When Constabulary’s Duty’s to be done

BY TONY BOUZA Gilbert and Sullivan had it right—A policeman’s (today’s grammarians would insist on an androgynous “police officer”—and be right) lot is not a happy one. Cops shoot black males.  Riots explode.  The Criminal Justice System contorts itself and produces grotesque outcomes.  The Dallas killing of five cops evokes…

Continue reading

What’s to be done

BY ED FELIEN Hundreds of people gathered at the J.J. Hill Montessori School Thursday, July 7, to honor the life and protest the death of Philando Castile.  He worked in the cafeteria at the school and was loved and missed by staff and students. He was in a car that…

Continue reading

What you can learn and do near Bloomington Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Bloomington Avenue, which runs through the South Minneapolis neighborhoods of Phillips, Powderhorn, Bancroft, Northrup, Hale and Diamond Lake, is one of the most diverse in the Twin Cities. These neighborhoods have been shaped by Africans, the most recent migrants; Latinos, who’ve been calling this area home…

Continue reading

Citizens grapple with racism

BY CHRISTOPHER HARRISON ELDRIDGE “These are heavy times.” With this observation City Council Vice President Elizabeth Glidden opened her address to the gathered Minneapolitans, seated and serried in a third floor auditorium in Lake Street’s Plaza Verde complex. The high ceilings, crossed by sheer cloth, combine with the worn hardwood…

Continue reading

VOTE DFL Primary Aug 9; We support Ilhan Omar!

BY ED FELIEN Southside Pride asked the DFL candidates in the upcoming election—Phyllis Kahn, Muhamud Noor and Ilhan Omar—these questions.  Only Ilhan Omar responded: If elected to the State Legislature, would you introduce and support legislation to: 1. Establish free tuition at community colleges for Minnesota residents and establish free child…

Continue reading

Highland Park’s great outdoors

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I guess we can get a little tunnel-visioned here in South Minneapolis with all the great stuff we have, but we have always been aware of the Ford Parkway/46th Street bridge and the fact that it takes you to a surprisingly close-by and interesting “little” area…

Continue reading

What is Donald Trump?

BY ADAM M. SCHENCK No figure in our politics has so confounded pundits and pollsters like Donald John Trump, current Republican nominee for President of the United States. How does one interpret the ascent of a man thoroughly lacking the qualities of statesmanship toward our country’s highest office? How can…

Continue reading

What’s to be done?

BY ED FELIEN Thousands of people gathered at the JJ Hill Montessori School Thursday, July 7, to honor the life and protest the death of Philando Castile.  He worked in the cafeteria at the school and was loved and missed by staff and students.  He was in a car that…

Continue reading

Open Streets on East Lake Street

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE This year East Lake Street’s Open Streets celebration will be on July 24, going from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The boundaries of the East Lake Street festival are Elliot Avenue in the west and 42nd Avenue in the east. Who else closes their streets to…

Continue reading

Jungle Theater investigates generations and identities

BY ADAM M. SCHENCK Millennials, Greatest Generation, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers—it’s easy to dismiss self-appointed experts who separate out groups of people based on arbitrary birth dates. Yet, within a social movement like the gay rights movement, could the gradual ebb and flow of legal rights and social acceptance change…

Continue reading

The direction home from the People’s Summit

BY ED FELIEN Juan Gonzalez chaired the first discussion group on Friday night.  He co-anchors “Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman.  He talked about how when he was in SDS (I always thought it was the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican SDS equivalent), and they were demonstrating at the 1968 Democratic…

Continue reading