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Elliott Payne - Ward 1 Robin Wonsley Worlobah - Ward
W I N N E R : 2 0 2 0 T Y P O G R A P H Y & D E S I G N , 1 S T P L A C E , P H O T O G R A P H Y ( P O R T R A I T & P E R S O N A L I T Y ) , 1 S T P L A C E , W E B S I T E , 3 R D P L A C E WINNER: 2020 TYPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALITY), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE Insight News Insight News November 8, 2021 - November 14, 2021 November 8, 2021 - November 14, 2021 Vol. 48 No. 45• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
The next Minneapolis City Council set to be majority people of color
By Tom Gitaa and Al McFarlane
The nation’s eyes were on Tuesday’s Minneapolis municipal elections for a ballot measure that sought to create a new department of public safety and place the Minneapolis Police Department under it. That ballot measure failed with only 43% of voters supporting it. However, people of color who have borne the brunt of the city’s police brutality are smiling as they are set to be the majority in the 13-member city council. Eight of the 13 members that prevailed last night are people of color and six are Black. New faces in the council that are people of color include Elliott Payne, a Black man, in Ward 1 who defeated incumbent Kevin Reich, a white man. In Ward 2, Robin Wonsley Worlobah, a Black woman who ran as a Democratic Socialist and is married to a Liberian, defeated four-term incumbent Cam Gordon of the Green Party. Aisha Chughtai whose parents are from Pakistan won an open seat in Ward 10 previously held by City Council President Lisa Bender. Chughtai, Payne and Worlobah are the three pickups for people of color in yesterday’s historic election. The three will join Andrea Jenkins, Jeremiah Ellison, LaTrisha Vetaw, Jamal Osman and Jason Chavez to round up the people of color caucus. Vetaw and Chavez are newcomers to the council with Vetaw defeating another person of color, incumbent
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Ward 4 Councilman Phillipe Cunningham. Chavez, whose parents are from Mexico ran in an open seat to represent Ward 9 replacing another Latino, Councilwoman Alondra Cano who did not seek reelection. The newcomers are also decidedly young and were propelled to offi ce by the likes of University of Minnesota student Shana Wanjohi. “Young people are the future. Youth involvement in the electoral process is important because we need to be knowledgeable about the people governing us, and that we receive the resources we need to live safe and peaceful lives here in Minneapolis,” said Wanjohi. The new Council will be sworn-in in January. The opportunity for transformative change this Council represents is immeasurable. In some ways, the seating of this band of visionary pragmatists and no-limits intersectional activists, looks like the era-shifting leadership that erupted on the Minneapolis political landscape in the early to mid1970’s. Back then, the Foshay Tower, defi ned Minneapolis’ physical profi le. The Phone Book cover cemented this image in our public mind. Every home and business had a phone book. Every Phone Book displayed the brilliant commercial photography of the era, the expansive and fl at cityscape anchored by the phallic Foshay, that you could see from anywhere in the city. It gave you bearings, a sense of knowing where you were. Then the world changed. Young Turks – some known as the DeLaSalle mafi a – swept into power like the Doors “Riders On The Storm” or Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” while Ozzie & Harriet neighborhoods still fi xated nightly on “Leave It To Beaver” and “Father Knows Best.” Mayor Al Hofstede, Northside Council members Lou DeMars, John Derus, Dick Miller and others who had been groomed for power, unleashed pent-up development, deploying then novel fi nancial tools, like tax-increment fi nancing, relegating the Foshay and all it stood for, to the shadows of the IDS and banking towers that disrupted and reconfi gured the image of the idea of Minneapolis. Looks like we are at that place again, some 50 years later. Most of today’s players, the reelected and newly elected, were not even born in the 1970’s. But this group is fueled by a propellant of expectation, transparency and accountability never before seen. What lies ahead may be immeasurable at this moment, but it is not unimaginable. In fact, even more that the DeLaSalle Mafi a half a century ago, this group inherits the wings of imagination and the challenge of an era: To leap into equity and equality, into justice and fairness, into yet to discovered solutions that free us all because they are solutions that recognize us and beckon us to co-create a future in which everyone wins. Panashe MatembaMutasa contributed to this story.
By Brenda Lyle-Gray
“What’s wrong with our children? Adults telling children to be honest while lying and cheating. Adults telling children to not be violent while marketing and glorifying violence. I believe that adult hypocrisy is the biggest problem children face in America.”. The Young Peoples’ Task Force (YPTF) was formed in October of 2020 with the mission of holding policing and community safety accountable. The organization is an off spring of the Unity Community Mediation Team (UCMT), a nonprofi t community organization that’s been around since the early 2000s. YTF’s work centers around the memorandum of agreement between the Minneapolis Police Department and the UCMT. One of the police leaders was then Lieutenant Arradondo, now the Police Chief, who both organizations support. YPTF co-chairs Al Flowers, Jr., Nicolas Martens, Lazaya Smith, and Miles Wilson grew up with role models in their own homes, neighborhoods, communities, and schools. They had been taught about heroes such as Dr. King, John Lewis, and Malcolm X, human and civil rights warriors who started advocating for justice for descendants of slavery and the poor. The Youth Task Force is supported by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arrandondo. The YTF leadership team met with leaders of the Police Federation following the execution of George Floyd and the upsurge in youth violence. On May 25, 2020, the world saw what Black Americans have always known: racist fear of the loss of power and the browning of America. Co-Chair, Nicolas Martens, sees the YTF as a gateway for a lot of young people who seldom feel safe or comfortable in meeting and trusting new people. “We continue connecting with young people of diff erent ethnicities, genders, ages, and neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities. On Saturdays, 12 to 2 P.M., we hold forums with youth from the Native American, Somali, and African American communities. Chief Arradondo and Mayor Frey came to North Minneapolis where young people talked to them about their traumatic experiences with the police and their need for resources.” The young people see tangible change as possible and necessary in their communities. The Young Peoples’ Task Force says it would like to change public safety offi cers’ job description from police offi cer to peace offi cer. Task force representatives explained to the Federation that there has been a historically negative and traumatic connotation with the word ‘police’. With the concept of peacekeeping, residents of color can have a little bit more faith or trust that the police are coming to help instead of coming to patrol or control, they said. “We need them to come into our communities to keep the peace but also just
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Hennepin Sheriff Dave Hutchinson: Bring diversity to law enforcement
By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist
Not one of us can rest, be happy, be at home, be at peace with ourselves, until we end hatred and division. Congressman John R. Lewis “The voters in Minneapolis have spoken and the time is now to move forward as a community to evolve policing. We must work together to attract more diverse deputies and offi cers to the profession; we must develop, deliver, and fund more relevant training focused on the sanctity of life, and we must gather more impact from citizens to better serve every member of
We must develop, deliver, and fund more relevant training focused on the sanctity of life, and we must gather more impact from citizens to better serve every member of our communities with empathy, equity, and compassion.
our communities with empathy, equity, and compassion. As sheriff , I have been and I’m still committed to working with the leadership of the Minneapolis Police Department to combat crime in the city and enhance delivery of public safety services to its residents. But in the end, it will take all of us working together to restore trust in communities where it has eroded.” Hennepin County Sheriff , David P. “Hutch” Hutchinson, November 2, 2021DAVID P. David Hutchinson w as elected Hennepin County Sheriff in November of 2018. He was sworn in as the 28th Sheriff of Hennepin County on January 7, 2019. He was told he could not beat the incumbent, but the 15-year public safety professional as a transit offi cer, and the son of a retired K-9 offi cer of the Burnsville police force, he was adamant that change had to come sooner rather than later. “The incumbent sheriff had been in offi ce for 12 years and continued to rely on outdated 1990’s model of policing that ignored transparency and responsiveness to community needs. Transparency, responsiveness, and fl exibility are some of my core values. It was time we elected a sheriff that would respond to everyone, all neighbors, no matter where they came from or what they looked like,” he said. Jerry Hutchinson would often take his young son to school in his police car after an all-night shift. By the age of 10, he knew his bigger and more progressive ideas for policing just might work. He believed law enforcement needed to be more inclusive, diverse, and respectful in all communities. At the time, Hutch would be the fi rst LGBTQ sheriff in the Midwest. (source? Brenda.) Hutchinson began his career as a police offi cer in Bayport, Minnesota and joined the Metro Transit Police Department in 2006. Prior to winning election as sheriff , he served as a sergeant working on the north side of Minneapolis
and surrounding suburbs. He also supervised the Peer Support Program, Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), and Community Engagement Teams. Hutchinson served in the poorest and most disenfranchised neighborhoods of Hennepin County. He worked with diverse communities, from recent immigrants and refugees to long-established residents. This experience allowed him to engage in community problem solving and partner with businesses and agencies across the county to improve the safety and health of the city’s communities, he said. “This is a team eff ort and as a leader, I would succeed only if I were honest and transparent, and all about bringing people together. I also believed that if we introduced young students from underserved and low-income communities to dedicated police offi cers -- if we gave them a voice and listened to their concerns, and held stakeholders accountable for their actions, then perhaps we could off er opportunities for the sheriff ’s offi ce to promote good paying jobs and benefi ts from within the ranks.” The sheriff has been nationally recognized for establishing an overall environment of wellness and healing for the offi cers and staff ,
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‘BridgeTogether’ to Build on 2020 Election Successes, Ensure Key States Can Maintain Grassroots Infrastructure Year-Round by Partnering With Local Groups Mobilizing Voters in GA, AZ, PA American Bridge and Gov. Deval Patrick announce multi-million-dollar investment in grassroots organizing
American Bridge 21st Century Foundation announced the launch of BridgeTogether, a new c(3) and c(4) fund established to support year-round local grassroots organizing. Conceived by American Bridge 21st Century Co-Chair Gov. Deval Patrick, BridgeTogether will invest in local community groups that are doing critical work to build and sustain a lasting grassroots infrastructure in their states and regions — beginning with Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. “Organizing has to go deeper than getting out the vote on the eve of an election cycle,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “It has to be about forming relationships of trust and support year-round and about listening to and learning from local communities. Civic engagement is the foundation for lasting change and real political power. I want donors who support progressive politics to value and invest in that.” “Our research has made it clear: women are key to winning elections, and they are exhausted after four years of Donald Trump and a global pandemic. And, we know Democrats wouldn’t have won in 2020 without numerous grassroots organizations led by women and people of color. Grassroots outreach and community building is only more important than last year— not less—and it’s needed now,” said American Bridge 21st
Century President Jessica
Floyd. “Whether it’s people who don’t have voting booths in their neighborhoods or those who have never had someone knock on their door, BridgeTogether
will invest in grassroots organizations that organize and mobilize their communities to ensure that people from every corner of America are represented.”
The fi rst group of organizations to receive grants will include: Vote Riders, which Howard University Professor Carol Anderson called “[an organization that] makes the diff erence in whether thousands of people get to vote or are disenfranchised” 1K Women Strong, who contacted nearly 40,000 households through canvassing and phone banking in Georgia for the 2020 election Fair Count, a group founded by Stacey Abrams, which ensures that historically overlooked communities are counted accurately in the U.S. Census Unity in the Community, who recently helped thousands of people in South Philadelphia on Election Day by registering people to vote, giving rides to the polls, educating the community on candidates, and much more. VetsForward, a voting advocacy group based in Arizona that equips and mobilizes veterans to defend the ideals of our democracy.
come in and get to know the residents like they do in other wards. All our streets are not dangerous,” said Wilson. Wilson described an incident downtown where a Black man was being arrested. Thinking about what happened to George Floyd, he stood across the street and monitored the arrest. There were cameras held by witnesses and then there were 8 or 9 police cars approaching with two offi cers in each car. “When I got there, the apprehended man was sitting down, handcuff ed. I could only imagine how scared he was with 14 or 15 police offi cers surrounding him. All that show of force wasn’t necessary. And still they wonder why residents have resented their tactics.” Flowers said, “if you think the millennium revolutionary generation is making demands and letting the city know ‘they will not be moved’, wait until you meet the younger middle and high school generation. Their voices will not be silenced.” “And if we can talk truthfully and fearlessly, we can speak about creating a future that supports our existence, our families, and our right to be at the table of decision. We have to begin to present to ourselves this idea that we are co-authors of tomorrow, that tomorrow cannot be created without our voice and our hand. And if we believe that, it means there is a certain responsibility and accountability that equates and translates into power. We must all be unafraid of exercising power in our own right and on behalf of our people,” he said. For further information: YoungPeoplesTaskForceMN@ gmail.com Flowers, Jr. has had critics regarding how he looks at the impending legalization of marijuana. He believes people of color are going to purchase and smoke the products, so they should be thinking about owning a few dispensaries. It’s a way of bringing a kind of economic sustainability to the community. We don’t want just the dispensaries any more. We want the farms and y’all can give us that. We’re Black farmers at less than 2% of Black farms in the United States right now. So we don’t have no form of survival without them. We have to fi nd ways to survive within ourselves. And trust me, I’m never here advocating for alcohol or tobacco or us to eat more fried chicken. But the fact is, we are drinking, we do smoke cigarettes and we do eat fried chicken as people. My thing is, when are we as people going to be the benefi ciaries of it and not just the negative people that’s always been a negative impact, going to jail for marijuana charges. “I believe marijuana is the fi rst form of economic package that they owe back to African American descendants some space.” And the way we use that is we’re saying that, “Hey, we know that y’all going to try to get the dispensaries [inaudible 00:49:07] and everything. Why don’t y’all teach us Black men? Why don’t y’all use some of that money and give us the agriculture skills to help grow this marijuana, actually be a part of the distributing process because that’s direct economics back into our community.” We talk about generational wealth. As AfricanAmericans, we don’t come from generational wealth. We’re fi rsttime generation school. When I was going to college, I was in a sea of student debt and it’s because I just didn’t come from a situation of generational wealth and have funds put away from me to attend college. So this is what we’re trying to do. This is the cycles that we’re trying to break for African-American young people so that we can get them in a place of being ahead of the curve, being ahead of that eight ball as they go through life. Miles Wilson: I just want to say one more thing is, we both talked about being charged. As a race, as an African-American, we’re typically overcharged on these charges. So that’s another issue, but let me just give everybody an example, just so that they understand what we mean by the disparities here between the African-American community being involved in markets like this when they’re especially booming. So in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, January 1st, 2020, they mentioned that they did an article about their dispensary. Marijuana industry did a billion dollars in sales over the last year. They have 16 dispensaries in the city of Chicago. Two are owned by Black owners. Only two of the 16. Now, we’re talking about a city that again, has 30% is African-American. So again, that’s where we’re standing at and that’s why again, we’re trying to get to the forefront of these issues now and put people in a position to understand what they can do, get the licenses that they need and help them get that advancement that we’ve never had before. 16 dispensaries - 2 owned by African Americans. We’re not going to get another opportunity to gain millions in revenue. Really quick, Al. Could I mention something? Al “AJ” Flowers Jr.: Al “AJ” Flowers Jr.: And we have to realize that, hey, as messed up as it may sound sometimes, we have to make sure we fi nd a way to get some economics and we’ve got to get wealth back in our community. We know marijuana is going to come and if we take the message and I must stand strong on this, even though people done got mad at me. If we take the type of status and messages with marijuana coming and try to be a fi ghter against it, knowing that it’s going to be legalized, like we did with tobacco and alcohol, and be the ones that’s left behind again, while our people is going to be going to them dispensaries, going to them stores, buying the marijuana and smoking the marijuana, and we have no type of economic value from that, then that’s going to be a major setback that I don’t know if we’re going to ever be able to ... We need to eat healthier. We don’t need our people opening up fast food chicken spot.” Everything I could say, I know you can attest for, and I’m only speaking on Minneapolis. We say, “We don’t need our people open up fast food chicken spots all down West Broadway. We need more healthy living styles. We need more healthy ways to eat.” The go down West Broadway and there’s chicken spots on every single corner, literally. (Al Mac Al “AJ” Flowers Jr.: And go down West Broadway and it’s chicken spots on every single corner. Literally so much chicken spots that it’s two across the street from each other and they both make money. But we did not get any of them business. We only say, “Hey, we don’t need to just get into doing our nails and stuff like that.” We need to be smarter and have more doctors and them. You always have to have doctors and lawyers, but guess what? You look at all the people doing our nails and doing our hair. That’s not us. Hey, y’all, we need to stay away from tobacco. Tobacco is very horrible for us. Got to get away from the menthols. You look at all the tobacco shops and tobacco stores. Not us again. Guess who buy the most menthol tobacco? Us again. Then we go into the alcohol, where we say, “Hey, y’all, we need to leave on alcohol so we need more [inaudible 00:48:39],” which we do. But guess what? The alcohol stores are still there. Guess who don’t own none of them? Us.
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Hutchinson
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community residents and youth, and especially for incarcerated inmates suff ering opioid addiction. Within the fi rst year of his administration, he established an internal wellness unit called Tri-Wellness in an eff ort to promote mental, physical, and spiritual health so offi cers could be better stewards in the communities they served. He formed two new divisions, The Community Outreach Division and the Criminal Intelligence Division which focuses on data-driven policing. The team analyzes information to identify crime patterns and emerging trends, generating investigative leads of suspects involved in criminal activity. Hutchinson says he values his partnerships with community agencies and other local law enforcement offi ces, and currently serves as Technology Chair for the Major County Sheriff ’s Association and is a member of the Minnesota Post Board and a board member of Youth Link, a non-profi t in downtown Minneapolis that helps young people escape homelessness and fi nd hope through community resources. A former client, Michelle Basham, was recently named interim executive director. Hutchinson says jail could be a place for reform, an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and inequities. He launched a program called H.O.P.E. (Helping Others by Providing Education) to bring that vision into reality. With education and skill development opportunities, adult enrichment classes such as fi nancial literacy, employment preparation, and voter education, many inmates can create their second chance. Upon their release, they are connected to community support services that keeps them on track for being productive citizens, and thereby, decreasing recidivism. “Our offi ce continues to partner with government agencies, non-profi ts, private partners and philanthropic organizations to help ensure that those who join our program remain on a path towards a better future,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson says he fi ghts for respect and support for his offi cers who are doing good. “Often I feel we’re being painted with this broad brush and that’s not very fair. Many get depressed and some have left the profession. When we began to concentrate on mind, body, and spirit, the inmates knew there were those of us who acknowledged their humanity. Now, a chaplain, fi tness trainers, and mental health therapists are available for the inmates upon request. If we help people on the front line, we won’t have as many criminals,” he said.
