News: a space for original local news stories, with emphasis on stories pertaining to African Americans.
As part of our celebration over the next several months of 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.
From the MSR Legacy Archives Read More
After a tragic mill explosion left several children orphaned, the Washburn Center for Children was founded in 1883 by Cadwallader Washburn as the Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum.
Leading provider of childrenās mental health services has no Black clinicians Read More
Many of our readers will surely recognize friends, family and neighbors from the distant and not-so-distant past ā such as one or more of the ātotsā pictured below, featured in the August 3, 1951 issue of the Minneapolis Spokesman.
From the MSR Legacy Archives Read More
Ancestry Books unequivocally is a boon to writers, readers, and the Twin Cities at large, not in the least because it is located in North Minneapolis (intersection of Penn and Lowry). It is an invaluable enterprise in a day and age of corporate juggernauts overwhelming and banishing small and alternative bookstores to oblivion, running them out of business by a principle of greed trumping need.
It is an important social statement in giving people one more thing to point to in this part of the Twin Cities and cite something besides criminal and otherwise unsavory activity, focusing on the fact that there is much more good than bad going on in that part of town.
Omaha, Nebraska, has a population about the size of Minneapolis, a little over 400,000, with a smaller percentage of African Americans, about 13 percent versus over 18 percent in Minneapolis.
PHOTOS | Omaha, NE Black institutions include historic newspaper Read More
Wintana Melekin moved with her family from Eritrea to America in 1989 when she was three years old. Eritrea, which is located in the Horn of Africa, is bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Her family left their homeland in the midst of a 30-years-plus war with neighboring Yemen and Ethiopia, a few years before Eritreaās independence in 1993 from Ethiopia.
After working for a local health company, Melekin got involved in community action by participating in a local protest march against the Trayvon Martin killing a couple of years ago. Soon thereafter, she joined Neighborhood Organizing for Change (NOC) after a local protest march against the state Voter ID proposal.
Mildred Brunson, the youngest of three children, a community legend, and a community mother who loves and is loved by her community has retired after 39 years of service from the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. Although she does not like to talk about herself, she will speak openly about her love of the children, their parents and our community when she is honored on August 27 at the Center for her lifeās work of community service and youth education.
Heart and soul of Hallie Q. Brown Center retires after 39 years Read More
In a recent farewell statement dated May 4, 2015, released via the Internet to the Minneapolis community, including the MSR newspaper, Ishmael Israel announced his departure as executive director of the Northside Residents Redevelopment Council (NRRC) effective April 2015.
Director leaves Northside Residents Redevelopment Council Read More
The June 17 Charleston massacre where nine persons were killed inside a church has ārekindled the debateā for stricter gun laws, says the latest Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) policy brief. But Minnesotans soon will be able to buy gun āsilencersā after Gov. Mark Dayton on May 22 signed an omnibus public safety finance and policy bill that overwhelmingly passed both in the Senate and in the House during this yearās state legislative session.
Was Charlestonās church massacre too noisy? Read More
Young people are now back home energized and ready to ābuildā their personal brand after attending a teen leadership conference in St. Paul. The Minneapolis Jack and Jill of America chapter last week hosted the four-day 61st annual Mid-Western Regional Teen Leadership Conference.
Jack and Jill applies corporate branding to teens Read More
The removal of the Confederate flag at the South Carolina capitol grounds has been hotly debated since the June 17 massacre of nine people at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
But itās not just South Carolina, five other Southern states have the Confederate symbol as part of its state flag: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.
Jones-DeWeever: Confederate flag removal ā overdue and not enough Read More
Over the past few weeks, the MSR has published a series of articles focusing on an organization called Better Ed, which has launched a campaign highlighting the shortcomings of Minneapolis and St. Paul Public schools.
Vouchers offer no solution to achievement gaps Read More
The 29th annual Juneteenth festival kicked off Saturday, June 20 at North Mississippi River Park in North Minneapolis. Close to 200 attendees gathered to celebrate the occasion, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States.
PHOTOS: Twin Cities Juneteenth 2015 Read More
The HIRED Program of Minnesota was formed in 1968. Its mission is to provide personalized and innovative work solutions through a wide range of programs located in communities and neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities.
HIRED gets the job done Read More
With an awesome turnout and a beautiful day for the 11th Annual 38th & Chicago BBQ & Music Festival, all the good energy and good vibes prevailed. The June 14 festival was the largest of the events to date.
Southside festival gets rave reviews Read More
Skepticism was in no short supply June 16 at the American Indian Center in Minneapolis. The occasion was a community meeting called to introduce the U.S. Department of Justiceās new National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, an effort described as ādesigned to strengthen relationships between minority communities and the criminal justice system.ā
Feds promote trust-building between communities of color, cops and courts Read More
In what is quickly and unexpectedly gaining ground as a fitting memorial to the nine African Americans killed by a White supremacist at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., some of the most ardent defendants of the confederate flag are reversing course and saying for the first time that the flag should no longer fly over the Capitol in South Carolina.
Support grows for taking down Confederate flag Read More
The National Brotherhood of Cyclistsā (NBC) Equity in Motion event (July 15 -19), which is not for brothers only. Sisters, too, are invited to get their two-wheel thing on.
The founders of Black Girls Do Bike Twin Cities ā Pamela Moore, Tammy McLemore and Darcia Durham ā will be on hand, having a pedaling good time along with lots of other similarly inclined ladies.
āWeāve come to understand that terrorism is something that happens from people who have a large agenda beyond a small setting. A hate crime is specific, intentional and can be wicked,ā said Rev. Stacey Smith, St. Jamesā pastor.
āI donāt know if there is a differenceā between a hate crime and a terrorist act, admitted Zion Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Brian Herron. āIf you commit a terrorist act, you commit it because of hate. I certainly know that this is terrorism and itās hate. I think they are one and the same.ā
VP Jones sees convergence of social justice and labor movements
Being a community advocate is high among Cathy Jonesā passions.
Jones, the Minneapolis NAACP second vice-president, recently spoke to the MSR by phone, saying she is encouraged by numerous community folk, including longtime members, who have expressed their support.
