Hundreds are expected for the National March for Dignity and Respect in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 5. The City of Minneapolis permits are approved. It will start at noon from the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, and will finish at the Hennepin County Government Center with speakers from labor groups, faith organizations, immigrant communities and allies. The forecast predicts 60 percent chance of precipitation and organizers are asking attendees to plan accordingly. Organizers are excited and hopeful.FULL DISCLOSURE: Emilia Gonzalez Avalos is one of the organizers of the march.Emulating actions across the nation, the March for Dignity and Respect aims to continue the pressure on the House of Representatives to pass a comprehensive immigration reform. Continue Reading
Every year on the Fourth of July, Minneapolis’ Riverside Park turns into party central for the Twin Cities Oromo community. They’ve gathered there for about 18 years, said Hassen Hussein, executive director of the Oromo Community of Minnesota. The St. Paul-based nonprofit provides social services to ease the transition of Oromo refugees from the Horn of Africa, and also works to educate the Twin Cities about the Oromo culture.Because you can’t reserve space at Riverside Park, Hussein and a group of volunteers start setting up tents, grills, and sports equipment at 4 a.m. The party goes on till 10 p.m. “How many people come depends on the weather,” said Hussein. He estimates that there are more than 30,000 Oromo in the Twin Cities, which some say makes it the largest Oromo population outside of Africa, earning the nickname “Little Oromia.” Continue Reading
Earlier this month, when many people were welcoming spring by celebrating Cinco de Mayo, others in Minnesota were celebrating Fasika, or the Ethiopian Easter. For this month’s stop on the tour Around the World in the Twin Cities, we headed across the Atlantic to Africa by visiting the Ethiopian restaurant Fasika at 510 North Snelling Avenue in St. Paul.United Foodies of Minnesota group member Nick Maryns carved a passport stamp of the Ethiopian flag for the outing. The star in the center of the flag symbolizes diversity and unity. It was an appropriate sentiment for Stop #4 on the tour. Continue Reading
The English Learning Center, a school for adult immigrants and refugees, celebrated the end of its spring term on April 25th with a party honoring the hard work of students and volunteer teachers. Students brought a wide variety of food, from tostadas to sambusas to French silk pie, and they entertained the crowd with their singing, dancing, and yo-yoing talents. Teachers spoke about how much they have learned from their students, and the ELC staff recognized the students for their hours of attendance over the last year. When the party was over, true to the dedicated nature of all of the students, one woman asked for homework to study over the short break between terms. Continue Reading
Oprime en los videos para escuchar tres perspectivas sobre el tema de las licencias de manejar en Minnesota.Click on the videos (one above, two below) to hear three perspectives on drivers’ licenses in Minnesota. Two of the videos are in Spanish but we have provided brief synopses in English. ***Fabiola, 32, is a homemaker and volunteer in the Latino community of Minneapolis. In the video below she explains that she wants drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants because she “believes in America.” She believes that this bill will help her and other working people safely take their children to school and get to work. Fabiola, 32, es ama de casa y voluntaria con la comunidad latina en Minneapolis MN. Ella explica porque apoya las licencias de manejar.***Rogelio Ortego, 40, better known as “El Loquillo,” is a Dradio host and DJ in Minneapolis. Continue Reading
Earlier this week, another Henry High student was attacked while using the city bus Go To card to travel from school to home.The assault took place on Tuesday.The mom reported that her son was coming home from school on the 19 bus line. He got off at a stop that he usually does not get off at because he missed his usual stop. About 2 blocks later he noticed 2 teenagers following him. When he got to the middle of 23rd Ave N and Russell they attacked him in the middle of the street. One went in front of him and asked him for his ipod, one was in back of him with what he said was a gun to the back of his head. They threatened to kill him. Continue Reading
Many times I’ve heard this be said about undocumented youth: they live illegally in the US because their parents made a bad decision; they are here at no fault of the Continue Reading
On January 28, a Henry high student was assaulted and knocked unconscious at a bus stop while using the Go-To Card city bus pass between school and home.He was hospitalized, and was diagnosed with a concussion. He is now suffering bouts of memory loss along with problems with balance: he has fallen twice.He does not know the attackers, and no arrests have yet been made.He and his brothers say that they also know other Henry students who have had problems with the city bus: One was held up at gun point and had his phone robbed while waiting for a city bus to go to school, and two girls were touched/groped while using city buses between Henry and home. One of the girls has since transferred to another school.Another family says that Two Henry Hmong brothers were waiting at the bus stop for the city bus to take them to school. A young man walked up to the bus stop. The brothers thought he was going to wait for the bus with them. Instead he punched one brother in the nose, and the other in the eye, and ran away before either brother could reactThe family of the assault victim who was knocked out has said that if the attackers are not caught, they want the Minneapolis Public Schools to pay for his hospital and medical costs, because they say this attack would not have happened if he had been riding a school bus home.Last April, Minneapolis Public Schools announced they were ending school bus rides to 5 high schools including Henry, and replacing the school buses with the Go-To card city bus rides. Henry Hmong families, concerned about safety and wanting to give Hmong families a chance to learn about and feel comfortable with the Go-To card, asked that the city bus rides be instituted this year as an option with school bus rides available. School board members agreed to run limited school buses for the first semester. School buses ended in mid-January.Both the assault victim and his mother testified in front of the Minneapolis school board last summer and urged them to keep school bus rides at Henry high for the 2012-2013 school year.Henry Hmong students collected hundreds of post cards urging school board members to keep school buses for 2012-2013 school year1100 postcards were sent to school board members Ellison and MonserrateThe student who was assaulted and knocked out asked the Minneapolis school board last summer to keep school buses at Henry for 2012-2013 school yearHenry Hmong Families crowded Minneapolis School Board Chambers last summer and asked that school buses be available for 2012-2013 school year Continue Reading
For Rosa Tock, a first-generation immigrant from Guatemala, the sense of possibility is what impresses her most about Minnesota. “In Minnesota, I have that sense of possibility that things can be done,” Tock said, “There is always the sense that working together, we can achieve things. That sense of possibility is one thing that really makes me feel at home.”Tock first came to Minnesota on a Fulbright Scholarship to finish her Master’s Degree in Public Policy at the University of Minnesota. As part of the program, Tock was required to go back to Guatemala for at least two years after graduating.However, her husband was still in Minnesota, so she eventually made her way back, drawn to the possibilities that the state offered. Tock started out as a human rights investigator with the City of Saint Paul, looking at incidents of potential discrimination. Continue Reading
