Insight ::: 06.26.2023

Lef t : Sabiriin Ali, 17 Left: Sabiriin Ali, 17

Top lef t to right : Sagal Her si, 19 and Siham Adam, 19 left to right: Hersi, 19 and Siham 19 and Bottom lef t to right : Sahra Gesaade, 20 and Salma Abdikadir, 20 and Bottom left to right: Sahra Gesaade, 20 and Salma

On Juneteenth applications opened for the fund for Minnesota and the Dakotas descendants of enslaved Africans

Nexus launches $50M Open Road Fund

5 die in car crash

Five young Somali women were killed in a crash Friday night near Lake St. and I-35W in Minneapolis after a driver at a high rate of speed t-boned their vehicle at an intersection and fled on foot.

Four adult women and one juvenile female inside the t-boned vehicle died at the scene, police say.

Derrick John Thompson, 27, is believed to have caused the crash and was apprehended a short time later and hospitalized. He is the son of former DFL State Representative John Thompson.

On Monday, June 19, Authorities confirmed that Thompson, was released from the hospital and booked on probable cause murder.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the five victims killed as: Siham Adan Odhowa,

19, of Minneapolis

Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, of Bloomington

Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis

Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20, of Saint Louis Park

“This is an incredibly tragic and horrific scene,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said. Reports indicate Highway Patrol observed Thompson’s vehicle travelling at a high speed when it exited I-35 northbound at the Lake Street exit.

The vehicle ran a red light at the intersection of Lake St. & 2nd Ave. and crashed into the vehicle occupied by the young women. Thompson exited the vehicle and fled from the scene, reports say.

Video from a MnDOT traffic camera shows Thomson speeding up the ramp from northbound I-35W, with a Trooper following behind with no lights or sirens activated, shortly before the crash.

The crash victims were pronounced dead at the scene by responding medical personnel.

Canvassing the scene, Minneapolis police found Thompson and took him into custody. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center for medical evaluation before booking. Police say he may have been impaired or under the influence.

KSTP reporter Pafoua Yang said hundreds of mourners gathered Monday afternoon for a prayer service and burial for the five young women. All five were members of the Dar Al-Farooq

Islamic Center in Bloomington.

The youngest, Ali, had just graduated from high school; the others were working on earning college degrees.

“They were really ambitious,” said Abdulhi Farah, a fellow member of the Islamic center. “… Even young people at the center looked up to them as role models.”

After a prayer service at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center, the women were laid to rest at Garden of Eden Cemetery in Burnsville.

Some of the victims were talking to their parents just 15 minutes before the crash.

The tragic event sent shockwaves through Minnesota’s Islamic community. The news has even stretched to communities in East Africa.

“Just a really painful loss that we feel as a Somali

Mayor, Chief: Culture shift long overdue

By Al McFarlane Editor

Following the release of scathing findings about racist and discriminator patterns and practices that violated the US Constitution in Minneapolis and by its police department, Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara met with Black media organizations to deliver the City’s response to damning findings by the United States Department of Justice.

Al McFarlane: Mayor Frey, Give the background, the backstory. What led us to George Floyd’s murder and how did we get to these damning Justice Department findings?

Mayor Jacob Frey:

The impetus for the investigation was the murder of George Floyd three years ago. While that was the impetus, this did not have one exclusive causal connection.

We aren’t just talking about the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin. We are talking about a necessary culture shift that is long overdue, that has needed to be in place for years and generations.

Over the following three years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they would be conducting a patterns-and-practice investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. From the very beginning they had

our full cooperation. The people at the DOJ are experts. They did a deep investigation that was thorough, that was thoughtful and that tackled the specificity of the issues that we need to be focusing on now. They delivered the conclusions of their patternand-practice investigation this morning.

The primary four areas that they were focusing on were: use of force, discrimination, Americans with Disabilities Act violations, and the First Amendment. We want to partner with the DOJ to have deepseated change throughout our Department, not just in the way of a policy on paper, but something that the community feels because that is what true success is going to look like.

Success is not relegated to the signature by a judge at the end of a consent decree process or some confirmation that we have met or have not met compliance standards. Success looks like people on the street in our city feeling safe and even safer when they interact with our Police. We’re wholeheartedly in this mission and we’re not going to quit until every person in this city feels safe.

Freddie Bell, KMOJ:

The extent to which the details of these four points were laid out, it seems like there’s nothing short of dismantling the Department and starting from the ground up. Will it go that far or what does it look like in rebuilding

and rebuilding the trust not only within the ranks but within the community?

Mayor Frey: The work is making sure that officers understand what is expected of them through that policy change, that they’re trained in on how to respond to that policy change, and then ultimately that they’re held accountable if they don’t live up to the standards that are set through that policy change. And having that shift of culture and of policy embedded in the Department is the part that we’re working on the most right now Jiahong Pan, MN Spokesman-Recorder: After May 25th, 2020, Police Officers stopped collecting race data on who they were stopping because there was a trend that showed that they were stopping Black

and Native Americans more often than they were stopping white people. Are you going to fire anyone who this report reveals violated federal law?

Mayor Frey: That’s something that we need to fix. That’s one of the issues that I too was concerned about. Chief O’Hara: Problems around data collection are very common problems in police departments. They become highlighted with the very few police departments that are subjected to this level of scrutiny. I just learned about this issue with data collection and race during stops. And when I learned about it, I learned that one of the options officers have is to select that the race is unknown.

Nexus Community Partners, launched the $50 million Open Road Fund, a wealthbuilding community resource for descendants of the Atlantic Slave Trade living in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Money provided by the Bush Foundation, the fund invited eligible Black residents to apply for $50,000 grants starting Juneteenth Day, June 19th.

The $50 million fund seeks to help the Black community cultivate wealth and prosperity.

Open Road Fund is a community resource granting $50 million to Black folks in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota in order to create tangible pathways to liberation, prosperity, and healing on our own terms.

Though not labeled as reparations because the Fund’s resources cannot correct all of the harm done to Black people over the last 400 years, this

$50 million resource is seen as one way to help the Black community cultivate wealth and prosperity, Nexus says.

“Through this $50 million Open Road Fund, Nexus has a chance to provide a return on the investment Black folks have long made to this country and create Black wealth. To us, Black wealthbuilding is about creating spaces and opportunities that help all Black people to thrive,” said Repa Mekha, president and CEO of Nexus Community Partners. “When we have access to an abundance of resources, we can cultivate healing, safety, care and liberation on our own terms.”

There are no income caps or minimums and Black people, age 14 and up, especially formerly incarcerated people, single parents, senior citizens, those living with disabilities, LGBTQ+ are encouraged to

MNJRC highlights report

findings that Minneapolis and Police Department violated US Constitution

Justin Terrell, Executive Director of the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC), said, “Department of Justice’s multi-year investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the City of Minneapolis uncovered significant systemic problems within MPD in violation of the US Constitution. These findings have initiated the creation of an agreement between the parties,

with – communities across Minneapolis. This is an allhands on deck moment where the community, state, and federal government are on board with focus to address what is ailing policing in Minneapolis. We strongly encourage Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis City Council to join this movement to transform how public safety is decided, implemented, and achieved in Minneapolis.

Department of Justice Findings:

Minneapolis police officers engaged in a “pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.”

Minneapolis police unlawfully discrimination against Black and Native American people. Police shootings between January 2016 and August 2022, reflect unconstitutional uses of deadly force.

Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd, used excessive force previously in incidents where other M.P.D. officers stood by and did not stop him. Minneapolis violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against people with behavioral health disabilities.

Minneapolis officers routinely failed to take seriously health complaints of people they arrested.

Minneapolis officers made degrading comments about Black people.

71 percent of traffic stops before George Floyd’s death had race data, compared with about 35 percent after. The department stopped collecting the data.

Officers routinely violate the First Amendment rights of demonstrators and journalists at protests.

known as a consent decree.

“The Minnesota Justice Research Center welcomes this news and calls upon leaders within both the City and MPD to take this historic opportunity to re-imagine policing in – and

“The DOJ’s announcement makes Minneapolis the first city police department in American history to be subjected to both state and federal consent decrees in

Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief Brian O’Hara

Five young Somali women killed in crash.

The story behind Juneteenth and how it became a federal holiday

Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.

For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.

And just as many people learn what Juneteenth is all about, the holiday’s traditions are facing new pressures — political rhetoric condemning efforts to teach Americans about the nation’s racial history, companies using the holiday as a marketing event, people partying without understanding why.

Here is a look at the origins of Juneteenth, how it became a federal holiday and more about its history.

HOW DID JUNETEENTH

START?

The celebrations began with enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. Although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places in the South until the Civil War ended in 1865. Even then, some white people who had profited from their unpaid labor were reluctant to share the news.

Laura Smalley, freed from a plantation near Bellville, Texas, remembered in a 1941 interview that the man she referred to as “old master” came home from fighting in the Civil War and didn’t tell the people he enslaved what had happened.

“Old master didn’t

Crash

From 3 From

Muslim community,” said Abdisalam Adam, imam at Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah in Minneapolis. “… We just hope that those of us who are alive, you know, appreciate life.”

But with feelings of deep sorrow, there’s also hope of healing.

“Today’s about those beautiful souls, those girls, and really honoring their life and what they’ve contributed to the community,” Farah said. Written statement from Dar Al-Farooq: “We find ourselves in deep sorrow today, for our community experienced a heartbreaking tragedy last night.

photo/Jennifer Reynolds

FILE - Sam Collins III, left, and others celebrate at the Juneteenth historical marker on June 17, 2021, in Galveston, Texas, after President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Communities all over the country will be marking Juneteenth, the day that enslaved Black Americans learned they were free. For generations, the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history has been recognized with joy in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. Yet, the U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion.

tell, you know, they was free,” Smalley said. “I think now they say they worked them, six months after that. Six months. And turn them loose on the 19th of June. That’s why, you know, we celebrate that day.”

News that the war had ended and they were free finally reached Galveston when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Gulf Coast city on June 19, 1865, more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia. Granger delivered General Order No. 3, which said: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal

We have lost five of our bright, young sisters in a severe car accident. May Allah grant mercy upon the departed and open the doors of Jannah for them.

We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. These young Muslim sisters, were shining stars of hope for our future. Unfortunately, their lives were cut short last night by a driver evading the police.”

According to a Daily Mail.com news report, the women were doing last-minute shopping at a Minneapolis mall Friday and having the tattoos applied for a friend’s wedding the next day.

They were on the way home when Thompson ran a red light and smashed into them in his SUV at around 10pm. He was traveling at around 95mph - 40 miles over the 55mph

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rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.” Slavery was permanently abolished six months later, when Georgia ratified the 13th Amendment. And the next year, the nowfree people of Galveston started celebrating Juneteenth, an observance that has continued and spread around the world. Events include concerts, parades and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.

WHAT DOES ‘JUNETEENTH’ MEAN?

It’s a blend of the words June and nineteenth. The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom

speed limit, according to public officials.

Thompson survived the crash and fled his vehicle on foot to a nearby Taco Bell. He was arrested there later and taken to the hospital.

A Minnesota State Police trooper began pursuit of the SUV on an interstate as it was speeding near 100mph where the speed limit is 55mph in south Minneapolis, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.

The SUV exited the highway before it could be pulled over and ran the red light, crashing into the women’s car.

The five were regular attendees of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in nearby Bloomington, Minnesota, according to director Khalid Omar.

‘These are pearls of our community. They leave a big void. All five of them had bright futures,’ he said.

A group of five Minnesota women preparing for a friend’s wedding by getting henna tattoos were killed Friday night after a driver trying to speed away from police slammed into their car. Sagal Hersi, 19 and Siham Adam, also 19, were two of the victims

Nexus

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since 1983, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and had 60 cosponsors, a show of bipartisan support as lawmakers struggled to overcome divisions that are still simmering three years later. Now there is a movement to use the holiday as an opportunity for activism and education, with community service projects aimed at addressing racial disparities and educational panels on topics such health care inequities and the need for parks and green spaces.

photo/Stuart Villanueva

FILE - Dancer Prescylia Mae, of Houston, performs during a dedication ceremony for the massive mural “Absolute Equality” in downtown Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 2021. Communities all over the country will be marking Juneteenth, the day that enslaved Black Americans learned they were free. For generations, the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history has been recognized with joy in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. Yet, the U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion.

Day, second Independence Day and Emancipation Day. It began with church picnics and speeches, and spread as Black Texans moved elsewhere. Most U.S. states now hold celebrations honoring Juneteenth as a holiday or a day of recognition, like Flag Day. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia, Washington, and now Nevada as well. Hundreds of companies give workers the day off Opal Lee, a former teacher and activist, is largely credited for rallying others behind a campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The 96-year-old had vivid memories of celebrating Juneteenth in East

Sahra Gesaade, 20, and Salma Abdikadir, 20, were two of the victims in the tragic crash. Abidkadir volunteered as a tutor at her local mosque Sabiriin Ali, 17, was the youngest of the five killed. She had just graduated high school and was headed to the University of Minnesota

The girls started to drive down Lake Street just before 10 p.m. when an SUV being followed by a Minnesota State Police trooper ran a red light and smashed into their car.

Ali had just graduated high school and was set to attend the University of Minnesota, while the other four were all currently in college.

‘They weren’t doing anything wrong,’ Omar added. ‘They were just getting ready for their friend’s wedding.’

Omar noted all five women were volunteers at the Islamic Center, with Ali and her mother working as caretakers, while Abdikadir often taught kids to read and write in Arabic. All five will be buried on Monday.

‘We find ourselves in deep sorrow today, for our community experienced a heartbreaking tragedy last night. We have lost five of our bright,

apply.

Over the next eight years, the Fund will award $50,000 grants to at least 800 eligible applicants to be used

Texas as a child with music, food and games. In 2016, the “little old lady in tennis shoes” walked through her home city of Fort Worth, Texas and then in other cities before arriving in Washington, D.C. Soon, celebrities and politicians were lending their support. Lee was one of the people standing next to Biden when he signed Juneteenth into law.

HOW HAVE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?

The national reckoning over race ignited by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police helped set the stage for Juneteenth to become the first new federal holiday

young sisters in a severe car accident.

‘May Allah grant mercy upon the departed and open the doors of Jannah for them,’ the page read.

‘These young Muslim sisters, were shining stars of hope for our future. Unfortunately, their lives were cut short last night by a driver evading the police.’

Thousands of mourners from the area’s large Somali American community attended the young women’s funeral Monday at the Dar AlFarooq mosque in Bloomington, where the five had been active members. They were returning home from a Somali mall where they had henna applied in preparation for a friend’s wedding scheduled for the next day when their car was struck.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said “Our community is grieving the loss of the five bright young people whose lives were cut short in a senseless, selfish act of reckless driving. Instead of celebrating a joyous wedding, these families were forced to plan funerals and deal with the devastation of this tragedy.”

Derrick Thompson previously pleaded guilty to

for several wealth-building projects, including housing, education, financial well-being, healing and economic justice.

Applicants identify the area of

Like most holidays, Juneteenth has also seen its fair share of commercialism. Retailers, museums and other venues have capitalized on it by selling Juneteenth-themed T-shirts, party ware and ice cream. Some of the marketing has misfired, provoking a social media backlash. Supporters of the holiday have also worked to make sure Juneteenth celebrators don’t forget why the day exists.

“In 1776 the country was freed from the British, but the people were not all free,” Dee Evans, national director of communications of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, said in 2019.

“June 19, 1865, was actually when the people and the entire country was actually free.”

There’s also sentiment to use the day to remember the sacrifices that were made for freedom in the United States — especially in these racially and politically charged days. Said Para LaNell Agboga, museum site coordinator at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center in Austin, Texas: “Our freedoms are fragile, and it doesn’t take much for things to go backward.”

fleeing police and causing a crash in Montecito, Calif. in September 2018, according to local media. In that case, Thompson, who was 22 at the time, was fleeing from Ventura police and struck a pedestrian before fleeing on foot. Two passengers in Thompson’s vehicle—one from Maplewood, Minn., and the other from Newport—were arrested, but Thompson was not found at the time. More than 17 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 in cash were found in the trunk of the vehicle, which crashed into a wall on the side of the roadway. Written statement from Dar Al-Farooq: “We find ourselves in deep sorrow today, for our community experienced a heartbreaking tragedy last night. We have lost five of our bright, young sisters in a severe car accident. May Allah grant mercy upon the departed and open the doors of Jannah for them. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. These young Muslim sisters, were shining stars of hope for our future. Unfortunately, their lives were cut short last night by a driver evading the police.

focus that best suits their path to building Black wealth and will be judged by a diverse panel of community leaders across the Dakotas and Minnesota.

Applicants can apply for the grants individually, but groups are encouraged to apply in hopes of building long-term Black wealth and increasing their community impact.

For more information visit https://www.nexuscp.org/ open-road-fund/. The Open Road application closes July 28th.

About Nexus Community Partners

“In who we are and through what we do, Nexus Community Partners builds engaged and powerful communities so that each and every person can flourish in a joyful and abundant life. We hold central that, for this to be possible, we must usher out the rigged rules, attitudes, and practices that concentrate wealth and power in ever fewer and ever whiter hands, and usher in ways of living, working, and making decisions together that nourish communities for this generation and generations to come. For more information, visit www.nexuscp.org.”

Juneteenth offers new ways to teach about slavery, Black perseverance and American history

By Raphael E. Rogers Professor of Practice in Education, Clark University

Whenever I tell high school students in classes I visit that I appreciated learning about slavery as a child growing up in the Caribbean, they often look confused.

Why, they ask, did I like learning about slavery given that it was so horrible and harsh? How could I value being taught about something that caused so much hurt and harm?

That’s when I tell them that my teachers in St. Thomas – and my fourth grade history textbook – didn’t focus just on the harsh conditions of slavery. Rather, they also focused on Black freedom fighters, such as Moses Gottlieb, perhaps better known as General Buddhoe, who is credited with leading a nonviolent revolt that led to the abolishment of slavery in the Danish-ruled West Indies on July 3, 1848. The historic date is now observed and celebrated in the United States Virgin Islands as Emancipation Day.

The holiday – and the lessons I learned about

Q&A

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So it sounds like that option being available is what was creating this discrepancy, which as the Mayor mentioned, the whole purpose of collecting data around race, particularly in enforcement data, is not to get to some sense of certainty as to what exactly a person’s race was. The purpose is to assess the officer’s perception. So if an officer can see someone on a stop, then that perception must be reported and unknown should not be an option. So that would be a simple fix is to correct that as being an option.

David Pierini, North News: How do you address casual racism, that is a sign of something much deeper than just

it – instilled in me a sense of cultural pride and gave me a better appreciation for the sacrifices that Black people made for freedom. It also encouraged me to always push on when faced with challenges.

The reason I bring this up is because I believe Juneteenth – which commemorates the date in 1865 when Union troops notified the last remaining slaves in Texas that they were free – holds similar promise for Black students throughout the United States.

Students often tell me that they’re not learning much about slavery beyond the suffering and harsh conditions that it involved. As a historian who specializes in how slavery is taught in K-12 classrooms, I believe there are several ways educators can incorporate Juneteenth into their instruction that will give students a broader understanding of how Black people resisted slavery and persevered in spite of it. Below are just a few.

Start early, but keep it positive

As early childhood experts assembled by the National Museum of African American History point out in a guide they created to

a joke?

Chief Brian O’Hara:

There are issues of racism and bias in policing just as there are in the criminal justice system, just as there are in the City of Minneapolis and in society as a whole. We have to take advantage of the technology that we have with body-worn cameras, ensuring that every interaction that an officer has, particularly during an enforcement action and a call for service, is recorded. And put processes in place to ensure that there is routine review that holds officers accountable when even some sort of micro aggression occurs to something that would be outwardly clearly a violation of policy. So these things are cultural issues to some extent. What is most common with police officers in the United States is the issue of disrespect. It could be just an officer’s demeanor,

help develop lessons about Juneteenth, children in the U.S. will probably hear about slavery by age 5. But lessons about slavery at that age should avoid the pain and trauma of slavery. Instead, the lessons should celebrate and teach stories of Black culture, leadership, inventions, beauty and accomplishments. This, the authors of the guide say, will better equip children to later hear about, understand and emotionally process the terrible truths about slavery.

“Juneteenth events can be wonderful opportunities to introduce the concepts of slavery with a focus on resilience and within an environment of love, trust, and joy,” the guide states.

Focus on Black resistance Many Juneteeth celebrations not only commemorate the end of slavery, but they also honor the generations of Black men and women who have fought to end slavery and for racial justice.

As Black history education professor LaGarett King puts it, Black people have always “acted, made their own decisions based on their interests, and fought back against oppressive

their attitude, how they talk to people, how they engage with people. And there are ways to set very clear parameters and instructions on how you will handle a stop, for example. And then there are ways to ensure that we hold supervisors accountable for reviewing them and holding their officers accountable and then having a check on the supervisors.

Al McFarlane: I wanted to get a sense of how you are both feeling and assessing this moment?

Mayor Frey: We recognize that the eyes of the world are on Minneapolis and we want to make sure that we are an example setting for others to follow. And you asked how I’m feeling. I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful. I believe that we’ve got the right people in the right seats, including of course, Chief O’Hara, that not only have the experience and expertise in

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structures.” Stressing this can help students to see that although Black people were victimized by slavery, they were not just helpless victims. Juneteenth provides opportunities to acknowledge and examine the legacies of Black freedom fighters during the time of slavery. These freedom fighters include – but are not necessarily limited to – Frederick Douglass, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner and Sojourner Truth.

Connect Juneteenth to current events

Juneteenth can also be a way for educators to help students better understand contemporary demands for racial justice. That’s what George Patterson, a former Brooklyn middle school principal, did a few years back at the height of protests that took place under the mantra of Black Lives Matter.

Patterson has said he believes that when students study Juneteenth, they are “better equipped to understand the historical underpinnings of what’s going on in the streets and to put the demands being made in context.” Teachers need not

consent decrees and making deep-seated change, but also have the kind of integrity and the work ethic to get the job done. And I do believe that officers in our department are also committed to being that change. And so I am optimistic.

Now, change is tough. Change is painful. There are hurdles that are in place that we’re going to need to blow right through in some cases. And we’re also going in very clear-eyed about the difficulty in making some of these changes a reality. There are also things like the police union contract and state law that are outside of the things that we’re able at least to do unilaterally. And so this is why it really requires a lot of us working together because if you make one change over here but you still have the blockade in place, you won’t realize the full benefit.

wait for Juneteenth to be included in textbooks in order to draw lessons from the holiday.

“If it’s not in the textbook, then we need to introduce it, we need to teach it,” Odessa Pickett, a teacher at the Barack Obama Learning Academy in Markham, Illinois, stated during an interview about teachers infusing Juneteenth into their lessons. “We need to bring it to the forefront.”

Educators can make

Chief O’Hara: So there is almost a universal desire for progress. People may not agree on how exactly that progress or change might happen, but I think the only way forward really is to try and rebuild bridges and to try and build trust and earn trust in places where maybe it hasn’t existed ever before.

Police Officers who remained have been through a lot and are incredibly traumatized, just so like many of our residents here. And we have really serious challenges in addressing crime and violence, but it’s also an opportunity to try and connect and earn people’s trust so that we can address those challenges in a way that is sustainable over time.

Freddie Bell: What type of impact do you believe that the release today from Merrick Garland will have?

Chief O’Hara: Many of our officers and their co-workers have left policing

Juneteenth about so much more than the end of slavery. Teaching lessons about the holiday offers an abundance of opportunities about what it means to fight for freedom and maintain a sense of self-determination in the face of oppression. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

completely. Some have taken pensions. Some have gone to other law enforcement agencies, quite frankly to do an easier job, in some cases for more money. Many of the officers that are left have very real open wounds, just like folks in community. I think many times they feel like they have been unfairly maligned personally.

Freddie Bell: So what are you saying to Mr and Mrs. Jones who won’t call the Police when there’s an issue because they’re concerned that they might become the victim from a police interaction? What can you say, if anything, to allay some of these concerns of particularly those in North Minneapolis who are concerned about that Police interaction, in light of this discovery released by Merrick Garland today?

Chief O’Hara: That’s

Q&A 7

Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images Freedom is a key concept to study.

CoachLeah’s After the Whistle Premier Episode - Guest WNBA Veteran and Global Coach, Sylvia Crawley Spann

By Leahjean M. Denley, MBA Sports Editor

Our premier episode of After the Whistle, Livestreamed on the Black Press USA, and Insight News YouTube channels, and then landing on Amazon, Apple, and Spotify podcasts shortly, thereafter, laid the foundation for our first “Journalist Trifecta” [JT]. WNBA Veteran and Global Coach, Sylvia Crawley Spann dropped numerous “gems” as the Main Event Featured Guest.

The Main Event

CoachLeah’s After the Whistle Premier EpisodeTHE Frazier Foundation’s Diamond in the Rough, “Distinguished Diamond,” Dr. Chelsea Mikael Frazier

Hey there, everybody. It is your homegirl, CoachLeah. I am coming to you all here on the pages of insight News to complete what we call a “Journalist Trifecta” [JT]. Our premier episode of After the Whistle, Livestreamed on the Black Press USA, and Insight News YouTube channels, was packed full of everything wonderful that I could have ever imagined.

Starting with a warm welcome by Insight News Editor and Chief, Al McFarlane, who also serves as Co-Executive producer of CoachLeah’s After the Whistle, and concluding

with a shoutout to Insight News, as our celebrated Community Collaborator for their stellar community engagement, the hour-long Tuesday afternoon “meeting of the minds” was lighthearted and insightful. The time flew by very quickly as our Distinguished Diamond, Dr. Chelsea Mikael Frazier, a professor at Cornell University and founder of Ask An Amazon, graced us by sharing what her life is like – After the Whistle.

DISTINGUISHED DIAMOND

For our very first Distinguished Diamond honoree, Dr. Chelsea M. Frazier, gave us a glimpse as to what she’s been up to since her selection as a “Diamond” almost 20 years ago and shared the following quote, her favorite, that she strives to live by: All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.

The only lasting truth is change.

Octavia Butler

Dr. Frazier explained, “I keep that sentiment as close as possible … humans don’t really like change all that much, but I’m somebody who likes to keep things comfortable and likes to keep things feeling good. So reminding myself that there is no growth without change, [and] there is no evolution without change. There is no challenge. There’s no fun without change most of the time. So that is a quote that I come back to again and again.”

To view the full interview with Dr. Frazier, click here: YouTube - Premier Episode - CoachLeah’s After the Whistle - Tuesday, June 20, 2023, or go to the Insight News YouTube channel: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=Z_FKl_ LbSv0 or listen on Amazon, Apple, or Spotify.

Currently Coach Syl, as she’s called, is a global coach where she trains male and female athletes around the world. Off the court, Sylvia is CEO of Crawley’s Creation LLC, a fashion and interior design company. She is also the cofounder of Monarch Magazine, sold nationwide at Barnes & Nobles. She has recently launched a wellness collection of magnesium products, offering organic relief for chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia. Sylvia married her best friend, Pastor Brian Spann, and they reside in Durham, North Carolina, where they care for Sylvia’s parents. I would love to now introduce to you Sylvia Crawley Spann.

CRAWLEY SPANN: What a warm welcome. Thank you, Leah, for having me on the show today.

COACHLEAH: Hello, my friend, and welcome to CoachLeah’s After the Whistle.

CRAWLEY SPANN: Thank you. I’m so proud of you and this show. It’s been a long time coming, and so we are here finally.

COACHLEAH: I know, right? This is so amazing, and I’m so honored that you agreed to be our main featured guest for my premier

episode as well. I didn’t get a chance to see you as much in the ABL, unfortunately, because there wasn’t as much nationwide coverage for the games, but I for sure had a chance to know how well you were doing there and was so happy to see that you were picked up so quickly by the WNBA. That literally was my one degree of separation because I was covering the WNBA as a sports reporter for Insight News even back then, so I had a chance to get to know you and just to see just the person that you were on the court dominating, but then also just how gracious you’ve always been and just welcoming and just so kind. And just all the stuff that you are now, I knew about you even before actually “meeting you” and becoming friends because we’re friends now, and I love it.

CRAWLEY SPANN: We’re like sisters.

COACHLEAH: Yeah, we really are. So I’m going to ask you a couple questions. Talk to me about your SLAM program because I didn’t get a chance to really talk about that during your introduction, but I wanted to just - out the gate - talk about your SLAM program. So, tell everybody about that.

CRAWLEY SPANN:

Well, I’m glad you asked me that question first, Leah, because I’m super proud of my SLAM Signature program because it unites my whole body of work into one thing. All my life, I’ve done multiple things. I’ve been into multiple streams of income, but that’s just how we are taught as student athletes. We’ve got to juggle being a student, an athlete, homework, social life. And so straight out of college, I just jumped into doing a lot of different things. So basically, my SLAM Signature program [it] came about because every time people introduce me, they talk about my blindfolded dunk, and when I go to speak somewhere, they play the video of the dunk. And so, it only made sense for me to name my program SLAM. The acronym, the S stands for self-care, L-leadership, A-alignment, and M-mindset. That could stand for mental toughness depending on the audience.

To see and learn more about the first ever “blindfold dunk” as well as view the full interview, click here: YouTube - Premier EpisodeCoachLeah’s After the Whistle - Tuesday, June 20, 2023, or go to the Insight News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Z_FKl_LbSv0 Or you can listen on Amazon, Apple, or Spotify.

Vacúnese si cumple los requisitos. Reciba su vacuna de refuerzo cuando llegue el momento.

Quédese en su casa si se siente enfermo o ha estado cerca de alguien con COVID-19.

Use una mascarilla cuando se recomiende o se requiera.

Hágase la prueba contra COVID-19 si se siente enfermo, si estuvo cerca de alguien con alto riesgo.

Lávese las manos con frecuencia, en especial,

Los niños y las comunidades estarán más protegidos si todos adoptamos una mayor

By Leahjean M. Denley, MBA

Precious Brady-Davis’ memoir, I Have Always Been Me

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ME

A Memoir

By Precious Brady-Davis

The LGBTQ+ community is multifaceted. Some of those facets are the nonbinary, the gendernonconforming, and the transgendered. In the early days of LGBTQ rights, we had Marsha P. Johnson. Today, we have Black transwomen celebrities like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox. Here in the Twin Cities, we have the political voice of Andrea Jenkins. That being said, to conclude my Pride Month reviews, I have the honor of sharing another voice of trans visibility in the form of Precious Brady-Davis’ memoir, I Have Always Been Me.

Born Nathaniel Paul Holbert, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska, biracial Precious’ childhood was uprooted when her birth mother lost custody of her and her two siblings due to neglect and mental health issues. With her birth father now dead, after a series of foster homes, they were adopted by her grandparents Clyde and Ethne Davis.

Because Brady-Davis presented as a feminine boy, the growing dogmatic religious fanaticism in her home after her grandparents’ divorce, coupled with physical and emotional abuse, left her with struggles in reconciling her faith with her sexual identity. In standing up for herself in the face of this repressive homophobic environment, Precious was kicked out of Ethne’s home.

Moved to her uncle’s home and then another foster home, now a teenager, Precious thrives in her gift for the performing arts at school, and a trip to Anytown becomes a pivotal experience in her life and

in embracing her identity as a queer person of color.

From her college years in Lincoln to her adult years in Chicago, Brady-Davis takes us on her journey through the world and the art of drag and her drag persona Precious Jewel, her awakening to her authentic identity, her transitioning process, her commitment to social justice and activism, and meeting the love of her life in transman Myles Brady. Her road was by no means easy; it forced her to examine the internalized beliefs and prejudices she grew up with in order to let go of them and become the fully actualized African American transwoman she is today. One quote in her memoir stood out for me in addressing injustice: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, then you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of the mouse, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

She examines the problems within the LGBTQ community and outside it, as well as the marginalization of transgender individuals of color in the course of her memoir. Through it all, she does it with the fierceness and strength of one who has not only examined herself but is true to herself. She recognizes that the families we create can be stronger and more empowering than families of origin.

In addition to being a diversity advocate, Brady-Davis is a communications professional and a public speaker. I Have Always Been Me is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and her website, www. preciousbradydavis.com. Visibility matters. Identity matters. Inclusivity matters. Representation matters. Thank you, Precious, for the gift that you are to so many by living your authentic life. If we don’t share our stories, who will?

terrible. That’s very disturbing because we know our residents who are most affected by serious crime and violence, who are afraid to allow their kid to walk to the corner store, are nervous that a bullet might come through the window. Those are the same residents that oftentimes are most affected by policing itself. And so people should know that we are very serious and very committed about trying to earn their trust and to get this right. We’re not here to just talk about this stuff and move on. This is real. We’re going to put in the time, we’re going to put in the work, and any instance where an officer is disrespectful or does not handle something appropriately will absolutely be dealt with.

Al McFarlane: You mentioned hurdles and roadblocks that lie ahead. One that I think exists is qualified immunity. And that’s a small question, but core of the question is the negotiation between the department and the police officers union. How do you see navigating to a system and process that fosters accountability, that removes what some people believe is an immunity and a go-card for an officer that wants to be a rogue and do whatever he or she wants to do because there’s no consequence for bad acting? So that’s the first question. The second is what about the culture? Chief, you came out of Newark and that community has gone through a consent decree. I’d like to hear about what is different through that process? But we’re here in 2023 and the question of the MAGA Right is looming large in everybody’s mind. How does what happened in January and the emergence of the conservative, evangelical, right wing voice play into the mindset of both the Officers and a certain element of our community that seem to want what I call repression and oppression as the symbol of law and order versus an inclusive, open, inviting and educating relationship between and among all of us for a common and greater good?

Chief O’Hara: Qualified immunity applies to more than just police. It applies to people who act on behalf of government. So I think first off, if there were reforms to qualified immunity, it should apply to all government actors across the board. I think in general with qualified immunity, any officer whose actions are criminalshouldbe held criminally accountable. They need to be charged in court and face a jury like anyone else for committing a crime.

But I do think for

Officers who are objectively reasonable and that are taking actions in good faith, should have some form of qualified immunity available to protect them because eliminating that completely would present a huge amount of challenges that would make, I just think, the situation that much more difficult. But what people need to understand is the way the courts interpret qualified immunity today is problematic. It is not as easy as saying that an officer who acted objectively reasonable would be granted it. I think the way the courts interpreted it does provide cover in situations where it shouldn’t. And that’s something that our elected officials should look at and should be willing to make some reforms. Newark is a different city. It’s a majority Black community. It’s a community with a lot more serious challenges around crime. And I think universally, people who have been there for decades, people who have been protesting police would tell you, “Yeah. Today, things are different.” And that’s just a sign that over a couple of years, if you are intentional about this, if you have a community that’s willing to work with you and to be a part of the process. And if you have people from the police department who are willing to engage, it really is possible to make change real.

Mayor Frey: There are a host of inequities that have been instilled in our city and in our nation over decades and generations. There’s 300 years worth of injustices that we’re talking about here… everything from a lack of fair housing, a lack of fair unemployment opportunities, redlining, restrictive covenants

that run with the land, intentional segregation that has separated out communities from some of their most vital assets. And yes, it’s the judicial system in law enforcement. And so to just look at this through one narrow lens of correction will not see a corrective action in full. And that’s why we’re tackling this not just from a Policing standpoint, which is critical, but from a housing, from an economic inclusion standpoint, from an environmental justice standpoint as well, that’s where a lot of the work happens.

Jiahong Pan: So with regard to the officers who were identified in the report committing misconduct, what’s going to happen to those officers?? Are they under investigation? Are they going to be fired?

Chief O’Hara: I don’t know specifics because I haven’t been afforded the opportunity to go through this thing, but that’s definitely something that we will be doing.

David Pierini: A question again about numbers. My understanding in Newark, because there’s always been this debate about how many police officers we really need in the city, and my understanding from Newark is it actually took more officersChief O’Hara: When I became a Newark Police Officer, we had 1,500 police officers. They found that if you don’t have enough Police Officers for the demand, which is a situation that we’re in right now, we have to triage things. There’s no way we’re going to change the perception against Police in some neighborhoods where kids grow up with a very, very negative perception of police. We’re not going to change people’s perception, especially young people if the only time they see us, we’re there to do something negative… we’re there to stop somebody… we’re there to arrest someone on a domestic violence call. We need have enough officers that we’re able to handle the emergencies and the investigations that we have to be able to.And regular street cops should have enough time to do some meaningful engagement each day.

response to the behaviors of its police department. These findings also solidify the federal

government as a partner to communities in Minneapolis, who continue to lead the decades-long work to create a police department that serves the needs of all people in the city. Furthermore, where the consent decree with the State of Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR)

focuses on MPD’s pattern and practice of race-based policing in violation of the state’s Civil Rights Act, the consent decree between the DOJ and MPD will focus on ending MPD’s pattern and practice of violations of people’s rights under the US Constitution. It is also important to note that, for the first time,

the DOJ has included racial discrimination specifically in their findings. Conversations of race and how it intersects with policing and constitutional rights are usually overlooked by federal entities. “This is truly a first and historic moment, which is the only appropriate response to

the global Uprising sparked by the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020,” Terrill said. About the Minnesota Justice Research Center: The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful change

to Minnesota’s criminal legal system through rigorous and community-centered research, education, and policy development. https://www. mnjrc.org/