication. The fact is, Truth is Power and that is why honest and people from humble circumstances are greatly feared, and most often by the corrupt people in positions of authority. We all too often conﬂate authority with power. Authority comes from without, outside of the self, outside the is-ness, it is usually conferred. Power comes from within and cannot be bestowed, however, it can be usurped. Power to The People was a slogan whose time has long passed and for me should never have been used/coined. When one says power to the people it sounds as though We The People have no power and we are waiting for someone to give it to us, or for it to fall like manna from the Heavens. We should be saying Power is The People, because we already have the power when we are, and more potent when we unite, exercise, and execute OUR/THE POWER inherent in us. Transparency is yet another ill fated notion as the things we are discussing are usually well documented like the barbarous and brutal beating, torture, and maiming of Rodney King, Sandra Bland, and the murder of Eric Garner, George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and the list of made victims could be rapped around the world. We have no lack of being able to see, hear and even smell what has/is happening, what we lack is Truth, Justice, Ramiﬁcations, and Equality. Resistance is another word that has become a slogan. I espouse persistence and perseverance. When I hear resistance it implies tussling with your foe who may be stronger than you, so one must develop evasive strategies and striking at the vulnerable parts of your foe/ foes, attacker, enemies. Many times people think of resisting an aggressor, struggling with someone who may be choking them/someone when a blow by hand, head, and/or feet would do the job of disabling and getting free from the assaulter.

It is diﬃcult to comprehend that we live in a society in the 21st Century, a time in which millions of people are so insecure, weak, mentally juvenile, and with copious ignorance, self-hate and inadequacy that they go about making enemies of people that they don’t know and who have never done anything negative to them. The US entertained such barbarian and ignoramus in the form of 45/Orange Man and his henchmen to the detriment of the USA and the entire planet. It is incomprehensible that America had someone at the helm that facilitated the death of over a half a million people by Covid-19 because of his sustained denial, deliberate negligence, incompetence, and hate ﬁlled sadistic behaviors, and yet millions are still supporting 45 up to this minute. That is serious sickness and evil thriving throughout the land/ USA and beyond. We must stand together, united and immovable against tyrants, bullies, injustice, corruption, hate and destructiveness, manufactured and sustained ignorance no matter where it comes from, what ethnic group the perpetrators belong to, who is promulgating and perpetrating it, and what strata of society they come from. The history of America is replete with some of the most vile conducts known to humans based on color and the masses all too often remain complicit and complacent in silence and disengagement while the atrocities are committed and expanded. The fear of Black and Brown People is an on going irrational reality as you can look at the history of America and look at who has perpetuated some of the most heinous conducts and crimes against fellow human beings. The sagas of the 1919 Red Summer in Chicago/Illinois, Washington DC, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, the destruction and massacre of Black Wall Street in Tulsa Oklahoma 1921, the thousands of lynching that many White People relished and attended

their authoritarian leanings. We find that racial resentment has a significant effect above and beyond these other variables.

Racially resentful whites were 36 percentage points more likely to see China as a major threat than other white respondents, according to our analysis. In 2016, 3,505 white Americans answered the same survey questions about China. Forty-ﬁve percent saw China as a “major” threat to the U.S. and 43% saw it as a “minor threat”; only 11% of whites believed that China presented no threat to the U.S. Again, racial attitudes strongly shaped these perceptions. Our analysis found that whites with racist attitude were 20 percentage points more likely to consider China a major threat in 2016 than other whites.

While at ﬁrst glance this might suggest that racial attitudes were less of a factor in 2016 than 2012, the lower percentage reﬂects the fact that a much higher percentage of Americans viewed China as a threat in 2016 than 2012. This trend continued during the presidency of Donald Trump, who portrayed China as a great adversary, calling it a “threat to the world.” Today 22% of all Americans see China as the greatest enemy of the U.S., according to a 2020 Gallup poll.

Anti-China views Racial resentment seemed especially influential in white American views of China – which has become an economic and political competitor to the U.S. over the last decade. In 2012, of the 3,196 white Americans surveyed in the American National Election Study, 28% believed that China posed a “major” military threat to the U.S., 53% saw China as a “minor” threat and 19% did not see China as a threat. is responsible for making sure these goals are met or surpassed. The current infrastructure plan would also create contracting programs, administered by the SBA, that reserve contracts for underserved small businesses through dedicated opportunities and sole-source opportunities. Additionally, there are reserved contracting programs in place at the state and local levels whenever federal dollars are involved with infrastructure spending. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program is designed to enable women and minorityowned small firms to compete for federally funded contracts led by state and local agencies. It is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most important tool for remedying the effects of discrimination and leveling the playing field in transportation-related projects. These programs are vital to the wellbeing of the small business community and will help to guarantee that small businesses have a seat at the table when it comes to infrastructure spending and contracting opportunities using federal dollars. The American Jobs Plan will create thousands of these contracting opportunities. I want to use this opportunity and use my oversight role in Congress to take a closer look at the small business programs and ensure we are maximizing small business participation in contracting at the federal, state, and

local levels. This week’s hearing was just a part of that process. The post Infrastructure investments help grow small and minority owned businesses appeared first on Afro. R E L A T E D T O P I C S : B A LT I M O R E GOVERNMENTCOMM E N T A R Y C O N GRESSMAN KWEISI M F U M E F E AT U R E D I M PACTS OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ON SMALL BUSINESSESINVESTING IN AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURENATIONAL NEWSNEWSOPINIONPOLITICSTHE AFROU.S. GOVERNMENTU.S. HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTE

A vicious cycle Americans’ growing perception of China as a threat

Douglas R. Ewart as a form of entertainment and family outing/picnic, with news papers advertising the upcoming lynching, and transportation companies adding more vehicles to accommodate the burgeoning audiences, and many White People even taking along their toddlers and jockeying to get a piece of the victim’s body as a trophy to take home and place in their homes on the mantle, and even buying it if necessary, these lynchings entailed hanging the person/ persons, then shooting them even when dead, then burning them, and then dismembering them and distributing the body parts; the hanging of 38 Dakota on the 11th November 1865 in Mankato MN; the Wilmington Massacre 1898 in Wilmington NC; the bombing of Move in Philadelphia, PA, on May 13th 1985, and the list goes on. America has a Golden Opportunity to truly be a beacon of light in a benighted world if it stops believing the hype and having the arrogance and hubris that it is the leader of the socalled free world, as it has been and continues to be the nemesis of freedom, truth, justice, equality and peace the world over. Take a look at the wrongs that have been wrought at home and abroad. Yesterday we had/ experienced a most positive coming together of people in the George Floyd Square in Minneapolis MN and vicinities, the displaying and manifestation of the power of mutual trust, positivity, social interaction and personal duologue, and

the implicit power of the arts to galvanize, unite, and foster civility amongst people from divergent paths...walks of life. Love is stronger because it is positive, productive, and a more universal power than hate, and it propels us in positive trajectories that hate can never rival or match. Together we survive Together we surmount all obstacles Together we thrive Together we have more of everything we need as human beings When we have, no matter how small the portion, we have enough to share, and the psychological, emotional, and spiritual bounties only immensely increase. Remain positive at all times Commit deliberate acts of kindness to as many people as you can Be patient with yourself and others Slow down Slow up Grow up Don’t give up Re-up Get up Show up Be up In order for positive things to be, you must endeavor to be that aspect! With Knowledge we see and are able to acknowledge and realize Truth, Justice, Consequences, and Equality. Love in Peacefulness! Walk Gud! Douglas

comes as both countries compete for control over the South China Sea. China and the U.S. routinely deploy weapons and engage in military planning and exercises in the South China Sea. U.S. President Joe Biden frames tensions between the two countries as a competition between democracy and autocracy. He has described relations with China as one of the top priorities of his administration. Many analysts, including high-ranking U.S. military personel, view the risks of violent conﬂict between the U.S. and China as relatively low. But all that saber-

rattling in the South China Sea, and years of heated presidential rhetoric under Trump, have domestic implications. Studies suggest that when politicians describe the relationship between the U.S. and China as a “great power competition,” it stokes anti-Asian beliefs among white Americans. These anti-Asian beliefs, in turn, make white Americans more likely to see China as a major threat, according to our research – one potentially worthy going to war over. We document a vicious cycle of racial animosity with potentially global consequences.

Encerrarlos ...Lock them up

Proper Disposal of Prescription Medications

There are no excuses to remain ignorant as there are countless books, pamphlets, newspaper articles, magazines, film and video documentaries on the subject of the vicious and lethal ethnicism and the racism that exist in America and around the globe. It has now been a year and some days since the public murdering of George Floyd by DEREK CHUVIN and the complicit three cops: TOU THAO, THOMAS LANE, and ALEXANDER KUENG. We are so grateful and thankful to Darnella Frazier for having the courage as she was under threat by the marauding police, the vision, and wherewithal to video the brazen murder of George Floyd in broad day light for all to see, hear, and smell. We can just imagine the numerous brutal acts these murderers have committed before this particular crime, and the ones committed by Derek Chauvin over his many years as a policeman, who was license and protected by the Blue Wall of Silence and psychopathic wing of fraternity of police. We can also imagine what happens when people like these brutal psychopaths are dispatched by the military to foreign lands, and the brutality, savagery, raping and ravishing they commit on people viewed as less than and as the true or imagined enemies. I don’t espouse the notion of Dominant Culture. There is a significant difference between being domineering and being dominant. As humans, there are layers of cultural behaviors and people develop their own and unique culture/ cultures even when suppressed, depressed, and repressed, demonized, and persecuted. Europeans have meted out domineering conducts the world over based on the power of the gun and the use of the Bible, and unbridled treachery. However, peoples all over the world have persisted and maintained their cultures in spite of innumerable cruel methods devised to squash and eradicate

their cultures. I/We also know the power of words/language. We must make every effort to stop using language that reinforces and bolster ignorance, stupidity, pseudo science, and the innumerable falsehoods that persist. What is called “White Supremacy ‘’ must be called by its rightful nomenclature, White Inferiority and White Self loathing Complexes. I want to make it clear that not all people deemed White are culprits that condoned and participated in vile and barbaric behaviors, however, all that are considered White enjoy unearned benefit and privileges from Whiteness, and therefore are responsible to engage arduously in dismantling this global scourge of humanity, and other life forms. Firstly, White People is a construct founded in lying, stealing, bullying, terrorizing, and murdering people, so no sane person/people call people that behave in such barbaric ways supremacist, as that makes no sense. That kind of conduct is indicative of great self disgust and inadequacy. I am reminded of people that have personal relationships and endeavor to be dominating over their so called partner, lover, friend, spouse and they beat, brutalize, maimed and all too often murder the person they claim they love. These people first start out with I love you so much I need to know where and who you are with at all time, I need to look into your phone, you need to only have me as a friend, work at distancing you from your family, then verbal abuse, stalking, works to have mental control, then grabbing, pushing, slapping, punching, kicking, and working assiduously to systematically damage the self esteem of the person being victimized, and the terror escalated to unfathomable levels and conditions. That is the conduct of an insecure and self loathing person. Truth to Power, is one of the most asinine statements ever coined, and it makes my blood boil every time I hear it. When people say Truth to

Eliminación Adecuada de Medicamentos Recetados

By Douglas R. Ewart

Use un bolsa de Deterra ...Use a Deterra bag

O grano de café ...Or coffee grounds

O basura de gatitos ...Or kitty litter

https://www.facebook.com/CarmenRoblesLLC Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI083343 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Page 6 • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Insight News

insightnews.com

Insight 2 Health

Pooled COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools can reduce the time it takes to uncover positive cases in the classroom.

COVID testing in schools: What you should know (NAPSI)—Enabling K-12 schools to reopen for in-person learning is a high priority for parents, communities and governments. In fact, President Biden’s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness was launched to fund COVID testing for teachers, staﬀ and students in an eﬀort to create a safer return-to-school environment. Getting kids back to inperson learning will mean giving working parents a break, letting parents return to full-time work, reducing the expense of tutors or

childcare and providing a nearnormal learning experience. Nevertheless, concerns linger over COVID in the classroom and the possibility of children bringing the virus home. School districts have looked at options for student testing but at the top of many lists is pooled testing. Here are some common questions and answers about that:

a classroom and runs them as a single test. This can signiﬁcantly increase testing capacity and lower costs. School personnel are trained to operate and monitor on-site sample collection, usually done weekly. In the event of a positive pool, the entire pool is quarantined and individually retested. But students who test negative can return to school immediately.

What is pooled COVID testing? Pooled COVID-19 testing combines swabs from consenting individuals in

Does to

child need participate? Participation is optional but according to district

supervisors, most parents participate because regular, proactive testing can oﬀer peace of mind. Knowing your child is in a COVID-free pool can make sending them to in-person learning less stressful. Proactive pooled testing alerts parents if a pool tests positive—which can be faster than ﬁnding out only after a child starts showing symptoms. It also means that parents know if a child tests positive, even if they are asymptomatic. Can

trust

the

results?

Yes, in many states, pooled testing is already being administered by trained school personnel. Swabs are tested by Helix, a CLIA-certiﬁed lab, identiﬁed as having one of the most sensitive PCR tests on the market in an independent study conducted by the FDA. Does testing my kids at school cost me anything? No, having your kids tested for COVID at school on an ongoing basis doesn’t cost families anything. It provides a convenient way to protect all

family members and creates a safer in-person learning environment. How

can I learn more? For further information, contact your school and ask about pooled COVID-19 testing and visit www.helix.com. “Pooled COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools can reduce the time it takes to uncover positive cases and get kids back to in person learning safely.https://bit.ly/3pgPGFg”

insightnews.com

Insight News • June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021 • Page 7

Aqeela Sherrills

Clarence R. Jones

Curtis W. Marshall

Nick Muhammad

Richard Smith

Robert E. Bailey

Sam Simmons

Tiffany Turner-Allen

Black Men Healing Conference focuses on accountability The 13th Annual Community Empowerment Through Black Men Healing Conference convenes virtually this week on June 24 & 25, 2021. The theme this year is “The New Normal.” The conference takes an in-depth look at what “The New Normal” could mean for the Black Community. Thought leaders and activists examine the past and the present of what is considered normal for the Black Community, through a process called black deconstruction, and at the same time envision

strategies to construct a “New Normal” that will lead to community empowerment and healing. “We realize that a stronger, thriving African American community improves the health of the community and the society as a whole,” conference organizers said. Called “groundbreaking and visionary” from its inception in 2009, the conference convenes national and local educators, and community practitioners to

they pass their trauma on to the women and children in their lives. Thus the cycle of pain continues and the community suﬀers tenfold. In an era of decreasing resources and increasing disparities in African American community, the conference addresses blind spots linked to historical trauma that impedes collaboration, leadership succession and sustainable change. Participants learn about the link between historical

discuss and introduce practical culturally sensitive, trauma informed initiatives leading to the improved health and wellness of African American men and their families. The conference looks at violence, drugs, poverty, and emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Systematic concerns notwithstanding, the personal accountability of men is brought to the forefront., Because African-American men’s trauma is typically dismissed and not addressed,

1/8 PAGE COLOR CAPRW ENERGY ASSISTANCE

Make your holiday twice as nice 612.377.2224 / guthrietheater.org

A tenderhearted favorite

Steel Magnolias Now – Dec 15

by ROBERT HARLING directed by LISA ROTHE