• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

Artist lends her talents to Black Lives Matter

by
February 12, 2016
11
SHARES
214
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Long-term goals include Black liberation, reparations

Asha Long
Asha Long

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Asha Long attended Harvest Prep Academy in North Minneapolis, later graduating from De La Salle in 2009. She attended college in Duluth, studying liberal arts and humanities, achieving a liberal arts degree. When she returned home, she found herself drawn into the new activism stirring up the Black community.

“Two years ago, I moved back to Minneapolis where I became a founding member of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis,” says Long. In addition to her work with Black Lives Matter, Long is currently “employed full time at the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group as a campus organizer, working with college students, interesting them in social justice issues and helping support their leadership development.”

“Who am I? I am a community member. I am an artist; I love to create. I really feel like creating is life,” Long says. “If you are alive, you’re changing and growing and creating.”

Besides her community work, she is also a painter, a writer of short stories and poems, a songwriter and a singer. “A big thing for me is, I am a thinker,” Long says. “I am always coming up with creative ways to address challenges in all the work that I do.”

Who’s an object of her admiration? “I admire former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. As a voice for Black people and women, she paved the way for today’s political landscape. She planted a seed that Blackness and womanhood have presidential potential. She stood up against what the United States [was doing]…and fought for radical change. Shirley Chisholm paved the way, and her work is still incredibly relevant.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Asked about the operating system of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, she says, “[We] are like a Rotary. We like to draw on all the strengths of everyone in our group. For me, I assist in the writing and creating of press releases. I am always reaching out, being that accessible community member.

“It’s weird talking about it when you are trying to compartmentalize exactly what you do,” Long explains, “because it’s like [I am] doing all the work, whether it is talking to someone on the street, getting people together, acknowledging and talking about our truth and our Blackness and being unapologetic about that.”

In the short term, Long and Black Lives Matter Minneapolis would like to see the videotapes of the killing of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old Black male who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police in November 2015. The tapes still have not been released as this article goes to press.

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis is also working on the elimination of grand juries in the State of Minnesota. “As we know, this is where murders go to die,” says Long of grand juries.

A long-term goal for Black Lives Matter is Black liberation. Long wants reparations: “For me, I really hope that comes down to supporting our economic development and providing us with the tools we need so we can become strong.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

In a consistent effort to stay current and active around topics that support Black lives, the community group Black Lives Matter Minneapolis holds monthly member meetings for people who want to get involved. They also have a subgroup called The Arts and Culture Squad, specializing in just that: arts and culture.

Long will also be working on Macalester College and Augsburg College campuses and around the city of Minneapolis, playing music. “I love being able to relay [communications] to my Black community in Minneapolis. I had fallen love with the ‘Blackness’ of Minneapolis when I came back home.”

 

For more information on Asha Long, go to the Black Lives Matter Minneapolis Facebook page.

Brandi Phillips welcomes reader comments at bphillips@spokesman-recorder.com.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Super Bowl 50 aftermath reveals racial hypocrisy

Next Post

NBA All-Star 2016 preview

You Might Also Like

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area
National

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine
Local

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip
Local

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip

Ampersand Families
Employment

Human Resources Manager, ampersand families

Program Coordinator
Employment

Office Coordinator

Program Coordinator
Employment

Program Coordinator

Next Post
NBA All-Star 2016 preview

NBA All-Star 2016 preview

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Oct 3
October 3 @ 8:30 am-October 4 @ 5:30 pm

Insects: Little Body, Big Impact | Nobel Conference 59 | Virtual or In-Person

Oct 4
6:00 pm-8:00 pm

An Evening with Liz Cheney

Oct 5
7:00 pm-9:00 pm

The Bombing of Cubana Flight 455: Why it Matters

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

PHOTO: Barbie back-to-school party

A Barbie back to school party.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: