OUR FIGHT Clouds of doubt hovered over our heads They multiplied and grew to mistrust That brewed to a storm of anger Which unleashed its rage In thunder of words and Lightning of gestures In a while, The exhausted tempest subsided, Clouds dissipated, The sun of trust hesitantly appeared It…
BY JOHN KOLSTAD Willie Murphy, longtime leader and pinnacle of the Twin Cities blues and R&B community has died at age 75. Willie is hailed as a Legend, and it certainly is true. I heard a fan once tell him that he was a legend and he replied, “yah, everyone…
BY WYATT MILLER, FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS PEACE ACTION COALITION The administration’s announcement and subsequent backtracking reveals an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of a war-weary public. President Trump’s announcement in December that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan was met with confusion and criticism…
BY ARTHUR T. HIMMELMAN Engagement invites people to the table Shared power gets people what they want to eat A poster during the mass uprising in France in 1968 read, “You participate, she participates, I participate, they decide.” Malcolm X: “Just because you invite me to the table does not…
A celebration of life service for John Karrigan was held Saturday, Jan. 19, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 3901 Chicago Ave. S. in Minneapolis. John’s longtime partner, Bonnie Rae, wrote this: John R. Karrigan passed away peacefully on Jan. 11, 2019, at the age of 74, after a 10-month battle with…
BY ED FELIEN On Thursday, Jan. 3, County Attorney Mike Freeman released this statement: “Two Minneapolis police officers will not be charged in the fatal shooting of Travis Jordan, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.” Officers Ryan Keyes and Neal Walsh fired a total of eight shots at the…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE There was a flurry of interesting and useful events in December, but I was not able to squeeze a resistance persistence article into the paper to tell you of them. The one that still sticks with me was put on by an organization called No More…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD The Minneapolis 2040 Plan is not just an example of government greenwashing; its supporters have also created a toxic atmosphere in our city that negatively impacts future efforts to achieve true climate justice. I don’t own a car. My husband and I sold our car three years…
BY RICHARD TAYLOR In 2017, Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury.” Kim Jong-un promised to “tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.” By June 2018, they were holding hands. What happened? Events followed Trump’s default negotiating style set down long before he became president. He tells us…
AUTUMN CHMIELEWSKI, MHA, MA, SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES Geraldine Cereceda has helped thousands of people gain access to healthcare services over the past 18 years. She is passionate about connecting underserved and marginalized populations because she knows what it’s like to delay care out of fear of the high costs…
BY ED FELIEN What happened? A little over three years ago, on Sept. 30, 2015, you held a big community meeting with more than a hundred people at Plaza Verde to talk about the dangers of gentrification. You told Ryan Williams-Virden from the Twin City Daily Planet, “Gentrification is a…
BY TONY BOUZA The very word conjures a freighted emotional frisson we barely dare acknowledge or express. Watching “Thurgood,” a biopic on the Supreme Court Justice and the NAACP, inspired me to think of the role of Jews in America. They arrived at the Lower East Side of Manhattan and…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I’m going to assume you don’t. For the past two or three years, I have been on a quixotic quest to raise awareness about the incredible prevalence of child slave labor in the production of chocolate, and the enormous “conspiracy of silence” that leaves otherwise conscientious…
BY SHASA SARTIN The following piece is brought to you by the impassioned creations of Audre Lorde, Beyoncé, Kelis, Leikeli47, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty, and my mother. Have you ever encountered some upsetting information and … started seeing red? Shortly after you hear a very loud screeching sound: it’s…
Roberto de la Riva, Angela Conley and Tabitha Montgomery are all smiles greeting each other before the forum. Last month the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association (PPNA) held a community forum: “Positive Pressure to Protest” led by Roberto de la Riva from Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia, United Renters for Justice—a tenant-aid…
