What is a disability? This is a multifaceted question. My opinion: A disability alters the “natural” or “normal” state of something or someone. The qualifier for this is who is defining “natural or normal states,” and how the definitions are received and applied by the public. My disability: partial paralysis of my left side, to […]
February 2013
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Do you know how to respond to a mental-health crisis?
Mental Health First Aid provides the needed skills By Vickie Evans-Nash MSR Editor-in-Chief First aid and CPR classes have been taught across the nation for years now, giving people with no medical training lifesaving skills in the event of a medical crisis. People suffering from mental health problems can pose a life-threatening crisis as well. […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Crutchfield among ‘Top 100 Newsmakers’
Minnesota doctor Charles E. Crutchfield III has been selected by “The Grio,” a division of NBC News, as one of the “Top 100 Newsmakers Making History in the United States 2013” for Black History Month. Former honorees include Michelle Obama, Beyoncé Adrian Peterson, Tyler Perry, Neil deGrasse Tyson (physicist and astronomer), Susan Rice, LeVar Burton, […]
Posted inNews
U of M honors late MSR senior sportswriter
Kwame McDonald was highly regarded as educator, activist and friend to many By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team honored the late Kwame McDonald during halftime of Sunday’s Gophers-Illinois contest. The MSR senior sports columnist passed away of cancer on October 26, 2011 at age 80. A crowd of 14,625 gave […]
Posted inOpinion
Haiti’s LGBTQ-accepting Vodou societies
As I celebrate Black History Month, I’d like to recognize one of my indigenous West African ancestral religions that’s not homophobic — even if some of the practitioners are. To the disbelief of many — it’s Vodun. Haitian Vodou is an ancestral folk religion whose tenets have always been queer-friendly, accepting people of all sexual […]
Posted inOpinion
Local anti-foreclosure movement put on trial
When Anthony Newby of Occupy Homes MN was brought up on charges recently of assault, disorderly conduct and trespassing for doing absolutely nothing wrong, it made it obvious what the U.S. justice system is really all about and who and what it really represents. Newby’s trial was meant to send the message to the Occupy […]
Posted inNews
Black History Month Calendar of Events
Through Wed., Feb. 20 Thursday, February 14 7 pm — Saakumu West African Drum and Dance Troupe Performance, Sundin Music Hall, Hamline Univ., 1531 Hewitt Ave., St. Paul The Saakumu Drum and Dance Troupe is one of the leading traditional and contemporary dance and music groups in Ghana, West Africa. The group’s […]
Posted inOpinion
President Obama’s visit to discuss gun violence disappoints
What joy and excitement energized the Black community, individuals and organizations alike, anticipating seeing and meeting the first African American president, Barrack Obama, in North Minneapolis when he was in town Monday, February 4 to make a major speech on guns and violence in America. Although disappointed in what the president’s administration has not done […]
Posted inSports
Twin Cities boys’ crown up for grabs
At the present time, it’s anybody’s guess who will represent the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Conferences in the Twin Cities boys’ basketball game next month. While St. Paul is in a three-way tie with Highland Park (led by DION BRADLEY), St. Paul Central (led by MARKUS TAYLOR-KNIGHTEN), and defending champion Johnson (led by QUASHINGM […]
Posted inSports
Minnesota basketball not so good lately
No playoffs since 2004 for the Timberwolves. For the Gophers, there have been no NCAA post-season victories since Tubby Smith took over the men’s basketball program. After back-to-back years in 2009-2010 when they did make the tournament, it’s been tough sledding for basketb1all in this state. The only glimmer of hope came last year when […]
Posted inSports
Did you know? A special Black History Month quiz
Did you know…? At least four decades before Jackie Robinson, the St. Paul Colored Gophers, an all-Black baseball team, played in the Twin Cities. The team took the field in 1907 and disbanded four years later. Did you know…? Before Gabby Douglass became the first Black female to win the all-around gymnast title at last […]
Posted inArts + Culture
The cruel legend of Prince and Princess Charming
[Editor’s note: This week the MSR is proud to introduce a new feature for our readers, a continuing serial adapted from the story “One Going, One Staying” previously published in Essence magazine that will unfold here from week to week — so stay tuned for ongoing Black & Single Blues episodes.] He leaned at the […]
Posted inArts + Culture
From Floetry to rebirth: Natalie ‘Floacist’ Stewart walks an independent road to artistic excellence
A music review By Stephani Maari Booker Contributing Writer Natalie Stewart, a.k.a. “The Floacist,” has been forging a fiercely independent musical path since Floetry, the duo she formed with Marsha Ambrosius, broke up in 2006. Stewart self-released a downloadable EP titled The Floacist Presents…Spoken Soul Vol. 1 in 2010. Later that year, her first solo […]
Posted inOpinion
The illusion of racial progress
By Dr. Luke Tripp Guest Commentator What appears to be racial progress in America is largely an illusion. Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored for his great contribution to the struggle for human rights and social justice in America. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 when he was organizing a national campaign to bring […]
Posted inNews
Amicus Radius rescues girls from dead-end futures
Every year they help hundreds of girls bypass the ‘probation pipeline’ By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer “Amicus Radius, honored as 2012 Program of the Year by Minnesota Women’s Consortium…, works with teenage girls involved in the juvenile justice system.” On the face of it, this is a press release headline congratulating a do-good, social-service organization […]
Posted inNews
Pres. Obama visits Mpls promoting gun-control measures
Missing from conversation: Black youth, the most likely victims of gun violence News Analysis By Mel Reeves Contributing Writer President Barack Obama’s visit to Minneapolis last week to discuss gun control and solutions to limit gun violence left more questions unanswered about the country’s commitment to ending gun violence. It also further exposed the disconnect between […]
Posted inNews
Rondo resident’s pioneer athletic efforts recognized
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Marcenia Lyle Stone was born July 17, 1921 in St. Paul. She played on the local boys’ baseball teams despite her parents’ objections. Reportedly, they wanted their little girl to focus as much or even more on her studies as on athletics. Nonetheless, Stone excelled in several sports, but baseball […]
Posted inNews
Minnesotans converge in celebration of Black History Month Expo to feature Black products, services, and fun for all ages
By Robin James Contributing Writer Black History Month matters. What’s being lauded as the biggest Black History Month Celebration in Minnesota — the 2013 Midwest Black History Month Expo (MBHE) — is happening at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul on February 23, from 10 am to 7 pm. The MBHE is a ticketed […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Racial Equity Report Card and legislative agenda announced
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The Organizing Apprenticeship Project (OAP) called January 30 for a statewide racial equity agenda. It was introduced along with the organization’s seventh annual Racial Equity Report Card during a rally at the State Capitol. “This agenda is not controversial but rather a multiracial and multi-issue group of community leaders working […]