OUR STORIES | Stanley Christopher, the Dark Hunter

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Stanley Christopher doesn’t have time for pity. Christopher is paralyzed from the waist down after being ambushed and shot down in the streets of East Chicago, Indiana in his youth. At eighteen, upon release from the rehabilitation center, his major concern was to get back into the streets, and learn how to live with his limitations.As he grew up in East Chicago, his life was filled with the love of family and friends. His neighborhood was home and familiar, and for a young child it was full of opportunities for mischief. As he aged, the hood was often perilous.Christopher is proud of his familial roots, and says, “I am absolutely in love with my seven children.” His dad—a Baptist preacher, would take him along to the truck stop, and his uncle showed him how to take care of family, and to do what must be done. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Alondra Cano: Long-time activist now a Minneapolis city council candidate – Part II

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Alondra Cano, a long-time community activist, is running for the Minneapolis City Council 9th Ward seat, as incumbent Gary Schiff runs for mayor. She currently works as a Minneapolis Public Schools Senior Communications and Public Affairs Specialist. The TC Daily Planet interviewed Cano to find out what makes her tick. The interview is presented in two parts: In this article, she describes her motivation for running for City Council and her experience as an activist with the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network and in the halls of city government. The first article described her early life in rural Minnesota and Mexico and her movement into student activism at the University of Minnesota.What’s her motivation?“Cliché but true, but by doing lots of work, fighting the closing of the General College, working on the Dream Act and other student work, fights non-stop, I came to understand that my motivation is my love of others,” Cano said.Citing Che Guevera, “…the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love,” she went on to say, “I’ve found my calling in helping others who lack rights. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Alondra Cano: Early life, family shape activism – Part I

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Alondra Cano, a long-time community activist, is running for the Minneapolis City Council 9th Ward seat, as incumbent Gary Schiff runs for mayor. She currently works as a Minneapolis Public Schools Senior Communications and Public Affairs Specialist. The TC Daily Planet interviewed Cano to find out what makes her tick. The interview is presented in two parts: This article describes her early life in rural Minnesota and Mexico and her movement into student activism at the University of Minnesota. In a second article, she describes her motivation for running for City Council and her experience as an activist with the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network and in the halls of city government.Cano was born in Cokato, MN on September 26, 1981. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | From Macha to Pacha: The Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota addresses pay inequity in clerical workers salaries

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According to Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, of the indigenous Aymara ethic group, “the Mayan calendar the 21 of December is the end of the non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha, the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood, it is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism.” This is a story of caring about one’s fellow co-workers and finding the spirit and means to finding an amicable solution.Today, over a year later since this process began, three Humphrey School of Public Affairs clerical employees at the University of Minnesota received pay increases and retroactive pay to July 1st, 2012 due to a pay equity study conducted by AFSCME Local 3800 clerical workers union. There is not an easy way for clerical workers to get pay increases outside of the negotiated salaries between the University and the union. Some may say this is the union’s fault. It is most definitely not. But, for the sake of brevity and in the spirit of celebration, I cannot explain this in a short article. Continue Reading