Spike Lee’s film 4 Little Girls (1997) documented in vivid detail the events leading up to and following the September 15, 1963 bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Ku Klux Klan members placed bombs at the church, where, at the time, a strategy meeting was being held for local Blacks to fight Jim Crow laws and other injustices. Cynthia Wesley, … [Read more...]
Community Profiles:
A space for feature stories about community members and businesses/organizations in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Pioneering coach reflects on storied career
Louis J. Moore is the president of the Major Taylor Bicycle Club, which attests to his youthful exterior at 70-plus years of age. The majority Black club annually takes intra-state and cross-country bike trips. “We have a very diverse group of people” of members, said Moore. In addition to his time with Major Taylor, Moore has also been a fixture in Minneapolis youth sports … [Read more...]
Black barbershop owner stays while buildings razed in Dinkytown
Old shop gets new start The historic Dinkytown district on the University of Minnesota campus will be making some major changes this summer. As of March, establishments such as Dinkytown Optical, Underground Printing, Blue Serge Alterations, and the Hair Shaft barbershop were told to vacate the building. This building also includes the first Black-owned business in … [Read more...]
The Interrupter: a life of service to youth
Principal aimed to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline Young lives matter. Theresa Neal, retiring Como Park High School principal, spent a career passionately committed to putting that assertion into practice. For just shy of 40 years she was hands-on practicing her life’s motto: Service over self to support and sustain the quality of life for youth, children, families, … [Read more...]
Ellison excited to pursue his vision for Ward 5 and the city
In the middle of Jeremiah Ellison’s time with Creative CityMaking Minneapolis, a collaboration between local artists and the Minneapolis city government to promote city priorities, Jamal Clark was shot on the North Side. The lack of response by local leadership at the protests lit a fire under Ellison, which eventually led to his successful run for the Ward 5 city council … [Read more...]