By Charles Hallman Staff Writer According to the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report released October 27, the U of M claimed a record-high 79 percent graduation rate (GSR) for its student-athletes, which matches the 79 percent national GSR for Division I student-athletes. However, a closer analysis by the MSR of GSR data on the […]
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Posted inNews
Minnesota’s Malians celebrate 50 years of independence
By Issa A. Mansaray Contributing Writer Many express disappointment; all are hopeful Although Malians make up one of the smallest West African communities in the Twin Cities, many do not know each other. Many of them are students, and most live in St. Cloud according to Moussa Diawara, president of the Minnesota Malian Association. “Compared […]
Posted inNews
Violence town hall covered familiar ground
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The causes are many, the cure unclear Violence in North Minneapolis has been on a steady rise over the past several years. A report on this violence recently made public offers some sobering numbers: According to Minneapolis police figures, 47 percent of the city’s homicides in 2006 took place on […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Local elder keeps Black history alive in SC hometown
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 12/1/2010 In the February 25, 2010 MSR Black History Month Supplement article “Rosa Bogar: securing a legacy for the future,” local elder Bogar recalled having to “sneak through the back door…at Hotel Eutaw,” in her hometown of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Once the largest building in that city’s downtown, Hotel Eutaw employed […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Connecting with our families
By Bernadeia Johnson Contributing Writer We value the dedication that our families have to our schools and students, and we are always looking for ways to strengthen that connection. Three times a year, we hold conferences with our families and their children to check in on each student’s academic progress. The most recent parent — […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
HIV/AIDS film screening puts spotlight on Black infection rates
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the number of people being newly diagnosed with HIV infections, as well as the number of those living with HIV/AIDS in the state, has seen a slow but steady increase over the past five years. As of December 31, 2008, 20 percent […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
On Thanksgiving: staying grateful for what we’ve got
By Elizabeth Ellis Contributing Writer I wanted a place to live in at a price I could afford in conditions I could tolerate. Here in America, in our own Twin Cities, I saw walls kicked in, floors buckled from water damage, copper stripped from heating boards, ceilings falling through to the room below, and signs […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
School drive for used musical instruments
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 11/17/2010 The St. Paul Central High Music Booster Club is sponsoring an instrument drive to generate desperately needed used instruments (and funds for repair) that help all students to benefit from the music program at Central High School at 275 Lexington Parkway North, St. Paul. If you have a used instrument […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Giving my time to our schools
By Bernadeia Johnson Contributing Writer You may be wondering what I am doing to ensure that the Minneapolis Public Schools are focused on good teaching and that student achievement is at the forefront of our daily work. I am giving my time to schools. Visiting schools is one of the best parts of my job. […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Black businesswomen honored by WomenVenture
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 11/3/2010 Three local Black businesswomen have been chosen for honors by St. Paul-based WomenVenture, an organization that assists women with careers and entrepreneurship. The three will be among others honored at WomenVenture’s 15th Annual Fall Leadership Event to be held Friday, November 12 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Lifetime Achievement […]
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Career coaching: the road to career satisfaction
By Tammy L. McIntyre, M.Ed. Contributing Writer At this point in your job search or career, you might be asking yourself, ”Should I seek professional help?” Most of the people I’ve spoken to over the past two years have been clients who have asked themselves this same question. Coaching closes the gap between a client’s […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Ravi Coltrane, Fourplay take giant steps for jazz
By Robin James Contributing Writer Are you listening? Of course you are. All jazz is contemporary. However, let’s keep it real: Genre labels do exist. Should we just ignore them? Has jazz strayed too far away from its roots? Despite the noise about its ongoing economic misfortune, jazz music as a whole appears to be […]
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Horror movie actor says Black absence in Hollywood a real fright
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Shawn Michael Howard grateful for opportunities despite racism Blacks are still underutilized in film and television, says actor Shawn Michael Howard. Howard has worked as an actor, singer/songwriter, and voice-over artist in television, radio, theater, film and animation since the early 1990s. The Los Angeles-based actor, who has a film […]
Posted inArts + Culture
New beginning for Miss Black Minnesota USA Scholarship Pageant
By Donald W.R. Allen, II Contributing Writer The 2011 Miss Black Minnesota USA Scholarship Pageant seeks to re-establish its longtime goal of education, leadership, and celebrating the accomplishments of young African American women. On December 4, 2010 a new Miss Black Minnesota USA will be crowned at Ted Mann Hall on the University of Minnesota […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Locally made horror film is Black — in front of and behind the camera
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The Inheritance has African American cast, director, producer Too often a Black person is the first to meet their untimely demise in a horror film, but The Inheritance bucked this trend because it is an all-Black horror feature. In fact, it is virtually all Black, both on screen and behind […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Night Catches Us: Film captures Philly in Black Power 1970s
By Donavee Chappell Contributing Writer Tanya Hamilton’s new film Night Catches Us has won honors for the writer/director before it was even produced. The screenplay earned Hamilton a Pew Fellowship in the Arts Grant, and she has a fellowship at the Sundance Institute, home of the renowned Sundance Film Festival where the film debuted earlier […]
Posted inOpinion
Will Prince be coming home to play?
By Robin James Contributing Writer Hometown hero should support hometown arts Will he or won’t he? That is still the question. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the exciting news of Prince’s upcoming Welcome 2 America tour, which he announced at the famed Apollo Theater. As reported, the December concerts kick off in […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Local scholar reveals ‘hidden truth’ of Haiti
By Dwight Hobbes Contributing Writer Mahmoud El-Kati’s Haiti: The Hidden Truth (Papyrus Publishing Inc.) begins on a faltering note before righting itself to evolve into a valuable piece of engaging, well-informed reading. The author offers the coy statement, “Here rests but a feeble attempt to challenge [the]…simplistic view…of Haiti as only a place of social […]
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Local filmmakers showcased at Black film festival
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Local Black auteurs are actively seeking their place as independent filmmakers, following the cinematic path forged by Spike Lee and Robert Townsend, and Oscar Michaeaux before them. Twin Cities Black Film Festival (TCBFF) Founder-Director Natalie Morrow says that although she uses a selection committee, “I’m usually the final person to […]
Posted inSports
Big Ten Network: Better than ESPN for women’s sports?
By Charles Hallman Staff Writer The Big Ten Network (BTN) has been in operation for three years, but actually most of us have only seen it for two of those years because it wasn’t being carried by many cable systems, including Comcast locally. Now BTN is in over 75 million homes across the United States […]