On January 25, President Donald Trump called for the federal government to spend resources investigating alleged “voter fraud” in the 2016 elections. Unable to accept the fact that he lost the popular vote by some 2.8 million votes, President Trump has repeated his naked and reckless claim that three-to-five million illegal votes were cast in […]
February 2017
Posted inOpinion
The African Union is right; the U.S. is a hypocrite
Took their slaves, but not their refugees “The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries,” said Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, head of the African Union Commission, at a meeting of leaders of the African Union this […]
Posted inOpinion
Sharpton visit has ulterior motives
Thanks to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder for its article “Sharpton straddles fence on menthol cigarette ban” that ran on Feb. 2. Along with several advocates of the Menthol Coalition, I attended this meeting. I am part of a coalition of health and community organizations committed to reducing the harm caused by menthol-flavored cigarettes and other tobacco […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Atopic eczema is like an ‘asthma of the skin’
Good news: New medicines coming out will greatly help in the treatment of atopic eczema Eczema and dermatitis are both terms with the same meaning: inflammation, redness, and itching of the skin. Atopic eczema (a.k.a. atopic dermatitis) is a skin disease. The first sign of eczema tends to be patches of dry or red, itchy […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Flu fighting tips for seniors
Since flu activity is rising across the United States and there’s been a slight uptick in the number of deaths, extra care should be taken to avoid and resist the infection. Weaker immune systems make seniors more vulnerable to the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of all flu-related […]
Posted inEducation
At-home learning activities for toddlers
The world is one giant playground for toddlers, but it is also one enormous classroom! Toddlers love to learn new things and master new concepts, making it the perfect time for creating a solid foundation for future skills like reading and counting. One of the best things you as a parent can do is to […]
Posted inEducation
How vision, hearing impairments affect school success
I can vividly recall my sophomore year of high school. I took an advanced biology course that I felt I was sure to ace. I began having issues with my vision and I had no idea that I was copying problems from the blackboard and putting decimals where there were none. My teacher suggested that […]
Posted inNews
Emmett Till’s accuser admits it was all a lie
More than six decades after the horrific, racially motivated murder of Emmett Till, the White woman who accused the Chicago teenager of verbally and physically accosting her in Money, Miss., in 1955 has admitted she lied, according to a new book. Till had allegedly whistled at and groped Carolyn Bryant, a 21-year-old White woman, while […]
Posted inNational
‘Trump effect’ has liberated closet racists, says historian
Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. may now have moved into a time of not having to apologize for racism according to a longtime social and cultural historian. Professor John Hoberman of the University of Texas at Austin, who was the scheduled Humphrey Forum speaker January 30 at the U of M’s Humphrey School of […]
Posted inSports
Patriots devour Falcons
HOUSTON — I’m on such a high! I can’t tell you what it means being from Chicago to cover the Super Bowl and see your son, Larry Jr, share the greatest honor the NFL has, the 2016 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award shared with Eli Manning. They were in the same Draft […]
Posted inLocal & State, News
Police presence in schools alarms parents, students
“Given the life-altering consequences and racially disparate impact of school-based arrests and police referrals, this forum will shed light on how students, community members, schools [and the] State are [dealing with] this issue, said,” Kenneth Eban, managing director of Students For Education Reform (SFER) Minnesota. The public forum titled “Why Are Police in Our Schools?” was […]
Posted inLocal & State, News
St. Paul catering entrepreneur comes home
Self-styled entrepreneur Diyon Lee of Tha BagLady’s Kitchen, indomitable, resourceful, prevails as a model of what can be accomplished when, despite disadvantage, you refuse to lose. Odds are a fact of life and can stack up against you. Lack of a college education, the system, and institutionalized racism all exist but nonetheless must be dealt […]
Posted inLocal & State, News
Doulas comfort mothers during pregnancy and childbirth
Women of color value support from someone who shares their culture More than half of all women who gave birth in 2014 were women of color. Two University of Minnesota health policy professors note in a published article that a lack of diversity in the maternity workforce is “one of many contributors” to this country’s […]
Posted inLetter to the Editor
In response to “Gentrification plans of MPHA and Sherman Associates”
In response to “Gentrification plans of MPHA and Sherman Associates,” MSR, January 19 issue A letter published in a recent issue of the Spokesman-Recorder discussed gentrification in the Twin Cities, as well as the writers’ concerns about possible changes at the Glendale Townhomes owned by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. Given MPHA’s mission to provide […]
Posted inSpecial Editions
A Black History month special: Honoring the accomplishments of Minnesota’s Black medical community past and present
In celebration of Black History Month, a presentation giving honor to Minnesota’s Black medical community past and present will be held on Saturday February 18, 2017 from 11 am to 1:30 pm at the Hennepin County Library, downtown Minneapolis campus, in the Doty Board Room on the second floor. This presentation is free and open […]
Posted inOpinion
Doing time in segregation
A biweekly column in which various contributors from both sides of prison walls explore common ground for effecting change. From my own experience doing time in segregation, some prisons hand time out like candy. My first time getting into a fight in Rush City I received 45 days, and that was a deal. I had […]
Posted inOpinion
As threat of poverty grows, we must continue the fight against it
Social-inequality trends over the past half century indicate that class divisions are growing more rigid, most are getting worse off, and those at the bottom are falling further, faster by the day. It’s the momentum of change that is causing much of the pain and anxiety, as many self-identified “middle-class Americans” are realizing the truth […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘I Am Not Your Negro’ rings powerfully true today
He didn’t live to see today’s America, but James Baldwin (1924-1987) predicted that a-then divided America would continue to exist so long as the country refused to see Black people as Americans. Unlike last year’s 13th by Ava DuVernay that used a myriad of voices to explain the 13th Amendment and its origins and failures since its passage, Baldwin is the lone […]
Posted inSports
‘New’ student-athletes having an impact on NCAA
This year’s recently concluded NCAA Convention “was probably the fastest voting convention” in recent memory, states Augsburg College Assistant Athletic Director Jennifer Jacobs. Jacobs, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (MIAC) only Black female athletic administrator, just returned from this year’s annual convention in Nashville (Jan. 18-21). “A lot of discussion on the floor, she said […]
Posted inSports
An ode to unadulterated sports talk
The Sports Reporters, the long-running ESPN weekly series, will leave the air in May after nearly 30 years, reports Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch. It premiered in 1988, but the show seemingly took off once the late Dick Schaap became host in 1989. The late John Saunders replaced Schaap in 2001 after the host’s death and […]