When we go looking for a dentist, what we will most likely find are White males. According to the 2014-2015 “Minnesota Dentists Workforce Survey,” 67 percent of dentists are male, 92 percent are White, and 0.7 percent are African American. A young African American woman from North Minneapolis has successfully challenged those odds. Shakeyla Barber was born in Robbinsdale, … [Read more...]
Community Profiles:
A space for feature stories about community members in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Catching up with Walter “Q Bear” Banks
Radio veteran reflects on his storied career, health concerns and community support Walter Banks, better known as “Q Bear,” is well-known in the Twin Cities as a KMOJ radio personality with over 30 years of broadcasting experience. He has held many positions and met many celebrities over the years, including James Brown, Gerald Levert, The O-Jays, The Temptations, and hometown … [Read more...]
St. Paul Selby business — fixture in a changing neighborhood
Selby Wine & Spirits — more than merely a store —it’s a fixture in St. Paul’s quietly thriving Selby neighborhood where people are living well and working to get the best out of life. It should be noted that Selby Wine & Spirits is one of the few African American-owned liquor stores in the Twin Cities. Through economic up-swings and downturns, owner-manager Vernon … [Read more...]
I believe in myself because my father and brother believed in me
Noah Branch is a 2017 Cecil E. Newman Scholarship recipient. His scholarship-winning essay appears below. Throughout my life, I have been blessed to have received a significant amount of tutelage, but in recent years there are two people who stick out in my mind as both mentors and inspirations for me: My father and my brother, Joseph. Both men have gone through great … [Read more...]
Former basketball star finds a way to give back
In late February, Northeast College Prep School paraprofessional Onika Craven invited me to speak to a classroom of fifth graders taught by teacher Kaylena Greenwell. Craven, who has been employed at the startup charter school since December, accomplished plenty on the basketball court while playing for Minneapolis Washburn in the late 1990s. Today, she’s using her … [Read more...]