Ha Tien Market still finds home along the Green Line, despite problems
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On a rainy, cool day Ha Tien is a warm and welcoming site. Continue Reading
SNAP proposal is double whammy for many Minnesotans
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The U.S. House is poised to vote next month on a proposal that would drastically cut basic food assistance to thousands of Minnesotans – including children, parents, seniors, people with disabilities and veterans. Continue Reading
Northsiders mingle with Minneapolis cops, firefighters at People’s BBQ
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If only for a few hours, the city’s North Side and Minneapolis police recently worked together and had fun doing so.At least on that day, August 17, police officers walked among the mostly Black crowd and peacefully coexisted. Minneapolis police, along with Minneapolis firefighters and the Park Board members, held the “Battle of the Badges — The People’s BBQ,” a free food and entertainment event at North Commons Park. One officer later told the MSR that they ran out of food, but it appeared that everyone had fun.In light of recent tensions between the Black community and police, “I thought it was a great idea,” said KMOJ Morning Personality Shedrick Garrett, better known as Shed G. The station was among several local businesses and organizations that helped sponsor the four-hour outdoor event.“It was a tremendous amount of people. I just loved the fact that [the police] put on the effort to have it in the community where they patrol, to try to bridge that gap,” said Garrett, who emceed the various activities, including musical performances from the Sounds of Blackness, Paris Bennett and others. There was also a best BBQ contest between the police and fire departments, judged by community folk. Continue Reading
Locals joined bus ride to D.C. for 1963 March commemoration
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A small but very enthusiastic group of Minneapolis-area residents returned from last Saturday’s commemorative march in Washington, D.C. pledging to work together for change.
Twin Cities residents organize ‘March to Close the Gaps’ to celebrate March on Washington’s 50th anniversary
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The 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington will be recognized with a day of activities Saturday, August 24. Community residents, including several who participated in the historic 1963 gathering on the Washington Mall, will speak at Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis at 10:30 am.Left: Tracine Asberry (MSR file photo)“We are trying to bridge the gap between those who went on the original march — there are a number of [local] people who went on that march,” noted Mary Merrill Anderson, who was in junior high when the historic event took place in 1963. “We want to get their perspective on what was on their minds when they went, why they made the sacrifice to go to Washington, D.C., and what they hoped to accomplish.”At 11:45 am the “March to Close the Gaps” will commence at Sabathani and end at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at 40th and Nicollet. There, 12:30 pm, retired historian Mahmoud El-Kati and others will reflect on Dr. King and the march.Right: Mary Merrill Anderson (Photo by Charles Hallman)The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Legacy Council is sponsoring the event. Anderson and Tracine Asberry are both council members and told the MSR last week in separate interviews that it is more than a remembrance of the occasion that took place 50 years ago this month.“Even though living in Minnesota, there was obviously discrimination [but] not in the same way [as elsewhere, especially in the South],” remembers Anderson. Continue Reading
Hennepin County Attorney Freeman on Terrance Franklin case: ‘It’ll be up to a grand jury’ — MSR inquires into historical failures to prosecute police for misconduct
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Historically, many local Blacks believe that no matter what evidence is presented, nothing happens to Minneapolis police officers for misconduct against people of color. The May 10 death of Terrance Franklin, reportedly at the hands of City police, has thus far done nothing to erase such beliefs.A common theme expressed during recent public demonstrations is that the city’s Black community has no confidence in the police department investigating Franklin’s death or in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office that might or might not do anything to the responsible officer or officers for acts of misconduct.Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman pledges that his office will do anything in its power to see that justice is done in the Franklin case. Freeman spoke one-on-one with the MSR last week for nearly an hour. He says he understands the community’s impatience, doubts and demands for answers to what happened almost four months ago in a South Minneapolis basement.“I do not run the Minneapolis Police Department,” stated Freeman, who added that his office does not get involved in police cases until the investigation, which is still ongoing, is completed. “What we do in police cases in which the result is the death of a civilian, we take every one of those cases to the grand jury.”According to both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Minnesota Fourth District Court handbook, a grand jury does not have to hear both sides of a case. Continue Reading
Up-and-coming filmmaker debuts in Twin Cities — Award-winning feature to screen at Sound Unseen
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An Oversimplification of Her Beauty will be presented on August 14 by Sound Unseen, a monthly screening series held every second Wednesday at Minneapolis’ Trylon Microcinema, located on 3258 Minnehaha Avenue South. The film is part of a doubleheader with showtime starting at 7 pm.
Pilot project reaches out to local Black veterans — Bridge Builder Project could be a ‘breakthrough’ in helping vets access VA benefits
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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) projects that the percentage of Black veterans will be “significantly higher than other minority groups” as well as “the largest portion” of all veterans of color, and Black female vets account for 20 percent of women veterans.
St. Paul Public Schools invests over $1 million in California-based equity training — Evidence of reduced Black suspensions still inconclusive
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St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) in 2010 began a five-year training plan to improve racial equity “at all levels” of the district. This year, the SPPS board voted five-to-one July 16 to approve a new racial equity policy.