With six “very old” chairs, the elderly woman knew she needed some repairs. Trying out her new computer skills, she put “chair repair” into Google, and saw several repair shops within easy driving distance — and a website called “how to repair chairs.” And, she proudly told her Computer Club friends, she followed the directions and fixed all the chairs herself!The Computer Club for Seniors at Episcopal Homes in St. Paul was just one of the projects that this year’s CTEP members dreamed, planned and implemented. CTEP stands for the AmeriCorps Community Technology Empowerment Program of SPNN. Continue Reading
Phones rang all afternoon at Sen. Al Franken’s campaign headquarters in St. Paul on July 30 as anti-war protestors listed the names of victims killed during recent violence between Israeli military and the militant group Hamas.
As part of this great nation’s foreign policy, when injustice takes place in any part of the world, America usually takes a stand. We saw this in the case of Russian atrocities in Ukraine, in America’s unity with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN). However when it comes to Palestine, America turns a blind eye with the EU and the UN. Our government must condemn Israel’s human rights violations. The concept of justice necessitates equal treatment in condemning injustices carried by whoever and wherever, even if the transgressor happens to be an ally. Continue Reading
In Tuesday’s Star Tribune, Alejandra Matos reports that the Immigration debate comes to Minnesota in force as politicians and immigration advocates and nonprofit groups that often serve traditional refugees struggle with the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexican border. Continue Reading
Ikram Al Huq is short, but it is not his height that bothers him.“If you don’t like me because I am short, that’s fine,” he said. “If you don’t like me because of my religion, that’s a problem.”Al Huq is the interfaith and religious coordinator of Bloomington’s Ar Rahman Muslim Community Center, one of 55 such centers in the state. The mosque is growing, and so is the Twin Cities Muslim community. But Al Huq is concerned that Minnesotans still don’t take the time to know their Muslim neighbors.The Muslim Community Center is a participating site in Taking Heart, a program that seeks to introduce people to their Muslim neighbors and begin building bridges across faith communities. Sponsored jointly by the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) and the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MASMN), Taking Heart promotes interfaith understanding by hosting social gatherings.The program began in 2004, when MASMN reached out to MCC after noticing increasing levels of hate speech and Islamophobia. Continue Reading
The Twin Cities Somali community has lost an esteemed leader and a passionate advocate for Somali families.Abdulrahman Adem, a cultural facilitator at Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), died Sunday of a heart attack. He was 58.Adem was known for his commitment to serve Somali families with students in Minneapolis schools as their ultimate ambassador in the school district. He was also known for his commitment to help his immigrant community navigate the district’s complicated educational system and find the resources they needed.Adem, who worked at MPS since 1997, held various posts in the district: bilingual program aide, associate educator, bilingual communicator, translator and communications and public affairs specialist.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by sponsorship support from The Minneapolis Foundation. Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundation.Whatever his job title, Adem always made sure that school officials heard the voices of Somali families — and to ensure this, Adem didn’t hesitate to take issues directly into administrators’ offices, invited or uninvited.I had the privilege to work with Adem when I worked in the office of communications, and like many people, I immediately noticed his enthusiasm, commitment and compassion. Continue Reading
During the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Central American refugees arrived in the United States. Like the child refugees fleeing Central America in 2014, they were met with hostility, rejection and deportation. Though entitled to protection under international law, the Central American refugees of the 1980s and the child refugees today do not receive that protection in fact. Continue Reading
The plight of tens of thousands of children coming from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala is a political football, with slogans substituting for understanding. On July 9, AP published Young immigrants or refugees: 5 things you need to know — but their list omitted crucial information. Here’s essential information you need to know, but wouldn’t find in the AP article. Continue Reading
Beyond thinking about immigration reform, what conversations are we having as a nation about advocating for Central American child refugees or turning them away? Navigate Minnesota’s Emilia Gonzalez Avalos joins the show this week to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis pushing thousands of children to make the dangerous trek into the United States, and the implications of national reactions to the situation. [Audio below]
There were many disadvantages to being brought up in a restrictive part of the country in the 40’s and 50’s, even if you were white and middle class. In my mother’s New England, in the broken land and stunning autumn months and soft spring times of my childhood, I was told, in words and gestures from both teachers and parents that I had only a limited role to fill in this world. In my privileged home, oldest of five children, it was assumed that marriage would define me and that it was indeed unseemly of me to want more. I was not denied the chance to explore the world around me, to go on those long hikes I have written about or swim in dangerous water. At the same time I was expected to settle down, and to content myself raising a large family. My mother did not work. I would not work. Continue Reading
