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June 6 6,, 2022 - June 12, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 23• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Black, Latino, and Native American organizations form consortium to address alcohol-related harm in the U.S. The Multicultural Consortium for Responsible Drinking (MCRD), a working group focused on increasing awareness on the risks of alcohol-related harm and providing education in diverse communities across the country, launched with the support of Diageo North America and leading Black, Latino, and Native American organizations. In its initial phase, members of the MCRD met in Washington, DC, to establish a framework aimed at developing a national public awareness program to reduce the impact of alcohol misuse in communities of color. Educating people on the eﬀects of alcohol and the impact of impaired driving –including the debunking of myths and misconceptions across these communities– is a key priority for this unique group. The MCRD will combine knowledge and expertise of member organizations, along with Diageo North America’s educational resources, including:  Wrong Side of the Road, an interactive digital experience featuring real stories of impaired drivers who share their consequences (https:// drinkdriving.drinkiq.com/); and  DRINKiQ.com (also available in Spanish language at DRINKiQ.com/espanol), a platform that helps people understand the eﬀects of alcohol and empowers them to make responsible choices around alcohol. “The Black Church has always been at the forefront

of important social issues that impact people of African heritage. Alcohol misuse is a fundamental problem that requires sustainable collaboration and immediate action,” said Reverend Anthony Evans, President, National Black Church Initiative (NBCI). “NBCI is proud to be a member of the MCRD to help stamp out this problem in communities of color and create new strategies to impart this diﬃcult problem,” continued Evans. “I am thankful for the collaboration with Diageo within our communities of color, especially with the company’s educational platforms, to help raise public awareness and prevent misuse,” said civil rights icon, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr, President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) representing over 230 Black-owned community newspapers. “We welcome the opportunity to be a part of the MCRD and use Latino platforms to educate the Latino community about responsible drinking,” said Alvaro Gurdian, President and CEO, National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) reaching over 23 million people of Hispanic heritage in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. “Essentially, every culture shares the joy of music, food, and celebrating responsibly with families and loved ones.”, said Luis Belen, Chief Executive

Photo Credit: Elijah Sanchez/MCRD.

Leaders meet to discuss Responsible Drinking in Washington D.C. — Lorenzo Lopez, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Diageo North America, Alvaro Gurdián, President & CEO, National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP, Inc.), Sam Tatum, VP, Integrated Market and Partnership, Radio One, Ricardo Hurtado, National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP, Inc.), Debra Crew, President, Diageo North America, Stephanie Childs, Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations, Diageo North America, Jean Wells, Editor, The Positive Community Magazine, Ron Burke, National Marketing and Constituency Development Director, National Newspaper Publishers Association, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association, and Adrian Council, Sr., Publisher, Positive Community Magazine. Oﬃcer of the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved. “As a Latino, I have seen our communities struggle throughout the COVID19 pandemic with mental health challenges and substance misuse. ‘Now’ is always the best time to take action, and NHIT is deeply honored to help launch this consortium. We hope the NHIT Data Fusion Center will provide the foundation for the consortium’s data-driven approach. Through

the data, we seek to understand the social circumstances of our communities better and use that knowledge to guide our educational content and outreach strategies. At the same time, we work purposefully and collaboratively toward meaningful change,” stated Belen. Diageo North America has a longstanding record of working to change the way the world drinks for the better by encouraging moderation and

continuing to address alcoholrelated harm, expanding its programs that tackle impaired driving and binge drinking. The MCRD initiative furthers Diageo’s commitment in this space as part of its Society 2030 action plan to promote a positive drinking agenda. “Providing educational tools and information about alcohol will help communities make informed decisions and prevent misuse,” said Stephanie Childs, Executive

Vice President, Corporate Relations, Diageo North America. “We are honored to join forces with such distinguished leaders representing diverse communities to reach even more people.” In addition to the founding members of the MCRD, the group aspires to grow in representation and reach across Black, Latino, and Native American law enforcement, community, faith-based and media organizations.

Dr. Irma McClauin South African lecture: Resistance and radical re-imagination By Bonke Sonjani Bonke Sonjani is currently pursuing an MA in Heritage Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also an archivist intern at the GALA Queer Archives where he is interested in queering student protests in South Africa. Dr Irma McClaurin recently presented a guest lecture with the University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Diversity Studies in which she talked about her renowned Black Feminist Archive established for the conservation and dissemination of black women’s history and heritage. The Black Feminist Archive is one of a kind– it is the first archive in the world that acts as a catalyst for the collection, protection and dissemination of the voices of Black African/ American women that have been inherently ostracized from oﬃcial histories. Dr McClaurin initially developed the archive as a memory of her own life and lived experiences in the various institutions she has worked for. In recognizing the power relations embedded in the cisgender, male-dominant field of study- Anthropology in which she has obtained a PhD at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, McClaurin acts as a vector for both resistance and radical re-imagination. The Black Feminist Archive provides a training ground for Black women archivists to counter the heteropatriarchal profession of archiving. McClaurin says she believes that everyone is an archive filled with a rich family and professional and social history. According to her, “Our stories are a necessary (and sometimes secret) ingredient in a recipe of impactful social change in America” ( McClaurin 2021). As such, she encouraged everyone in the lecture to start documenting their emails, letters, notes and lived

Dr. McClaurin (center) with students at University of the| Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. experiences, positing that these serve as archives of thoughts, methodologies and events. McClaurin’s positionality on the Black Feminist Archive is inspirational. She does not approach the project from the ‘institutionalized’ practice of archiving which has a discursive history of eradicating queer, Black and women’s bodies from the recognized narratives of history. Moreover, through what I would coin as a ‘bottom-up’ methodology, McClaurin lifts Black women—to celebrate and preserve their experiences and narratives that reflect “whole lives” of activism, resistance, creativity, and intellectual production. Through such methodologies, their lives and diverse forms of input (artistic, social, political, scientific, etc.) are recognized as having played a major role in the development of a fuller American story (McClaurin 2021). McClaurin’s artistic practices both as an activist bio-cultural anthropologist and as an archivist are inspiring to me as a young scholar. As a previous recipient of the Andrew W Mellon award under the History department with the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western

Bonke Sonjani (he/him) Cape, and as an aspiring curator, archivist and heritage practitioner, McClaurin’s work has provided a blueprint for my artistic practices. As a previous history scholar from a historically Black university that does not have an art school, McClaurin has inspired my positionality within my artistic research interests. What sets McClaurin apart from other scholars and artists is her aura– during the lecture, one could not help but feel so empowered and inspired to start the projects that they have been postponing. This was the same case for me as well, I have been struggling to locate myself within my research interests. I have been consulting my lecturers and

various other people who could potentially inform my curatorial practices on the ‘how to’ curate and initiate the projects I have conceived in mind. McClaurin’s sense of assertion on the Black Feminist Archive has thus inspired me beyond these various engagements I have had with other scholars and artists. I have learnt that following the institutionalized ‘how to’ curate cannons only reiterates the gendered, heteropatriarchal terrains of artistic practices. And so countering these cannons as McClaurin has would provide what Alberta Whittle coins “ a way-ward strategy of curating” in which she asserts that ‘biting the hand that feeds you’ (referring to oﬃcial institutions) is necessary

to the destruction and harmful patterns of contemporary arts (Whittle 2019). This notion of ‘biting the hand the hand feeds you’ as posited by Whittle involves engaging with communities and ordinary citizens in order to infiltrate and counter the cis-gender, white spaces in contemporary arts. McClaurin has in practice utilized this way-ward strategy of curating the Black Feminist Archive by preserving the material of Black women like miss Archie Henderson Jones, who will be 97 years old this year. According to McClaurin, miss Archie is an anthropologist whose work remains unpublished on academic journals and websites such as google scholar, academia and JSTOR because of her defiant approach to anthropology which deemed Black people as not worthy of research. By engaging with her material, the Black Feminist Archive aims

to bring to the fore her material on Black people whilst giving her agency and recognition at the same time. As a feminist scholar interested in recovering the ostracized narratives of queer folk from student protests such as the Fees Must Fall and Rhodes Must Fall Movements, I have been inspired by the Black Feminist Archive to ‘bite the hand’ by demonstrating agency for the queer student community through writing an arts-based research project that illustrates the contribution of queer folk on the movements. Reference list Whittle, A. 2019. Biting the Hand That Feeds You: A Strategy of Wayward Curating, Critical Arts, 33;6, 110-123 McClaurin, I. 2021. Black Women: Visible and Heard. Founding the Black Feminist Archive at UMass. The University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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June 6 6,, 2022 - June 12, 2022

Vol. 49 No. 23• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Sen. Bobby Joe Champion: It’s time to be courageous Columnist

By Brenda Lyle-Gray

photo/Court TV via AP, Pool, File

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin’s sentencing at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, on June 25, 2021. Two Minnesotans filed federal civil rights lawsuits on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, against the city of Minneapolis and former Officer Derek Chauvin, alleging they were traumatized when he used his “signature move” on them of kneeling on a subject’s neck — the same way that he killed George Floyd.

New federal lawsuits target excop who killed George Floyd By Steve Karnowski Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two Minnesotans filed federal civil rights lawsuits Tuesday against the city of Minneapolis and Derek Chauvin, alleging they were traumatized when the former police oﬃcer used his “signature move” of kneeling on their necks — the same way that he killed George Floyd. John Pope Jr. was just 14 in September 2017 when he says Chauvin subjected him to gratuitous force while responding to a domestic assault report. The other case alleges Chauvin used excessive force against Zoya Code in June 2017 after she allegedly tried to strangle her mother with an extension cord. Both lawsuits claim racism; Pope and Code are Black and Chauvin is white. They allege the city knew he had a record of misconduct but

didn’t stop him and let him stay on the job long enough to kill Floyd on May 25, 2020, a case that led to a national reckoning on racial injustice. Both lawsuits seek unspecified damages and name other officers involved. The Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office indicated it is considering settlements. Criminal charges against Pope and Code were eventually dropped. “The incidents involving John Pope and Zoya Code are disturbing,” Interim City Attorney Peter Ginder said in a statement. “We intend to move forward in negotiations with the Plaintiffs on these two matters and hope we can reach a reasonable settlement. If a settlement cannot be reached on one or both lawsuits, the disputes will have to be resolved through the normal course of litigation.” Chauvin’s attorneys have not responded to requests for comment. Pope and Code are

represented by Minneapolis civil rights attorney Robert Bennett, who negotiated a $20 million settlement for the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police oﬃcer in 2017. Bennett also negotiated a nearly $3 million settlement for the family of Philando Castile, a Black motorist killed by a suburban oﬃcer in 2016. The city paid out $27 million to the family of George Floyd. Bennett was not involved in that settlement. Chauvin admitted to many of Pope’s allegations when he pleaded guilty in December to federal civil rights charges in Floyd’s death, a deal that also included a guilty plea for his actions against Pope. Chauvin is awaiting sentencing on the federal charges. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in state court last year for murdering Floyd by pressing his knee to the Black man’s

neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. According to Pope’s complaint, his mother was drunk when she called police because she was upset with him and his 16-year-old sister for leaving their cellphone chargers plugged in when not in use, leading to a physical confrontation. It alleges Chauvin struck Pope in the head with a large metal flashlight at least four times as a scuﬄe ensued, then put Pope in a chokehold. “Defendant Chauvin then executed his signature move: he pinned John to the floor with his body weight, pressing his left knee into John’s upper back and neck. ... Chauvin would proceed to hold John in this prone position for more than fifteen minutes, all while John was completely subdued and not resisting,” the complaint alleges. “Over those minutes, John repeatedly cried

EX-COP 4

Right after the breaking news flash came across my computer screen, I just sat there in numbness but not in disbelief. Mass shootings continued to happen over and over, and those politicians stuck on stupid and a stone heart still hold on to their 2nd Amendment rights. The world has gone cruel and vicious and insane, and I just want it to stop! So do millions of other decent, law abiding, hardworking, and grateful human beings living in this democratic country ‘they’ are trying desperately and irrationally to destroy. As Dr. Bravada Garrett Akinsanya, founder and CEO of The African American Child Wellness Institute often states as co-host of ‘The Healing Circle’ presented by ‘Conversations with Al McFarlane’ every Friday, when ‘they’ filled with a hatred taught and imbedded in their environment, continue trying to destroy our humanity, they also destroy a portion of their own humanity, life, being, and true purpose on this earth. Immediately reaching out to my daughters, it reminded me of the silence, fear, anger, and disgust the three of us shared two years ago when the world heard and saw a shocking

Sen. Bobby Joe Champion murder on a Minneapolis street corner and again on January 6th, 2021 at the US Capitol. No one knew what to say, and I knew better than to ask why. All we could do was pray. Another 18-year-old had just slaughtered 18 children and 3 adults for reasons we might never know. In my ‘winter season’, I didn’t want to hurt this badly anymore. On that same warm and sunny day, parents and significant others waited in angst wondering if their child’s name or adult partner had been listed among the innocent and unfortunate victims. They never saw death walk through their classroom doors. Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat from Connecticut came into oﬃce a year after the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012. He refused to hold back his anger, agony, and grief. “I’m getting on my hands and knees begging you to find a path forward to help you see the urgency of federal gun control

CHAMPION 4

photo/Dario Lopez-Mills

People pay their respect at a memorial set up outside of the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022. Law enforcement authorities faced questions and criticism Thursday over how much time elapsed before they stormed the Texas elementary school classroom and put a stop to the rampage by a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.

Muslim call to prayer arrives to Minneapolis soundscape ‘Precious individuals’ taken in Texas school shooting By Giovanna Dell’Orto Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers, drowning out both the growl of traﬃc from nearby interstates and the chatter and clinking glasses on the patio of the dive bar that shares a wall with Minneapolis’ oldest Somali mosque. Dozens of men in fashionably ripped jeans or impeccably ironed kameez tunics rushed toward the Dar AlHijrah mosque. Teens clutched smartphones, and some of the older devout shuﬄed in with the aid of walkers from the high-rise complex across the street where thousands of Somalis live. This spring Minneapolis became the first large city in the United States to allow the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, to be broadcast publicly by its two dozen mosques. As more of them get ready to join Dar Al-Hijrah in doing so, the transforming soundscape is testament to the large and increasingly

visible Muslim community, which is greeting the change with both celebration and caution, lest it cause backlash. “It’s a sign that we are here,” said Yusuf Abdulle, who directs the Islamic Association of North America, a network of three dozen mostly East African mosques. Half of them are in Minnesota, home to rapidly growing numbers of refugees from war-torn Somalia since the late 1990s. Abdulle said that when he arrived in the United States two decades ago, “the first thing I missed was the adhan. We drop everything and answer the call of God.” The adhan declares that God is great and proclaims the Prophet Muhammad as his messenger. It exhorts men — women are not required — to go to the closest mosque five times a day for prayer, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Its cadences are woven into the rhythm of daily life in Muslim-majority countries, but it’s a newcomer to the streets of Minneapolis, which resonate with city traﬃc, the rumble of snowplows in winter and

By Elliot Spagat and Acacia Coronado Associated Press

photo/Jessie Wardarski

Wali Dirie, executive director of the Islamic Civic Society of America Dar Al-Hijrah mosque, opens rooftop speakers used to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, on Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Minneapolis. During the pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, the mosque was given a special permit to broadcast the prayer for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. That led to a recent resolution authorizing mosques to broadcast the adhan three times a day. tornado siren drills in summer. Americans have long debated the place of religious sound in public, especially when communities are transformed by migration, said Isaac Weiner, a scholar of religious studies at Ohio State University.

Commentary

Curing America’s sick fascination with guns

PAGE 5

“What we take for granted and what stands out is informed by who we think of ourselves as a community,” he said. “We respond to sounds based on who’s making them.”

MUSLIM 4

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — One student was an avid runner, so fast she swept the races at field day. Another was learning football plays from his grandfather. One girl sensed something was wrong and wanted to skip school. On Wednesday, stories began to emerge about the lives of the 19 children — “precious individuals” according to the school district superintendent — and their two teachers who were gunned down behind a barricaded door at Robb Elementary School in the southwestern Texas town of Uvalde. Vincent Salazar said his 10-year-old daughter, Layla, loved to swim and dance to Tik Tok videos. She was fast — she won six races at the school’s field day, and Salazar proudly posted a photo of Layla showing oﬀ

two of her ribbons on Facebook. Each morning as he drove her to school in his pickup, Salazar would play “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns N’ Roses and they’d sing along, he said. “She was just a whole lot of fun,” he said. Manny Renfro lost his 8-year-old grandson, Uziyah Garcia, in the shooting. “The sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known,” Renfro said. “I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid.” Renfro said Uziyah last visited him in San Angelo during spring break. “We started throwing the football together and I was teaching him pass patterns. Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,” Renfro said. “There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced.” Javier Cazares

TAKEN 5

I2H

Baby formula shortage highlights racial disparities

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Minneapolis renames intersection to honor George Floyd By Mohamed Ibrahim Associated Press/Report for America MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The intersection where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police oﬃcers was renamed in his honor Wednesday, among a series of events to remember a man whose killing forced America to confront racial injustice. Floyd’s brother Terrence was among family members to attend as a commemorative street sign marked the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue as “George Perry Floyd Square” on the twoyear anniversary of his death. Floyd thanked hundreds of people who turned out to honor his brother, singing songs as they marched a block-long stretch to finish at the intersection. The renaming was followed by a candlelight vigil at a nearby ceremony. The intersection quickly became known informally as George Floyd Square soon after Floyd’s death, with a large sculpture of a clenched fist as the centerpiece of memorials.

Ex-Cop From 3 out that he could not breathe.” The complaint alleges that at least eight other oﬃcers did nothing to intervene. It says

Champion From 3 reform. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that makes this less likely. What are we doing, I ask? No other place in the world does this happen! Our children are traumatized, and they have every right to be. I’m asking you again, why did you bother to campaign, get elected, and do nothing? We’re making a choice to let this end game keep happening over and over again.” ‘Swing the cameras around so we can see the expressions on the chamber occupants’ faces,” I thought. I surmise some diehards didn’t

“Today we honor two years since George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police oﬃcer Derek Chauvin,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement earlier Wednesday. “Each day since, we have remembered George Floyd’s life and legacy as a friend, father, brother, and loved one. His name has been heard in every corner of our world.” Colten Muth, 32, visited the intersection Wednesday ahead of the vigil to “make sure I’m paying homage because his sacrifice made a huge impact on the world.” Muth, who identifies as mixed race, recalled watching the bystander video of Floyd’s dying moments from his home in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville. He said it hit him especially hard because he grew up just blocks from the corner, walking to the convenience store there many times as a kid. “That could’ve been me facedown in the pavement,” he said. “It shook me to the point like even where I was living I had a sense of fear just walking around my own neighborhood.” Muth called Chauvin’s conviction a “first step” toward holding police accountable, but said the city has done nothing substantial

to improve policing and the conditions that led to Floyd’s killing. And he said the lack of federal policing reforms after two years was disappointing. On Wednesday in Washington, with Congress deadlocked over how to address racism and excessive use of force, President Joe Biden signed an executive order on policing to mark the second anniversary. Later events in Minneapolis include a Thursday gathering of families of loved ones who have died in interactions with police and a fundraising gala Friday aimed at raising money to preserve offerings left by protesters and mourners at the intersection where Floyd was killed. An all-day festival and a concert at the intersection were also planned for Saturday. Floyd, 46, died after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd was handcuffed and pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin is serving 22 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of state charges of murder and manslaughter last year. The ex-officer also pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights in a federal case, where he now faces a sentence

ranging from 20 to 25 years. Former oﬃcers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are scheduled to stand trial on state charges in June. Thomas Lane pleaded guilty last week to aiding and abetting seconddegree manslaughter for his role in Floyd’s killing, months after all three former Oﬃcers were convicted in February of federal charges of willfully

violating

Floyd’s rights. “In Minneapolis, we will continue to say his name and honor his spirit,” Frey said. “In these days of reflection and remembrance, we must lead with kindness towards one another – and especially look out for and support our Black friends and neighbors.” Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the

Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/ hub/death-of-george-floyd

Chauvin did not mention in his report that he had hit Pope with his flashlight, nor did he mention pinning Pope for so long. Chauvin’s sergeant reviewed and approved his report and use of force, “despite having firsthand knowledge that the report was false and misleading,” it alleges. The lawsuit alleges

that in addition to physical injuries, Pope suffered significant emotional distress and continues to attend counseling and therapy. Code’s lawsuit alleges Chauvin and another officer were investigating her mother’s assault report when they handcuffed her on the ground after a brief struggle.

When she refused to stand up, the oﬃcers carried her outside. “Outside the residence, Defendant Chauvin gratuitously slammed Zoya’s unprotected head on the ground. Then he immediately took his signature pose, kneeing on the back of Zoya’s neck,” the complaint alleges. It says,

his knee was on her neck for 4 minutes and 41 seconds. Code’s complaint alleges that Chauvin’s partner that day did nothing to intervene, and that his sergeant that shift later reviewed and approved the use of force. Code acknowledges having a history of mental

illness and homelessness, and alleges Chauvin’s actions made her condition worse. Both lawsuits claim if the department had disciplined Chauvin back then, “history could have been stopped from repeating itself with George Floyd.”

feel an ounce of emotion. Their callousness, abuse of power and authority, and their disregard for humanity toward humankind of all hues and backgrounds appears to remain intact. But a new wave of demands from disenfranchised BIPOC communities will most assuredly disrupt the status quo, Minnesota Senator Bobby Joe Champion, Democrat representing District 59 which includes part of downtown and North Minneapolis, echoes a similar appeal to the governing leadership at the local, county, and state levels. ‘What are ‘they’ doing to close the gaps in education, Black women’s mortality rates, chemical dependency, opportunities in higher education, fulfilling

dreams, and providing resources for state-of-the-art technological infrastructure and support for non-profits like Turning Point Inc. and others that are doing great work, he asked. There’s on-going violence in our communities attributed to continued police brutality and often victimization by their own neighbors. What are ‘you’ going to do? “We have to broaden the discussions. George Floyd’s televised execution and the sentences handed down on the murderer, Derek Chauvin, was a catalyst for obvious and necessary major changes leading to genuinely transformational opportunities and possibilities. Let’s talk about preventive health care

options including dental care, career planning, training, and jobs providing livable wages and merit promotions. I believe some day George Floyd’s children will know for sure that their father’s life mattered,” Senator Champion said in an interview with Insight Editor, Al McFarlane. The refusal to embrace power sharing has divided the country, heightened the awareness of Black-white disparities, and increased demands for legislatures across the country to ‘do right, he said. They take power by denying the rights of the powerless. He said even socalled allies want to do things their way, with strategies that don’t respect or reflect Black

culture and Black-defined needs. “Ironically, rural and Black American communities have a lot in common. For instance, they have no broadband. We have broadband but no access, which really showed up during the pandemic and lockdowns.” Reflecting on the historical and intentional disinvestment in BIPOC communities, Champion recalls learning about the 1963 Children’s Crusade where hundreds of school students in Birmingham, Alabama suﬀered the wrath of the head of police, Bull Connor. The malicious evil on display for the public to witness - fire hoses and police dogs were used to brutalize and terrorize children - set the stage

for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “It just might take a similar kind of courageous move to get ‘their’ attention. Another courageous move is to understand the seriousness of the times we are in. Know that circumstances will not improve until those disenfranchised finally decide that taking a diﬀerent direction ‘puts us at the table, and not just on the menu. That includes how we interact with philanthropic foundations and corporations that tend to support their allies and friends, and not those who really need a couple rays of sunshine in their lives,” he said.

with the city’s noise ordinance, meaning that the earlymorning and late-night calls to prayer are only aired indoors. At Dar Al-Hijrah now, elders call the prayer three times a day, drawing youth like Mohamad Mooh, 17, who arrived just five months ago. He said he wishes the broadcasts were even louder like back in Somalia, where the early morning calls woke him up. “I know it’s a little bit complicated because of the society,” Mooh added after a recent packed prayer service. Just like some Americans opposed church bells in the 19th century, the call to prayer has led to disputes over the years, from Duke University to Culver City, California. In Hamtramck, a small city surrounded by Detroit, councilors exempted religious sounds from the noise ordinance at a mosque’s request. Coming in the aftermath of 9/11, the amendment got embroiled in national controversy, but a referendum to revoke it failed. In the predominantly Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside, tucked between downtown and two college campuses, Dar Al-Hijrah mosque’s adhan has met no backlash. Hoping to also prevent it, the Abubakar AsSaddique Islamic Center in south Minneapolis, which hosts some 1,000 men for Friday midday prayers,

plans to hold meetings with neighbors before broadcasting publicly this summer. “We care about the neighbors,” said Abdullahi Farah, the center’s director. “We have to talk to them, explain to them and at least share our views on this.” Abdullahi Mohammed stopped at Abubakar on a recent afternoon when he was driving by and was alerted by a call-toprayer app, which he and many others use in the absence of a public broadcast. He said he would love to hear the adhan ringing out everywhere because it would teach Muslim children to pray “automatically”– but also acknowledged non-Muslim neighbors “might feel diﬀerent.” Between hesitancy to provoke tensions, technical complexities and the challenges of arranging for someone with Arabic and vocal skills to chant the call live, several mosques may decide not to broadcast, said Jaylani Hussein, director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. But other mosques are already eager to push for permission to broadcast all five prayers and hope to see Minneapolis set an example for cities across the country. “We want Muslims to fully exist here in America,” Hussein said, adding that the adhan is the “last piece to make this home. It’s incredibly important for Muslims to

know their religious rights are never infringed upon.” Several neighborhood groups consulted by The Associated Press said that while no formal discussions have been held yet, they expect most residents will be accepting. “People will ask, What’s that? and then say, That’s cool,” predicted Tabitha Montgomery, director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association. At two churches, founded more than a century ago by Scandinavian immigrants and now within earshot of the adhan, leaders also had no objections. Trinity Lutheran Congregation collaborates with Dar Al-Hijrah on charity and outreach events. Pastor Jane Buckley-Farlee said she likes hearing the adhan from her oﬃce. “It reminds me that God is bigger than we know,” she said. Hierald Osorto, pastor of the predominantly Spanishspeaking St. Paul Lutheran Church near Abubakar and another mosque, also anticipates no pushback from his flock. In fact, he’s been thinking of bringing back the long-broken church bell as a way to gather the congregation and make it more visible in the neighborhood. “It allows us to be known,” Osorto said. Mowlid Ali, the imam at Abubakar, said part of the aim in broadcasting the adhan is precisely that mix of claiming belonging and outreach. “We hope that through calling the adhan in public, it would actually bring more interest from the neighbors in knowing about the religion of Islam,” Ali said. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Muslim From 3

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That’s especially true when the sound is not a bell or a horn, but spoken words, as in the adhan. “Hearing that voice, it’s a connection to God even if at work or in the fields or a classroom,” said Abdisalam Adam, who often prays at Dar Al-Hijrah. “It’s a balance of this world and the hereafter.” Dar Al-Hijrah got a special permit to broadcast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in spring 2020, when Minnesota was under a pandemic lockdown, so the faithful could hear the adhan from home, mosque director Wali Dirie said. Soon it was resounding from speakers set up with the help of First Avenue, a nightclub made famous by Prince. People thought they were dreaming and wept at their windows. That community need led to the recent resolution authorizing the broadcasts more broadly. It establishes decibel levels and hourly limits in line

photo/Aaron Lavinsky

A new George Perry Floyd Square sign is unveiled in front of hundreds of community members Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Minneapolis. The intersection where Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers was renamed in his honor Wednesday, among a series of events to remember a man whose killing forced America to confront racial injustice.

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Insight News • June 6, 2022 - June 12, 2022 • Page 5

Commentary Curing America’s sick fascination with guns Hobb servation Point

By Chuck Hobbs Running Android

oﬀ

at the keyboard... ***Kudos to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for calling for a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines! Kudos, too, to President Biden for realizing that an executive order on the matter won’t have the same impact as legislation from Congress, preferably of the bipartisan variety that would show some unity on an issue that frightens so many Americans. While the president’s call falls short of my own call to repeal the Second Amendment entirely, it goes farther than the two responses from Republicans: 1. Do nothing 2. Do a little something, like enhanced background checks. Trust, I understand that the road ahead will be diﬃcult for the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats because the gun lobby spends untold millions of dollars each year to buy congressional influence while flooding the airwaves with the false narrative that any restrictions on weapons restrict liberties. So yes, Biden and Harris are on the right path, and it is important that we keep the memories of all who have lost their lives due to gun violence front and center in our daily conversations in person and on social media! ***While repealing

Taken From 3 said he found out Tuesday afternoon that his 9-year-old daughter Jacklyn Cazares was killed in her classroom. She was with a group of five girls, including her second cousin, Annabelle Rodriguez, who formed a tight group of friends. “They are all gone now,” Cazares said. The extended families of the slain cousins gathered Wednesday to mourn and comfort each other over barbecue. Cazares described his daughter as a “firecracker” who “had a voice, she didn’t like bullies, she didn’t like kids being picked on.” “All in all, full of love. She had a big heart,” he said. Veronica Luevanos, whose 10-year-old daughter, Jailah Nicole Silguero, was among the victims, tearfully told Univision that her daughter did not want to go to school Tuesday and seemed to sense something bad was going to happen. Jailah’s cousin also died in the shooting. All of the dead were in the same fourth-grade classroom, where the shooter barricaded himself Tuesday and opened fire on the children and their teachers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told a news conference Wednesday. He said the gunman used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle in the attack and posted on Facebook shortly before the shooting: “I’m going to shoot an elementary school.” Schools Superintendent Hal Harrell fought back tears as he spoke of the children and their teachers. “You can just tell by their angelic smiles that they were loved,” Harrell said of the children. “That they loved coming to school, that they were just precious individuals.” The two teachers “poured their heart and soul” into their work, Harrell said. Teacher Eva Mireles, 44, was remembered as a loving mother and wife. “She was adventurous. ... She is definitely going to be very missed,” said 34-year-old relative Amber Ybarra, of San Antonio. In a post on the school’s website at the start of the school year, Mireles introduced herself to her new students.

the Second Amendment is my long-term solution, a shortterm solution that I champion is placing bulletproof doors and windows in all classrooms across America. I also support equipping teachers with a remote switch that would allow them to lock down their classrooms if they hear shots fired! When professional visitors, be they lawyers, paralegals, or investigators, visit an inmate in a state or federal prison, they are equipped with a device that can be pushed in the event something goes wrong during the visit; when pushed, correctional officers flood the room immediately to provide security. A similar device would make lots of sense to help protect our schools! ***Another additional short-term solution could include hiring retired military personnel and civilian police officers to further secure our schools. The officers would have to undergo yearly active shooter certification; the concept of two or three armed officers on site would make a would be mass murderer think twice because they would be out numbered and potentially out armed! ***As Uvalde enters the grim phase of burying the 21 victims of last week’s mass shooting, a Good Samaritan, artist Trey Ganem, visited the victim’s families and helped design custom little caskets for the little Angels. Kudos to Mr. Ganem! Kudos, too, to the anonymous donor who has paid all funeral costs for the deadly departed. ***Speaking of solutions, ever notice how Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and Canada have far

in any context, meaning, I support the freedom for all Americans to love, express love, and self-identify as they wish! This month, I will provide biographical sketches of notable Americans who were members of the LGBTQ community. These sketches will include Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Alvin Ailey, the four men depicted below: For those unaware, the above four gay Black men were critical figures in American history through their work in literature, philosophy, civil rights, and entertainment. Each an icon of Black culture...Each a man...Each a strong Black man...Each a strong Black homosexual man, which was their personal prerogatives— and their business, not ours! Lest we forget...

fewer mass shootings than the United States? Whenever I raise this issue, a whole lot of folks get really quiet, especially the “it’s a mental health problem” excusers who don’t want to admit that folks have mental health issues in those other European and colonial countries, too, but they don’t dish out the wanton death and mayhem that mass shooters do in the ol’ USA! The diﬀerence? Those aforementioned nations don’t have a sick fetish with guns—period! To this point, according to The Hill, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing to “halt new sales of all handguns, while also proposing a new buyback program on

military-style semi-automatic rifles, the purchase of which is already prohibited nationwide.” Sigh, if only America had the resolve to do the same... ***As the son of a military and civilian police officer, and as a former prosecutor who worked daily alongside officers, I have always respected the many hard working men and women who respect the communities that they patrol. But I have also always blasted the jackasses, which includes the brass and police union officials who ALWAYS find ways to piss on folks heads— and swear that it’s raining! My vision on these ones is why I am NOT surprised in the least by the

latest news that the Uvalde police forces and school districts are NOT cooperating with the investigation by the Texas State Police. Well, foxes are always going to side with foxes, not the hens they prey upon in the henhouse. The solution? U.S. Justice Department intervention via the FBI, so that the who, what, and why of last week’s failure to act decisively at Robb Elementary School can be fully ascertained! LGBTQ Pride Month As an ally of the LGBTQ community, I’m proud to note that today, June 1st, marks the beginning of Pride Month! What is an “ally,” in this context? The same as

“Welcome to the 4th grade! We have a wonderful year ahead of us!” she wrote, noting she had been teaching 17 years, loved running and hiking, and had a “supportive, fun, and loving family.” She mentioned that her husband was a school district police oﬃcer, and they had a grown daughter and three “furry friends.” The other slain teacher, Irma Garcia, wrote about her four children, including one who was in the Marines, in a letter introducing herself to the class. Garcia’s 21-year-old nephew, John Martinez, told the Detroit Free Press the family was struggling to grasp that while Garcia’s son trained for combat, it was his mother who was shot to death. Angel Garza, a medical assistant with a step daughter at the school, arrived soon after the shooting and found himself aiding students streaming out injured and shaken up. One girl was covered in blood and he asked if she had been shot. “I’m not hurt. He shot my best friend,” the girl said. “She’s not breathing. She was just trying to call the cops.” And then she named the friend, Amerie Jo Garza, his stepdaughter. Amerie was happy child who had just gotten her first cell phone for turning 10 and had just gotten a certificate the morning of the shooting for making the honor roll. She also loved to paint and draw and work in clay. Garza said that in his grief he wonders what happened in those brief moments before Amerie was killed, if she said anything to the shooter, if he had seen her reach for her phone. And then he remembered the moment she got the phone for her birthday, and her face. “It just lit up with the happiest expression,” said Garza. “She was so sweet.” Relatives of 10-year-old Eliahna Garcia recalled her love of family. “She was very happy and very outgoing,” said Eliahna’s aunt, Siria Arizmendi, a fifth-grade teacher at Flores Elementary School in the same district. “She loved to dance and play sports. She was big into family, enjoyed being with the family.” Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, Texas, mourned

the death of her 10-year-old cousin, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly awaiting a summer of swimming. “He was just a loving ... little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen,” she said. “He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.” She lamented what she described as lax gun laws. “We should have more restrictions, especially if these kids are not in their right state of mind and all they want to do is just hurt people, especially innocent children going to the schools,” Garza said. Arizmendi also spoke angrily, through tears, about how the shooter managed to get a gun. “It’s just diﬃcult to understand or to put into words,” she said. “I just don’t know how people can sell that type of a gun to a kid 18 years old. What is he going to use it for but for that purpose?” As Ybarra prepared to give blood for the wounded, she wondered how no one noticed trouble with the shooter in time to stop him. “To me, it’s more about raising mental health awareness,” said Ybarra, a wellness coach who attended Robb Elementary herself. “Someone could possibly have seen a dramatic change before something like this happened.” Even for the survivors, there was grief. Lorena Auguste was substitute teaching at Uvalde High School when she heard about the shooting. She began frantically texting her niece, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary, until Auguste heard from her sister that the child was OK. Auguste said her niece asked her that night, “Tia, why did they do this to us? We’re good kids, we didn’t do anything wrong.” Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home, which is located across the street from Robb Elementary School, said in a Facebook post that it would be assisting families of the shooting victims with no cost for funerals. GoFundMe pages were set up for many of the victims, including one on behalf of all victims that has raised more than $1.5 million. Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Uvalde,

Texas; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Don Babwin in Chicago; Stephen Groves

in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Roxana Hegeman in Wichita, Kansas; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Jill Zeman Bleed in

Trey Ganem, visited the victim’s families and helped design custom little caskets for the little Angels.

Happy Birthday to The Marching 100 On this date back in 1946, the legendary Dr. William P. Foster (pictured with the hat above) founded what would eventually become the greatest band in American history, the “Incomparable” Florida A&M University Marching 100. Also depicted in this early 1960’s photo is Dr. Foster’s then pupil and eventual successor, the legendary Dr. Julian E. White! Hubba 100rd! Subscribe to Hobbservation Point Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.

Little Rock, Arkansas; Bernard Condon in New York; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

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Insight 2 Health

Baby formula shortage highlights racial disparities By Jacquelyn Martin, Adriana Gomez Licon and Terry Tang Associated Press COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Capri Isidoro broke down in tears in the oﬃce of a lactation consultant. The mother of two had been struggling to breastfeed her 1-month-old daughter ever since she was born, when the hospital gave the baby formula first without consulting her on her desire to breastfeed. Now, with massive safety recall and supply disruptions causing formula shortages across the United States, she also can’t find the specific formula that helps with her baby’s gas pains. “It is so sad. It shouldn’t be like this,” said Isidoro, who lives in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City. “We need formula for our kid, and where is this formula going to come from?” As parents across the United States struggle to find formula to feed their children, the pain is particularly acute among Black and Hispanic women. Black women have historically faced obstacles to breastfeeding, including a lack of lactation support in the hospital, more pressure to formula feed and cultural roadblocks. It’s one of many inequalities for Black mothers : They are far more likely to die from pregnancy complications, and less likely to have their concerns about pain taken seriously by doctors. Low-income families buy the majority of formula in the U.S., and face a particular struggle: Experts fear small neighborhood grocery stores that serve these vulnerable populations are not replenishing as much as larger retail stores,

leaving some of these families without the resources or means to hunt for formula. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20% of Black women and 23% of Hispanic women exclusively breastfeed through six months, compared to 29% of white women. The overall rate stands at 26%. Hospitals that encourage breastfeeding and overall lactation support are less prevalent in Black neighborhoods, according to the CDC. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses also says Hispanic and Black women classified as low wage workers have less access to lactation support in their workplaces. The racial disparities reach far back in America’s history. The demands of slave labor prevented mothers from nursing their children, and slave owners separated mothers from their own babies to have them serve as wet nurses, breastfeeding other women’s children. In the 1950s, racially targeted commercials falsely advertised formula as a superior source of nutrition for infants. And studies continue to show that the babies of Black mothers are more likely to be introduced to formula in the hospital than the babies of white mothers, which happened to Isidoro after her emergency cesarean section. Physicians say introducing formula means the baby will require fewer feedings from the mother, decreasing the milk supply as the breast is not stimulated enough to produce. Andrea Freeman, author of the book “Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race and Injustice,” said these mothers still aren’t getting the support they need when it comes to

having the choice of whether to breastfeed or use formula. They also may have jobs that do not accommodate the time and space needed for breastfeeding or pumping milk, Freeman said. “Nobody’s taking responsibility for the fact that they’ve steered families of color toward formula for so many years and made people rely on it and taken away choice. And then when it falls apart, there’s not really any recognition or accountability,” Freeman said. Breastfeeding practices are often influenced by previous generations, with some studies suggesting better outcomes for mothers who were breastfed when they were babies. Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said she began hearing back in February about Black and Latino families in Detroit and Grand Rapids feeling stuck after finding smaller grocery stores running out of formula. Some were told to go to the local oﬃce of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, the federal program that supports low-income expectant and new mothers. Between 50% and 65% of the formula in the U.S. is bought through the program. “Going to the WIC oﬃce is like a full day’s errand for some moms,” Bauer said. She fears mothers are getting desperate enough to try foods that are not recommended for babies under 6 months. Yury Navas, a Salvadoran immigrant who works at a restaurant and lives in Laurel, Maryland, says she was not able to produce enough breast milk and struggled to find the right formula for her nearly

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AFFECTS YOUR WHOLE BODY

IS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE HIGHER THAN 120/80?

photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Capri Isidoro, of Ellicott City, Md., looks at her one-month-old baby Charlotte, Monday, May 23, 2022, in Columbia, Md., during a lactation consultation. Charlotte was delivered via emergency c-section and given formula by hospital staff. Isidoro has been having trouble with breastfeeding and has been searching for a formula that her daughter can tolerate well. “If all things were equal I would feed her with formula and breastmilk,” says Isidoro, “but the formula shortage is so scary. I worry I won’t be able to feed my child.”

Yury Navas, 29, of Laurel, Md., kisses her two-monthold baby Jose Ismael Gálvez, at Superbest International Market in Laurel, Md., Monday, May 23, 2022, while looking for formula. After this day’s feedings she will be down to the last 12.5 ounce container. The only formula he can take without digestive issues, Enfamil Infant, has been almost impossible for her to find. Navas doesn’t know why her breastmilk didn’t come in for her third baby and has tried many brands of formula before finding the one kind that he could tolerate. Though the baby food aisle had plenty of options for older babies, the kind she needs was nowhere in sight.

3-month-old baby Jose Ismael, after others caused vomiting, diarrhea and discomfort. One time, they drove half an hour to a store where workers told them they had the type she needed, but it was gone when they got there. Her husband goes out every night to search pharmacies around midnight. “It’s so hard to find this type,” she said, saying sometimes they have run out before they can secure more formula. “The baby will cry and cry, so we give him rice water.” On a recent day, she was down to her last container and called an advocacy group that had told her it would try to get her some at an appointment in five days. But the group could not guarantee anything. Some mothers have turned to social media and even befriended other locals to cast a wider net during shopping trips. In Miami, Denise Castro, who owns a construction company, started a virtual group to support new moms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s helping moms get the

formula they need as they go back to work. One of them is a Hispanic teacher whose job leaves her with little flexibility to care for her 2-month old infant, who has been sensitive to a lot of formula brands. “Most of the moms we have been helping are Black and Latinas,” Castro said. “These moms really don’t have the time to visit three to four places in their lunch hour.” Lisette Fernandez, a 34-year-old Cuban American first-time mother of twins, has relied on friends and family to find the liquid 2-ounce bottles she needs for her boy and girl. Earlier this week, her father went to four diﬀerent pharmacies before he was able to get her some boxes with the tiny bottles. They run out quickly as the babies grow. Fernandez said she wasn’t able to initiate breastfeeding, trying with an electric pump but saying she produced very little. Her mother, who arrived in Miami from Cuba as a 7-yearold girl, had chosen not to

breastfeed her children, saying she did not want to, and taken medication to suppress lactation. Some studies have attributed changes in breastfeeding behavior among Hispanics to assimilation, saying Latina immigrants perceive formula feeding as an American practice. “Over the last three to six weeks it has been insane,” Fernandez said. “I am used to everything that COVID has brought. But worrying about my children not having milk? I did not see that coming.”

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Insight News • June 6, 2022 - June 12, 2022 • Page 7

Aesthetically It

La Toya Hankins’ novel, SBF Seeking Icehouse MPLS

Sharing Our Stories

Singer Jamela Pettiford

Northdide Achievement Zone

Spokesman Recorder

Master storytellers Nothando Zulu

Beverly Cottman

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor SBF Seeking by La Toya Hankins Pride Month is here again, so it’s time for those who are standing at the intersectionality of Black and LGBTQ to share their stories. After all, the rainbow flag wouldn’t be complete without the Black and Brown. That being said, let’s start oﬀ the month of June with La Toya Hankins’ novel, SBF Seeking… The road to discovery was filled with twists and turns for Yvette “Vet” Thurman, a feature writer for NC Magazine. Four months before her wedding to her long-time boyfriend Martin, she places an ad in the newspaper to meet a white man. Object: hookup. Apparently, she has been evaluating Martin and found him wanting in many areas (including the bedroom), so she wants to hedge her bets and see if there’s anything better out there before she says “I do.” Needless to say, the hookup fails miserably, leaving her with guilt. After more introspection and input from friends Danita and Karen, her mother, and her twin sister Yolanda, Yvette also decides to call oﬀ the wedding. Through her job, Yvette meets an interracial couple, Erica and Linda. A friendship develops between her and the lesbian sistah Linda, thus beginning Yvette’s journey of realizing her true sexuality, in

Radio DJ Dee Henry Williams

KFAI

William Way Community Center

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Poet Waheedah Shabazz

Performing artist Danielle Daniel

Stories of love, sorrow, resilience, and triumph both the joys and the heartaches of love with Jasmine. I love the slow-burn feel in Yvette’s self-discovery; the signs that she was into women had always been there, though she hadn’t recognized them for what they were. I also greatly appreciate the spirit of sorority and fraternity in the special and unique environment of HBCUs that Hankins brings to her novel; those of you who are members know that those relationships and connections last a lifetime. I’ve always enjoyed movies and stories about female friendships, and Hankins delivers in spades. Whether the character of Yvette was going

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through something with her girlfriend or whether her friends had issues with their significant others, they always came through for each other. Hankins is a graduate of East Carolina University, with a B.A. in journalism. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and national secretary of Gamma Xi Phi, a predominately African American association for men and women in the arts. SBF Seeking is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and JMS Books LLC. Thank you, La Toya, for reminding us that sisterhood has been, is, and always will be, powerful!

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ROBERT ROBINSON & FRIENDS An Evening of Inspiration in Song

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Singer Jamela Pettiford; master storytellers Nothando Zulu, and Beverly Cottman; Radio DJ Dee Henry Williams; poet Waheedah Shabazz, and performing artist Danielle Daniel present I Am Woman -- Voices of the Elders, 7PM Saturday, June 11, 2022 at The Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway Ave, Minneapolis. A healing celebration giving a platform to elder African American women’s voices, I Am Woman celebrates stories of love, sorrow, resilience, and the triumph of the African American woman experience. I Am Woman is a creative collaboration of music, dance, poetry, stories, and skits chronicling African American women’s journey through conditions of cruelties

so horrible, so bizarre, that chronicling African American women have had to re-invent themselves to survive. They had to find safety and sanctity inside themselves. They had to laugh at the impossible, fight for what they believed to be right, pray for the wicked, nurse the wounded, feed the hungry, and motivate and inspire generations abandoned by society, project producers said. “We have had to keep on dreaming of a world not only better for ourselves but for future generations to come—a world where character and ability matter—not color or gender. African American women have survived so many broken promises and pain yet

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made significant contributions to America. I Am Woman celebrates the love, the sorrow, the tragedy and triumph, a combination of humor, funk and pizzazz,” the producers said. The event is free but donations are accepted for future projects for Elders Women Voices. Tables are available for the community to leave flyers, brochures and business cards. . “The event is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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The COVID-19 vaccine is free.

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The COVID-19 vaccine is safe. It has gone through all the same safety steps of any other vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccine works. The vaccine is very good at protecting people from COVID-19 disease. If you do get sick with COVID-19 after being vaccinated, the vaccine will help protect you from getting very sick or having to go to the hospital. It takes two weeks after your second dose in a two-dose series or ﬁrst dose in a one-dose series to build up protection against COVID-19. After those two weeks, you are fully vaccinated. The person who gives you the vaccine can tell you how many doses of vaccine you need and when to get them, including when to get a booster shot. It is important to get the doses you need for the best protection.

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Page 8 • June 6, 2022 - June 12, 2022 • Insight News

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Mindful of what’s important At Bank of America, our employees’ emotional wellness is very important to us. We drive open and ongoing conversations to help break through the stigma around mental health. Whether it’s one-to-one professional counseling during critical life events or simple education and tips to manage daily stress, our goal is to ensure our teammates get the resources they need.

After all, when our employees are at their best, they’re able to give their best to our clients and communities.

My teammates and I are proud to work for a company that creates a supportive and emotionally healthy environment for all of us.

Katie Simpson President, Bank of America Twin Cities

What would you like the power to do?® Learn more at bankofamerica.com/twincities