Insight ::: 03.8.21 by Insight News, Inc

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

Insight News

March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 10• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

DANIEL DESURE

INSIGHTS 2021: DANIEL DESURE, COMMONWEALTH PROJECTS/TOTAL LUXURY SPA CAN A JUICE BAR REJUVENATE BODIES, MINDS, AND COMMUNITIES? CAN T-SHIRTS CREATE THE FUTURE? WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY AND AN EXPANSIVE COLLABORATIVE NETWORK, DANIEL DESURE HAS CREATED A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE THAT SKIRTS THE WORLDS OF ART, FASHION, DESIGN, AND FILM. HIS MANY PROJECTS INCLUDE FOUNDING THE CREATIVE STUDIO COMMONWEALTH PROJECTS, WITH CLIENTS SUCH AS RIMOWA, SONOS, NIKE, OLAFUR ELIASSON, AND SUNDANCE, AS WELL AS TOTAL LUXURY SPA, A RIDICULOUSLY HIP FASHION LINE DEDICATED TO SERVING LA’S CRENSHAW NEIGHBORHOOD. ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED AS AN IN-PERSON EVENT FOR MARCH 2020, BUT POSTPONED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, THIS NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PRERECORDED TALK WILL BE STREAMED ON MARCH 23 AT 7 PM (CDT), ON WALKERART. ORG AND ON YOUTUBE PREMIERE. AUDIENCES ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE IN CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL DESURE DIRECTLY DURING AND AFTER THE LIVE WEBCAST, VIA THE YOUTUBE PREMIERE COMMENTS SECTION. Design by Daniel DeSure. Photo courtesy the artist.

Page 2 • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Insight News

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Insight News • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 10• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

No state disaster funds for civil unrest damages under plan heard in House committee By Tim Walker Session Daily

Vernon Jordan: Presidential advisor, civil rights and corporate activist The former chauffeur turned lawyer and civil rights activist Vernon Jordan has died. He was 85. Jordan’s storied career was a true American Dream that was less about rags-to-riches and more about humble beginnings, discrimination forcing him to work as a domestic as a college student, and triumphing as an influential presidential advisor and corporate activist, creating seats for African American men and women on boards and in top-floor offices. Jordan was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Mary Jordan and Vernon E. Jordan Sr. Jordan graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1957. During his time at DePauw, he was the

only Black student in a class of 400, and he was denied an internship opportunity due to his race, leaving him to work as a chauﬀeur for banker Robert Maddox, who would go on to become mayor of Atlanta. He would eventually earn a J.D. degree at Howard University School of Law in 1960. Constance Motley, Jordan’s senior at the Hollowell law ﬁrm, sued the University of Georgia for racial discrimination in its admission policies. The suit ended in 1961 with a Federal Court order demanding the admission of two African Americans, nowacclaimed journalist Charlayne Hunter (Gault) and Hamilton E. Holmes. Jordan personally

escorted Hunter past a group of angry white protesters to the university admissions oﬃce. After leaving private law practice, Jordan would serve as the Georgia ﬁeld director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. From the NAACP, he moved to the Southern Regional Council and then to the Voter Education Project. In 1970, Jordan became executive director of the United Negro College Fund. He was president of the National Urban League from 1971 to 1981, where he challenged the Reagan administration to practice “compassionate conservatism” to make strides for racial equity.

Melvin Carter

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

Andrea Jenkins

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

Jordan considered his corporate board seats to be an extension of his activism. He has served as a member of multiple corporations, including American Express, J.C. Penney Corporation, Asbury Automotive Group, and the Dow Jones & Company as well as Revlon, Sara Lee, Corning, Xerox, and RJR Nabisco. Married ﬁrst to the late Shirley Yarbrough, Jordan remarried to Ann Dibble. He has one adult daughter, Vickee Jordan Adams, and several grandchildren. He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.

Glen Gunderson

Celebrating Black History Month with, “A Most Beautiful Thing” Comcast Twin Cities recently hosted a virtual screening and panel discussion of the critically acclaimed film, “A Most Beautiful Thing.” This 90-minute documentary chronicles the story of the nation’s first African American high school rowing team and their journey to overcome the seemingly endless cycle of violence and injustice in their home community on the West Side of Chicago. Al McFarlane, president & CEO of McFarlane Media Interests moderated the conversation, with a focus on race, mental health, trauma, and creating equal opportunities for all. Members of the distinguished panel included the film’s writer and director Mary Mazzio; team captain of the Manley High School rowing squad, Arshay Cooper; Acooa Ellis, senior vice president of Community Impact for the Greater Twin Cities United Way; and Quinton Bonds, program supervisor, Youth and Family Engagement for Change, Inc. Now a published author and inspiration to young people across the country, Arshay recounted his experiences growing up on the West Side of Chicago, and

Clockwise from top: Al McFarlane, Quinton Bonds, Mary Mazzio, Acooa Ellis and Arshay Cooper. his desire to work for change. “There were so many times it felt like living in a war zone, like God was everywhere but here. I made the decision I wanted the guys in my neighborhood to know my name and to build something better.” Mary Mazzio, already an award-winning ﬁlm maker, was deeply moved when she ﬁrst heard the team’s story and committed herself to sharing it through the voices of Arshay, his teammates, and family members.

“For those of us who live in a world of privilege, the ﬁlm makes it possible to step directly into the shoes of these Black men and examine what it means to take responsibility in breaking down barriers for others,” said Mazzio. “We are proud and honored to have had the opportunity to share this incredible story of determination, perseverance, bridge-building and hope,” said J.D. Keller, senior regional vice president, Comcast Twin Cities. “The movie is an eloquent

News

Bill introduced to make Juneteenth a ceremonial holiday in North Dakota

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When Minnesota cities are damaged by ﬂoods or other natural disasters, they can apply for state aid to help repair the damages, and if approved, the money comes from a contingency account set up for just such events. But if the damages result from civil unrest, as happened in Minneapolis and St. Paul last year, can the account be tapped? Current state law says it can, according the state’s top emergency manager, but that could change. HF444 would amend the law to speciﬁcally exclude “a catastrophe caused by civil unrest” from receiving contingency relief funds. Sponsored by Rep. Gene Pelowski, Jr. (DFL-Winona), the bill was discussed Wednesday by the House Industrial Education and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee, but no action was taken. The companion, SF7, sponsored by Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center), awaits action on the Senate Floor. Although Pelowski sponsors the bill, he does not support it. His aim is to separate the civil unrest issue from

and powerful testament to the critical role each of us plays in working for social justice and empowering our communities.” You can watch the full panel discussion by clicking HERE. In addition, “A Most Beautiful Thing” is available through NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service, and for Comcast customers on X1, Flex and the Stream app. You can also visit the ﬁlm’s website at www.amostbeautifulthing. com.

photo/Uche Iroegbu

Kelly, state director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the $12 million Gov. Tim Walz used last year from the fund to pay for some of the civil unrest damages was permitted under the current statute that he said covers disasters “regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion.” another bill he sponsors, HF38, to add $30 million to the “woefully inadequate” disaster assistance account that has a $4 million balance. The discussion on HF38 became very political at the committee’s Jan. 27 hearing when lawmakers debated whether disaster assistance money should be used to rebuild properties damaged during the civil unrest in Minneapolis last year. Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) and Rep. John Burkel (R-Badger) said the intent of legislators voting to create the disaster fund in 2014

FUNDS 4

Al Flowers

YMCA, MN Safe Streets partnership announced The YMCA is partnering with Minnesota Safe Streets, a community-based organization focused on providing boots on the ground and coordinating eﬀorts with local law enforcement agencies, to reduce violence and create safe, thriving neighborhoods. The new partnership was announced Thursday morning at a press conference at the Northside YMCA facility on West Broadway. The Y and Minnesota Safe Streets partnership focuses on four key strategies to create a safer Twin Cities: Collaborate with law enforcement Build partnerships with cross section of neighborhoods Improve job and economic opportunities Elevate and illuminate clear community standards that protect and respect all in the community Minnesota Safe Streets is a Collective Impact Network that mobilizes community assets to overcome the violence that threatens to upend lives and destroy neighborhoods, said YMCA of the North president Glen Gunderson. “We believe that the best solutions to the problems we face are those that are imagined, developed, and implemented by those who are closest to the situation. We also believe that most of the solutions needed to solve most of the community’s problems have

already been conceptualized, and that the real challenge we face is finding an effective way to coordinate and resource these efforts.” The network will focus its efforts on young African American men and women who live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Most of the young people served will be between the ages of 15 and 35. In addition, the program will work with the families and close acquaintances of program participants ensuring that the whole community has the chance to heal and be made whole, organizers said at the press conference. The initiative will pay particular interest to challenges emerging out of the Derek Chauvin trail for the murder of George Floyd. Network partners said the press conference formalized introducing the collective impact network, around a common agenda, shared outcomes and expectations, and a clear process of accountability. They announced that the network will recruit and train 30 Navigators and supervisory staff for deployment at strategically important locations in the metro area. The initiative will feature a community-based communications strategy to highlight the broad range of stakeholders from law enforcement, to businesses,

YMCA 4

I2H

Many Black Americans aren’t rushing to get the COVID-19 vaccine – a long history of medical abuse suggests why

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Page 4 • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Insight News

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Rosalind Brewer

Rosalind Brewer takes platinum touch to Walgreens as CEO On March 15, 2021, Rosalind Brewer is slated to make history as the only Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company she will helm Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., the parent company of Walgreens drugstores. She is

currently the COO of Starbucks and the former president and CEO of Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Brewer’s storied history in retail includes advocating on behalf of Black-owned companies to

get their products on shelves and available to a mass market. At Starbucks, she is credited for changing their corporate culture to be more diverse and inclusive. The Detroit native is

a Spelman College alumna with business degrees from Wharton and the University of Chicago. She began her corporate retail career as a chemist for Kimberly-Clark, where she worked for 22 years before

moving to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. named one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes, Brewer has sat on and served on a number of boards, including Amazon’s. Rosalind Brewer is a

member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is a trustee of Spelman College in Atlanta.

Expanding diversity demographics provides opportunity for firms (NewsUSA) - The demographic makeup of the U.S. population and the financial status of its communities are shifting in ways that have significant implications for the country’s economy, including the financial planning profession. According to U.S. Census Bureau research projections (www.census.gov/ content/dam/Census/library/ publications/2015/demo/p251143.pdf), the United States will have a minority majority population by 2045 as Black, Latino and Asian-American communities grow. These traditionally underrepresented populations are not only growing in size, but they are also building greater wealth.

Funds From 3

Purchasing power among people of color has increased exponentially since 2019. The annual buying power of Black consumers was estimated by Nielsen to be $1.3 trillion in 2019 -- a roughly 48 percent increase over 2010. Latino purchasing power grew by nearly 70 percent over the same period, according to the University of Georgia, reaching approximately $1.7 trillion in 2019. Additionally, the wealthiest ﬁfth of Blacks -- more than three million households -- has an average wealth of $395,000, while the wealthiest ﬁfth of Latinos households have more than $400,000 in average wealth. The U.S. Census Bureau

data indicates a large population that could benefit from financial planning advice as families generate more wealth. Research published by the Journal of Financial Planning found that Black and Latino households are less likely than white families to work with a financial planner, and an even smaller percentage of those households choose to receive comprehensive financial planning advice. Financial advisors and their firms have an opportunity to reach these underserved groups and diversify their client base while providing a valuable and empowering service. One way to do so, according to the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, is to ensure that the

was it should only be used for natural disasters. If a disaster is big enough, regardless of cause, Hamilton said, that’s an

appropriate reason for the Legislature to debate whether to spend any relief money, even if it means calling a special session to do so. Joe Kelly, state director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the $12 million Gov. Tim Walz used last year from the fund to pay for some of the civil unrest damages was permitted under the current statute that he said covers disasters “regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion.” Money from the account was used only to pay for public cleanup operations and public infrastructure damaged or destroyed by fires in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. A bill opponent, Kelly noted an especially troublesome provision to exclude “civil unrest” from the definition of permissible relief fund allocations since Jan. 1, 2020.

INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com

Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests. Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD. Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray Book Review Editor W.D. Foster-Graham Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Coordinator Sunny Thongthi Yang Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley

Intern Kelvin Kuria Contributing Writers Maya Beecham Nadvia Davis Fred Easter Abeni Hill Inell Rosario Latisha Townsend Artika Tyner Toki Wright Photography V. Rivera Garcia Uchechukwu Iroegbu Rebecca Rabb Artist Donald Walker Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis,

YMCA From 3 to local government, and neighborhood organizations. Speciﬁc activities related to the Chauvin trial include: Creation of Critical Incident Response Teams for rapid deployment following the eruption of violence in the metro area. Establishing a visible and continuous presence in the community through the deployment of 30 Navigators. Maintaining a process for delivering accurate information to the community related to the trial and how it is impacting the community. The YMCA of the North said its partnership with Minnesota Safe Streets, provides for boots on the ground and coordinating eﬀorts with local law enforcement agencies will seek to reduce violence and create safe, thriving neighborhoods. “Minnesota Safe

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By ByLee Harry H. Jordan Colbert, Jr. Minneapolis Juneteenth Managing Editor Committee - 2018 harry@insightnews.com National Juneteenth Film & Bicycling Commissions

financial planning workforce reflects the diversity of wealthbuilding communities. It currently does not: Only about 4 percent of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals self-report as Black or Latino, whereas nearly 32 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Black or Latino. The Center is leading a collaborative, profession-wide effort to implement sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that can address this systemic challenge and foster greater diversity among financial planners. Visit CFP.net/TheCenter-for-Financial-Planning to learn more about the Center’s diversity-focused initiatives and

get involved. Diversifying the financial planner workforce is a prudent strategy for financial firms seeking to diversify their client base. “Financial Planner

Use Among Black and Hispanic Households,” by Kenneth J. White Jr, Ph.D., and Stuart J. Heckman, Ph.D., CFP®, Journal of Financial Planning, September 2016, pp 40-49 http://bit.ly/2NU627O

“That would not only change the rules of the game, so to speak, but also change the rules after the fact and undo a gubernatorial decision,” he said. Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina) and Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope) both say the retroactive provision is an attempt to speciﬁcally punish Minneapolis residents for events they had no control over. Edelson said disaster relief has been, and will be, needed throughout the state, and it would set a bad precedent to start making value judgments about which communities are worthy of relief. Noting the League of Minnesota Cities is against the bill, Edelson said lawmakers should listen to the uniﬁed voice of the 835 member cities in that organization. In written testimony, Anne Finn, the league’s assistant intergovernmental relations director, said, “Municipalities

and other governmental units are at risk of experiencing disastrous events aﬀecting their communities beyond natural disasters, whether from civil disturbances, industrial catastrophes, or other disastrous events. … While some limited State resources may be available, cities do not have the resources to respond to such disasters.”

was declared, often in a special session, to appropriate money toward response eﬀorts. “Minnesota is fortunate to have an eﬀective and intertwined system of federal and state disaster assistance to help these local jurisdictions in their response and recovery to disaster,” said Eric Waage, director of Hennepin County Emergency Management. In his January budget proposal, Walz recommends a $15 million transfer from the General Fund to the contingency account for anticipated disaster assistance needs for the remainder of the current biennium that ends June 30, 2021, and $25 million for the 2022-23 biennium. Governors have declared 52 disasters since 2014 and the fund has paid out $104 million in that time. Since then, the Legislature has replenished the account with $108 million.

Streets is committed to the development of a collective impact network that will deploy the power of our communitybased organizations in a collaborative effort to overcome the violence that continues to threaten our people,” said Al Flowers of Minnesota Safe Streets. “The best solutions are always those that are developed and delivered as close to the community as possible, by people who have already established trust and respect with those they will serve. We are confident that with sufficient support and resources, Minnesota Safe Streets will impact neighborhoods, transform lives, and create the kind of community we all want and deserve for ourselves and our children; a community devoid of violence and full of opportunity, “ Flowers said. “The YMCA is committed to making our communities safe for everyone,” said Gunderson, “With Minnesota Safe Streets, we believe positive outcomes of reducing violence, providing access to resources and restoring

hope are possible.” Flowers maintains that violence can only be discouraged when people are encouraged to want more for themselves and their families. The Minnesota Safe Streets initiative will develop a strong network of service providers that can help clients improve their lives and make a stronger future for themselves. He said Safe Streets will help identify the resources that are available to support the people and walk with them as they continue their education, learn new job skills, receive the counseling and therapy they need to be healthy, ﬁnd aﬀordable housing, and stabilize their lives. Any organization or program in the community that provides support and services that our people will need are welcome to join the network, Flowers said. Flowers maintains that violence can only be discouraged when people are encouraged to want more for themselves and their families. The Minnesota Safe Streets initiative will develop a strong network of service providers that can help clients improve their lives and make a

More on the contingency fund The 2014 law establishing the disaster assistance account appropriated $3 million. The contingency account has been funded each biennium since, with amounts ranging from $5.4 million to $20 million. In 2019, it was replenished with $10 million. The account was created to provide immediate disaster response funding without further legislative action. Prior to its creation, the Legislature would need to convene every time a disaster

stronger future for themselves. He said Safe Streets will help identify the resources that are available to support the people and walk with them as they continue their education, learn new job skills, receive the counseling and therapy they need to be healthy, ﬁnd aﬀordable housing, and stabilize their lives. Any organization or program in the community that provides support and services that our people will need are welcome to join the network, Flowers said. Flowers said Minnesota Safe Streets is also committed to developing a repository of accurate information related to community violence, policing, community-engagement, racial justice, and other critical issues of the day. “We recognize that there is so much inaccurate and misleading information circulating in the community, and we want to become recognized as a place where people can go to get a balanced and coherent perspective on what is happening in the community, he said.

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Insight News • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Page 5

OP ED: “The paradox of legalizing marijuana, yet prohibiting tobacco” By Art Way, former director for the Colorado chapter of the Drug Policy Alliance, Founder of Equitable Consulting LLC, and National Drug Policy Expert As a national drug policy consultant working in marijuana equity and sustainability, drug policy reform and harm reduction are my areas of expertise. Due to my experience as former state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Colorado and three years as a police accountability advocate, I am in opposition to HF904 and SB1271 and seek to understand the Minnesota Legislature’s paradox for possibly legalizing marijuana yet prohibiting tobacco. Gov. Tim Walz has expressed that he is in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, and last month he called on lawmakers to pursue the legalization as a means to boost the economy and “promote racial justice.” So, although the governor cites a boost to the economy and racial justice, he and many others miss the overall goal of legalization - to address marijuana from a public health perspective. I am glad he cites the racial justice impact. By doing so, he presents another question: How can you end the prohibition on marijuana to promote racial justice yet look to repeat the mistake with a ban on menthol cigarettes? According to the MN House, Black and white Minnesotans consume cannabis at similar rates, yet Black Minnesotans make up 30% of cannabis arrests while representing just 5% of the population. This reveals Blacks are targeted for their marijuana use, and whites in suburbs and college campuses use the drug with little to no concern of the police.

Similarly, studies show that due to either higher taxes or a possible statewide ban, the resulting illegal sales of menthol cigarettes are more likely to be concentrated in communities of color. This results in public safety issues, greater police presence, citations, ﬁnes, and arrests for selling a product that for 50 years has been legal. There are unintended consequences to being Black and in possession of tobacco or selling loosies, and we do not need another George Floyd nor Eric Garner. As mentioned above, marijuana legalization is to bring the product above ground and address the issue from a public health perspective. In doing so, marijuana is tightly regulated, and access to youth is further limited. People are also more likely to admit their use, making it easier for those involved in behavioral health to monitor use rates properly and the impact marijuana is having. For these same reasons, it is necessary to keep these products above ground to some degree and tightly regulated. Prohibition is a close your eyes and bury your head in the sand approach to drug policy. Those who support blanket prohibitions of popular substances are wishing on a star that somehow the substance will magically disappear; did alcohol and marijuana magically disappear during their prohibitions? The advocates of HF600 know this, yet the advocates of the ﬂavored tobacco bans are choosing to ignore this clear pattern. I agree with legislators who say that support for both bills is “incredibly inconsistent.” The cannabis bill includes many protections and safeguards against underage use. Minnesota has a 21+ mandate for tobacco sales, and many jurisdictions only allow certain products to be sold in adult establishments. These are safeguards and solutions

restrictions on statewide adultuse establishments, and most importantly, targeted behavioral health and prevention dollars to address the issue head-on and not wish upon a star. I agree with proponents about the public health impact of tobacco but disagree on how to manage it. I urge the Minnesota Legislature to do the hard work of developing a nuanced policy that establishes an adequate public health and public safety approach rather than a blanket prohibition which could increase the state’s current illicit market ranking. Art Way Former Director for the Colorado chapter of the Drug Policy Alliance, Founder of Equitable Consulting LLC, and National Drug Policy Expert

to youth access that is driving down access to regulated tobacco products. Before passing a blanket ban, legislators in Minnesota should bolster its state laws and allow recent regulations to take eﬀect. Besides, federal regulations such as the PACT act now prohibit online sales of vape products from coinciding with the ban on online cigarette sales. Decisionmakers are ﬁnally placing tight regulations on an industry that previously took full advantage of a lax regulatory environment. The marijuana industry has never received a lax climate and was tightly regulated from its inception. A compromise is prudent, one that relies on further advertising and online restrictions, additional

1/4 pg Guthrie bw

By LaurenofPoteat Courtesy University of Alejandra By Dr. Commentary By North Brandpoint Dr. Nicole Rekha Kimya Memorial Winbush N. Mankad by (BPT) Sen. Staff Ian Roth NNPA Minnesota Washington News By Rhonda E.Oliveras Moore Staff Bobby Dennis, Joe Salem Champion College Afrodescendientes Mayo Clinic Staff Correspondent Incoming Board ChairBy IanPhysician Roth NorthPoint www.TheConversation.com Health & elect, WomenHeart Mayo Clinic Staff Wellness Center

Bill introduced to make Juneteenth a ceremonial holiday in North Dakota North Dakota has one of the lowest Black populations in the country but that did not stop the introduction of a bill to their State Senate to make Juneteenth a ceremonial holiday. The bipartisan bill will recognize June 19 as an important day of remembrance without interruption to normal public and business activities. According to MPR News, “North Dakota is only one of three states in the nation that does not legally recognize the June 19 holiday. The legislation is sponsored by two longtime senators, Fargo Democrat Tim Mathern and Grand Forks Republican Ramon Holmberg.” Mathern and Holmberg were successful with making the third Monday in January as a state holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1991. South Dakota and Hawaii are the only other states that don’t observe Juneteenth as a state or ceremonial holiday. North Dakota has no Black representatives in their Legislature. Census data indicates that North Dakota’s African American population only makes up 3% of the overall population.

Page 6 • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Insight News

Insight 2 Health

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Many Black Americans aren’t rushing to get the COVID-19 vaccine – a long history of medical abuse suggests why Esther Jones Associate Professor of English, affiliate with Africana Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, Clark University COVID-19 can infect anyone. But some communities in the U.S. have been hit harder because of racial disparities. Black Americans are almost three times as likely to be hospitalized and almost twice as likely to die from the disease as their white counterparts. With harsh statistics like those, it might seem Black adults would be rushing to be ﬁrst in line for the coronavirus vaccine. But as a group, they’re not. Clark University’s Esther Jones describes the long history that helps explain the vaccine hesitancy among the Black population. Centuries of what she calls medical mistreatment and malfeasance add up to mistrust in the medical establishment today. Black Americans have been the least inclined of any racial or ethnic group to say they’d get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The proportion of Black people who said they’ll probably or deﬁnitely take the shot has risen over time – but even by mid-January, with two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S., only 35% of Black survey respondents said they’d get it as soon as they could, or already had gotten the shot. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately harmed Black, Indigenous and other people of color in comparison to white members of American society. With Black Americans being hospitalized at rates 2.9 times higher than white

Americans and dying from COVID-19 at rates 1.9 times higher, you might assume that Black people would be lining up at breakneck speed to receive the vaccine as soon as it’s available to them. But the Black community has reasons for distrust – even beyond what might be attributed to the mixed messaging of the nation’s COVID-19 response. And it’s not a simple or sole matter of miseducation. I’m a medical humanist and bioethicist who studies history, ethics and literature to understand racial and gender health disparities. My research explores the history of unethical and abusive treatment Black Americans have experienced at the hands of the medical establishment. Based on past experience, Black people have many legitimate reasons to be in no hurry to get the vaccination. A troubling track record The American medical establishment has a long history of unethical treatment of Black research subjects. Medical ethicist Harriet A. Washington details some of the most egregious examples in her book “Medical Apartheid.” There’s the now notorious Tuskegee syphilis experiment, in which the government misled Black male patients to believe they were receiving treatment for syphilis when, in fact, they were not. That study went on for a total of 40 years, continuing even after a cure for syphilis was developed in the 1940s. Perhaps less widely known are the unethical and unjustiﬁed experiments J. Marion Sims performed on enslaved women in 1800s U.S. that helped earn him the nickname the “father of modern gynecology.” Sims performed

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Midsection of female healthcare worker explaining to young patient in medical clinic. experimental vesicovaginal ﬁstula surgery on enslaved women without anesthesia or even the basic standard of care typical for the time. Sims experimented on Anarcha, a 17-year-old slave, over 30 times. His decision not to give anesthesia was based on the racist assumption that Black people experience less pain than their white peers – a belief that persists among medical professionals today. Historian Deirdre Cooper Owens elaborates on this case and many other ways Black women’s bodies have been used as guinea pigs in her book “Medical Bondage.” Cases of medical malfeasance and malevolence have persisted, even after the establishment of the Nuremburg code, a set of medical ethical principles developed after World War II and subsequent trials for crimes against humanity. A great-granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks poses with her portrait. The HeLa cell

line used in medical research originated with a tissue sample from Lacks. Katherine Frey/ The Washington Post via Getty Images In 1951, doctors harvested cervical cancer cells from a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks without her permission. Researchers went on to use them to create the ﬁrst immortal cell culture and subjected her descendants to ongoing study for years without informed consent. Investigative journalist Rebecca Skloot details the cascade of ethical violations in her book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Despite heightened awareness after the book’s publication, the ethical violations continued when a group of scientists mapped the HeLa genome without her family’s knowledge or consent. Advances in genomics are still being used to resuscitate theories of racial “science.” For example, a now-debunked 2007 study purported to isolate a socalled “warrior gene” in Maori

Indigenous men and argued they are genetically “hard-wired” for violence. Scientists and news outlets in the U.S. jumped on board, suggesting there’s a genetic predisposition for Black and Latino males to engage in gang activity. Legal scholar Dorothy E. Roberts explains in her book “Fatal Invention” how incidents like this one perpetuate the harm of race-based science. Using biological data and flawed reasoning tainted by racial stereotyping reinforces racist beliefs about Black people. Such logic focuses on purely biological factors and ignores the social and systemic factors that produce negative and inequitable health outcomes. While there is now an ample body of scholarly research that reveals these truths about racism in the medical establishment, Black Americans need only to gather around the kitchen table with a few friends and family to share and hear personally experienced stories of medical malfeasance. Present-day persistence of racism in health care Even though their experiences at the hands of researchers like J. Marion Sims were central to advances in modern gynecology, today Black women have not benefited from these advances to the same degree as white women. Black women still suffer worse outcomes and more deaths from gynecologic cancers and have worse health and more deaths affiliated with childbearing, just to name two. Maternal health and mortality statistics are worse for Black women than their white counterparts. Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images When tennis star

Serena Williams gave birth, she saw firsthand how Black women are disbelieved by the medical establishment. She might have died from postpartum blood clots if she hadn’t advocated for herself in the face of dismissive medical professionals. Black people are acutely aware of this history of racism in the medical establishment, and the ways it persists today on both an individual and a collective level. Stereotypes about Black patients, whether the result of explicit or implicit bias, continue to affect the care they receive and their medical outcomes. Again and again, when surveyed, Black Americans report that medical providers don’t believe them, won’t prescribe necessary treatments, including pain medication, and blame them for their health problems. And the association between racism and increased disease cases and deaths has held true during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overcoming these challenges Ongoing trust issues around the COVID-19 vaccines are just the latest indication of racial health disparities in the U.S. Still, there are ways to begin to close the COVID-19 racial health and mortality gap. Vaccinations for Black people may otherwise continue to lag in proportion to population size. An important first step is for health care workers and policymakers to learn these painful histories and develop strategies informed by an understanding of the systemic racism Black Americans face. [Get our best science, health and technology stories. Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter.]

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Insight News • March 8, 2021 - March 14, 2021 • Page 7

Aesthetically It

“Perseverance In A Strange Land”:Youth Voices in a Year of Pandemic & Protest Reviewed by Lydia Howell “Perseverance In A Strange Land”:Youth Voices in a Year of Pandemic & Protest While adults debate closing and re-opening schools, youth endure Covid-19-created home isolation juxtaposed to street protests against racism and police violence. Twenty-year veteran history/social studies teacher, Dr. Stephen Bond’s book “Perseverance In A Strange Land” collects his Wilson [NC] Preparatory Academy students’ responses to 2020., like lightning in a bottle. They explore a range of emotions, probe individual identity and question the wider world they’re on the verge of entering. Casual social life on-

hold, life-markers like prom, athletics and gradation canceled, form introspection in journal entries by multi-racial students, mostly male, aged 15 to 18. Grappling with the cell phone video of Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, students are vulnerable, sad, indignant and insightful. Kids long for adolescence fun in contrast to confronted with racism and students’ vow to carry on the decades’ struggle for justice. Drawing on teaching history, Dr. Bond’s section “Motivational Quotes From Phenomenal People Who Made A Diﬀerence”. Short bios, photos and quotes of people include JFK, President Barack Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein and astronaut Mae C. Jemison. This

required reading for teacher’s professional development to stay in touch with the Pandemic’s eﬀect on students and to recognize the racism many of their students face. Concise yet stirring, this book has the potential to be a useful tool for teachers, from novice to veteran, in making school very relevant to student’s lives, while keeping ﬂames of possibility burning in students’ minds. “Perseverance In A Strange Land: Voices of Youth During the Covid-19 Pandemic: by Dr. Stephen Boyd is available at Barnes & Noble, Walt-Mart and Amazon. Lydia Howell ins a Minneapolis journalist, winner of the Premature Award for Public Interest Journalism and producer/host of “Catalyst” on KFAI Radio kfai(dot)org

put students’ experience in a larger world context where poverty, limited education, being orphaned, racial injustice can be surmounted for ultimate success. Any of these individuals can be a jumpingoff point for students’ further research, writing and discussion. The books ends with fun word puzzles and an empathetic epilogue by Dr. Bond. This book fits multiple audiences: teachers and parents gain understanding of young people’s interior lives, students can find inspiration for creative writing (& other arts projects) or as conversation-starters one-onone or in classrooms. Anthony Mercer’s bright illustrations provide a reassuring tone for sometimes tough material. “Perseverance In A Strange Land” ought to be

Amazon

LISTEN! PLEASE! - A Documentary by J.D. Steele Northside Job Creation Team (NJCT) and co-founder of the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis; and Sallie Steele Birdsong, J.D.’s mother. Through personal stories and moving recollections of their past, these distinguished individuals recount the ways that systemic racism has impacted them throughout their lives. “Listen! Please!” is executive produced by Penny Winton and produced by J.D. Steele and Karl Demer. Original music for the ﬁlm is composed by J.D. Steele, with Billy Steele on keyboards, Chris Smith on bass, Kenyari Jackson on drums, Spencer Christianson on guitar and Daryl Boudreaux on percussion.

In a year when the pain and injustice of systemic racism has once again placed our city and our nation on center stage, musician J.D. Steele has produced a documentary with a simple yet compelling message: “Open your heart and listen… please.” “Listen! Please!” features the testimonials of four elite octogenarians: Elder Mahmoud El Kati, Macalester College professor emeritus, lecturer, and essayist on the Black Experience Since World War II; Dr. Josie Johnson, Minnesota Civil Rights activist and creator of the department of African American Studies at the University of Minnesota; Bill English, consulting project director for the

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Steel Magnolias Now – Dec 15

by ROBERT HARLING directed by LISA ROTHE