Time to Declare “Peace” on Youth Violence. The National Urban League makes a statement?
It’s interesting that the National Urban League is starting to address disparities among the Black youth of America. The St. Louis Urban League in cue to receive over $15 million in Stimulus dollars – what has happened to the Minneapolis Urban League, who reported at Wednesdays Board meeting that the Greater Twin Cities United Way will drastically cut funding to the fledgling social service agency. The Minneapolis Urban League will be cutting several jobs today(10/30). To those hard working staff members who lost their jobs at a once thriving flagship social service agency, we wish you the best and hope “change” will come in the form of “process with solutions” at the Minneapolis Urban League.
“With a commitment to solutions and no ears to listen, the Minneapolis Urban League continues to troll in deep water with a boat to big to keep float.”
The message falling on deaf ears from Marc H. Morial – President and CEO, National Urban League
If you’re reading this in your local urban newspaper, you probably encountered at least one story about youth violence in your community before finding your way to this column. But wading through reports of violence in the news pales beside the daily real life experiences of many young people across this nation. According to a recently released Justice Department report, “More than 60 percent of the nation’s youth have been exposed to violence within the last year. Nearly 1 in 2 was physically assaulted at least once, with more than 1 in 10 injured in an assault.”
While incidents like the 1999 Columbine massacre which caused the deaths of 13 people or the 2007 Virginia Tech rampage which took the lives of 32 make international headlines, we are in the grips of a largely silent epidemic of youth violence that is endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of children across this country every year.
A few weeks ago, the nation was riveted by a YouTube video of the senseless beating death of Derrion Albert, a Chicago high school honor student. Derrion was attacked on his way home from school as he innocently walked through a crowd of rival gang members. According to the New York Times, “Close to 70 students have been murdered [in Chicago] since the beginning of the 2007 school year.”
This level of violence is exceptional by any standard, but sadly, it is replicated at equally unacceptable levels in many of our major cities. As Attorney General Holder said during his recent visit to Chicago to address this issue, “Youth violence is not a Chicago problem any more than it is a black problem, a white problem or a Hispanic problem. It is an American problem.”
A problem this big calls all of us to action. In recent years, we declared “war” on drugs and “war” on terrorism. Today, I think it’s time we declare “peace” on youth violence. I was pleased that Holder and Education Secretary, Arne Duncan went to Chicago to begin what they called “a sustained national conversation” about youth violence in response to the Derrion Albert murder. Holder also announced a request for $24 million in next year’s budget for community-based prevention programs such as Ceasefire and Project Safe Neighborhoods. But stopping and preventing youth violence will take more than money. And it is about more than violence.
While young people who commit violent acts must ultimately be held accountable for their crimes, we cannot ignore the role that poverty, parenting, poor schools, guns, drugs, gangs and the lack of opportunity play in this on-going tragedy. We must invest both more money and more of ourselves in solving these problems if we want to dig out the roots of youth violence. As someone said to me recently, if we can find the votes and the money for a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, we ought to be able to summon the will and the resources to save our kids.’
Vote “NO” on Charter Amendment 168 – The Minneapolis City Council doesn’t need anymore power!
You may have received a flashy piece of campaign literature in the mail yesterday telling you that there is a “mystery board” that sets property taxes and you should vote “no” on the proposal on the ballot on November 3rd to get rid of its “back room dealings.” It says that only two of the thirteen City Council members actually vote on your property taxes. It says there are parts of the City that are shut out from decisions about your taxes and we should have the City Council take over this board so all the City has a voice in tax levels.
This is simply untrue. The City Council sets the property taxes for the City of Minneapolis and has done so since the City was established in 1867. In fact, last year, on December 11th, the full City Council voted to set your property taxes. It was Resolution 2008R-538: “Approving the 2008 property tax levies, payable in 2009, for the various funds of the City of Minneapolis for which the City Council levies taxes.”
The Council vote was: Yeas – Hodges; Samuels; Gordon; Hofstede; Ostrow; Schiff, Colvin Roy, Glidden, Remington, Benson, Johnson, and Lilligren. Nays – Goodman.
You can follow this link to the City’s website to read the full Council action here.
In fact, on the City’s website you can see how every year the City Council sets the City’s property taxes.
Now this piece of literature was sent out as an attack on the Board of Estimate and Taxation. The Board of Estimate is not some “mystery board.” It is simply a place where the City Council, the Mayor, the Park Board and a few regular citizens together agree on the maximum amount your taxes could go up each year. This is done in open meetings and this year, dozens of citizens were at this meeting, more than were there on December 11th 2008 when the City Council set your property taxes.
Why was this fear mongering piece sent out trying to scare us about “back room deal making”?
The Mayor and several Council Members want to get rid of the independent Park Board. They tried to do this earlier this year but decided that citizens wouldn’t support such a referendum. So instead, they want the City Council to take over the Board of Estimate and thus control exactly how much funding the Park Board will get. If the Park Board disagrees with the City Council, the Council can simply compel compliance by cutting the Park Board’s funding until it submits. The result is the City Council in control of our parks and more power concentrated in fewer hands.
Our parks are our city’s most valuable asset. We need to protect our parks and to do so we need a strong Park Board. And to have a strong Park Board we need to have a strong, independent Board of Estimate and Taxation.
Having the City Council take over the Board of Estimate is opposed by just about everyone who isn’t gaining power through this move. People opposed to this referendum included Mayor Don Fraser and Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton Park Board President Tom Nordyke and Park Board Vice-President Mary Merrill Anderson and Park Commissioners Scott Vreeland. Carol Kummer, Bob Fine, Annie Young, Jon Olson, Tracy Nordstrom and Walter Dziedzic, Council Member Cam Gordon, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, Senator Patricia Torres Ray and Senator Scott Dibble, Rep. Joe Mullery, Rep. Jeff Hayden, Rep. Phyllis Kahn, and Rep. Diane Loeffler, Candidates Meg Tuthill, Papa John Kolstad, Al Flowers, Bob Miller, John Erwin, Jason Stone, Michael Martens, Meg Forney, Dave Bicking, Dave Wahlstedt, Liz Wielinski, Phil Wilkie, and DeWayne Townsend, and many others.
You can read Mayor Don Fraser and Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton’s opposition to this takeover here:
If you want to read more about why the Board of Estimate is important, go to www.savethebet.org
Please don’t fall for the fear mongering. The Minneapolis City Council doesn’t need more power. We need checks and balances in our tax system. We need collaboration, not domination.
We need to keep the Board of Estimate in its role as a place where the City Council and Park Board have to work together. Please, on November 3rd, go to the bottom of the ballot and vote “No” on Charter Amendment 168.
Has Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels lost his rabbit a** mind?
The Ward 5 Minneapolis City Council race has been; and continues to be one of strangest political races in Minneapolis’ history.
In this video, Councilman Don Samuels – in a room full of his north Minneapolis other-than minority-ethnic constituents talking about “cleaning up 
the north side.” Samuels goes on this rant and talks about the 24-hour Y and how great it is. He talks about the “stings” on Broadway businesses. This video is proof that Councilman Samuels is in need of a reality check.
IBNN’s question to CM Samuels is, “What happened to the community benefit agreement? How many people from north Minneapolis will get hired? Will this just be a mirror image of the Peace Foundation and Colorplast.
This Jamaican-American man’s rant in front of these White folks takes the Black people of north Minneapolis back to the Motherland where our own people sold us as slaves. In the United States, this politicians comment sends Americans (all), back to the days of “White only drinking fountains.”
(This posting is not an endorsement for any candidates running for Minneapolis City Council Ward 5 – but can be considered an alert for who to watch for…)
Rank Choice Voting BUST and Tainted Ballots – Get this: In North Minneapolis!
Watch the video – “If you don’t get angry, somethings wrong with you.
Today (October 27, 2009) at City Hall a hidden camera filmed Patrick O’Connor, Interim Director of Elections for the City of Minneapolis as he talked about mistakes the city made trying to inform voters about Rank Choice Voting. He also went on to tell us where the money came from and how much was allocated to educate the citizens of Minneapolis about the very new voting system.
The most interesting part of this dialog was the part when he mentioned the “tainted ballots” that come from North Minneapolis….
What?
Tainted ballots from North Minneapolis?
With this statement alone, IBNN and partners are requesting the Minnesota Attorney General’s office to investigate these “tainted ballots” and find out who in City Hall is responsible.
This video says more than I could ever write.
No matter what he does, Minneapolis Mayoral Candidate Al Flowers Loves the community – maybe you should too
There are other options for Mayor of Minneapolis – make your vote count by having a first, second and third choice.
By Donald W.R. Allen, II – Editor in Chief (Reporting from Washington, D.C.)
Last week at the KMOJ-FM ribbon cutting – of sorts- mayoral candidates Al Flowers and James Everett showed up, surprising Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak, who was there for a photo-op with “the community.”
In front of a packed room, Flowers proceeded to confront the mayor asking, “Why haven’t you come to a debate? What happened to the Empowerment Zone dollars? Why are you trying to kill the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights?” Questions the “celebrity Rybak” won’t answer – but questions the “politician Rybak” should answer!
Apparently, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak has other things on his mind.
By failing to show up at any of the scheduled debates, he tells voters that he does not believe he has to any questions about his past performance or what he might do in the future. In some strategy circles, this might be considered a smart move – but with Rybak likely running for governor, this elitist behavior will surely come back to haunt him. Rural Minnesota will not tolerate a gubernatorial candidate who will not answer questions.
The Star Tribune and television news channels WCCO-4 and KARE 11 have for the most part failed to report on the 2009 Minneapolis mayoral race, giving the impression that Rybak is the only one running for office. However, there are a number of other candidates-William McGaughey; Papa John Kolstad; Al Flowers; James Everett; and Bob Carney – who deserved some type of coverage from the mainstream media. (Lets also hold the north Minneapolis Black media accountable for sending mixed messages.)
…It shocks me to realize how many people are uninformed, unconcerned and unable to converse about city politics and the many justifiable reasons Al would interrupt a community meeting—even if his tactics were less than “cordial and diplomatic.”
If the people of Minneapolis would stand up and pay attention, they would become aware of Mayor R.T. Rybak’s heinous mismanagement of city government; and they would likely have the same questions that Al does. They might come to believe that R.T. might not here to serve the citizens of Minneapolis – but to use the mayoral race as a stepping stone to the governor’s mansion.
I am not endorsing Carney, Flowers, McGaughey, Kolstad, or Everett for mayor. But the people of Minneapolis have several options, and they should know about them.
If there was ever a time to pull a “Jesse Ventura”—and make it clear to the “establishment” that they can’t take the people’s votes for granted– it’s now.
Star Tribune’s bias reporting overlooks other candidates (Round 1)
The Star Tribune (Rybak Times) has been reporting all weekend that Michael Katch (Ward 7 Minneapolis City Council candidate running against incumbent Lisa Goodman), didn’t bother to return their questionnaire.
This is untrue.
Star Tribune staff writer, Steve Brandt told Michael at 1:30 Friday (10/23) afternoon that he would “take care of it right away.” More than two days later, they are not reporting factual information as it pertains to Michael Katch, Ward 7 Minneapolis City Council candidate.
This is more of the alleged collusion that goes on with the Star Tribune and the DFL political incumbents – also not forgetting to mention their news black-out on reporting to the (few) readers and citizens of Minneapolis about other candidates running against Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and the choices Minneapolis voters have for the Minneapolis City Council.
Opting for smear campaigns and “gotcha news” this liberal DFL tooled media outlet continues to keep important Minneapolis political information…unknown.
To depend on the Star Tribune to report in a reasonable and unbiased way is like trying to pick up a “turd” by the “clean end.”
The following letter was sent to the Star Tribune by Michael’s campaign manager:
Dear Editor or other person(s) in charge:
Michael Katch was pleased to turn in his candidate questionnaire to the Star Tribune two weeks early, on August 31, 2009. He did send in his picture on the last day open, September 16, 2009.
When he came in from campaigning at around 1:30 pm on Friday, October 23, 2009, he checked his email, as is his habit. He found an email from Steve Brandt with a cryptic comment to someone unknown, attached to Michael’s emailed questionnaire and answers.
Michael immediately called Steve Brandt to find out the meaning of the odd message; Steve was surprised that he had inadvertently sent it to Michael rather than to the person who was originally intended; Michael was not supposed to get it back. While still on the call, Michael checked the Star Tribune website and discovered that the Questionnaires were posted, except Michael’s said he had not returned a questionnaire. When he told that to Steve, he said, “Oh, it’s up already? Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”
The Katch campaign did not file a complaint or a written request for correction, as they trusted Mr. Brandt to be good to his word. However, more than 48 hours have now passed; the Online Voting Guide has been posted for the first two days, just 10 days before the election, and the same misrepresentations are still online.
Inasmuch as the Star Tribune continues to post “news” affirmatively known to be false, the Katch Campaign can no longer be satisfied with a simple correction. Had a correction been made in a timely fashion, all would have been fine, but the weekend two weeks before the election, when the voters are doing their homework to prepare for the upcoming election, is a critical time for voter education, and this is an unacceptable delay. It will now be necessary for the Star Tribune to issue an actual retraction, with a headline and an explanation.
This “mistake” has grown through the Star Tribune’s failure to correct in a timely fashion into an action that is both defamatory and causing irreparable damage in this denouement of an election cycle. The Star Tribune is put on notice that this must be retracted immediately.
Sincerely,
Peggy M. Katch
Campaign Manager, Neighbors for Katch
# # #
Sabathani’s “Soild Rock” and Executive Director Ernest Johnson set to resign in December 2009
Sabathani Announces Leadership Change
Minneapolis, MN (IBNN) October 19, 2009 – Sabathani Community Center Board Chair Curtis Bell announced today that Executive Director Ernest T. Johnson will leave his current post to focus on his growing interest in the field of health and wellness. With his resignation, effective December 31, 2009, Johnson will conclude an eight-year tenure as a key administrative leader of the organization. He joined Sabathani as Chief Operating Officer in 2001 and was appointed Executive Director in October 2006, becoming only the fourth person to head Sabathani in its 44-year history.
Assisting with the transition and assuming the post of Interim Executive Director as of January 1, 2010, will be Mike Miller, Sabathani’s Human Resources Manager, who has been with the organization for three years.
Board Chair Curtis Bell expressed gratitude to Johnson for his dedication to Sabathani. “We have a very high appreciation for Ernest Johnson’s contribution to Sabathani and the commitment he has brought to the organization across the entire range of our programs and services. He is a man of great integrity who has given his all and earned our lasting respect. We accept his resignation with sadness, and we wish him the very best as he follows his heart in pursuing the next stage of his career.”
As Johnson explained, “When I took the Executive Director post in 2006, I had a three-year plan for leading Sabathani through a transitional period that we all knew would bring a variety of changes, following as it did on the 28-year tenure of the previous leader, James Cook. I thank the fine staff of Sabathani, also the Board, for working with me and contributing to successes we can all be proud of.”
Since taking Sabathani’s helm three years ago, Johnson has guided program managers to hold more responsibility not only for their own areas, including budgeting, but to advance well beyond that, functioning as a leadership team for the entire organization. He has initiated tighter financial controls, which were essential particularly in the post-9-11 and post-Katrina periods, and has brought program and operational budgets in line with income. He has been successful in achieving transparency in the organization’s accounting practices and performance—recognized by Sabathani’s first-ever accreditation by the Charities Review Council. Johnson has great personal enthusiasm for yet another Sabathani change during his tenure: the addition of a free pediatric dental and health clinic serving children in the Central and Bryant neighborhoods.
Johnson said, “We’ve made the progress I hoped for when I set my three-year goals, and Sabathani is now in a far better state of readiness for its next phase of service. Recently, as we began exploring variations in our business model, I realized that this was a perfect time for me to act on another wish, to transition from my current position to a greater focus on health and wellness in my next career move. I’m thankful for each of the years I was committed to Sabathani, and I aim to carry that same dedication to my next role in the non-profit community.”
Johnson continued: “I heartily endorse the selection of Mike Miller as Interim Executive Director after my departure, and I’m personally grateful to him for his willingness to commit additional time, skill and energy to Sabathani in his new post. Sabathani will be in good hands.”
Said Curtis Bell: “Ernest Johnson, Mike Miller and the Board of Directors all share confidence that this change will be managed smoothly. We are all driven by a deep love for Sabathani and by our common goal—service to Sabathani’s mission of strengthening youth, children and families and building the capacity of the community we serve.”
Sabathani Community Center
Sabathani was founded in 1966 as a small grassroots organization focused on serving African American youth in South Minneapolis, particularly the Bryant and Central neighborhoods. Today it is the hub of the community, offering a range of empowerment programs that focus on skill development and the ultimate goal of attaining self-sufficiency, serving both its original population and the area’s more recent arrivals, including Somalis, Chicanos/Latinos, Southeast Asians and Russians. The Sabathani building, a former school, houses its own programs and those of 35 tenant organizations with similar community service goals, and includes a conference center, auditorium,
Is Obama Poised to Cede US Sovereignty?
Saint Paul, MN. (On October 14, 2009) – Lord Christopher Monckton gave a presentation in St. Paul, MN on the subject of global warming.
In this 4-minute excerpt from his speech, he issues a dire warning to all Americans regarding the United Nations Climate Change Treaty that is scheduled to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009.
A draft of the treaty can be read here: http://www.globalclimatescam.com/documents/un-fccc-copenhagen-2009.pdf
Page 18: Section 38 of the “Share vision for long-term cooperation action plan” contains the text for forming the new government.
Page 40: Section 46 Subsection H of the “Objectives, scope, and guiding principles” contains the text for enforcement and establishment of the rule of law.
There has been considerable debate raised about Monckton’s conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments appear to be based upon his interpretation of the The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land.
Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass. You can read more about the Bricker Amendment in a 1953 Time Magazine article found here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806676,00.html
Lord Monckton served as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher. He has repeatedly challenged Al Gore to a debate to which Gore has refused. Monckton sued to stop Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” from being shown in British schools due to its inaccuracies. The judge found in-favor of Monckton, ordering 9 serious errors in the film to be corrected. Lord Monckton travels internationally in an attempt to educating the public about the myth of global warming.
A message to the Sharptons, Jacksons, and Farrakhans of the World: The struggle is not over; the gauntlet will be passed back to you very soon
By Donald W.R. Allen,II – Editor in Chief of IBNN – 2009 ©
“This generation will have to learn from damn near scratch what a real social movement looks like.”
Reports of racism have increased. Black unemployment is sky-high. The foreclosure crisis has devastated black neighborhoods across the country. Yet no official stance on race relations in the United States has been taken by our Black President, Barack Obama.
“Is racism only prevalent if you’re a professor at an Ivy League school who is arrested in your upscale neighborhood?”
White America allegedly demonstrated their goodness and racial tolerance in 2008 by voting for a Black man to be president of the United States. We have learned that a large and decisive number of whites can be persuaded to vote for a certain kind of Black man: one who never speaks about racism, and in no way, resembles Al Shartpon, Jesse Jackson, or Louis Farrakhan.
Without question, the nation has experienced an election of historical significance, for reasons that go beyond the obvious “first Black” aspect of race. The 2009 presidential race was the most-hyped presidential campaign in U.S.history, if for no other reason than the simple fact that every presidential campaign is more hyped than the last, since hype is what corporate media sells.
But what happened to the champions of the Civil Rights movement– and their ideals? What was wrong with the words and actions of Huey Newton; Malcolm X; Dr. King – whose children are very upset by the government’s abandonment of a commitment to racial justice?
These men fought and died so that all of Black America could have the kinds of lives enjoyed today solely by the (African-American) “talented tenth.” The struggle is far from over!
What about the national Civil Rights Leaders in the United States?
In 2008, while preparing for an interview with Fox News, the Rev. Jesse Jackson apparently did not know that his microphone was on when he made the whispered comments to another guest as he prepared to do an interview. “See, Barack [has] been talking down to black people . . . I wanna cut his nuts out,” Jackson said.
But we have to look at this comment in context.
Jackson, who was shocked and maybe a little jealous at Barack Obama’s mass appeal, did not understand why a Black man, wielding this kind of “across the board popularity” still would not comment or take a position on behalf of Race, Civil Rights or the Black struggle in America.
Why hasn’t Obama addressed this issue since being elected President—other than continuing to talk down to Black people? In part it’s because his victory was contingent upon him having made a pact with white America, that he wouldn’t be like Jesse Jackson, and that he wouldn’t pursue and aggressive Civil Rights Agenda.
Rev. Al Sharpton is one of America’s most eloquent speakers- providing information on day-to-day life in black America, using his trademark in-your-face rhetorical style.
As of June of 2009, Rev. Sharpton has been seen as an ally of President Obama. The online political news blog, Politico wrote this on the “Odd Couple” pairing;
“It might be the oddest political pairing of the year. Barack Obama, whose campaign for president carefully avoided race-based political appeals, is teaming up with the man who practically perfected them: the Rev. Al Sharpton.
This double-take moment came last month (May 2009), with Sharpton holding court with reporters at the White House, fresh out of an Oval Office meeting with Obama in his role as co-founder of the bipartisan Education Equality Project.
So far, Sharpton has been to the White House more times, and for more close-up conversations with Obama, than the leaders of other long-established civil rights organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Urban League.”
Apparently, Sharpton has adopted the notion, “If you can’t beat em, join em.” While Sharpton’s visits to the White House are seen by many Black leaders as photo opportunities for Obama to show allegiance with the “real Black America,” others say that Sharpton is smart to keep President Obama within reach, ala: “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
If President Obama’s ride in the White House becomes more “bumpy,” Sharpton has positioned himself to either support the first-term president or say, “I told him this was going to happen.” No matter what, Sharpton has positioned himself well.
The Minister Louis Farrakhan is another story entirely.
He will never be an administration insider. But black America needs Minister Farrakhan more now than ever. With his knowledge, wisdom and historical perspective, Farrakhan could be there to catch Black America as a whole and assist Jackson and Sharpton in repairing the eventual and pending damage of Black America’s infrastructure in the upcoming months.
Farrakhan, who has a no non-sense approach and is thrilled that there is a Black man in office as the president of theses United States said in an interview with ABC News that if Obama was avoiding controversial Black leaders like himself, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson for fear of alienating white voters, this would be an acceptable price to pay.
But Minister Farrakhan also had this to say: “I haven’t made myself available to him … [and] he hasn’t made himself available to me.” As for the controversy over Obama’s early Muslim education, Farrakhan said that, “If anything, it should help him rather than hurt him.”
America has but three Black leaders that can address the disparities that keep Black America from achieving its goals of education, wealth (through employment) and independence. The struggle is not over, nor has it been addressed in a cordial and diplomatic way since the election of Barack Hussein Obama.
The catch-22 for Obama is this: if he were to place leaders like Farrakhan, Sharpton and Jackson into positions where they could truly empower and uplift black America, the notoriously-fickle mainstream media, who once made Obama their darling, would likely shift towards condemnation; unleashing a kind of “buyer’s remorse” among the wider white population, and all-but ensuring that he is voted out of office in 2012.
Slain civil rights leader Malcolm X once said, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and guilty seem innocent – because they control the minds of the masses.”
Is this good for President Obama?
Through praise and condemnation Sharpton, Jackson and Farrakhan have remained consistent champions of the black community.
Only time will tell what will be the destiny of black American under the Obama presidency.
Minneapolis Public Schools continue to fail children of color – Public Hearing on Education to be held (10/22/09)
By Donald W.R. Allen,II – Editor in Chief IBNN (Comments are welcomed at info@ibnn.org or by clicking here.)
“Education is a process. If the focus of the process is on the wrong product (teachers, money) we get the wrong results. We need to set the standards for and focus on the kids like they do in prep schools. The goal should be a kid with all the tools to enter and succeed in college. Then he or she can choose if college is right for him or her”.
…John Sousa-Facebook
The video above features four of the brightest young Black children in the Public School System. By their answers, its clear that they are not being challenged.
L.J. 8; LaMonty 7; Davy 6 and little LaShieya 3 years-old. Their mother Shay, had this to say: “As a parent, I stayed up all night thinking about the answers my children gave. It may me think why don’t my children know about other choices and I have to remind them that they can be anything they want. Secondly, what are the schools teaching them. We have to look at the problems in our public schools immediately. If this is all the Minneapolis Public Schools has to offer Black children, its time the community come together and hold them in contempt for not teaching our children.”
Minneapolis, MN (October 16, 2009)…A Public Hearing on Education will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pierre Bottineau Library located at 55 Broadway St NE in Minneapolis.
This panel discussion will include community members and representatives from the Minneapolis Chapter of the NAACP and the African-American Community Alliance.
Fact: The Minneapolis Public School System is failing children of color.
The Star Tribune’s October 14th article “Minnesota Math Scores: good but not the best,” this article hints there is a glimmer of hope for the public school systems. However, after reading the article and looking at the Minnesota Department of Education’s website, you will see the test results for inner city schools continuing to decline.
While the Minnesota Department of Education has detailed the Functional Requirements for the 2009 No Child Left Behind – Adequate Yearly Progress Calculations with charts, graphs and statistics, inner city schools in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs with large populations of children of color consistently do not make the grade.
Children of color should aspire to become doctors, lawyers and bankers. The reality is that children are not being mentored in the direction needed to facilitate those dreams. The public school system must be held accountable for the lack of nurturing an educational foundation that has bypassed children of color.
When we ask children of color, “What do want to be when you grow up?” We get answers like football and basketball players and the most sought after career, “Rapper.”
Something is very wrong with a child in the public schools wanting to be a Rapper.
On a funding note, this hearing will also address question to the Minneapolis Public Schools System like, “Where did the $8.6 million of SES (Supplemental Educational Services) dollars go? Where did the Compensatory Education Dollars go? Where did the Title I Behavior dollars go?
And where did the Referendum Dollars go?
More importantly, what happened to the $103,770.00 gifted to the Minneapolis Urban League for marketing SES after school tutoring programs? What happened to the “Covenant?”
Where is the report?
We only hope there is someone is there to answer the questions.
IBNN has sent several requests to the Minneapolis Public Schools Dan Lowenson to obtain information on the report.
No reply has been forwarded.
Join the African American Community Alliance, NAACP and concerned community members for the Hearing on Public Education.
For more information, contact Sarah Younus at sarah.younus@gmail.com for more information.
IBNNNEW- The Death of North Minneapolis… Donald Allen
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