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December, 31, 2014 #52b: Year-end reflections of 2014: a year of confusion and expectations.
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
December 31, 2014
Pull quote: We applaud President Obama taking the long overdue bold step to finally work to normalize relations with Cuba after 54 years.
Success or failure is in the eye of the beholder. The year 2014 has been a clear example of confusing differences of opinion and expectations. As we said in last week’s column, discussions of race are affected by the eyes of the beholders.
We offer three criteria:
(1) the different versions of the golden rule of all the great religions (see p. 62 ofThe Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes, 2002
(2) theUniversal Declaration of Human Rightsthat is incorporated into the constitutions of most of the 148 nations in the U.N., and
(3) as we wrote last week (5th paragraph), Martin Luther King, Jr.’s double concern of nonviolence as the method and non-waiting as the practice for advancing human rights in the Civil Rights Movement. Not adhering to these principles hinders successful interpretation of issues of race.
The tragic assassination of two New York police officers of color has heightened tensions in New York City and around the country. Shifting emphasis to minimize or marginalize discussions of race hinders movements for civil and human rights. The key is teaching people how to fish (Nellie Stone Johnson’s “no education, no jobs, no housing”) and not preventing them from learning to fish, making them dependent on government and nonprofit organizations that, in reality, hold them back.
The year 2014 is bringing other concerns to 2015. Will Republicans who will now control both houses of Congress work with the current president, or will they become more driven to obstruct and undermine, further weakening our democratic institutions as our strength comes from unity, not division? Our democratic institutions will be thoroughly tested. How will the beholding eyes of the future interpret the strides we make in 2015?
Will those strides include democracy and freedm of speech that allows us to debate civil and human rights for all, not just for a small controlling group? Who will fight to maintain history’s human right to witness interpretations of history that feature fairness, opportunity, and justice for all?
Will the eyes of the beholders see our leaders providing assistance to those who truly need education, jobs and housing or not?
Two new threats to our domestic tranquility: a new cold war with Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran, displaying hostility and mistrust toward us and our allies, now able to reach us through cyber warfare or missile warfare, as we each let ours eyes that behold interpret the other?
The West maintains it is Russians, Chinese and North Koreans who are the bad people, whereas they maintain Americans and Europeans are the bad people, each with a similar eye of beholding when it comes to one of the most dangerous new movements each sees together for 2015: ISIS, seeking to become a sovereign state by any means necessary, with the goal to impose a single way to behold the political and religious face of the Middle East, Europe and America.
We applaud President Obama taking the long overdue bold step to finally work to normalize relations with Cuba after 54 years. In their eye of beholding, let it be us that they see with whom they can cooperate.
And so, as we enter a new year, we reflect on how to behold 2015. Let’s not wait for time and history to determine correct and wrong. Let’s behold and act on it. Certainly the strength and the fiber of America’s people and the strides of her democratic institutions will be thoroughly tested.
Will the eyes of the beholders see our leaders providing assistance to those who truly need education, jobs and housing or continue to see that most welfare assistance continues to go to the upper-middle-class leadership classes? See also here.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted Wednesday, January 2, 2015, 7:48 a.m.
December, 24, 2014 #52a: Adrian Peterson vs. the NFL. Shame on the NFL and its Lack of Legality and Fairness
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
December 24, 2014
The arrogance of NFL owners and Commissioner demonstrates glaring condescension and abuse of power. The NFL purposefully violated a basic tenant of due process justice (you can’t be punished twice) with Ray Rice and lost. Their try again with Peterson is NFL failed NFL leadership. It was illegal in Ray Rice’s case and is illegal in Adrian Peterson’s.
The NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) understands: NFLPA files suit in federal court on behalf of Adrian Peterson. (Monday, December 15, 2014), “asking the court to dismiss the NFL’s arbitrator's decision to uphold the NFL's punishment” of Peterson, calling the NFL’s handpicked Arbitrator’s decision “biased, unfair and contrary to the collective bargaining agreement.” We celebrate the NFLPL stepping up to show its commitment to protect due process and the legal franchise of NFL players.
NFL arbitrator, Harold Henderson, a former NFL executive, is clearly a company man. His illegal act reminds me of the character Stephen in Django. Adrian Peterson did not stand a chance to be properly reviewed and fairly judged.
The owners, through their Commissioner and staff, dealt in double dealing and lying to hide their illegal actions. By appointing an NFL plantation man as arbitrator reveals how the NFL puts its foxes in charge of its hen houses, just as the NFL did in denying local businessman Roger Headrick in his bid to buy the Vikings, denying his right to counter Red McCombs who had been enabled by the NFL to outbid Headrick by secretly loaning Red an extra $100M to do so.
The NFL, through Rodger Goodell, is a cowardly bully. Adrian Peterson, clearly one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL is also, clearly, well known by those who know him as a wonderful father. Shame on the NFL to try to force him out of the game. He has been double crossed and robbed by the NFL and by the Minnesota Vikings. The Commissioner takes $4.1 million out of the pocket of Adrian Peterson, and the Vikings take the $17.1 million left in his contract to “transfer” to their part of new stadium costs.
Will the unintended consequence of the NFL’s disregard of due process law cause players to put money aside to sustain the next drawn out Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations? The NFL’s disrespect, misrepresentations and lies are one thing. But ignoring due process law in its eagerness to sweep a player’s future (along with that of his family) under the rug to help take the focus off NFL blunders and callous disregard for due process is quite another. And ask any Catholic school or military academy graduates or southern and western fathers about their “discipline.” Due process is not subject to cultural changes in “politically correct.”
If the Vikings and white media are sincere in pulling for Adrian Peterson, prove it: publically object to the NFL ruling. Vikings: pay Peterson during the appeals process to show good faith. The NFL and collegiate football in America remain exposed again as a modern day version of a gilded cage plantation.
This column does not apologize for wishing Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice the best in the future. These African American men have been deeply wounded by the Plantation mentality within the hierarchy of the NFL, be it the owners or the office of their commissioner or some former employee who should have recused himself rather than carry out the betrayal of not only Adrian Peterson but also the future of the NFL as a major sports enterprise on the American stage, as it refuses to reciprocate the dignity and respect Peterson paid to them.
Stay tuned.
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From "About 'Tracking the Gaps' Blog, The Minneapolis Story Blog, 2003
"...a final word about those Blacks in Minnesota who have exemplified themselves in sports, which we have covered in our book, our columns, and our blog. Minnesotans seem to have a problem with the outsized success of Sports figures (coaches and players, collegiate and professional). Both White organizations (especially the press) and Black organizations (especially so-called civil rights ones) have resented their success and attempted to bring them down. Rather than celebrate them as favorite sons they treat them, literally, as the "black sheep" of the Minnesota family. And the latest, of course, is to continue to favor non-slave descended Blacks over slave descended blacks. We will continue to follow all of these issues and urge our readers to stand up for justice and fairness as defined by equal access and equal opportunity for all."
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted Wednesday, December 24, 2014, 2:06 p.m.
December, 17, 2014 #51: The issue of race will not go away. Protests continue across the nation
Pull quote: Young people want to participate in our affluent society, not just live in and watch it…
Racial tension, despite predictions it would fade, increases in America, as seen in the marches and demonstrations coast to coast in reaction to grand jury rulings in Ferguson and New York Staten Island, along with a police shooting of a 12-year-old African American child within two seconds after police arrived. May the president stay the course, speaking out daily, encouraging all Americans to take positive actions to address these racial tensions.
Statistical data of fatalities of Black Americans by police, as well as homicides by both Blacks and Whites, has generated long-needed discussions, raising the question of what else is going on to cause such great reactions to these three deaths. Could it be that the urge to undertake marches and demonstrations against injustice and blocked opportunities for young people around the world has finally found expression in the United States, as seen in such slogans as “Hands up, don’t shoot,” “End racism…Black lives matter,” “No justice, no peace,” “No justice, no healing, ” “I can’t breathe,” and “Am I next?”
Young people want to participate in our affluent society, not just live in and watch it, especially young Black men facing higher barriers to good education and training that leads to good jobs and family strength, livable neighborhoods and better lives. We are watching a new generation find its voice and identity as they join with young people around the world to answer the justice challenge and take leadership around the world against injustice as they perceive it.
This columnist has been surprised by the steady protest of demonstrators in the streets of Seattle, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Washington, Miami, etc. Thoughts of Christmas presents in the yuletide season, New Year’s partying, football bowl games of beloved teams and other seasonal thoughts have turned instead to using America’s streets as a platform for protest.
As a columnist, community advocate and civil rights activist, I’m reminded of that Golden Era of the 1960s when young people joined wise elders to stand up and champion equality and justice for all under the nonviolence umbrella of Martin Luther King, Jr. Where are the ’60s styles of older leaders today teaching nonviolence to the young as the best strategy to achieve justice, to foster ending being mistreated on a daily basis? Under what umbrella will the fashioning of a new base for social change take place in this 21st century Civil Rights Movement?
Grandchildren of those activists have taken up the justice mantel. How long must they sustain such protests until justice takes root everywhere, as it “runs like a river” on all streets?
Nellie Stone Johnson’s “no education, no jobs, no housing” still rings true and needs to be at the center of demands for concrete signs of justice rather than just marching to vent and then lapsing back to the status quo. This newspaper continues that journey begun by its founder Cecil Newman in 1934 and picked up by Thurgood Marshall in the 1950s and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s.
What older leaders today will fan those same flames of nonviolent action to secure justice today in education, jobs and housing for families like the Martins, the Browns, the Garners, and the Rices of America? From the beating death of Emmett Till in Mississippi mid-20th century to the 21st century death of a Cleveland 12-year-old, dangers still threaten our young people’s futures.
May God continue to look over and protect those who continue to work for the hope of justice in our nation for all young people.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
12-17-14, Posted Monday, December 22, 2014, 12:12 p.m.
December, 10, 2014 #50: A Nation Reviews Racism. Continued Fallout From Ferguson
Pull quote: Young people want to participate in our affluent society, not just live in and watch it…
Racial tension, despite predictions it would fade, increases in America, as seen in the marches and demonstrations coast to coast in reaction to grand jury rulings in Ferguson and New York Staten Island, along with a police shooting of a 12-year-old African American child within two seconds after police arrived. May the president stay the course, speaking out daily, encouraging all Americans to take positive actions to address these racial tensions.
Statistical data of fatalities of Black Americans by police, as well as homicides by both Blacks and Whites, has generated long-needed discussions, raising the question of what else is going on to cause such great reactions to these three deaths. Could it be that the urge to undertake marches and demonstrations against injustice and blocked opportunities for young people around the world has finally found expression in the United States, as seen in such slogans as “Hands up, don’t shoot,” “End racism…Black lives matter,” “No justice, no peace,” “No justice, no healing, ” “I can’t breathe,” and “Am I next?”
Young people want to participate in our affluent society, not just live in and watch it, especially young Black men facing higher barriers to good education and training that leads to good jobs and family strength, livable neighborhoods and better lives. We are watching a new generation find its voice and identity as they join with young people around the world to answer the justice challenge and take leadership around the world against injustice as they perceive it.
This columnist has been surprised by the steady protest of demonstrators in the streets of Seattle, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Washington, Miami, etc. Thoughts of Christmas presents in the yuletide season, New Year’s partying, football bowl games of beloved teams and other seasonal thoughts have turned instead to using America’s streets as a platform for protest.
As a columnist, community advocate and civil rights activist, I’m reminded of that Golden Era of the 1960s when young people joined wise elders to stand up and champion equality and justice for all under the nonviolence umbrella of Martin Luther King, Jr. Where are the ’60s styles of older leaders today teaching nonviolence to the young as the best strategy to achieve justice, to foster ending being mistreated on a daily basis? Under what umbrella will the fashioning of a new base for social change take place in this 21st century Civil Rights Movement?
Grandchildren of those activists have taken up the justice mantel. How long must they sustain such protests until justice takes root everywhere, as it “runs like a river” on all streets?
Nellie Stone Johnson’s “no education, no jobs, no housing” still rings true and needs to be at the center of demands for concrete signs of justice rather than just marching to vent and then lapsing back to the status quo. This newspaper continues that journey begun by its founder Cecil Newman in 1934 and picked up by Thurgood Marshall in the 1950s and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s.
What older leaders today will fan those same flames of nonviolent action to secure justice today in education, jobs and housing for families like the Martins, the Browns, the Garners, and the Rices of America? From the beating death of Emmett Till in Mississippi mid-20th century to the 21st century death of a Cleveland 12-year-old, dangers still threaten our young people’s futures.
May God continue to look over and protect those who continue to work for the hope of justice in our nation for all young people.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
12-17-14, Posted Monday, December 22, 2014, 12:12 p.m.
December, 03, 2014 #49: Ferguson: Are you surprised by the grand jury verdict?
December 3, 2014
Pull quote: President Obama and the St. Louis County, MO, prosecutor talked about the importance of rule of law and calm, but avoided the quest for justice. Where was the rule of law and justice for the unarmed Michael Brown on August 9, 2014?
When Bob McCulloch, prosecutor for St. Louis County, MO, read his prepared “No indictment” statement regarding Officer Darren Wilson, he confirmed what we longtime fighters in the civil rights struggle saw coming: no indictment of Wilson for his August 9, 2014, Ferguson, MO, shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
We have received “no indictment” signals for two months. McCulloch presented what the legal profession calls a balanced lie, common not only in racial problems but also in the use of police stops and arrests to tax the poor with fees and fines, in a town 60 percent Black but with an all-White city council and only three African Americans on the police force.
Bob McCulloch: an angry White man, staunch defender of racism and racial obstruction, seeker of “White justice,” placed lies on the scales of justice turning them into scales of injustice for Michael Brown. McCulloch perverted law and justice, mixing prosecution and defense, first playing defense counsel for the killer, Officer Wilson, and then prosecutor of the victim, Michael Brown.
McCulloch showed all of us in Black America how it is done. McCulloch, sounding like a defense attorney against us, is frightening for the future of American race relations.
Ironically, sadly, Mr. McCulloch and President Obama were actually on the same page, 90 minutes apart. Both talked about the importance of rule of law and calm but avoided the quest for justice. Where was the rule of law and justice for the unarmed Michael Brown on August 9, 2014?
McCulloch knew when he received the call August 9, 2014, that he had no intention of structuring the procedure in such a way that an indictment could be arrived at by the 12-person grand jury. McCulloch was very clever, crafting the throwing of the Obama administration under the bus by mentioning Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, at least nine times, saying that, at each and every step of the investigation, he kept the federal authorizes and, by extension, Eric Holder, involved every step on the way.
He intimated he and Eric Holder were best of friends, as if they went fishing together down by the community water hole. Both McCulloch and the president urged “calm” but not a word about justice.
The quest for justice has failed again in America’s democracy and justice arena. Let’s not pretend to be naïve, saying we were surprised by the grand jury’s action or by the prosecutor mixing up his responsibilities as an elected public official sworn to defend with integrity and fairness all of the citizens of St. Louis County, Missouri.
McCulloch is now zero for five in obtaining indictments of White police officers who’ve shot and killed unarmed African Americans. All the warnings were there, including the governor declaring a state of emergency, ordering in the National Guard, quietly training at 98 percent White special police force to keep the natives under control.
The youthful rioters and marchers of the 1960s and ’70s wanted race and war “justice to flow like a river” (Amos 5:24). They are now the status quo preservationists. Their grandchildren now riot and march, another generation seeking “justice to flow like a river.” Dr. King’s “why we can’t wait” again becomes, “wait some more.” And although we don’t advocate destructive rioting, we understand the formulas of “No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace.”
What more can we say? God bless America. Pray for the soul and spirit of Michael Brown and for all young African Americans. May this generation succeed where their grandparents and parents failed.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com. To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
Earlier columns on Ferguson
September, 17, 2014 #38: New developments in Ferguson, MO. New witnesses come forward.
September, 10, 2014 #37: Ferguson and Homeland Security: Some ask: "Are they intertwined?" We answer by asking: "Why are they being intertwined?", because they are!
August, 20, 2014 #34: Ferguson, MO: An American Race Tragedy. Again. Conflicting versions with parallels to Minneapoli
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted December 6, 2014 11:59 p.m.
November, 26, 2014 #48: Channel 11’s Randy Shaver says North High is unworthy. Randy Shaver is wrong!
November 26, 2014
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Pull quote: During the course of the Dawson-Boyd victory, the all Black North High team was the target of racial epithets on the field, dirty play during the game, and incredibly bad officiating….
Randy Shaver is wrong.
Randy Shaver nominated North High Polars’ coach, Charles Adams III, for the Coach of the Year Award. Then, after the loss to Dawson-Boyd in the Minnesota State High School League championship series, Randy Shaver texted Coach Adams that he regretted having nominated him for Coach of the Year. Shame on you Randy, you know better.
Shaver, a former high school football coach, former director of sports for Channel 11, winner of various sports reporting awards and as a member of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, knows better. Note that Channel 11 ran a story of praise on Coach Adams October 15, 2014, “Minneapolis North coach makes a difference.”
The success of North High this past football season is a story for the ages. It has engendered great pride in the community, from no wins four years ago to 12-1 this year, culminating in the Class 1A Championship semi-finals that it lost. Coach Adams’ coaches and team have earned their accolades for a job well done. So what’s up with Randy Shaver?
Four years ago the program was left for dead (no victories [and 12-1 this year], less than 20 players, Board of Education talking about eliminating football). Then along came Charles Adams III, a native son of North Minneapolis, a Minneapolis police officer, and obviously a heck of a football coach. His father, Sgt. Charles Adams II, has assisted him, as has his brother and fellow police officer and former all-state basketball player, Tony Adams. The football team, again, went from zero to a 12-1 record this year under Coach Adams. So you can understand the shock when Coach Adams received the mean-spirited text from Randy Shaver.
At issue: complaints by parents and fans of Dawson-Boyd High School accusing North High and its players, coaching staff and fans as being thugs and hoodlums unworthy of positive recognition.
It sounded like the film Remember the Titans and the racial animosity toward the Black members of the Titans’ team on the field and in the community. Shaver had it backwards. During the course of the Dawson-Boyd victory, the all-Black North High team was the target of racial epithets, dirty play during the game, and incredibly bad officiating (check the tape) in an all-around threatening environment in that November 14 game.
Despite North reporting on field threats and poor officiating, including incidents along the sidelines in which North’s coaching staff had to protect players from that hostile environment, there was no response from officials other than the equivalent of shut up and play on.
Shaver’s statement was unwarranted. He disrespected the North High community. Our own Charles Hallman has been out front reporting on the racist undercurrent within the Minnesota sports scene, reporting racism at all levels, professional (Timberwolves, Twins and Vikings), collegiate (Gophers), and high school. This has been a major topic with us for the last year and a half.
Part of the dark undercurrent of racism includes the fact that this inner-city school was left to rot, purposefully kept from getting what White schools get: the best in equipment, uniforms and whirlpools. Some think Black journalists don’t have the right to speak the truth and lay out the facts. Randy Shaver and Channel 11 are just the tip of the racist spear that so often plunges into the dreams and aspiration of African Americans at every level. It remains the constant elephant in the room.
Speaking first without asking questions is called business as usual in White America’s journalism and the world of White perception and privilege. Channel 11 is the Whitest Twin Cities TV station. No wonder it knows so little about conversations around other water coolers beyond Route 55.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted November 30, 2014 10:35 p.m.
November, 19, 2014 #47: Election 2014 — Republicans take control of Congress: How?
Pull quote: Why didn’t the NAACP celebrate Black Republican winners?
With Republicans taking control of Congress, questions raised in Black America include: Is Barack Obama unpopular because of what he and his administration have done, because of the color of his skin, or both?
Democrats say voters voted against their own self-interest while Republicans saw it as the opposite. Each party accused the other of dominating with money. Not so. Filed forms of how money was spent — candidates, parties, and outside groups — reveals that spending was about even: l Republicans will have spent $1.75 billion and Democrats $1.64 billion.
Candidates and companies spend to keep their names in people’s minds for when they are ready to buy or vote. In 2012, companies spent far more than politicians in their advertising to get customers to buy: Proctor and Gamble almost $3 billion, the auto industry as a whole: $13.9 billion.
So with similar spending levels, why did the Democrats lose? Policies? Programs? Governance? The president’s skin color?
As we continually report in this column, we as a nation haven’t made much progress these past six years on issues of race relations. Race is still the elephant in the room.
A bigger question: What part will race play any in attempts to impeach the president? Within hours after the polls closed conservative commentators began to use the “imp” word — impeachment.
President Obama has many issues on his plate, including many he said he would address prior to his 2008 election, to make a difference and to make us a more tolerable nation, but still left unfinished. The Congress will find President Obama will not play the lame duck role. Attempting revenge upon his presidency and legacy will cost them dearly. It will backfire, as it did with Clinton. It will harm the nation just as sending combat troops back into Iraq will. The American people will no longer stand for more misinformation about America’s wars.
Other issues not addressed adequately in the Black community: education, jobs, the environment, immigration, and the sense amid Black America that there is no momentum to push for them. White media journalists spend inordinate amounts of time making sure that the feelings and the frustrations of Black America are discussed in detail by the White fourth estate, words without action.
As a Black columnist, I understand how White denial is a part of the Black experience in America. The results of the 2014 elections prepare us for a real pivot for 2016, a “pivot” that will determine the future of our nation and the future of our people.
Another important question: Why didn’t the NAACP celebrate Black Republican winners, especially these three firsts:
• First Black U.S. Senator elected from South Carolina to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction, Tim Scott.
• First Black Republican U.S. Congresswoman elected from Utah to the U.S. House of Representatives, Mia Love.
• First Black congressman elected from Texas to the U.S. House of Representatives, Will Heard.
Is the NAACP now the NAACD, National Association for the Advancement of Colored Democrats? I urge NAACP, the Urban League, and other Black organizations to focus on education, jobs, and housing, rather than on their hopes and fears of government and nonprofit bureaucracies. They need to overcome their “failure of nerve” to address the “is world,” not their utopian “wish world,” and translate that into practical and political tasks that serve our community, not just community organization leaders.
We can positively influence education, jobs and housing if both parties work together. Instead, both parties are ignoring us and taking us for granted at election time (Democrats because they get our votes without having to do anything for us, and Republicans because we won’t vote for them).
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted November 20, 2014 9:57 p.m.
November, 12, 2014 #46: German profit, Minnesota failure. Many questions surround Vikings stadium transparent roof
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Pull quote: When the time comes to make repairs, will we use Minnesota workers or will we have to import German workers to fix the people’s roof?
KSTP, Channel 5, on November 3, 2014, reported the results of its KSTP six-month investigation into the transparent (see-through) material to make up 60 percent of the new Vikings stadium roof. They even sent a reporter to the manufacturer, Vectorfoiltec, in Bremen, Germany. Thus, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (on Germany’s western border) gets the steel for the stadium and Germany gets the see-through ETFE (ethylene-tetraflouroethylene) for the roof.
The Vikings posted their own Q&A about their “Clear Roof.”
This will be the first NFL stadium with a transparent (see-through), ETFE, non-movable roof. This reflects the level of NFL involvement in decisions made for our stadium. We hope it works. If it saves construction and maintenance costs, while ensuring its use year round, it will be worth it for us and for future NFL stadiums.
We are the experiment. Traditional roofs (whether fixed, retractable or domes) can cost $50-$150 million more (although we haven’t been able to find out the actual cost of the Vikings roof). Builder HKS assures low maintenance and self-cleaning, thus costing less over the life of stadium.
However, there are issues KSTP raises that the building process will have to address:
• New: As ETFE is relatively new, so little research on it has been learned.
• Longevity: ETFE roofs are supposed to last 30-50 years. Will the Vikings roof? Who knows? Vectorfoiltec owner/inventor/President Stefan Lehnert said: “We don’t know the actual life span.”
• MSFA (Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority) chair Michele Kelm-Helgen could also not say, saying only that the warranty is for 15 years. She said after 15 years, insurance would pay to fix or replace.
• Cost over time: How much will insurance go up if the roof doesn’t last as long as hoped for?
• Germany vs. Minnesota: Luxembourg, steel, Bremen, Germany EFTE, and Minnesota
• Climate: still unclear regarding extreme climate conditions and disasters
• Hail: a weakness. A UM professor raised the issue of whether or not Minnesota golf-ball and baseball-size hail will penetrate the EFTE roof. It is assumed the material will hold. We will have to wait to see how well it holds.
• Vision line claim: to be able to see the downtown skyline. How, from roof, even with its tilt?
• Embarrassment: a tear in EFTE — the 6’ 4” 220 pound KSTP investigative reporter was invited to jump up and down on a demo spread of EFTE; a tear resulted.
This revolutionary roof with the revolutionary material from Bremen, Germany will eventually comprise 60 percent of the massive roof supported by specialty-forged steel from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. German workers will install the EFTE roof. And Minnesota workers?
When the time comes to make repairs, will we use Minnesota workers or will we have to import German workers to fix the people’s roof? Another question: Will this material be used on any of the vertical panels?
Germans are about to make a financial killing on Minnesota taxpayers. Ted Mondale’s MSFA, in the interest of full disclosure, should tell taxpayers and ticket holders what the real overall costs are of the people’s stadium.
We notice little talk of the steel being from Luxembourg. What is the plan if something goes wrong with the ocean-crossing shipping? How come no one is talking about the fact that such materials are not “Made in the USA?”
We assume, based on political ads leading up to the Minnesota elections this year, that this was important. How will Iron Range voters respond? I wonder what jobs could have been saved if stadium materials from Minnesota promises were kept instead of outsourcing them to Europe in order to carry out this experiment for the NFL?
Stay tuned.
Previous columns of note:
--- December 11, 2013, Column: Hallelujah: the project begins. Constructing the new Peoples’ Stadium
--- December 04, 2013, Column #49: “To the extent practical” escape language in legislation allows steel purchase
outside Iron Range.”
--- December 11, 2013, Column: Hallelujah: the project begins. Constructing the new Peoples’ Stadium
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted November 13, 2014 3:02 a.m
November, 05, 2014 #45: Poor timing, dishonest reporting. Demoted MPD Captains in Star Tribune story of October 28, 2014
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
November 5, 2014
Demoted police captains sue Minneapolis chief is the Star Tribune October 28, 2014 headline, by David Chennen, discussing a law suit filed by five former MPD (Minneapolis Police Department) Captains, a story that digs up a buried can of worms. Although poor timing for the city and Star Tribune, I am among those who say its about time, as it reopens the history of discrimination in the MPD that needs to be addressed, including serious questions regarding the withholding of information/news by the Star Tribune. [See list of related past columns below.]
The Star Tribune article opens up (uncovers) these key issues:
That 4,000 page document reveals the real story of the MPD under former Mayor RT Rybak and former MPD Chief Tim Dolan, including the decision to terminate the captains list on which the top 3 candidates were African American (two were successful plaintiffs against the city, being awarded $750,000 in damages for pointing out the intense presence of race prejudice and corruption in the MPD over a 15 year period).
It will be interesting to see what happens if the five former Captains attempt to bring before the court what had previously been agreed to seal, including the earlier cases of the Mill City 5 and Lt. Michael Keefe. The lawsuit by these five former Captains will reveal issues that will make it even more difficult to address problems of race and community policing in Minneapolis until resolution of these cases and issues.
We welcome this as we stand for the importance of telling the truth, examining the truth, and explaining the truth, all necessary conditions for healthy and effective institutions, newspapers and government. Will the Star Tribune print the truth in these matters which have come before the state and federal courts over the past 7 years?
Key is that there will finally be what has been in short supply: the presenting of facts, the discovery of the truth and the search for justice, in key parts of the MPD.
But truth and justice are two way streets. Among these former captains are those who were directly involved in the destruction of the careers of former officers, especially Lt. Michael Keefe, a history that has been tenaciously suppressed by mainstream media. Reporters like Channen and McEnroe will now have an opportunity to truthfully present news for public scrutiny by widening what is accepted as news fit to print, especially suppressed truth the last 15 years inside the MPD.
One of the captains named in the October 28 article, had a chance 7 years ago to join colleagues raising questions of wrong doing in the MPD, including bias, discrimination and unfairness, but instead stayed silent. Another of these 5 captains was very much involved in undermining the Black Police Officers Association, as well as masterminding a less than credible criminal conviction of a former Black police officer, a story only revealed in this column and paper, but now, finally, also in main stream media.
Stay tuned.
See these related, past colums and blogs:
--- August, 27, 2014: 6% Blacks in MPD. When will we get the numbers right?
--- June, 18, 2014: The Keefe Report has been released into the open. Yet “they” continue to try to bury what can no longer be buried
--- June, 4, 2014: Keefe file now open to the public. Sgt. Michael Keefe waits his day in court
--- April, 24, 2014: The continuing battle of Sgt. Michael Keefe, and the disappearance of Black police officers from the MPD
--- December 14, 2007, 12-14-07, Blog: The Twin Towers of Minneapolis' Nullification and Reversal Begin to Finally Crumble as 5 Black Officers Sue the City for discrimination.
---
September 9, 2007, Blog: Mayor, Police Chief and Democrats out of control (or a stealth plan?)
--- January 17, 2007,: The End Of Diversity In The MPD: Another example of "The Forces of Nullification and Reversal"
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted November 8, 2014, 12:01 p.m.
October, 29, 2014 #44: Sheriff Richard W. Stanek has earned another term.
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Pull quote: The key for me is not a person’s party but what he or she does for our communities
in general and our neighborhoods in particular.
Police departments and the heads of police departments across the country are under scrutiny.
Minnesota has a rare example of a chief law enforcement officer who has worked very hard at perfecting community policing: Sheriff Richard W. Stanick, who has earned another term to serve the citizens of Hennepin County in this capacity.
Sheriff Stanick has perfected his vision of importance: community policing implementation. Community policing is too often talked about, too often dissected, too often promised, and then too often not delivered. Sheriff Stanick delivers.
Another important country-wide biennial election is next week. Some will ask why I’m endorsing Stanick for sheriff, a Republican. I did the same for the 2007 election.
But first, let us harken back to then Senator Barack Obama’s memorable words from his key note speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention:
We are one people… There is not a liberal America and a conservative America… There is not a Black America and a White
America [nor a] Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America.
Too many holding umbrella offices forget they are the president, governor, mayor, sheriff of all the people of their united jurisdictions, not just those of their party. Sheriff Stanick understands this.
The key for me is not a person’s party but what he or she does for our communities in general and our neighborhoods in particular, as our so-called separate White and Black leadership groups purposefully ignore or forget, causing the rest of us to suffer.
Sheriff Stanick has served in the Minneapolis Police Department, has served as a state legislator, is a former commissioner of public safety, and now is sheriff of Hennepin County. Sheriff Richard Stanick has crafted his profession and his skills regarding knowing and recognizing the importance and success of community policing during his holding of this position of authority and trust.
Sheriff Stanick has worked extremely hard to achieve success in enhancing the diversity of his department. Certainly we would all like to see as many persons of color at every level, in every department of city government, including that of law enforcement. Diversity and equality of opportunity is a tough mountain to climb and even tougher under the pressure of those who do not envision goals of diversity, equity and inclusion that come with the expansion of opportunity.
This columnist has watched Sheriff Stanick acting on his community policing commitment. He is a man committed to doing, not boasting.
And so I endorse Sheriff Stanick without hesitation, without any wringing of hands.
Sheriff Stanick has earned our respect and appreciation.
It is in our best interests that he continue to serve the citizens of Hennepin County to continue as an example of inclusion and how it can be used for success in achieving diversity, equal access and equal opportunity in the field of law enforcement.
In particular, he will continue to do justice to the concept of community policing, a concept so desperately needed as well in Fergusson, St. Louis, Los Angeles and other cities across this great country.
It is hard work and often not always recognized or appreciated. But in Hennepin County, the voters have reflected Sheriff Stanick’s well-earned appreciation and respect.
When I endorsed Richard Stanick for Sheriff in my column of September 13, 2006, I wrote:
Liberalism had [a] shining moment in Minnesota, from 1948 to 1988. That light is out.” The DFL no longer practices the classic
liberalism of DFL co-founders Hubert Humphreyand Nellie Stone Johnson…
I'm voting for Republican Richard Stanick for sheriff.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted October 30, 2014, 7:33 a.m.
October, 22, 2014 #43: Thomas Eric Duncan, a man denied. Another American tragedy of medical apartheid
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
The name Thomas Eric Duncan will forever live in the annals of American medical history. He has two “firsts” no one wants: the first to die of Ebola in the United States and the first Black man to do so.
The mystery is that Mr. Duncan, a Black Liberian, was not infected when he left Africa and travelled to Dallas, Texas via Brussels, Belgium and Washington, D.C. No one seems to be clear on when he contracted this deadly disease.
U.N. and U.S. experts suggested months ago that Ebola would be contained in Africa. Medical professionals then said they would stop it if it came here, and then if it did come they would save people.
This column is not about the projected 10,000 cases per week expected in Africa by the end of December, nor the October 4 report that “It’s just a matter of time before this disease is carried to every corner of the earth.” Rather, this column simply says this: When it comes, treat Blacks equally.
We know how Thomas Eric Duncan, a Black man from Liberia, was treated: not well. He was turned out, even though he displayed a body temperature of 103 degrees, and then after he returned to the hospital was not offered a blood transfusion. Mr. Duncan died.
Two of Mr. Duncan’s attending nurses contracted Ebola caring for him. They are receiving far better care than Mr. Duncan. One of the nurses has even received a blood transfusion. As we know she is receiving far better care than he did, we ask again: how will Blacks be treated, and thus offer again our rallying cry: When it comes, treat Blacks equally.
We accept how international and American healthcare systems can be confused about a new pandemic like Ebola. What we won’t accept is different levels of care for Black patients. Racism in health care is literally “to do harm.”
Thomas Eric Duncan was nothing more than a guinea pig in that downtown Dallas hospital. How many more Blacks will be denied access to the best of the American medical system? And how will the waves allowed in from Africa and Latin America seeking American medical attention be treated?
This is not paranoia. Too many have forgotten the Tuskegee syphilis experiment from 1922-1972, when 600 poor, rural African American men were told they were receiving free health care but instead were subjects in the study of the progression of untreated syphilis, and then when penicillin was discovered as an effective cure, denied penicillin, for the sake of “science.” Many suffered painful deaths.
The Black community today forgets this at its peril. We are not supposed to talk about it, but we must. And lets also not forget the early 20th century eugenics studies in genetics, “When Racism was a Science,” led by bigoted scientists applying the “science of racial cleansing” to single out superior races from the degrading minorities who were then forcibly sterilized, funded by major U.S. foundations. The NY Times today reports that then they had “blatant racism on every page.”
Even though this equation confirms to some that a Black life does not equal that of a White life, don’t cringe. Instead, stand up and advocate America change its race thinking. We seek equality of care for all Americans, including Black Americans and others of color. How we handle this will tell much about all of us as Americans.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
For those wanting more information, read Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, or The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS, or The Man Who Cried I Am, about the genocidal marginalizing of Black people.
October 22, 2014. Posted October 29, 3:3 p.m.
October, 15, 2014 #42: Dick Gregory and Clyde Bellecourt continue as great civil rights warriors.
Revisiting 11-6-13 column: Redskins’ controversy heats up again.
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Pullquote: First Nations’ pain is the same as the pain felt by the Jewish community in the Holocaust.
Our November 6, 2013 column, Redskins’ controversy heats up again, opposed the NFL’s use of the NFL Washington team’s racist name and image (the column linked to eight historical points exposing the racist origin, racist nature and racist meaning of “Redskins.” The eight are listed below).
Clyde Bellecourt, his late brother Vernon Bellecourt and other members of the Minneapolis Native American community founded AIM (American Indian Movement) in July 1968, which, in turn, founded the American Indian [OIC] Opportunities Industrialization Center) in 1979, an extremely successful and “innovative jobs program” that White and Black groups would do well to emulate.
Comedian, activist and advocate Dick Gregory, often called America’s conscience for his fight for civil rights, has long called for ending purposeful injustice and segregation as it contributes to poverty and suppressed opportunities. He urges we end the minstrel stereotypes of Blacks as fools and too dumb to be educated. For certain sports teams, the misuse of Native American images and names is the equivalent of minstrel portrayals of Blacks.
Dick Gregory and Clyde Bellecourt again give notice to NFL owners and especially Washington’s team owner Dan Snyder. The battle over racist team names continues. Advocates for civil rights understand the need to know how to link past, present and future.
In their 1972 report in Mexico of a gathering museum coordinators, they wrote, “A cultural democracy provides for an acceptance of historical, ethnic, and racial identities just as a political democracy represents the individual.”
The goal: to seek a balance between “where the culture of the non-dominant elements in a society are accepted along with those of the dominant.” Racism wants the non-dominant to submit to the dominant.
The NFL Washington team plays our Minnesota Vikings November 2, at TCF Stadium. TCF Stadium exemplifies the reality of blatant, official, state-condoned racism, as it excluded Black workers.
Being a federal land grant university makes it even worse, as liberal academia stays silent regarding the state and the university’s illiberal behavior of denying access to training and jobs in these stadium constructions.
Progressives have become racist regressives when it comes to education and equal access and opportunities for jobs and housing.
The same was true for Target Field where the Twins play.
It continues today with the Vikings’ new stadium. Ted Mondale, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Authority, overseeing the new Vikings stadium from conception to operation, admitted to me in a 2013 public forum that there was no equity plan for people of color for Target Field.
“Give us a chance,” he asked, promising it would be different for the Vikings stadium. And then, Ted played Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon, grabbing the football, leaving communities of color falling flat on their backs without the promised opportunities.
Why does Dan Snyder, a Jewish man, continue the racist spirit of George Preston Marshall, the first Washington owner and The Godfather of NFL racism? Marshall and the team’s name reflects the infamy of “racism.” Does Snyder not realize this puts him on the “infamy” list?
Dick Gregory has appealed to the NFL and Mr. Snyder to end the racism. Dick Gregory has met with NFL players. We applaud his commitment. Mr. Gregory and Mr. Bellecourt will lead demonstrations to show that the spirit and kinsmanship among different peoples of color are still alive and well.
Both Mr. Gregory and Mr. Bellecourt understand “we pass this way but once.” While Dick Gregory and Clyde Bellecourt are leaving “rich legacies in civil rights achievements, success and caring,” what social justice legacy is the NFL and Mr. Snyder leaving?
The NFL and its franchises lied to First Nation tribes, promising the controversy would be addressed. “Redskins” was a term for identifying kills of Indians, with their scalps as proof. A bounty of $25 per scalp was paid by government sanctioned killing of Indians in 19th century America.
This is the racism Ted Turner and Jane Fonda participate in, typical of liberal hypocrites. Why did they participate in the Atlanta Braves “Tomahawk Chop,” when at one time it meant scalping Indians for money?
Whatever action the First Nation tribes initiate November 2, 2014, will be understandable, just as action in Ferguson will be understandable if there is no justice there. There will be consequences for institutions that continue racism. The NFL, the Vikings and Mr. Snyder seem to assume White privilege even when the majority of those enabling them to make billions are players, coaches and managers of color.
Would Dan Snyder behave the same way when talking about the survival of the Jews from World War II’s Holocaust? We not only all celebrate with Dan Snyder his people’s freedom from slavery at Passover each year, we do so according to how Jews say the yearly commemoration of their exodus to freedom should be celebrated.
So why aren’t Native and African Americans accorded the same respect for expressing thanks for their freedom from slavery? “Let my people go,” Moses shouted to the Egyptians. “Let the racist names go,” Native Americans shout to the NFL.
First Nations’ pain is the same as the pain felt by the Jewish community in the Holocaust. The First Nations should have the right of interpretation of their own history and their own traditions, just as the Jews do.
We shall continue to travel the trail of tears and broken dreams. God bless the first tribe nations, and God pray for the strength of our nation as a whole.
Stay tuned.
NOTE: The 8 points referred to above:
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted October 16, 2014, 6:02 a.m.
October, 08, 2014 #41: Senator Hayden Deserves Due Process. That is the Fair Way. Black leaders need to demand he gets due process.
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
Pullquote: What is happening to Senator Hayden is not unusual in today’s world.
“Due process” is a fundamental concept of the constitution. It means respecting legal rights, holding “innocent until proven guilty,” and having one’s day in court, including receiving notice of charges andright of appeal. Due process is also to protect individuals from government harm by ensuring the rule of law.
Due process, in the United States of America, is the legal glue that holds together the doctrines of fairness and justice, meaning free from bias and prejudice.
It is clear from the Star Tribune articles, silence of leaders of the Black community, and the Senator’s attempt to make his case in his letter to the editor, that allegations have been made and hearings scheduled. This is an election year when ethics committee accusations, often false, are being used to smear and hurt chances of election or the keeping of positions in the legislature, even the charges are knowing ly wrong. State Senator Jeff Hayden is being mis-treated as a steady stream of raw attempts are tried to deny him the fairness of due process.
Senator Hayden, one of three Blacks in the state legislature, is the Assistant Majority Whip in the Minnesota Senate, the #2 position in the Senate, which seems to be too much not only for his so-called white Republican colleagues but also his so-called accusers in the Black community leadership. Senator Hayden is a man who comes from a well respected family with deep roots politically and religiously in South Minneapolis.
Jeff Hayden is an African American who has paid his dues to both his community and the Democratic party. He is not the elected political leader who was previously identified with political shenanigans. Senator Hayden has been a beacon of strength and integrity in first the Minnesota House of Representatives and now in his leadership role in the Minnesota Senate.
The Senate Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing to review and to act on two formal complaints filed against Senator Hayden by the Republican Party and its members in the Minnesota Senate. Black agency heads have slipped the Republican leaders information to make it seem as if Jeff Hayden is guilty.
We need not go into the controversy surrounding CSI and the Community Action Agency. That is being well documented by the Star Tribune and other local media. There are strong feelings that Senator Hayden will handle his businesss and will meet his responsibility and the challenge, such that he will prevail.
Most troubling is the Black leadership in Minneapolis deserting Senator Hayden, being timid, cautious, and uncommitted. As of the writing of this column, nine days before its publication, there has not been a single expression of support for the Senator yet also a sense that he has done no wrong nor has he violated the rules of the Senate.
Since his election and his holding of elective office, he has never backed away from standing tall and strong for his constituency in general and the African American community in particular. History is our witness to the difficulty in Minnesota for African American to maintain a consistent presence in the Minneapolis legislature and, in particular, the Minnesota senate. Review the history and you’ll see that I am correct.
If the two Senators are lost or removed, it will be another 20 years before we see another Black face in the Minnesota Senate, and maybe even in the House of Representatives. Keep in mind we currently have only three, and that is the largest number in the history of the Minnesota legislature. So it’s not like there is a common and ongoing presence of Black Minnesotans in that elective body. And so it is of concern when Black individual and institutional leadership are conspicuously absence by their silence.
Senator Hayden has earned the right to be supported by those persons and institutions who have had no problem in the past with seeking both his counsel and his political support on those political and legislative matters important to their well being.
I hold out hope that there will be an expression of the respect and appreciation held regarding this Senator. That is what due process is all about, that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and that judgments are not been made until due process has had its day in the court of justice. So far, there has been a rush to judgement despite no hearings and despite no gathering of witnesses, no presentation of evidence, no speaking up by Black leadership, giving us the image of a community of cowards and player haters who do not have the intestinal fortitude to request, no, demand for due process for this elected member of the Minnesota Senate and a native son of Minnesota.
This is not unusual in today’s world, where, in every country including ours there are those elites who have the attitude, as John Milton phrased that it is "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." Our "leadership" seems more like contemporary Chinese, bent on pursuing policies that maximize power at the city’s center for themselves rather than stimulate growth, prosperity and security of the surrounding neighborhoods and communities of the people.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go towww.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted October 12, 2014, 2:52 a.m.
October, 01, 2014 #40: Senator Hayden Deserves Due Process. That is the Fair Way. Black leaders need to demand he gets due process.
"Through My Eyes, the Minneapolis Story Continues"
A weekly column by Ron Edwards
featured in the weekly Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder News Online
October 8, 2014
Pullquote: What is happening to Senator Hayden is not unusual in today’s world.
“Due process” is a fundamental concept of the constitution. It means respecting legal rights, holding “innocent until proven guilty,” and having one’s day in court, including receiving notice of charges andright of appeal. Due process is also to protect individuals from government harm by ensuring the rule of law.
Due process, in the United States of America, is the legal glue that holds together the doctrines of fairness and justice, meaning free from bias and prejudice.
It is clear from the Star Tribune articles, silence of leaders of the Black community, and the Senator’s attempt to make his case in his letter to the editor, that allegations have been made and hearings scheduled. This is an election year when ethics committee accusations, often false, are being used to smear and hurt chances of election or the keeping of positions in the legislature, even the charges are knowing ly wrong. State Senator Jeff Hayden is being mis-treated as a steady stream of raw attempts are tried to deny him the fairness of due process.
Senator Hayden, one of three Blacks in the state legislature, is the Assistant Majority Whip in the Minnesota Senate, the #2 position in the Senate, which seems to be too much not only for his so-called white Republican colleagues but also his so-called accusers in the Black community leadership. Senator Hayden is a man who comes from a well respected family with deep roots politically and religiously in South Minneapolis.
Jeff Hayden is an African American who has paid his dues to both his community and the Democratic party. He is not the elected political leader who was previously identified with political shenanigans. Senator Hayden has been a beacon of strength and integrity in first the Minnesota House of Representatives and now in his leadership role in the Minnesota Senate.
The Senate Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing to review and to act on two formal complaints filed against Senator Hayden by the Republican Party and its members in the Minnesota Senate. Black agency heads have slipped the Republican leaders information to make it seem as if Jeff Hayden is guilty.
We need not go into the controversy surrounding CSI and the Community Action Agency. That is being well documented by the Star Tribune and other local media. There are strong feelings that Senator Hayden will handle his businesss and will meet his responsibility and the challenge, such that he will prevail.
Most troubling is the Black leadership in Minneapolis deserting Senator Hayden, being timid, cautious, and uncommitted. As of the writing of this column, nine days before its publication, there has not been a single expression of support for the Senator yet also a sense that he has done no wrong nor has he violated the rules of the Senate.
Since his election and his holding of elective office, he has never backed away from standing tall and strong for his constituency in general and the African American community in particular. History is our witness to the difficulty in Minnesota for African American to maintain a consistent presence in the Minneapolis legislature and, in particular, the Minnesota senate. Review the history and you’ll see that I am correct.
If the two Senators are lost or removed, it will be another 20 years before we see another Black face in the Minnesota Senate, and maybe even in the House of Representatives. Keep in mind we currently have only three, and that is the largest number in the history of the Minnesota legislature. So it’s not like there is a common and ongoing presence of Black Minnesotans in that elective body. And so it is of concern when Black individual and institutional leadership are conspicuously absence by their silence.
Senator Hayden has earned the right to be supported by those persons and institutions who have had no problem in the past with seeking both his counsel and his political support on those political and legislative matters important to their well being.
I hold out hope that there will be an expression of the respect and appreciation held regarding this Senator. That is what due process is all about, that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and that judgments are not been made until due process has had its day in the court of justice. So far, there has been a rush to judgement despite no hearings and despite no gathering of witnesses, no presentation of evidence, no speaking up by Black leadership, giving us the image of a community of cowards and player haters who do not have the intestinal fortitude to request, no, demand for due process for this elected member of the Minnesota Senate and a native son of Minnesota.
This is not unusual in today’s world, where, in every country including ours there are those elites who have the attitude, as John Milton phrased that it is "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." Our "leadership" seems more like contemporary Chinese, bent on pursuing policies that maximize power at the city’s center for themselves rather than stimulate growth, prosperity and security of the surrounding neighborhoods and communities of the people.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
To date: 47 Solution Papers.
Posted Monday, October 13, 2014, 2:52 a.m.
Permission is granted to reproduce The Minneapolis Story columns, blog entires and solution papers. Please cite the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for the columns. Please cite www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for blog entries and solution papers.
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