I’m about to celebrate a birthday at the end of the month. As I take this moment to reflect on my musical journey and this column, I can say that I think I’m a better person. No, I know that I’m a better person. I’ve grown and evolved in ways that I never imagined. And […]
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Posted inOpinion
Better try and fail than not try at all
EVERYTHING’S POSSIBLE By Sondra Samuels “I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try.” — Nikki Giovanni Yesterday I received a call from Tari, a friend and a member of the North […]
Posted inOpinion
Stanek, Keefe, Delmonico, Arneson: four who strive to make a difference
Through My Eyes By Ron Edwards When William McManus came to town from Washington, D.C. to head up the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), he determined quickly that there were good officers in this department who could make a positive difference. For instance, consider the names heading this column: Stanek, Keefe, Delmonico, Arneson — three males, […]
Posted inOpinion
From slavery to prisons: Where have we come in 150 years?
H.I.T. Hodges Investigation Team It has been 150 years since the Civil War began, and I think that it is time to do some reflecting to examine how far we have come as a people and as a nation. In 1860 there were 4.5 million Blacks in America and four million of them were slaves. […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t like what I have to say? Blame God!
Issues And New Perspectives By Lucky Rosenbloom All over the country, including Minnesota, Black people are being asked to decide between their loyalty to their Christian teaching or the teaching of the Democrats. Will the issue of same-sex marriage be left to the voter to decide during the 2014 election? The Black Christian can no […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Proposed budget cuts could harm children and families
BY RENA MORAN We are heading into the last leg of the 2011 legislative session, and the stakes continue to be high for Minnesotans. Budget proposals passed by the Republican majority will have particularly devastating effects on our community. As a new member to the Minnesota State Legislature, I ran with the belief that it […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Nonprofit board members recognized for service
MAP for Nonprofits (MAP) recently announced the selection of Thompson Aderinkomi of Minneapolis as a 2011 Board Star in recognition of his exemplary service to his nonprofit board of directors. Aderinkomi, of Minneapolis, serves on the board of directors for WATCH, which works to make the justice system more effective and responsive in handling cases […]
Posted inNews
Local entrepreneur enlisted to help Obama ‘win the future’
Dr. Tim Childs recently visited the White House and spoke with President Obama about his work in education, science and technology.
Posted inNews
Maya Moore, star of court and classroom, to address 2011 grads
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Maya Moore, the top overall draft pick of the 2011 WNBA Draft, will be the keynote speaker next week at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s 16th Annual High School Graduation Celebration May 17 at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The Minnesota Lynx top rookie plans to speak on the importance of […]
Posted inNews
Getting past our ‘homogene’ hang-ups
By Vickie Evans-Nash Contributing Writer The Facing Race Ambassador Awards began five years ago to recognize those who work to improve equity in the state. On May 3, at the St. Paul Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul, the St. Paul Foundation honored five 2011 Minnesota equity ambassadors. Three award winners received honorable mentions and […]
Posted inNews
Africans also find justice in bin Laden’s death
By Issa A. Mansaray Contributing Writer When Osama bin Laden declared war on America in 1999, he was a little known terrorist in America. But Africans already knew about him and his al-Qaeda group. They had already staged bomb attacks in Mali, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and Uganda. In the Twin Cities, when President Barack Obama […]
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TakeAction Minnesota opposes ex-offender discrimination
TakeAction Minnesota last month hosted a forum to elicit support for its “Justice 4 All” fair hiring campaign. Speakers included U.S. Representative Keith Ellison. What might have struck the casual observer was the fact that there were few dispassionate observers among the 200 or more in attendance. The audience clearly supported the idea that past […]
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Mighty Clouds of Joy turned jazz club into church
The Mighty Clouds of Joy performed at the Dakota April 13-14, 2011, showcasing their classic old-school gospel sound.
Posted inArts + Culture, News
This week’s spotlights May 12-18
Guthrie Theater Dowling Studio, 818 S. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-377-2224 or www.guthrietheater.org May 12 — Jun. 5: In the Red and Brown Water A high school track star hopes to use her speed as a ticket out of the Louisiana bayou, but her decision to defer an athletic scholarship to care for her ailing mother […]
Posted inSports
NBA playoff upsets in Western Conference
There are no creampuffs in the NBA Western Conference, not in the playoffs, no sir, no Minnesota Timberwolves running around. You’d better stand tall mentally and physically or you won’t advance. We have seen it happen twice already, and the NBA playoffs are only halfway finished. The 61-21 San Antonio Spurs, winners four times of […]
Posted inSports
Harris could fill hole at Lynx center spot
The Minnesota Lynx, as expected, chose Maya Moore with this year’s top pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft in April. But what about Amber Harris, who the Lynx selected three picks later as the fourth overall pick? Harris, an Indianapolis, Indiana native, once was considered the country’s number-one high school player by one hoops publication […]
Posted inSports
Laurel Richie named WNBA president
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Laurel J. Richie on May 16 becomes the first Black woman to head a professional sports league as she assumes her new duties as WNBA president. She formerly was senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. When asked about her historic new role during […]
Posted inOpinion
What the U.S. really stands for (and it’s not justice)
MELLANEOUS By Mel Reeves “There is pride in what this nation stands for,” President Obama recently said before a cheering Congress. It made me wonder just what this country does “stand for.” Judging from Osama bin Laden’s death alone, it would be safe to say that it stands for vengeance. Though the suave, dark-skinned, silver-tongued […]
Posted inOpinion
Peace in our time? I don’t think so.
THROUGH MY EYES By Ron Edwards How many times will papers be waved to proclaim “Peace in our time”? What of the Emancipation Proclamation’s “Slavery is over,” or the Gettysburg Address echoing the Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal”? How about “Reconstruction in our time” leading to Jim Crow, or “Civil Rights in […]
Posted inOpinion
The Civil War and slavery
LITTLE BY LITTLE By Matthew Little The research for our last column (“A sesquicentennial celebration,” April 28) revealed quite a few things during that period of American infancy of which I had been totally unaware. Maybe I had been napping when they were discussed in history class. One of them was the fact that Abraham […]