A Change of “Bad Cooks” at the University of Minnesota’s UROC and a message to anthropology professor Dr. Irma McClaurin

White Paper Report: A strategic analysis and summary of what has been wrong with UROC’s interaction with North Minneapolis.

“Bad cooks — and the utter lack of reason in the kitchen — have delayed human development longest and impaired it most.”
…Friedrich Nietzsche

By Donald W.R. Allen, II – Editor in Chief/IBNN and USA Radical Black

Anthropology is the holistic, global, comparative study of people. It is the comprehensive study of human beings and of their interactions with each other and with the environment. The term “anthropology” was first used in English in 1593.

Anthropology has its intellectual origins in both the natural sciences and the humanities. Its basic questions are, “What defines a Human Being?” “Who are the ancestors of modern Humans?” “What are humans’ physical traits?” “How do humans behave?” “Why are there variations and differences among different groups of humans?” “How has the evolutionary past of a group of Humans influenced its social organization and culture…and so forth?”

Anthropology tends not to focus on the foreclosure crisis as such, but on the systemic reasons that Humans may become trapped in predatory lending, including a study of the variables and derivatives that lead to the possible loss of important economic and social foundation. Minnesota is one of the top 5 leaders in foreclosure prevention and outreach. UROC did not need to re-create the “wheel” in this particular case, the studies have been done: The University of St. Thomas Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in Professions: Mortgage Fraud: Its Victims, Consequences, and Remedies

In the working document UROC Action Planning Team pulled from UROC Futures Conference Documentation (February 20 & 21, 2009), under “Present and New Beliefs Theme – Applied Research/Purpose of Research,” (Page 5); we find the statement: “We (UROC) have expertise and community has needs; and “The Community (North Minneapolis) has knowledge we need to tap.” (Note: Who was invited to attend this event and how did UROC actively engage community members to inform them about the conference – mailers; print ads, internet ads; door hangers; radio ads? (This continues to be an issue for the educational institution.)

If this was in fact the finding, that vital knowledge was to be found inside of the community itself, why are so many residents of North Minneapolis still outraged over UROC’s failure to truly engage with the community in north Minneapolis? Furthermore, if academia can do the research and the fact finding – why was it virtually dismissed?

An example of how many community stakeholders feel is found in the email below.

On Thursday, December 3, 2009 the e-mail below was forwarded to me about Dr. McClaurin’s role-change.

It reads (unedited):

“Here’s a bunch of gobbledygook by a self aggrandizing motherfucker about a subordinate who from what he has written doesn’t know a mother-fuckin’ thing about anything and is now being given even more responsibility to fuck-up yet more!!!!!!!!!!! Self perpetuating nigger shit!!!! This letter has a fog factor of 100, the highest mark attainable!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The email above was in response to this email -it read (unedited):

Dear UROC and UNP partners and friends,

I am writing to let you know that Dr. Irma McClaurin will be transitioning from her position as executive director of the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center (UROC) to assume a wider range of administrative responsibilities in my office related to her associate vice president role.

Irma has chosen to devote her time to broader administrative priorities in my office that build on UROC and the University’s urban initiatives, and to incorporate her faculty research and scholarship into these responsibilities. With the new UROC facility now complete and programs and partnerships beginning to move into the building, Irma and I believe this timing creates an opportunity to hire a new director to oversee the programmatic development of UROC and build on the next critical phase of implementation of our strategic plan and partnerships. As the founding executive director of UROC, Irma has done an outstanding job over the past two years of leading a strategic planning process inclusive of community and university members, shaping the branding and strategic communications, and helping to turn our collective vision for a collaborative community/university facility to address the needs of the Northside and other urban communities into a reality. The new UROC facility at 2001 Plymouth Avenue North is everything we hoped for, and the programs being launched there will help University faculty, staff, and students work with community partners to support a collaborative and sustainable model of urban community engagement and to meet critical needs in the areas of education, health and wellness, and community and economic development.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Irma McClaurin for her many contributions as founding executive director of UROC and wishing her well in her roles as associate vice president in the Office for System Academic Administration and tenured associate professor in the Department of Anthropology. Irma will remain in her dual role as associate vice president and executive director of UROC and serve in an advisory capacity until new leadership is identified in order to ensure a smooth transition and keep our projects and plans for UROC moving ahead.”

# # #

The authors of the above messages are not the issue, but the issue is: “Anthropology, the study of humans.”

Project PREP defines a “Community Stakeholder” as people with an interest or an investment in a community issue or outcome. Their interest may be professional or personal, or it may stem from a more abstract ideological commitment the achievement of a given outcome.

Thus, shutting out a significant proportion of the stakeholders from the conversation would seem to make any research about the foreclosure crisis in north Minneapolis done by UROC to-date null and void.

…My first encounter with the University of Minnesota’s/UROC executive director Dr. McClaurin, who holds a PhD in anthropology, was in March of 2008. She had been invited to the McFarlane Media editor’s roundtable discussion at Sunny Side Deli and Catering in north Minneapolis. The presentation of UROC was an arrogant run-on about how good the project would be for north Minneapolis and how UROC could identify community stakeholders. I had the feeling that Dr. McClaurin had been briefed about “Donny” and therefore my comments were heard as “folly.” I was consistently challenged with the theme, “That would be a Republican comment.” Regardless of my political affiliations, I felt listening to comments from both sides of the table was imperative to understanding a critical engagement piece.

My second encounter with Dr. McClaurin didn’t go well.

After being a weekly participant of the Friday morning McFarlane Media editor’s roundtable and comments by round table leaders to Dr. McClaurin that I had no creditability with continued statements that I was working for the FBI or CIA to tear apart the Black community al-la *Ron Edwards, (*1. Has written two books about Black leadership and civil rights; 2. He was also the longest seated chairman of the Minneapolis Urban League Board when more than 200 people were employed by the now failing agency; 3. He was also the chairman of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission. Mr. Edwards continues to be the Twin Cities most valued resource for advocacy and documented historical data about African-Americans; their interactions with other community stakeholder and the “true” history of north Minneapolis and it self-appointed leaders.) In north Minneapolis, having a wealth of knowledge about people, places and things makes that individual a threat. The current leadership in north Minneapolis combats factual truths with statements of no-creditability, or in me and Mr. Edwards case, the poverty pimps say, “these guy don’t know what there talking about.”

My argument is, Dr. McClaurin was tainted by three defining items: The first was the grandiosity of being courted, with the intention of a lucrative advertising contract with the in-effective stories and photos on the front page of Insight News and being wined and dined by the usual north Minneapolis suspects (Babalu’s-Summer/Fall 2008), the second was having these middle-age, north Minneapolis men with absolutely nothing going for them giving the doctor, “the eye!” (That’s okay, she’s a handsome woman.) The third and most serious of the heinous actions (or lack thereof) was the severe sense of “southern stratification” with the attitude of betterment. Poor people, despite their economic situation are a proud people. Talking down or sideways to community members will never help your position, even if that person is Alfred Flowers.

The rift created by Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC) in north Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Urban League, Snow Foods, and the senior high-rise has never been adequately addressed, i.e.: Store runs for seniors; no information outreach to the owners of Snow Foods or community members; and potential loss of the Minneapolis Urban League’s services and programs, which was mostly at that organizations doing, to UROC’s more efficient programming model. The designated person from the University of Minnesota that was responsible for “outreach” (headquartered in the Minneapolis Urban League) was inept, under-qualified and lacked the appropriate people skills, stating to IBNN that the author (me) was, “Reaching too high” as it pertains to questions about UROC and its process. This person was not Dr. McClaurin – but someone that brought people to the table that were hired by the University of Minnesota with out proper evaluations.

Consequently, Dr. McClaurin looked at me with disgust and hardly ever said hello and rarely returned phone calls based on someone else’s opinion without any factual data. Dr. McClaurin decided me, the people I associated with and comments or suggestions I made were not a factor – which as we all know, circumvents and taints any true Anthropological fact finding that would develop results based on a sample of all opinions in or about north Minneapolis.

In closing, again I offer a “solution” to the powers that be at UROC: Bring all the people to the table that you have virtually ignored in 2007-2009; the list of people is a comprehensive group of true community stakeholders that have the business and historical acumen about north Minneapolis, its people and a community that for more than 30 years has seen a decline in everything from health care to economic development. Of course this group has never agreed on anything – but it’s a step in the right direction.

Before 2010 arrives, I suggest UROC schedules a meeting the people I speak of – that for the most part don’t always agree with each other – but critical to the educational institutions best interests.

Separate UROC from the Tuskegee Experiment.

In Corporate America we call this “Problem Solving.”

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