The disease can be especially aggressive in Blacks By Charles Hallman Staff Writer A person living in the U.S. is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) every hour, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, affecting more than 400,000 people — over 2.1 million people worldwide. Medical studies have shown that MS is two to three times […]
August 2012
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Sabathani awarded grant to reduce health disparities
The Minnesota Department of Health recently awarded Sabathani Community Center an Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI) grant in the amount of $176,872 for fiscal year 2012-2013. Sabathani will work with community partners to address health disparities in the African American and Latino communities in the areas of diabetes, teen pregnancy, and unintentional injury and violence. […]
Posted inSports
Vikings working to be relevant again
I caution you by saying it’s early and it’s only the pre-season, but the Vikings are working hard in 2012 to make their fans proud of the Purple & Gold. Over the last two years, the organization’s focus has been on securing a new permanent home for future Vikings home games. Even with the team […]
Posted inSports
Women’s hoops earned worldwide respect at Olympic games
Coaches don’t get medals. If they did, Jennifer Gillom would have earned her eighth overall. She has six gold medals and a silver as a member of USA Basketball, including a gold as a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic squad. “I hope that we get a ring… Hopefully it will look good on the […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Ben Williams: Rising star bassist mixes classic and new sounds
Bandleader and bassist, Ben Williams is on his way to the Dakota on Sept 4 and 5 with the Pat Metheny Unity Band. He’s also well on his way to carving out a beautiful career. He won the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for double bass and is currently a Concord Records recording artist. […]
Posted inSports
For Twins’ only Black pitcher, wild can be good
After the Minnesota Twins traded left-hander Francisco Liriano to Chicago last month, right-hander Samuel Deduno becomes the club’s only Black pitcher. Deduno is one of 21 Dominican-born players and the ninth Dominican pitcher to play for the Twins since 1961. He and fellow Dominican natives Alexi Casilla and Pedro Florimon joins Denard Span and Ben […]
Posted inOpinion
The commissioner of education did the right thing
We and our beloved city are faced with a challenging question: Are we committed to the principles and values of decency, trust, honesty, integrity, and transparency of action, or do we, for the sake of a dollar and a color code, embrace and poison ourselves, with that which is evil, dark and decadent that can […]
Posted inOpinion
Prison life: consequences of the street life
“You have 60 seconds left on this phone call,” blurts the automated voice. It’s an irritating reminder of where I live. When I talk to my daughter on the telephone, my confinement in prison fades into a vague reality. The 60-second warning yanks my consciousness out of the mirage my surroundings have morphed into. I’m […]
Posted inOpinion
Black America’s worst campaign — ever!
By Demetairs Bell Guest Commentator In 2004, a group of young Black men in Baltimore, Maryland championed a cause that would grant certain individuals the freedom to indulge in criminal activity with the expectation of silence from the Black community. This campaign gained national attention when the DVD “Stop Snitchin’” found its way into the […]
Posted inOpinion
Like father, not like son: George Wilcken Romney vs. W. Mitt Romney
As I watch all of the millions of dollars pour into the negative campaign ads on television on both side of the aisle, I wonder what would happen if both candidates just had a meeting with each other and said, ”Let’s just stop all of this negativity and pool these dollars and put our constituents […]
Posted inNews
Minneapolis child waits for transplant donor
Be the Match need Blacks to join their registry By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The need for African Americans to sign up as organ donors has been promoted through several local and national initiatives. Here in the Twin Cities, a one-year-old is waiting for a donor to step up to the plate. Artan Warsame has Severe […]
Posted inNews
‘The Wheatley’ reinvents itself as needs evolve
Director Milon talks about what holds communities together The Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (PWCC), also affectionately known as “The Wheatley,” is widely known and respected as a source of strength and pride for children, youth, families and elders in North Minneapolis. The center’s namesake is a slave who won her freedom and emerged as the […]
Posted inArts + Culture, News, Opinion
Dave Chappelle sneaked into Twin Cities and left ’em laughing
Dave Chappelle don’t have a lick of sense. For that matter, Tracey Ashley ain’t wrapped too tight, either. Between them both, August 2 at the Historic State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis was a gas. Tracey Ashley, new to Twin Cities audiences, is fairly well accomplished, having to her credit stints on HBO’s The Lucky 21 and NBC’s Last […]
Posted inNews
Threads Dance Project director speaks truth to spirit
She wants audiences to leave iDENTiTY uplifted By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer You don’t need to be a dance aficionado, or even be particularly fond of the art form, to understand and appreciate where visionary choreographer-dancer Karen L. Charles is coming from. Artistic director at Threads Dance Project (TDP), she firmly believes in expanding dance […]
Posted inSports
Top prep prospects
University of Wisconsin-bound KEELON BROOKINS (Tartan) leads a talented list of top football prospects for the 2012 season. Brookins is ranked among the top corner back prospects in the country according to Scout Minnesota Preps.com. KIERRE RHODES (St. Paul Johnson), one of the state’s top all-purpose players, is being recruited as a corner back by […]
Posted inOpinion
Ugly America rears its head with Olympic coverage — Mel Reeves
Like referees who bring attention to themselves, the U.S. big-business press, along with the color commentators with their unbalanced, intrusive and unfavorable coverage of African and AfricanAmerican athletes during the London Olympics,brought shame upon themselves and their craft. Truth is, they can’t help themselves; many are the beneficiaries of an uneven playing field themselves. Many of them went to the best schools and were afforded the […]
Posted inNews
More MPS students to ride city buses
District plans to retire all yellow school bus service for high-schoolers By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Over the next two years, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) plans to replace the yellow school buses serving eligible high school students with student bus passes to use public transportation. According to MPS officials, over the past three years more […]
Posted inNews
Women finally get reentry help targeted to their needs
By Jamal Denman Contributing Writer For adult ex-offenders attempting to adjust to the norms of society, the transition can be quite a challenge. Female ex-offenders, a group rarely mentioned in the media or during public discussions, can face even more complex issues than their oft-discussed, studied, and analyzed male counterparts.Two local community organizations, Twin […]
Posted inNews
Did Blacks help build MPS’s new Davis Center?
Based on contractors’ numbers, there’s no way to tell By Charles Hallman Staff Writer A final report recently submitted by the company that built the new Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) headquarters, named the Davis Center in honor of W. Harry Davis, claims to have exceeded a 25 percent minority hiring goal by two percent as […]