We are the garden we need to grow: Black Table Arts creates unconventional space for Black creatives
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For Keno Evol, Tupac – and by extension, hip hop – was his first gateway into art as activism. Continue Reading
Photographer Patience Zalanga uses her lens to spark conversation around ethics in media
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“If you asked me what I was gonna be when I was like 20 [years old], photography was not something I would have said,” recalled artist Patience Zalanga. Continue Reading
Singer-songwriter Mayyadda explores new sound and shows Black musicians ‘are not a monolith’
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Two years ago, if you had told Mayyadda Munkunjae that she would be performing at Minneapolis’ Dakota Jazz Club, where the likes of Prince, Esperanza Spalding and Vusi Mahlesela have graced the stage, she would probably have scoffed. Continue Reading
Artist Chamindika Wanduragala takes on motherhood and race through puppets
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When Sri Lankan artist Chamindika Wanduragala returned to the Twin Cities arts scene after almost a decade away, it was a much needed rebirth. Continue Reading
If we need more teachers of color, stop saying we need diversity
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The state of public education in Minnesota is not looking good. According to data provided by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), in 2014 and 2015 more than half of 11th graders were not at grade level in math or reading. For those same years, the Minneapolis Public School District (MPS) showed no more than a third of 11th graders performed at grade level for either subject. For students of color, the numbers are even worse, giving Minnesota one of the largest achievement gaps nationally between students of color and their white peers.
There are many factors affecting why Black, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Native American kids don’t perform well here. But one key contributor is a belief gap that follows them into their classrooms, where they are viewed by predominantly white teachers as having less academic potential than their white peers. Continue Reading
Envisioning an art-driven economy with Little Africa’s creative placemaking
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Little Africa is an effort to make African immigrants more visible by leveraging the community’s unique cultural and economic assets and strategic location along major transit corridors as an economic development strategy. Continue Reading
House 60B candidate Ilhan Omar challenges notions of what politicians can be
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It is the morning after her campaign launch when Ilhan Omar, candidate for state representative in Minneapolis’ House District 60B, and I sit down. Omar is still visibly glowing from the success of the Nov. 11 launch at Mixed Blood Theater.
“My sister said it felt like a victory party, not a kick off party. Because we’re used to the 20-40 people in a room for a kickoff. I guess that’s what I also expected, but to be in a room with over 250 people felt almost surreal,” Omar said. Continue Reading
When do we #SayHerName? Examining the systems behind the death of Jamar Clark
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As protesters aligned with Black Lives Matter-Minneapolis (BLM-Minneapolis) took to the streets over the past few weeks, the now-familiar message was clear: Clark did not deserve to meet his untimely death on a North Minneapolis sidewalk by a bullet in his head. His death, another tally in a string of fatal encounters between unarmed black men and law enforcement agencies across the country, was another notch in the need to address the issue of discriminatory police practices and for reform. The formulaic response to yet another police killing also meant a backlash against the narrative of who the real victim was in this fatal encounter. Continue Reading