BY STEPHANIE FOX On the Sunday before the first day of school in Minneapolis, four barbers at Fresh Cuts Barber Shop made sure that 62 kids would look sharp as they walked through their school doors. The annual event gives free-of-charge haircuts to students, kindergarten through 8th grade, before school…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We have come to a point in late-stage capitalism where a lot of the so-called philanthropy vying for well-meaning control of our lives is so inept, so blinkered by ideology, that it has become its own opposite. “Philanthropy” contains two Greek root words that mean, respectively,…
BY TONY BOUZA History is a mischievous goddess. Accounts are transmitted to us by flawed and often biased observers, and we are compelled to view it as gospel. In the trivial pursuit of a beknighted career, I was sometimes privileged to be a fly on the wall—observing events I otherwise…
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT SCHLUTER Finally the students of South High School have a track and field that they can be proud to call home. On Thursday night, Aug. 29, South High celebrated the grand opening of its new athletic facility. Now South students can compete—with a new track,…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD There has been a growing movement of interest in fighting climate change, but until very recently this movement has focused largely on personal choice. Concerned about climate change? Bike to work, go zero waste, live with less (stuff and/or space), stop eating meat/animal products, join The Extinction…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As a “consumer,” you have three broad things on offer from Midtown Global Market: It’s a place to eat and drink, it’s a place to shop and hang out, and it’s a place with numerous neighborhood-based events to attend. The eating and drinking might seem similar…
BY STEPHANIE FOX As the Twin Cities faces its wettest year ever, as lakes in the City of Lakes are overflowing and Minnehaha Creek sends more and more water—50 to 80 million gallons—through the city, rising water tables are starting to cause significant problems for many living in the area.…
BY GRACE BERKE After three years of monthly meetings, reading online forums and social media posts, and hearing from neighbors and business owners in the community, the South Minneapolis Public Safety Coalition (SMPSC) is putting forward a proposal for a $10 million investment in concentrated, street-level resources in areas…
BY LUCIA WILKES SMITH Every year, for the 35 years that members of Women Against Military Madness have organized a silent auction fundraiser, they debate the wisdom of holding such an event. Does it make sense to focus on an activity that doesn’t focus on political and educational content? Well,…
How to Take Care of Captives I think that we in the peace movement are so accustomed to looking at the need for action that we tend to let slide the various bits of upbeat news in the world of international politics. The Star Tribune of Aug. 25, however, published…
In “Hope and futility neck and neck as first world (barely) takes on climate crisis” (all September editions of Southside Pride), it was suggested that people could mitigate the climate crisis by having no more than two children. Two children? 7.8 billion people as status quo? The most effective decrease…
BY STEPHANIE FOX When the Minneapolis 6th Ward City Council Member Abdi Warsame and Mayor Jacob Frey announced the details on the city’s plans to build what they called an African village on a publicly-owned lot in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, the local reaction was shock and surprise. The announcement, made…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN On Thursday evening, Sept. 5, I joined a group of about 70 concerned people in a global “Amazon Day of Action” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). According to Mighty Earth, one of the numerous environmental groups that organized and supported the event, the purpose of…
BY ED FELIEN There is a Race War happening in America. Some very crazy white people are attacking and murdering people of color. Dylann Roof killed nine African Americans during a church service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015. White supremacist James Fields deliberately rammed his car into…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE (Yeah, we’re hoping to sell this piece to BuzzFeed later.) But seriously, this is no joke. We were calmly and methodically doing our research to spotlight two upmarket small businesses and three long-standing nonprofits on Chicago Avenue when—BOOM!—one of the nonprofits, a 17-year-old, high-visibility presence…
