The Experience of Ron EdwardsA Renaissance Black Man in a White Man's WorldA Beacon for Freedom in the City
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March, 26, 2015 #13: Its Tubby Smith’s fault, or is it? Gopher season is over.
“Gopher’s basketball season over. No NCAA. No NIT.” Headline, Star Tribune, March 16, 2015.
This came as no surprise to readers of our columns that exposed the destructive race card played by the UM:
April 3, 2013: “Thank you Tubby for an excellent run! Tubby Smith: a man of principle and integrity.”
April 10, 2013 “Congratulations, Tubby! Texas Tech hires Tubby Smith while U of M keeps looking.”
As Sid Hartman has pointed out, “removing Smith will turn out to be a bad move.” Norwood Teague, the UM Athletic Director, together with some UM Alumni, destroyed the future of Gopher basketball by playing the politics of Minnesota race cards, leading to two non-successful seasons for Coach Richard Patino, Smith’s successor. Even given a powder puff pre-conference schedule (going 12-3), Coach Patino was unable to prepare and raise the competitive fires in his players for our Big 10 games, going 6-12 in conference play.
Clearly Coach Patino hasn’t the experience nor vision of a wining Big Time Coach. That’s also the case with the UM’s wannabe big time basketball program. In our April 2013 columns, I laid out the major, fatal mistakes of the racists crawling out from under the rocks and dark caves where they kept their hearts. I will always be appreciative of the support and light shown by fellow Spokesman-Recorder columnist, Charles Hallman, as he offered analysis supported by facts.
If schools from so-called lesser programs can find their way to the NCAA tournament, there is no reason why high powered programs like the UM cannot find the talent and wherewithal to join the programs that do, as his father’s Louisville team does.
UM is surrounded by colleges and universities that annually play in NCAA or NIT tournaments. Tubby Smith (who won an NCAA tournament) was the last to take the UM to these tournaments. His “reward” included being lied to about the construction of a new practice facility (hurting recruitment), and being prevented from hiring one of the best recruiters in college basketball, Jimmy Williams (UM self sabotage of recruitment).
And even though Tubby was given a three year extension, Norwood Teague and some UM alumni turned on Tubby. They were also content to have black athletes make money for the UM but not reward a coach achieving success and revenue for UM (the Athletic Department runs a $12.5 million dollar surplus). Those that supported the treachery initiated by Norwood Teague and UM alumni are paying the price for the program’s continued racism.
Sid Hartman and I were correct in our March and April columns of 2013. It was a mistake then and now for the UM to let this program continue to decline into mediocrity and failure.
Say it ain’t so, Norwood.
This pre-dominately white institution in a pre-dominately white state, is eager to preserve and encourage as predominant, white privilege, as promoting equal opportunity is discouraged. Who is there for a Black coach to trust, whether male or female, as trust is needed to develop a winning program?
The choice is not to win white, but to win welcoming the best athletes, regardless of color, so that local top basketball players like Tyus Jones of Duke, former all state at Apple Valley, will want to play at UM, and be involved in the success of their state’s university. One way to do so: join a league comprised of teams from Montana and Wyoming. This would help Richard Patino gain experience that will allow him to someday, maybe a decade from now, emulate his father, who is Head Coach at the University of Louisville.
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 Saturday, March 28, 2015, 5:12 a.m.
March, 19, 2015 #12: Pattern and Practice with Numbers.Stadium Update. What are the true numbers?
It has been a while since we have talked about what is supposed to be the greatest employment story in the history of Minnesota: the new Vikings stadium, with its price tag of over a billion dollars and thousands of jobs. In terms of dollars added to the local economy, it is a success. In terms of jobs for whites, it is a success. But in terms of jobs for blacks, it is a disaster. Worse: it is another scam of our black leadership pulled on our own black community. Black leaders are as corrupt as white leaders. Not the kind of integration and equality we were looking for.
There is no training / employment miracle for African Americans. No statistical data to support it. It is a lie. Are you as troubled as I am that neither Commissioner Kevin Lindsay nor Diversity Director Alex Tittle can produce any real numbers to support the success story narrative of people of color employed on the Vikings Stadium?
Remember the Target Field hiring disaster? Remember the April 17, 2009, Minnesota Ball Park Authority report that admitted what we had reported throughout 2007, 2008, and 2009: very few African Americans employed, as admitted by chairman, Steve Cramer? Remember Sports Authority President Ted Mondale admitting it also, then, in open meeting, asking me “to give us a chance” on the Vikings stadium? The chance? For whites. See our column archives, https://theminneapolisstory.com/tocarchives.htm, to read of the bogus, cooked numbers of this continuing travesty.
Sources within organized labor confirm the Vikings stadium employment fraud being perpetrated on communities of color. The person inside the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department responsible for cooking the numbers is part of the team of 3 individuals who provided the same type of bogus information and documentation to the Public Safety Committee of the Minneapolis City Council, two weeks ago.
In the case of Twins ball park, it was a $300K rip off, money that did not lead to trained African American hires. In the case of the Vikings Stadium it will be in excess of that number, as, once again, the African American community will be short changed jobs from training by their leaders and lack of legislature oversight.
Why won’t the Human Rights Director, the Director of the Council on Black Minnesota, and the two co-chairs of the legislative committee overseeing compliance regarding stadium legislation regarding African American employment fight providing false information in bogus documents containing bogus numbers? Why does this remain the modus operandi of “liberal” Minnesota?
Why the continued uncontested confirmation of corruption and mismanagement, as reported in the April 17, 2009, “Community Participation Program Update?”
As a black newspaper, we understand that too often, unless a white newspaper says it is factual, Black people and Black columnists have no standing in the matter, a terrible truth to have to tell about this supposedly great liberal enclave of Minnesota. But it has been a fact for all of our life times that as long as its only black people being hurt, Minnesota liberals are OK with it.
Ongoing training / hiring number corruption ensures black people will continually be asked “to wait” for seats at the table of opportunity, as black and white leaders scramble to cook books, report false information, and deny Blacks stadium employment.
Out of over 1,200 people that worked in the construction of the Twin’s stadium, the African American community was allowed less than 40 African Americanm workers. That’s a sad and frightening commentary. Being marginalized and dismissed as a race on the Vikings stadium as well continues this as business as usual.
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 Friday, March 19, 2015, 7:24 p.m.
March, 12, 2015 #11: Council on Black Minnesotans being weakened. House File 1353: The Liberals’ instrument of destruction
Pull quote: Is not H.F. 1353 and COBM’s refusal to file suit nothing more than an attempt to escape accountability regarding the lack of employment of Blacks on the stadium?
In the new movie Selma, Martin Luther King, Jr. works tirelessly to integrate Black Americans socially (education, opportunity), economically (jobs, housing), and politically (voting, holding office). He understood “American” refers not to race, religion or country of origin, but to the ideal of “truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…with certain unalienable rights.”
Our leaders have taken their eyes off this prize, turning the Civil Rights Movement into a rewards program for Black “leaders,” not Black communities. On March 8, 2015, this genie of truth was exposed when an “alert” message was sent by Council on Black Minnesotans (COBM) Executive Director Ed McDonald, identifying House and Senate bills calling for gutting the COBM’s power to look into the issues of diversity, affirmative action, or complaints of violations of the rights of Black Americans in Minnesota.
Mr. McDonald identified the legislation and the sponsors and asked his board to authorize him to file suit in the federal district court in St. Paul. The COBM Board, with the exception of two members, refuses to endorse this legal action.
Do not these actions reflect how Black American leaders and White Liberal leaders (Democrat Farm Labor/DFL Party) contributed to our Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America, and how The Dream [became] the Nightmare, as they try to shift blame in their finger-pointing at White Republicans?
For a decade I have written on the failure to integrate Black Americans with White Americans in stadium and arena construction (Twins, Gophers and Vikings). Is not H.F. 1353 and COBM’s refusal to file suit nothing more than an attempt to escape accountability regarding the lack of employment of Blacks on the stadium? Next week we will show in this column that a total commitment has been made by State officials to provide false information regarding the 32 percent participation doctrine. The Human Rights Commission of Kevin Lindsay supports this and is “coincidentally” being rewarded with $2 million in additional dollars for the Commission.
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House File 1353 will block COBM’s right to review or retrieve all statistical data and other documentation pertaining to both the construction and procurement of services, goods and supplies, relevant to the construction of the Vikings stadium, whose cost has risen from its original projection of under a billion to $1.4 billion. (How much more and who pays?).
This comes three weeks after I asked COBM Chairman Laurence, on my radio program, to provide the actual figures by April 1, 2015. We heard rumors of retaliation against Chairman Laurence and Executive Director McDonald for stating they would retrieve the true numbers.
This comes on the heels of the Minneapolis Star Tribune retrieving documents and information from a civil rights violation complaint filed by this columnist in 2007 exposing the gross misdemeanor committed by State and City officials. (As of this writing, its findings have not been reported.)
As we have written since 2007, the investigative report is in the archives of the Minneapolis City Attorney. We encourage those interested in justice and fairness to request copies of the complaint and the executive summary issued in early 2008 and referred to in this column on a number of occasions since then.
H.F. 1353, if passed, will bring to an end the investigative powers of COBM as a functioning body within state government. It reminds us of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., as this legislation, if passed, will dismantle the ability to account for promised labor inclusion of Black Americans.
I will continue my efforts to get accurate and correct information released, so help me God.
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 Friday, March 13, 2015, 7:15 p.m.
March, 05, 2015 #10: Police Officer Shot in North Minneapolis. Police and Community Work to Hold Down Tension
Pull quote: …The person who violated the safety of others by breaking into a home at 5:30 am is Andrew Neal, the one who threatened residents in that home.
The ambush style shooting and wounding of African American police officer Jordan Davis, at 5:30 am, Saturday, February 21, 2015, had all the possibilities of creating significant tension and conflict. Arrested suspect Andrew Neal, also African American, is in custody and charged in the shooting. Here’s the twist: Neal was a paid informant for the MPD (Minneapolis Police Department) in the 90s.
The shooting took place on the 2400 block of Fremont Avenue North. Officer Davis, a nine-year veteran with a family, was wounded. Police swarmed into the area on that dark, cold early morning. Fortunately, all of the bad possibilities of Ferguson, Cleveland, NY, and L.A. that were possible did not take place.
A search began. A suspect was identified as an outgrowth of his forced entry into a home along East 24th. By 1:30 pm on Saturday afternoon, Andrew Neal had been taken into custody along the 1100 block of Logan Avenue North, only one-and-a-half blocks away from the Northside Fourth Precinct in which Officer Davis had been assigned for the past year.
It was interesting and refreshing to observe the very professional manner of both investigators and beat officers in their search for their suspect under the Command Leadership of Assistant Chief Matt Clark, along with Lt. Rick Zimmerman (head of the homicide unit), and with Sergeants Adams and Thompson.
It was quite obvious that a very well-coordinated plan of action was in place. Things could have exploded. Mistakes could have been made. Lives could have been lost. These outcomes did not happen because of how these officers coordinated every step of the way, beginning at 5:30 am Saturday when the shot was fired, up to 1:30 pm Saturday along Logan and 11th.
If not for the coordinated effort of these officers and investigators, we could have had serious problems. For example, when the shot was fired that hit officer Davis, there could have been return fire towards the area from which the shot had come. If not for intense intelligence gathering, including the identification of the apartment in which the suspect was holding up, there could have been casualties.
Some have criticized the police department dragnet as too broad. It was clear that the police on the scene understood this, and first intensified their intelligence gathering. The intense command supervision by Assistant Chief Clark, Lt. Zimmerman and the preparation by the entrance teams of at least 30 armed police officers could have had serious repercussions, presenting danger to the citizens within the targeted area.
To be fair and objective in reporting, the person who violated the safety of others by breaking into a home at 5:30 am is Andrew Neal, the one who threatened residents in that home. Now it’s time for healing.
Much discussion over the past year, and longer, centered on the need for an intense effort to bring about better relationships between police and communities of color, especially as the world’s attention has been turned toward Minneapolis as a citadel for Muslim terrorist activities. Everyone’s work has been cut out for them.
The MPD and its crack command team did their jobs. Now it’s time to take advantage of this success and work toward healing the wounds that have strained relationships between our institutions on the one hand and our racial communities on the other hand, especially the African American community.
Our prayers continue to be with Officer Davis and his family. We salute the job well done by Sergeants Adams and Thompson. We continue to pray for the successful resolution of our racial, religious, political, and economic divisions.
Stay tuned.
Posted Friday, March 6, 2015, 3:12 p.m.
February, 26, 2015 #9: Alonzo L. Lucas, III, 1954 — 2015.A Minnesota icon and a man who will be missed
Pull quote: He now walks with the bowling greats that preceded him, such as George Manning, Cliff Burns Sr., Larry Walton, Art Moore, Sr., and Ron Woods.
Alonzo L. Lucas, III passed from this life on February 2, 2015. Services were held for him Saturday, February 14, 2015, at the Cremation Society of Minnesota, with over 225 in attendance to pay their respects to this revered man of our community.
Mr. Lucas was born, raised and went to school in St. Paul where he raised his own family and contributed to the success of his community in many ways. He was active in the civil rights struggle. He was a master plumber. He coached youth in several sports, and at the time of his death he was the president of three of the oldest African American bowling leagues in Minnesota.
He was the assistant director of Oxford Community Center where he started his work with young people while building his plumbing business at the same time, which he ran for many years, servicing cities all over the state.
He retired in 2014 to a leisure life of traveling, bowling and golf tournaments. As an excellent, competitive bowler in the 220-plus range, he was an inspiration to many as he competed and won in many local and national tournaments.
Alonzo was serious about everything he attempted, be it the success of his company, the success of the young players he coached in various sports, or the success of his leadership of the bowling leagues of which he was president. He was a fierce yet civil bowling competitor. He shared his bowling enthusiasm, reaching out to others to provide advice and coaching.
He joins the legendary Black bowling greats in Minnesota’s history. He was truly a Minnesota icon. He now walks with the bowling greats who preceded him, such as George Manning, Cliff Burns, Sr., Larry Walton, Art Moore, Sr., and Ron Woods, all men who carried on their shoulders the mantel of Black excellence in the field of bowling in Minnesota.
All of them represent why we should have a Minnesota Black Bowlers Hall of Fame to recognize the great ones going back all the way to the legendary players in the 1930s and George Manning.
And in remembering them along with Alonzo L. Lucas, III, we reflect on the battles fought against segregation and racism in the bowling centers of Minnesota and across the country and the inspiration Mr. Lucas and other gained from Mr. Manning, Mr. Burns, Sr., and Mr. Walton.
They helped break down the “No Negroes” barriers and covenants so they could bowl in Minnesota tournaments, as they successfully carried out with their presence the integration of bowling in Minnesota. Mr. Lucas and other improved their game on and off the field, especially in the civil rights battles begun years earlier, again following the inspiration of Mr. Manning, Mr. Burns, Sr. and Mr. Walton. They made sure that opportunity, and respect that goes along with that opportunity, was accorded to every African American bowler who took to the lanes.
We were privileged to watch Mr. Lucas develop and participate in the leagues of which he was the president and which he loved so much. We are privileged to have been present during his success.
He was taken too young, but in his journey he made many friends. He rolled a lot of good games and he left this place a little bit better than how he found it. He will truly be missed for he was one of the great warriors who instilled pride and demanded excellence in all the fields of endeavor in which he participated.
Our blessing and condolences go out to his wife Kathleen and to his children.
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 Friday, March 6, 2015, 3:25 p.m.
February, 19, 2015 #8: Preparation for a ‘safe’ summer. Black ‘leaders’ work on a plan to reduce crime. Will the community be left out again?
Pull quote: The DOJ wants to know how the African American organizations spent the millions of dollars poured into their organizations.
“Leadership’s” annual empty rite for summer begins: “planning” for community summer safety, with the opposite of “community” in play, claiming the solution demands more money for planning and planners, leaving little for community people and streets, betraying Martin Luther King, Jr.’s concept of involved community.
Why is leadership concerned now when earlier they would not sit down with Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Chief Janeé Harteau to discuss her goals? Almost two years ago, Chief Harteau asked the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to examine the MPD’s oversight, discipline and preventing of misconduct, resulting in two reports. Dr. Ellen Scrivner, Ph.D., ABPP, was on the core team of both:
· 2014: The DOJ Diagnostic Center presented assessment findings to MPD and the broader Minneapolis community in October 2014.
· 2015: The current report, Diagnostic Analysis of Minneapolis Police Department, was released January 28, 2015.
“Leadership,” fearing diagnostic analysis, asked Governor Mark Dayton five months ago for significant funding for themselves, claiming that more funding would guarantee success in the war on violence. Some of the ecumenical leadership also wanted the MPD placed in Federal Receivership. Why? Is there something “leadership” isn’t doing for community that they don’t want exposed?
They need to pay attention to the recommendations in the January 28, 2015, diagnostic analysis report. Chief Harteau has embraced all of its recommendations. Why can’t they? Its steering committee has five subcommittees reporting to it:
· Communications
· Conduct and oversight
· Community relations
· Early Intervention System (EIS)
· Coaching
The MPD has received praise for its positive response to the recommendations. So why does “leadership” remain so negative and cynical?
“Leadership” too often misses that “community” means engaging those living in the community. Instead, “leadership” asks for more funding for themselves to do planning but little for the community.
The DOJ Office of Justice Programs has reviewed volumes of data, information, recommendations, and conclusions. The MPD will be doing everything asked for.
One of the areas of concern is analysis of where the millions of dollars went that were awarded, granted or paid to African American organizations and individuals to plan for the safety of the African American community. The DOJ wants to know how the African American organizations spent the millions of dollars poured into their organizations.
When Chief Harteau asked for assistance, she indicated she expected African Americans would be in the forefront of critiquing and evaluating how the millions of dollars were spent. Now they will get their chance.
There is displeasure in some African American organizations. They don’t want to be audited, reviewed and critiqued. They reflect what African American Professor John McWhorter calls in the subtitle of his book Losing the Race, “Self-Sabotage in Black America. For 15 years, some of these organizations and individuals have claimed their leadership would make the community safe. Ask yourselves this: Have they?
The yearly empty summer rite discussing how to keep the African American community safe is reflected in “leadership’s” claim that they can reduce violence in the spring of 2015. All involved regarding the summer planning would do well to review the five years of reports by the Police Community Relations Council (PCRC). Newcomers to the public safety scene in the Twin Cities are especially urged to familiarize themselves with the PCRC work so they can bring themselves up to speed with factual information consistent with the factual events in the Twin Cities and throughout the State of Minnesota.
The subcommittees are already at work on phase one, which will end making recommendations for phase two. We look forward to successful implementation of recommended actions.
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 Tuesday, February 24, 2015, 6:55 p.m.
February, 12, 2015 #7: The Super Bowl as plantation bowl.Even bigger money for Whites
Pull quote: African Americans, despite having verified best records for senior positions, are being blocked from having a piece of the plantation.
The Super Bowl Plantation Bowl, played February 1, 2015, followed the Plantation Bowl of the National College Championship game, January 12. The NFL is integrated on the playing field. For greater future success, it needs to integrate on the coaching side and outside the white lines on the business sides as well.
The myth is that college players will make it big in the NFL. Yet only 1.7 percent of college players play professional football. The average career of those drafted that actually start a game is 6.6 years.
Of the estimated $500 million Super Bowls bring into host city economies, most goes to increase White community wealth and little for Black wealth that can help reverse poverty. Black player money is nothing compared to year in and year out money to networks, NFL teams, the NFL itself, and NFL owners.
The worst call in the history of the Super Bowl by Pete Carol at the end of Super Bowl XLIX affected only one game. The continued worst call regarding minority players, coaches and executives affects every game every year: the call for continued discrimination and roadblocks to advancement, as called by university presidents, athletic directors, head coaches, assistant coaches, all influenced by the same call by boosters, NCAA heads, legislature committee chairmen, etc.
It then moves to the professional level: owners and their general managers, all supported by those in the media as well as fans in the stands and before their TV sets.
· Minority owners: zero.
· Minority presidents of an NFL team: none.
· Minority general managers: seven in 2014. It is GMs that determine head coaches.
· Road to head coach: offensive coordinator.
· Minority offensive coordinators in 2012: one.
· Famous headline: “Black offensive assistants encounter roadblocks to becoming NFL head coaches”
· Minority head coaches: one in 1989 (the first year); two in 2001; seven in 2006. Today: five. Trend: fewer.
The amount owners take to the bank is staggering. It is difficult to see how African American communities across the country enjoy even a half a percent of NFL entities collectively making billions of dollars. The NFL has been integrated since 1946, yet there are statistically fewer African Americans represented in and enjoying the profits of the game that statistics demonstrate and records show should be there.
Not since Denny Green discussed his plan to purchase an NFL team (in his 1997 book, No Room for Crybabies) have we heard any serious discussions about an African American presence in the executive boardroom of an NFL team (the 2004 attempt regarding the Vikings was by an African American without the money, who then defaulted to the Wilfs).
Note: Vikings’ African American executive vice president/legal affairs and chief administrative officer, Kevin Warren, is the highest ranking African American executive working on the business side for a team in the NFL.
African Americans, despite having verified best records for senior positions, are being blocked from having a piece of the planation. The diplomatic “wait” is misdirection to a false promise done by the NFL, colleges, and all associated institutions involved that are still too racist, too prejudiced and too supportive of race discrimination, or are looking the other way.
Given all that Black Americans have achieved since 1946, think how much more money the NFL and its owners would make with more African Americans on the business side. We are way past time to be still blocked from having a place at the table. NFL power brokers need to see how capable African Americans can be as entrepreneurial partners in the business, profit-making and wealth-building sides, not just as entertainers.
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 Thursday, February 12, 2015, 4:06 p.m.
February, 05, 2015 #6: Chaos once again at Green Central.Principal Lorraine Cruz ousted
Two years ago, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) reached out for help in dealing with academic and race relations problems at Richard Green Central Park School by hiring Lorraine Cruz — a top-notch educator and administrator — as principal. She was given a three-year contract beginning with the 2014-15 school year. Green Central, in South Minneapolis, is named after the first African American superintendent in the history of MPS.
The academics and race relations issues at Green Central, which I wrote about several years ago in this column, are blocking education for both Blacks and Whites. Minnesota high school graduation rate is 79%, 33rd in the USA. The worst graduation rate is in Oregon, at 68.7 percent, and best is Iowa at 89.7 percent. Nationwide high school graduation rates are Whites at 85 percent, Blacks at 56 percent and Hispanics at 58 percent. It is a systemic problem for all.
Principal Cruz consulted with the community and with experts in the field. She aimed to meet the biggest community request, “access to Spanish” from “non-Latino families.” She made wholesale shifts and transfers to achieve a new direction for halting the deterioration in order to meet MPS goals for improving academic outcomes and race relations.
Forty-three personnel were transferred to enable more persons of color, primarily African Americans and Latinos. Minneapolis claims to stand for racial balance, but when Ms. Cruz actually brought it about it did not sit well with White educators nor White MPS administrators.
A group of upset White educators sent a five-page letter to the state commissioner of education. Recognizing that it contained false and slanderous accusations against Ms. Cruz, the commissioner rejected their letter.
A White associate superintendent and other White MPS administrators were involved in helping to craft the hateful letter sent to the state commissioner of education.
Recently, while home ill, an African American instructor was fired without consulting with or gaining concurrence from Ms. Cruz. The following Monday, January 26, 2015, Principal Cruz was removed and replaced by her White male assistant principal. This is highly unusual and contrary to the policy and protocol of MPS.
Two school board members stated that the principal has no tenure and could not expect any rights or protection. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney was the last to speak that way in his March 6, 1857 ruling: the infamous "Dred Scott Decision," offering what he thought would resolve tensions between the states but instead made them worse by ruling that Negros had no rights, even in Minnesota where Dred Scott lived, and thus Whites were not obligated to offer Negroes any rights, including freedom.
Principal Cruz, only halfway through her 3 yeaer contract, has maintained silence and will continue to fight for quality education for all students, including students of color who attend Green Central. Due process is being denied to Principal Cruz.
The attempt to destroy education opportunities at Green Central and Ms. Cruz speaks volumes about the MPS process offering tacit endorsement for keeping the status quo at the expense of the education of White children as well as those of color. Special School District 1 continues to look the other way as the system of education continues to fail students of color, specifically African American and Latino/Hispanic.
The MPS demonstrates a high comfort level for destroying employees who fight for equal education. Who will stop the violating of education opportunities for children of color? Who will see that their parents receive a fair and adequate seat at the school’s decision table?
The Board of Education hides behind the calendar: Since January 1, the board changed the board meeting frequency policy from every week to once a month, leaving a lot less time to address community needs and questions.
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, February 5, 2015, 2015, 1:23 p.m.
January, 29, 2015 #5: Albert Lea and Duluth, MN: Deserted Islands Unto Themselves. NAACP organizations refuse assistance or corrective action.
Duluth and Alert Lea MN have had African Americans since the 19th century. Today, both communities are under siege by the police and by the NAACP (local, state, national).
Albert Lea: since December 24, 2014, Albert Lea police have been out of control against young Albert Lea African Americans. When they asked the Rochester NAACP branch for help for a 19 year old African American beaten up by police, they refused.
The young man’s grandmother: a past President of the Minneapolis NAACP.
His mother: a professional business woman in Albert Lea.
Albert Lea city police and county sheriffs: hostile to the growing Black youth population in Albert Lea.
The NAACP: no response. The NAACP will protest police actions in Ferguson and New York City, but not Albert Lea. Why?
Sad, tragic fact: the so-called leadership of the NAACP of Minnesota, the Council on Black Minnesotans, and the Minnesota Human Rights Department, have shown no interest in conducting examinations or investigations of police misconduct and brutality against African Americans.
Duluth: another repeat performance by all three NAACP organizational levels: local, state, and national. They joined to steal and condone the election from a 22 year old African American activist and leader, Classie Dudley, who won election in November of last year, unseating a 20 year incumbent president of the Duluth NAACP branch, Claudie Washington supports democratic voting only if he wins. Claudie then called for “unity,” an old trick used to justify such actions.
Serious questions were raised regarding voter fraud when Claudie won the 2nd election. The board then voted 18-1 for Claudie to resign. He refused. Instead, Ms. Dudley was asked to step down immediately. This is not how to raise up the next generation of leaders.
The major white Duluth newspaper (Duluth News Tribune), to its credit, is writing about the election theft by the NAACP unholy 3: local Duluth branch, Minnesota State Conference, national office in Baltimore, Md.
The 22 year-old young woman who won the first election is a very popular college student hwo has rallied the collegiate community in Duluth and in Superior, Wisconsin, in her quest for justice.
At a time when the NAACP is in need of new blood, the NAACP denies a young person the opportunity to lead and to provide fresh vision to the NAACP dream of progress. The Duluth NAACP wants no change except what maintains their status quo. The issue is fairness and justice, not age. The Mayor of Duluth was elected at age 33. In 1979, the mayor elected was 29.
In Duluth, the old guard NAACP took over when they were young and are now essentially, like elders world wide, against their own once great, activist young selves.
In denying Albert Lea, the powerful old guard NAACP in Rochester holds onto power at the expense of the future of young people. They refused to provide requested support of any kind to the Albert Lea African American community. They refuse to investigate the police who beat up the 19 year old. They refuse to support justice.
In the last three weeks, so-called NAACP leadership, northern and southern Minnesota, refuse to take action, and have gone to great lengths to silence any dissident voices. They are no committed only to themselves, not to their communities.
These NAACP organizations are looking forward through rear view mirrors. It is no wonder NAACP organizations at all levels, country wide, are dying slow deaths of irrelevancy. The cries for help from the young people of both communities explain how the NAACP tombstone was put in place by the old leaders themselves.
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 February 13, 2015, 10:33 p.m.
January, 22, 2015 #4: The Plantation Bowl.White profit, Black poverty in college sports
Pull quote: The success of those in the football house is due to the hard work of those in the football field. Without players, college athletics and its billions disappear.
The “hoorah” is over for the January 12, 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship game. Ohio State University was crowned, salvaging the Big Ten’s reputation. The Pac 12’s Ducks of Oregon lost and must wait for another opportunity.
But two injustices continue: racism in college sports and funding college plantation sports programs on the backs of student athletes, many being African American. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote about “why we can’t wait.” Around the world, young people want access to opportunity and fairness, especially in Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
Social justice, racial justice and fairness across the board remain our focus. In terms of college players, this is not about income inequality, but about income. In terms of minorities, it is also about education: Many can’t play in college due to poor K-12 education in poor communities where too many Black students are not prepared well for college.
The success of those in the football house is due to the hard work of those in the football field. Without players, college athletics and its billions disappear.
The National Championship game at Arlington was truly a profitable success. Many made money: networks, colleges, football programs, NCAA, the competing schools, coaching staffs, broadcasters, sponsors, retailers nationwide and various businesses in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. What did the young men receive who played the game and entertained us all, who helped their coaches receive $4M salaries, $2.5M bonuses, and hundreds of thousands and maybe millions in endorsements — not a dime.
For the Black athletes of Ohio State and Oregon, three-fourths will not receive a degree. That is the worst form of underpayment. They are truly underpaid. This 2015 National Playoff Championship was truly a plantation game.
The University of Oregon, in one of the Whitest states in America, has only 15 Oregonians on its team and hardly any African Americans from Oregon.
Note also that in the championship game, with two schools playing for the national title, there was only one Black American on the officiating crew, the line judge. And the young men? Amateur and professional sports, particularly in football, make a lot of money for all but the athletes. At least in the Super Bowl, young African American players will receive well-deserved compensation for services rendered to make owners, sponsors and media wealthier. But only a fraction of college players make the NFL.
Coaches and staffs in college sports get salaries, bonuses, retirement, and jobs on campus or in the business community for friends and buddies. And now we have value rankings of colleges in millions of dollars by a professor at Indiana University, Purdue University, Columbus. And although these are theoretical numbers, as if teams were actually able to be sold on the market like pro teams, these numbers demonstrate their value and the reality that there are funds to pay athletes. The count is as follows:
Ohio State’s team is number one, in terms of market value if it could be sold: worth $1,127.6B; Michigan, number two, worth $999.1M; Texas A&M, number three, worth $972.1M; Notre Dame, number four, worth $936.3M; Florida, number five, worth $815.4M; Wisconsin, number 16, worth $415.9M; Oregon, number 18, worth $358.7M; Minnesota, number 38, worth $202.4M; North Carolina, number 50, worth $134M.
Most coaches are former players. Over half of players were/are Black. But coaching is 90 percent White. There is not a lot of opportunity to implement the David Stockman trickle-down theory, as Blacks are blocked from being head coaches by their not being hired to be in the positions most head coaches come from: offensive coordinators and defensive coordianators.
And so on January 12th, young men from the most impoverished areas of our nation — Black America — made sure that massa in the big house and massa’s friends and business associates received excellent paydays, as both White wealth and Black poverty continue to grow, an acknowledged fact, unfair and disingenuous for those who say that there is equal opportunity for all in collegiate sports in general and football in particular.
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, January 26, 2015, 4:07 a.m.
January, 15, 2015 #3: Judge Davis: a great legal mind.Black leadership: What’s the plan?
Pull quote: When Black leadership does not prepare, we get excluded.
Michael J. Davis, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, announced December 31, 2014, that he will step down as Chief U.S. District Judge, summer 2015, but will remain active on the bench as a senior judge. I have known Judge Davis for over 40 years, from when he joined as an attorney and a commissioner at the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission from 1977 to 1981 (MCRC).
We served as commissioners along with two other African American commissioners, also attorneys, Pam Alexander and Lejune Lang. These three are among the greatest legal minds of Minnesota.
Judge Davis served nearly 21 years on the federal bench, seven as chief judge of the federal court of the Federal District of Minnesota. In a Star Tribune sub-headline, December 31, 2014, reporter Randy Furst quoted Chief Judge Michael Davis urging the powers that be “to continue advancing the diversity cause.” Furst wrote: “Davis, the only black federal judge in Minnesota history.”
Davis is a man of great principle, vision, and effectiveness, all important criteria for a judge. Why only one Black federal judge in Minnesota history?
Last week’s column discussed leadership in terms of “preparation,” for which the key is having a “plan to implement.” What has our leadership done to ensure by their efforts an African American will succeed Judge Michael Davis on the federal bench?
Recall how 21 years ago, the nomination for then Hennepin County District Judge Pam Alexander did not survive the political treachery of fellow DFLers undermining her nomination, and that then-Senator Paul Wellstone, one of the great liberal voices of Minnesota, found it necessary due to more DFL treachery to withdraw her nomination and nominate a White woman. These are historical facts. For powerful Minnesota politicians, these are taboo subjects, but not for this columnist.
Local Black leadership continues to avoid answering the question I always raise: What’s the plan? To avoid the question puts us in peril.
The state of Minnesota would have had the rare luxury, 21 years ago, of having two African American judges sitting on the federal bench. If it misses again, we might not have another sitting Black judge for 30 years. Diversity is a tool of inclusion. When Black leadership does not prepare, we get excluded.
The January 2, 2015 Star Tribune headline says it all: “Speculation mounts over who will succeed Federal Judge Michael Davis” There are names now being talked about as possible successors to Judge Davis. How, if there was a plan?
One of the names which would provide the dual satisfaction of a highly qualified Black and highly qualified female, is that of Associate Supreme Court Justice Wilhemina Wright. Justice Wright, educated at Yale and Harvard, brings a significant portfolio of qualifications for consideration.
The selection evaluation committee stated résumés had to be submitted by January 9. A legacy of Judge Michael Davis is how passionately he was supported by the late Governor Rudy Perpich and the late Nellie Stone Johnson. They set Judges Davis, Wright, Alexander and Lang on their historic courses.
For 10 years I’ve been asking “what’s the plan” regarding various issues. White Democrats and White Republicans have theirs; why not us?
Our Black leadership knows how this process works. They have known of this moment for seven years. Yet I saw no sign of a plan. One way to honor Judge Davis (one of Minnesota’s and America’s Chief Judges of a Federal District), would have been recommendation, such as, for example, Wilhemina Wright.
To you, Judge Davis, a job well done, my friend.
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 14, 2015, 5:15 p.m.
January, 08, 2015 #2: 2015: A Year of Preparation
Pull quote: Who will win claim to “the best one suitable” to take on the right wing juggernaut as it storms towards control of the White House?
The word “preparation” is a sophisticated word. It means to prepare, develop, and analyze to get the best change plan to implement.
The year 2015 will be an extremely interesting year as preparations begin for the return of the conservative right to control the White House just as the liberal left works to retain the White House. Which plan will resonate with people to get their vote?
Will Democrats be ready? What will Republicans do? For now, I’m agnostic about which candidates for 2016. I will be for whoever really understands that we need to stand for positive changes in education, jobs and housing, and proposed plans to implement real change, not just slogans and meetings to schedule more meetings to make more empty promises.
My concern is which candidate will do what is necessary to utilize the powerful platforms of America’s democratic institutions, federal, state and local, to foster meeting basic needs of inner city and rural Blacks for real change regarding education, jobs and housing.
The Obama administration needs to prepare for how to work with a Republican Congress to avoid two years of non-functional government on President Obama’s watch. As a Black American, I’m saddened, troubled and fearful if Black leadership doesn’t stop aping White leadership and lean toward what’s best for their organizations but not for our people. What will be the plan to do battle with any right-wing master plans?
President Obama shows no signs of pulling back just because the first six years were tough. Good. He won’t be a lame duck. Let us hope that he will have a strong attorney general his last two years in order to promote providing justice and protection for America’s populations of color.
2015 and 2016 will be interesting because of:
• A hostile Congress.
• A hostile Supreme Court.
• A hamstrung executive branch.
• Hostile state houses.
• Government at all levels deeply divided on implementing due process for people of color and poor people in general.
Domestic and international agendas will cause extreme burdens for the Obama administration, including deteriorating relations with Russia, continued expansion of ISIS in the Middle East, and continued disruptions in Latin America and Africa.
By mid-2015, liberals will begin to fight over who will be their standard bearer for the 2016 presidential campaign. The 2015 Congress will make sure there are enough problems in the areas of social justice and economic parity to make it difficult for the liberal left to put a plan in place.
Anger on one hand and despair on the other will increase during 2015 (and spill over into 2016), and will be a serious political deterrent in the 2016 presidential campaign, a campaign that began in 2012, within hours of the re-election of President Barack Obama.
The key question remains: Where is the plan? Will it be from the forces of Hilary Clinton or from the forces of Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, or someone else? Who will win claim to “the best one suitable” to take on the right wing juggernaut as it storms towards control of the White House?
An example of the extreme right’s distain for understanding America’s problems is Republicans raising Steve Scalise to the third-highest rank in the U.S. House of Representatives. Scalise addressed an international White supremacist and neo-Nazi group in 2002, in New Orleans, and now claims he had no idea he was talking to and courting followers of Adolph Hitler. He is a lousy liar, woefully incompetent, and an embarrassment who emphasizes White skin color over content of character. What other Republicans do so also? For more observations about the event, go here and 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 10, 2015
January, 01, 2015 #1: Year-end reflections of 2014: a year of confusion and expectations
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.
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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