WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE
Insight News
October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021
Vol. 48 No. 43• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
Gen. Colin Powell 1937 - 2021
Courtesy Joint Chief of Staff
IN MEMORIAM ON PAGE
4
Page 2 •October October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Insight News
insightnews.com
R O B A L & L ! D DF E S R O D EN
Saint Paul is a city reinventing itself, that's why we are reinventing City Hall. We passed a $15 minimum wage to ensure our families can work and live with dignity We launched CollegeBound Saint Paul to put $50 in a College Savings Account for every child born in our city We announced the formation of Saint Paul's Office of Neighborhood Safety to build on our Community-First Public Safety approach
Join us as we achieve our big vision for the future we share. Vote for Mayor Carter on 11/2 melvincarter.org
Paid for by Melvin Carter for Saint Paul.
insightnews.com
Insight News • October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE
Insight News October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021
Vol. 48 No. 43• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
We endorse:
Melvin Carter for St. Paul Mayor; Jacob Frey for Minneapolis Mayor St. Paul’s Mayor, Melvin Carter III
Ballotpedia
Mayor Jacob Frey
Success and how it happens: Key Melvin Carter re-election themes
Campaigning for 2nd term as Minneapolis Mayor
Frey seeks to build on broad base of support in Black community
Informed participation elevates citizens voice in St. Paul decision-making We cannot use old solutions to solve new problems and that is the essence of #factivism. Nigerian social activist and political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter says he is proud of what the city has accomplished under his leadership, but even more proud of how things get done in the Capitol city. “We’ve had a tough last couple of years on the planet, in our country, in Minnesota, and certainly in St. Paul,” Carter said in a Conversations with Al McFarlane interview recently. “I am seeking re-election and I’m doing so for two reasons. One, because I’m really proud of all the things we’ve been able to accomplish from raising the minimum wage, to eliminating library late fines, and to investments we’ve made in affordable housing, to starting newborns with $50 college funds,” he said. “The second reason is that we have only begun to do the work that needs to be done to help heal our city.” “This is why I always tell folks my favorite thing about
the work we’re doing. It isn’t the ‘what.’ It’s not the policies or the budget items, either. It’s the ‘how,’ he said. “When I got elected and it was time to choose our cabinet, what did we do? We didn’t create a small, exclusive transition team to be the most kind to insiders. What we did was say, ‘Listen, we’re going to call for community to come and participate in what we call our community-based hiring panels. As a result, St. Paul has the most diverse cabinet the city has ever seen. Cabinet and community members looked through resumes, conducted the first round of interviews, and then forwarded me a list of finalists.” And in 2019, he said, his administration “brought together an estimated 100 residents and local leaders to co-create a $3 million researchbased public safety initiative centered around jobs and resources for youth, housing, mental health supports, and a public health approach to violence prevention. Carter said long before George Floyd was
CARTER 5
Ballotpedia
When at a crossroads, my father was fond of saying “go with your gut.” It is a voice that can tell us who is friend and who is foe - which ones to hold at arm’s length and which ones to keep close. But too often, we become distracted by fear, doubt, our own stubborn hopes and refuse to listen. L. Bellamy Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke on the Conversations with Al McFarlane program on KFAI recently. Here are excerpts from the interview: Acknowledging the Black Press “During some of the most tumultuous and significant events our city has faced, I’ve always wanted to be sure to interview with you first, Al McFarlane, as a strong voice in the African American community. You have always made sure we’re valuing and prioritizing the Black Press. Thank you for being a support during many difficult days and your continuation to do so.” Housing inclusion
and
Economic
“What I will say to
start is that through the past two years of progress, we saw unprecedented record investments in affordable housing, more on a per capita basis than almost any city in the entire country, to major moves around economic inclusion, to yes, two challenging years, as well. Still, we have charted an honest, principled path forward for the City of Minneapolis. This city does not quit and neither do I.” Fractious political landscape “As mayor, especially when you’re leading through a time of great difficulty, you’re going to get hit from all different sides. You’ll get hit from the far left, from the far right, by activists, business owners, you name it. That’s part of the job. Again, through all of it, we’ve remained truthful and steady and that’s part of the reason why our campaign is going so well right now.” Minneapolis Ballot Questions Ideally, “There’s a mayor that’s able to control and run day-to-day activities. Then
FREY 7
There is H.O.P.E. & healing Columnist
By Brenda Lyle-Gray “I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.” Malcolm X There were always so many levels of rich discussion coming from the Friday Healing Circles presented by “Conversations with Al McFarlane” and co-hosted by the African American Child Wellness Institute (AACWI). Last week’s show was no exception. The subject: The Impact of Politics on the Mental Health of Vulnerable Communities. “I received an article this week from my sister who lives in Tennessee, informed Dr. Bravada Garrett-Akinsanya, CEO and founder of AACWI. Several Black elementary students, a couple as young as 6, got into a fight. The police were called, and the children were taken away seated in the back
of a police car in front of all the other students. They would appear before a judge known to give Black children jail time. I said to my husband that surely there were other young Black children who had experienced the same psychologically destructive and traumatic occurrences.” My thoughts after hearing such a sad and horrific story were that 50 years ago, parents would have stood up for their children. While a group of Black kindergartners sat on the dance hall floor of the dilapidated of Booker T. Washington elementary school in Kansas City because there were no desks or books, our mothers were picketing with their handwritten posters outside the windows. The Board of Education was boycotted as well, and their pictures were on the front page of the local newspaper. As parents, we did whatever we could to talk to and protect our offspring sometimes not having answers for the tough racial oppression and injustice questions. There were boundaries, honest understandings, moral scruples, and always high expectations, and the love of literacy and learning all we could from wonderful Black teachers and distinguished administrative
Frey and Carter are gamechangers. Both bring colossal visions and viewpoints to the service of their respective cities and, to our region, embodying progressive ideas and idealism that is tempered, s t e e l e d by a firm understanding of legacy and aspirational interests. They stand in the intersection of hard fought trench level battles for recognition, survival and primacy, and, the fire-passion of the global reckoning and the demand for justice and reparation. Carter and Frey continue delivering thoughtful, steady leadership and calls for engagement that honor, and listen to residents of their cities. They own missteps and shortcomings, understanding that such are part of the transformation whose core quality is inclusion, respect, and expansion of people power. Insight applauds both for their intentionality in delivering change and being committed to talk about, explain, report out change led by and for our community, to our community in media that serve us. See the full list of Insight endorsements at insightnews. com on Monday, Oct. 25th.
The Rest Room
By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist
Lajuanda Flowers
David Hutchinson
leadership in the segregated school white flight residents tried to burn down. We didn’t quite understand why as did youth today understand the shock and brutality of January 6th. “Did anyone ask these kids in Tennessee why they were fighting,” asked guest Lajuanda Flowers, an outreach community activist with “A Mother’s Love” and AACWI and from a family that has given so much to a city and a community they so love. “You can’t treat trauma with trauma, she said. They’ll grow up not trusting anyone and being afraid of everything.” I would add that an incident of such grave nature
should be used as an example in a new teacher’s training session or a professional development workshop. Why would something so cruel be allowed to happen? Was this a necessary component of the zero-tolerance mandate? Can the parents make a case for emotional abuse and disregard for student rights? There is such a need for the training and credentialing of school nurses, and social workers along with funding for intervention and prevention programs, technological resources, psychologists for students and parents, and the reinstatement
News
Federation files motion on behalf of Black Farmers, to intervene in Texas lawsuit, which blocks $4 billion debt relief in Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan PAGE 7
CONVERSATIONS 5
Healing doesn’t mean the pain never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. NotSalmon.com I had walked in the back door of the Higgins estate many times over the past three years. I always wanted to see and name all the different colors of roses and in the winter get a clear view of the majestic snowcovered Jemez mountains after the clearing below. This couple, having been together for almost 60 years, had indeed been God’s messengers at a critical stage in my life. With my children 800 miles away, having no siblings, and few extended family members to speak of anymore, I was pretty much alone. They became my family. Dr. Higgins and his late mother were accomplished artists and the walls in almost every room of their sprawling home and once successful dental practice location were tastefully adorned with museum quality creations from the duo. There was one painting recently displayed from the combined mother and son collection that made me suddenly stop one day.
The raw and painful memory of my first serious ‘why’ as a little black 6-year-old living in a racially pathetic white world came alive again after almost 70 years. It was that trauma having remained dormant for decades, suddenly stepping out of hibernation and unable to talk to anyone about how I felt. The painting was created from a photo the Higgins took while on a vacation trip when their children were quite young. It was of a dilapidated, inoperable, roadside park restroom sitting all alone on a stretch of the infamous Route 66. As if it were yesterday, I can still remember standing in front of a dirty, rundown restroom ironically located on Route 66 and looking just like the image in the painting. I held my beloved mother’s hand firmly with my legs crossed as tight as they could be, and then with tears rolling down my face and warm urine running down my legs and into my favorite tennis shoes, my being became hollow and the pain excruciating. If a black went into a restroom where whites were still there, they could be reported by the car license plate and my parents
RESTROOM 7
I2H
Simple safety tips for trick-ortreating after Fauci greenlighted Halloween 2021
PAGE 9
Page 4 •October October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Insight News
insightnews.com
Time to own it. It’s more than just a home you own, it’s your family’s future.
When you become a homeowner you own a greater share of your future, and the legacy you leave behind. U.S. Bank is here to help you prepare for homeownership · ^P[O Ä UHUJPHS LK\JH[PVU N\PKHUJL MYVT V\Y IHURLYZ and tools and tips to help you start from a position of strength. Visit usbank.com/OwnIt to learn more.
Member FDIC. ©2021 U.S. Bank
USBank_ACCESS-HOMEOWNERSHIP_INSIGHTNEWS_10.625x21.indd 1
9/10/21 11:25 AM
insightnews.com
Insight News • October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Page 5
IN MEMORIAM: General Colin Powell Dies at 84 from Covid By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Colin Powell has died from complications from Covid-19, his family members have confirmed. The first Black US secretary of state was 84. “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary
General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the former General’s family wrote on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family wrote. They reported that Powell had been fully vaccinated. Powell became the first Black national security
adviser during the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. He also counted as the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. Powell was thrust into the global spotlight after leading the United States to victory during the Gulf War, with many even considering him as a presidential candidate.
As a patriot and Black man, Colin Powell embodied the ‘two-ness’ of the African American experience By Chad Williams Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies, Brandeis University Colin Powell knew where he fit in American history. The former secretary of state – who died on Oct. 18, 2021, at 84 as a result of COVID-19 complications – was a pioneer: the first Black national security advisor in U.S. history, the first Black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and also the first Black man to become secretary of state. But his “American journey” – as he described it in the title of a 2003 autobiography – is more than the story of one man. His death is a moment to think about the history of Black American men and women in the military and the place of African Americans in government. But more profoundly, it also speaks to what it means to be an American, and the tensions that Colin Powell – as a patriot and a Black man – faced throughout his life and career. I’m a scholar of African American studies who is currently writing a book on the great civil rights intellectual W.E.B. DuBois. When I heard of Powell’s passing, I was immediately reminded of what DuBois referred to as the “double-consciousness” of the African American experience.
Carter From 3 murdered, St. Paul, “decided our police department could not go into a back room and write their own use-of-force policies. This is a contract, a covenant between our police officers and the community. We were adamant that we would take two months and build in planning and structure through two-way conversations. When we build our budget, whether it’s our regular annual budget or whether it’s American Rescue Plan COVID dollars we have access to, we do it through a public
Conversations From 3 of a health and culturally balanced curriculum leading to meaningful and rewarding professions. My father came from working a second job to the PTA meetings and Neighborhood Block meetings on alternating Tuesdays and although he didn’t get the son he always wanted, he became a scout leader for the young boys in the neighborhood. It was that important to be present and active in his only child’s life and other children needing love and guidance, as well. How do we get back there, the host would ask? No matter how bad things appear, why are we not placing more value on children’s lives and their future? How did we lose our love of literacy and the power of the written word that tell our stories? COVID19 (approximately 715,000 reported U.S. fatalities) and a country frighteningly divided politically and with a widening wealth and academic gap have pretty much ignored and devalued people of color. It’s as if we are not an integral contributor in tilting the balance in the scheme of opportunities, public safety, brotherhood and sisterhood, tough love, and hope. African Americans continue to be major contributors to the building of this nation through the ugliness and cruelty of oppressors seeking to maintain power.
As DuBois put it in an 1897 article and later in his classic 1903 book “The Souls of Black Folk,” this “peculiar sensation” is unique to African Americans: “One feels his twoness – an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” This concept profoundly describes Colin Powell as a soldier, a career military man and a politician. What it means to serve On the surface, Colin Powell’s life would seem to refute DuBois’ formulation. He stood as someone that many people could point to as an example of how it is possible to be both Black and a full American, something DuBois viewed as an enduring tension. There is a narrative that Powell used the military to transcend race and become one of the most powerful men in the country. In that sense, he was the ultimate American success story. But there is a danger to that narrative. Colin Powell’s story was exceptional, but he was no avatar of a colorblind, post-racial America. The U.S. Army has long been seen as a route for Black Americans, especially young Black men, out of poverty. Many chose to turn their service into a career. By the time Powell, the Bronx-raised son of Jamaican immigrants, joined
the U.S. Army, there was already a proud history of African Americans in the U.S. military – from the “Buffalo Soldiers” who served in the American West, the Caribbean and South Pacific after the U.S. Civil War to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Powell was part of that military history. He joined in 1958, a decade after desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948. But the military was – and still is – an institution characterized by structural racism. That was true when Powell joined the Army, and it is true today. As such, Powell would have had to wrestle with his blackness and what it meant in the military: What did it mean to serve a country that doesn’t serve you? As a military man during the Vietnam War, Powell also stood apart from many Black political leaders who condemned U.S. action in Southeast Asia. While Muhammad Ali was asking why he should “put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people” at a time when “so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights,” Powell was making his way up the military ranks. It helps explain why despite Powell’s undoubted achievements, his legacy as a Black leader is complicated.
His identity – being of Jamaican heritage – posed questions about what it means to be an African American. His life in the military prompted some to ask why he would serve a country that has historically been hostile to nonwhite people in the U.S. and around the world. The veteran activist and singer Harry Belafonte likened Powell in 2002 to a “house slave” in one particularly contentious remark questioning his loyalty to the U.S. system. Powell acknowledged the realities of racism in the U.S., while at the same time believed it should never serve as an obstacle nor cause Black people to question their American-ness. In a May 14, 1994 commencement speech at Howard University, Powell told graduates to take pride in their Black heritage, but to use it as “a foundation stone we can build on, and not a place to withdraw into.” Colin Powell addresses the United Nations Security Council. AP Photo/Elise Amendola And then there are his political affiliations. He was Ronald Reagan’s national security advisor and George H. W. Bush’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff at a time when the domestic policies of both presidents were devastating Black America, through mass incarceration of Black men and women and economic policies that stripped services in lower-income areas.
budgeting process,” Carter said. Carter described popular commonly used and popular terms like equity and transparency as “rather amorphous. But it’s still about self-determination, listening, and working among the people. In corporate America, equity is clearly a ‘money’ word. Who are the owners? Who are the decision makers? Who is allowed to participate in an economy? In other words, if I own a company and have equity, and that company has a good quarter, I have a good quarter.” He said, “That’s how we build our equity, and frankly that’s at the core of how we’ve been able to do all the things we’ve accomplished for our
city. It’s been the visions of the people. We must decide if we’re all in this historic and reckoning moment together, or whether it’s business as usual and every person for themselves.” Carter said his grandfather used to say ‘if experience won’t teach you, then nothing else will.’ What he has learned over the last two years, he said, is the extent to which enormous disparities at all levels impact people of color. The disparities have plagued Minnesota far too long and actually endanger all residents directly or indirectly, he said. “Through the pandemic and painful racial unrest and the surge in youth violence, people everywhere
have begun to acknowledge that when one of us can’t afford a safe home or be able to take two weeks off to quarantine or take care of a sick child or senior, then we’re all even worse off,” Carter said. He said research has proved that when people can take care of their children, know where they’re going to sleep at night, and frequently connect with other community members, statistically, they are less likely to become an offender or a victim. “But when whole parts of a community are concerned about their ability to trust and rely on the men and women who swore an oath to protect and serve, the disconnect becomes more pronounced,” Carter said.
Dr. Oliver Williams, professor of social work at UMN, will attest that with his work in delinquency he has seen how Black youth always got the short stick when it came to discipline from authorities. Their crimes were always less offensive as their white counterparts who received a far less severe sentence. Williams also recalls as a young boy having stolen something from a store and the tough love lesson he received from his mother on that day. He had to apologize to everyone involved and then when he got home, he had to reckon with his mother. If many vulnerable children are left in isolation, and afterschool programs and athletic activities have been halted temporarily, if there’s no
one to talk to, and there are few, if any, who would understand or care they are hurting, then they are lost. There’s no one to tell them they are not alone and that things will get better. There’s no one to tell the story of how our ancestors persevered and survived unspeakable crimes. Last week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
experienced the heartbreaking and unthinkable tragedy when a student committed suicide, and another thankfully failed in his attempt. The President of the university canceled classes and called for a ‘mental health’ day. In 2020, the CDC reported
CONTINURE TO PAGE 7
AP Photo/Vincent Michel
A complex legacy. That was before one of the most consequential and controversial moments in Powell’s political life. In February 2003, Powell argued before the United Nations Security Council for military action against Iraq – a speech that erroneously claimed that Saddam Hussein had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction. He hadn’t, and the war that Powell helped steer the U.S. into scars his legacy. A complicated existence Powell’s two-ness, to use the DuBois phrase, manifested later in his decision in 2008 to endorse Barack Obama as presidential candidate over his fellow Republican and military man, John McCain. In Obama, Powell saw “a transformational figure” in America and on the world stage. In endorsing Obama, Powell chose the historic significance of the U.S. having its first Black president over
“All I’m saying is, if we’re going to drive equity, it can’t be about me, even as a city’s first Black mayor, disappearing in my office and saying, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do for these other people.’ It’s got to be about self-determination. It’s got to be about people being able to participate in the governing
loyalty and service to his friend and political party. His drift from Republicanism furthered after Donald Trump seized the reins of the party. He became increasingly vocal in opposing Trump, who saw Powell – as did many of Trump’s supporters – as something of a traitor. That view ignores the history. Powell was a patriot who embodied DuBois’ “two warring ideals in one dark body.” For Powell to have reached the heights he did required dogged strength and perhaps far greater effort to hold it together than his white predecessors. In America, being Black and a patriot is – as DuBois hinted at more an a century ago, and as Powell’s life attests to – a very complicated, even painful, affair. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. process, and that’s why we do the work in the way that we do. There is an informed, active, and participatory agreement on how we decide to move forward. It’s about the visions of the residents who desire a safe and wholesome place to live,” Carter said.
INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com
Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests. Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Culture and Education Editor Dr. Irma McClaurin, PhD. Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray Book Review Editor W.D. Foster-Graham Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Manager 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. 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,
Page 6 •October October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Insight News
insightnews.com
Expand Public Safety WE DESERVE MORE CHOICES WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
If you see someone using illegal drugs in public, a substance abuse specialist will get them the short-term and longterm treatment they need.
Today, when we need to get help or report an incident, the only option is to call the police. Bringing the police into a situation they aren’t trained for is not fair to them, and it doesn’t create safety for us.
If someone is presenting an immediate danger to you or someone else, a will be sent in to keep everyone safe.
If you see someone showing signs of mental distress or crisis, the Department will send a mental health professional to get them help.
ion 2! t s e u Q n o S YE
And if multiple professionals are needed to resolve a situation, they will arrive on scene together.
If someone is sleeping on the street, or asking for money on the bus, social workers will be sent to help them.
Question 2 will create a Minneapolis Department of Public Safety employing a range of qualified professionals. This way, when you need to call the Department of Public Safety, you know you’re calling the right person who will keep everyone safe. Mental health experts, social workers, violence interrupters, and police—finally working together.
HOW WOULD IT WORK? In the first 30 days, the Mayor and City Council would nominate and appoint an interim Department Commissioner. Meanwhile, there will be a data-driven community process to determine the exact type and number of trained professionals that will be part of the Department.
Regular police patrol will not be interrupted.
IS ENDORSED BY: MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL KEITH ELLISON
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ILHAN OMAR
“NO” IS ENDORSED BY: THE POLICE FEDERATION CORPORATE LANDLORDS BIG BUSINESS
Vote YES on 2 by Nov 2 Prepared and paid for by Yes 4 Minneapolis, yes4minneapolis.org
insightnews.com
Insight News • October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Page 7
Federation files motion on behalf of Black Farmers, to intervene in Texas lawsuit, which blocks $4 billion debt relief in Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan By Greene County Democrat East Point, GA — After decades of longstanding racism in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) loan programs, Black farmers stand to lose their farms, land and livelihoods after a temporary injunction halted an estimated $4 billion in debt relief passed by Congress as part of the American Rescue Act. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Public Counsel, and pro bono counsel Winston & Strawn LLP, filed an intervention motion on behalf of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund (the Federation). The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Miller v. Vilsack. Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan, signed into law on March 11, 2021, was designed to provide debt relief to Black farmers, and other farmers of color, who have long suffered at the hands of the USDA’s harmful discrimination. The USDA’s long documented and acknowledged racist policies of denying and delaying loans prevented Black farmers from operating successful farm businesses, forcing
Frey From 3 you have a clear legislature in the city council that is able to pass laws, do constituent services and broad engagement, peacefully deliberate, and then pass thoughtful ordinances. In obvious contrast, we have a system which is confusing and grey. It limps along during good times, but when an emergency or crisis occurs, the immediate actions are very problematic. This ballot is a good opportunity to make that necessary change.” “We can pair social workers or mental health clinicians with the individual
Restroom From 3 later arrested. I even remember my mother’s red eyes from her tears as she pulled me away before the white mother and daughter exited. We had both been humiliated enough as she hurried to clean me up Like so many, the uncertain and deadly pandemic baffling even the top world scientists, an irrational and dangerous racial divide and unrest, and January 6th 2021 had isolated me even more than I had been for quite some time. Good white people didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t know
Conversations From 5 suicide being the second cause of death among individuals from 10-34 years old. Economic factors, academic deficiencies due to an inadequate public education system that did not prepare many students for advanced studies, public safety fears, the opioid epidemic, and the rise of social media all appear to contribute to the downturn of millennial mental health. Add COVID19 and variant concerns, the vaccine and mask controversy, labor strikes and the uncertainty of the future workforce, the surge of youth violence, a dangerous racial divide, the lack of proper health care, voter suppression, and poverty including increased homelessness, a lack of quality health care, and food insecurity and for certain, we have a mess. These major culprits are pushing the tired and weary to simply give up. Hennepin County (MN) Sheriff David P. Hutchinson, officers, and staff would like to see fewer return to jail. They sincerely want the cycle to be broken. Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Others by Providing Education) sounds like a pretty good mantra for many other institutions, especially our schools. Their mission: serving and protecting all in our community by furthering equal justice, safety, and wellness. Their wellness
foreclosures and continuing the shameful legacy of Black land loss in the United States. In Miller v. Vilsack, five White Texas farmers filed a lawsuit against the USDA alleging that loan forgiveness payments violate the U.S. Constitution. This case is one of many ongoing lawsuits involving Section 1005 in other jurisdictions, including Florida, where a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the program. Plaintiffs specifically argued that Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (“ARPA”) violates the equal protection rights promised under the Constitution for farmers and ranchers who stand eligible for USDA loans but do not qualify for debt relief under the program. “The USDA has a documented history of discriminating against Black people and communities of color. The federal government’s attempt to rectify this injustice should be applauded, not stopped,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “If this critical assistance is not provided soon, Black farmers and other farmers of color who have struggled to overcome decades of discrimination and the economic impacts of the global pandemic will
face the threat of losing their land and their livelihoods.” Farmer declarations included in the intervention cite multiple instances of discrimination, including: Misplaced loan paperwork and approval delays of more than two years Inability to sell equipment to repay loans due to vandalism at the auction house in the form of racist graffiti on the tractors up for bid Loan paperwork being filed on time but funds chronically arriving too late for planting season Inaccurate advice about whether FSA loans could be restructured, and Receiving loan funds weeks later in the season than White farmers in the same area, providing them with an unfair advantage in planting and harvesting a profitable crop. Encountering years of unfair loan terms, mistreatment by the USDA, and discrimination at every turn, Black farmers are now currently less than 1% of all farmers in the country. This has not always been the case. In 1920, one out of every seven farms were owned by a Black farmer, but the number of Black farmers in America has dropped significantly — plummeting by 98% over the past century. “The Federation was encouraged by USDA’s and
circumstances happening in the location. The city has invested record amounts of funding in that kind of safety beyond policing work. Hopefully, we will continue to do so, he said. There are things we can be doing now, and we don’t need a charter amendment to make those things happen.” “When everyone is in charge, nobody’s in charge. When you have a council member from Ward 3, 4, 6, or 8, telling you to do something different from another one from Ward 12, 1, or 2, inevitably there will be a problem. It’s a lack of clarity in terms of direction. I think it reduces our ability to both hold officers accountable, as well as provide real safety in our city. So, I’m pretty much
against ballot initiative #2.” Regarding the rent control ballot question – “… given we haven’t seen the policy itself yet, I can’t comment on the substance. I’ll reserve my decision for a point in time when we actually have something to consider.”
Encountering years of unfair loan terms, mistreatment by the USDA, and discrimination at every turn, Black farmers are now currently less than 1% of all farmers in the country. Congress’s attempt to address the disproportionate impact of the debt burden that farmers of color face because of historic and on-going race-based discrimination in agricultural credit,” said Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund. “Black farmers have always honored their commitments to their communities and our nation; our hope is that the Department will be allowed to honor its
commitment to our farmers and other farmers of color.” A temporary injunction against the program stands in the way of critical debt relief for those who need it the most. Without debt relief, these farmers face losing their land, livelihoods and equipment, while also bearing the additional financial burden of the farming costs they’ve taken on in anticipation of debt forgiveness. Today’s intervention positions The Federation to vigorously defend Section 1005 and ensure
that the narratives of Black farmers are heard as this debt relief is critical to their survival. For more information on this lawsuit intervention, or to discuss other issues with discrimination and land loss, contact Attorney Dania Davy at the Federation office at: daniadavy@federation. coop or call 404-765-0991. This article originally appeared in The Greene County Democrat.
out.”
Public Safety “There is a disproportionate impact of violent crime, about 90%, that’s happening in about five neighborhoods. These area leaders are accurate when they cite that crime is basically tied into deep seated inequities and injustices whether that’s in housing, food security, miseducation, and/ or unemployment. As mayor,
I have an obligation to not just deal with the long-term issues, but to examine how we can lessen the impact of these inequities for certain groups of the state’s residents. We must move on solutions now, not waiting for the election results.” “And we need more police officers. Currently, we have fewer police officers per capita than just about any major city in the country. In order to properly conduct investigations and to assure we have gang intervention and prevention in place, we must be able to engage with these community members where they are. We cannot succeed without a properly staffed police department.” “We’re pushing to get the right officers in and the wrong ones
transformation and making sure the precision of our solutions now match the precision of the harm that was initially inflicted. Although there are no magic wand fixes, we know we must do the hard work, dig down deep, and take a strong position as to the course we’re ultimately going to chart. Even through the toughest times, we’ve tried to do just that. We’re proud of the strong campaign we’re running and the broad-based support we have received, especially from the Black community. But understand, no matter what happens on November 2nd, we can’t stop there. We have far too much work that must happen somehow and with urgency.”
who to trust, who to believe. Along with my writing and consistent Divine connection keeping me sane and hopeful, I often heard from some of my former students who had a lot of unanswered ‘whys’ their parents couldn’t answer, and many educators have been told not to answer through instructional delivery. I had become accustomed to listening to the daily silence, or occasionally viewing old shows like, “In the Heat of the Night”. It was always a reminder of white privilege mentality lasting more than four centuries, being for some a continued, sheltered, unexplainable racist mindset. I came to the realization that it was hypocritical and un-Godly
for some to get on their knees and repeat the Lord’s Prayer and then stand up and not want to shake my chocolate hand. It was like malice and favor were etched in their hearts and souls. ‘They’ tend to forget that 715,000 Americans have perished in less than 2 years, we’re killing the earth, and our youth, both black and white, want to know why the Capitol insurrection had to happen. Some are wise and conscious enough to recognize the disparities and again ask why while a few turning their parents over to authorities. Think of the trauma they have endured. As in Nigeria where 70% of the population is under the age of 30, it will be the millenniums of all ethnicities and walks of
life on the front lines telling the world they have had ‘enough’ Trauma takes away our body control and propels us to question our mind’s intuitiveness in making decisions. Over the past two years especially, African Americans and other BIPOC communities have sought the commonsense wisdom of unity in city leadership. That just has not happened. Perhaps the state of current affairs will change after the November elections. What has emerged, though such a long way to go, is the determination that voices would be heard, demands would be made in an organized and wellthought-out plan, and the words ‘I love you and I care about you and me” would have meaning.
Children have builtin resiliency and must be encouraged to concentrate on the positive things in their lives and what is most important. When that armor wears thin, violence and hopelessness take over. Eliminating the hurt requires responding to adverse occurrences differently so as not to re-traumatize or add additional trauma as with the young children in Tennessee being hauled off to court or watching an unarmed black man take his last breath. The innocent deserves to feel psychologically and physically safe. They need to feel empowered and taught to embrace their strengths and their entitled humanity. Relationships in multiple venues begin the
healing along with being open to diverse cultural connections and recognizing historic trauma perpetrated against people of color for generations. To Judge Peter Cahill who would never understand black trauma, I just wanted to say I never forgot the roadside rest room, that traumatic event among so many experienced in my black childhood and 30 years later happening to my own children and students. But we called upon our ancestors who are close to our Creator, and were given the Grace, the strength, and the knowledge to help us move forward by doing the work and keeping our faith.
component includes the adjunct of social workers, mental health care availability, a fitness regiment, and a chaplain on call. Hutchinson and his colleagues know the best way to control crime is to prevent it before it happens. Visibility of officers in the community is the only way trust and partnerships can begin to bring hope and public safety back to the people. “We’re concentrating on mind, body, and spirit, Hutchinson explained. The big questions are how will our inmates transform and how can we help them by first tapping into their interests and immediate needs? Perhaps they can learn a trade like becoming a truck driver and even aim for certified union positions, he said. When they participate in the classes, there are incentives like a movie. Hutchinson is the son of a retired Burnsville police officer. He was raised by the old adage, treat people like you want to be treated. Thank you for your service to the communities you have and continue to serve. Stark realities. In 2018, Black Americans represented 33% of the sentenced prison population, nearly triple their 12% share of the U.S. population. In 2019, 71.4% of those incarcerated were either African American or Latino with the combined two groups making up only 21.3%. Remember, these adult inmates may be a child’s parents. If Project H.O.P.E. is successful, two generations could be saved with added resources for the
inmates’ families. The good news. According to John Gramlich, senior writer and editor of Pew Research Center, there has been a pronounced decline among Black Americans incarceration rates. One noteworthy trend has been a steep drop in crime rates since the mid-1990s. The U.S. violent crime rate fell by 51% between 1993 and 2018, while property crime rates decreased 54% according to the FBI. But, the U.S. still has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Recently, I observed a classroom led by a dynamic young teacher the likes I had seldom seen. Some days when the students arrived, there would be a picture of a young person who had done great things for their families or their school or community in hopes of inspiring the teacher’s students to consider doing the same. Some days, they would turn on their assigned computers where a digital newsmagazine would come up on the screen. I was intrigued. In one hour, the students, mostly all attentive, would read an article, follow a brief study guide inclusive of new vocabulary words; a paragraph writing assignment; what they considered important facts; and one discussion topic. The principal was just as impressive. There was a room next to the administrative offices called ‘Safe Harbor’. Before entering, parents or guardians were contacted, the circumstances
of the discipline violation were explained, and a reasonable solution was decided sometimes with understood consequences. The police were never called. Join “Conversations with Al McFarlane” five days a week from 1 P.M. to 2 P.M. (CST) on Facebook, YouTube, Black Press USA Facebook page, and local cable network
work. We invite your questions or reflections on the subject matter of the shows. We are striving to increase participation so our communities can become more informed and motivated to contribute to the change we envision our city and this nation to experience. If needing mental health wellness assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to
the African American Child Wellness Institute (AACWI), Brakins Consulting and Psychological Services, or any other mental health emergency service available. There is help but it will take research and persistence to make that happen. A Note: Hennepin County Sheriff’s office is hiring.
The City’s Budget “We put our money where our mouth is. We talked about affordable housing when I first ran for office. We’ve made the largest investment in this area than in our city’s history. We talked about assuring economic inclusion, so we doubled down in areas like our commercial property development fund which ensures that our Black business owners don’t just own their business, but they also have the option of owning the land where their business is located. When the value of the land goes up, it will be the owner and the customers who will benefit the most.” “We’re looking for full
Prepared and paid for by LaTrisha Vetaw for Ward 4, 2927 Washburn Ave N, Mpls MN 55411
www.latrishaforward4.org @latrishaforward4 @vetawward4 latrisha@latrishaforward4.org
Public Safety ty is my #1 Priority I will partner with Chief Arradondo to put more good cops on the street. Make LaTrisha Vetaw your first choice for Ward 4 City Council on November 2nd!
Page 8 •October October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Insight News
¬21 in 2021 We’ve increased our U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21 as a next step toward $25 by 2025. Bank of America has raised our minimum rate of pay for all U.S. employees to $21/hour — the next step toward $25 by 2025. Over the past four years, we have led the way by increasing our minimum hourly wage 40%. Being a great place to work starts with investing in the people who serve our clients. Providing strong pay and competitive benefits to support our employees and their families helps us attract and retain strong talent. Our actions demonstrate our continuing commitment to sustain job growth and economic stability for the thousands of individuals working in support of each other, our clients and the communities where we work and live. We will continue our efforts to make a difference and serve as a catalyst for others to do the same. What would you like the power to do?®
Katie Simpson President, Bank of America Twin Cities
Learn more at bankofamerica.com/twincities
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender. © 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
insightnews.com
insightnews.com
Insight News • October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Page 9
Insight 2 Health
Anchiy/E+ Collection via Getty Images
Experts give trick-or treating the green light this year.
Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Candy chutes were a popular way to trick or treat while maintaining social distance in 2020.
Simple safety tips for trick-or-treating after Fauci greenlighted Halloween 2021 By Meg Sorg Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing, Purdue University The air is getting chillier, pumpkins are perched on porches and kids across the country are planning their spooky costumes. As a professor of pediatric nursing and a mom to four young children, I know the excitement and anxiety that pandemic holidays bring to children and parents alike. Halloween 2020 brought creative ways to trick or treat while minimizing the spread of infection (candy catapult, anyone?). But scientists have
since determined that the risk of transmission of COVID-19 via candy wrappers is low. Still, the extremely contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to show moderate-to-high rates of infection in many areas of the country, and it continues to sicken children and teens at a higher rate than the dominant strain that devastated the world in 2020. Parents may be wondering if participating in Halloween fun and games is safe, or if they would be better off staying home this year. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that kids can indeed still enjoy a safe, fun
Halloween. But here are a few simple precautions that trick-ortreaters can take. 1. Mask up Children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, which means the majority of kids going door to door are still at an increased risk for contracting the virus. Because COVID-19 spreads through respiratory transmission, masking remains an effective way to reduce the spread of infection for kids age 2 and older. Unfortunately, Halloween costume masks are not a substitute for masks designed to limit the spread of viral particles. Parents
can get creative about making a face mask part of a child’s costume. Or, kids can wear a face mask under their costume mask. Parents should make sure their child is able to breathe comfortably if choosing this option. Children and parents, regardless of vaccination status, should wear a mask when attending indoor parties or when going door to door due to the close interactions with other people. Those giving out candy should also wear a face mask. 2. Keep hands clean Washing hands and using hand sanitizer remains a priority. Even though the likelihood of spreading
COVID-19 via candy wrappers is relatively low, that risk decreases even further when proper hand hygiene is practiced prior to passing out candy. Kids should wash their hands before they eat their candy in case they picked up any germs while out and about. The candy wrappers themselves are not considered contagious, so there’s no need to quarantine the candy before eating it. 3. Celebrate outside Other ways families can celebrate while maintaining a low risk status are to keep gatherings and activities outside, where people are less likely to contract the virus, and to keep groups small.
Jamecia Bennett
Kids who are demonstrating signs of illness should be kept home to rest and avoid exposing others to their germs. Those 12 years old and older should get the COVID-19 vaccination to protect against serious infection. It feels nice to be staring at the beginning of the 2021 holiday season with some semblance of normalcy. While the risk of COVID-19 isn’t entirely in the past, families should enjoy trick-or-treating while taking reasonable precautions. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
The Evolution of Music: Jazz, Blues & Soul
Harold López-Nussa: Timba a la Americana
OCT 30
NOV 1
Charles Lloyd Quartet w/ Jazz Saxophone Titan
Patty Peterson Presents: The Music of Barbra Streisand
NOV 2–3
NOV 5
Peter Rowan & Los Texmaniacs
Rodney Crowell
NOV 6
NOV 7-8
Marisha Wallace
Jon McLaughlin & Friends Holiday Tour
Theater & Gospel Superstar
Gerald Clayton, Harish Raghavan & Eric Harland
Grammy-winning Bluegrass Legend
Broadway Sensation
Havana Pianist & Composer
Eloquent Country Poet
Broadway Sensation
NOV 10
NOV 11
Matthew Whitaker
Joe Louis Walker
Youngest Hammond & Yamaha Endorsed Pianist
“Powerful, soul-stirring, Ƽ ĈŸûĈ Ýōā ġŸĭƇƇƪɚɴ ɪ s qƍžĭû
NOV 15
NOV 16
Quinteto Astor Piazzolla
Chris Botti
NOV 17
NOV 18–21
Celebrating the Titan of Nuevo Tango
612.332.5299 dakotacooks.com
International Jazz Superstar
1010 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN
Page 10 •October October 25, 2021 - October 31, 2021 • Insight News
WHEREVER YOU’RE HEADED, ROLL IN THE VIP SEATS All New 2022 Equinox RS
The all-new 2022 Equinox RS adds flavor to life in the fast lane. Designed with a stylish trim, striking black interior and sporty red accents, the Equinox RS is always the hottest seat in the house.
F I N D N E W T R E N D S, F I N D N E W R O A DS
insightnews.com