Local & State

St. Paul honors one of its most dedicated citizens By Isaac Peterson Contributing Writer After a long career in public life and many achievements and distinctions, St. Paul’s Debbie Montgomery recently racked up another one: having a large section of a major St. Paul street renamed in her honor. The St. Paul City Council earlier […]

Eric Deggans sees current network TV as ‘a great moment for diversity’   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Although diverse casting is now seen in current TV shows such as Black-ish and Scandal, it’s all about profitability for network execs and key programmers, explains Eric Deggans, National Public Radio’s (NPR) first full-time media critic. Television “is all […]

Karin Slaughter is the New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author of 14 thrillers, including “Unseen,” “Criminal,” “Fallen,” “Broken,” “Undone,” “Fractured,” “Beyond Reach,” “Triptych,” “Faithless,” and the e-original short stories “Snatched” and “Busted.” Here, the Georgia native discusses her latest opus, “Cop Town,” a riveting murder mystery set in Atlanta in 1974. Kam Williams: […]

The nature of media coverage is a big part of the answer   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer “What do we do now?” Such questions have been noticeably absent in media coverage in the  aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri in August, especially after last week’s announcement of the decision not to […]

MPS Black Male Achievement director gets some barbershop ‘real truth’   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Shahmar Dennis plans to graduate next spring from Roosevelt High School. He also plans to continue his post-secondary education by studying computer science, with hopes to one day work as a computer programmer after earning a college degree at […]

Spiritual leaders voice parishioners’, community’s concerns on media coverage   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The local mainstream media has been “culturally arrogant” in its reporting of prominent Blacks, says a ministers’ group. His Works United, “an informal group” of nearly 20 clergy, told reporters at a November 24 morning press conference at New Salem […]

From the MSR Legacy Archives As part of our celebration over the next several months of our 80 years of continuous publication, the MSR will be republishing notable stories from our extensive archives of more than  4,000 weekly issues of African American news in Minnesota. Many of our readers will be sure to recognize friends, […]

Marion S. Barry, stalwart civil rights activist cum prominent politician, passed away Nov. 23 at age 78 owing to cardiac arrest. Barry, of course, was infamously publicized for his 1990 arrest and subsequent incarceration for drug possession. Like many chemically dependent individuals his was a virtually lifelong affliction that marred his professional career and personal […]

Local artist’s work displayed ‘from here to Ireland’    By Isaac Peterson Contributing Writer St. Paul sculptor Frank Brown describes himself as a “gofer,” someone who “goes for it, who doesn’t sit around waiting for someone to come looking for them. I take the initiative to go out and initiate the conversation that hopefully will […]

Educator encourages close collaboration between home and school   By Dr. Levette Evans Thomas, Ed.D Contributing Writer I believe as an educator I can effectively contribute to closing the achievement gap. It is important for parents to believe they can be passionate about helping their children achieve academic and social success to close the achievement gap […]

‘Reverse racism’ used to combat discipline bias By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Since this story was published, Minneapolis Public Schools has emailed the following statement: In regards to the article posted on Dr. Johnson’s recent announcement to reduce the disproportionality of nonviolent suspensions between black and brown students and their white peers,  Dr. Johnson has not […]

Mayor says she doesn’t plan to stop pointing   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The fallout continues from a local television station’s airing a controversial story two weeks ago. The Hubbard Broadcasting-owned ABC affiliate, KSTP 5, aired a November 9 news story that claimed Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and a Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC) […]

Concerns over ‘unrealistic’ hiring goals have proven unfounded   By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Nearly $105 million in St. Paul City contracts was awarded in 2013 to businesses owned by people of color, women-owned, and small businesses, according to Saint Paul’s Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) annual report. That was about 41 percent […]

St. Paul church celebrates 10 years of HBCU campus visits   By Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald Contributing Writer Last month, St. Paul’s Progressive Baptist Church (PBC) sent 68 youth on a tour to visit seven Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the South. PBC is celebrating their 10th anniversary in providing youth with educational […]

Republicans defend complaints; accused deny charges   By Isaac Peterson Contributing Writer After the second hearing as part of the ethics complaint against Democratic State Senators Jeff Hayden and Bobby Champion, the process has been placed on hold. The complaint, filed by six Republican Senators on September 24, consists of two major allegations: The first […]

More police ‘accountability and transparency’ are hoped-for outcomes By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Minneapolis City and police officials pledge that the body camera pilot program now in effect will “enhance transparency and accountability.” Mayor Betsy Hodges, both during her election campaign and after taking office, has advocated the body camera use by police. Since last Friday, […]