By Charles Hallman Staff Writer For the record, the best rebounder at the downtown Minneapolis pro basketball arena is not a Minnesota Timberwolves player but instead Minnesota Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson. Statistically speaking, she was the league’s second-best rebounder last summer, and Brunson currently leads the W in caroms this year. But in all actuality, […]
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Is Peavey Park area being…left to wallow in crime? By Dwight Hobbes, Contributing Writer
Minneapolis’ crack plague over the past two decades has decreased in ravaging the landscape between Elliot Park and Phillips Neighborhood’s southern edge. What was an open-air drug market along Chicago Avenue has closed to a stretch on Franklin Avenue from Chicago to Portland avenues — stubbornly thriving, an eyesore of dealers, customers and hookers doing […]
Posted inOpinion
Debt-ceiling talk is nothing but trickery
There has been a lot of talk recently about the nation’s debt ceiling and what to do about it. And most of us have ignored the debate because it seems complicated, confusing and it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with us regular folks. And as odd as it sounds, it’s actually a good […]
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THROUGH MY EYES By Ron Edwards—The far right strikes back with violence
When the first reports came out of Oslo, Norway about the July 22, 2011 bomb that exploded in the center of Oslo, killing eight outside the offices of Norway’s prime minister (the target, it was learned later), the first reaction in this country by the news media, both left and right, was that it was […]
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Help for women who help—By Vickie Evans-Nash, Contributing Writer
Volunteering, caring for the sick, the elderly or children, sharing food or other resources with others in the community: These, outside of financial contributions, are all forms of philanthropy that African and American women participate in, most often without support or recognition. “Many in our community don’t use the term philanthropy, although we give in […]
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Chasing the tornado money— By Charles Hallman, Staff Writer
Among those directly affected by the May 22 tornado that struck North Minneapolis are thousands of youth. As a result, some local agencies and organizations are using existing resources as well as funds raised by the Minneapolis Foundation, which set up Minneapolis Helps, to address the need for summer jobs as well as for such […]
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Project Sweetie Pie takes youth from seeds to market—By Paris Porter, Contributing Writer
In January 2011, lifelong community organizer Michael Chaney, founder of the Twin Cities Juneteenth Festival and a member of the Afro Eco board, became inspired by what he considered an unfair attack on North High School. “They were trying to close down North High, so Elizabeth Lasley from North High mentioned that they had been […]
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Aspiring entrepreneur wants to call her own shots—By Dwight Hobbes, Contributing Writer
Catrice Grandberry is a businesswoman in the making, determined and with strong promise. She works retail at a Twin Cities liquor store going on three years now and already is a manager, planning to eventually set up her own shop. The 27-year-old aspirant is laying groundwork. She walked in as a clerk, handling the cash […]
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Locally published book collects wisdom on raising African American sons—A book review By Joseph L. Mbele, Contributing Writer
A Black Parent’s Memoir by Jeffrey Groves and Shatona Kilgore-Groves, M.S., (Minneapolis: Black Parent Group Books, 2010, 94 pages) is a collection of 30 testimonies by African American parents on the issue of raising Black boys. The editors asked them to address four issues: whether the parents were able to connect with their sons and […]
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Urban Jungle will provide community-centered fun for inner-city youth
Urban Jungle will provide community-centered fun for inner-city youth—By Dwight Hobbes, Contributing Writer From the mouths of babes: Lebron Riley, executive director of Urban Jungle, Inc., recalls, “Back in ’94, ’95, [as] a father [with] a bunch of nieces, nephews and cousins, I used to take the kids to parks all the time on the […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Black institution at risk’ story mischaracterized 180 Degrees, Inc.
By Richard J. Gardell and Sarah Walker Guest Commentators The article published on June 30 by Vickie Evans-Nash, “Is another local Black institution at risk?” presented a picture of 180 Degrees, Inc. that is both inaccurate and a disservice to the many African Americans within the organization. 180 Degrees, Inc. supports and values the role […]
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Marvin “Corky” Taylor: latest casualty in the purge of the Mpls Civil Rights Department
THROUGH MY EYES By Ron Edwards The dismissal by firing of Marvin “Corky” Taylor earlier this month continues the purge and cover-up of corruption in the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department (MCRD). In fact, rumor has it that when the department’s Roxanne Crossland, head of the SUBP (Small Underutilized Businesses Program) is terminated, it will complete […]
Posted inOpinion
Garbage in, garbage out
Voice of the Village By Lissa Jones “The ‘educated Negroes’ have the attitude of contempt toward their own people because in their own as well as in their mixed schools Negroes are taught to admire the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin and the Teuton and to despise the African.” — Carter Godwin Woodson, The Miseducation […]
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FITZ BEAT By Larry Fitzgerald…The NFL is back in business!
It’s finally over after more than four months of tough negotiations between the NFL owners and the Players Association (NFLPA). The agreement is 10 years and $150 billion with a salary cap set at $120 million per 32 teams. All the terms of the deal have not yet been released, but that is its foundation. […]
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ANOTHER VIEW By Charles Hallman…Lynx All-Stars shunned by local media — except the MSR
SAN ANTONIO — Minnesota’s mainstream media didn’t send a single representative to this year’s WNBA All-Star Game, which was played here last Saturday and featured four Lynx players — Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore — the most players selected from one team for an All-Star Game since 2006. The MSR was […]
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WNBA President Richie visits Minnesota…By Charles Hallman
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer WNBA President Laurie Richie said it finally hit her that she is the first Black woman to lead a major league sport. “I don’t think you ever get over the significance of something like that,” admitted the league’s third president and first woman of color to lead a pro basketball […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
School troubles can complicate disciplining your child
We have heard the line, “This will hurt me more than it will hurt you.” Let me say neither my mother nor my grandmother ever preceded the occasional whuppin’ with a warning of pain. They told us it was coming, and they did it. But lives and social conditions have changed. (By the way, I’m […]
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Prep Scene-By Mitch McDonald Former track and field standout spreading breast cancer awareness
As a sprinter for St. Paul Central’s track and field team during the early 1980s, ROSALYN SMALLER made a difference. The St. Paul native, who still holds the City Conference record in the 100 meters (12.14), is trying to make a difference by spreading awareness about breast cancer. Smaller, who is herself a breast cancer […]
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South Mpls honors Lee family’s stand for Racial Justice
The MSR joined more than 500 participants on July 16 for the Lee Family Commemorative Event in South Minneapolis. We previously reported on the 1931 story of Arthur, Edith and Mary Lee and current community plans to honor the family’s stand for justice (“South Minneapolis reflects on historic racial conflict,” May 19). Those plans finally […]
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2011 MN Black Music Awards honor artists past and present
By Paris Porter Contributing Writer The Minnesota Black Music Awards are back and better than ever. On the evening of July 15 at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Black Music Awards (MBMA) provided a prestigious platform for music lovers to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Minneapolis Sound. On a rainy day that […]