I wanted to turn around as I approached the table looking at the singular baby manikin and ask, “Why is it that no one wanted the brown doll?” This visual sparked an emotional charge in me. I had no problem with working with the beautiful baby manikin, as I gently lifted her in my arms I slowly walked her to my seat.
Local & State
A space for original local news with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African Americans
Posted inLocal & State, News, Opinion
Stadium update: Where are the true numbers?
It has been a while since we have talked about what is supposed to be the greatest employment story in the history of Minnesota: the new Vikings stadium, with its price tag of over a billion dollars and thousands of jobs.
Posted inLocal & State
Barber carries on family haircare tradition
For more than two generations and across both Twin Cities, a father-and-son team have provided haircare services to Minnesotans. The MSR sat down with Eddie Withers, Jr. to discuss how this journey began, how his business is going currently, and what wisdom he has to offer to aspiring barbers.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Mpls strikes deal with Comcast
The City of Minneapolis may get at least $50,000 worth of free cable services and equipment, thanks to a new deal with Comcast. According to Comcast Vice-President Mary Beth Schubert, the deal, which was recently approved by the Minneapolis City Council, is like similar others “in a number of different areas within our service area.”
Posted inLocal & State, News
Heritage Park YMCA the ‘Cheers’ of the North side
Mature adults should make exercise part of their daily routine, states Heritage Park YMCA Director Henry Crosby. The facility he manages is well positioned to help make this happen for Northside residents.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Black officers become the police they wanted to see growing up
Among the nearly 60 recommendations of President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force is the need to foster stronger relationships between police and the community. The president established the group in mid-December. Locally, some police officers have long recognized the value of such positive police-community interactions.
Well before recent police shootings involving Black males in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the task force’s March 2 report “[called] upon law enforcement to embrace the mindset that they are part of the community [and] put in place programs designed to promote positive interactions between police and communities.”
Posted inNews
Bloomington’s ‘special presentation’ on Black history involved no Black people
Deb Meyer presented a free “Special Presentation” on the use of quilts by slaves seeking their freedom via the Underground Railroad, but without Black involvement.
Posted inLocal & State
Sister Spokesman talks networking with purpose and style
Networking doesn’t have to feel awkward or forced if you take the time to find techniques that fit your style and objectives. That was one of the many takeaways from Sister Spokesman’s “Networking with Purpose” event, held March 7, at Sabathani Community Center in south Minneapolis. The event brought together a colorful mix of community members, vendors, and an expert panel of entrepreneurs who shared their experiences and best practices.
The afternoon kicked off with games, including an “elevator pitch” exercise that saw attendees work the room to practice highlighting their passions, skill sets, and career objectives for maximum impact. The panel discussion soon followed, with each of the panelists answering questions presented by attendees, and Tracey Williams-Dillard, host and MSR Publisher/CEO.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Black Lives Matter calls for a boycott of the Mall of America following first hearing
On the day of the first court hearing for the 11 defendants who are accused of various charges around the planning of the December Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America,
Posted inLocal & State, Opinion
Police officer shot in North Minneapolis
The shooting and wounding of African American police officer Jordan Davis, at 5:30 am Saturday, February 21, 2015, had all the possibilities of creating significant tension and conflict. Andrew Neal, also African American, is in custody and charged in the shooting. Here’s the twist: Neal was a paid informant for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) in the ’90s.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Chocolate Chick’s self-affirming statements combat culture of disrespect
Chocolate Chick Apparel gives new, improved meaning to attractively sweet and sassy, a boutique clothing line that specializes in simple, eye-catching fare that compliments the African American female.
Posted inLocal & State
Is MPR for Black folk?
After nearly six months as Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) program director, veteran newsman Jonathan Blakley is overseeing “a variety of new podcasts [and] new voices.”
MPR isn’t just for the so-called purists, stated Blakley in a recent MSR interview at MPR’s St. Paul headquarters. His overall goal since assuming his duties last November is to bring fresh voices over its airwaves as well as to help dispel the oft-entertained notion among many Blacks and other people of color that public radio is too highbrow for them.
Posted inLocal & State
Reflecting on ‘The Look’ and other human interactions
My grandson Malcolm (“Rocket”) gave me the coldest stare. I really hadn’t done anything. I was holding him and talking with his mom, Shavon, and his sister Maya.
Shavon asked, “Maya, did you pick that mess up in your room from last night?” Knowing she hadn’t completed the task, Maya quickly started to respond. With her head cocked to the side, a twinkle in her eye, and a devious smile, she suddenly stopped and said, “Okay, let me stop right now before that lie comes out of my mouth.”
Posted inLocal & State
Givens family contributions: Affordable housing, literature, history, education
Many African Americans migrated to the North from the South upon being declared free people. Most came for opportunities to experience a new life and to build new foundations for their newfound freedom. For many, this freedom would mean a new and unpredictable journey.
Posted inLocal & State
Double murder led Melvin Carter, Jr. to career of police ‘peace’ work
Melvin Whitfield Carter, Jr. was born December 1948. His father was born 1923 in St. Paul at St. Joe’s Hospital, and his grandfather, Mim Grundy Carter, a musician, moved here from Paris, Texas in 1917 when “a great fire” burned their town under mysterious circumstances.
Posted inEducation, Local & State, News
SPPS super says battling the board not her style
St. Paul Public Schools [SPPS] has “evolved” since 2009, the year Valeria Silva was hired as its superintendent. “Have we made mistakes? Yes. Have we improved on the mistakes we made? Absolutely,” says Silva, who adds that SPPS must keep pace with a city that has “gone through the largest transformation in 25 years.”
Posted inArts + Culture, Local & State, Theater
Charla Marie Bailey finds good role in ‘Good People’
Accomplished Twin Cities actor Charla Marie Bailey is portraying a role, in Good People at Lyric Arts, not altogether uncommon in social circumstance hereabouts. “I’m the only Black person in the play,” said Bailey.
Posted inLocal & State
Willie Carter would quit a job to box
Willie Carter was born October 24, 1943, in Shawnee, OK, 40 miles east of Oklahoma City. His father, Thomas Lee Carter, and his mother, Willie Mae (nee Burrell), were both born and buried in Oklahoma.
His mother died when he was about a year old. “She hemorrhaged to death. Couldn’t go to a hospital back in those days.”
Posted inArts + Culture, Local & State, Television
First documentary celebrating August Wilson premieres this month on PBS
American Masters will present August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand nationwide on PBS, Friday, February 20.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Third annual Father-Daughter Dance, a sweet celebration of Black fatherhood
African American women have, far beyond reasonable expectation, had to hold their communities together. And a sage saying goes, “A real woman can do it all by herself. A real man won’t let her.”