By Willie Johnson
Contributing Commentator
Black People in Minnesota are fed a daily dose of qualms. To steal the character of a people and deform their identities is a burden onto itself. We Black Minnesotans need a new mind set, lost in a wilderness of self-doubt, following the agenda of White Minnesotans whose intentions seem hostile.
White Minnesotans policy is to keep Blacks below the poverty line, not just in economics but also in life. There are two sets of rules in Minnesota, one for its Black citizens and one for its White citizens. It is evident through the judicial system that there is an imbalance between Blacks and Whites in Minnesota and that Lady Justice needs to put her blindfold back on.
We are astute, in spite of what other nationalities think. We are relative; we are just as real as any other nationality in Minnesota. With these dog-eat-dog policies, it puts constraints on our imagination to build and create a positive neighborhood. To hamper a people ability to excel in deeds for self is criminal.
We are told we are Minnesota citizens, but that is a lie to brainwash us. We Black Minnesotans are a noble race. We dare to be great for family, church, neighborhood and Minnesota. Can Minnesota be great for us?
We are tired of being a social guinea pig. Most Minnesotans want to strive for the American Dream, to be an asset to and for a stronger Minnesota. It’s a New Year of 2014. What do we hope to accomplish this year in Minnesota? Hopefully, we can have a true dialogue, a dialogue that will have true meanings toward social and economic improvement for our families in the state of Minnesota.
It seems to me that the White Minnesotans have started camaraderie with these new immigrants and have forgotten that our roots and their roots are intertwined. In this election year of 2014, Governor Dayton is expecting Black Minnesotans to support his campaign. We need bread-and-butter negotiations, to reconstruct a new agenda that has concrete merits without false meritocracies.
We are tired of hearing words that don’t match actions. Political atheists rule the capital, only believing in their own hypocrisy. These political atheists only leave us Black Minnesotans with political crumbs.
Let us stop grunting at each other and let’s have an intellectual conversation on the basis of improving the imbalance between the Black and White people of Minnesota. Let’s put into action one of our State’s mottos, “Minnesota Nice.”
Willie Johnson lives in Minneapolis.
to make change we all have to stick together as one, it take a strong person to stand up, to stand up means, going through hell and back, and not being afraid of loosing your job to make change. as a custodial at Hopkins school district for over 13 years I see the new black people are the new slaves, there are over twenty African custodian and only two African American custodians. The Somalia’s and the Ethiopians hate each other and both of them hate me. to try and keep the peace with a person that hates you for no reason is a waste of energy, so I keep to myself. to go into a white establishment and make change take a lot of guts. when you make change be prepared to be a target as well, like myself, when I got fed up working on a federal holiday that was blocked every year for a mandatory meeting, so I finally stood up and filed a complaint on working on Dr. Martin Luther King holiday. I received a letter stating that they are sorry and they will make changes in the future so the meeting will not be held on this day. my birth certificate reads negro which goes back to slavery. I am proud of who I am and I felt that I had to put everything on line to speak up on that federal holiday, I felt really good about myself when I stood up for myself and it makes me want to stand up even more, the people that came before me had it much harder then me, to sit back and just collect a pay check and not say nothing was not me so I spoke up, because my ancestors died and made sacrifices for me and other people like myself. may this writing be blessed, may people who read this have the strength to also make changes in the name of Jesus amen.