Going after graffiti in Minneapolis: A project for communities

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Enlisting neighborhood residents and youth, the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization is using “public art” to assist with the fight against vandalism. For years, the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization (CNO) has been making ambitious attempts to come up with creative solutions to the problem of unsolicited graffiti and vandalism. The issue is of major concern to residents as well as local business owners. So, said CNO Assistant Director Eric Gustafson, it only makes sense to get them involved in the process of addressing the issue.   Gustafson made a point to distinguish between what he considers artistic forms of expression and plain old vandalism. Continue Reading

DJ/activist raps on radio’s duty to community, his duty as a hip-hop elder

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I got a chance to attend an interesting event at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. It was the kick-off event for the Hip Hop Diploma Studies program that the nationally accredited school will be offering this fall. The event started with a dialogue between Toki Wright and Davey D., a local hip-hop artist and a DJ/hip-hop historian/columnist/activist, respectively. The two conversed about a number of topics, but the most dominant subject was the radio industry. Continue Reading

Getting your GameSpeed on

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GameSpeed Sports Academy, an athletic training facility in Eden Prairie, offers athletes of all ages and skill levels intense physical training, academic tutoring, and assistance with improving life and social skills. Training sessions can cost upwards of $700 for a six-week session – putting it out of reach of those who could use it most – poor inner-city youth. But with the help of the E.J. Henderson Foundation, the opportunity for young athletes in the Twin Cities to participate in this high quality program is well within the grasps of youth who have the desire to become better athletes, students, and people. This article was written for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and TC Daily Planet. Most athletes with the skills to compete on the collegiate and professional level have been involved in rigorous development programs that help them build the skills necessary to excel in such competitive fields. Continue Reading

St. Cloud State’s ‘challenges’ forged strong alumni bonds

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During the weekend of July 24-26, the St. Cloud State University alumni reunion hosted a series of events. The activities included gatherings at Boom Island on Friday and Saturday, which is where I caught up with some of the alumni who have enrolled in and/or graduated from St. Cloud State (SCSU) over the past 20 years. Talking with former students of color yielded varied accounts of their experiences at SCSU. Continue Reading

Two suitors vie for the heart of the North Side

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The Fifth Ward of Minneapolis can be considered the heart of the North Side of Minneapolis. The Fifth Ward City Council race currently has two candidates making a serious bid for the seat — incumbent Don Samuels and challenger Kenya McKnight.The ethnic makeup of the area has gone through considerable changes over the past 30 years; census data for 2000 (more recent data has yet to be released) shows that every neighborhood in the Fifth Ward has seen significant decreases in the White population while simultaneously experiencing unprecedented growth in many communities of color.The single exception is the North Loop, which has seen significant growth in all groups – including Whites. There have also been substantial decreases in the elderly population and a noticeable increase in the population of young people in the Fifth Ward.Both council candidates express a sincere passion for the well-being of underprivileged and neglected communities in Minneapolis with, of course, a particular vested interest in the North Side of the city. Jobs within the community, safety of the residents, and opportunities for the young people in the Fifth Ward are also issues of concern for them both.Both candidates see economic opportunity, security and stability as crucial elements to a healthy community. Aside from one candidate being a young woman, and the other being an older male, the clearest difference between them may be how they believe these things can be accomplished most effectively. Continue Reading

Fifth Ward incumbent believes education is the key

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Don Samuels was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where he grew up one of 10 children in his family. Although he lived in a poor section of town, Samuels went to school with middle-class kids, which he feels has given him an advantage.To obtain a secondary education, youth had to earn a scholarship, and there were only a limited number of spaces for all children. Middle- and upper-class kids had the advantage of being exposed to higher quality learning institutions at an early age. Moreover, they were more exposed to a manner of speaking that, according to Samuels, enables people to become more educated.“If you were middle class, then your parents had a better language at home — less patois dialect, Ebonics. And once you get to school, you don’t have to learn English. Continue Reading

Fifth Ward challenger is eager to take care of business

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Originally from Kankakee, Illinois, Kenya McKnight has lived in Minnesota for 25 years, 23 of them on the North Side of Minneapolis. Growing up was not easy for McKnight, but fortunately she was able to live and learn to make better decisions. Those life lessons steered her into public service.“You grow up, and you try to do better with your life and make better choices. And so for the last 10 years I’ve been involved in a lot of community outreach and engagement,” McKnight says of how she started working with and for the community.She has taught at Hands On, Cedar Hill Academy, and Harvest Preparatory School. McKnight has also conducted many youth groups at various parks throughout the city.In recent years, McKnight has become more involved in work with small business owners in all stages, providing services such as business plan writing and securing financing for new businesses, as well as providing legal, accounting, and ongoing support for existing businesses. Continue Reading

Minneapolis Fourth Ward “dynasty” challenged

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Can incumbent Barbara Johnson address the needs of a changing constituency?For almost 40 years, one extended family has politically controlled the Fourth Ward in Minneapolis, which sits on the far north and northwest sides of the city (north of Lowry Avenue). Fourth Ward City Council Member (and current City Council President) Barbara Johnson is a member of this family. Her mother, Alice Rainville (who recently passed away), was the Fourth Ward city council member from 1975 to 1997 (Johnson was elected to the council right after her mother’s retirement). Rainville also became the first female president of the council. Prior to that, Johnson’s cousin, John Derus, held the position of Fourth Ward city council member in 1971, leaving the position to become a Hennepin County commissioner. Continue Reading

Harcus: ‘I have a superior field plan’

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I asked Fourth Ward candidate Marcus Harcus about policies that disproportionately affect people of color, such as the practices of law enforcement when dealing with minorities. Harcus suggests that the problems are not being addressed because of a combination of ignorance, neglect, and a general refusal by the current council member to recognize issues that affect members of the community who come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Council Member Barbara Johnson refuses to recognize issues that affect members of the community who come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, says Harcus — backgrounds that she just flat-out seems to be unfamiliar with. This in turn is creating a sentiment of neglect among many residents of the ward. “She’s a major contributor to it [the neglect], but she doesn’t even understand it… [And] she frankly doesn’t care when people try to inform her,” Harcus believes. Continue Reading

Minnesota college offers first hip hop diploma

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Starting in the fall of 2009, McNally Smith College of Music will be offering a hip hop diploma program — the first nationally accredited, one-year diploma program of its kind. Given the impact that hip-hop culture has (and continues to have) had globally, it’s somewhat surprising that there are no other accredited academic programs that teach its lessons from a hip-hop perspective. Classes that cover music theory, history, writing, production, business, recording and more are all taught from a curriculum developed by a group of educators and artists entrenched in the local hip-hop and creative communities. This group of educators includes people such as Kevin Washington (drummer), Frank Sentwali (poet and member of Edupoetic Enterbrainment), Dessa (a member of the group Doomtree), Sean McPherson (bassist for Heiruspecs), Joe Mabbott (engineer and producer) and artist/youth advocate Toki Wright, who is the program’s coordinator as well as one of its instructors. MSR met with Wright recently on a rainy March afternoon to talk about the program at McNally Smith and its purpose. Continue Reading