Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/opinion/page/10/)
Late in November, just before Thanksgiving, Abdullahi ali Anshur was murdered by al Shabaab in Mogadishu. In what must have been a planned execution, they stopped his car and sprayed it with bullets.
When you plug activism, street art and connection into your internal GPS system, where does it take you?
In Our Machine Masters, New York Times columnist David Brooks imagi
With the release of a grand jury’s decision not to indict Mike Brown’s killer, many of us are feeling a lot of anger and sadness about the racist systems in place in our country. It warms my heart to see all the Black Lives Matter hashtags and Ferguson protest invites popping up on my Facebook newsfeed.Keep on posting and marching, but listen, there’s something we have to talk about:Money.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of police misconduct issues.There’s a lot of it given away in the United States every year. Take it from someone who regularly looks at foundation tax returns. There’s a whole lot of money in the U.S. But, the vast majority of it is controlled by white people who are well served by the status quo. And those white people mostly transfer their wealth to cultural institutions that serve other privileged people like them, namely their alma maters.While there was a total of about $335 billion in private charitable giving in 2013, only a tiny percentage of that went towards social justice. It’s important to go to rallies and marches, and sign petitions and share information, but it’s equally important to open our wallets at the same time. Continue Reading
Seems like soon as I arrive at one of these open houses for community transit planning, there’s a particular biking enthusiast who pounces and bends my ear for a few minutes. The Nov. 13 open house for Penn Avenue planning held at the Harrison community center was no exception.Among the issues on the table: Bike lanes on Penn Avenue North. Detailed charts on big boards showed the pros and cons of moving bikes off of Penn to either Queen or Oliver, and City of Minneapolis officials have apparently concluded that neither one is feasible because of the parks and schools that are in the path, so bikes have to be accommodated on Penn.The planning process was driven by Hennepin County’s intent to put enhanced bus service on Penn Avenue, and the desire to see it drive economic and housing development in the neighborhood – solve all sorts of problems, create opportunities while they’re at it. The city is partnering in the process with Hennepin County; it’s my impression Hennepin County is neutral on bike accommodations but city officials are pushing.There are three options being floated to put bike lanes on Penn and to make that thoroughfare more pedestrian-friendly. Continue Reading
“The police are not merely a ‘spark’ factor. To some Negroes police have come to symbolize white power, white racism and white repression. And the fact is that many police do reflect and express these white attitudes. The atmosphere of hostility and cynicism is reinforced by a widespread belief among Negroes in the existence of police brutality and in a ‘double standard’ of justice and protection—one for Negroes and one for whites.” – Excerpt from the 1968 report, informally known as the Kerner Report, issued by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission).The grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown spurred protests, looting, and businesses set on fire. It was a scene reminiscent of the 1960s. Continue Reading
This story told through a transcript from an interview with Lydia.I have always worked all my life, but a lot of personal problems led me to lose my job. After missing two paychecks I was in a real deep problem, I owed rent, I didn’t have any money to do anything. So I lost my home shortly after I lost the job, and I was pregnant during the time. I had to go apply for AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children).This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.Public assistance asked, ‘Were you trying to go back to school?’ and I said, ‘I didn’t know that it was an option for me.’ They offered a couple of classes for construction as well as healthcare. Continue Reading
Stoned to death. Stabbed 33 times. Pushed out of a moving car then run over. When hate and fear rage out of control, people destroy by any means necessary. Eighty-one transgender people were murdered in the past year throughout the world.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. Continue Reading
KSTP’s outrageous Pointergate story has caused quite the stir on the Internet. Daily Kos called it the most racist piece of journalism in 2014. I think it fits right in with the stories that suggest that Black people are going to riot if there isn’t a grand jury indictment of Darren Wilson in the Mike Brown Jr. case.
The MN Child Protection League Action PAC [CPLActionPAC] issued an action alert to their current followers concerning the Transgender Athletic Policy coming up for a vote on December 4, 2014. They claim that the Minnesota State High School League [MSHSL] is not listening to “you” and have urged their members to call the MSHSL and regurgitate their tired talking points to oppose the policy.The alert continues to state, “They [children] should not be used as tools of aggressive special interest groups with dangerous agendas that will harm children.” Based on their past lobbying efforts, this appears to be what the CPLActionPAC is, an aggressive special interest group putting our children in harms way, particularly those in the LGBT community.On September 26th, 2014 the CPLActionPAC in MN spent approximately $37,000.00 on a full page ad in the Sunday Sports section of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The headline blared “A male wants to shower beside your 14-year old daughter…Are you OK with that?” and intentionally created a controversial debate in Minnesota concerning transgender student athletes competing in K-12 sports and urged the public to attend the October 1st meeting to oppose the new policy of inclusion.Executive Direct, David Stead of the Minnesota State High School League [MSHSL] stated that the current policy draft was constructed borrowing the best practices from the 32 states that have already past a similar policy regarding transgender student athletes. The policy is an inclusive document that basically allows transgender athletes to participate in sports while their privacy is protected. Although the ad was debunked line-by-line, there were 55 people signed up to speak, but due to time constraints, approximately 40 made it to the podium. Continue Reading